Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Ryan Mack
Series Code: DAS
Program Code: DAS000004S
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00:01 What is money for?
00:03 Is it a helpful resource to use for good 00:06 or is the love of it the root of all evil? 00:08 Actually, it's both, 00:10 but God may have 00:11 a different definition of success. 00:13 Real success doesn't come overnight. 00:16 It takes hard work and faithful planning. 00:20 To use your dollars well, 00:22 it takes more than a little sense. 00:26 Hello and welcome to Dollars and Sense. 00:29 My name is Yvonne Lewis, 00:31 and I'm the co-host for this program. 00:33 Our primary host is Ryan Mack, financial literacy expert, 00:37 author, trainer, you name it. 00:40 Ryan! It's great to be here? 00:42 It's great day. 00:43 It is so good to co-host this program with you. 00:46 Absolutely. 00:47 We've been getting some great tips. 00:49 Yeah, the Lord has just really blessed you 00:51 with insight and information. 00:54 I'm just so glad that our Dare to Dream viewers 00:56 can pick your brain and get some info. 00:59 Absolutely, love and having a great time. 01:01 Oh, that's good. That's good. 01:03 So what are we going to talk about today? 01:04 Today is something where that is very near 01:06 and dear to me, as I do a lot of traveling. 01:10 I meet and I see a lot of organizations 01:12 who are doing great work. 01:14 But they don't have necessarily the funding 01:16 just to remain viable. 01:19 And a lot of times, they're so humble, 01:21 and they're so gracious, 01:22 and they're doing such amazing work. 01:24 But I've some scripture I wanted to read 01:26 that kind of outlines some things that 01:29 I believe that we should just listen to, 01:31 this gonna help these organizations out. 01:32 Great. 01:34 So the first scripture is Isaiah 58:7. 01:38 That says, "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, 01:43 and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? 01:48 When thou seest the naked, 01:50 that thou cover him, 01:52 and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh." 01:56 I think this speaks to our obligation as Christians. 02:00 If we see someone who's hungry, 02:03 we need to feed them, we have to clothe them. 02:05 This is what, the edict that 02:07 is one of my favorite scriptures 02:08 in the Word. 02:10 And I think a lot of nonprofits, 02:11 they believe this. 02:12 They are doing the work there, 02:14 they're educating former incarcerated, 02:15 they're providing a safe house for homeless veterans. 02:19 And I think that scripture speaks to 02:21 and I have another scripture here, 02:23 that further speaks to another thing nonprofit 02:27 should really pay attention to, 02:29 and this is 1 Corinthians 14:40. 02:33 That says, "Let all things 02:36 be done decently and in order." 02:40 So what this says to me is that yes, 02:43 you want to clothe the homeless, 02:46 and you want to feed, and you want to help veterans, 02:48 and you want to help youth aging out of foster care 02:51 and doing such great work, 02:52 again, across the country, and around the world, 02:54 people are doing amazing things. 02:55 But if you're gonna do it, 02:57 all things need to be done decently 02:59 and in order. 03:01 That speaks to the books that we're up-keeping, 03:03 that speaks to the accounting, 03:05 that speaks to the budgeting, 03:06 making sure you have the right budget, 03:07 making sure your marketing plan is in order. 03:09 And then finally have the final scripture 03:11 out of Proverbs 11:14. 03:17 That says, "Where no counsel is, 03:21 the people fall: 03:22 but in a multitude of counselors, 03:24 there is safety." 03:26 So I think this is really 03:29 the business plan for nonprofits. 03:33 You want to do some great work, it says in Isaiah. 03:36 You want to do the great work, 03:37 you want to clothe the homeless, 03:38 you want to feed the hungry. 03:41 But then you want to make sure you do it in order. 03:43 You want to make sure you have the business plan 03:45 and the strategy put in place. 03:46 But then in order to do that, 03:48 you have to find some counselors to help you 03:50 along the way to do that, 03:51 and get a multitude of counselors. 03:53 So these are some things that I've just taken out. 03:56 I remember when I was in Brooklyn, 03:58 we helped over 2,000 individuals 04:00 who were formerly incarcerated, 04:03 to get jobs and training. 04:04 And there's really an aspect of self-determination 04:07 and self-sufficiency 04:08 which is what I believe 04:09 is one of the strongest edicts of Christianity, 04:11 is making sure that we know that 04:12 God has given us all things to do everything. 04:17 And we didn't get any funding for this. 04:19 But by the grace of God, 04:20 most of the individuals that I was working with, 04:23 I had my own business, and we were self-sufficient. 04:25 And we did a lot of things that in order to make sure that 04:28 we could fund ourselves. 04:29 So we didn't get a dime of funding. 04:31 But at the end of the day, 04:32 not all profits are in this situation. 04:35 We're not... We don't see. 04:36 We don't see. 04:38 I mean, I remember one time, 04:39 there was one young lady who was doing such great work. 04:43 And every single Wednesday, 04:45 she had a food pantry, 04:47 and people would come and they would eat 04:50 and then on every Saturday 04:52 they would have a clothing place 04:54 where people will donate clothes 04:56 and bring all these clothes, 04:57 and so every Saturday people 04:58 would come and get all these free clothes. 05:00 But she just wasn't getting the right support. 05:02 And she was doing such great work, 05:04 but no one really knew about it 05:05 except for those individuals that she was serving. 05:07 So what would happen was that, 05:09 I mean, these individuals 05:10 didn't have any funding to support. 05:12 She wanted to keep their doors open. 05:14 She wanted to remain viable. 05:16 But she had to close the doors. 05:17 And so the food stops, 05:19 and she got a few awards from the community, 05:23 you know, and I guess that's a good thing. 05:25 And they honored her multiple times, 05:27 but that didn't keep her doors open. 05:30 You can't pay the bills with the plaque, right? 05:31 Yeah, pay the... 05:32 And not with plaque and note and chicken dinners, you know? 05:34 Yeah. 05:35 We have to, and I think as a community, 05:38 and I have some tips here that I would love to give, 05:41 or say, provide some feedback to the people 05:43 to make sure they can know that 05:44 other people are hearing about what they're doing. 05:46 Right. 05:47 But the community has to step up 05:49 and support these in the organization. 05:50 Right. So... 05:52 You know, it's funny, you would say that 05:54 because Dare to Dream is part of 3ABN, 05:57 which is a nonprofit. 05:59 And we were on satellite for a while, 06:02 but then we went off satellite, and we were on internet. 06:06 We just didn't get enough funding from folks. 06:09 And folks would love the programming, 06:12 love all of this. 06:13 I didn't knew, what's amazing is this program, 06:16 I didn't even really know we were going to do this today. 06:18 So we don't want the viewers to think this is a set-up. 06:21 Right. 'Cause it's not. 06:23 I'm really glad he's doing this program. 06:25 But it was really, it was something 06:31 because a lot of folks were calling saying, 06:33 where's Dare to Dream, 06:34 we're not seeing it on satellite, 06:36 we're not seeing it on our TVs anymore. 06:38 We're still on 24/7, you know, with Roku, and your iPad, 06:42 your iPhone, all of that. 06:44 But my point is that, 06:46 had we gotten sufficient support, 06:49 we could have stayed on satellite longer, 06:52 but we just, people love it. 06:53 Right. 06:54 But the dollars have to match the praise. 06:56 Right. 06:58 You know, we love you, 06:59 we want you to be on, you know, all that. 07:02 But you have to support on some level. 07:05 And it's not like people 07:06 have to give like a huge amount. 07:08 But on some level, you know, 07:10 support is imperative 07:11 if you're involved in a nonprofit. 07:14 And it's tax deductible, 07:15 so it gets written off your taxes. 07:17 It's a win-win. Right. 07:19 And we can continue providing 07:20 the kinds of programs like this, 07:23 that we do to the community. 07:24 But the bottom line is right now our country 07:27 is in an economic state of... 07:30 I don't want to say crisis 07:31 because I don't want to put a fear monger out there. 07:34 But we're strapped for money right now. 07:36 The government is overextended 07:38 its resources, our debts rising. 07:41 And there have, there has to be 07:43 a level of stopgap measure 07:46 where other organizations 07:47 are stepping up to the plate 07:48 and those organizations that are doing the work 07:50 like this organization. 07:52 Like others, like the young lady 07:53 that I mentioned, 07:55 they're able to fill the gap in our communities 07:58 in such a way 07:59 where the government can't reach 08:01 because they just don't have the resources to do it. 08:03 Right. 08:04 And the beautiful part that 08:05 I like about nonprofits 08:07 is their will to say, you know what? 08:08 If I can't get help from someone else, 08:12 I'm going to do it myself. 08:14 It's that go-getter mentality. 08:15 You are an entrepreneur, if you're nonprofit owner. 08:18 It's a business just like any other business. 08:20 And I think we have to start looking at it like that, 08:22 we have to be more diligent. 08:24 I know, we're gonna have another 08:25 whole show on entrepreneurship. 08:27 And I think that fits right in. 08:28 But today, I just have some basic 08:30 marketing tips for nonprofits. 08:32 Good. Good. 08:33 I need to take notes myself. You know what? 08:36 And I hope this is able to bless 08:38 the viewers out there. 08:39 So the first thing that I think nonprofits should do is 08:43 and as humble as they are, that's great. 08:45 But we need to have a little sensationalism. 08:48 We need to get our message out 08:50 and people need to know what you're doing. 08:52 First thing you have to do is create a YouTube channel. 08:55 YouTube, you see the blessed part about us 08:58 and what's happening in our community right now, 09:01 social media, and all of these platforms that 09:03 allow us to get our message out more effectively. 09:06 We should be, every single nonprofit 09:08 out there for free and you can use a phone, 09:10 you can use your iPhone, you can use whatever phone, 09:13 your Android, everybody has ability 09:14 to make videos of some sort. 09:16 So going out there, 09:18 get on YouTube, and make some channel. 09:20 Every time you're feeding someone, videotape the event. 09:24 Every time you're educating, 09:25 you're empowering some youth in the community, 09:27 then videotape the event, 09:29 put it up on your YouTube channel, 09:31 and start sending people the links, 09:33 put it on Facebook and Twitter and social media, 09:36 have a Facebook page for your event. 09:38 Dare to Dream Network has a Facebook page? 09:40 Yeah, and a YouTube channel. And YouTube channel. 09:42 So all of these things assist 09:44 getting the message out for next to nothing. 09:46 You don't have to pay anything for these things. 09:47 Right. 09:49 And that's a really good point too, Ryan, 09:51 because a lot of nonprofits will think, 09:52 well, I got to pay for this, I got to pay for that. 09:54 I don't have the money. 09:56 But these social media platforms are free. 09:58 Free of charge. 10:00 Most of them are free of charge. 10:01 So there really is no excuses now, 10:03 for you not being able 10:04 to put a good marketing strategy together 10:06 because you have access just like, 10:08 well, maybe me back in the '70s and '80s, 10:10 most of the marketing campaigns had to be done 10:12 with connections to huge networks and huge... 10:15 You know, they didn't have the internet. 10:17 So you had to tap into someone, 10:18 you had to pay big dollars to get your stuff in the paper, 10:22 so all those things that... 10:23 Well, now we have social media, 10:25 so we have to start utilizing these things. 10:27 So another thing is, in order for you to do that, 10:30 there's a lot of media, your iPhone, 10:32 there's this thing called the flip cam, 10:34 and different technology that you can just use to just 10:36 within your hand, 10:38 you can film every single event. 10:40 And it's just as easily uploadable 10:42 to your YouTube channel. 10:43 And again, some people say, Ryan, I hear this all the time. 10:47 Well, I'm not too comfortable filming it. 10:50 Or I don't know if I want to do that. 10:52 And again, this is not necessarily about 10:55 your level of comfort, this is about the people 10:56 that you're serving. 10:58 So we've got to stretch beyond the box of even 11:00 our own comfort levels. 11:01 I know you feel like you're bragging, 11:03 and you feel like, you're very humble. 11:05 And that's a blessed thing to be humble. 11:07 I appreciate and I love and respect your humility, 11:09 but we have to get the message out. 11:12 Because the people need to know 11:13 you're feeding those individuals. 11:15 So purchase a flip cam. 11:16 And you're really not, when you say what you're doing, 11:21 that's not bragging, it's saying 11:23 what services you offer, and how people 11:25 are taking advantage of those services. 11:27 So if you have an issue, 11:30 feeling like you're not being humble, 11:32 it's not about humility, 11:33 it's really about saying what you're doing 11:35 so that people know the services 11:37 that you provide, 11:38 so that they can avail themselves 11:41 of the service and support the service. 11:42 Absolutely. 11:44 Another tip is, 11:45 make sure you get video testimonies 11:47 from the people that you're serving. 11:50 The best marketing tool of any organization 11:54 are the people that you're helping. 11:55 I believe that. There's no... 11:57 I mean, you can get up 11:58 and you can be the best speaker in the world, 11:59 you can be the most charismatic dynamic speaker. 12:02 But if you're sitting back 12:03 and you have a veteran who used to be homeless, 12:05 that now has a home that wants to get on camera 12:07 and say, "This is what they did for me." 12:10 There's no better marketing tool in the entire. 12:13 Funders want to see that. 12:15 They want to see those testimonials. 12:16 They want to be a part of that. 12:18 When they see this youth aging out of foster care that now 12:21 because of what you did has a career in education, 12:25 has a job, 12:27 because you helped that individual 12:28 to get their life together. 12:30 A funder may be a bank, 12:32 or a financial institution, or a business. 12:36 They want to attach themselves to that message 12:38 because they want to be, so you know what? 12:40 They're doing some good work. 12:41 And we see this all the time, they're doing some good work. 12:43 Well, you know what? 12:44 Let me tie myself to that, 12:46 that funding that to that initiative, 12:48 because I want to fund it. 12:49 So now I can say I'm a part of it. 12:50 And they don't have to do the work to be a part of it. 12:52 They might have volunteers that 12:54 they can even lend to you in kind to help your initiative 12:56 because they want their employees to have. 12:58 Many banks now, this thing called CRA, 13:01 Community Reinvestment Act, where banks have to, 13:04 or they're mandated to make sure 13:06 they're giving back to the community 13:07 and they're using their CRA dollars. 13:09 Your organization and what they're doing, 13:11 might fall in line to those CRA initiative. 13:15 I've seen checks and I've gotten checks cut 13:16 5, 10, 20, 75, 100 grand cut, 13:20 just because the bank says 13:22 I want to be attached to that initiative. 13:23 Wow, you're doing some good work. 13:24 And I saw it. 13:26 Let me attach myself to that initiative. 13:27 So how do you find out about these programs 13:32 or grants or whatever that are available? 13:35 The resources that are available 13:36 to help fund your nonprofit? 13:38 That's a great question. There's a... 13:40 There are many different organizations. 13:43 As one organization, 13:44 and the name escapes me right now, 13:46 but it's the nonprofit. 13:49 The name escapes me. 13:50 I'll go ahead. 13:52 Well, we can, somebody can email you? 13:53 Yeah, absolutely. 13:54 dollarsandsense@3abn.org 13:57 And there's tons of grants and tons of niches out there. 13:59 And many banks again, there's a Wayne, 14:02 there in Detroit, 14:03 there's a Wayne County CRA Association. 14:05 They're seeing associations 14:07 all across the country of different banks 14:09 who come together to figure out 14:10 what are the different organizations 14:12 that we can support. 14:14 So networking, talking to your organization, 14:16 and please go to Dare to Dream Network. 14:18 And we're going to be putting up tons of resources 14:20 where you can actually go and find out different grants 14:24 that are available on the website. 14:27 Yeah, that's great. 14:28 And when you apply for these things, 14:29 essentially what happens is that they're looking 14:31 for the work that you've done. 14:32 And by getting at YouTube channel, 14:34 getting at social media site and getting those videos up, 14:37 it leaves a footprint of your content. 14:40 And so that's, that's one of the best ways 14:42 to get at funders, okay? 14:44 Now, another tip is, we want to start blogging 14:47 about your experiences, 14:49 and regularly posting this piece on various sites. 14:51 I think the best entrepreneurs in the world are educators. 14:56 And I think that they use it as an app. 14:58 I think the benevolent marketing strategy, 15:00 no matter what nonprofit 15:01 or for profit is one of the best ways 15:03 in order to get your message out there, 15:04 but also to get clients. 15:06 What's the benevolent marketing strategy? 15:07 Great question. 15:09 The benevolent market strategy, when I was a financial advisor, 15:12 I would not go and ask for support, 15:16 I would not say, hey, you know what? 15:18 I need to get support from you, I want you to... 15:20 I want to make sure you can borrow money 15:23 for my services, I wouldn't say that. 15:26 I would teach about financial literacy. 15:27 I would give financial tips anywhere I could. 15:30 I would write about them, 15:31 I would blog about on different sites 15:33 about the different ways to improve your credit. 15:35 I would write about the different ways to invest. 15:38 And all these things that came around, essentially, 15:40 I started to educate individuals. 15:42 And as I was educating more and more individuals, 15:44 people say, you know, 15:45 you actually pretty smart about this stuff. 15:47 The number one question that I got always was, 15:49 "Do you know of a financial advisor?" 15:51 I said, "Well, I happened to be a financial advisor." 15:53 And so that's the way 15:54 I got business was just by educating 15:56 and using a very benevolent business model. 15:58 So in other words, what you're saying, 16:01 is you casting your bread upon the waters, right? 16:04 So you're just putting it out there giving free service. 16:09 But in so doing, people are drawn to you, 16:11 and then they ask you, can you recommend somebody 16:14 and you just happened to be that somebody. 16:17 And nonprofits could do the exact same thing. 16:20 You see when, if you're an organization 16:22 that helps veterans, 16:24 then you should be educating individuals 16:25 about the plight of veterans. 16:27 You should be that expert, 16:29 you should be that individual that says, 16:30 the VA just came out with a recent release. 16:33 And, you know, here's a homelessness 16:34 that we see within the veteran population. 16:36 Here is, if you are dealing 16:38 with youth aged out of foster care 16:40 or at risk youth in your community, 16:42 you should be that expert talking about it, 16:44 educating individuals about it. 16:46 So when, as soon as someone wants to figure out, 16:48 you know what? 16:49 We want to help this out. 16:50 They're gonna come to you 16:52 because they know you're the expert on that. 16:53 And they happen to know that 16:55 you also have an organization doing the exact same thing. 16:57 And so, that's one of the most brilliant ways 16:59 that I think that 17:01 we should start getting out them. 17:02 That's good. 17:03 Another good tip is to make sure 17:05 your website's up to date. 17:06 I can't tell you how many organizations 17:09 that I know that don't even have a website, 17:12 no excuse anymore, because now they have sites, 17:14 they can give you a free website. 17:16 Wix.com actually provides free website. 17:19 Trendsetters, another organization 17:21 that provides free websites. 17:23 And all these organizations... 17:24 What's the catch though, because nothing's free. 17:26 So what's the catch? 17:28 What happens is that 17:29 these organizations are out there 17:31 and the way that they get money, 17:32 well, they also have a paid for service attached to them. 17:34 Okay. 17:35 But they also use advertising dollar. 17:38 So when you're going to their site, 17:39 what happens is that they drive so much traffic 17:41 to that particular site, 17:43 that other people when you go there, 17:46 toothpaste or bank or something, 17:50 they want to get to you to click on their site. 17:52 So other advertiser, advertiser on their site, 17:54 so they can sense that 17:56 you're using the services and they, 17:57 most of them have a free option. 17:59 You can use their services for free. 18:00 But ideally, though, the advertisers want you 18:02 to click on their site and say, 18:03 "Hey, let me check out this car or this bank or whatnot." 18:06 In the meanwhile, you're getting a wix.com site. 18:09 I mean, when I first started my financial planning company, 18:11 that's where I went to first. 18:12 I was trying to save 18:14 a little bit of money at the time. 18:15 And so, I just open up a free website. 18:17 And so there are many different ways 18:19 that individuals can maximize the weight 18:23 and maximize the technology. 18:25 Another good tip that individuals should use 18:28 is making sure you can accept credit card donations. 18:31 You have to. 18:33 So, there's, paypal.com has a great service 18:38 where you can use a swipe, where you can swipe 18:39 and you can take credit card donations. 18:41 And that means you can do it internationally. 18:43 Exactly. 18:45 Because currency is different from country to country. 18:47 Right. 18:48 But PayPal, with PayPal, you can get, you know, 18:51 get the donation in your currency. 18:53 Exactly. 18:55 So, I mean, it ends up being in your currency. 18:56 Yeah. So PayPal has a great site. 18:58 Squareup.com has a great site. 19:00 And again, the people, 19:03 sometimes it's not necessarily that, 19:05 'cause nonprofits have to consider 19:09 the individuals out there as not lazy 19:12 but not as excited about the work as they are. 19:15 So you have to, nonprofits, 19:16 you have to put your mindset 19:18 into the perspective of individuals 19:20 wanting to have an easy and seamless way to donate. 19:24 And is it seamless for you to donate? 19:27 Is it seamless for you to go? 19:28 Do you have an internet portal where people can go? 19:31 I remember when, 19:34 some individuals are running for school board. 19:36 And I saw someone running for school board, 19:38 and I saw individuals running for politics 19:40 and someone asked me for donation. 19:41 I said, "Sure, I would love to donate. 19:44 Do you have a way 19:45 where I can do it over my phone? 19:47 Do you have a link?" He texted to me. 19:49 And he said, "Well, I don't have a link. 19:51 Can you go?" 19:53 Okay, you know, immediately, 19:54 automatically just, I got frustrated. 19:57 Because again, I've got, 19:58 I'm running this business doing that. 19:59 I'm here and there. 20:01 And I'll be happy to donate, but make it simple for me. 20:03 Right. I want to go to my phone. 20:05 And this is, 20:06 especially the millennial generation. 20:07 Millennials are all about ease and seamless. 20:11 I mean, someone said, 20:13 "Hey, many millennials don't even know 20:14 what a check is, you know, 20:16 so people say, send me a check. 20:17 They don't even know what checks are, 20:19 they don't know, 20:20 because they do everything on the internet. 20:21 So make it seamless, have a link, a website, 20:25 where you can go to that website 20:26 and just click on a button and donate. 20:29 And then also have products and services that 20:30 you can sell via the website as well. 20:33 I know many... 20:34 I mean, there are many nonprofits, 20:36 just because you're nonprofit doesn't mean 20:38 you can't sell things. 20:40 You just have to do things within the scope 20:41 and vision of your organization. 20:43 So what are some products and services 20:45 that you want to sell, 20:46 that you want to give to your organization, 20:47 that you can sell that you think are going 20:49 to empower your organization? 20:50 So again these are all just some basic tips and strategies 20:54 that I feel that 20:55 we should definitely be using for nonprofits. 20:58 This is so good, Ryan, 21:00 because especially that whole seamless thing, 21:03 because so many times, you know, 21:05 people want to donate. 21:07 And if it's too, I remember, 21:09 I was going to donate to some, 21:11 I don't remember which nonprofit was, 21:12 but I was gonna donate to somebody. 21:14 And I was trying to see where the donation place was. 21:18 And it just was too complicated. 21:21 And I'm not a millennial by any means. 21:23 But I like the seamless thing too, 21:25 because it's just easier. 21:27 So you want to go there, 21:28 you want to hit the button, donate, and that's it. 21:31 This was like really complicated. 21:34 And it's a turn off, 21:35 it's a turn off to potential donors, 21:37 because they're like, 21:39 I don't feel like doing all that. 21:40 Right. 21:41 Let me just hit the button, move the mouse. 21:43 That's why online banking is so crazy. 21:45 Exactly. 21:46 But you just want to move the mouse, 21:47 transfer the funds here, and boom, you can do that. 21:51 Another strategy I think that 21:53 nonprofits have to implement, 21:54 and I really want to emphasize this. 21:57 I mean, it talks about Psalms, 21:58 how sweet is when brothers dwell together in unity. 22:01 And that's scriptural. 22:03 I think we have to really understand 22:05 how as nonprofits 22:07 we should start working together. 22:09 And many nonprofits, and I'm sure that 22:13 the viewers can attest to this at home. 22:16 When you operate within a particular market, 22:19 if you happen to do something that is similar 22:22 to another organization in that particular market, 22:25 that automatically becomes if, and this is a negative thing. 22:29 But this level of animosity, oh, I do that, 22:32 or that's funding I should be getting, 22:34 or you're competing with me. 22:36 I think we got to get beyond that. 22:38 There's so much poverty to go around for everybody. 22:41 And we don't have to compete with one another, 22:44 we have to start... 22:45 When I was with Operation Hope, I would sit back. 22:50 And immediately what I would do 22:52 was look at every single organization 22:54 in that particular market. 22:56 And I would look and see 22:57 whether there something similar to what we do. 22:59 And I would call them. 23:01 The first thing I did when I went back to Detroit. 23:02 I called every single organization, 23:04 I did something similar. 23:05 Every single financial literacy organization, 23:07 every single entrepreneurship organization, 23:09 every single organization 23:10 I dealt with credit, credit pay, 23:12 anything eerily similar, exactly the same. 23:14 I called them up and we had a meeting. 23:16 I said, "What can we do to support you? 23:17 What can I do to support you? 23:20 What can we do to send some clients your way? 23:22 What can we do to help market you?" 23:23 And I said because I wanted them 23:25 to get to be real clear, 23:26 that it's not about me, this is about the work. 23:29 This is bigger than me. 23:30 And I know that if God has it for me, 23:33 I'm not concerned about anything, 23:35 about anybody taking it from me. 23:37 Yes. 23:38 And so I would give, and freely you have received, 23:40 freely you shall give. 23:41 And we made a practice of making sure 23:43 we just consistently gave and gave. 23:46 Every time we did a workshop, 23:47 we would invite other individuals there. 23:49 And we would always 23:51 give other people a platform via the radio. 23:53 And if I was ever doing television interviews, 23:55 I would always shout out every other nonprofit 23:57 doing similar work, so they would know. 24:00 I'm not concerned about giving you too much exposure, 24:04 because God's got a plan for me. 24:06 See, Ryan, that's it. What somebody... 24:10 God has a plan for each person, 24:11 so, whatever they have, praise the Lord for that. 24:15 That's it. Absolutely. 24:16 It's a blessing from God on their path. 24:19 God's given me my blessings, He's given you your blessings. 24:24 There's no reason to resent 24:26 somebody else for their blessings. 24:27 Right. Right. 24:28 One of the things that I love and this is not, 24:31 not to pat 3ABN on the back per se, 24:33 but it is a channel of blessing 24:36 because they highlight other ministries 24:41 and help raise funds for other ministries. 24:44 So to me, that's what God would have us to do. 24:48 Not, not, and I'm really thankful that 24:51 that's Danny's mindset to be a channel of blessing. 24:56 And so, other ministries come here 24:58 and we raise funds for whatever they're doing. 25:04 And it's just, it's a blessing. 25:05 And Lord consequently continues to bless 3ABN as well. 25:08 Right. 25:09 So what you're saying is so true. 25:12 Whatever somebody else's path and their blessing, 25:15 that's for them. 25:16 Right. God has His own plan for you. 25:19 And we help each other. You're right. 25:21 And I really, I think it speaks 25:24 to the bigger picture of our communities as a whole, 25:28 and how we operate 25:29 amongst our communities with each other. 25:31 Well, I know that 25:33 there's a lot of folks out there 25:34 who are struggling economically. 25:35 I know there are lot of individuals out there 25:37 who are just live in check to Tuesday. 25:40 And so there's a tendency to say, you know, 25:42 and this goes back to when we talk about tithing, 25:45 there's a tendency to say, 25:47 what's mine is mine and I'm so... 25:51 I'm not confident that 25:52 whether I'm gonna get another dollar, 25:54 I have to hold on to this data, like, it's my very last one. 25:56 Right. I can't tithe it to my church. 25:59 I can't help another organization 26:00 because I need it for myself. 26:02 I can't give to anyone. 26:03 I have to hold on it like it's the very... 26:05 And God doesn't want us in this predicament. 26:07 God does not want us with that mindset. 26:09 Freely you have received, 26:11 freely you shall give, cheerful givers. 26:13 So please, nonprofits, let's operate together. 26:16 Let's work together. Let's support our nonprofits. 26:19 And I think we'll do just that much better 26:21 in helping our economy recover. 26:23 Absolutely. 26:25 We should come together in unity. 26:27 Yeah. 26:28 And help others, help those who are less fortunate. 26:31 Absolutely. You have a takeaway for us. 26:34 I'm ready for it. All right. 26:36 Let's give it. 26:44 As the Word says, 26:46 "Let all things be done decently 26:47 and in order." 26:49 These tips and more are just a few suggestions 26:51 that can lead to increase visibility, 26:53 which can lead to increase dollars. 26:55 It hurts me to continue 26:56 to see people struggling to raise funds, 26:58 especially when they're doing such great work. 27:00 I don't want to see another leader of a nonprofit 27:02 have to close his or her doors, 27:04 because they don't have the money 27:05 to remain open to the public. 27:07 It's time for you to step up to the plate 27:09 and support those nonprofits you see doing a great work. 27:12 I'm very sympathetic to those nonprofits who say, 27:14 they're so busy doing work, they often forget to do 27:16 the crucial job of marketing their efforts. 27:19 If you see someone doing great work, 27:20 do more than give them a praise. 27:22 Give them a dollar. 27:23 Set up a regular donation schedule 27:25 to support their efforts 27:26 which are supporting your community. 27:28 If you have time 27:29 and really appreciate their mission, 27:31 I ask, join their board and offer your insight 27:33 and assistance to help grow the organization. 27:35 We need to help feed our children, 27:37 clothe the homeless, provide job training, 27:40 educate the former incarcerated, 27:41 fight against cancer, 27:43 and many services to those who lie beyond the scope 27:45 and reach of the government. 27:46 We need less talk and more action. 27:48 Let's get to work. 27:49 Be the change and remember, 27:51 the purpose of life is a life of purpose. 27:53 Dollars and Sense, signing off. |
Revised 2021-06-03