In this episode of Executive with a Cause, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Heidi Prowse, CEO of MIEACT.
Fundraising galas can be the crown jewel in an organisation’s calendar, but how about one that doesn’t feature alcohol and no sponsors? In this episode, Heidi and I discuss MIEACT’s DoNOHarm framework for mental health education, shaking up the fundraising scene, drinking the ‘Salesforce Kool Aid’ and jogging through Canberra in her Speedos.
Mental Illness Education ACT (MIEACT) developed its DoNOHarm structure as best practice to ensure the safety of its volunteers, staff and audience when conducting its education programs. Heidi discusses how she challenged the notion that galas need to be boozy to attract donations by opting for an alcohol-free event aligned with these DoNOHarm values. This was further compounded when Heidi focused on sharing stories rather than traditional activities such as raffles on the night. And despite the event not following the gala norm, it worked, with the fundraiser attracting an impressive 60% profit margin that offers learnings for all organisations.
After receiving a grant to attend Salesforce training in Sydney, Heidi describes how she recognised the potential the software offered to streamline organisational processes and enhance her productivity. Tweaking these automations with her personalised language, Heidi’s approach became so effective that recipients didn’t even realise she was blissfully asleep when they received emails! This commitment to improving workflows saw Heidi awarded Salesforce’s Golden Hoodie, and we hear how she strongly encourages other organisations to learn how they can harness technology to improve their own practices.
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IT in Plain English
Your organisation probably has a few different strategies, but how about a data strategy? In this segment, Tammy explains what a data strategy may contain and why you should protect data just like a physical asset.
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Topics from this episode:
- 0.00| Introduction
- 1.29 | Introducing MIEACT
- 4.55 | Defining mental health
- 9.50 | Supporting volunteers
- 19.15 | Entering the community sector
- 27.00 | Holding an alcohol-free gala ball
- 33.15 | Fundraising at the gala
- 40.30 | Improving productivity through Salesforce
- 47.25 | Trailhead and the Golden Hoodie
- 51.40 | Santa’s Speedo Shuffle
- 59.57 | Connecting with Heidi
- 1.04.17 | IT in Plain English
Quotes from Heidi in this episode:
“I feel my whole career I have been where I’ve needed to be. And when I came into this organisation, I loved that it led with the practical and then backed with the research. Because that makes sense to me, it’s how I piece things together. I’m a doer; I love to hear the story and then be able to go, what does this mean, how can I make sense of it?”
“We start that conversation really early, and then we continue to have that conversation throughout life because, let’s be honest, it’s probably something we’ve all been reminded, to go to the gym or maybe eat better, so all of those things that we may know, but maybe don’t always do.”
“It may take a while to figure out what really works for you, but there is something. It’s a shame you can’t go; oh, you’re purple; here’s the purple solution because it does take work, and it does take courage to respond when you face a setback.”
Our absolute foundation of MIEACT is our DoNOHarm framework. DoNOHarm is something we created as a lived-experience, co-design model for how we can protect ourselves when we share our stories. But secondly, how do we consider the audience that we are communicating to and make sure they’re safe? Because what we know is that when we have conversations that are very challenging and make us feel not okay, our brain goes into survival mode. Our brain has no capacity to listen. So, we don’t want to go into a classroom of Year 7s and nudge. We want to go in and say this is a safe space, and we’re going to talk about some stuff today. But the DoNOHarm principles provide a structure in the conversation so that you can educate, and so that those minds can fully listen to the story.”
“So every session that we walk into, we try to think about, who is the audience, what are we trying to achieve? And our focus must always be on the education.”
“As soon as I got into the community sector, I thought, ooh, I’ve found my purpose, I’ve found the place that makes me want to get out of bed and makes me want to learn.”
“I thought, this is actually a really important element, because my whole career has been around the hard nudging and putting a sick child in front of you, to make you make a donation. And I remember when I was interviewed for my job at MIEACT, I really looked forward to learning more about this DoNOHarm because I was really challenging everything I’d ever believed about getting an outcome.”
“For me, it was really about challenging the status quo; why does a gala have to be this way? Is there really evidence that getting people drunk will make more money? We walked away with a 60% profit margin, so tell me any other fundraising event that has done that, especially a gala ball.”
“Once it had started, it just kept going. And the money kept going up and up. And we had some beautiful competition between organisations donating, but also there were a lot of silent donations. Those silent donators didn’t need to stand up and say what they’d donated because they said it with their actions.”
“Our guest speaker and I did training together. We went through her speech to make sure it went through very specific fundraising recommendations, and then my speech as the MC actually linked all the key messages.”
“I started to learn the (Salesforce) platform, and there was this incredible moment where I realised I could be better at my job by using this system.”
“I made the system work for me. I was one person, but the amount of productivity I was able to achieve as one person was really phenomenal, because I could just come to the points required and action. And that really changed my understanding of business. It really changed the way that I was thinking about what I was doing.”
“The original model had no registration fee, but there would be a minimum amount to raise. So as an individual, you’d have to raise $550. And you’d get your uniform provided. And that was my marketing and brand background because I wanted to make it an annual event, so I needed everyone to look good! The first year we had nine Santas, and we ran across Canberra and raised $1250. And then, the next year, more people joined, but with the same minimum fundraising amount. And the next year, even more people participated.”
“We’ve probably only had 300 different people over the ten years. There’s been the same people who’ve come year after year. And collectively, they’ve raised almost a million dollars. That’s the thing that I have so much pride about. Because in those early years, I was doing fun runs. And you’re going through so much effort to coordinate 250 people, and maybe only 7 of them would fundraise, and maybe they’d raise $65,000, and it was great, but I just really wanted a quality event where people would commit to the cause.”
“Look for a way that you can give back. And consider what that gift could look like. And I think a lot of the time people underestimate how much Not for Profits could benefit from skills.”
“We always say, we’re here to help or what can I do to help. And I just think, as someone who’s been a carer, I can’t process what I need you to do; that’s too hard. The best people in my time as a carer and professionally have said, ‘I want to help you; this is what I can do.’”
Links & Resources
- Connect with Heidi on Linkedin
- Visit the MIEACT website
- Donate to the Santa Speedo Shuffle
- Learn more about the DoNOHarm framework
Other Episodes Mentioned in this Show
- Watch our interview with Francis Owusu of Kulture Break
- Watch our interview with Hannah Andrevski of Roundabout Canberra
Credits
Thanks to our Producer, Nick Whatman, and the entire team at Lonsdale St. Studio. Thanks also to our Digital Content Creator, Laura Kleinrahm.
Tammy Ven Dange is a former charity CEO, Not for Profit Board Member and IT Executive. Today she helps NFPs with strategic IT and data decisions with her business, Roundbox Consulting.