Fundraising can be complex for the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a health and human services nonprofit organization in St. Paul, Minnesota. The organization operates dozens of programs, ranging from helping troubled youth to performing services for the elderly. Add to that massive government cutbacks in funding, and fundraising presents even more of a challenge.

Very few communities in the United States have an organization like the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. The Foundation was founded in 1906 with a $2.6 million gift from a wealthy entrepreneur and has a 100-year legacy to assist the most vulnerable of St. Paul's citizens.

The Wilder endowment has since grown to $211 million. Over its history, Wilder has spent more than $300 million of its earnings on social service programs. Rolf Thompson, the senior director of resource development, estimates that one in twenty people in the St. Paul area have come into contact with Wilder programs.

"Wilder's reach is extremely deep and broad for a nonprofit organization," he said.

They also have a well-known research arm that conducts frequent studies on social services and continually evaluates Wilder's programs for effectiveness.

"We are focused on changing systems by engaging the community," said Thompson.

For example, in December, Wilder issued a study on how Minnesota families use child care. In February, they conducted a seminar to share the findings with community leaders.

For the past forty years, the Wilder Foundation's programs have grown in step with increases in government funding. With funding cutbacks starting four years ago, however, their budget has dropped from $63 million to $43 million, causing them to pursue other fundraising options. Individual donors make up just 4% of their budget, a percentage they would like to increase to 20% in the next ten years, said Thompson.

The Foundation sent three teams to a Benevon 101 Workshop in 2003 to represent their programs in housing, aging, and children. They have since completed the 201 and 301 Workshops and now offer five introductory Point of Entry^® tours, which are teaching people about what they do and about the growing need in the community Wilder fills.

After attending a "Successful Aging" tour, a Ramsey County commissioner got fired up about the county's cuts in funding for the local Meals on Wheels program. At the commissioner's instigation, the county restored $132,000 for the programs across the county, said Thompson.

During the "Hope for Children" tour, guests tour a thirty-two-bed residential treatment program for emotionally troubled youth and see a corridor covered with colorful handprints. Of the children in the facility, 80% have suffered from abuse, and for them, hands are instruments of abuse. The director tells the guests that part of what they do in therapy is to change the perception of what hands are used for. There is a huge waiting list for these treatment programs.

Thompson said they never thought they could hold a one-hour Ask Event^™ that would adequately represent all that they do. But, he said, they've gotten comfortable with choosing one or two of their many Essential Stories. Their first Ask Events were huge successes, and their goal of raising $12 million from individual donors in the next ten years looks promising.

"We are poised for growth, and the [Benevon] Model is a key element," said Thompson. "[Benevon] has given us the discipline, structure, and language to tell our story better."