Nonprofit Performance 360 Magazine Vol 3 No 2

Nonprofits that Work

ADRIENNE GOLDEN

If It’s Not WOW, It’s Not Worth It

T he financial landscape for nonprofit organizations is changing. It used to be that through partnership with the United Way, the charitable foundation of a local corporation, a few small fundraisers, and dedicated givers, any organization could find success and longevity. But the truth is, since the early 1970s, only 2% of GDP is donated to nonprofits.With this reality, and a growing number of nonprofits (200,000 more in 2015 than in 2012), each organization must be innovative in order to secure their piece of that 2%. Recognizing that challenge, a group of eight young professionals from Mobile, Alabama, saw an opportunity. With a belief that a big impact on our area’s children can be achieved by a small motivated group, we established Fuse Project as a 501(c)(3) in September 2012. Our goal is to support tangible, realistic projects that will benefit our children. We support existing philanthropies with specific project ideas, as well as grass-root efforts by motivated members of our community. Whether it is helping fund an after-school program for under-privileged children or helping a motivated neighborhood revitalize a local park, Fuse Project is ready to help. It All Begins With Kids At its core, Fuse Project invests in initiatives promoting the health, fitness, education and social responsibility of our children. Since

2012, Fuse Project has raised over $300,000, funded sixteen individual projects, and influ- enced the lives of more than 5,000 children along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. We consider ourselves a neo nonprofit with a singular fo- cus on immediate impact by bringing togeth- er local projects for our children. Our five- year goal is to be in a position to fundraise one million dollars per year by 2020. Our organization is dedicated to providing the spark for innovation, funding and implementation of projects benefiting children along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Most recently, we have begun refining our focus on projects centering on afterschool programs for kids of all ages in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Our goal is to ensure that all kids have access to an afterschool program that increases their overall quality of life and to foster a healthy family dynamic for working parents and their children. Engaging a Cluttered Market On any given weekend in communities across the country, you will find nonprofits running bake sales, golf tournaments, 5Ks, galas, and the like. It isn’t that any of these programs are bad, but in a world of fast moving, attention grabbing messages, these types of events are quickly becoming antiquated. In a world full of noise and competition, nonprofits have to reframe their approach.

Through our mantra of “If it’s not WOW, it’s not worth doing,” we have decided to create a group of events that will help fundraise for our selected projects and help publicize our cause.We aim to invigorate all age groups and demographics in our area with our events. Fuse Project has learned that if we engage younger donors, we are attracting potential lifelong donors. Our board consists of eleven young professionals who display a passion and unwavering commitment to help promote our mission and vision. We recruit our board members early and, although we do not require a financial commitment, we ask that they donate time and attend a minimum of 70% of our board meetings. Our cofounders are strong believers in having an A-Team, or an Advisory Board. This A-Team consists of older influential members of our community who might be too busy to join our Board due to other time commitments. We find that we can bounce new ideas off of our A-Team and benefit from the wisdom, past experiences and knowledge that they have gleaned from involvement on other boards or with local organizations. Fuse Project understands the importance of effective communications and marketing. We aim to reach our donors and volunteers on a regular basis. We know that their time is valuable so we strive to make our email updates concise and to the point. To do this,

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