While in San Diego last week I had a chance to have breakfast with Chris M. who was indoctrinated into all this For Impact stuff about two years ago.
I need to write about the broader success story of Chris and the great work they’re doing at Solutions for Change in North San Diego County. For now, I just want to shared a quick nugget.
Chris just finished raising $20 Million in 1.5 years. (Goal was to raise this in 3 years.)
Over breakfast, Chris walked me through how he does the pitch on a blank sheet of paper.
- • He lays out the Problem – very simply.
- • He lays out the Solution, which has 3 parts.
- • And he lays out the Funding Model and the Math. For them to get one family out of homelessness, it costs $22,000 via the Solutions University. One-third of this is paid for by the government, one-third of this is paid by the families and one-third of this is paid for by private supporters.
After Chris lays all this out, he simply asks somebody, “How big of an impact do you want to have?”
I think this goes along with Tom’s note the other day about a client in Colorado that is asking everybody if they would consider a ‘Leadership Gift‘?
What I love about both of these stories is the amazing simplicity of the Ask. The hospital is on its way to raise $90 Million and the Solutions Team just hit a $20 Million mark.
It can be that simple.
