As human beings, we are shaped by our social circumstances and our sense of who we are is intimately entwined with our relationships. Research demonstrates that close relationships are what matters most to people, which is why at Kaci, we focus on Integrated Relational Fundraising ™ to help our clients grow their organizations. Take our work with the Vancouver-based nonprofit Mission Possible, for example.
Mission Possible transforms lives through meaningful work. It is their aim to walk alongside people facing barriers to employment by providing supportive, transitional work experience and community for those who are ready to enter, or re-enter, the workforce.
Working with Mission Possible relationally meant focusing on our emerging relationship and being flexible to tune into their unique client needs. It meant being present as human beings first, and as businesses second. Being integrated means bringing parts together into a whole and moving forward in a renewed way.
Integration related to Mission Possible’s growth involved focussing on their organization in a holistic way and encouraging them to make new connections between all parts of how their organization was run. The integration involved blending overall foundational marketing strategy with fundraising initiatives and peer-to-peer events, the creation of a re-designed website and edited copy, email journeys reflecting consistent and relevant content, a monthly newsletter, a downloadable E-book for lead generation and assistance with their massive year end fundraising event, the MP Gala.
Kaci’s relational alliance strategies focussed on mutual growth and accountability, frequent interaction in the form of meetings and direct messaging, coaching strategy and well-balanced working exchanges with clear outlines of deliverables and due dates.
At the forefront of Kaci’s strategy is donor relations. By putting the donor at the centre and building integrated communication solutions around donor demographics, we maximize the performance of that donor. Fundraising is not so much about money but about relationships between donor and done.
Kaci worked in tandem with the MP team utilizing Slack for instant messaging for integrated, relational collaboration on all aspects of the overall strategy and each individual project within.
Slack helps keep everyone updated and aware of what is going on in each of the different channels for effective internal communication when email communication is not fast enough.
Slack enables real time conversations among many different groups and around many different channels, cuts down response time and ensures that everything is tracked in one area and that people can jump in or follow along with a project in real time. This helps build stronger relationships with external partners, scale businesses, improve collaboration and increase productivity.
Misti Hurst
Misti Hurst: November 23, 2023
