Now, to help a nonprofit to do its mission, a million dollars is a lot. When I started as head of marketing at Heifer International in the early nineties, the annual revenue from that effort was $3 million. Compared to similar groups it wasn’t much. The organization’s work was highly respected, but after 50 years, even with of a lot of people trying really hard, this is what marketing raised in 19
92:
O O O
16 years later, we had grown annual marketing revenue to $90 million:
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
That’s a big change! In most of those years, Heifer grew between $5 and $10 million — more growth than the first 50 years combined. So what happened? First, we found a lot of talented people. Hopefully, you’ve already got some of those. Just as important:
Innovation. Smart changes. Persistence. Good design. Rainmaking. The very things Thunderhead Works will help you develop for your organization: so you can grow your revenue, influence, brand, publicity. Or create innovative new programs or products. So you can do a better job of helping the world.
