Jason Saul is one of the nation's leading experts on measuring social impact. He is the founder and CEO of Mission Measurement LLC, a strategy consulting firm that helps corporations, nonprofits and public sector clients measure and improve their social impact. He has advised some of the world's largest corporations, government agencies and nonprofits, including: Wal-Mart, Starbucks, McDonald's, Kraft, Levi Straus & Co., Easter Seals, American Red Cross, the Smithsonian and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Prior to founding Mission Measurement, Jason practiced as a public finance attorney at Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago.
In March, Saul released a new book, "The End of Fundraising: Raise More Money by Selling Your Impact." The initial intent of this book was going to focus on nonprofits using their results as a way to convince donors to invest in their organization, but during the course of the research and writing for the book, it became clear that simply sharing results was not enough.
"Set against the backdrop of declining government budgets and philanthropy over the past few years, Mission Measurement was working with many nonprofits that were finding it harder and harder to create value selling “feel good,” says Saul.
Saul knew something in the nonprofit business model needed to change. Through Mission Measurement’s work there was an “Aha” moment when they realized; nonprofits are talking to the wrong people. In their research and talking with executive directors and development directors they found that there is a new set of stakeholders out there that truly value the outcomes nonprofit’s produce and they are willing to pay for that impact.
"This book helps nonprofits connect their outcomes to the market and find “impact buyers” who value and are willing to pay for outcomes. It enables nonprofits to move beyond measurement for the sake of compliance to use measurement as a tool for strategy," added Saul.
There have been other books that talk about creating a parallel philanthropic capital market or philanthro-capitalism, but this is the first book that says it’s alright for nonprofits to engage in the existing economic market. The End of Fundraising encourages nonprofits to embrace the fact that social change is a fundamental part of creating economic value. This book says impact investing; venture philanthropy, and low-profit limited liability corporations are not going to cut it. The End of Fundraising offers the tools to solve social problems by leveraging the engine of the economy.
The following is an Editorial Review of The End of Fundraising offered by Amazon.
Why does it cost nonprofits on average $20 to raise $100, while it costs companies only $4?
Simply put: Nonprofits have no leverage. No one has to make a donation. And since most donors have no direct stake in the organizations they support, they make donations out of the goodness of their hearts. If donors feel like writing a check, they will. If they don't, they won't.
The End of Fundraising turns fundraising on its head, teaching nonprofits how to stop begging for charity and start selling impact.
For the first time, nonprofits have economic power. We live in a new era where consumers, businesses, investors, employees, and service providers attach real economic value to social outcomes. An era where yesterday's "feel good" issues—education, the environment, health care, the arts, and animal rights—now have direct economic consequences and opportunities. Nonprofits now have leverage. To use this leverage, nonprofits must learn how to "sell" their impact to a new set of stakeholders.
Using his fifteen years of experience advising the world's leading nonprofits, foundations, and corporations, Saul reveals the formula for how nonprofits transcend the paradigm of charitable fundraising and reach true financial sustainability. Specifically, this groundbreaking book offers nonprofit professionals a guide to:
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Understand the role of social change in our economy
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Capture and communicate impact in simple, compelling terms
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Identify the new market stakeholders that value nonprofit outcomes
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Create powerful value propositions to increase leverage
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Improve the success of a nonprofit's pitches to funders
The End of Fundraising includes the tools needed to effectively frame, market, and sell a nonprofit organization's impact, and contains step-by-step guidance for creating dynamic new opportunities with a variety of funders.
The Mission Measurement Nonprofit and Foundation Team is available to host workshops, webinars, lunch and learns and various other development sessions on Selling Your Impact. We encourage smaller nonprofits to contact our Nonprofit and Foundation team, we can always find creative ways to help out smaller organizations.
Saul and other Mission Measurement members are always speaking and hosting webinars. People are invited to join webinars and attend conferences and speaking events in their local area. The End of Fundraising is available and can be purchased on Amazon.
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