Thayr Richey, President SDG IEDA Summer Conference R AISING M ONEY TO D O E CONOMIC D EVELOPMENT

 Daviess County’s ED Commission is nearing the end of its $1M capital campaign.  The Capital Region EDC will launch a new $3M fundraising campaign this spring to pay for economic development initiatives over the next four years.  Columbus 2020 sets $30M fundraising goal to support economic development. E VERY N OT - FOR -P ROFIT N EEDS M ONEY

 Indiana communities are caught between the loss of tens of thousands of high-paying, unionized manufacturing jobs that used to contribute to social service businesses.  At the same time we’re still struggling to recover from the “Great Recession.” T HE D OUBLE W HAMMY

Your choice:  Economic development or  County ambulance service N OT E NOUGH M ONEY FOR E VERYONE

 Abate  Arts  Homeless  Animal shelters  Sports  Libraries  4H  Band  Food banks  Shelters for abused women  Churches  Lions  Elks  Optimists  Hospital foundations  Literacy programs  Boys & Girls clubs  Services for seniors I N O NE N ORMAL -S IZED I NDIANA C OUNTY There were over 700 N-f-Ps listed

H OW LEDO S C AN C OMPETE

 Your track record  New Opportunities  What similar communities are doing  Fear B UILD ON

 Phase I  Specify what the funding will pay for (benefits)  Prepare LEDO board and staff for the campaign  Determine income needs  Create the “ask”  Have staff develop materials for the campaign (with professional marketing/PR help if needed)  Ensure that each board member understands his/her role in the process  Identify current and past donors  By donation category  By type of organization  Government  Business  For-profit  Not-for-profit  Individual/Family  Review probability of donation renewal A C LEAR, S IMPLE P LAN I S E SSENTIAL

 Assign specific board member to each established prospect  Research new prospective donors  Assign specific board member to each prospective donor  Depending on how formal the plan, you might want to create a communications strategy for the plan and have a resource development kickoff meeting  Phase II  Make the “ask” of dependable established donors  For new donors, some LEDOs have small meetings in which the LEDO president gives a brief presentation on the goals and objectives, the competition, and the need for funding  Then or shortly after, the board members make the “ask” T HE P LAN - CONTINUED

 Most people would prefer not to do this T HE KING - ASKS - KINGS SYNDROME  When the LEDO president asks, he/she is often perceived as seeking money to keep a job W HY S HOULD B OARD M EMBERS H AVE TO A SK FOR M ONEY

 For businesses it depends on the size and type:  Gold  Silver  Etc.  Levels of funding can also be tied to donor benefits  For individuals, it depends on their commitment to the long-term vitality of the community  Ask for a three-year commitment  Should you ask basic employers for donations? H OW M UCH D O Y OU A SK FOR ?

1.People respond to danger 2.The danger for your community is that – in an economy that is both making a fundamental shift and highly competitive – the community will lose its economic reason for existence 3.The solution is your organization’s ability to grow established employers and recruit new ones 4.These companies employ local businesses’ customers 5.These companies are the potential employers of your donors’ children and grandchildren M AKING THE A SK

F OCUS ON T OUGH C OMPETITION

For Example:  Gold – has a board membership  Silver – Can attend quarterly and annual meetings  Bronze – can attend annual meetings T HEN S ELL THE S MALL B ENEFITS

1.What is the problem that drives your LEDO? a.30 seconds b.60 seconds c.90 seconds 1.What does your LEDO do that solves the problem? a.30 seconds b.60 seconds c.90 seconds T HE E LEVATOR S PEECHES

1.A greater focus on one-time outside grants for special projects a.USDA-RD to provide RLFs b.EDA for key infrastructure leverage 2.For those 501(c)6’,s LEDOs are forming additional 501(c)3’s 3.LEDOs are also rethinking the board structure to bring in additional “members” of the corporation; these members then elect a smaller board of directors 4.A hot trend that calls for more revenue is the creation of “deal-closing” funds C URRENT T RENDS IN LEDO R ESOURCE D EVELOPMENT

 How difficult will it be to raise that 2015 budget?  How many of your board members will be willing to make the ask?  What has worked in the past for you?  How formal should the resource development plan be in your community? D ISCUSSION