Killing TTWWADI: New Ideas Lead to Explosive Growth

Killing TTWWADI

Ushering in New Ideas Leads to Explosive Growth

“That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

If you’ve worked with or for a nonprofit, this is probably not an unfamiliar phrase. Stuck in time-worn paths that bring the comfortable, but not always results, TTWWADI (“Tah-Wah-Dee” – go ahead, say it!) can be a dangerous stuck-place for organizations, limiting their visibility and creating stagnated fundraising.

Limiting isn’t what Drew Johnson was looking for when he took over the helm at South County Community Services four years ago. SCCS is the only human services agency dedicated to serving and supporting low-income residents and seniors in southern Kalamazoo County in southwest Michigan.

“I knew we could do more – that we needed to do more,” the young, energetic new executive director told me at the time. “What we’re doing works, but I know we can do better.”

And boy could they. After bringing me on to conduct an organizational assessment, we identified some key priority areas for action. It was the first step in a multi-year engagement that has resulted in a 450% explosion in donor revenue and a stunning 22,800%. expansion of their email list.

Our first phase goal was to raise both organizational awareness and increase donations. Work began in two essential areas: a technology boost in the form of a formal database system (and saying goodbye to decades of fragmented spreadsheets) and updating communications to highlight the stories of the lives SCCS has touched.

After purchasing Bloomerang – an easy-to-use and high-functioning CRM (database) specifically for nonprofits – Drew and his small SCCS team leaned in to grow their contact database and to launch their first-ever enewsletter. In short order donor engagement grew and knowledge of SCCS’s work and impact spread across their service region. From that outreach came a flurry of media hits about their work and even a coveted half-page monthly column in the local newspaper – a platinum-level free media opportunity!

As year-end approached, we made tweaks to the physical pieces they used to entice donors to give and SCCS saw their individual giving continue to rise. Next, their team was trained to use a mile-wide technique – cultivating new prospects – coupled with a mile-deep strategy focused on engaging past donors at new, deeper levels of giving, including monthly giving and major gifts.

As the SCCS team watched their coffers grow – and their email list flourish – work on phase two began.

The membership model SCCS had used for years was born again as The ChangeMakers Circle: a major giving program to engage past and new donors in not just giving, but also doing.

“It was important to us that we recalibrate the active element of the membership program,” Johnson says. “For us, being a part of SCCS isn’t just about financial support. It’s about being a part of the solution and that means helping to spread the word about what we do to help reach more people and families in need and to bring in more supporters to fuel our poverty-fighting work.”

When SCCS supporters sign up to be a part of the ChangeMakers Circle, they agree to make a financial gift, but also to engage in two or more “be the change” activities. These include engaging with SCCS on social media, sharing the “Scooped” enewsletter with friends, volunteering, or donating supplies. Tracking these activities is made easier by using Bloomerang, reports Johnson.

A new “ChangeMakers Circle” tree is being erected on a prominent wall in the SCCS office. Panels for the tree to grow over time are already being considered.

“Our future looks bright,” beams Board President Steve Richards. “Engaging Laura was a critical investment for us. It took money to make money, but now with our future so bright, we are able to shine that light onto others in our community who need our help. Expanding to serve more need is now the way we do it.”

In the past three years, SCCS’s individual donations have risen from just over $20,000 per year to $110,000 and growing. Their email list has tripled with open rates at 55% and click-throughs of over 10%. Their donor contacts have also seen a triple-digit growth rate.

“Gone are the days of TTWWDI here,” laughs Johnson. “Laura taught us that – and COVID drove that home. Today we are diverse in our approaches and work, and that resiliency means that we’ll be around for a long, long time helping even more families in community in their journey out of poverty.”

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