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Dale Barron and son Samuel |
Why should a struggling agency with a small, tight budget, seek outside counsel on development planning?
This question becomes even more pointed if the development staff is somewhat leery of hard-sell, manipulative fundraising schemes.
Rich Gerig, an Advancement Associates team member, received such a call from a person who one would think might shy away from the outside consultant. The story is worth telling.
The person was Dale Barron, a former administrator of a children’s home and adjunct professor at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He left the children’s home in November, 2000 in order to work with a small struggling organization called World Hunger Relief, Inc. He had previously volunteered at WHRI which operated a 42-acre training farm outside of Waco.
Barron had a passion for the mission of WHRI. The non-profit charter, written in 1976 provided for a program in agroforestry and related technologies to address the needs of the hungry, both foreign and domestic. Dedicated people gave their lives to this mission, and yet the organization faced big challenges.
When Barron arrived at WHRI, the staff consisted of one employee. Its budget was only $66,000. Income was low from farming operations (less than $3,000 a year). Grant writing had fallen by the wayside. Worst of all, its base of donors were becoming alienated by lack of contact and confidence.
The program was too good to let die. The organization’s program had to do with setting up a rural farm environment similar to what one would find in an impoverished area, then bringing interns to the farm and giving intensive training in sustainable agricultural production and community development. These skills were seen as part of a larger holistic approach to Christian missions that give attention to socio-political contexts of world hunger.
Barron knew, however, that an annual income of $66,000 couldn’t go very far in fulfilling that mission. Something had to be done.
Less than five years later many things have been done. The annual income will top $250,000.
Dale is quick to spread credit far and wide. New staff members including Executive Director Neil Rowe Miller; enthusiastic interns, enough to make a critical mass; a new fair trades store for farm products; more grant writing and an exciting affiliation with a Haiti rural development program – all have contributed to the rejuvenation of WHRI.
Nonetheless there is another factor: the recent success also has to do with a more systematic development program. Some of the innovations came through the wisdom and persistence of the staff. Some came from outside counsel.
At a point in his work, Barron became aware that he knew the “art” of development, but not the “science.” Surely others who knew the best practices of development could help him save time. Someone out there who knew the language of development could help him.
The resource he was seeking came in the person of Neil Rowe Miller’s cousin, Rich Gerig, of Advancement Associates, Inc. AAI, based in Fort Collins, Colorado, supports faith-based organizations with a full range of advancement consultation services. “Rich has been wonderful,” says Barron.
What is the “science” that Gerig brought to WHRI?
Gerig helped Barron and Miller to review recent advancement experience and then to make a S-W-O-T analysis of WHRI. That is, Gerig structured a study of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that impact the development of the agency.
For example, one of the strengths of WHRI is its diverse group of stakeholders. One of the weaknesses is that local farmers who use conventional methods take a dim view of organic approaches to agricultural production. One of the opportunities is the potential for increased collaboration with mission agencies. One of the threats related to internal staffing issues that eroded support. The S-W-O-T analysis called for honest and deep reflections and, in instances, in research about who WHRI is and who it can become.
Next, Gerig called on Barron and Miller to do the hard work of creating an “Advancement Plan” that defined goals, objectives and activities for the upcoming year. The team proposed two overarching goals. The first goal called for an increased support for annual operations bringing the annual income to $240,000. The second goal called for the building of a Development Program for WHRI.
Once the goals were defined, Gerig worked with Barron and Miller in making specific objectives to reach each goal. The group defined eight objectives to help them reach the first goal. Each objective was quite specific. For example, one objective was to increase total unrestricted giving by individuals by 20%. The other objectives were equally specific.
Third, Gerig wanted to the planners to define the precise activities they would engage in to accomplish each objective. For example, in order to increase total unrestricted giving by 20%, the group listed nine activities that they would do. Here is one such example: To develop a plan for targeted mailing to segments of the mailing list (such as congregations, major donors, and people who express interest in a specific area of farm enterprise). The group eventually listed 72 activities required to meet the objectives that would help them realize their two goals.
When the discussions were completed, Barron compiled it as a Development Plan for 2004-5 that included all the checks and controls needed to make sure that the activities were completed and all of the processes monitored. Gerig monitored the writing process and reviewed the draft.
The results: half-way through the 2004-5 year, the goal has been surpassed.
The master plan has helped Barron in many ways. An undifferentiated mailing list is now meaningfully segmented. There is a timetable for all mailings. Personal calls are now made more systematically. He has learned ways to increase the database that includes staff, board, alumni, local business and organizations. “Gerig even helped me over my reticence to ask for donations,” Barron says.
“From my perspective,” says Gerig, “a real key to the progress that’s been made is the willingness of Dale and Neil to give high priority and energy to the work we’ve done together. We’ve also developed a very comfortable relationship, which makes it easy to talk about issues, ideas and concerns.”
The plan has not turned Dale Barron into a crass hard-sell fundraiser but rather a thoughtful development officer who is as effective as anybody else in sharing with others the mission of World Hunger. In fact, this experience of participating in the rejuvenation of World Hunger Relief makes Barron want to go even further in telling the story, in producing competent practitioners for service, and in affiliating with sending organizations that need the kind of people trained by WHRI.
“As we look toward the future,” says WHRI, “we anticipate significant expansion of our … programs. We are also exploring partnerships … We are excited about the many opportunities God is presenting us to combat poverty and hunger in His name.”
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