Mackey Strategies

When institutions want to communicate with clarity, they look for partners who understand their culture, their mission, and the audiences they serve. We’re proud to partner with leaders like Santhana Naidu at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology as they define and express who they are in ways that resonate across campus and beyond. Learn how we partner with institutions to define an authentic and resonant story: https://bit.ly/3XP5Asl

Sure, fundraisers usually know the priorities. But how about turning those priorities into stories that persuade donors? It can’t be done with a script. It has to be fundraisers–whether advancement staff, academic leaders, or volunteers–making the larger story meaningful to the person across from them. Storytelling for Fundraising Success helps you and your teams tell compelling, donor-ready stories from every angle. Learn more → https://lnkd.in/dhQZeXMg

BEFORE: “We’re committed to expanding experiential learning opportunities for our students.” AFTER: “Last year, a biology student who had never worked in a lab joined a faculty research project. By the end of the summer, she was presenting her findings at a national conference—and telling us she could finally see herself as a scientist.” The first tells a donor what the institution is doing. The second helps them see why it matters. The person, the moment, and the change behind the priority can make all the difference during a donor conversation. Storytelling for Fundraising Success helps teams find and tell those stories. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dhQZeXMg

As an advancement leader, you need your frontline gift officers to do more than explain your institution’s fundraising priorities. You need them to help donors see what their generosity could make possible—and why it matters. Your team knows what you’re raising money for. How well can they tell the stories behind it? Here are five questions to help gift officers prepare for their next donor conversation: 1. WHO will be affected? 2. What do they NEED? 3. What’s AT STAKE? 4. Why NOW? 5. Why might THIS DONOR care? Answering these questions helps turn an abstract funding priority into a story with people, consequences, and a meaningful role for the donor. Consider this hypothetical scholarship example: The Priority: “We’re raising scholarship support so that every student who earns admission has the opportunity to attend.” The Story: “Maya has earned her place here, but she needs scholarship support to afford it. Without that help, she may have to give up her opportunity to attend—and the enrollment deadline is approaching. You’ve shared how much your own scholarship changed your life. Your support could open that same door for Maya.” Our Storytelling for Fundraising Success workshop gives gift officers a shared approach to developing stories that make your priorities tangible and help donors see their potential impact. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dhQZeXMg

For decades, miners went after copper and iron until the easy veins ran dry. They called the remainder “leftover rock,” and it got thrown aside. It wasn't what they'd come for. (Can you tell I’ve been reading David S. Abraham’s The Elements of Power lately?) It took generations more to learn what that rock actually held: rare metals so potent that, for example, a tiny sliver exponentially multiplies ordinary steel's strength. Lighter cars. Longer battery life. The tactile and responsive glass on your phone became possible because someone finally asked what the leftovers in that rock might be good for. Is that like branding? I think so, in a way: Most of the easy veins have long been claimed. Schools have told every version of “our faculty care about students,” “you’ll have a lot of opportunities here,” “excellence,” and a whole host of other familiars. Iron, copper, steel. We all know what the easy ore is in this work. How to get to the rest? Different questions. Patience. Openness. A sense of freedom. What's your institution’s rare metal?

A fundraising case has to do a lot at once: inspire donors’ hearts, inform them about the institution’s priorities, bring relevant programs and facilities to life, and share voices from the campus community—all while doing it crisply and beautifully. The most potent cases also answer questions like: -Whose lives are going to change thanks to these investments, and how? -What opportunities, and what future, becomes possible? -What do these goals have to do with a donor’s values? A strong case for support goes beyond what an institution does or is trying to do. It helps express what is truly at stake, so donors can see and feel the difference they can make in bringing a particular future to life.