Clarity turns into Confidence turns into Courage. Pastor Henry Graf has preached on these words several times.
That sentence is hard to say three times fast, but after posting those lines on Linkedin recently I realized they have powerful applications for fundraising at our schools and churches.
I wear three hats at The Lutheran Schools Partnership, and one of them is coaching our schools, and indirectly their associated churches, on how to start and grow their fundraising efforts. In addition to meeting with principals once a month, I organize group meetings, lead presentations, and organize the annual Learn and Lead training conferences with experts like last year’s IU Lilly School of Philanthropy and this year’s focus on Customer Service, Marketing, and Fundraising the Disney Way. (We have discount codes available for Partner schools, churches, RSOs, Lutheran, and other Christian-based organizations. Contact me for details.)
But what I enjoy the most is meeting with a Partner school’s principal, board, or fundraising director if they have one, and listen to what they want to do. I then try and give clarity to their vision (that is sometimes harder than it sounds!); we help determine the who, what, where, when, and why of their vision and help create a clear map of what to do next.
When successful, this clarity will give leadership the confidence to move forward knowing that they have a gameplan for success. Sharing best practices, walking beside them, and providing accountability along the way (and helping edit an appeal letter or two along the way), they can have the conviction to stick to their plans.
And once their confidence is strong they can convince others of their plans; that they are going/doing/leading the right way; that they have the courage to not waiver in the face of the status quo or the next shiny bobble of an idea in the news (no more ice bucket invites, please!)
So maybe the sentence should be altered to “Coaching brings Clarity, brings Confidence, brings Courage, brings… Success. (Sorry, I couldn’t find a synonym for “Success” that started with a “C”. I guess I will have to work on that one.)
And it doesn’t hurt having a picture to Capture your attention. (Good boy, Charlie.)
