Every year Mark attends the MAKO Chamber Conference. This annual meeting of chamber professionals from Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma has grown drastically since its inception, and this year had the largest attendance yet. After each conference, Mark usually shares a few of the “Frequently Asked Questions” he heard about chamber fundraising and our services during the conference, but this year, we thought we’d change things up a bit.
Watch the video above to hear about how keynote speaker Mick Fleming’s charge to “be bold” resonated with Mark, and how we encourage our clients to apply them to their fundraising initiatives. You can also continue reading below for the full video transcript.
“We’re wrapping up MAKO 2017. It was a great conference, as always. I think I’ve been to every MAKO Conference but one, and look forward to many more.
My favorite part of this conference was when Mick Fleming encouraged everyone to “be bold.” We always encourage our clients to think big and be bold, and to not just think about fundraising in terms of meeting next year’s budget issues or marginally expanding what you do but think about what sort of big-picture, long-term things you can do for your community that have real value. Unmet community needs. Things that your investor base, your businesses, your entire community would value.
I’ve heard Mick in previous conferences talk about “moving the needle.” Move the need initiatives. That’s what’s exciting to us, and really, that’s what’s exciting to potential investors. They want to invest in something that’s going to have a significant impact, not just for the organization, but for the community, and ultimately, for their business as well.
Another way to think about it is, don’t think so much about what needs your organization has, but what needs your organization can meet. If there are unmet needs in the community and you’ve got a solid plan for addressing them, securing the resources is just a matter of connecting the dots, and we know how to do that.”
