156: Everything You Believe About Small Nonprofit Fundraising is Wrong (Zoot Velasco)

156: Everything You Believe About Small Nonprofit Fundraising is Wrong (Zoot Velasco)SUMMARYIs your small nonprofit still trying to raise money through special events?  Modeling your fundraising plan on what large nonprofits are doing is among several critical mistakes Zoot Velasco will help you avoid. In episode #156 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, he tells us why those special events, big galas, grant writing and even courting major donors are not the most important things on which nonprofit leaders of smaller organizations should be focused. Zoot identifies three sources of earned income streams available to all nonprofit organizations and how strengthening and growing these streams will not only increase your financial stability but will also allow you to be less reliant on the traditional philanthropic dollar.  ABOUT ZOOTZoot Velasco is currently the Executive Director of the Friends of Fullerton College Foundation, Director of the Gianneschi Center for Nonprofit Research at California State University Fullerton’s College of Business & Economics, Professor of Business & Marketing at California State University Fullerton, Professor of Nonprofit Management & Leadership at California Polytechnic Institute Pomona, Host of the nationally-ranked 501(c)3(b)(s) podcast and author of three books. For 23 years, Zoot led cultural programs in prisons and cultural centers. He built four art centers for the City of LA, a Boys & Girls Club, and a Theatre for the City of Long Beach. He has raised more than $32 million for various organizations. During the recession, he led the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton to unprecedented growth, more than tripling programs, budget, patrons, and the endowment while winning awards as Orange County’s first STEAM programs, institutional arts programs, and strategic partnerships. EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCES Small to LARGE: Growing Social Impact Organizations Against All OddsThe First 100 Days: Leading Small Nonprofits Out of the WildernessGet a copy of Patton’s book Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership