What are effective ways to engage philanthropic organizations in education reform?

When you are giving the story of your organization, who wins? Who is the hero? Is the hero graduates of your addiction recovery program or the illiterate adult who learns to read or the mother who learns to feed her children nutritious meals? There may be many stakeholders who care and support your organization (donors, board members, staff, volunteers) but at the end of the day, name the individual(s) who are the reason your organization exists. Do you have a face or life attached to why your organization exists? Make them the preeminent focus of your marketing and your “rally cry” as an organization.

For all the work your staff and volunteers do, are you measuring the inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes for the whirlwind of services you are engaged? Where are you headed? Can you state it in a sentence? Too often I hear the reason organizations exist are broad unmeasurable objectives like to “save the world” or “have all the children sing in harmony.” How do you measure a success? How are your outcomes measured and how long does it take for a successful outcome of your program? How are you moving the “needle” to improve the lives of people impacted by your activities? If you are not measuring what you are doing, why do it?

If your organization went away, who would be most impacted (other than paid staff)? It can give you an indication of your impact and the difference you are making. Reach out to those stakeholders and find opportunities they can speak into your organization in ways which cause it to grow and prosper. Hearing their stories can inspire your team to keep going and not give up! Too often we miss out and fail to ask the advice of people and gain inspiration from those who deeply care about the success of our organization. They can give voice to the purpose of your existence.

For effective change, cooperation with one’s community is a vital element in a successful school growth movement. Schools need to be proactive in forming partnerships with their “competitors” (other schools, nonprofits, religious groups and civic organizations), “suppliers” (faculty, staff, vendors, Scout organizations, sports teams and community influencers), and “customers” (parents, alumni and prospective families). Partnerships ensure change is not just isolated to their own campus but is community wide.