Every day, NCDS works with Chambers of Commerce, EDOs, and other non-profit organizations that relentlessly support and promote their business community. Ironically, these organizations often struggle to get enough funding to do what their communities need them to do. 

If you’re on staff or leading a Chamber or EDO, there’s a good chance you experience this pressure on a daily basis. In short, it’s all a question of strategy - the who, what, when, where, and why that dictate the successes or failures you may face in achieving your fundraising goals.  

There are two fundraising methodologies we want to dissect in this article that can help you understand why you may be struggling to meet your fundraising goals: 

• The traditional member approach
• The modern investor approach 

Let’s dive in. Grasping these concepts could change the future of your community in a big way in just a few years.

Traditional Member-Centric Fundraising 

Traditionally, most Chamber and EDO fundraising focuses on “if we recruit more members, we increase our dues and can achieve our goals faster.” This approach has been effective to some extent and you likely find its features familiar:

• A strong focus on recruitment to increase membership dues 
• As a mostly transactional style of fundraising, members get a defined set of benefits based on membership level
• Once they join, members get varying amounts of value depending on how much they engage by attending events, networking, reading communications, and more
• The benefits are often member-centric, such as new leads, networking events, affinity discounts, and more

This fundraising model isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It’s a solid basis for predictable operating budgets, supports an inclusive community of like-minded professionals, and binds members to each other for a year or two at a time. It’s acceptable.

We’ve observed over the years how the membership fundraising model trades on low dues and therefore low expectations. That’s not to say it’s a poor approach, but it’s not without its downsides. 

Member-Centric Fundraising and its Challenges

Membership-driven fundraising is an acceptable approach, but it also comes with limitations that may be keeping your city, community, and/or region from its maximum potential. For example:

• Raising money through recruitment and selling memberships keeps expectations low and dues minimal (capped), preventing Chambers and EDOs from achieving truly impactful, transformational outcomes
• Its transactional nature correlates the perceived benefits of membership to each member’s level of initiative, rather than community growth and improvement
• It becomes the member’s responsibility to get full value from their membership, which can be challenging when a smaller vision can also lower participation as a priority in the member’s mind
• Annual attrition rates tend to be high, requiring a constant search for new members and intense pressure on renewals

In short, member-centric fundraising strategies limit your budget by limiting who is willing to financially participate (and how much they’ll give) – and this puts a hard ceiling on your vision. It will always be an essential part of your Chamber or EDO, but our 45+ years of experience tell us you may be selling yourself short. 

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‍The Investor Approach to Fundraising 

Decades ago, NCDS developed our investor-centric fundraising strategy called the multi-year strategic initiative (MYSI) to improve where traditional, member-centric fundraising falls short. Instead of (or perhaps in addition to) relying on capped traditional membership dues and sponsorships, our investor approach focuses on a MYSI with more ambitious objectives that require greater financial commitments. 

In contrast to membership models, the MYSI raises expectations for what your organization can deliver through an ambitious collaborative vision. And it’s these very expectations that increase the scope of your fundraising efforts – broadening who is willing to invest and how much.

The Transformational Benefits of Investor Fundraising

What do we mean by increasing the scope of your fundraising efforts? When you’re selling a grander vision of the future that “lifts all boats” in your community, you open your fundraising base to more public and private sector organizations who also have a stake in that vision. They live, work, and play where your organization lives, works, and plays.

The investor approach has the following features:

• Elevated investor expectations for your organization's activities and value, which elevates financial commitment and involvement 
• It’s not transactional like membership dues – would be investors aren’t evaluating a “menu of benefits”
• Investors want and should have opportunities to engage, but the real burden is on the organization to deliver
• Your plan’s value is rooted in outcomes and impacts that create opportunities for all stakeholders, including an improved business climate and sustainable growth

In short, investment creates big picture expectations and membership fosters small picture expectations. Investment supports a transformational network effect of pursuing shared agendas across even generations, whereas membership limits progress to a more granular and less powerful silo of self-interest. 

How to Implement the Investor Fundraising Strategy

Implementing the investor approach to fundraising starts with a mindset that’s willing to think bigger and collaborate with other organizations. You’re reading this because you have a passion for your community, which means you have a deep understanding of the needs of the community and the potential impact. Ask yourself:

• Do the leaders in your city, community, and/or region have a powerful shared incentive to initiate transformational changes? 
• Do individual organizations feel stifled by capped membership revenue?
• Is there a feeling of “us vs. them” separating members and non-members who (in reality) both have a stake in your community’s economic development?

If your answer is “yes” to any or all three of the above, adopting the investor approach may be your best option. Getting started is easier than you think:

1. Meet with leaders in your Chamber or EDO
2. Discuss and explore their appetite for a multi-year strategic initiative that’s ambitious and truly transformational
3. Shortlist what your shared priorities would be for the future, and convert it into a common vision
4. Shortlist other organizations, both public and private, who may be stakeholders in your vision and would be willing to invest (or partner) to benefit the community as a whole

With this mindset change and collaborative approach in place, you’re well on your way to making a great, transformational leap forward in your community. 

You Don’t Need to Do it Alone

For more than 45 years, NCDS has been helping Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development Organizations like yours increase their fundraising efforts by boosting their vision for the future. We can help you implement an incremental fundraising strategy that yields an incredible return on investment and transformational change in your community. 

Get started today with a free consultation or download our whitepaper.