Sometimes all a nonprofit needs to grow and experience long-term change is a guide to follow, a push in the right direction — or a jumpstart. Knowing the impact collaboration can have on our community, the Community Foundation joined forces with Network for Good (NFG) to launch the “Jumpstart” Program.

Network for Good offers nonprofits mobile technology that helps make donor management easy through software that assists with fundraising and personalized mentorship for nonprofits. The Jumpstart Grant offers organizations this software, semimonthly one-on-one coaching sessions with a personal fundraising coach, a template library for fundraising tools and monthly webinars to continue developing fundraising goals.

Grant eligibility requires an organization to completely utilize the NFG software for at least one year. At least one staff member must commit to a minimum of 5 hours per week of fundraising and development activities. Along with these tasks, the organization needs to be determined as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and be willing to make the $1,000 matching co-payment. Lastly, they must be located in one of the following 11 counties in the Midlands: Calhoun, Clarendon, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda and Sumter.

Travis Centers, director of program success at NFG, described the collective goal of Jumpstart as “increasing the fundraising capacity of Midlands nonprofits so that each can create long-term, sustained impact for their community.”

To increase this fundraising capacity, the Community Foundation and NFG worked closely with Hive Community Place and Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter. As a result, an initial $13,500 investment was turned into $31,399 of new net profit impact.

Kendra Mallet-Brunson, development director of Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter, described the experience by saying, “It’s not only valuable, it is necessary. The system and program are necessary for providing a better understanding of the importance of moving donors through/up the donor pipeline. We have the proof…it works!”

The Jumpstart Program also helped nonprofits build new capacity and gain new levels of confidence.

“Jumpstart forced me to open up to new and better ways of fundraising,” said Ashley Thomas, founder and executive director of Hive Community Place. “As a founder, this can be a very difficult process. Kathleen (NFG fundraising coach) pushed me to think differently. By two months out from the program ending, I was confident in my fundraising abilities — all due to Kathleen’s guidance.”

With the success of the 2019 Jumpstart Program, we cannot wait to see what the future holds for this collaboration. More information about the Jumpstart Program and eligibility requirements can be found here.