Where do I start?
I’ll start with being as raw and transparent as we get with other people in the round pen…we’ve been failing. Successfully.
I’ve been in what seemed like a season of major burn-out. Come to find out is has been a season of stepping back, growing and redirecting. It was absolutely necessary.
This major epiphany/revelation that has occurred recently is a major business shift for us at Broken Arrow Wranglers.
The people we serve, the brokenhearted…the beat down, the searchers, the seekers, those who are looking for something real…these were looked at as our “customers” for the past 4+ years. In any normal business, they are our customers. But this isn’t normal business. This is a non-profit. In this world, these are our BENEFICIARIES. The customers are those who come alongside us to fund this mission.
This game-changer in understanding was communicated to us in a conversation with Larry Johnson, the author of the Eight Principles of Sustainable Fundraising.
This explains so much of the burnout. We had been torn between serving the customers and then finding the right ways to get the funding to grow and sustain this operation. We had been giving everything we had to organizing and delivering services to so many people that by nature of their situation and needs, cannot financially cover the cost of what we would have to charge to keep a sustainable business going.
As I continue to make my personal transition from a world of for-profit business, all of the processes and systems are designed to create quality and meet the needs of the customers. We build products and services to offer to customers and clients that can pay for the services. With Broken Arrow, we have had a continued awareness that we are meeting the needs (very effectively and efficiently) of people who, in most cases, were not the ones who would be paying. So we are paying for them. And it has been costing our families dearly.
Now, the shift….
We know our services work. We know and have continual confirmation that we are a solution to what doesn’t work with traditional “therapy.” That our brand, our story, our model and our impact to communities, culture and local economy is real. But we have been restricted in the growth due to finances, when there is an absolute abundance of resources right in front of our faces.
Who are our customers? The people who have significant financial resources, that are looking to support this endeavor because we are doing something that they cannot do on their own. Our CUSTOMERS are those people who have a passion for helping the people we are helping, who have a passion for horses, for people suffering from mental health disorders, a passion for our veterans suffering from PTSD, a passion for our students who are considering suicide. Our customers are those that have the financial means to support, either in full or in part – the programs, the properties and the people we reach. We PARTNER in this adventure. The customers are those who choose to invest in building a ranch. To building the co-op of services, to providing the tools, the equipment and the labor to make a lasting change through the vision that we have turned into reality.
If someone gives $10, they are a customer of ours.
If someone gives $1M, they are a customer of ours.
If someone volunteers, gives their horses, their land, or their talent to support us…they are a customer of ours.
They are also partners, and they are also beneficiaries as well…in different ways.
To some this is tithing. To some this is everything they have. To some this is to pass on a legacy.
Our approach is changing. We will continue to deliver our services, to act on our Mission and realize the Vision. But we are going to do it smarter. We are going to pace ourselves for the long haul. We will probably read the Tortoise and the Hare again and take it to heart…again.
We will reserve an amount of our capacity to strategically learn, get counsel, prepare a strategy and go out to a mix of these customers to grow our funding base and create a sustainable system so that we can operate in a healthy way.
Some of this will be through grants, some of this will be through individuals and memberships. Some of it will be through local businesses and sponsors. And some of it, will be through larger foundations who are looking for organizations like us. Foundations who are SEEKING OUT those who have built the systems and have proven the delivery. Now it is time to stabilize our processes, our guidelines and ensure that our Board of Directors will be the governing force to ensure continued accountability and delivery in the stewardship of what we have been given, and what will be given in the near future.
“It’s not about the money, it’s about the people.” Larry Johnson, The Eight Principles of Sustainable Fundraising.
We’ve known this – felt it all along…but now we get to act on it. Ahh yeah…..
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