Organizational & Campaign

Development

Drive Safe Kalamazoo

Key Challenges Negative public opinion Recruitment & Retention Unsustainable Fundraising

In 2009, Aaron was appointed Chairperson of

this 501(c)3 organization and was faced with

many challenges that could have led to the

organization's dissolution. With the help of

the organization's newly-appointed board,

the organization was completely restructured  and even hosted the national conference of

safe-ride organizations two years later as a

model organization.

5,500

7,000

8,500

10,000

2005-062009-10

Annual Ride Totals

Restructure policies, safety

procedures, and Board of Directors.

Develop selective Membership

Program to create “prestige,”

enhanced training, teamwork &

recognition.

Remodel Operations Center.

Organize campus-wide Safe-Rides

Week for DUI awareness, member

recruitment, & advertising.

Increase revenue through

sponsorships, individual donors, and

grants.

The Plan

\Policy Changes

✓Cancellation procedures during inclement weather to reduce safety hazards.

✓Financial protocols to reduce over-spending.

✓Communication goals to ensure proper response times with sponsors, donors, members and patrons.

✓Member training requirements to reduce problems during operations.

✓Operation safety protocols to eliminate fear within members during operations and boost confidence with Directors in Charge.

Restructure policies, safety

procedures, and Board of Directors.

Develop selective Membership

Program to create “prestige,”

enhanced training, teamwork &

recognition.

Remodel Operations Center.

Organize campus-wide Safe-Rides

Week for DUI awareness, member

recruitment, & advertising.

Increase revenue through

sponsorships, individual donors, and

grants.

The Plan

\Membership Changes

✓All potential members (volunteers) must undergo group interview process to ensure front-line representatives uphold the DSK Brand, create team atmosphere and bring “prestige” to membership.

✓Past 45-minute training session expanded to 3-hour session and include mock-rides to familiarize members with dispatching system to reduce problems during actual operations.

✓Members acquire points for their hard work that can be utilized for gift cards, free meals and “skip-the-line” passes.

Ops Center Renovation✓Renovated unwelcoming operations center to create a warm, productive and comfortable atmosphere.

Photos to come!

Restructure policies, safety

procedures, and Board of Directors.

Develop selective Membership

Program to create “prestige,”

enhanced training, teamwork &

recognition.

Remodel Operations Center.

Organize campus-wide Safe-Rides

Week for DUI awareness, member

recruitment, & advertising.

Increase revenue through

sponsorships, individual donors, and

grants.

The Plan

\

With grant funding by Prevention Networks, Safe Ride

Week was created to increase awareness of the

consequences from drunk driving and advertise DSK’s

services to students during the first week of school.

Restructure policies, safety

procedures, and Board of Directors.

Develop selective Membership

Program to create “prestige,”

enhanced training, teamwork &

recognition.

Remodel Operations Center.

Organize campus-wide Safe-Rides

Week for DUI awareness, member

recruitment, & advertising.

Increase revenue through

sponsorships, individual donors, and

grants.

The Plan

Sustainable Revenue

✓Meet with WMU student government to ensure

guaranteed funding for rental vehicles through student

activity fees.

✓Implement annual appeal to individual donors from the

Kalamazoo area.

✓Develop business sponsorship program to increase

funding, member incentives and partnerships.

\

WMU was one of the first universities to embrace the evolving higher education fundraising model by creating university-sponsored alumni organizations areas concentrated with WMU grads. Aaron was part of a six-member team to implement the outreach arm of the WMU Family. Our team was given 3,000 contacts who were either past donors or individuals who no longer wished to be contacted from the university to cold call, schedule personal meetings, and establish a mutually beneficial relationship for both WMU and the "family member." Our team developed the outreach program from the ground up by creating a tracking database, communication tactics, and recognition tools.

WMU Foundation

Communication Tracking

Communication Strategies

6/2/11%

1%

Aaron Booth

WMU Development and Alumni Relations

What is the Goal of Building Relationships?

•  Exercise #1

–  Fix your attention on the graphic in the next slide

–  Keep your eyes on the graphic for 30 seconds

Raise your hand when you notice your eyes glaze over and the graphic turns

blurry."Don’t look away! Seriously!

If this happens in our meetings,

something is wrong.

Relationship Construction Process

Effective Relationship

Preparation

First Impression Conversation

Connect-FOUR

6/2/11%

2%

Preparation

How to prepare yourself

Choose your Attitude

Create the Experience

Eat some K.F.C.

Learn, serve, & give.

Choose your Attitude

Anxiety Excitement Vs.

Create the Experience

VS

Colonel Sanders says…

Know what you want

Find out what you’re getting

Change what you do until you know what you want.

Eat some K.F.C.! �

6/2/11%

3%

First Impression

Make the Impression – Create the Connection

•  When are first impressions made?

•  How fast are first impressions made?

•  What determines the first impression?

–  Presence

–  Attitude

–  How you make people feel

Make a BRONCO Impression

!  Open

!  Eyes

!  Beam

!  Hi!

!  Lean

I’m 65+ and place trust in those with manners.

Importance of the First Impression

•  If they like you after the first impression, they will unconsciously tend to see the best in you and look for opportunities to say “yes.” If they don’t like you, the opposite is true.

–  Harvard School of Health Sciences

Were you listening?

•  First impressions are made sub-consciously.

•  A negative first impression is difficult to fix when the other person isn’t aware of their disrespect.

Make their day! The Conversation

6/2/11%

4%

Connection BUILDS Trust

•  What is connecting and why is it important? –  Commanding attention is ineffective

–  Average human attention span is 30 seconds •  Sync with them!

–  People like people like themselves •  I like you < I AM like you

–  Mirror positive attitudes, body language, speech, etc.

–  Lead the situation Not sure who is leading?

Test it out. Take a sip of your drink. If your counterpart did not take a drink, you are more than likely not leading the situation.

Congruent Body Language

Open •  Point your heart to the other

person.

•  Lean forward while standing or Sit up and forward in your chair

•  Keep you arms and legs uncrossed

•  “It was interesting to see new parts of the city!”

REQUIRES ATTENTION AND PERCEVERIENCE

Closed •  Crossed arms

•  Fidgeting

•  Avoiding eye contact

•  Turning your body sideways

•  “It was a really long and far drive.”

EASY AND DONE SUB-CONCIOUSLY

Here come the words…

•  Use your connections to begin conversation.

•  Learn about the other person.

•  Avoid conflicts & continue conversations by finding common ground.

•  Make them feel good about themselves, WMU, and this meeting.

Conversation Equation

Begin with a statement about a location or occasion

+ Ask an open question

+ Probe for stories from their time

@ WMU. +

“Feeler” questions =

Active Listening

•  Active listening demonstrates sincere interest

•  Attempt to grasp and understand the facts and the underlying feelings –  Empathize

–  Use your open body language

•  Para-phrasing ≠ active listening –  Only sounds like your listening

–  Active listening fosters the feeling of listening and feeling that you care

Active Listening Tools

"  Give spoken feedback. "  Get inside what the other

person is saying. "  Give physical feedback open,

encouraging body language. "  Move to the front edge of your

seat and look enthusiastic. "  Point your heart at the other

person.

But what about me?

•  Give and take –  Hold up your own end of the conversation

–  Speak clearly and deliberately

–  SHOWTIME! – Exude confidence.

•  Develop your 3 WMU Stories –  Be sure to have a punch line

–  Make yourself memorable •  Make it personal.

Remember: the average human’s attention span

is only 30 seconds.

Word Amnesia and/or Vomit

•  Word Amnesia

–  Probe about your connections. You both have a connection to WMU (i.e. buildings, East Campus, etc.)

–  Develop a list of probing questions.

–  Be yourself.

•  Word Vomit

–  Leave controversy at home - give the pencil back.

–  Remember: Anxiety & Excitement are the same

•  Take a deep breathe & regroup

•  Choose your attitude!

6/2/11%

5%

Connecting the Dots

Did you reach your goal?

•  Driving Forces

–  What did you learn?

–  How did you serve?

–  What did you give?

•  Did they leave feeling good about WMU? About themselves?

•  What did the other person take away from this conversation? How about you?

In 10 Seconds or less…

Effective Relationship

Preparation

First Impression Conversation

Connect-FOUR

July 23, 2011A RealAmerican HeroBy catherineVDM

When Virgil Westdale (BS ’62) first came to WMU in 1941 from a family farmin White Pigeon, Mich., he had no idea that his future would entail heroic warstories, inventions, acrobatic flying or awards from world leaders.

Westdale is a 93 year old Japanese-American Bronco alumnus who firstattended WMU in 1941 to later leave college and train in acrobatic flying inSouth Bend, Ind. He quickly became a star student and was at the top of hisclass only to have his pilot’s license confiscated by the U.S. government.Westdale’s Japanese ancestry became a problem when President Rooseveltissues Executive Order 9066— it allowed discrimination against those whowere of Japanese descent.

As a result, he changed his original last name, Nichimuru, to the Englishtranslation, Westdale, so he could join the U.S. Army Air Corps. The U.S.government found nothing of interest against Westdale, however, he was

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I have a BA and MA from WMU, can trace my family tree back 13

ordered to transfer to the U.S. Army as a Private. He trained in the 442nd

Infantry Division and later fought in World War II. Most notably, his infantryrescued prisoners from the Dachau Concentration Camp – a memory that hewill never forget.

To this day, the 442nd Infantry Division is the most decorated regiment in U.S.Military. Moreover, Westdale’s division will receive a Congressional GoldMedal—which was officially signed by President Obama in 2010.

In 1949, Westdale returned to WMU to earn a Bachelor degree in BusinessAdministration, and then another Bachelor of Science in Paper Technology(1962). He has worked in numerous positions, including senior projectchemical engineer, research associate, and principal scientist— which led himto invent 25 U.S. patents.

Westdale retired in 1988; in 1995 he became an Airport Security Officer inGrand Rapids, Michigan, and later, a Transportation Security AdministrationOfficer— a position heheld for 14 years. Heofficially retired at 91years of age to publishhis autobiography“Blue Skies andThunder.”

Westdale is a recipientof the WMUDistinguished AlumniAward, theInternational Researchand DevelopmentAward in Calgary,Canada, and wasselected as the topresearch scientist of hisorganization.

To learn more aboutWestdale’s book, or toget a copy click the linkbelow.

LINK: VIRGIL’S BOOK

Pictured above withWestdale (center) isAaron Booth (left), author of this article and Jamee Dunten, WMUDevelopment and Alumni Relations Interns. They recently met with Westdaleand other WMU alums in the Grand Rapids area to learn more about theirstories. If you know of an outstanding Bronco alum, we want to hear about it!

About catherineVDM

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