WHAT THE FUNDRAISING
139: Starting Your Nonprofit Fundraising Journey with Gerald A. Moore Sr.
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“You can leverage your genius, your athleticism, your entrepreneurship in the tech space, but people like me need it to be visible.”
– Gerald A. Moore Sr.
Episode #139
Overview
In this episode of What the Fundraising Podcast…
Gerald A. Moore Sr is a CEO, Visionary, and Thought Leader for young Black males, committed to empowering and inspiring the next generation of leaders. Having dedicated two decades to cybersecurity and management consultancy, Gerald has expert insights into the tech and STEM spaces. Recognizing a disheartening dearth of young black males in these fields, he harnessed his experiences to inspire and empower at-risk BIPOC boys. He founded Mission Fulfilled 2030 with a clear purpose to provide opportunities and mentorship to underserved communities. Under Gerald’s leadership, Mission Fulfilled 2030 has grown from a startup with zero funding to a nonprofit organization that has raised over $400,000 and impacted the lives of over 7000 young people
In this conversation, Gerald generously shares his experience starting Mission Fulfilled 2023 – and what some of the initial roadblocks and gates were that were so surprising when he was just starting out. Despite being a successful engineer, Gerald found himself struggling to secure funding for his nonprofit. It was a reality that caught him off-guard, and in his own words, ‘I realized that fundraising for a smaller nonprofit was a whole different ball game’.
We dive into the challenges that smaller nonprofits face when it comes to fundraising and provide actionable strategies for success. We also get specific and talk about what you need to have before reaching out for grant funding, some things to consider when setting up your nonprofit Board of Directors, and what can keep you motivated when you face all of the very common challenges of new nonprofits. Gerald gives such good advice for people who are starting out – from self and community care to staying focused on the mission – this episode has it all.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
- Introducing Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- Surprising Hurdles in Philanthropy
- Lack of institutional knowledge
- The role of individual giving and aligned relationships
- Positioning Mission Fulfilled 2030
- Starting a Nonprofit
- Assembling a Team
- Board Dynamics
- Recognizing Alignment
- Starting a Nonprofit
- The Importance of Doing the Work
- Doing Work Based on Belief
- Motivation Through Adversity
- The Urgency of Work
- Connect with Mission Fulfilled 2030
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Gerald A. Moore Sr.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Many thanks to our sponsor, Bloomerang for making this episode possible. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Head to bloomerang.com/whatthefundraising to learn more about Bloomerang.
- If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.
- If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization.
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TIPS AND TOOLS TO IMPLEMENT TODAY
- It is so important to get clarity from funders (as much as possible before meeting them) about what they hope to see in the meeting
- It is true that there are a lot of gates when it comes to funding (particularly institutional funding) so understanding where you have leverage, assets, and introductions to get your foot in the door can be really helpful
- Community involvement is so important for your fundraising and for designing your nonprofit. Gerald looked at all of the ways in which his organization touched and impacted communities to think about the network and fabric of support he needed to build around the organization.
- You don’t want a vanity board, you want people who are deeply vision and mission aligned with you and will go on the journey with you (and get into the muck with you) because the beginning is going to be iterative and messy and you need a group of people who understand the different facets of your work and are not afraid to get their hands dirty.
- Nonprofit leaders need to learn to balance the emotional urgency to make change and the need for self-preservation.
FAVORITE QUOTES
- "You can leverage your genius, your athleticism, your entrepreneurship in the tech space, but people like me need it to be visible." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "You have to make sure that the people you want to bring in are in alignment with your vision and not only be in alignment but also can change." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "I wanted to go back into community and show them that, hey, black men can exist and are not monolithic in what we can do in relation to young black males." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "People ask me, how do you become an engineer when you graduated with a 1.69 GPA? And I have to talk about, well, my aptitude had no relationship with my grades because I'm a first generation college graduate." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "But in the nonprofit space, they don't understand that, ‘hey, we don't have a budget’ This is why we're reaching out to you. We have something that works, and we’re asking you for the money to do it." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "But instead of that, they close the door in your face. They close the door in your face, and it's like, okay, the value of the work I'm doing means nothing to you because of these standard operating procedures that you put in place, basically as a gatekeeper to not give funding to people who are doing awesome work in their communities." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "You don't own the nonprofit, you don't own it. As soon as you put your board together, it's a group vision, it's a think tank on who's going to lead your vision." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "You have to make sure that the people you want to bring in are in alignment with your vision and not only be in alignment but also can change." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "My goal is to not only have a fully funded organization, but to reach our grand vision, which is to impact 100,000 BIPOC boys by 2030." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "Every no I get gets me closer to yes. It's how you see what's actually happening to you at any given time." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "It's not easy. A lot of people are not going to believe it. A lot of people who do what you do are not going to believe in you. A lot of foundations who believe in you don't believe in you enough to fund you." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "When you start with no money, you run the program, and then you figure out how you're going to get the money." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "Philanthropy in the nonprofit sector is a relationship business. It's a networking and relationship business." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- "When you're getting those first board members, you don't know exactly what it's going to look like, so start small and figure out the work." - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
- “If I don't have the money, I'm gonna launch the program because I know that doing the work and showcasing the young men that we serve, that the money will come.” - Gerald A. Moore Sr.
RELATED CONTENT
Get to know Gerald A. Moore Sr.:
Gerald A. Moore Sr. is a visionary leader and the CEO of Mission Fulfilled 2030, a nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the opportunity gap for young Black boys. With over 20 years of experience as a cybersecurity engineer, Gerald made a courageous decision to leave the corporate world and leverage his technology expertise to serve his community. Through Mission Fulfilled 2030, he is transforming the lives of at-risk boys from disadvantaged and underserved communities by providing access to STEM education, mentorship, and workforce development programs. Gerald’s passion for empowering young Black boys and his commitment to creating a more equitable future have garnered recognition and support from various organizations and partners. His relentless drive and dedication make him a true change-maker, inspiring others to join the mission of empowering the next generation of Black leaders in the tech industry.
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I teach nonprofit fundraisers to bring in more gifts from the RIGHT donors… so they can stop hounding people for money. Fundraising doesn’t have to be uncomfortable.
- CEO & Creator of the Power Partners Formula™
- Disruptor in the funding sector, changing lives everyday
- Relentlessly committed to the movement of money into the nonprofit sector
- Focused on win-win partnerships that allow fundraisers to be authentic and empowered in their work
- Over 15 years working in nonprofits (managing director and ED of multiple fast-growth organizations)
MALLORY ERICKSON
