Thanks, James and Nosa - and let me embarrass you both by pointing our that I admire both of you and your commitment to an inclusive economy and equitable access to capital. James is one of those rare professionals that has deep skills in big picture strategic thinking, but is equally adept at getting into the weeds. Nosa, a former underwriter for a CDFI in Colorado, has take the industry by storm with his super powers in loan underwriting and the mechanics of running an industry standard loan fund.
I hope this dialogue will encourage other consultants to weigh in on building relationships of trust between consultants and prospects. Dovetailing back to the original post on templates, there are a number of core investments an emerging or certified CDFI will make at strategic junctures in its organizational development - a business plan, loan fund policies and procedures, a loan operating system, accounting system and CRM, a capitalization plan, staff training, etc. All of these investments are great examples of initiatives that could be funded by third parties under the general heading of "Institutional Capacity Building." I can imagine the folks out there who just submitted CDFI TA applications nodding their heads. Whether you did or not, the TA application serves as a good 'template' for developing your 'case for support.'
Staff exercise: come up with a list of capacity building investments for the next three years. Summarize who you are, your mission, target market, products and services and top line outcome data. Summarize your Capacity Building Investments for 2024-2025 - what they are, why they are important to creating a best practice loan fund, state the cost, etc. Be as specific as possible in terms of the measurable and tangible results from these investments. Keep refining your 'pitch' until it sings, and gut-check it with an externa stakeholder you admire - a community foundation officer, business owner, donor, etc. Get it down to no more than two pages and distribute it to staff and the board. Ask everyone to take some time to memorize it and then have a mock competition to see who makes the most compelling argument. Have fun and be creative. The comradery, and feeling of unity and shared purpose will literally blow the roof off the building. What does it say about an organization where everyone from the receptionist to Board members use the same 'script' when talking about the organization? Oh yeah, then send that brief call to action out to your stakeholders, welcome a conversation on how they could support your agenda, and update them at least twice a year on your progress. Share your stories here! Thanks!
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Jason Friedman
CEO
Friedman Associates
Iowa City IA
319.341.3556
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