9 People's Favorite Thing

I heard a song lyric the other day (Yes, still listening to the Sirius Broadway Channel!) that I can’t quit thinking about.  It was from [Title of Show] (And yes, that is the actual name of the show – they produced it a couple of years ago at Theater Three and I missed it.) and here is the line (or at least a reasonable facsimile of the line):

I’d rather be 9 people's favorite thing than 100 people’s 9^th favorite thing.

Do you agree?  It is funny because we are taught to believe that in business, in social media; hell, even in life, more is more.  Isn’t 100 people knowing who you are great?  And even if you are only their 9^th favorite, 9^th is still pretty high on a list, isn’t it?

But when I think about Community Partners of Dallas, I think being 9 people’s absolute favorite is better – and that (in essence) is how we have been able to grow into a nice little local charity. 

According to manta.com there are 5,285 non-profits in Dallas.  That means a lot of non-profits doing a lot of great things are trying to get you to notice them, CPD included. 

I know that you are probably like me.  It seems as though I get something in the snail mail every day from some group asking me to support their cause, buy a ticket to their event, or put my cast-offs out on my porch.  I know that many of you get mailings from CPD (if you don’t and you want some, just give us a callJ) and you respond (or not) depending on many factors – does the event sound fun, are your friends chairing it, do you have the ability to give $ at this time, is your Sunday School class looking for a way to volunteer, etc.  I get it, really, I do.  We all make choices on where and how we give and CPD cannot be everything to everyone.

But, I do think CPD shines in many ways:

• We will help 16,000 children this year – children who are innocent victims of child abuse and neglect.  If you want to help these kids, we are a great way to do it and we are an agency where $10 really makes a difference.  $10 can buy a lot of toothbrushes, or pencils, or diapers. 
• If you help us with funding, you will be thanked appropriately.  If you volunteer with us, you’ll be greeted with a smile and told why your volunteer service is important.
• We’re going to tell you our stories and let you know that we appreciate you.

So, if you are one of our 9, thank you.  We want to stay there!  We know that you are a big part of our success.  You have told your friends about us, they’ve told their friends, and so on.  It’s the BEST marketing around.

And if we are your 9^th, thank you.  We’ll keep working to move up on your list.  We’d love to know how, so please don’t hesitate to call me.  214-624-7557.