Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Organizations (EDOs), and other non-profit groups focused on economic development often opt for fundraising strategies that lean towards sustaining their organizations rather than fostering long-term community growth.

Year after year, they pour time and energy into traditional fundraising methods like membership sales and fundraising events. These models work, but they’re also quite limited in their vision, fundraising potential, and ability to stimulate growth. 

Many organizations ask us how to move away from traditional models towards more substantial fundraising that can be the catalyst for growth. Our answer is always the same: “transform your organization into the place where your community’s economic future is planned, directed, and executed.” 

If you can achieve this status, you can unlock increased financial investments, leadership and volunteer commitments, and a brighter future for your organization and your community.

How to Be a Beacon for Your Community’s Economic Future 

To be sure, this transformation is not always straightforward. No two communities, populations, or economic landscapes look alike and there’s no “recipe” for success with exact ingredients and measurements. 

However, there is a proven framework we’ve applied for the last 45+ years with three key components:

1. Develop and nurture a long-term, ambitious vision for the future.
2. Establish strong, proven leadership invested in that vision.
3. Build your reputation year after year on that vision and leadership.

In this blog, we'll dig into these essential components for making your organization the place where your community’s economic future is planned, directed, and executed. 

Planning: The Ambitious Vision

We agree that membership dues and fundraising events can be essential revenue streams, but organizations aspiring to transformative change require a more substantial vision. This means thinking beyond short-term financial targets that “maintain an organizational budget.”

Instead, a long-term ambitious vision consists of specific goals that turn heads in your community’s most influential public and private stakeholders. Here’s an example:

When you zoom out in this way, an economic future that’s bigger than this year’s golf tournament rapidly emerges. In months or even weeks, you can start your transformation from member-centric fundraising models to investor-centric (learn more here) fundraising that can support much larger initiatives. 

At the end of the day, only an ambitious vision can open the door to the best buy-in, leadership, volunteers, and fundraising investment your community has to offer. 

Directing: Attract the Right Leadership

One of the core benefits of developing an ambitious vision is that by even discussing it, you’re already engaging your community’s relevant leaders. If, for example, you’re using NCDS’ proven multi-year strategic initiative (MYSI), you’d find yourself sitting around a table with CEOs, board members, elected officials, and real estate developers to establish and address your community’s most important long-term priorities and goals.

In a short period of time, this vision creates buy-in and opportunities to participate become much more enticing to the leaders you seek most. Imagine a MYSI with leadership that makes your organization synonymous with trust, ownership, and excellence. This opens the door for larger financial investments, high-quality volunteers, and a path forward for your ambitious vision. 

Executing: Build a Proven Reputation and Capacity

Reputations take time to build, but your organization can make a great jump forward with an ambitious vision and proven leadership firmly in place.  With momentum and requisite funding in place, you should continue enhancing your reputation through execution, transparency, and publicity. 

1. Execution: whether you have 100% support or not, you must follow through on your first multi-year plan. In five years, those who weren’t involved will wish they had been and jump at the next opportunity. 
2. Transparency: celebrate your wins and address your setbacks openly and honestly to create a culture of trust in your vision, both internally and externally. 
3. Publicity: citizens and stakeholders need to know what’s happening to contribute, volunteer, invest, and celebrate your hard work and progress. Focus on simply announcing what is true incrementally as you move forward instead of sensationalizing or exaggerating. In short, give your community opportunities to notice.

With these three components, your organization will be recognized as the go-to entity for a broad range of community issues, challenges, and opportunities over time. 

A Story of Culture: Trading Competition for Collaboration in Sioux Falls, SD

For more than 30 years, NCDS has partnered with Forward Sioux Falls to strengthen its metropolitan area in a region of the U.S. where communities often struggle to sustain meaningful growth. 

Sioux Falls charted a vibrant economic future by developing a vision that attracted key leaders and built a reputation for collaboration and cooperation. Instead of battling over “pieces of the pie,” these leaders decided to create a bigger pie instead.  

They did it by making their organization the place where their community’s economic future is planned, directed, and executed. In less than two minutes, one of their top community leaders, Dave Rozenboom says everything you need to know about what this looks like here. 

The NCDS Advantage

NCDS specializes in meeting organizations exactly where they are in their economic development journey. If your organization isn't currently the primary driver of your community's economic future, we can help you change that. 

We have the expertise to navigate the intricate dynamics of communities, understand the human factors involved, and assess your community's priorities in a way that makes an ambitious vision for the future a reality.

Contact us to explore how NCDS can empower your organization to become the leader in shaping your community's economic future.

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