A new strategy helps Mothers Against Drunk Driving revive its stagnant fundraising, recommit to its missin and invigorate its staff and volunteers.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

“It was really wonderful how these people were willing to open their doors and talk about their strategies. I was very lucky because I had tapped into some great minds,” Heard explains. “Development isn’t rocket science. You find the things that work and put them into place in your organization.”

MADD’s national board of directors adopted the plan in 2003. In its simplest form, the strategy emphasizes:

Building the capacity of local affiliates to raise unrestricted dollars;
Launching a national signature special event;
Establishing a national memorial giving program;
Actively marketing a bequests program; and
Establishing a major-gifts outreach effort to cultivate those donors that are identified through direct marketing as having the capacity to make larger gifts.

Part one: Empowerment
In order to empower MADD’s affiliates, the national leadership held weeklong “fundraising institutes” to introduce volunteers and staff members to the initiative and followed those up with monthly phone conferences on various fundraising topics, monthly coaching calls and one-on-one calls.