brooke jenkins

The Five W’s of Development Planning

By Elizabeth Hopkins, Brooke Jenkins, and Lizzy Mottern. The summer months are a good time to refresh and renew our enthusiasm for the important work we do – and to create a Development Plan for the year ahead. The Five W’s of Development Planning will help you focus on the important elements of your plan. Why Plan? A plan provides common understanding of what is being done, who is doing it, and by when. Development plans: Secure resources for your organization Keep donors connected, informed, and feeling appreciated Ensure the development team works efficiently and effectively. When to Plan? For many organizations, the summer marks the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of another, making this an ideal time to assess what worked well last year and plan for the year ahead. Start early and [...]

Take the Bored Out of Board Meetings

By Anna White Hosea. Taylor Swift and Michael Scott were deep in conversation. Across the room, Buzz Lightyear and Frida Kahlo were having a spirited debate. Meanwhile, at the front of the room, two 90’s era game show hosts and Big Bird were watching the clock. Three... two... one... Buzzzzzz! A Halloween party? A new game show on Bravo? No - a custom designed Board retreat for moss+ross client Marbles Kids Museum. Anna White Hosea, Big Bird, Brooke Jenkins Marbles is known for emphasizing play, fun and creativity. Mirroring their culture, Partner Mary Moss, Senior Associate Brooke Jenkins and I developed a creative costume/game show themed retreat. In one game, modeled after Family Feud, Board members and Senior Leadership laughed and learned about Marbles signature programs and community impact. During the Amazing [Marbles] Race, teams bonded while [...]

2020-02-28T18:12:15-05:00January 9th, 2019|All Posts, Client Highlights, Team Expertise|

Staying True to Campaign Timelines

By Brooke Jenkins. One key question in campaign planning is: “What is the timeline for meeting goal?” There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Campaigns with goals of less than $1 million can require as much time as multi-million dollar efforts, depending on an organization’s prospect pool and available staff and volunteer leadership. Still most campaigns entail three key phases:       The Readiness Phase is a critical period that helps an organization define its strategic objectives and what will be needed to accomplish these objectives through a campaign. This phase often begins with organization-wide strategic planning and assessing the fundraising program’s capacity for campaign success (a.k.a. feasibility study). If deemed ready for a campaign, then it is time to: recruit staff and volunteer leadership who will help with campaign planning and solicitations, identify your most [...]

2020-02-28T18:21:07-05:00October 30th, 2018|All Posts, Campaign Counsel, Team Expertise|

Do you have a campaign plan? by Brooke Jenkins

Here are seven key components of a campaign plan: Objectives – What you typically want out of a campaign are objectives like the following:  to raise a specific financial goal; to broaden awareness of your organization’s mission and impact; to develop the organization’s prospect base by attracting new donors and strengthening current donors’ support; and, ultimately, to complement and strengthen your annual operating/programmatic fundraising efforts. The Case for Support – Consider your audience, timing, content, and channels when communicating your organization’s urgent and compelling needs. You will use this messaging verbally and in written materials. Leadership Structure – Actively engaged staff and volunteers are essential! The plan should define structure and roles for everyone who will be directly involved, including administrators, development officers, board members and other campaign volunteers. Prospect Review – You must take a hard look at your [...]

2020-02-21T17:57:16-05:00October 27th, 2016|All Posts, Campaign Counsel, Team Expertise|

From the Front Lines

moss+ross helps clients plan and run campaigns of varying sizes and purposes, from under $1 million to $400 million. We asked two of our clients to talk about the benefits of working with us at various stages in their campaign planning and execution.  The Rams Club at UNC has a long history of great fundraising, but a big campaign creates the opportunity to look creatively at complex messaging and funding structures as well as develop strategic funding goals. Executive Director John Montgomery reached out to moss+ross for involvement at multiple levels, and had this to say in response to the following question: What did you find helpful about working with moss+ross on campaign readiness? “We have just finished our second campaign planning retreat with Mary, Susan and Kim and they have provided our organization with an excellent roadmap for [...]

Examples From the Field

Our clients are an amazing group of creative and energetic professionals.  Here are a few things that have impressed us recently: 1. A school developing its first strategic plan reached beyond its traditional leadership and invited a parent who is a university human resources administrator and a principal from a nearby school to join the strategic planning steering committee.  Both individuals offered objectivity, fresh ideas, and organizational sustainability expertise to the planning process – helping to prioritize goals and identify actionable, measurable initiatives for the next three years. 2. The executive directors of several social services clients have been meeting regularly for over three years to discuss best practices and challenges in fulfilling their missions.  Along the way, these organizations have worked to eliminate duplication in services across agencies, implement more effective systems and programs for serving their clients, collaborate [...]

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