Aligning Mission with Funding, the Strong Towns Way
There is a moment in the history of Strong Towns that has become legend both inside and outside of the organization. For those of you that haven’t heard about it before, it was the most important pivot point in the direction of the movement.
Andrew Burleson—our Board Chair then and now—was standing up staring at a collection of Post-it notes on the wall. He had just walked us through an exercise to sort those notes. On each one was an idea—think of it as a program—of what the organization could do. There was about three dozen Post-its representing the ambitions, dreams and aspirations of those of us sitting in the room.
Our problem was never trying to figure out what to do. Our shared objective was to change the development pattern of North American—no small feat—so there was a nearly infinite list of things that needed to be done, stuff we could do. The difficult question was always deciding what we should do. Most pointedly: What do we say no to? What opportunities do we pass over and what do we focus on?
Andrew’s sort had challenged us with two questions: First, what do we do well? Second, of the things we could do, what would be the most effective in furthering our mission? We collectively haggled over the answers, sorting as we went.
And then, magically, there appeared in front of me one of the greatest moments of clarity I’ve ever experienced, where all the things we did well clustered with the things that mattered, providing powerful guidance for what I needed to do with my life.
Two out of the three things we said we could do ended up on the scrapheap, including doing consulting work for cities (the thing I had done for two decades, knew well, and—no small point—was currently paying the bills and keeping the organization in business).
The Post-its that were left had no easily discernible business model, but a much clearer path to changing the world as we understood it. We decided that we would focus on (1) creating compelling content, (2) distributing that content broadly, and (3) nudging people to take action. We decided to put all our efforts into developing our ideas and then getting them out into the world, with a focus on making them actionable for people.
And that’s what we’ve done. Instead of me writing for three days a week, we now tap a growing list of contributors to help us publish articles every weekday. Instead of one podcast, we now publish three different streams, each with a format to suit different tastes. Our events have grown from one-off Rotary luncheons to an entire program centered now on our Strong America Tour. We support it all with one of the most sophisticated content distribution approaches you’ll ever see in a non-profit (even those doing similar work with 10x the budget—we’re punching far above our weight class).
And after years of experimenting, we’ve finally started to gain serious traction on the “taking action” portion of our strategic plan. Not only have we built a network of local advocates supporting each other in their efforts to bring about change, we’re also starting to see amazing things happening on the ground, much of it tied directly to our message.
None of that would have been possible if we hadn’t solved the business model challenge. In an age when media companies are downsizing and going out of business, in a field dominated by big money and large institutional players, how were we going to execute on a strategy of radical change based on media messaging?
There was only one way, and there has ever only been one way, this kind of thing works: a broad groundswell of support from individuals who align with our message.
Mind you, this seemed crazy to me from the start. Not only were we giving up the (steady and lucrative) consulting revenue, we weren’t even prioritizing foundation funding or major donors. Instead, we aligned our future— our very existence as an organization—with the thousands of people who would choose to give us $5, $10, $25 or more each month.
Today, we count on donations through membership for 40% of our budget. That’s many people doing their part to keep all this going. Another 40% comes from revenue associated with speaking engagements; that’s partners supporting us when we go and share our message with others. This is an operating plan that aligns our success with our mission, and our mission with the people we’re working to serve.
The day our message becomes irrelevant, the day our ideas stop being compelling to people, is the day our revenue dries up and our organization goes away. I hope that is the day our message has become so ubiquitous and widely-accepted that we no longer need to advocate for it. That will be a great day.
Help us get there. Do your part today by signing up to be a member of Strong Towns. Your tax-deductible contribution—in any amount—will keep this organization going, help us reach more people, and get us closer to the day when we have a nation of truly Strong Towns.
For this week only, new members who join at $10 or more per month will receive an autographed copy of my new Strong Towns book, along with a lost chapter, a companion reading list, and an invitation to the inaugural book club coming January 2020.
If there's a single document that reflects the spirit of our work and the essence of the Strong Towns movement, it's the "Don't Be a Jerk" Agreement that we ask all Local Conversation leaders to sign. As the movement continues to grow — and as Election Day draws near — we want to make this agreement public.