2 minute read
Yo, Shakespeare. What if we Cracked Generosity together?
What if nonprofits could weave into themselves a series of systems and processes that could be copied and repeated forever with the result that they raised all the money they would ever need to deliver on their good cause promise?
What if?
So, I asked that question of a lady who had a career being a project manager building multi-story apartment blocks, hospitals and casinos. And her answer was, "What if? What do you mean "what if?" Surely, they are doing that already. Surely!"
Sadly, I had to report that few do. Few nonprofit fundraising departments use checklists, I told her.
"What??? They don't? Why would people not use checklists? Surely that's the proven way to repeatable success!"
"Hmmm... well. A lot of it is to do with a lack of systems thinking. The stuff you take for granted in order that any multistory building you construct doesn't fall down in the first big wind."
"Isn't it just common sense to have checklists?"
Um. My friend was opening a can of worms. Really wriggly worms. The nonprofit sector was foreign to her. A whole unknown world. She had never been involved with any in her life before. But she knew how to make money. Millions and millions. And none of that money would come about if it weren't for the routine use of checklists.
"So, what's to be done?" she asked.
"Well, I've written a book that includes a whole chapter about checklists. The sort of checklists used by Shakespeare. Those are the sort that work best for the nonprofit sector."
"What? Shakespearean checklists? Never heard of that before."
"You haven't? Then you might need to read my book called Cracking Generosity."
"OK. I will. Where to a get a copy?"
"You can order a Kindle or paperback version on Amazon.com any time."
"Done" she said, and then returned to working on a checklist needed to ensure that construction workers would not die on one of her construction sites.
