What makes a milestone? And how can your nonprofit organization make it noteworthy?
People have a natural tendency to focus on
major milestones such as a centennial. But even
the smallest anniversaries - of programs, product
launches, leadership and leadership changes,
donor relationships - offer unique opportunities
to celebrate, to reinvigorate and to learn.
In 2006, Habitat
for Humanity celebrated its 30th
anniversary. And how did one of the most
recognizable nonprofits throughout the world
choose to mark the occasion? With a Building
Blitz of course. Homebuilders across the United
States committed to building 1,000 homes in
honor of the anniversary. But beyond home building,
Habitat for Humanity took advantage of the milestone
in other meaningful ways.
The organization partnered with
the Do-It-Yourself
(DIY) cable network to produce Public Service
Announcements (PSAs) and an hour-long special.
The DIY network created and distributed a training
video for Habitat volunteers, and DIY staffers
themselves volunteered in building the 200,000th
home in Knoxville, TN.
Individual chapters from South Africa to San
Antonio held events and raised money and awareness
for the issue of poverty housing. The Mountain
Lumber Company, in Ruckersville, VA, even celebrated
its own 30th anniversary with an event that
raised more than $13,000 for the Charlottesville
Habitat for Humanity and Building Goodness Foundation.
Public leaders from around the world offered
best wishes for continued success. You simply
cannot pay for that kind of advertising. All
because of a 30th anniversary.
Can you imagine what kind of leverage will
come from their 50th?
Why milestones are important to your
nonprofit organization - and to others
Internally, milestones offer the chance for
celebration and reflection. A look back at the
incredible challenges and persistence that brought
you to your current success can help to reinvigorate
staff, board members, volunteers and donors.
An examination of the hard work and optimism
of past generations can give current leadership
perspective and motivation.
Think about why milestones are important to
others - outside your organization. Longevity
is often quite correctly associated with integrity.
A track record of providing service in the community
demonstrates that you have gained the trust
and resources of your constituencies and that
you have proven, achievable results. Quantifiable
results can sometimes be elusive in nonprofits,
yet important to donors and others asked to
support your mission. Take advantage of milestones
that underscore your consistent leadership.
Milestones help to increase the visibility
of your mission, allowing you to highlight your
history of innovation or tradition of advocacy,
while at the same time giving you the chance
to articulate your organization’s vision
for the future.
And celebration naturally brings people together.
People want to celebrate your success. You can
use a milestone to engage multiple audiences
- to rally troops for advocacy, to invite reinvestment
in your mission and to boost your outreach efforts.
How to find your organization’s
milestones
First you must know what your milestones are.
As organizations age, their institutional memory
can become diluted. Timelines of innovative
programs, leadership, and other milestone events
can become lost with turnover of staff, retirements,
and location moves.
Bring together a diverse team of people affiliated
with your organization (past and present) for
brainstorming and to help you build a number
of reasons to celebrate. Include board members
and staff, long-time volunteers, donors and
community partners - to give you a complete
picture of your organization’s history
and accomplishments.
Begin by making a thorough list of current
activities, programs, events, donors and partners.
Think creatively about existing opportunities.
This allows you to leverage resources you are
already putting to use. Questions you might
ask include:
• How long has a popular program been
in existence?
• Do we have a “1,000th customer
served”?
• Has our organization been influential
in encouraging the passage of significant legislation
that has had a positive impact on other groups?
• Is there an anniversary of a founder
or long-time leader we can celebrate?
• Is there an anniversary of a grant we
are receiving? Can we celebrate our long relationship
with the grantor? Do we have data to list what
has been achieved with the grant?
• Can we organize an event to honor a
long-time donor supportive of our work?
Visibility tactics – making sure
your milestones get noticed
There are just as many strategies for leveraging
a milestone as there are milestones to celebrate.
You do not need an elaborate communications
strategy to highlight the impact of various
milestones on your agency, partners and constituents.
But it is important to consider tactics that
will give your organization the visibility that
a milestone can bring.
• Consider something more than just a
news release. A follow up phone call (or two
or three) to your local paper is essential.
The personal touch often works, especially if
your news release is concise and informative
so that it may be used with minimal revision.
• Consider writing and submitting an article
to the newsletters or trade journals that cover
your field.
• Update your Web site with a timeline
of successes.
• Organize a service day to commemorate
a program.
• Feature an anniversary in your own communications
– newsletter, annual report, mailings.
• Ask a key funder or corporate partner
to host a small coffee or morning event in support
of a milestone.
• Invite a funder or corporate partner
to sponsor print or media advertisements to
mark the occasion, offering visibility for your
organization as well as visibility for the partner’s
support of your success.
Coordinating milestone activities is a big
responsibility – one that is often added
to the already full plates of staff or dedicated
volunteers. Thoughtful planning can help focus
your team’s efforts on leveraging your
milestones. Planning encourages ownership on
a variety of levels and it is important to include
stakeholders at every stage of the process.
Milestones are a chance to examine and celebrate
what makes your nonprofit organization unique,
successful and worthy of continued support.
Be creative, be realistic and be proud of your
accomplishments – big and small.
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About Blue Grotto Inc.
Blue Grotto Inc. specializes in anniversary
planning, organizational culture research, analysis
and communications. Founder Yvonne Hundshamer
has led the planning and research efforts on
more than 20 major anniversary projects for
clients including Hamline University, the University
of Minnesota Alumni Association, the Frey
Family Foundation, and 3M.
Blue Grotto led a roundtable discussion at
a CASE
conference on how an anniversary or milestone
provides a great opportunity to: reconnect with
alumni; instill loyalty and pride in graduating
students; articulate the importance of your
institution in the community; and how an effective
anniversary publication can help expand outreach
and development efforts, reintroduce the school
to an under-developed donor base, and communicate
with new generations of students and their families.
For more information please contact:
Yvonne Hundshamer
Blue Grotto Inc.
1832 Ashland Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104
Phone: (651) 641-0568
FAX (651) 641.0536
E-Mail: yvonne@bluegrottoinc.com
Web: http://www.bluegrottoinc.com
For more information:
For specific project examples and demonstrations,
or more information on interactive displays, digital messaging
systems and integrated donor wall projects, please contact:
PlannedLegacy
Suite 220 - 309 McDermot Avenue
Winnipeg, MB. Canada R3A 1T3
Phone: (204) 943-3923
Fax: (204) 943-4197
Toll Free: 1 (866) 882-3580
E-Mail: solutions@plannedlegacy.com
Web: www.plannedlegacy.com
