Success Stories
Back
December 30, 2006
I asked Jean Long to work with us on a year-long collaborative
project with six not-for-profit organizations. The organizations
were diverse, from all volunteer to professional, and she
ingeniously developed a program that met each organization’s unique
needs. From tactical elements such as, what to say and when to say
it, to strategic elements, Ms Long developed programs for each
organization that strengthened their long term viability.
One of Ms. Long’s strengths is her ability to show organizations how
they can think in new ways, identify prospects and cultivate donors
at all levels. Before working with Ms. Long, executive directors,
board members and staff were intimidated about implementing planned
giving programs, but her accessibility, support and concrete advice
inspired them to integrate her ideas into their programs. They began
to embed development practices in their daily activities instead of
seeing them as an additional task that required more time and money
before they could be implemented. After training with Ms. Long, each
organization recognized multiple gift inquiries and they now have
the confidence to respond to and develop these opportunities.
We hired Ms. Long to develop planned giving programs and found her
insights and suggestions to have a much larger impact on the overall
health and sustainability of the organization. One executive
director used Ms. Long’s expertise to develop his board and long
range development strategy. For another organization, she coached
the director of development on how to tie together current
activities and marketing programs that have resulted in almost daily
inquiries. Another organization tapped her nonprofit expertise to
build a strong foundation that enables them to accept large gifts.
What a delight it has been to work with Ms. Long throughout the
year, seeing her tap existing resources, inspire staff, and align
diverse organizations with practices and strategies to sustain their
long term viability to carry out their unique charitable missions.
Sincerely,
Robin Underwood, CFA, CFP
Director
Open Space Protection Collaboration
Back