Staying the Course

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American Red Cross Midway-Kansas Chapter, Executive Director, Bev Morlan, delivered her heartfelt argument with passion and conviction.  "We can stop in the middle of this campaign.  We can say, ‘Now is not the time.'  But it is the time!  Our clients need us now more than ever.  A sagging economy and 9/11 are not reasons to stop this campaign.  Those factors are even more reason to push forward.  Giving up is just not an option."

Morlan's Board of Directors and campaign volunteers agreed.  Despite the layoff of thousands of aviation workers in the Air Capital city, the Midway-Kansas Chapter pressed on with their 10-month-old campaign.  Sixteen months later, the Chapter had secured more than $5.9 million toward its integrated campaign.

"What we kept hearing from our fundraising consultant was, ‘It's not about the money,'" said Morlan,  "He kept reminding us that it was all about changing lives for the better.  There were people who needed us.  Those needs weren't any less because the economy was poor.  In fact – in anything – people needed our services even more.  This is the message we continually shared with our donors."

Campaign Co-Chairs Marc Colby and Barry West said the decision to stay on task and keep the nearly $6 million goal in place was not a difficult one.  "Every year more than 70,000 people are served by this Chapter," said Colby, General Manager of New England Life.  "We couldn't turn our backs on them just because we thought the fundraising environment was going to get tougher."

West echoed Colby's remarks, "I am proud of everyone: the staff, the Board, and the volunteer leaders.  We could have lowered the goal or put the campaign on hiatus, but what would that accomplish?  The organization needed this campaign to meet real needs of real people in our area."

The Midway-Kansas Chapter had some valid needs as well.  The Chapter's 24-year-old facility had completely run out of space.  Increased regulatory standards and greater demands placed on the Red Cross Blood Services program required more of the current building to be dedicated to fulfilling those requirements.  That need, combined with overflowing parking lots, increased demand for emergency social services, a growing transportation program, and the need for a better emergency-response staging area, convinced the Board of Directors in 2000 that a new facility was crucial.

In the spring of 2001, Hartsook Companies president Robert Swanson led a campaign assessment that resulted in the Board's decision to launch an integrated campaign to include capital, endowment and annual fund solicitations.  The campaign priority was a $5.1 million renovation of the former Bulger Cadillac dealership in downtown Wichita. 

The property met all of the criteria set forth by the Board.  There was also the added benefit of turning a vacant facility in the downtown corridor into something vibrant and new.  "It had visibility, lots of parking, easy access and space to grow," said incoming Board president, Susan Franz Koslowsky.  "It also had out-buildings for emergency and disaster equipment.  If it wasn't perfect, it was as close to prefect as one could get."

Also "close to perfect" were the many volunteers who served on this campaign.  "I can't say enough about our volunteers," said Linda Wright – Chief Development Officer.  "In the beginning, some of them were a little reluctant to ask for large gifts, but they accepted instruction and teamed up with Bev and I, or with other volunteers, and made the solicitation calls.  As they became more comfortable with the process, I think some of them even learned to enjoy it."

While the term "enjoying it" may be too strong a characterization noted West, he agreed that the cultivation and solicitation visits were not as difficult as they had expected.  "When you believe in what you're selling, it's not hard to ask for help.  I believe in this Red Cross Chapter.  Everyone here does a great job.  It also became clear to me as we did the campaign that a lot of people who came before us had done a really good job with this Chapter as well."

West told the story of a donor whose gift came enclosed with letters he had written during World War II.  "The letters were from him to his mother," said West.  "They talked about many things, including the great care he was receiving from the Red Cross after his combat injuries.  He talked about their compassion and concern for him.  His memory of that experience played a large role in the $500,000 gift we received."  Given the state of the economy, West said the legacy of the Red Cross was invaluable in securing gifts.

At the time, the aviation industry of Wichita had been hit particularly hard by the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the United States.  Unemployment skyrocketed as airlines went into bankruptcy and air travelers dwindled in numbers.  In light of this economic climate, the campaign strategy was to diversify the organization's donor prospect pools so the Chapter was not dependent on just one type of donor or donation.

"Robert Swanson had already suggested to us – and to a degree warned us from the start – not to rely solely on corporations or foundations or individuals.  The goal was always to engage a cross-section of all three," said Wright.  In the end, 13 percent of the donors were foundations, seven percent were corporations and 80 percent were individuals. 

"The other benefit of that strategy," said Colby, "was that we involved a lot of new people in the life of the organization.  Robert always said it was about more than the money.  Of course, we had to raise the money; but it was really about engaging more people in this great organization."

The campaign also included an end-game strategy to make sure everyone who wanted to participate had an opportunity to lend a hand.  "Less than 100 gifts gave us 90 percent of our $5.9 million," said Morlan.  "But as Marc Colby said, it was about more than money.  We identified almost 1,000 individuals and asked them to join the campaign and make a gift of their choosing.  I think I was as proud of that part of the campaign as I was of the really big solicitations."

"We certainly had some disappointments along the way," admitted former Board president, Sue Pearce.  "But, I can't say enough good things about the people, businesses and foundations of Wichita and Kansas.  I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that the Mabee Foundation of Tulsa provided us with a very important $810,000 challenge grant to complete the last half of the campaign."

According to Colby and West, the campaign process worked well.  "We had an umbrella strategy and within that we met monthly with Bev and Linda, the campaign committee and our consultant," said West.  "Each month, we reviewed what had or had not been accomplished, and then outlined the next month's action items and went forward."

Morlan said that the campaign structure and framework fit her management style well.  "The team was great to work with.  Even when we had our down moments, I never felt alone or thought we would fail."  Morlan's comments take on added value when one learns that she became the Chapter's executive director immediately prior to launching the campaign.  "I say this somewhat jokingly and somewhat seriously - jumping into a campaign just as you become a new executive director has its benefits."

Colby paused and offered, "Obviously, sometimes there were reasons to think we might fail: the economy, the shear magnitude of the campaign goal.  But in the end, it was about people in need.  People needing us - the Chapter and the generous people of Wichita - to step up to the plate.  Bev was right.  Giving up on this campaign was never an option."

Campaign Leadership Committee: " Together We Can Save a Life Campaign"
Velma Lunt Wallace, Honorary Chair
Marc Colby, Co-Chair New England Life Barry West, Co-Chair Prudential Reality, retired Dan Carney Co-Founder, Pizza Hut Robert Crawford Lone Star Steakhouse Marty Dondlinger, Jr. Dondlinger & Sons Construction Susan Franz Koslowsky Emprise Bank Ron Holt KGE/KPL, retired Jim Mai Commerce Bank	Sue Pearce Piping & Equipment Charlie Russell IBM Corporation, retired Jayne S. Smith Civic Leader Bill Thompson Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch Paul Tobia Vulcan Chemicals, retired Henry Williford Boeing, retired Bev Morlan, Executive Director American Red Cross Linda Wright, Chief Development Officer American Red Cross

Midway Kansas Chapter of the American Red Cross Board of Directors

Sue Pearce, Board Chair Piping & Equipment Susan Franz Koslowsky, Board Vice-Chair Emprise Bank Bobbie Hansen, Secretary Sunflower Travel Agency William Pickert, Treasurer BKD, LLP Marc Colby New England Life John Ast LSI Logic Dr. Donald Beggs Wichita State University Daryl Burnham Plumbers & Steam Fitters Local #171 Dan Carney Co-Founder, Pizza Hut Jill Docking AG Edwards Marty Dondlinger, Jr. Dondlinger & Sons Construction Les Eck Rusty Eck Ford Tom Harwell Koch Industries Pam Johnson Detmac Willie Kendrick Wil-Ken Enterprises

Robert Landers Bank of America Jim Mai Commerce Bank Arneatha Martin Center for Health & Wellness Mac McKee Gossen Livingston Architects Ron Meyers Civic Leader Joseph T. Pajor City of Wichita Charlie Russell IBM Corporation, retired Alan Schmidt Mortgage Centre Suzanne Scott Boeing Susan Selvidge Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch Denise Sherman Sherman Broadcast Group Jayne S. Smith Civic Leader Paul Tobia Vulcan Chemicals, retired Dr. Thomas Tran Civic Leader Sheryl Wohlford Automation Plus