Kade's Fundraising Success: Lessons from a Young Creative Mind

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Hey, lovely listeners!

In this inspiring episode of the Just Be Cause Podcast, join us as we dive into the creative and fundraising adventures of our host's stepson, Kade Lacefield, a remarkable 10-year-old with a passion for philanthropy. Discover how homeschooling opened doors to innovative projects like crafting homemade ornaments and turning coffee grounds into exfoliants—all for a good cause!

We'll explore the multifaceted skills Kade developed, from graphic design to the art of salesmanship. How did these creative projects teach him essential life skills and spark a budding interest in nonprofit work? Can a child's genuine enthusiasm and determination inspire seasoned fundraisers to overcome their own fears of asking for donations?

Tune in to hear Kade's heartfelt advice for budding philanthropists and seasoned professionals alike. Learn how connecting different causes and striking up sincere conversations can boost your fundraising efforts.

Get ready for a fun, uplifting, and insightful episode that will leave you motivated to involve the whole family in your next fundraising campaign!

To make a 10-year old very happy, you can follow and engage on his Youtube channels here:

KadesterPro
kade! (that is not me!) 

Meet your fundraising expert

Thanks for listening to Just Be Cause Podcast! I'm Katherine Lacefield the founder and head consultant of Just Be Cause Consulting.

My goal is to partner with YOU nonprofits and philanthropic organizations to help you make a positive impact in your community.

With over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, I help organizations optimize their operations with key knowledge in various domains, such as fundraising strategy, grantmaking research, communications, and development.

Sign up to my newsletter, The Nonprofit Nuggets for FREE fundraising advice, tools and guidance!

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Transcript

Kade Lacefield [00:00:00]:

I support homeschooling just because it makes me happy.

Katherine Lacefield [00:00:06]:

Welcome to the Just Because podcast. In a space in which the scarcity mindset has been normal for far too long, discover how we're helping nonprofits finally take back their power, find their true purpose, and even use mindfulness to manifest their dream solutions into reality. I'm your host, Katherine Lacefield, a lifetime nonprofit professional. Together, we'll master the tools needed to overcome limitations, rise in times of adversity, and understand the interconnectedness of all causes towards a more conscious philanthropy. Just because it's the right thing to do. After spending my entire life optimizing nonprofits, I've explored countless of the most powerful tools and apps available so that you can stop wasting your time on mundane tasks and start having an extraordinary impact on the communities that need you. Follow the link in the show notes to access our full list of nonprofit tools and apps for free. We've also included some discount codes in there to make it even more worth your while.

Katherine Lacefield [00:01:06]:

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Just Because podcast. Today, we have a very special guest. His name is Cade Lacefield, and as you can guess, he is part of my family. He is my amazing stepson, and I want I'm so excited to share with you some tips from a 10 year old about fundraising. So let's get started and get to know Cade a bit more. Kade, welcome to the show.

Kade Lacefield [00:01:31]:

Hi. My name is Kade.

Katherine Lacefield [00:01:33]:

Yes. We know that. So tell us a bit about yourself, Kade. What do you like doing? What are your hobbies? What are the things that get you excited?

Kade Lacefield [00:01:43]:

I'm really excited about, like, you know, like, I get really excited about, like, making video games on my own, or it's like a really creative process, and it's probably one of my biggest hobbies. Mhmm.

Katherine Lacefield [00:01:58]:

How long have you been making video games for?

Kade Lacefield [00:02:01]:

Oh, wow. Since I was, like, since, like, 3 years ago or something.

Katherine Lacefield [00:02:06]:

You started quite a long time ago. I feel like you were doing, scratch, like

Kade Lacefield [00:02:10]:

I think I think even 4 years ago or something.

Katherine Lacefield [00:02:13]:

Mhmm. So you were, like, 5 or 6, I think, when we when I first started seeing you do it. That's amazing. So what do you do when you do these video games? Your what what are the aspects that you feel you're best at?

Kade Lacefield [00:02:27]:

I think I'm the best at, like, the the art part, like, the the no pun intended. The art part and the, like, the graphic design and the 3 d models. Not I'm not really good with, like, real coding. I'm good with, like, drag and drop coding, but other than that, I'm not good with, like, you know, writing code. But, like yeah.

Katherine Lacefield [00:02:53]:

Yeah. I mean, I think that takes some time, but you're learning step by step. So let's I feel like you have a lot of skills that where you have been useful in your video game development that have also been helpful in other projects. Yeah. So one of the things that I wanted to talk about today, obviously, as this is a nonprofit focused podcast, is around fundraising. So let's talk about that first fundraising activity we organized a couple years ago. Would you happen to talk a bit about it?

Kade Lacefield [00:03:22]:

So we're selling ornaments for, like, the Montreal Children's Hospital.

Katherine Lacefield [00:03:28]:

Yeah. So just for a bit of context for everyone listening, Cade was being homeschooled at the time. This was during the COVID era where we chose to not send Cade to school, and we were part of a homeschooling group online. And this woman decided to organize a fundraiser for the Montreal Children's Hospital of making recycled ornaments that can then be sold, and all the proceeds would go towards the Children's Hospital Fund. So Kade and I decided to participate in doing that, and, Kade was very, very helpful. So what were some of the steps of how you prepared for the fundraising before we actually did the fundraising event in our family?

Kade Lacefield [00:04:07]:

So we basically made, like, a bunch of ornaments. We bring a box and a cup to, like, hold the money. And, yeah.

Katherine Lacefield [00:04:21]:

What were some of the things that you did to promote the fundraiser and before we got to the to the Christmas dinner?

Kade Lacefield [00:04:28]:

So, well, I put some posters, or whatever, like, on my on my window, and outside, obviously, they didn't work because the poster on my window was a window, like, on a 3 story building, and we were at the top of the story, and nobody saw it.

Katherine Lacefield [00:04:48]:

Yeah.

Kade Lacefield [00:04:49]:

And the other poster, they it put it, like, we were, like, about to be in, like, winter or whatever, and I put the poster there. And then it started snowing, and the snow just covered the poster. And so nobody saw each of my of my posters.

Katherine Lacefield [00:05:07]:

But you at least you tried. So one of the things that I thought was really cool go ahead.

Kade Lacefield [00:05:11]:

Yeah. That's something that if, like, there's any kids watching this episode, I think if you're making, like, some sign kind of fundraiser if it's summer, though, not in the winter, you should put some posters up. Maybe some people will buy your stuff. Anyways, Katherine?

Katherine Lacefield [00:05:30]:

Yeah. No. That's a great idea. I think that giving the most visibility to your fundraising campaign is great. And these were handmade posters that Kade had made, so I thought that was also

Kade Lacefield [00:05:40]:

I think they turned out pretty good.

Katherine Lacefield [00:05:42]:

They were pretty good. They really did look nice. It was just maybe a question of where put it. Exactly.

Kade Lacefield [00:05:48]:

If you put it on the top of a 3 story building, then maybe

Katherine Lacefield [00:05:51]:

Then maybe people can see from all the way downstairs. And, of course, if they get covered by snow, then no one will see. Exactly. So one of the things you did was make these posters, and we also made these ornaments handmade. So let's just back it up a bit from a homeschooling perspective. For any parents out there that are looking to do these kinds of activities, this was especially useful because it combined many different skills that kids could use. So from the preparation perspective, the kid was practicing his writing skills by making these posters, writing the different titles, and practicing his handwriting, as well as his artistic skills, not only with the posters, but actually creating the ornaments himself. These were all

Kade Lacefield [00:06:31]:

The ornaments were really fun to create. They they look kinda janky, but, like, the we make them from a whole bunch of different, like, things like metal cans. Mhmm.

Katherine Lacefield [00:06:42]:

Like Can openers. But, I mean, the the top cans. Yeah. We did some with, Pistachio shells. Yeah.

Kade Lacefield [00:06:49]:

Yeah. So I don't remember. Look. They're they looked actually really good, some of them.

Katherine Lacefield [00:06:54]:

Yeah. I think it looked pretty good. I mean, before the light bulb one where we made a little ceiling? Yeah. So we used recycled materials to make it so that the cost of the actual ornaments was pretty low. We were mostly using stuff that we already had around the house so that a 100% of the proceeds were actually going to the

Kade Lacefield [00:07:11]:

So it was so not not only was it, like, helping, children's hospital in Montreal, it it was also, like, recycling things that were so saving the environment. Mhmm.

Katherine Lacefield [00:07:28]:

And we're also reducing waste, and that's exactly what I love about this kind of project for any for homeschoolers is that it really in like, gets them to think about different values, not only the environment like Kaye just mentioned, but also about helping others. So let's talk about that fundraiser itself because what made me so proud, Kade, of when we did this fundraiser is that you were first of all, you're a born salesman. Like, let's just be honest. And you were already like, okay. Let's put some posters. Let's get people to buy them. But then the where you shine the most was when we went to our Christmas, our Christmas dinner with all of our family. It was at my mom's house.

Katherine Lacefield [00:08:08]:

We had a pool of, I don't know, maybe 40, 5th 40 people that were there, that you could sell the ornaments to. So let's talk about how was your approach to like, how would you do it? And, also, what did you learn? What are some of the things that you learned that worked to better sell your ornaments?

Kade Lacefield [00:08:27]:

My approach was to just, like you know, at first, I was just, like, you know, going in blind or whatever, but, like but then but then I started getting advice from other people. And one of the people, like, he gave me the advice of, like, striking up a conversation before actually asking them to to buy the actual ornaments, and that really helped. And I and when I asked somebody oh, and I started up a conversation. And then I asked him to, like, buy buy an ornament, he said, no. And then I he said, like, and then I said, like, why not? And then he said, oh, I need to to know more about the organization or whatever. So I went back to Katherine, then, I asked her about the organization. And then I went back to that guy, which is Katherine's grandfather, and he actually bought some ornaments.

Katherine Lacefield [00:09:37]:

See, guys. So there's 3 things in what Kay just explained that every fundraiser should know, and I've seen organizations do this. So if a if a child can learn this, so can you. Number 1, striking up a conversation like my brother had suggested is all about relationship building. How many times do I get the first email from an organization or from someone, and the first thing they do is say, can you please support my organization? Woah. Woah. Woah. Let's back it up a bit.

Katherine Lacefield [00:10:03]:

People need to feel that you're there who also because you wanna get to know them as an individual. So get to know the person first. Right? Kinda figure out who is this person, what might they be interested in.

Kade Lacefield [00:10:14]:

Yeah. If you're, like, really young and you don't know how to, like, start a fundraiser, you should practice, like, with your family and something. And if it goes well, then then you can then you can go out in the open, maybe set up a couple of posters, make a stand, like, you know, talk about the organization, whatever.

Katherine Lacefield [00:10:36]:

Yeah. I think building up confidence, and this is also for fundraisers out there because, you know, this is not something that is uncommon even in adults where we're scared of asking people to buy things or people who are scared of asking for donation. So I feel practicing with people you know, your friends and family first, and just testing out your app like what Cade did is great. And then, like, other kids in the homeschooling group went to a local Christmas market, and that's where they were selling the ornament.

Kade Lacefield [00:11:04]:

So the business go ahead. And we managed to raise and and in total, everybody managed to raise that. Do we did, like, the entire homeschool group, like, reach the Yep. Yeah. In total, with all the kids, we raised, like, more than $2,000.

Katherine Lacefield [00:11:22]:

Mhmm.

Kade Lacefield [00:11:23]:

And, yeah, we're almost, like, a couple kids in the group.

Katherine Lacefield [00:11:26]:

Exactly. So if a kid a couple kids can do that. I mean, imagine what we could do if we actually put our minds to it. But, Kade, how much did you raise that night? Do you remember?

Kade Lacefield [00:11:35]:

About $200. Yeah.

Katherine Lacefield [00:11:36]:

That was actually $250 that you raised in one night, and that is something that is really cool because these were the ornaments. Do you remember how much they were selling at?

Kade Lacefield [00:11:46]:

Sure. I don't. No. I don't.

Katherine Lacefield [00:11:47]:

It was between $5.10 depending on the size

Kade Lacefield [00:11:52]:

Oh, yeah.

Katherine Lacefield [00:11:52]:

Yeah. And the complexity of them.

Kade Lacefield [00:11:54]:

Yeah.

Katherine Lacefield [00:11:55]:

So what are some of the things that you maybe would give us other more advice that you would give to other kids out there if ever they're looking to fundraise? Like, are there any other

Kade Lacefield [00:12:07]:

Not much, but for anybody who, like, didn't listen, I'm gonna repeat again. Strike up a conversation. Mhmm. Like, make a relationship with them or whatever in, like, the shortest amount of time possible, and then and then them to buy and also give a lot of information about the organization. If it doesn't work, just keep you need to have a lot of determination and courage to, like, run a fundraiser.

Katherine Lacefield [00:12:38]:

Yeah. It definitely takes courage. Putting yourself out there. So Kade just shared with me before the episode when we're talking about it because this kid came in at it with so much confidence. He was super determined, but then he tells me after that he was actually super shy and embarrassed actually doing the thing. So this is something that I think all fundraisers out there might learn from is that even if you're doing good, it doesn't mean that you're not feeling some doubt inside, and that's okay, but that doesn't mean that it should stop you. Do you agree?

Katherine Lacefield [00:13:07]:

Yeah. I agree.

Katherine Lacefield [00:13:08]:

So, generally, Kade, I'd love for you to talk about how did getting involved in this kind of fundraiser and this is something that we've done in the future. So one of my clients that was raising funds remember for, People of Corey Foundation, we were raising funds for children with congenital heart disease. Can you just quickly talk about that campaign?

Kade Lacefield [00:13:27]:

Yeah. So we're selling exfoliants. They're called K and K exfoliants. For Kade. Okay. Kade and Katherine exfoliants. And we made, like, a whole, like, business and even, like, we were gonna make a website, but we did the business didn't really last that long, but we did sell a couple, and it would and we actually were selling them in Mexico since we moved to Mexico, and we're selling them around our pre buyback. And we even did, like, a delivery service and whatever.

Kade Lacefield [00:13:57]:

And we sold them for, like, 20 pesos?

Katherine Lacefield [00:14:01]:

No. It was, like 20 pesos. It was a 100 to 200 pesos.

Kade Lacefield [00:14:04]:

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A 100 pesos. And we made the the exfoliant ourselves, actually, and, yeah, it was a big fundraiser. It was for Vivo Korean.

Katherine Lacefield [00:14:17]:

Uh-huh. Exactly. So once again so the second example of a fundraiser was also something that we made at home. So this was a handmade, exfoliant made with used coffee grounds. So I am someone that likes coffee a lot, and I was using decaf. To be honest, I am. And all the coffee grounds are actually super good for your skin. So we were mostly using reducing food waste by using this coffee's coffee grounds and then inserting some organic sugar.

Kade Lacefield [00:14:48]:

Yeah. Same thing as the other. So we're not only, like, stopping kids from, like, having heart disease or whatever. We're also, again, saving the environment. So this is

Katherine Lacefield [00:15:00]:

where the multidisciplinary aspect of these campaigns is something that I think is really important, and that's what we talk about a lot on this just because podcast is that there are many ways to connect different causes. It could be in your fundraising efforts. It can be in your strategy, but even between causes, that can be very helpful. So, generally, Cade, how do you find as a you know, from being homeschooled, what why do you like doing these kinds of projects in the homeschooling context?

Kade Lacefield [00:15:28]:

I like doing more concrete projects in that what I like to do. Like, let's say, like, recording a video and, like, editing in whatever, like, a reenactment or something. Like, those kind of projects for homeschool, I I love those kind of projects, and they're more intuitive and more aimed at what, like, I like to do. They're more, like, creative.

Katherine Lacefield [00:15:51]:

Mhmm. So So for anyone listening that has maybe struggling for some activities, especially at this time of year, it's end of year, we're all busy. Hosting and organizing a small fundraiser with your child can really be a great way of giving back to the community, especially if you're in the nonprofit world. And let's be honest, who's gonna say no to a kid who's selling ornaments or, to help other kids in hospitals? It's let we're gonna use a lot a bit of that to our advantage. It's for a good cause, but it's also from a learning perspective, it got paid to work on his writing skills, his speaking skills, and communication skills, his creativity skills. He actually ended up making the whole Facebook page, the graphic design, and the logo. So there was it was really fun, and it was a really complex tippy that also was free and real.

Kade Lacefield [00:16:40]:

Yeah. And I love doing graphic design, so is it even more fun? Like

Katherine Lacefield [00:16:45]:

Exactly. So when you're working with a child that is very creative or that has certain skills and certain, things that make him excited and will that's when they're gonna learn the most. So to recap this, Kade, I'd love to hear is there anything, like, that you feel getting involved in fundraising in particular taught you or that you enjoy?

Kade Lacefield [00:17:10]:

Probably probably it definitely taught me more, like, how to draw, Definitely. Mhmm.

Katherine Lacefield [00:17:17]:

It

Kade Lacefield [00:17:17]:

definitely taught me how to write better. It definitely taught me how to become a salesman.

Katherine Lacefield [00:17:22]:

Yeah.

Kade Lacefield [00:17:23]:

And I'm I'm born a salesman.

Katherine Lacefield [00:17:24]:

You're a born salesman, and he can sell he was anyways, the number of things that you've tried to to sell since you're a kid

Kade Lacefield [00:17:30]:

Yeah. I'm trying to sell, like, stupid things, but, like Mhmm.

Katherine Lacefield [00:17:35]:

I'm I'm

Kade Lacefield [00:17:36]:

always trying to sell something that usually never works, but sometimes there's, like, one idea that attracts me more. Then I'll do the graphic design and everything, and I'll I'll I'll, like, make the entire business, but never sell anything.

Katherine Lacefield [00:17:49]:

Well, in this case, for the fundraiser, you sold a lot.

Kade Lacefield [00:17:52]:

Yeah. But but still, like, even if you don't sell anything, it's still a fundraiser. I mean, it's still, like, a good, like, learning practice to do graphic design. And you just have to not give up. Just the universe is just telling you to, you know

Katherine Lacefield [00:18:10]:

Push through.

Kade Lacefield [00:18:10]:

Push through and make another business and make another business and make another business until you sell them.

Katherine Lacefield [00:18:16]:

Exactly. So in the case of fundraisers for our nonprofits out there, it's not because one fundraising strategy didn't work, but that means that you should give up. Trying different ways, different approaches, asking people first try

Kade Lacefield [00:18:28]:

the most important thing is to try different

Katherine Lacefield [00:18:31]:

things. Exactly. So anyone listening out there, if I can summarize this episode of what I would suggest or what I can recommend is, first of all, get your family involved in fundraising. It has been proven with studies that getting children involved at a young age in philanthropy is is the best way of actually guaranteeing future donor retention. When we talk to people about donor stewardship, the key factors that come up with long term donors is that they got involved in fundraising and philanthropy work at a young age. So if we're thinking about the future of the sector and the longevity of it, we need to start young.

Kade Lacefield [00:19:09]:

Katherine has been in this sector since, like, she was, like, super young. She's been volunteering since she was, like, a teenager. Like Yeah. That's that's how if you wanna get into the nonprofit space, then you need to start young.

Katherine Lacefield [00:19:26]:

Yeah. And that's what makes it so that we can be very successful later on. So, everyone, Giving Tuesday is coming up. It's the most generous and most lucrative time of year for fundraising. This is the time to stop doubting yourself, try different things, and get different people involved.

Kade Lacefield [00:19:45]:

And, also, it's the perfect time to mobilize your children to

Katherine Lacefield [00:19:51]:

start a fundraiser. Exactly. So, Kade, before we close-up, I know that you have a couple things that you're working on, and I do this with all my guests. If people wanna follow what you're doing, hear about what you're doing, where can they find you?

Kade Lacefield [00:20:06]:

Well, the links are in in the description. My my main channel name is Kade Dies Not Me. I also have a second channel. I don't post as often. I don't post as as often on my main channel because I make more higher quality videos on my main channel. On my second channel, I post a little bit more often, but, they're less higher quality, I guess. They're and they're more aimed towards, like, video gaming. My my main channel is just everything.

Katherine Lacefield [00:20:40]:

Mhmm.

Kade Lacefield [00:20:41]:

And, yeah, be sure to go check them out. My second channel name is Kade Storquill.

Katherine Lacefield [00:20:46]:

So Kade is on YouTube. So if you wanna encourage what he's doing and trying to build, I will put all of the links in the show notes so that anyone that wants to follow can follow Kade's work. So, Kade, thank you so much for being on the show. I really feel that for all the listeners out there, having your advice from the perspective of a 10 year old, 10 year old can learn, so can you. So please implement what Cade did into your next fundraiser, and I'm sure it'll be a great success.

Kade Lacefield [00:21:14]:

Yep.

Katherine Lacefield [00:21:15]:

Alright. That's it for today. Have a great one, everyone.

Katherine Lacefield [00:21:20]:

After spending my entire life optimizing nonprofits, I've explored countless of the most powerful tools and apps available so that you can stop wasting your time on mundane tasks and start having an extraordinary impact on the communities that need you. Follow the link in the show notes to access our full list of nonprofit tools and apps for free. We've also included some discount codes in there to make it even more worth your while. Thanks for tuning in to the Just Because podcast. Are you enjoying the content we're creating? We'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Thanks for leaving us your wonderful review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and hitting that subscribe button to have access to new episodes as soon as they drop.

Katherine Lacefield [00:22:05]:

All of our affiliate partners are hand selected to offer you only tried, tested, and true tools to give your organization the absolute best. Signing up to any of them using our code or link directly supports the podcast and is a great way to say thank you without any extra cost for you. Thanks for being part of the community.