Mike Seabolt Named President of STELLAR Fundraising
 STELLAR Fundraising, the leading economic and community development fundraising firm in the country, announced today that Mike Seabolt has been promoted to the position of president.
STELLAR Founder and CEO, Terry J. Cusack said that Seabolt’s duties and authority will expand beyond his former responsibilities for client relations and strategic planning to now also include the management and oversight of STELLAR’s Business Development Team and its External (Study/Campaign) Operations units.
“Since Mike joined STELLAR earlier this year, he has brought an extraordinary combination of corporate savvy and hands-on nonprofit consulting experience to STELLAR, with a deep understanding and broad experience across all types of development fundraising,” said Cusack. “Under his leadership, STELLAR will continue to grow and deliver outstanding results for our clients. Since its founding eight years ago, STELLAR has, on average, exceeded the fundraising campaign goal on all completed campaigns of their clients by seventeen (17%) percent.
Under the new Executive Management Team organization, Cusack will continue to direct the firm’s growth and internal operations. A major goal of the restructuring is to allow Cusack to double the amount of time he can spend “giving back” through teaching, speaking, and facilitating at meetings and special events. Cusack will be available to serve in these roles at no charge or expense to the chamber and economic development communities that have so warmly embraced STELLAR and made the firm the fastest growing and most successful campaign management firm in its niche’.
To schedule STELLAR Founder and CEO, Terry J. Cusack to speak at your next conference, contact Cat@stellarfundraising.com, or call STELLAR Toll Free at 888-897-4667 today, as Terry’s calendar fills up quickly!
Greater Rome Chamber (GA) Chooses STELLAR For 2nd Five-Year ED Funding Campaign!
 STELLAR was recently retained for second time by the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce (GA) and our long-time dear friend, Chamber President and CEO, Al Hodge.
STELLAR ran a highly successful campaign for the Greater Rome Chamber in 2004 that concluded on-time, under-budget and well over goal, thanks to the collective efforts of the Rome Chamber volunteers; Al Hodge and his superb chamber staff; and the STELLAR Team of experts assigned to the campaign, who all worked seamlessly and diligently on the ambitious campaign.
The campaign results have brought great success to Rome. Most recently, STELLAR Founder and CEO Terry Cusack was interviewed by Forbes magazine about "Hot Communities” who were “doing creative things”, or who were simply “doing all the right things” in economic development.
Cusack walked Forbes through a summary of all STELLAR-client communities, and according to him, what Forbes loved about Rome was “that they already had a very successful track record of recruiting major, well known international manufacturing firms to the community and had developed customized work training programs that supply a highly skilled and qualified workforce to those manufacturers upon their arrival.” The result was an amazing article in Forbes entitled, HAIL ROME!, that provided free exposure and promotion for the area, valued by some estimates at more than one million dollars in media purchases.” To view the article, visit the Forbes website here.
 The new Greater Rome Campaign, Partners in Prosperity II, identifies seven critical areas of economic and community development focus that the Greater Rome Chamber will address over the next five-years through an ambitious budget of $2.5 million.
Also included as part of STELLAR’s recommended overall strategy is an ROI economic analysis to show investors just exactly how well the Chamber performed with their previous five-year investment campaign, Partners in Prosperity I. This valuable research helps to “set the stage” for the new Partners in Prosperity II, demonstrating the value of the program and the Chambers wise stewardship of the dollars being raised. The customized ROI Look Back Report Card© is being prepared by STELLAR Strategic Partner, Tom Ralser, president of ROIMetrix.
Don't get left out of next year's budget, or wait until 2010!
 According to STELLAR COO, Brian Smith, “The Fall is the ideal time to do a Fundraising Feasibility Study, since local corporations are finalizing next year's giving budgets at about this time of year. A Fall Study allows STELLAR clients to get on the “radar screen” for next year's budgets, preventing the common objection we often hear at STELLAR;
“I’m sorry, but our budget is set for this (2009) year, perhaps we can give next year (2010).”
Savvy clients are launching Campaign Feasibility Studies now so they can begin to receive Campaign cash-flow next year, vs. being forced to wait until 2010 budgets! Also, please remember, make no small plans! And if you go to the well, draw deep, and cover all your program and facility needs via one bold multi-year campaign! Feel free to contact Brian with questions or for assistance at brian@stellarfundraising.com or call him Toll Free at 888-897-4667. Brian’s always happy to lend his support and vast fundraising knowledge!
STELLAR CEO Cusack Joins Recruitment Effort for New “Bigs”
 How does a child who loses his father work through his grief to become a strong man? Ben Nowland, who lost his father at the age of nine, became friends with STELLAR Fundraising CEO Terry Cusack through Big Brothers & Big Sisters and learned to enjoy life again.
Big Brothers & Big Sisters is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States. It has been the leader in one-to-one youth service for more than a century, developing positive relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of young people. Big Brothers & Big Sisters mentors children, ages 6 through 18, in communities all across the country.
Right now, Big Brothers & Big Sisters have a special need right now for more men to become mentors. "Being you" is the only skill you need and there is definitely a boy who needs and wants you as his “Big”.
According to Cusack, “When I became a “Big,” my little brother Ben, had been on the waiting list for more than a year! That’s an incredibly selfish and non-giving view of us as men in this country! We can’t find one hour a week for a kid who desperately needs and wants us in his life, and to do nothing more than to hang out with us, yet we claim we’re too busy to get involved? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have an hour per week to give to a kid. God forbid I should die young, because I hope my two sons don’t have to wait around for a year, jumping and hoping each time the phone rings that it will bring the news that they finally have a “Big,” until the day some great guy decides to step up and become their “Big” – so they’ll have someone to hang out with, who’s also a great role model and mentor for them to emulate.”
Being a “Big” will expand your life, lead to great opportunities to do fun things and develop a deep and lasting friendship for a lifetime.
 Terry’s “little” brother Ben, after bouncing around the NFL on various teams and playing two seasons for the Redskins in NFL Europe for the Frankfurt Galaxy, is now a star center playing in the Arena Football League for the Georgia Force in Atlanta, who are owned by Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank. Ben and Terry’s relationship have been featured on the Big Brothers & Big Sisters website and they were featured in Big Brother & Big Sisters 100-year celebration book entitled “Little Moments, Big Magic”, that featured Big Brothers & Big Sisters 100 greatest matches.
Ben says that “when I talked about Terry on Campus at Auburn (where Ben was an all-SEC Academic Student Athlete and an All-SEC Center on the Auburn football team), I referred to him as my brother. And when friends reminded me that I was an only child, I had to explain. I called him my brother because I think of him as a real brother. If I need to talk to someone, I can just pick up the phone or write an email and Terry will always be there to listen and help.”
The rewards of participating in Big Brothers & Big Sisters are many and will probably lead you to discover you want to devote even more time than they ask to mentor a “Little”. To learn more, visit the Big Brothers & Big Sisters website section on male mentoring or volunteer now. You’ll be glad you served as catalyst for change on how children grow up in America. STELLAR CEO, Terry Cusack said, “My wife and I are so proud of Ben’s many accomplishments on and off the football field and classroom (Ben earned his Masters Degree in Industrial Design at Auburn), and more importantly for fine young man and of late, husband, that Ben has become, that we named our second son in Ben’s honor; his name is Benjamin Cole Cusack.
What In The World Is Going On? A Global Intelligence Briefing For CEO’s
 At the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland earlier this year, Herb Meyer presented several important global trends impacting business that could also impact communities and their economic development efforts.
Mr. Meyer served during the Reagan Administration as Special Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence and Vice Chairman of the CIA's National Intelligence Council. In these positions, he managed production of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimates and other top-secret projections for the President and his national security advisers. Formerly an associate editor of FORTUNE, he is also the author of several books.
Meyer says there are four major transformations that are shaping political, economic and world events. These transformations have profound implications for American business owners, our culture and our way of life. They include the war in Iraq, the emergence of China, shifting demographics of Western Civilizations and restructuring of American business.
Regarding the last transformation, Meyer points out that today’s business environment is very complex and competitive. To succeed, you have to be the best, which means having the highest quality and lowest cost. To be the best, you have to concentrate on one thing. You can’t be all things to all people and be the best.
One major trend is the ‘fracturing’ of business that occurs when one company can make a better product by relying on others to perform functions the business used to do itself. One aspect of this trend is that companies end up with fewer employees and more independent contractors.
The restructuring of American business means we are coming to the end of the age of the employer and employee. With all this fracturing of businesses into different and smaller units, employers can’t guarantee jobs anymore because they don’t know what their companies will look like next year. People who used to be employees are now independent contractors launching their own businesses.
Another implication of this massive restructuring is that because companies are getting rid of units and people that used to work for them, the entity is smaller. As the companies get smaller and more efficient, revenues are going down but profits are going up. As a result, the old notion that ‘revenues are up and we’re doing great’ isn’t always the case anymore. Companies are getting smaller but are becoming more efficient and profitable in the process.
The U.S. is in the process of building the world’s first 21st century model economy. The model is fast, flexible, highly productive and unstable in that it is always fracturing and re-fracturing. This will increase the economic gap between the U.S. and everybody else, especially Europe and Japan.
Meyer contends these trends make the U.S. a magnet for bright and ambitious people. There is no better place in the world to be in business and raise children. The U.S. is by far the best place to have an idea, form a business and put it into the marketplace. We take it for granted, but it isn’t as available in other countries of the world.
This article serves to confirm the trend we at STELLAR see with savvy economic and community develop leaders that are now, more than ever, including incubators as one of their overall program components in their bold new multi-year STELLAR Strategic Action Plans.
 To receive your free STELLAR Info Kit, email us at info@stellarfundraising.com or call me personally at 888-897-4667 to discuss what good things you could do for your community with two, three or four times more budget.
In the meantime, please be sure to check out our new interactive web site at www.STELLARfundraising.com and see which of your peers have chosen STELLAR as their fundraising counsel.
Again, Please Remember, Make No Small Plans!
If you go to the well, draw deep, and cover all your program
and facility needs via one bold multi-year campaign!
Terry J. Cusack
Founder, CEO and Fundraising SME
STELLAR Fundraising Executives, Inc. |
