Coaching Champions vs. Managing Donors

At Montrose Elementary, my teachers taught the 3 R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Like most kids, I went to class and did my homework. But real growth happened outside the classroom—through play.

On the field, coaches shaped not just my physical skills but my ability to work with others toward a common goal. Coaching creates alignment and accelerates growth.

Leadership works the same way.

•   Team alignment happens when we choose to join others for a common cause.

•   Champions who share our cause become involved in advancing it.

•   Effective leaders coach and empower Champions of the cause.

In Coach Your Champions Eric Foley asks;

•   What if fundraising is the result of equipping ordinary people to solve the problems we solve and share the cause we love?

•   What if the donor (Champion) is the primary way of spreading the shared cause within his or her own network?

•   What if the involved people are the ones giving and the ones that aren’t involved aren’t giving?

The choice is yours:

Manage donors with short-term fundraising programs.

Or coach your Champions, equipping them to grow the cause within their networks.

Here’s to coaching Champions to grow the shared cause,

Wes Legg

Coach & Facilitator