Giselle Jones-Jones shares her wisdom on engaging board members in fund sourcing.
Here's the Transcript
Russell Dennis: Welcome to the Nonprofit Exchange brought to you by SynerVision Leadership Foundation. I am your host, Russell Dennis. Thank you for joining us. Our guest today is Dr. A Giselle Jones. She is the founder of The Write Source, technical writing and consultation services. She is a writing advocate for community leaders, pastors, administrators, and the like, all sorts of nonprofit entities. She is here to share her expertise with us today. Thank you, Giselle. Welcome. Glad to have you here.
Giselle Jones-Jones: I am glad to be here.
Russell: All right. So Giselle, tell us a little bit more about the woman underneath the cloak.
Giselle: I see myself standing like Wonder Woman with my cape flying in the wind.
Russell: Tell us about your superpowers here.
Giselle: I’ll tell ya, I am empowered by the people whom I have had the privilege to write for and to work for. They are really the wind beneath my wings. I can’t claim any of the success on my own. It’s because I have been in the right place and been equipped to be the right person for these people. I like the way you emphasize The Write Source before because that is exactly what I do. The w-r-i-t-e. I do the writing. We’ll talk a little bit more about that in just a little bit.
But the woman underneath the cloak, the woman wearing the mask, the woman who is in the background. Again, my name is Giselle Jones-Jones. I am a Jones twice. I married a Jones. I have ben writing now, filling the majority of my professional life, and how I demonstrate that in my day job, so to speak, is as a teacher. I am a professor of English, of literature, public speaking, so that is my day job, and that is what gives me my passion. My students give me my passion. I do that and have been doing it since 1990. That tells my age, Lord have mercy. But I have been doing that for many years, and I learned my greatest lesson. I once heard that the teacher is twice taught. Again, I look at everything really as a privilege, and I take everything that I do as building blocks to do the next thing. Teaching, that gives me what I need to do what I do in my evening job, in my weekend job, in the-extra-time-that-I-have job, which is working for the nonprofit, which is working for the charity or the ministry or the professionals who have a desire in their hearts to do something to make a change in their community.
Where I come in is exactly how I see my students. My students on the first day of English 101: Composition, “I hate to write. I don’t want to do it.” I have to struggle with them throughout the semester. On the other end of it, they are happy for the journey. But it’s the same thing with the charities, with nonprofits. There is this fear, there is this force that is in the air, and they absolutely fear the writing process. Preparing that proposal just causes dread and so they have a desire to do something in the community. They want to do something great, but they often stop in their tracks. When they face that in order to write a grant, it needs to read well, etc, they come looking for the grant writer, that person, and that has been me for organizations again who I have been privileged to work with as a freelance writer.
I created The Write Source to cover me as the freelance grant writer, and that is how I have operated over the course of these 20+ years that I have been The Write Source. Meeting Hugh on August 26—that was just a little over two weeks ago—founder and president of SynerVision, opened my eyes to the possibilities that I was working out this summer and building of the infrastructure of my company to duplicate myself a few more times so that I can reach more people and help more people. Again, this opportunity today is a blessing. The past two weeks dealing with Hugh, I have been on a rollercoaster ride already. It’s been fantastic because it’s putting me in a place of impact to help people more, for me to do more and to build upon what I’m doing even more.
That is a little bit of who I am. I’m a mother of three. I have two in college, both of my two girls, and I have a boy who is 12. I’m a wife of a wonderful man who is a musician like Hugh and a director. Again, I am privileged to be his wife. Here I am, before you now. I have shared a little bit about my passion, what makes me get up, what is my mission for life, walking in my purpose, walking in my destiny, all of that.
Russell: I’m glad to have you here just looking at your bio. You are a tenured professor at just about every university in the state of Carolina.
Giselle: Oh, stop.
Russell: Your client list reads like a who’s who. It’s phenomenal. More hands makes the work lighter.
Giselle: That’s right.
Russell: I’ve been a part of this SynerVision team and signed on as the first WayFinder. We have been building momentum and now things are starting to take off. It’s really great to have expertise to leverage because you can do more. A lot of nonprofits feel like they’re alone. How much does that play into the struggle that people have with writing grants? I know that a lot of times, at my first nonprofit job, my first day on the job, the travel planner came and dropped a package on my desk from the Department of Education and said, “I’ve seen your writing sample. You’ll do okay. I’m right next door if you need some help.” I had never written a grant. Talk a little bit about that intimidation that most people have and what makes it seem like such a difficult process for most folks to achieve.
Giselle: You said it. I mean there is nothing more dreaded than being given the RFP coming from a federal grant that requires 20-25 pages of information, demographic studies, all those things you have to do, plus giving a face and a personality to the organization. That is a lot. The fact that you were a gifted writer helps, but think about those who lack the skills to write. They feel alone. They feel like they’re on an island by themselves, and again, those grants go often unwritten. That’s money that that organization did not get because people stop in their tracks. It’s for that very reason it is dumped on one person’s desk, and that one person feels it is his/her job to do it by him/herself. That is wrong.
The team approach is absolutely the best way to go about this. I think that the idea that you offer grant-writing workshops and support the grant writer, that is promoting it the wrong way. It has to come from the point of view that a team effort, with the grant writer sitting at the helm delegating responsibilities—Yes, that can be that person’s role, but that person needs the help of experts across the board everywhere from just even designing the document itself. You need someone who goes and gathers the information. All of these pieces go walking past the background in accounting who can put together that top-notch budget that is tight and that is ready to go. All of those elements for one person to handle, who is a gifted writer but may not have the expertise in those other areas, can get overwhelming.
Again, having those people on board, having those people who are trained and equipped and ready to contribute to the team, is the best way to approach grant-writing or proposal-writing, period. That body of people, really from the standpoint of all funds development, all funds, all resources, from not proposal-writing because you can’t put all your eggs in one basket either, that team will follow the organization and work with that organization, with donors, with sponsors, with all of that because the same documentation is needed, the same writing is needed. That team of people who are equipped and ready to help the nonprofit, the charity, the ministry, they follow them from beginning to end and let them know they’re not alone. That is overcoming that particular person who is given that file on the desk, that RFP. No, if that does happen, that person sitting at that desk should pick up the phone and call that team and call a meeting and let’s go over this. Let’s look at this and delegate. Let’s look at who needs to do what so we can pull this together.
Russell: Our first question came from Jolyn. She asked, “Do you know of any grant funding for a holistic healer or complementary healing services for PTSD?”
Giselle: Oh my goodness. I would think that there will be federal funding, and I do have a list of those from the Center of Disease Control, federal dollars that go toward those military who have suffered. There is funding, yes, there is. As a matter of fact, I am going to keep searching for that, and I will make that available. I think there is a chat forum on here, and I will type those in as I find them. Yes, there are federal dollars that are available for that, yes.
Russell: We will get those in there to you.
Giselle: Yes.
Russell: There we are. We’ve got a phone number for Karen. There is information we can follow up with in the chat. I have put the web address in the Facebook chat and the Zoom chat forums: http://www.thewritesource.org. That is where you can reach Dr. Jones. As always, our lines are open for more questions. Jolyn already has a 501(c)3 set up, and she knows about practitioners. There are some people that I want to put Jolyn in touch with who are doing different types of things, nontraditional and complementary healing. I will put her in touch with some other people online.
My next question is that you have been working. I know you met Hugh a couple of weeks ago, and you have been talking about setting up what you call an office of funds development and collaboration. This is something that other nonprofits can do for themselves. Tell us a little bit about setting that type of thing up.
Giselle: Especially because Hugh approaches what he does through SynerVision with the team approach, team is very important. So having a funds development office is really the next step in line for what he needs to do. It takes the pressure off of him so that he can continue to be creative, so that he can continue to do his workshops, his symposiums, but to have this particular office to continue to fund what he does as he helps organizations and boards fund what they do, the team approach handling how they go about procuring and sustaining their funds, this particular office would be the liaison between the workshops and the symposiums that are held to local implementation. This office would provide guidance after they have received the trainings. this particular office will follow them.
And it’s got two branches, two arms. It will continue to fund the endeavors of SynerVision because its vision is large. Its vision is still evolving. That one side is important. But then those whom SynerVision develops and trains, they will continue support. This office will be here to stay ahead of the game with resources, with staying trained and relevant and current about what is being offered to charities and nonprofits across the board because again people have various needs and they are trying to impact change in their local communities in various ways. This office will be equipped to be the support for both sides, for SynerVision and for those whom they serve and develop and train. It is still a work in progress.
Again, this is a two-week relationship that is blossoming, so we’re putting some meat on the bones per se, so that is where we are at this point. It is exciting. Hugh and I are talking every day. He says, “Giselle, what do you think about this? I am going to put these ideas together. Let’s put a proposal together to begin to make this happen because it needs to happen.” That is where we are as far as that is concerned. This particular office is critically important. It seems like a natural next step for SynerVision to have this particular office available.
Russell: And it is. The work here that SynerVision is doing is designed to help nonprofits increase their capacity to serve others. Training and development is very important. It’s something that will attract people to you to serve on your board and for volunteers. Having a process, we’re all about helping put processes together that will empower you to work more efficiently, that will tell you to go off and find others to collaborate with. Fundraising is like a lot of other things. My whole role is to help nonprofits build high-performance organizations.
There are four steps to that, and the first is having a solid foundation where you look at all of the things that you have. You look at all of your assets. You look at what you want to try to do and what you want to try to achieve. As you bring people in, you find out what drives them, what makes the work important to them. Once you understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, you can start putting a solid foundation.
Talk a little bit about the importance of an overall strategy. I’ve seen a lot of organizations go out and take a scattershot approach where they are applying for grants, they are looking at pockets of funding and saying to themselves, “Oh my God, that’s a lot of money. Maybe we can go after this.” But they don’t stop to look at whether that particular funding source is the right one.
Giselle: That’s exactly right. Again, the process is very important. I believe the gift that I have is making sure the voice of the organization tells the story. It is what draws the potential donor to them, which gives value both ways, which shows why the organization is so important and why they are so important to do the work they want to do in their community, and why it won’t be done any other way. It’s important then to connect with the potential donor that has the same value that in giving their money and making a contribution, they will be a part of that value. That I think is important, but what I do and have done is to go and pull the voice out of the organization. Who are you? It’s activating voice.
I came up with my own class that I’ll be teaching that is called Voice Activated. It is. It’s just that. Who are you? What is it that you want to do? Whose lives are you trying to impact? First, you have to know your purpose. Everybody wants grants. I get phone calls every day, “I need a grant. I need you to write a grant.” Okay. Why? Let’s back up. Let’s take a couple of steps back because you can’t go find the grant first and then write the grant to it. You have to have a purpose first. You have to know who you are first. You need to have in mind the person or the thing that is being impacted. You create a story around that. Those are the steps.
You begin with you have to know who you are, and then we can look at- You have an idea, you know what it is you want to do in the community, you go from idea to how it is going to impact the community. You then look at, if given the money, if you get the funds, who is going to implement it. What is that going to look like? How are you going to sustain yourself if you don’t get that grant funding? What happens after that? Do you have a sustainability plan in place? from idea all the way to sustainability with implementation in there as well, those are the necessary steps it takes, but where we spend the most time is that first base. We have to know who we are, why you’re doing it, and thinking long-term or short-term and then long-term. Coming up with that kind of strategy, sitting with the organization, hashing that out will help. We can’t do anything else until we know who we are. That is exactly how I teach my classes. That is how I teach those first steps in composition. You have to know who you are. Once you can find that out, I can tap into that voice and help to create your story, to create the emotional attachment. All those things that go along with pulling people into knowing why that particular idea or why that particular act of service is so important.
Russell: That’s it. That is the second step of how to develop a high-performance nonprofit: creating an effective action plan. Once you look at what you’re trying to do, it’s a matter of, Okay, what do we need to do first? And breaking it down into simpler steps. It’s really important to be clear on who you are. Then you measure everything you do. This is probably a place where a lot of organizations struggle because they got an idea for what they want to accomplish, but they are not exactly sure how they want to measure it. There are two things. The third step of building a high-performance nonprofit is staying on track. When it comes to your programs, there is an evaluation component. That is an essential piece of every grant and of developing programs. A lot of people don’t account for resources to do evaluation when they have put a proposal together. The other piece is benchmarking, which is, Okay, how do we compare to other nonprofits doing similar work in the same industry? How are we doing comparatively? Talk a little bit about that, about measuring what you do and how to quantify that because some people look at their work and say, Well, we can’t really put it in the dinner table on the spreadsheet, but you still have to show some results.
Giselle: That’s right. That part is very important. That is what stops people at first base. Because that is a very integral part, the objectives, you have to have clear objectives that can be measured. Those things, as a part of the proposal writing process, have to be considered while we are sitting at the table: how we want to measure this, what are the outcomes, what are the expected outcomes, and then what we want those variables that we use in order to test it. A lot of people, a lot of organizations that I work with, only think short-term.
They are very short-sighted and think they want to do a program for only one year when they are working with students to help improve their ELG scores, for instance. Okay. How are we going to know whether or not what you have done as far as the programmatic have impacted these young people? How are you going to test that from year to year? Are you going to follow them for just one year after they have successfully perhaps passed the ELGs their first year? Or are you going to continue to follow them until they graduate? Those are things you have to consider. Then you are addressing subliminally how long your program is going to be, from one year to four years perhaps to eight years to follow with that. All of those steps in between of parents being an active part, they have a great deal to do with whether or not the objectives are being met because they see things as concerns that say that program that involves those children you are trying to help improve those scores, parents see things at home. They need to see some things changing at home. Organizations in a community, they also have input on seeing the growth and development of that child.
There are many things to consider as you think about evaluating these programs. That is what we consider at the beginning: How do you draft an objective that can be measured? What other evaluation tools will be there? Yes, sir, those are very important parts of the proposal process that have to be discussed up front. Having a team there to contribute also helps, not just one person trying to think of all of these things themselves. Having the team approach helps.
Russell: It does, it does, it does. It’s a long-term plan; the sustainability and the funding should be thought of in terms of taking a long view. What will happen over the course of time. This is pretty critical. A lot of people struggle with that. Some do, some don’t. You teach people how to go about working these processes in. Tell us a little bit about how you approach teaching people to quantify that because quantifying it and talking about how you measure- The fourth piece of building a high-performance nonprofit is communicating the value that you bring to people. That plays into getting people to bet on your team and to fund you, looking at what is that value and how do you communicate that in terms that are important to the funder?
Giselle: Wow. Again, you have touched on something that involves a mindset shift. I say that because every organization has to develop a culture of giving, a culture of fundraising, a culture that supports at all odds giving what is needed in order to operationalize that particular idea. From understanding what philanthropy means, understanding that the culture involves even on the board level that boards have to be involved in the process of thinking through what their fiduciary responsibility, why it’s so important even for them to give to the idea because buy-in is difficult if the board doesn’t support it 100%. Being able to quantify the value is a complete and total buy-in from everyone who is internal to the organization. That is a mindset shift. It is a culture that has to be cultivated. It has to have been there and sitting around the table making sure that everyone understands the value of the organization, understands the value of that particular community of people because again, yeah, we can quantify numbers. But those numbers represent people, and those people are the ones that have the issues. Understanding and feeling out why it is so important to activate that voice and being able to connect on a donor level to the individuals being impacted is important. The organization, the people in that organization, the board and the members, all those who are a part are a part of something else bigger and greater happening. Those kinds of things, when they are happening and filled with momentum, it is easier to get the kind of quantifiable results that we are talking about. It is easier to begin to do that, and where the community is seeing it through everything that is written and written well through the newsletters, through all these things that are showing people what is happening, they are constantly involved. That is also creating a culture around that particular organization. The more that they know about what’s happening, the greater the instances they will continue to give. That organization is not just a one-time giving opportunity. You want this to be a sustained relationship in that good or bad you have where we need to grow, you have the stakeholders meeting. Those kinds of things need to constantly happen so that it will increase opportunities for organizations and charities to give. That is what I see as far as that is concerned.
My particular experience over the years is being the lone ranger so to speak, being that lone grant writer and desiring to have a team around me that I can continue to train in the classroom is one thing, but in my business, to have that as I have been working with these people over the years, I understand why it’s so important now. Being that lone ranger, like you said earlier, receiving all of these grants and all of these people who want that services by myself, is daunting. It is very overwhelming. Understanding why it is so important to have a team to surround the board, the team to surround the individual who is interested in making an impact in the community, is so very important. I am glad for that question because that speaks to the heart of getting the kinds of results and those statistics that will grow and follow that organization so that they stay open and ready to continue to receive the funding that they need. That is what you read often. I read an article just recently that said before you become a nonprofit, read this. Don’t do it. Find other ways to do it because it is daunting, it is overwhelming if you think that there is only one way to go about funding, and you are trying to do it on your own. This is an excellent question for the culture has to be developed. A culture for philanthropy, a culture for giving.
Russell: It is. I just got another question from Jolyn. She says that, “I have been a lone ranger for too long and am ready to create a team and need to know where to start.”
Giselle: Tell her to call me. My number is- hahaha. Jolyn, will you be on my team? She needs first of all, and I am building my infrastructure as well. In putting myself out there, I am attracted to so many people who have such great gifts. But you need some skilled writers on your team. You have to duplicate yourself at least three or four times. You need to have a few people who are skilled. You also need to have someone who is your accountant, someone who is good at putting together a budget. That is a very big part of this. Then someone who understands data. Your question about being able to measure growth, you need people who are experienced in that to be on your team; someone who can look at data management is a critical role. Having someone who deals with that, and then it would not hurt to have a good fundraiser, someone who can sell you the bottled water that you already have beside you. There are some people who are just gifted at that. But to have someone who doesn’t mind going out and being the face of the organization, you need someone like that. just a few people around you, and then you will continue to grow.
It wouldn’t hurt for you to also consider some interns. Get interns. I launched an internship and had the pleasure of working with some dynamite young people. I have worked many places, so it wasn’t difficult for me to make a couple of phone calls and get some recommendations for some young people who are gifted. The areas that I used them is not just for writing, but I also began to train them in sales. I had a young person who was my PR representative. She was fantastic. Then another one who was very good at technology and web design. Those things help. Then all of them being part of this younger millennial generation, they were all social-media savvy. That helped. Someone who is gifted at that as well. All those key parts were to help the organization because all those things are needed to help put them into the forefront of the community. Jolyn, call me. We can talk. We can continue to talk.
Russell: Make sure you get the number. Giselle can put that number in the chat. Another question that Jolyn had was: How do I get people to come on board when I don’t have funds to pay them? Giselle covered some of that masterfully. There are opportunities out there where you have students, internships. There are opportunities to get pro bono work if you have an idea how to do that. Worth exploring pro bono as a means. Pro bono is not great for anything you need in a hurry, but pro bono is another opportunity for you to get services. When the whole concept of pro bono was launched, it was centered around the legal profession. But any type of professional organization or any type of profession almost bar none today, you can find some organizations that do pro bono work. That is something that you can talk with Giselle about. I’d be happy to talk with you about that if you have questions on that as well. That is very important. Thank you for that.
Giselle: Fantastic.
Russell: The word “culture” is something that you used. I read a study that was centered around funding. They took a sample of about 2,700 nonprofits of all sizes to find out what sort of fundraising practices they had. There was a lot of reliance on the development director, or there is a single person that a lot of them rely on, usually the development director. This person, they didn’t all have processes set up because fundraising is an all-hands-on-deck adventure for nonprofit. Oftentimes, it’s left to one person, and there is not what they call a culture of fundraising, which is having everybody that is associated with the organization participate in that. It starts with leadership, particularly your board of directors. Talk a little bit about that importance of having your leadership be involved and how a culture of fundraising can help you be more sustainable.
Giselle: Another excellent question. Having all of your leadership on board is critically important. I believe that the buy-in that can be shown on the outside is critically important. Culture has to do with personality also, the personality of the organization. You attract people who are most like you. The organization itself as you embark upon events in the community and those things that you want to help promote the idea that you have, it is best to operate as the team and not just a one-person show. That is not the way it should be handled. I appreciate the study that you’ve mentioned and that you increase your opportunities to be successful when you are approaching it from the partnership, from the group approach, as opposed to that lone ranger. You increase your opportunities. That is what is really all about. Even the collaboration between organizations that are like-minded shows that you really have the community at the center of what you’re doing and not just your individual organization, but you’re wanting to collaborate, you’re wanting to partner. That in and of itself can change a community. The personality of the community as well, knowing that people are there to help them, people are there who do care about their particular needs. Those things are important. Yes, operating as a board, being trained as a board, going together to receive the same knowledge, puts them all in a better position to make a greater impact. I agree wholeheartedly with that study. I have not read that, but I agree with it wholeheartedly. I do. I am messing up my screen, Russ. Do you see something over here to the right?
Russell: No, I don’t. You haven’t shared your screen with the audience, so you’re okay. Culture of fundraising, there are a lot of different types of cultural mindsets. One is a culture of innovation. That is an organization that always wants to try new things. A culture of learning. That is an organization that invests in development, in building your people. That is the opportunity you have to offer some of your volunteers, or as we like to call them, servant leaders. Development, and it can be training in a specific area that is of interest to them. These are things, when you don’t have cash that you can offer development opportunities, you can offer opportunities for people to exercise their creativity and build a portfolio. It would be a wonderful opportunity for a student of marketing to come in and build a social media strategy.
Giselle: Oh my goodness, yes.
Russell: They get to put that in their portfolio, and you get some expertise from people that are learning. You have undergraduate students who can work as interns, and you have graduate students that can work as fellows for more robust studies and this type of thing. The opportunity to get support really rests in what people value.
The word “value” is something that more people associate with business. I don’t hear people talking in terms of value. When somebody sets up a profit-making business, they do it to deliver something of value that people will pay for, that they can offer at a profit. This is what we’re doing. We have to operate at a profit, and it’s called surplus in nonprofit circles. The bottom line is the same regardless of your tax status. If more money goes out the door than comes in, you’re done. Or after a period of time. It’s about sustainability and keeping the steady flow of funds coming in.
A lot of people look at grants, but there are so many funds to come in through other means, too. Grants are something that people associate with nonprofits, but when you get in-kind services, such as pro bono, that is a different matter. You get sponsorship. Individual donations come in a lot of forms. There are current checks. But individuals may plan for when they are away, they want to leave a legacy. So you have planned giving. You have capital campaigns. You have all sorts of things. There are a lot of things that you can do. It’s important to have a diverse base of funds. But you have got to build relationships to get those. A lot of people think in terms of grants.
Giselle, what sort of things have you done with people that you go in to write grants for to help them be more sustainable? I know when people talk to you initially a lot of times they are thinking in terms of grant funds. But there are other options. How do you help people explore those other options?
Giselle: Let’s say that first grant is not funded, or somehow something happens and they don’t get their 501(c)3 in time, they wonder what they can do in the interim. Well, in those cases, I have worked with the organizations to partner with another organization with a 501(c)3 to serve as a fiscal sponsor. As a matter of fact, that occurred about a year and a half ago with an organization. They are just coming back from Brazil now, but the Global Missions Group has partnered with a church inside Silo City. Silo City is serving as a fiscal sponsor so that they would have the sponsorship they needed in order to write those grants. But they also have a very robust, as you say, board. They have each invested a certain amount so it could sustain those short trips that are taken in order for them to do the exploratory kinds of work because they build churches in Brazil. They do that to make sure those kinds of operations occur. Then they go out and seek those sponsorships, those people in the community and from the churches that are like-minded, that are missions-oriented, and they pledge those. They become their own rope. They have their *audio interruption* and they ask for donations that way. When you have something that is pressing, and the grant is low-hanging, it’s out there, you can’t get to it, but you know there are things you need to do, you have to get creative. Like you said, you have to be innovative. You have to come up with some creative ways quickly to go get what you need.
That one organization, I want to use them as the exemplar. They are wonderful. They have come up with strategic partnerships. I have helped them to cultivate that and behind the scenes to create all the documentation they need in order to do it. But they have their street team. They go out and visit these churches. They carpool. They go where they need to go and to spread their particular program or the mission of their program, and they made it happen. Then grant dollars started coming in. But all of those things working in concert helped. They are one organization that made it work against all odds. They knew what they needed to do. They believe strongly that their particular organization has something to do for the building of God’s kingdom. They wanted to spread the word by building churches in places where the word is not shared. They were about business. They are two retired gentlemen. They knew that was their purpose, and they brought me on to help to be that person to help them find all of the resources necessary. We had all kinds of campaigns. They sold T-shirts. You name it, they did it. They used social media. They had the street team. They had their passion, their heart; they wore it on their sleeves. Everywhere they went, people gave. People gave because they believed and had evidence to show that they had done this and that more work needed to be done, that their mission is far from being over because there are still people who are unreached.
That is an example of what is done in the face of not perhaps receiving that grant or when you are in waiting mode but there are people out there, organizations out there, who will serve as fiscal sponsors. You have those who come up with multiple fundraising ideas and then they began to implement those. The more passionate you are about what it is that you do, you have to be creative and think outside the box. That is where I come in to make sure that the written pieces, the documentation, follows their dreams, follows their action plan, follows everything.
The sustainability part, that was a part of your question as well. On the other end, sustainability, to follow up reporting is important. People forget that, and their organizations end up being audited because they are not turning in the paperwork that is needed to follow up what they have done. You are funded, but then you have these periodic reports that have to be submitted. You have to show what you are accomplishing via newsletter, whatever it is to show the community and those people who have given what you’re doing. That has to continue. The Write Source has been that follow-up aid for technical writing as well. My work continues to follow the organization. I have done that with these organizations that I help. It doesn’t stop with getting the grant. You have to have a sustainability plan in place. You have to include in your budget those contractual fees that cover periodic evaluations. From the funders, you have to give way to them coming to visit your site. They are a part of the process. They are a part of your big picture once you see that funding. All of those pieces are important to understand upfront that just wanting a grant involves multiple layers. Understanding those layers will equip them to be able to receive it and continue to receive in the future. Yes, sir, you are exactly right.
Russell: There is an awful lot packed in what you said. It really starts with, as you put things together, talking with people who you are going to serve, people who will pay for your programs. It’s really understanding what is important to people. Keep your measures down to the things that are most important. If you design the program carefully so that it’s not an extra burden on the people delivering services, but actually collect information, you will have more success, and there are ways to do that. This business of collaboration is going out and bringing other entities in. When you look at in your foundational process, the skills that you have on hand and the skills that you may have gaps with, that helps you bring collaborative partners because when you have core inner values that are alike, and you get these complementary skillsets, you can work together. Everybody is working to their strengths, not trying to fill weakness. Everybody is doing what they do best. That increases the leverage exponentially that you have working together to actually get some impact. It is critical to collaborate with other people in that way. Bring that impact forth. It’s a wonderful way to go about doing things. Working with other people is important. I did put Dr. Jones-Jones’ phone number in the chat.
Giselle: Thank you.
Russell: You have an onsite link for an automated calendar, don’t you? I want to put it out there on Facebook and in the chat so people can go to that automated scheduler and book time with you.
Giselle: I am going to let that happen in a few minutes because I do want to make that available. Yes, sir.
Russell: Automation is important. Technology is our friend when it works.
Giselle: When it works, yes, sir.
Russell: When it works, it’s a thing of beauty.
Giselle: I see that she says she doesn’t see the phone number. Okay.
Russell: I typed it in. Scroll up to about 12:44. I put it in about 13 minutes ago in the chat.
Giselle: Okay.
Russell: I can copy it again and put it up again.
Giselle: Wait a minute, I see that.
Russell: I will put it back in there because there have been a lot of comments in there and the feed has been scrolling away. That is how folks get ahold of you.
It’s really been a pleasure. I’m thankful to all of our panelists, to all of our folks who have attended and asked a lot of great questions. There is a toll-free number there, 888-426-2792. I need to get that in the comment section of Facebook as well. This hour has gone very quickly. What sort of closing thoughts do you want to leave our audience with today?
Giselle: Again, the need for a team approach to proposal writing, I can’t express that enough, having been one who has experienced the burden by herself, who has also been successful, and I’m thankful for that. Having worked with organizations and having them funded close to a million dollars speaks to the gift that I have and how I have been able to use it over the course of these 20 years. But I think having the team approach, now having more who are on the board, understanding how important it is, and even with the collaboration with Hugh and SynerVision, just how many more people we are going to be able to impact. I am excited about those possibilities.
I am excited about this collaboration with SynerVision because I know that he is moving forward, and you are moving forward, Russell. I believe that our paths, this is destiny. You are already on that path, and my path has joined yours. You are moving forward and upward. You are impacting people. Now utilizing the skillset that I have, I believe that we are going to really make a difference in a lot of people’s lives. The world needs us. A lot of people are hurting in the world.
I do believe that at the heart of nonprofits and the heart of charities, they do have a heart for the people. That is how I see myself. I am a person who helps the people who want to help. What greater legacy could one leave in knowing that I have given myself and my life and my skillset I was given- I have been given this skillset. To be able to use it in a way, a meaningful way, to help organizations that have this fear of writing these proposals and understanding that is just one of many ways to go about giving the resources, now being a part of SynerVision and helping to create this infrastructure that will be there to support the people that come through SynerVision and are trained and the local implementation to know that you have a god in between to help make that happen. I couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t feel any more in position and aligned to do greater things. I tell my students all the time, “Just use me.” I know that’s bad. But I am at that place. “Just use me.” Use me. I am a student. I am still learning. As a matter of fact, I learned a great deal on this podcast today from you, Russell. I stand greater because of this experience. I am humbly here. I am one who is willing to serve. I am here.
Russell: Dr. Giselle Jones. It’s really been a pleasure to have you here. I am looking forward to working with you to serve other people. These phone numbers out here for those of you who are watching on Facebook and would like to speak with Giselle at greater length, 888-426-2792, toll-free. Or 336-681-1863, local, to Greensboro, North Carolina area. If you want to discuss other matters, you can book a discovery session with me. We can do it live or online. Go to bit.ly/bookruss. Get yourself on my calendar. Let’s talk.
Synervision Leadership, we are building the community. We are building our online offerings. There will be much more to come. We will be doing live events in your area somewhere in 2018 as we roll out SynerVision, and we will have more webinars, online offerings, and such. Go to www.thewritesource.org for more information. This is Russ Dennis and Hugh Ballou thanking all of you who have joined us on Facebook. Be sure to tune in next week. We will have a panel on diversity where we will talk about diversity and how that strengthens nonprofits. Until next week on the Nonprofit Exchange, this is Russ Dennis.
For those of you who are on Facebook and would care to join me, there is the Nonprofit Culture of Success show that we run weekly. That is something I host tomorrow. Dr. David Gruder is my guest. Next Wednesday, our own Hugh Ballou will be my guest. Thank you once again, and I look forward to seeing you again next week on the Nonprofit Exchange.
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