Foundation faces raising money, reconnecting with NCEW.

Asking people for money isn't something that comes naturally to those of us in the opinion and news business. But there we were in Kansas City on a Friday morning in April "dialing for dollars" The members of the NCEW and NCEW Foundation boards and a few committee chairs sat at a long table, cell phones pressed to our ears asking our members for much-needed support.

The principal reason for this unlikely event was a challenge grant of twenty-five thousand dollars from the John S. and James L. Knight, the Ford, and the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism foundations. Last June, NCEW became part of the Challenge Fund for Journalism that is trying to educate all journalism organizations in the refined art of raising money. Past NCEW president J.R. Labbe and I have attended a couple of intense sessions with about forty colleagues from other journalism organizations. We've been coached by some top folks from the TCC Group, who do this kind of organizational work for a living.

We all knew long before we arrived in Kansas City that we would be calling our members. And, our members were advised they would be getting calls. This whole undertaking was part of what's been a six-year effort to reinvigorate our organization. With the convergence in the media world that has taken place since our board's first strategic planning session in Seattle, the need to define who we are and where we're going is even more urgent than we knew then. Part of the Challenge Fund/ TCC work with us was developing an organizational profile. We were encouraged by some things we found, discouraged, or at least disappointed, by some other things. But the assessment gave us a clear understanding of our strengths and weaknesses.

At nearly sixty years old, NCEW is a mature organization that has been resting on its laurels. We recognized a few years ago that we can no longer be a convention-centered operation. As a membership organization, we have to provide services that members want and need, if we are to survive. We've done some things, but not enough.

The phone-a-thon from Kansas City was not entirely motivated by money. One thing the two boards have keenly recognized is our failure to keep in touch with the membership. So we tried to solicit suggestions and criticism from those we connected with that Friday morning. We got a number of very good suggestions for improving the organization and some legitimate criticism about things we have let slide or ignored. More than one caller told me that I was the first person from NCEW to ever make personal contact. That stung. But it also motivated us to make sure we never hear that again.

One of the first things you learn at fundraising school is this: If you don't ask, you won't receive. Some of us making calls turned out to be quite good at it. I do some fundraising as part of my new job, so I wasn't quite as uncomfortable as others. And David Holwerk, NCEW's treasurer, is a natural. Those who were not as good at scoring monetary commitments nonetheless were skilled at talking shop with members and getting sound, valuable feedback from them.

The splendid news is that we have met the twenty-five-thousand-dollar challenge. As I write this article, J.R. Labbe, our fundraising chair, has sent four messages with news of contributions that continue to roll in. The number of participants is as important as the money they contribute. As we seek money from foundations, corporations, and people of goodwill, we're always asked about board and member giving. Every member of the NCEW Foundation and NCEW boards has made a contribution. And now a significantly increasing number of our members are donors. This will put us in a much better position to raise money for projects to serve you better.

John H. Taylor Jr., executive director of the Delaware Public Policy Institute, is president of the NCEW Foundation. E-mail [e-mail]