Comments on: Interview with Lia Suzuki Sensei (Aiki Extensions) http://aksb.org/2009/12/02/interview-with-lia-suzuki-sensei-aiki-extensions/ Enriching society through the practice of Aikido - the Art of Peace. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:04:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Lia Suzuki http://aksb.org/2009/12/02/interview-with-lia-suzuki-sensei-aiki-extensions/comment-page-1/#comment-264 Lia Suzuki Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:48:55 +0000 http://aksb.org/?p=3136#comment-264 Wow, Yuki! Thank you so much for your encouragement, kindness, support, and confirmation/validation! I'm new at "this nonprofit stuff" so I approached it the same way I approach Aikido and before that, horseback riding - I found good teachers and then did what they told me to do. Wax on, wax off! We have a great organization here in Santa Barbara called the Nonprofit Support Center. I spent a lot of time there when I first transitioned the dojo to nonprofit. I also listen to the folks at givezooks and do what they tell me. My nonprofit "sempai" have taken care of me nicely. A big thank you to them and also to folks like you and Robert for helping spread the word.<br><br>Looking forward to training together soon! Wow, Yuki! Thank you so much for your encouragement, kindness, support, and confirmation/validation! I'm new at “this nonprofit stuff” so I approached it the same way I approach Aikido and before that, horseback riding – I found good teachers and then did what they told me to do. Wax on, wax off! We have a great organization here in Santa Barbara called the Nonprofit Support Center. I spent a lot of time there when I first transitioned the dojo to nonprofit. I also listen to the folks at givezooks and do what they tell me. My nonprofit “sempai” have taken care of me nicely. A big thank you to them and also to folks like you and Robert for helping spread the word.

Looking forward to training together soon!

]]> By: Yuki Togawa http://aksb.org/2009/12/02/interview-with-lia-suzuki-sensei-aiki-extensions/comment-page-1/#comment-263 Yuki Togawa Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:02:20 +0000 http://aksb.org/?p=3136#comment-263 Lia Suzuki shows through her dozens of emails she sends me the entire picture of the story. In no timne, I feel like I am there with her on the mat, off the mat with a pounding heart. Sharing stories are a powerful way she engages people in what her nonprofit does and helps me understand the meaning of her work. She is sharing her stories to people that are not necessarily from Aikido nor martial arts, nor peace leadership, she is sharing it with people that can make use of that inspiration into their lives and tangibly make a difference from that. She does not limit her social networking. She flows through people and places. The stories she sahre help me gain perspective on her work and impact. <br>I see that too many of the web sites I visit, the strongest component is missing; stories. Stories should be the tool to raising awareness and fundraising effort. The videos and emails Lia sends me work like stories that move me into the action and her heart. She shares her life work with me that allows me to experience the challenges and heartaches, as well as the love and hopes of the people she is involved with. I think the motherly touch she has in sharing us the stories leads the inspiration for organizers to organize and donors to donate. Whether inviting volunteers to invite volunteers or using social media tools to raise funds, she moves me not by statistics, logic but by heart pounds, tears and sighs. She appeals to my emotions, not the rational aspects. Lia is becoming an expert in that. There are typical ways to do it and there are fun progressive ways to do it and Lia is experimenting with all of them.<br>Money tends to lean towards positive stories, those of success and transformation. When the money spent is clearly posted and when the outcome of the fund is shared in full in a constant flow instead of an abrupt one, it makes me feel a part of the project all year around. O often see dojo owners collect moneyt and fail to keep the funding party well informed throughout the year and then only going bacvk to them when they are out of money again. From my experience, that does not work. Defeat and an open end with no conclusion, solution or a cap, seem to discourage money to move. So, fund rasising for Lia's dojo is much much easier than funding raising for STOP human trafficking... Her work provids a sunnier side and are filled with hope and vision for the future and being a part of it makes me feel warm. The positive stories she shares lift my spirit and touches me to wonder what I can do to help further. I am also noticing that Lia lives a very well rounded life and the way she uses money and time makes sense to me and thus making her very trust worthy of introducing her to money sources. If she is found not putting her hours in the fund raising and if she was expecting every penny to come from a fund raiser which she was not present, I would start having second thoughts. <br><br>Refined and establioshed people are engaging in great causes sometimes feel too pure and sanctified to sink to something as manipulative as marketing> I see a laot of dojo owners hesitate to part take in organizaed marketing and fund raising. The result of such non -profit sector leaders that do not take fund raising seriously, has been that women have been raped when it could have been avoided and children have died of pneumonia unnecessarily, or been sold off as a commodity simply because those stories haven’t resonated with the public. <br>Stop being so stubbern about martial art not being a business, learn how you can connect people to important causes and galvanize a robust global reaction. So, what does it take to tell a story successfully? <br>Lia looks for heroes and success stories not victims and shoratages.<br>She is trying to lean to focusing on an individual, not a group... almost there.<br>Make donors feel good - oh yes she does.<br>The secret to successful fundraising is securing gifts that donors enjoy.Don't you ever make this economy a reason why you can not get to funding. Money did not go any where. We now have 800 billionares when there were only 480 of them 3 years ago. Money is there. Grab it. Be storng in asking. If you do not believe that your social cause is the world most important cause, who is going to? Get off that attitude or assumption that people may not take interest. Become a good story teller.<br>I have told everyone that asked to follow Lia's path. It was exactly an year ago that I have mentioned to several non profit executives that she is almost perfect in fund raising. No one listening... Well, I hope my message got across. Lia has wonderful steps to take from where she is at and I see her fund raising will get bigger very shortly and in no time, she will have build her dojo.<br><br>Just watch and see. Lia Suzuki shows through her dozens of emails she sends me the entire picture of the story. In no timne, I feel like I am there with her on the mat, off the mat with a pounding heart. Sharing stories are a powerful way she engages people in what her nonprofit does and helps me understand the meaning of her work. She is sharing her stories to people that are not necessarily from Aikido nor martial arts, nor peace leadership, she is sharing it with people that can make use of that inspiration into their lives and tangibly make a difference from that. She does not limit her social networking. She flows through people and places. The stories she sahre help me gain perspective on her work and impact.
I see that too many of the web sites I visit, the strongest component is missing; stories. Stories should be the tool to raising awareness and fundraising effort. The videos and emails Lia sends me work like stories that move me into the action and her heart. She shares her life work with me that allows me to experience the challenges and heartaches, as well as the love and hopes of the people she is involved with. I think the motherly touch she has in sharing us the stories leads the inspiration for organizers to organize and donors to donate. Whether inviting volunteers to invite volunteers or using social media tools to raise funds, she moves me not by statistics, logic but by heart pounds, tears and sighs. She appeals to my emotions, not the rational aspects. Lia is becoming an expert in that. There are typical ways to do it and there are fun progressive ways to do it and Lia is experimenting with all of them.
Money tends to lean towards positive stories, those of success and transformation. When the money spent is clearly posted and when the outcome of the fund is shared in full in a constant flow instead of an abrupt one, it makes me feel a part of the project all year around. O often see dojo owners collect moneyt and fail to keep the funding party well informed throughout the year and then only going bacvk to them when they are out of money again. From my experience, that does not work. Defeat and an open end with no conclusion, solution or a cap, seem to discourage money to move. So, fund rasising for Lia's dojo is much much easier than funding raising for STOP human trafficking… Her work provids a sunnier side and are filled with hope and vision for the future and being a part of it makes me feel warm. The positive stories she shares lift my spirit and touches me to wonder what I can do to help further. I am also noticing that Lia lives a very well rounded life and the way she uses money and time makes sense to me and thus making her very trust worthy of introducing her to money sources. If she is found not putting her hours in the fund raising and if she was expecting every penny to come from a fund raiser which she was not present, I would start having second thoughts.

Refined and establioshed people are engaging in great causes sometimes feel too pure and sanctified to sink to something as manipulative as marketing> I see a laot of dojo owners hesitate to part take in organizaed marketing and fund raising. The result of such non -profit sector leaders that do not take fund raising seriously, has been that women have been raped when it could have been avoided and children have died of pneumonia unnecessarily, or been sold off as a commodity simply because those stories haven’t resonated with the public.
Stop being so stubbern about martial art not being a business, learn how you can connect people to important causes and galvanize a robust global reaction. So, what does it take to tell a story successfully?
Lia looks for heroes and success stories not victims and shoratages.
She is trying to lean to focusing on an individual, not a group… almost there.
Make donors feel good – oh yes she does.
The secret to successful fundraising is securing gifts that donors enjoy.Don't you ever make this economy a reason why you can not get to funding. Money did not go any where. We now have 800 billionares when there were only 480 of them 3 years ago. Money is there. Grab it. Be storng in asking. If you do not believe that your social cause is the world most important cause, who is going to? Get off that attitude or assumption that people may not take interest. Become a good story teller.
I have told everyone that asked to follow Lia's path. It was exactly an year ago that I have mentioned to several non profit executives that she is almost perfect in fund raising. No one listening… Well, I hope my message got across. Lia has wonderful steps to take from where she is at and I see her fund raising will get bigger very shortly and in no time, she will have build her dojo.

Just watch and see.

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