HOW TO GET MORE MONEY
Strategies that bring the resources you need
to make your program successful

Raising more money and finding more resources is a common endeavor of most crime stopper programs. Very often I hear, if we only had more money we could do so much more. While this may appear to be true, money is never really the issue.

Money flows to ideas that have credibility and urgency.

Never forget this statement and it will help guide your activities from wishing you had more money to actually finding it. Yet, we find the process of finding and acquiring the resources we need to be a confusing and uncomfortable prospect. How many times have you heard a new board member say, I'll do anything you want, but don't make me beg for money! No one wants to, not even me and I've been in the corporate development business for over 25 years!

Effectively acquiring resources where people are willing and even eager to help you is a process and methodology. Follow the process and resources will open. Don't follow the process and you will be continually frustrated, scrambling and scurrying for financial crumbs that are tossed your way.

One of the primary reasons why you don't have the resources you want (money, equipment, manpower, etc.) is you don't know what you need or why you need anything in the first place. In other words, you don't have a goal. Without a goal, you have no reason to have a plan. Without a plan, you have no direction. Without direction, you are wasting your time and the time of your board. Step number of one of acquiring resources is establish a goal. My recommendation is that you create a BHAG; Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

This is a goal that, today, seems impossible. Set your goal high and stretch yourself to imagine accomplishing things you've never before attempted. Four quick reasons why you need to establish your goal:

1. Great goals attract great people. You want the best possible human potential to be giving their time, effort and expertise to your program. You will not attract these type of people without a reason, a great goal. Remember, human beings will always aspire to something higher than themselves. Great goals are something no one can accomplish on their own.
   
   
2. Great goals precede resources. The great goal comes first. Too often we say, If we had the money, then we would . . . The reality is a great goal be first so others have a motivation to give and be involved. What we can't imagine, we don't support.
   
   
3. Focus on the great goals opens up resources. We become distracted. We spend more time talking about what color the table cloth will be at the registration table of our golf tournament than whether we should be having the gold tournament at all. Operational issues chew up our energy and creativity. Keep your eye on the ball, the great goal. Let the great goal guide your conversation and the establishment of your objectives and activities.
   
   
4. Stop the great goal and resources dry up. Once the focus and mind set of your board returns to the mundane and ordinary, resources mysteriously disappear. No one wants to work. There is no reason to contribute. After all, what's the big deal? We are no longer driven by a higher purpose.

Establishing a great goal will always be your first step to acquiring the money and resources you need to accomplish great deeds for crime stoppers. In the coming months, I will share with you the next steps to making your plan to find more money and resources and the primary reasons why individuals, businesses and organizations won't give to you and your program. Knowing these principles will help you start your own crime stopppers revolution.