Be The Lighthouse
"Neesha, Which Funders Are Right For Me?" How I use the Lighthouse Strategy to transcend this question whenever possible.
Dear Impact Star,
Hope you are doing well? I broke my toe so I’m hobbling around with a boot on. Life has a way of keeping you humble, doesn’t it!?! I miss my walks - that’s when I host ‘walk and talk office hours’ for those who can’t afford to hire me, but need some mentoring and advice. Which reminded me of a question I got last week from a pre-seed carbon-negative startup founder who reads this newsletter: "Which funders do I target?"
The Executive Director at a regenerative agriculture organization struggling to raise money came to me with a similar question: “Most foundations websites say, “We do not accept unsolicited proposals.” How should I proceed?”
Since I’m not able to do my talk-and-walk calls, I thought I would answer both of their questions via this newsletter so you can benefit as well. Today, I’d like to share my Be The Lighthouse Positioning Strategy.
But I will warn you — you will feel a bit of resistance when you first read it. So if you feel that way, keep it aside, and come back and read it a second time.
It took me a while to get it too. But now, it’s my preferred strategy even though, it does take some hard work to get the flywheel going.
I’ve seen it work like a charm over and over again, and I’m implementing it myself in my new venture. There are no free lunches. Everything requires work!
The best part is you don’t have to give up reaching out to the right funders. You can do that too. The Lighthouse Positioning Strategy makes outreach much easier.
Be The Lighthouse Positioning Strategy
There are five elements to this strategy — you don’t need to implement all five. Even one or two of them are often enough. Pick the ones that feel easiest for you. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Implement consistently and your efforts compound and pay off.
Big Vision
Action: Define a bold goal for meaningful impact that redefines what's possible in your field. Make sure it's ambitious but achievable.
Asset: When someone searches for that term or concept, your name should pop up in the search results. This could be through a TED Talk or a white paper, but it needs to be crafted to have a massive impact. Become associated with that big idea so funders who care about the same problem can easily find you. This is exactly what I’m working with one of my clients on — so his one speech brings aligned funders to him instead of him chasing them down.
Benefit: When you are the ultimate thought leader in a space, all roads lead to you, and funders flock to you, as long as you get the message right. We craft this very carefully with our clients, so it’s visionary but not too airy-fairy. It’s pragmatic but it gives you chills. But this one asset is all you need to magnetize the right capital. Now you still need to close the sale and for that, the next pillar is very important.
Credibility
Action: Build a track record of success. Showcase your successful projects, partnerships, and measurable impacts.
Asset: Case studies, testimonials from respected partners, and data that proves your ability to get the job done. So many innovators I meet are really great at painting the vision, but they fail to convince funders they have the right team to execute on that vision. Funders really want to give them money, but they can’t take implementation risk without a track record. I asked one of my clients to collect these assets and she felt really challenged by this assignment. We struggle to ask for this ‘social proof’ from those we help. But once she did it, she thanked me because now she has incredible proof that she’s a doer and not just a talker. Her track record is as impressive as her vision.
Benefit: By the time a funder contacts you, they feel they already trust you and your ability to execute are no longer in question. This saves SO much time and back and forth due diligence with hundreds of funders. Yes — you do need to do this asset collection once (and it’s painful) but it pays dividends over and over again. This brings me to the next pillar… how to disseminate this social proof once you’ve collected it.
Become 10x More Visible
Action: Increase your visibility and influence in your niche. Share your insights through blogs, talks, and social media, and you’ll be shocked how many people come out of the woodwork to help you.
Assets: Articles on leading platforms, speaking engagements, and even participating in Slack and LinkedIn conversations in your niche.
Benefit: I can’t tell you how many people have found me through a podcast I was featured on, a LinkedIn post, or even my newsletter. I’m not as good as I should be, but better than I used be — do one thing to be visible every single week, and even that will compound over time. This brings me to a controversial pillar, but I stand by this advice…
…Take a Stand
Action: Clearly communicate your values and principles. Ensure your actions and messaging consistently reflect these values.
Asset: A manifesto. For example, I’m crafting a manifesto for my Impact Stars platform and it clearly states that I want to build it in a way that makes the FUNDING PIE exponentially bigger. I want even my so-called ‘competitors’ to get rich from my platform. This is core to the way I’m building my Impact Stars Fund-Not-Fund (we can’t figure out what to call it yet)!
Benefit: When you’re clear about what you stand for you not only attract those who vibe with you, but you repel those who do not. Every single advisor, mentor, and enabler of impact in the climate, regenerative, ocean, biodiversity, and circular economy space as well as all the funders and innovators who share this ‘make the funding pie bigger’ mindset will reach out, and those who don’t will avoid me like the plague. I’ve already spoken to two startup consultants last week and both were excited to partner with me on the vision. Now it’s theirs as much as it’s mine, and it’s because I was clear about my core values.
Build in Community
Action: Invest in building genuine relationships within your ecosystem. Connect with stakeholders, partners, and potential supporters.
Assets: Zoom coffee chats or meeting for lunch or other community events. I’ve done so many coffee chat meetings in the last couple of weeks, and each of them has helped me shape the platform in some angible way. Skip the networking and do some deep conversations with those who share your vision. They will become the human capital that moves you forward through their connections and ideas.
Benefit: When you build with others, the co-created vision ends up becoming a shared one that embeds their needs and ideas. Then they become evangelists for it and that is a powerful way to get the right funders to your door. They hear about you from someone THEY trust and respect who already has invested time and effort in co-creating it with you.
What did you think of the Be The Lighthouse Positioning Strategy? My toe is hurting today and I sure would love to something to take my mind off it.
Send me your ideas on how you plan to implement even one of these pillars to become the beacon in your space so funders have no choice but to invest in you. If you’re thinking - no thanks, I don’t like this Be a Lighthouse strategy, I just want to reach out to funders and see who bites, read this post by a founder who raised money on how he organized his leads.
Warmest,
Neesha
P.S. Want to see how a founder implemented this strategy in a really unique way? Follow this link.
P.P.S. Share this post if you found it valuable, and tag me on LinkedIn. I’ll be sharing my own journey so if you give me a follow, you’ll see the Be The Lighthouse strategy play out in real time starting in July.
Thanks as always to David Witzel for his editorial help.
FUNDING ROUNDUP
Investment
Gratitude Railroad prioritizes investments in mission-driven companies and funds addressing systemic issues with market-based solutions, aiming for long-term success and impactful outcomes. Their focus includes diverse-led companies committed to DEIJ principles, primarily in the USA at Seed or Series A stage, with investments around $1 million and a non-competitive stance with their portfolio.
Carbon Removal Partners invests in biochar, enhanced rock weathering, and a bunch of other carbon removal technologies.
Catalyst Fund invests for a climate-resilient future in Africa. They partner with founders building tech solutions for climate adaptation and resilience.
Pre-Seed Investor Database: Not all of these are impact, but they invest in early stage companies, so you may find someone here willing to put money in your company.
Grants
United Kingdom
Farming Futures - Nutrient Management: Phase 1: UK registered organisations can apply for a share of £15 million to develop innovative nutrient management solutions through the Farming Futures R&D Fund. Open to collaborations only, eligible lead applicants include businesses, research organisations, and RTOs, with a required collaboration with other UK entities. Applications open on 29 May 2024 and close on 24 July 2024.
Scott Bader Commonwealth Limited offers funding to UK-registered or known charities operational for over two years. Apply for the Global Impact Fund (£25,000 per project) by the end of February, or the Glocal Strategy Fund (£250-£10,000) during multiple windows. Focus areas include education, poverty, environment. Via Tanya in the Global Regenerative CoLab’s Funding Circle.
Europe
Women TechEU is an EU-funded project investing €12 million in equity-free grants to support 160 women-led deep tech startups in Europe. Each beneficiary will receive €75,000 and personalized business development services including mentoring, coaching, and training. Via Joanne Sonenshine and Esme Verite on LinkedIn.
United States
The Bureau of Land Management has announced a $2 million funding opportunity for aquatic resource management projects, with a minimum award size of $1 million. Eligible applicants include public, nonprofit, Tribal, and higher education entities, but not individuals or for-profits. Applications, supporting activities like drought resilience and wet meadow restoration, are due by July 8, 2024.
Subscribe now to get notified when we do or share it with someone who needs this:
Only Because The Lawyers Made Us:
Impact Stars and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
💌 Made with Love in Raleigh, NC for Systems Changers and Impact Innovators Everywhere. I only get to do what I do — because you do what you do. So THANK YOU.
Know someone who could benefit from reading this?
