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Sustainable Revenue Models for AT Reuse Wednesday, February 13, 2019 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST www.at3center.net | www.passitoncenter.org
Sustainable Revenue Models
for AT Reuse
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST
www.at3center.net | www.passitoncenter.org
What underpins the financial stability of your reuse program?
It’s time for an update on what works, whether old or new.
The webinar will address three objectives:1. To learn about successful new and traditional sustainability strategies
2. To examine key staffing to promote sustainability
3. To explore how programs use outcomes data to promote sustainability
Today’s Webinar and Objectives
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Thanks to our survey respondents for providing input about your strategies.
Thanks to all AT Act Programs for information about their Partners, Websites and
Strategies.
Thanks to nonprofit organizations from other sectors – for good models to emulate
and good ideas to adopt.
Thanks to Sara Sack (Kansas) and Sonja Schaible (Virginia) for their longstanding
work on outcomes measurements.
Acknowledgements
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Our Speakers Today
Carolyn Phillips, M.Ed., CPAAC | Interim Director, Services and Education, Center
for Inclusive Design & Innovation, College of Design, Georgia Institute of
Technology; Director and Principal Investigator, Tools for Life and Pass It On
Center
Liz Persaud | Program and Outreach Manager, Tools for Life and Pass It On
Center
Trish Redmon | Special Projects Consultant, Tools for Life and Pass It On Center
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Successful Sustainability Strategies
Traditional and New:
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Sustainability Survey
A 10-question Survey of Sustainability Strategies was sent to the
Reuse COP listserv.
The Survey addressed:
Support strategies, largest sources of income, income from services
Fundraising programs or events
Structured models for contributions
Use of outcomes data to promote sustainability
27 respondents completed the survey.
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Engage Stakeholders
Diversify Sources
of Income
Build the Capacity
to Serve
• Customers
• Contributors
• Partners
• Fine-Tune a Donations Strategy
• Emulate Proven Models
• Evaluate cost/benefit (ROI)
• Use outputs and outcomes
• Target excellence, use CIP
• Leverage partnerships
Core Sustainability Strategies Are Designed to:
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The goal is to do a better job of fulfilling
our mission.
Recruiting for our Cause
“Our goal as nonprofits is to find
people that appreciate our
organization’s mission. Then,
we entice them to join
. . . by providing opportunities
to be engaged.”
- Randy Hawthorne
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How to Engage Stakeholders
Present interested people with a
customized opportunity to join your
cause and become active participants.
Show them the results of what you have
done with their money, time or support.
Thank them.
Keep them informed with their favorite
communication method.
Repeat.
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Diversify Sources of Income
• Build a stable financial base for operations.
• Fine tune successful strategies for incremental growth.
• Track return on investment for new strategies.
• Capitalize on partnerships, in-kind contributions, and smart use of volunteers to avoid expenses.
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Reported Sources of Program Income:
Survey Results (% of programs report receiving)
Grants (55.6%)
Use of volunteers to minimize
expenses(55.6%)
Marketing and development
strategies (48.1%)
Partnerships that provide in-kind
services (44.4%)
Fees for AT products (33.3%)
Fees for AT services (25.9%)
Special fundraising events
(25.9%)
Contracts for services (22.2%)
Partnerships that generate funds
(18.5%)
Thrift stores that support the
reuse program through sales
(11.1%)
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#1: Grants, including HHS and State funding
#2: Contributions from individual donors
#3: Fees for AT products
#4: In-kind contributions from partnerships
Top Sources of Income and In-Kind Contributions
(Survey: Rank ordered tabulation)
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Is the grant a one-time award, or is there a possibility for ongoing renewal?
If not renewable, focus on a special project or improvement that does not require
ongoing financial investment.
What is the net value of the grant (if you must share it with an institution or
partner) after administrative costs or overhead?
What is the value of the time required to develop the grant application? (Again,
track the time, cost and ROI.) Consider the opportunity cost of the time invested in
some grant applications: What else could you be doing with the time?
Consider focusing on foundations or corporations in your state – where you can
build long-term partnerships.
Considerations for Seeking Grants:
Bigger Money, but ?
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Devise Successful Fundraising Strategies
Donation campaign
Participation event with fee
Special gathering or
entertainment with fee
Pledge program with monthly
commitments
Multi-year pledge program Toast of the Town, Project MEND, San Antonio (above), TX reuse partner;JonJam (left) concerts, chili contest to benefit The REAL Project, AL reuse partner
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Individual Donation Strategies Build a Solid Base
We know them well from TV and
radio (ASPCA, St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, Shriner’s
Hospital for Children, National
Public Radio), and even from the
streets (firemen with boots,
Shriners with hats, volunteers
ringing bells for the Salvation
Army).
What can we learn from their
success?
Strive to become “a household
word.” Build a recognizable “brand”
so that everyone in your service
area knows what you do.
Make it easy to contribute: Offer a
level of donation affordable by all.
Create an affiliate group for your
cause with structured contributions
or extended pledges.
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Charity Begins at the Homepage
HOME ABOUT SERVICES DONATE VOLUNTEERS NEWS CONTACT
Check your donation strategy:
Is there a DONATE tab on your
homepage, or a link to a reuse
partner’s page?
Is there a concise explanation of
who benefits and how?
Do you offer simple, easy options
for contributing in a secure way
online?
Do you offer options for automated
donations at scheduled intervals?
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People act from the heart, not the head:
Show that you are a good steward of donor money and explain where the money is
going, but your appeal must contain more than numbers and pie charts.
Giving is a personal act:
Your appeals need to be donor-centric. Tell your donor why they should care, and
why they matter to your organization.
The act of giving is immediate:
Give your donors the opportunity to act here and now. Your relationship with them
will be long-term, but their willingness to give is now—let them act on it.
Tap into the Reasons that People Give
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Emulate Fundraising Experts
ASPCA: Answer FAQs about Donations Quantify What a Donation Can Do:
e.g., Provide Vaccinations
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Communicate to Donors, and Ask for More
A donation receipt, a newsletter (what they did with the money, output measures), and a new contribution form with return envelope. Who is more likely to give again? A prior donor. Make it easy.
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Structure Giving Levels and Multi-Year Pledges
Emulate other nonprofits that offer
memberships and donation tiers.
Institute a multi-year pledge
society.
Recognize contributors in event
programs or annual reports.
Find ways to thank donors in a
personal way.
Communicate your outputs and
outcomes to donors. (More later.)
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Fundraise with Special Events
Some Event Ideas
Run, Walk ‘n Roll, or bike ride: entry fee
Concert: local entertainers, entry fee
Gathering with food for sale (combine with a
barbecue, chili or chowder contest with entry fees)
Special event: entertainment, silent auction of
donated items (ticket sales plus auction proceeds)
Host simple, more frequent gatherings: Bunco
nights, Bingo tournaments
Golf or fishing tournament: sponsors and
participants
Strategic Planning
Don’t plan an event that takes more time,
effort and money than you will raise. Track
the ROI!
Watch the calendar to avoid conflicts that will
ruin your turnout!
Plan events with multiple participation
opportunities for a broad audience.
Focus on a single event and get it stable and
repeatable before adding others.
Use your volunteers!
Partner, partner, partner!
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Plan Strategic Events for In-Kind Donations
Nebraska’s Quick Turnaround Event
Lose It and Reuse It
Medical Equipment Swap
Saturday, 10 am – 2 pm
You drop off your unwanted items!
We’ll clean them and make sure they are safe to
use!
Sunday, 12 – 4 pm
Come take a look to see what we have! You
could pick up the equipment you need for free!
Strategic Planning
Don’t plan an event that takes more time,
effort than necessary. Limit donation times.
4-6 hours is probably enough.
Watch the calendar to avoid conflicts that
will ruin your turnout!
Use your volunteers!
Partner, partner, partner! Co-host and co-
locate a donation event with a blood drive,
a food pantry drive, a recycling event.
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Align internal communications with operational goals. Clear, consistent messages
foster buy-in.
Increase advocacy and funding with consistent messages to external audiences.
Demonstrate focus with stories that are mission-centered. Teach staff how to use
the stories. Create opportunities for funders and donors to share stories.
Build trust by showing expertise and impact. (Outcomes data again.)
Support partnerships that demonstrate the value of collaboration over competition.
Partnerships can help to build brands that people know, trust, and associate with
meaningful work in the community.
-- Zornow
Improve Communications to Support
Your “Branding” Strategy
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Stability plus Incremental Growth:
Key Staffing to Promote Sustainability
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Build annual budgets on existing and stable sources of income.
Include annual goals to create new sources of funds.
Create a position dedicated to financial development.
Use partnerships to extend capacity through shared resources.
Increase staffing and service through effective use of volunteers.
Expanding Financial Capacity
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Marketing or Development?
One or both? Re-focus?
Marketing Director or Manager
69% of survey respondents have a role for
marketing.
This role typically focuses on
communications, promotion, and
awareness activities.
Experience matters – if you want an
effective marketing program.
Development Officer
38.5% of respondents have a
development role
This role is usually focused on
sustainability strategies.
The activities of the Development Officer
should cover his/her salary and make
major contributions to the sustainability
of the program.
This person should be knowledgeable
enough to be the backup for the CEO, if
needed.
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Nonprofits are always financially challenged. Look for synergistic partnerships.
What specific needs could you fill through in-kind partnerships?
Repairs
Recycling
Distribution
Accounting services
What skills or services can you offer to a partner?
What could you do jointly to benefit both partners?
Distribution?
Operate a thrift store?
Engage in Mutually Beneficial Partnerships
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Identify needs for volunteers. What could volunteers do to avoid salary expense?
Don’t assign only menial or meaningless tasks to volunteers.
There are many people seeking meaningful roles where they can make contributions.
Identify potential roles: office support, event support, thrift shop staffing or
management, equipment donation pick-up, device cleaning, device repairs, customer
training on device, customer follow-up data collections, public awareness activities in
civic group meetings…
Strategy for leveraging volunteers:
Identify your needs.
Write job descriptions.
Devise training.
Optimizing the Use of Volunteers
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Translate Outputs into Outcomes:
Using Outcomes to Promote
Sustainability
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Most programs track outputs (number of devices reused, number of people
served, estimated savings), and those are useful statistics, but tracking outcomes
requires another step to measure outcomes.
You can measure outcomes by follow-up surveys to determine:
Whether the device served the desired function for a temporary or permanent need
If the device allowed the customer to return to school, work or community participation
If the device allowed the user to avoid an undesirable outcome (e.g., fall, loss of
physical function while waiting for a device, impact on family member to provide care,
confinement to a skilled nursing facility, loss of family or community activity, missed
work or school).
Level of satisfaction.
What can we measure?
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Outcomes Measures
Some helpful measures of outcomes are: Return on investment (ROI) of
dollars used in program activities The value of avoided healthcare
costs (based on follow-up surveys) Environmental savings for reuse
and recycling Economic value of being able to
work or avoiding lost work time for AT user and/or caregiver
SIMPLE RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)
VALUE OF PREVENTIONENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT SAVINGS
ECONOMIC VALUE
OF WORK
ROI formula as applied in business:
Value of reused AT minus program
costs divided by program costs =
ROI
Calculation of value of
avoided healthcare outlays
Savings from landfill
expenses
Avoided lost work time
by users of refurbished
AT or their caregivers;
Work generated by AT
reuse
Values needed:
Value of AT recovered for
reuse based on a standard
measure (MSRP or %age
thereof)
Total program expenses
Values needed:
Specific healthcare costs
(e.g., days in skilled
nursing facility for a fall)
for subject customer
population
OR annual cost of
Assisted Living in
your state
Number of customers
who avoided
expenditures based on
survey data
Values needed:
For landfill expense
savings:
Cost of landfill
disposal by ton
for your state
Weight of
reclaimed AT (in
tons)
Values needed:
Number of lost work days
avoided by AT reuse
(customer and caregiver) Federal poverty guidelines
Minimum wage rate for
state
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Why Use Outcomes Data for Sustainability?
(Only 56% of survey respondents use it.)
Outcomes data adds weight to narrative about benefits.
ROI Example: For every dollar invested (or donated), the program returned $3.25 in
value.
It quantifies the extent of services and impact.
Example: The program provided transitional or permanent AT devices to 780 people
in our service area and avoided 1,675 lost work or school days.
Outcomes tracking lends credibility to grant proposals and contribution
requests.
It demonstrates a professional approach to managing resources.
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Strategies for Using Outcomes Data
Use the data in newsletters and notes of thanks to supporters.
Use it in reports to demonstrate program effectiveness.
Keep outcomes data handy for use with news media to demonstrate program
impact. Be ready to share the output data and the outcomes analysis.
Use outcomes data to advocate for contracts for services.
Use outcomes data to build new partnerships.
Use return on investment (ROI) analysis coupled with outcomes data to make
decisions about the effectiveness of sustainability strategies. (Which strategy has
the greatest return?)
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Bottom Line
Incremental improvements in sustainability build increasing capacity
to serve.
We can minimize our expenses by emulating the successful
strategies of others.
We can leverage our resources through partnerships within and
beyond our focus of service.
Measuring outcomes is a valuable sustainability tool.
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Questions?
Please follow the link for an evaluation of today’s webinar.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CRXZJHV
We Need Your Feedback!
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Contact Information
Kathy Laurin, AT3, ATAP
Carolyn Phillips, Director and PI
Liz Persaud, Program and Outreach Manager
Trish Redmon, Special Projects Consultant
