I am a businessman. I manage restaurants. I develop marketing plans and formulate budgets. I read P&L (profit-and-loss) statements. I hire and fire. I forecast for future business. I know how to please my customers with a superior product and great customer service. I know how to advertise.

I pay particular attention to every dining room detail. I understand plate presentation. I understand value and benefit. I train my staff so they are knowledgeable about what we serve. I know my competition but fear them not, because we serve a top-quality product at an appropriate price point, remember our customers by name, and delight in how they order their food.

At my restaurants, everyone from the chef on down plays a pivotal role in helping to make the business successful. I am a businessman and I know my business. Business is good and I am very proud of my restaurant team.

As a businessman, I know it takes money to make money. It takes capital and a positive cash flow to keep business operations up and running. It takes excellent managerial skills and having a pulse on the industry to keep the business one step ahead of the competition.

As David Rockefeller said, success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you're not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.

B'nai B'rith International is a business-a nonprofit business, but a business nonetheless. How is our business better than the next in the nonprofit world? Why would someone invest with us, and continue to invest with us over time? Where do our funding and revenue streams come from? Who are our investors and do we know them by name?

What is our compelling case for giving? How well do we train our staff with product knowledge? How well do we recognize and acknowledge our current investors? What is our administrative overhead? How much of every dollar is allocated to programs and services, and how much is earmarked for operational expenses? Do we have name recognition in the community? Is business good?

I am a businessman and president of B'nai B'rith International. I am responsible and held accountable by our board of governors so our business may prosper.

How are we going to get new business? Who will our new investors be? Who will reach out to these new investors? I share with you my B'nai B'rith fundraising story.

One year ago, I was solicited for my 2007 annual gift as incoming B'nai B'rith International president. I knew for this organization to embrace the fundraising model, as president, I would have to lead by example with a leadership gift commitment.

Before any fundraiser meets with investors, they should do their research.

This fundraiser knew I was a businessman and knew the name of my restaurants. This fundraiser asked questions about my hometown of Ottawa. I was encouraged to talk about my involvement and history with B'nai B'rith, and asked about my vision for the future of B'nai B'rith as incoming president. This fundraiser posed questions with forethought about how I would answer, and made mental notes of those answers.

All fundraisers need to know their potential investors before meeting with them. They should know their organization's product and provide a compelling case for giving. They should know how to listen and engage the person sitting across from them.

In addition to being solicited, I was asked for my help.

Would I help B'nai B'rith increase its bottom line by cultivating and soliciting investors? Would I sell the B'nai B'rith product, face-to-face, to new investors? No one had ever asked this of me before. I am a businessman and the minute I said yes, the staff professionals in the fundraising department started to make appointments for me to meet and engage new investors.

Today, face-to-face solicitations with new investors have secured new major leadership gifts, along with gift increases from current investors. We have garnered money from dormant investors whom we have re-awakened to our cause. We have engaged these investors to join us on various levels: new chairmanships, new committee members, new board members, and new ambassadors of our mission in communities across the United States, Latin America, and Europe. We have set the tone and agenda to fundraise.

We should no longer only depend upon our lodge and unit model to support the programs and services of B'nai B'rith. We should no longer only depend upon our dinner honoree program. This is a new day for us! Our fundraising agenda is ambitious and our campaign goals are lofty. We need to secure the future of B'nai B'rith with new investors and their resources if we are to endure and compete on a global not-for-profit level.

The rewards of our fundraising endeavor are not instant, but successes along the road to victory are essential to keep the fundraising team motivated. And to keep our fundraising team motivated, we are pleased to welcome Henry Rosenbaum, a seasoned fundraising professional, who brings with him years of experience in developing and molding a successful team of lay and professional fundraisers, as our new vice president of development.

I am very excited to work with a fundraising professional of Henry's caliber. To compliment Henry's professionalism and years of experience, I am proud to have appointed our newest investor, Bruce Pascal, as chairman of community development and philanthropic giving. Bruce is a dedicated volunteer who is successfully leading our fundraising charge in the community.

Together, I am confidant both Henry and Bruce will help pave the way for our fundraising future.

As everyone knows, fundraising is a top priority for me, my administration, and the entire B'nai B'rith professional team. It is the cementing of the future success of our 163-year-old organization. It ensures our legacy.

So What Is the Fundraising Plan?

To raise money, we need to have a bold vision. It has to be dramatic and exciting. There is no shortage of resources-only a lack of creative ideas and projects. People give to dreams. They want to be part of something larger than themselves.

The effective fundraiser must have the energy to be proactive so that good intentions and dreams are transformed into reality. The real challenge is to help investors see greater and greater opportunities within the organization. A great fundraiser will make great things happen! A great fundraiser will motivate the investor with passion and enthusiasm for the organization's mission and for the dream.

Yet When Do We Secure the Gift?

Securing the gift comes only after you listen. The ability to listen to the person sitting across from you is the most important skill in securing the gift commitment. You need to listen to your potential investor and respond creatively. A fundraiser's success is measured by getting investors to respond and, if we are not listening, we will never hear their responses.

Listening may be the most undervalued of all the communication skills, but good fundraisers consistently listen more than they speak. Abraham Lincoln said, "When I am getting ready to reason with a man and sell him on what concerns me, I spend one-third of my time thinking about myself and what I am going to say. Then I spend two-thirds thinking about him and what he is going to say. Then, I just sit back, cross my legs, and listen. If I listen long enough and carefully enough, I will sell my program."

If you truly listen, every man will eventually tell you his dream. You will discover what motivates that man and what he is passionate about. You will have the opportunity to then partner your organization's mission with someone's dream. Put the two together and you will have an investor for life.

Theodore Roosevelt said that the most important single ingredient in the formula of success is a concern for people. When you can make a difference in the quality of someone's life, because you are truly concerned about what happens to that person, that is success. When we listen, success will happen.

How Can I Involve You to Partner with Me?

I welcome every B'nai B'rith member and associate to come and be part of ensuring our legacy. Embrace the cause. Immerse yourself in the process. Invest your time and talent and resources with B'nai B'rith International, and we will see our fundraising campaign soar.

Help me and our fundraising team identify potential investors in your community. Join me in meeting new investors. Come and be part of our future. Help me secure our new major gift leaders of tomorrow by engaging them with us today.

Think. What have you heard from a potential investor today? Were you listening?