Need: Help identifying ways to effectively increase gift income
Service: CoffeeCounsel®
One of the services offered by Smith Beers Yunker & Company is CoffeeCounsel®, a no-obligation, no-fee session with a senior counselor to discuss pressing fund-raising and management concerns. The executive director and board chair of 4C, took advantage of this opportunity to “pick the brains” of experienced development professionals and were pleased with the results.
“It became clear to us during our discussion with Jim Yunker ‘over coffee’ that Smith Beers Yunker could provide skills and knowledge that we did not have among the members of our development committee,” recalls 4C Executive Director Sallie Westheimer. “This was the primary reason we decided to hire Smith Beers Yunker as counsel for our first-ever capital campaign. In general, I’ve found that most consultants are not able to offer much insight beyond what staff and board members already possess. But, because Smith Beers Yunker offered us a team of experienced fund-raising professionals, we received a great deal more expertise and knowledge than was available to us internally.”
“I was also impressed with the personal tone of the CoffeeCounsel session,” continues Sallie. “Jim spoke in terms of ‘we’ rather than ‘you and us’ and I sensed that he was reflecting a company philosophy of viewing the project from a vested insider’s perspective rather than as an outsider who may or may not be concerned with our success. Even before we made the decision to retain Smith Beers Yunker, Jim opened our eyes to many things we had not considered. I would suggest that anyone who is seeking creative fund-raising ideas would benefit from a CoffeeCounsel session with Smith Beers Yunker.
4C is a respected Cincinnati agency working to improve the quality, availability, affordability and accessibility of child care and depends upon gifts from individuals, corporations and foundations in addition to the support it receives from the United Way, City of Cincinnati, and States of Ohio and Kentucky.