We’re Back At It!

Ryan Fletcher
January 16, 2018
Five Impact Friday

“Impact Venture Capitalists!”

Can I pose something to you? In full swing, launching the 2nd Impact Club. I took a minute to reflect. First, we kicked-off in Northern VA, on December 19th. That event led to 112 founding members in the first 30 days. Then, taking what we learned from everyone in the community, about what inspires and what doesn’t, in the first 6 days, launching the Temecula Impact Club – 106 founding members…

Together, just two communities..

Just 218 people…

On opposite sides of the United States.

Per quarter, that’s $21,800.00 in donations ($100 each) committed to local charities. And per year, assuming members continue year after year, in less than 40 days, that’s $87,200 to impact kids and families.

I reflect on this and share because it’s amazing to think about “what this looks like” in 12-months from now, after we launch 100 clubs in 2017. Especially when you factor-in the fanatic support of the Impact community.

From Nicole Racz: (Temecula)

“PLEASE take the time to watch this video! What an amazing opportunity for us all to make a BIG difference for our local community and support a great cause…I know many of my friends have already joined…I joined yesterday, who else is with me?! Our Temecula Impact Club now has over 100 Founding Members and is striving to double the impact by reaching 200! Many thanks to Josh Painter for spearheading this!”

From Angel Reza – (Temecula)

“Very Happy to be part of this Impact Club with Josh Painter and everyone with a caring heart in this community. What a wonderful way to give back and make a difference. Johnny and I are always looking for ways to help others. For this year. My goal is to be more involved in my community and Give Back! What a Awesome way to turn $100, into $10,000 or in this case as we see the Impact Club expanding we can now donate even more to local Charities.”

From Alan Ross – (Northern VA)

“Yes, People have asked me: “What is the IMPACT CLUB?” Well, this video does a pretty good job of describing it. It is an amazing way for me to be involved with a bunch of great people who want to make a difference in their community. I am very proud to be a part of it. If you would like to find out more, just watch the video and there is also information about how you can become a part of this……or you can just ask me. I am looking forward to our next meeting…….and chance to make a difference in March!!! I hope to see you there!!”

From John Butler – (Temecula)

“Grateful to be part of this Club with Josh Painter and all the other givers in the community. I have been looking for a way to give back and this is a great way to turn $100, into $10,000.”

From Amy Teske Qualls – (Northern VA)

Those of you asking what Impact Club is, here’s a fantastic video clip from our first meeting. Looking forward to our second meeting in a few months. Such a wonderful experience, our small part became part of something bigger and I really felt like we made an impact locally! Get involved, make a difference, make an IMPACT!!

From Xiomara Hall – (Temecula)

“It takes a village to raise a child.“ As most of you know, I’m very active in our community raising awareness, money and donating my time to several charities. I’m excited to join this awesome group of individuals to create change right here in our community. Through a small quarterly donation, together we can all make a difference! Please consider joining with me.

From Windy Ciucki – (Temecula)

“Alright friends! I am calling in the cavalry!! If you like to give back but just aren’t sure how, I strongly encourage you to click in the video then click on the link for more details. It explains how, TOGETHER, we can make huge difference in the lives of many in our very own community, right here, and for not that much money at all… I have already signed up. I’d love for you to sign up as well.”

Tamara Sloper – (Northern VA)

“I cannot even find the words to express how amazing this night was. Even the days after I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness, knowing I was part of something so great!! Together I knew we had made such a huge impact, for 3 local charities in my community. Friends, if you had any doubts about joining, please take a moment and and watch our first impact club meeting. There is no hidden agenda, just an amazing group of people making a difference in our community!! Let’s strive to increase this amount to our 2nd quarter charity by making the commitment if you have not already and spreading the word to others!”

Should I keep going?

I could.

I could literally fill a 30-page document with nothing but the comments from all of you, who continue to share and inspire so many. But I think the point is clear. Together, by spreading a message, we are building something special.

WINNING STORY ENGINES

Lots of people feel like they deserve a lot of things. Some even feel entitled to things. But in my experience, and validated by all my research, the person or organization or cause that tends to gain the most support.

It comes down to this: “The Best Story Wins.”

In this particular case – to win the majority vote of the Northern VA Impact Club Event – Tom Mitchell of Stillbrave: Childhood Cancer Foundation, or Tattoo Tom, for obvious reasons, utilized a classic Origin Story format.

All comic book superheroes have origin stories. Origins stories, from an understanding perspective, explain to new customers, clients, donors, how that organization or person “came to be.” Their name, their purpose, but most of all, their deep rooted conviction.

Story drives everything.

Listen in as Tom shares his Story Engine:
https://www.facebook.com/ConnectWithRyan/videos/10212160923966613/
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TEMECULA: THE PUSH FOR $20K

As Impact Venture Capitalists, a few things are undeniable about us. Yes, we’re compulsively giving and unwaveringly committed. Those things go without saying. But often overlooked is our competitiveness.

We don’t like to lose.

Or said different, once we commit to something, we don’t like to come up short. Because it’s not about losing, it’s about letting someone down. So, challenge us. If we commit to it. By God, we’re going to achieve it.

Just look at the response to Painter’s recent update:
https://www.facebook.com/joshuapainter/videos/10158019453060440/

That is what’s called “Rising to the occasion.” Where now, because of that commitment we have about 20 days to achieve that mission. For the record, there is no doubt in my mind we can do it.

To hit that mark of 200 founding members – means inspiring just one more person, each. And dammit, we all know one person who can be inspired, especially when they see us lead by example.

Further, your Impact Club T-Shirt (Temecula folks) is en-route. When it arrives, put that baby on. Take a photo. Let that big red IMPACT jump off your chest. Post and share on Facebook. And in no time, we may be pushing for 250… You can ask the Northern VA members, photos drive Impact.

Keep it up TEAM.

UPDATE ON INFRASTRUCTURE

Back and forth with my development, we’re still working to build out the front & back-end of Impact Club. So much that goes into this. From design, which you can see, to connecting databases, and software, which you can’t see, but is critical in order to support our continued growth.

Here’s an example of how I communicate with my team, regarding the hundreds of tasks and tweaks. Greg is our designer.

This video, specifically, references an addition of content – to explain how the Virtual Impact Club will work. Since launching in Northern VA and now in Temecula, because of Facebook, many have reached out to us from many different communities, wondering how they too can get involved.

So, until we can launch a local Impact Club in their community, we’re adding a virtual Impact Club option. After all, this is 2017. A community of people is a community of people. Technology allows us to communicate and organize from anywhere, to join forces, to make greater Impact.

I’ll keep everyone updated. Much more to come!

“A DAY FOR CHARITY” EVENT

I experimented with something this past week.

A lot of business owners have dreams and a vision, and many want to, in way or another, build something much larger than what they currently have. So, to work on their moonshots. I extended an invitation. “If you’ll donate $1,000 to charity, and if at least 10 business owners in total are interested, I’ll host a 1-day event at my office in Vancouver, WA, to brainstorm and blueprint all those biggest ideas.”

That was the essence.

This was the result:
https://my.charitywater.org/ryan-fletcher/impact-club

In less than a week, from just 3 small mentions in my daily communication, we raised $10,000 for Charity:Water – enough to fund an entire water project, to bring clean water to families who’ve never seen clean water.

Stay tuned.

Perhaps we’ll do another, for those who may be interested.

Keep inspiring others!

-Ryan Fletcher

Co-Founder, Impact Club – forever Grateful.

PS: Encourage everyone you know to learn the language of story. If they do, life, business, fundraising, relationships, the attraction of opportunity, clients, money, love, etc. will be much easier for them.

About IC

Impact Club® is Crossfit® for those who want to make a difference. We are Impact Venture Capitalists. There are local and national leaderboards. We compete. We use our intelligence, connections, propensity to solve problems, committed hearts, and unrelenting conviction to turn small donations into huge impact.