My New Year’s Resolution

At the start of every new year I write down my resolutions … some more serious than others, but all focused on how I can grow as a person both personally and professionally.  2019 is no exception.

Yes, I do need to eat less ice cream (a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, while delicious is not the epitome of a healthy snack … and I will most certainly fail at this endeavor … ugh), and without a doubt need to add any form of cardio into my day (running up the two flights of stairs to my home office doesn’t count).  But more importantly, I need to operate outside of my comfort zone, not punish myself for mistakes, and allow myself to learn.

When I first decided that these should be my New Year’s resolutions, they came from a place of trying to find a new hobby and attempting to be healthier (mentally and physically), but I quickly realized that they can be applied to my profession as well.  We are creatures of habit and many of us find comfort in our routine and what we know.  But what happens when that comfort leads to stagnation or impedes our progress to achieve a goal?

For me last year was another year of learning. While I was hopeful to just charge out of the gate with our new strategic services, I began to realize that there was still much for me to learn and understand about our industry’s needs.

In 2018, I did a lot of listening … listening to our nonprofits share their short-term and long-term goals, what their operational needs are, how we as a vendor partner can support them, and about their pain points and the gaps in service that currently exist.  It was eye-opening and quite the education.

Armed with these insights and knowledge, I recently went back to the drawing board and took another look at how Merkle RMG can support our nonprofits to achieve their goals and how our services lined up.  With some minor tweaks, all the pieces were there … I just needed to figure out how to put them together to create a solution that our nonprofits could clearly visualize.

So, I did something a little crazy … I reworked the Rapport solution.  When I say “reworked,” I really mean completely rejiggered an entire solution that was already in the marketplace. 

No longer is the solution bundled in categories that are irrelevant to the industry … instead I’ve created solutions that speak to specific areas of a fundraising program, something that nonprofits can relate to:

• Donor Stewardship (your core donors)
• New Donor Welcome and Conversion
• Mid-Level and High Value Donors Services
• Sustainer Retention

For me, the early part of 2019 will be reintroducing the Rapport solution to the nonprofit community.  There will be emails, mailings, white papers, case studies, webinars, social media updates (@AmyBMerkleRMG), etc. sharing in detail what Rapport is all about and it can help nonprofits achieve their goals.

I’m thankful that I had the ability to pause, reassess, and relaunch a solution that I do truly believe our industry can and will benefit from.  And I cannot wait to share this solution with you.

Here’s to a successful 2019!

Cheers my friends,

Amy