ARTICLE

Nonprofits: Do You Know Who Your Crystal Is?

Last weekend, my family and I went to a park nearby and walked, in the pouring rain, to help support suicide prevention. We even got our 16 year old to put her phone down, listen to the speakers and just walk with us.

Why did we participate in this event?

Someone I dearly love attempted suicide a while back, but if I’m being honest, that wasn’t the reason.

The real reason was my neighbor, Crystal.

Crystal is passionate about suicide prevention, about changing society’s perceptions of mental health and making it more acceptable to discuss problems that people have.

Because of yard signs, Facebook posts, conversations in the back yard, articles on the newspaper she and her husband Chris publish and more things that I am not remembering right now, we decided to participate in the Augusta County Walk to Prevent Suicide.

Really, because of Crystal.

We paid the donation/fee to join, did a little peer-to-peer fundraising on Crystal’s behalf and walked. Talking with the kids about what they had seen and heard was a very positive experience.

So why is Crystal so passionate? As she will tell you, she lost a twin sister to suicide years ago and it has always affected her and stayed with her. She would like nothing more than to eradicate the pain she has felt as a survivor for the rest of us.

Listening to her speak on that stage was incredibly emotional, and I know she had no trouble whatsoever meeting her fundraising goals this year.

Hopefully your employees and board members have Crystal-characteristics, but it’s critical to find Crystals within your donor database. Do you know who they are?

Leading candidates might be:

frequent volunteers
monthly donors
donors with high engagement rates
donors with frequent soft credits
peer-to-peer fundraisers
donors who notify you of a change of address or billing information
charitable giving to other organizations like yours

But don’t just wait for Crystals to emerge on their own. Sometimes they need a little help. Your time would be well served digging in a little and following up to find out why a gift was made unexpectedly, why this new volunteer suddenly showed up, or why this new staff person really wants a job with you.

Ask questions, send surveys and say thank you frequently. Find out what their passion is, and help them direct it for the benefit of the cause you are both passionate about.

After all, people give to people, not organizations.

James Goalder

With almost 20 years of experience working in nonprofit technology and sales and relationship management, James brings the perfect blend of experience for his role as Partnerships Manager at Bloomerang. In his 7 years at Bloomerang, James has enjoyed helping nonprofits and those who work with them find success with Bloomerang, utilize software to increase their effectiveness, and ultimately achieve their missions

Comments

Peggy J Moore

As Crystal's mom, I too am most proud of her efforts to help others understand mental health and when to seek help for a loved one or a friend! Schools would not touch this subject years ago, but things are changing and awareness and education are needed! What we thought was teenage rebellion was much more serious! And yes, James, people need to talk about their concerns, their feelings, etc. without fear of being rejected or put down! Survivors have forever pain and must learn to cope but it is not easy! Thank you for this article and thank you for supporting this cause!
Pam

Thank for writing about Crystal. I have come to know her with the Greater Augusta Out of the Darkness Walk. I met her for the first time at the very first walk last year. She is an amazing person. She is committed to bringing awareness to our community. I hope to continue to help with her fight to end this mental disease.