#ewb chapters

[ewbinvestedpartnerships-blog]

Chapters do A LOT of face to face fundraising. 

From BBQs, Fair Trade coffee sales, to meetings with the Dean and corporate lunch and learns, EWB'ers are constantly pitching the value of EWB's work and the need for broad community support. 

At it's essence, this is all face to face fundraising (I find Burnett's definition a bit limiting for our purposes), and the "real point" of it is to ask ‘how can we help our publics see how great this really is, that they can make a difference, that they can really change the world?" 

Sure, talking about EWB means to some extent those conversations are about EWB, but let's not forget you're talking face to face, person to person.

For me, we are most successful when our fundraising conversations are about the individual and their potential, because they are the ones with the power to make our vision for a better work possible through their support. 

Have you tested this out at your chapter? Do you take a one to one person approach with some of your fundraising initiatives?

[ewbinvestedpartnerships-blog]

On Transition, "Coming Soon!" 's, and National Opportunities

Hey friends, This is the latest e-mail to have gone out to the IPT Champ community. Just wanted to pass it along on here too incase you're interested in any of the upcoming items below. 

Updates

[1] Transition.

If you are leaving your role as the IPT Champ at your chapter, please transition in the fabulous individual new to the role by adding them to this group, introducing them to our amazing community by posting on here, and then removing yourself from the group. I'll trust you've got transition at the chapter under control, and you can leave any national info up to me. However, I am always available for a chat about transition, so feel free to get in touch.  

[2] Coming Soon! 

a) Newwwww resources! Recognizing that certain "Fundraising Rep" resources are out of date, I've been revamping and adding to the collection. Just a heads up that there will be a package of info coming your way mid-March including, but not limited to.... a new budget template! a graphic to better understand the national / chapter account system! a reworked role description! a pony!

b) Notes from conference. Remember that thing we all went to in Calgary? Well, I took a lot of notes, and ran a couple of sessions, and made a lot of promises to share the learning. My apologies for not having it up by now, but expect to see something by the end of next week. 

c) In the same vein of remember whens.... Remember when we did that Imagine campaign? Well I've been thinking a lot about it, and am currently wrapping up a report that details how the campaign went, from conception to execution to recommendations moving forward.

[3] National Opportunities

Our team is looking for dedicated individuals for....

a) ... the Social Change Fellowship!

This is open to anyone and everyone, and the IPT will be hiring one SCF for this summer. Are you organized, skilled with logistics, a lover of research, and a charmer of people? Great! We've been looking for you. Apply to be the next IPT SCF now: http://my.ewb.ca/posts/96625/. Last day to apply is March 1st. 

b) ... an IPT Distributed Team!

I'm startin' up a DT and it would be super great if you wanted to be on it. What would we do? We would support the network through connecting and sharing learning about fundraising activities across the network. We will create and distribute resources for chapters to use throughout the year. We will design and pilot new ways of approaching fundraising in EWB communities. Consider applying if you are organized, driven, ambitious, creative, respect deadines, and excited about the idea of community building. What to expect? Expect to dedicate 5 to 10 hours a week to your work as a team member, meet regularly as a team, and be treated as an extended part of the Invested Partnerships Team. Get in touch with me ASAP if this is an opportunity you're interested in exploring. 

As always, get in touch with Mica ([email protected]) for any and all questions/comments/concerns/etc. 

[ewbinvestedpartnerships-blog]

As Hamilton adopts this "bold experiment in democracy", I can't help but giggle.

One of the conversations I'm having with chapters is around their budgeting - does the proposed budget sync up with your fundraising plans? Does the VP Finance or the whole exec come together to form the budget? Have you identified your expense priorities? and on and on it goes, because when it comes to budgeting, I'm learning there are a myriad of considerations. 

More often than not chapters are taking a participatory approach to their budgets, and it's neat to see that scaled to the municipal level.