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BarJournal COLUMN

JULY/AUGUST 2015
TION STRATEGIC FUNDRAISING PLAN

IS A THANK YOU NOTE

BAR FOUNDA

Stephanie Dutchess Trudeau

CMBF President

n this month of giving and of thanks, I • Do you feel the CMBF effectively more can be done. The strategic fundraising
share with you the Strategic Fundraising communicates its impact? plan specified the categories for attention:
Plan of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar • What do you think is the biggest impact Staffing and Infrastructure, Board Engagement,
Foundation as a form of “thank you made by the CMBF? The Donor Experience, Annual Giving and
Inote.” It is an expression of gratitude to • What do you think makes an organization Fundraising Events, Communications and
our donors that the Foundation has a tangible successful at fundraising? Awareness. Within those categories, there were
plan for thoughtful and intentional • Are you a donor to the CMBF? specific recommendations.
leadership for using the resources • How do you prefer to give to the From there, the members of the CMBF
entrusted to the Foundation. CMBF? Strategic Planning Committee took over.
Over the course of • How do you view the The board members prioritized each action
several months importance of the item and set a timeline with target dates for
in 2018, many endowment? execution. Now, those individually prioritized
s t a k e h o lder s Thank • When you give to recommendations are action plans which are
and community a nonprofit, what being implemented by a specific Foundation
m em b er s You motivates you to committee, or by the full Board of Directors.
contributed their make a second gift to The CMBF’s plan gives thanks by
ideas on how to that organization? committing to faithful stewardship now
carry forward • Who should the and in the future. Developing and fulfilling
the Foundation’s CMBF look toward for a strategic fund-raising plan is one of many
mission. The result fundraising support? ways the CMBF is thanking Foundation
was a Strategic Fundraising • What is your view of the Fellows program? donors, supporters, and volunteers for their
Plan created exclusively for the • Please finish my sentence, “If the CMBF investment. We are continually thankful.
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation. no longer existed,
The final philanthropy blueprint, approved ______”
by the full Board of Directors, is serving as • Is there anything Continue to spread mission
a road map during my term as President of else you think the
the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation. CMBF should be moments of impact.
This strategic plan will not collect dust sitting doing?
on a shelf! It is jam-packed with great ideas. An outside third
The ideas flowed, in part, from stakeholder party consultant
answers to these and other questions: developed the questions, and then collected
• What does the CMBF mean to you? and analyzed the responses for us. We wanted
• What do you believe is the mission of the unvarnished feedback untainted by fear of Stephanie Dutchess Trudeau is a partner, trial
CMBF? attribution. Our goal was to learn and to identify lawyer and certified specialist in employment and
• Do you believe the mission is being fulfilled? areas of opportunity. We were not fishing for labor law at Ulmer & Berne LLP. She chaired the
compliments, but the CMBF Strategic Planning Committee, is President
good news found us. of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation,
Celebrate, thank and cultivate The analysts reported and is a past Chair of the Cleveland Bar Associa-
that the CMBF has
tion Labor and Employment Law Section. She
volunteers and donors. been doing much clerked for United States District Court Judge Ann
that is right and went Aldrich and has been a CMBA member since
on to outline where 1985. She can be reached at strudeau@ulmer.com.
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