This post might seem totally out of the blue without a few words of introduction, so here it goes: All operating NGOs and all social entrepreneurs have to deal with certain challenges. Fundraising, strategic planning, marketing, and program design all have to be addressed. Even if your “program design” is to copy an anti-bullying program that worked in Detroit there are still going to be design issues to address.
You probably have guidelines, checklists, case studies, books, articles, and personal experience you can draw upon. This post is the first of a series, of 20-30 short essays on tools for problem solving and innovation that you, as an NGOer might find helpful.
I’ll start with describing some tools you can apply to fundraising.
Fundraising starts with, well, with deciding to ask for some money! Before you actually do that certain steps are normally completed. You know that. You also do some planning before even deciding to write a letter. This post is about a technique you can use to plan a bit more effectively.
I’m going to sort of describe a technique called FiFo, for inFormation In-inFOrmation Out. Edward De Bono, the lateral thinking pioneer and prolific author invented that technique and described it in a book called De Bono’s Thinking Course. Well, the title gives away the subject matter so I won’t go into more detail except to say that there are many other thinking tools and exercises an NGO staffer or social entrepreneur might want to use.
The first part of FiFo is to simply stop and think about the relevant information that you have on hand. For fundraising you likely know a few things about potential donors. You have facts and figures related to your organization – number of clients, budget, expenses, how long in existence, number of classes held and so forth.
The next stage of FiFo is to think of information that’s missing. For instance, what do you not know about your potential donors. If you haven’t set a fundraising goal yet, now is the time to do so. You may also need to step back and consider the cost of whatever program you want to run. Finally, you might need more information how to reach likely donors.
Now you know how to use FiFo. There is no trick involved here, only the willingness to stop and think about your information needs.
How long does it take? Alone, you should be able to run through both stages of FiFo in 10 minutes. Note that you are not supposed to look for information, facts, documents, et cetera. In a group you might want to have someone take notes while others take turns calling out facts or questions. That process should still only take 15 minutes if you enforce some discipline.
You probably have guidelines, checklists, case studies, books, articles, and personal experience you can draw upon. This post is the first of a series, of 20-30 short essays on tools for problem solving and innovation that you, as an NGOer might find helpful.
I’ll start with describing some tools you can apply to fundraising.
Fundraising starts with, well, with deciding to ask for some money! Before you actually do that certain steps are normally completed. You know that. You also do some planning before even deciding to write a letter. This post is about a technique you can use to plan a bit more effectively.
I’m going to sort of describe a technique called FiFo, for inFormation In-inFOrmation Out. Edward De Bono, the lateral thinking pioneer and prolific author invented that technique and described it in a book called De Bono’s Thinking Course. Well, the title gives away the subject matter so I won’t go into more detail except to say that there are many other thinking tools and exercises an NGO staffer or social entrepreneur might want to use.
The first part of FiFo is to simply stop and think about the relevant information that you have on hand. For fundraising you likely know a few things about potential donors. You have facts and figures related to your organization – number of clients, budget, expenses, how long in existence, number of classes held and so forth.
The next stage of FiFo is to think of information that’s missing. For instance, what do you not know about your potential donors. If you haven’t set a fundraising goal yet, now is the time to do so. You may also need to step back and consider the cost of whatever program you want to run. Finally, you might need more information how to reach likely donors.
Now you know how to use FiFo. There is no trick involved here, only the willingness to stop and think about your information needs.
How long does it take? Alone, you should be able to run through both stages of FiFo in 10 minutes. Note that you are not supposed to look for information, facts, documents, et cetera. In a group you might want to have someone take notes while others take turns calling out facts or questions. That process should still only take 15 minutes if you enforce some discipline.
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