Nonprofit World january / february / march 2016
first quarter
volume 34 • number 1
Advancement Through Sharing
Healing Governance Ills Requires the Right Diagnosis INSIDE: • The Best Leaders Are Change Agents • The Story Behind the Numbers • The Reverse Peter Principle at Work • The Most Deadly Fundraising Mistake Published by the Society for Nonprofits
• Success through Engaged High-Level Board Members • Common-Sense Answers about Volunteer Involvement • 14 Questions to Ask before You Hire an Attorney • Planning for Digital Longevity And much more.....
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editor’s page
The Reverse Peter Principle at Work
E
veryone in the nonprofit sector has experienced it. The Peter Principle is as discouraging, frustrating, and demoralizing as it is common.
Nonprofit workers who are great at what they do frequently end up as managers, even though management isn’t their strong point. That’s the essence of the Peter Principle: Excellent workers keep getting promoted till they end up in jobs they don’t care about or do well.
There’s a remedy for this familiar problem: Apply the Reverse Peter Principle. In other words, be a doer as well as a leader. Even after you start leading others, continue to do some of the things you love. That way, you can pass on your passion to the people you lead and keep yourself from burning out. (Take a look at “How to Avoid Burnout” on page 27.) Ask yourself: What is it you truly love to do? What brought you to the nonprofit sector in the first place? Was it working with clients? Then keep working with them: Don’t stop just because you’re also a leader. Continue to get out in the field and renew your passion. Then carry it back to inspire others. That’s how you’ll keep enthusiasm for your organization’s mission. Hiring for passion rather than management skills is a key leadership principle for Tracy Dolgin, CEO of Yes Network. When recruiting managers, he looks for doers, he explains in a New York Times interview with Adam Bryant. Instead of looking for management experience, he seeks people who are the best at their particular job. Then he encourages them to continue to do that job in addition to their management work. Rather than subsuming people’s personal dreams in pursuit of team-building, great leaders take time to coach, support, and encourage each team member as an individual. They understand that when people feel free to pursue their passions, they’ll give more to the group as a whole. That’s what makes a powerful ensemble, as “Is There an ‘I’ in ‘Team’?” (page 28) makes plain. Leaders who take a strategic view of human resources have the best chance of success. They understand the need to infuse personnel principles with the organization’s mission, values, and credo to keep motivation high. (Turn to “Developing Your Organizational Team” and “Building Pride” on page 24.) It’s only natural that those who are passionate about their work are also joyful, resilient (check out “How Resilient Are You?” on page 27), and curious, continually seeking answers. “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge,” as Thomas Berger would have it. Ask questions of yourself every day. Make sure your staff and board members are constantly querying themselves, too. (“Is Your Board Asking the Right Questions?” on page 26 is a good place to start.) 2 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
“
Be a doer as well as a leader.
”
Anything that goes for your paid staff goes for your volunteers too, of course. That’s just common sense – although common sense often flies out the windows when it comes to volunteers, as Susan Ellis explains in “CommonSense Answers about Volunteer Involvement” (page 12). While you may be effective on your own, you can increase your potency by forming partnerships with others. “The Best Leaders Are Change Agents” (page 21) reinforces the importance of working together with a relentless determination to achieve results. That’s the best way to reverse the Peter Principle, build a high-performing organization, and lead with joy and purpose.
Jill Muehrcke Jill@NonprofitWorld.org
Four Things to Do Next Monday Here are some concrete things you can do right away to improve your organization.
ut into practice at least one of the 1. Pcountermeasures to the “deadliest fundraising mistake” discussed on page 8.
whether all your board members 2. Aareskasyourself engaged in your organization as they can
possibly be. See “Success through Engaged High-Level Board Members” on page 5.
hoose one of the items under “Steps to Take” on 3. Cpage 21 and plan to put it into action.
ecide whether your board shows any of the 4. Dcommon problems detailed in “Healing Governance
Ills Requires the Right Diagnosis” (pages 16-20). If so, apply the treatments suggested to solve them.
NONPROFIT WORLD Editor Jill Muehrcke
SOCIETY FOR NONPROFITS President Katie Burnham Laverty Membership Director Jason Chmura Board Members Jon S. Bluth
Archon Strategy Consulting Bethesda, MD
Diane M. Hults
Client CFO at Apparatus Solutions Southfield, Michigan
Katie Burnham Laverty Society for Nonprofits Temecula, California
Andrew Schiff
contents
NONPROFIT WORLD is published by the Society for Nonprofits.
volume 34 • number 1• 2016
FEATURE STORY Before you can improve your board, you need to diagnose any illnesses affecting it. To understand the four most prevalent board diseases and how to cure them, see “Healing Governance Ills Requires the Right Diagnosis” on pages 16-20.
ARTICLES 16 Healing Governance Ills Requires the Right Diagnosis
Managing Director, United Capital of Bethesda Bethesda, MD
By Jim Mueller
Here are four of the most common board problems – and how to solve them.
Editorial Advisory Board Members
Amy Good
DEPARTMENTS 2 Editor’s Page | The Reverse Peter Principle at Work
Madison, Wisconsin
Habitat for Humanity of Dane County
By Jill Muehrcke
Be a doer as well as a leader.
Principal, CoreStrategies for Nonprofits
2 Four Things to Do Next Monday 4 Ask the Experts What Can You Do with a RubberStamp Board?
C. Terrill Thompson
Amy Sample Ward
When Using Fundraising Pages, Must You Register in Every State?
Tangie Newborn
President, Immense Business Solutions Washington, D.C.
Terrie Temkin Miami, Florida
CTThompson Consulting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CEO, NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network) Portland, Oregon
Publisher The Society for Nonprofit Organizations Purpose: The Society for Nonprofit Organizations is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Through Nonprofit World and other communications with its members, the Society is dedicated to bringing together those who serve the nonprofit world in order to build a strong network of professionals throughout the country.
NONPROFIT WORLD is published quarterly at the subscription price of $79 per year by The Society for Nonprofit Organizations. Single copies are available, prepaid, at $25 per copy. NONPROFIT WORLD is available at no charge to members of The Society for Nonprofit Organizations. To subscribe or to become a member of the Society, write: The Society for Nonprofit Organizations, P.O. Box 510354, Livonia, Michigan 48151. Telephone: 734-451-3582. Organizational Membership $150. Individual $69. E-Membership $49. Organizational members may purchase additional memberships for their board, staff, and volunteers at $25/ membership/year. Change of address: Send both new and old address, with mailing label if possible, to: The Society for Nonprofit Organizations, P.O. Box 510354, Livonia, Michigan 48151. Allow six weeks for corrections. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © The Society for Nonprofit Organizations ISSN 8755-7614. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Society for Nonprofit Organizations, P.O. Box 510354, Livonia, Michigan 48151. E-mail: info@NonprofitWorld.org. Web page: nonprofitworld.org.
By Carol Weisman
Is there a way to add life to a lackluster board?
When someone raises funds on your behalf, do you need to register wherever they might solicit?
4 Advertisers’ Index 5 The Board Room Success through Engaged High-Level Board Members
By Bill Hoffman
6 People & Technology Planning for Digital Longevity
By Himanshu Sareen
The keys? A good plan and stakeholder outreach.
By Frank Jakosz
It’s all about the story – and the way you tell it.
By John Minges
9 Apps for Nonprofits | Three Tools for Managing Your Calendar
By Amy Sample Ward
Keep on top of your schedule.
10 Legal Counsel | 14 Questions to Ask before You Hire an Attorney
Do you need a lawyer? If so, how do you find the right one?
12 Volunteer Vectors Common-Sense Answers about Volunteer Involvement
By Susan J. Ellis
NE DEPART W MENT!
An expert on volunteers shares her experiences.
14 Your Ingenious Nonprofit | Do You Want to Change the World? Will People Pay for That?
Learn the details of this signpost for success.
Use this checklist to prepare for the changes to come.
8 Fundraising Forum | The Most Deadly Fundraising Mistake
Don Kramer
By Carol S. Ritter
22 The Story Behind the Numbers: How financial information showcases your impact
Membership Director, Society for Nonprofits Livonia, Michigan President. Energize, Inc. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jason Chmura Susan J. Ellis
21 The Best Leaders Are Change Agents
By Karen Eber Davis
24 Relevant Reviews | Developing Your Organizational Team
By Terrence Fernsler
25 Nonprofit Briefs
Top 10 fundraising trends, predictions, and tips for 2016. Plus other ideas, research, and publications in the nonprofit sector.
28 Laughter Alert
You-Write-the-Caption Contest.
Unsolicited manuscripts and letters to the editor are welcomed. They should be addressed to: Jill Muehrcke, Editor, Nonprofit World, P.O. Box 44173, Madison, WI 53744-4173 or muehrcke@charter.net or Jill@NonprofitWorld.org.
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 3
ask the experts
What Can You Do with a RubberStamp Board? Is there anything you can do to add life to a lackluster board?
Q
Our organization is led by a conservative executive director and a board that just rubber-stamps everything without any insight or vision. What can we do to revitalize both the board and the organization?
“
A retreat is a chance to engage and energize a group.
”
A
I’m a big believer in holding a yearly board retreat where folks get together and ask themselves: What’s our vision of the future? What do we want to get done? Do we have the right players to accomplish our mission? Such a retreat is a chance to engage and energize a “rubber-stamp” group. Carol Weisman, President Board Builders BoardBuilders.com Also see these Nonprofit World articles at NonprofitWorld. org/members: “Board Retreats: The Wave of the Future” (Vol. 22, No. 4), “Seven Creative Ways to Energize Your Board” (Vol. 16, No. 3), and “How to Assess and Improve Your Board’s Performance” (Vol. 24, No. 1).
When Using Fundraising Pages, Must You Register in Every State?
When others fundraise for you, do you need to register wherever they might solicit?
Q
Our organization is talking to a vendor that will let our current donors become solicitors or “champions” who can then create personal fundraising pages so they can raise funds through their contacts, on our behalf. We obviously have no control over who or where they solicit. Though we won’t be knowingly soliciting contributions from other states, our “champions” might. Does that mean we have to register in all the states?
A
Since most state laws require registration before a solicitation is made by or on behalf of a charity, you should be registered wherever your champions will be soliciting. As a practical matter, if you don’t know where folks will be soliciting, you can probably wait until you have a donor from another state before you actually register there. A good faith effort to register as soon as you know that solicitations are being made on your behalf should prevent the imposition of penalties.
advertisers’ index Affinity Nonprofits........................Inside Back Cover DonorPerfect............................................. Back Cover 4 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
I assume that your champions won’t be paid for their efforts. If they’re being paid, they have to register as fundraising counsel or professional solicitors. That’s a whole other process. I also assume that your vendor will be paid for its work. Depending on what it actually does, the vendor will likely need to register as a fundraising counsel, and you’ll need to list it on your own registrations. It’s technically illegal to deal with an unregistered fundraising counsel. Don Kramer Nonprofit Issues NonprofitIssues.com
“
The vendor will likely need to register as a fundraising counsel.
”
National University......................Inside Front Cover UST...................................................................... page 1
the board room
Success through Engaged HighLevel Board Members Learn the details of this signpost for success. By Bill Hoffman
H
ere’s a healthy exercise for any nonprofit. Ask this question: Are all board members truly engaged in the organization’s work?
For most organizations, the answer to this question will be “yes” and “no.” The organization is doing well if half the board members are fully engaged; but what about the other half?
Every organization in your community wants the same strong board members who can get things done. To be “the” go-to nonprofit requires being strategic in how you engage board members.
Are the Right People on Board? Identifying “dream” board members can be like picking a fantasy sports team – satisfying in a theoretical sense but unrealistic to implement. Building an actual board with the right members is a huge challenge, as it may or may not include those dream board members. Taking the sports analogy one step further, an effective board is like a winning team in that it’s more than the sum of the players; it’s about team performance. Putting together a highly effective board requires looking strategically at the pieces to be put into place. When current board members recommend candidates, they tend to identify friends and colleagues within their immediate network. The resulting loss of diversity makes it difficult to reach out to all constituencies. Board diversity goes beyond gender and race. A truly diverse board has representation from a variety of generations, geographic areas, expertise (such as business, community leaders, private foundations, legal, and marketing) and interest in engagement (hands-on board members as well as those who can open doors and make introductions at various levels in the community).
Create a Clear Path to Engagement. It’s self-evident – to staff – how the board can best help. It’s less obvious to board members. The best board members are busy people who are used to rolling up their sleeves and getting things done quickly. If they don’t know the “lay of the land” of an organization, they won’t know how best to invest their efforts. Give board members a thorough orientation to the organization including some history, who the players are (staff and board), what the committees do, and where the greatest needs are (be they in expertise or resources). Lay that groundwork before asking new board members how they see themselves helping.
After the orientation, continue to make it easy for board members to be involved. Do they have access to the information they need to gauge the progress of their efforts? Providing this information may mean giving regular updates on the goals the board has set for itself. Everyone wants to see how they’re doing, so make sure they see the results – even if those results aren’t all rosy. Access to such data will help board members make course corrections if their efforts aren’t effective. Find opportunities to engage board members. Advertise these opportunities regularly in board meetings and other communications with board members. There should be a variety of options – not everyone wants to serve on the gala or fundraising committee. Are there sectors of the community you want to connect with more fully? Providing such connections is a great way for board members to help.
Work Them! At times it may seem counter-intuitive, but the best way to keep the busiest, most valuable board members is to work them hard! Yes, these are busy people, and, yes, they have a lot going on in their lives. But if they don’t see the role they play as critical to a nonprofit’s success, they’ll drift away to where they can have an impact. The best board members want to use their talents to make a difference, and it’s incumbent on staff to determine the best way to do that. Don’t confuse attending meetings with engagement. Just because someone can’t make all the board or committee meetings doesn’t mean they can’t be effective. Many highly effective board members would rather work behind the scenes or on a more individual basis. Are they available between meetings? Often board members who aren’t “meeting goers” are those who can make one phone call and remove a lot of roadblocks. Or they can make inroads that help the organization – regardless of their meeting attendance. Be sure to share and celebrate these successes as examples of ways that board members can be of assistance. Such celebrations will deepen the interest, activity, and engagement of your entire board. Bill Hoffman (Bill@BillHoffmanAndAssociates. com) leads Bill Hoffman & Associates, LLC (www. billhoffmanandassociates.com) and has over 30 years’ expertise in various aspects of the nonprofit sector: working in organizational leadership; program design, implementation, and management; board development and training; and strategic planning.
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 5
people & technology
Planning for Digital Longevity
The keys? A good plan and outreach to stakeholders. By Himanshu Sareen
A
s a nonprofit leader, you deal with huge, complex issues, but you may lack the cash to lay out a digital strategy on such a broad scale. The solution lies in the planning process. By keeping stakeholders in mind and planning for the long-term, you can magnify your digital presence in new and effective ways.
Digital Strategy for the Long-Term As you begin your planning, always keep the long-term in mind. Don’t ask what you want your online presence to look like today. Think three years, five years down the road. To plan for the future, make sure your potential digital strategy will improve your nonprofit from top to bottom. Whether it’s helping your brand leadership, customer service, or revenue generation goals—think of how your digital tools will help your cause, and plan around that. One great way to boost your digital longevity is to leverage your organization’s human capital. You might have an IT staffer or consultant to map out and create your online presence, but in the end, your employees are going to be the ones creating content and interfacing with the software. Use your consultant or in-house IT professional as a mentor. Ask questions and learn the technology as best as you can, because education and user adoption is the best way to create a lasting online presence.
“
Don’t ask what you want today. Think three years, five years down the road.
The Savings Factor: Digital Strategy for Value
”
There are certain realities you’ll have to face as you begin looking for new tech to better your organization. The biggest is the issue of budgeting. Whatever piece of technology you choose, it needs to be essential, it needs to be effective, and most of all, it needs to be affordable. But before you go out searching for the least pricey options to fulfill your basic needs, remember: The product that comes cheapest is not necessarily the product that’s the most valuable. In technology especially, you get what you pay for. Strategizing for value takes research and time. Look at the latest market trends to create an informed and insightful strategy. There’s a wealth of data available. Here are a few insightful figures to get you started: • Monthly donors give 42% more each year than donors
who provide one-time gifts.
• For every 1,000 fundraising e-mails sent, a nonprofit
raises $17.
• Custom-branded donation pages raise six times more money than generic giving pages.
In addition to the latest trends, take time to research new technologies that can add value to your online presence. One of the most prevalent new Web technologies is responsive Web design. RWD looks spectacular when accessed on both desktop and mobile. What’s more, RWD has been shown to actually double giving on mobile devices. This is one example of great value in nonprofit digital strategy: It fulfills multiple functions, and it leads to better results along the way.
People Problems: Technology’s Unexpected Hurdle While planning is of utmost importance for creating a nonprofit digital presence, some organizations will find it hard just to reach the planning step. In these cases, the greatest hurdle comes from low stakeholder buy-in. With so many budgetary concerns on their minds, decision-makers don’t view digital strategy as the optimal route for improving their organizations. The line of logic is as follows: If direct mail and phone calls are working, why should we try to fix what isn’t broken? 6 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
The problem with this idea is that someday very soon, any strategy that doesn’t implement a digital approach will be broken. Statistics show that online giving is increasing dramatically on a year-over-year basis and mobile presences are becoming absolutely essential across the board. To convince decision-makers on the importance of digital strategy, open up an honest dialogue with them. Most of the time it’s not new dollars that need to be spent, it’s just a matter of moving the money from one place to another. Provide statistics, metrics, and infographics that show them the facts. You’ll do best to keep the conversation in the fiscal space, since this is where their motivations tend to dwell. Once they’re on your side, one of the most difficult parts of the process is over and you can get started on planning in earnest. Improving digital strategy and online presence begins with planning and relies on an active, devoted user base. By seeking out technologies that will provide your organization with longevity and value, you can develop a high-quality digital presence that’s truly suited for the nonprofit space. Himanshu Sareen is CEO of Icreon (icreon.com), a global IT consultancy firm headquartered in New York that delivers custom business solutions through Web, mobile, and software development.
please get in touch... We would love to hear your response to anything in Nonprofit World, your comments about any aspect of the nonprofit sector, and your concerns about your daily work. Please get in touch in any of the following ways: Drop us a note at: Letters to the Editor, Nonprofit World, P.O. Box 44173, Madison, Wisconsin 53744-4173. E-mail to: muehrcke@charter.net or Jill@NonprofitWorld.org Please include your name, organization, address, phone number, and e-mail address. If you’d like your comments to appear anonymously, please let us know. We look forward to hearing from you! Also, we hope you’ll join the discussion on the Nonprofit World Discussion Forum. Just go to www.NonprofitWorld.org, sign in as a member, and click on the Nonprofit Forum link.
Marshall the Facts about Digital Success Want statistics to buttress your argument that it’s worth spending money on new technology? Check out these resources: Nonprofitmarketingblog.com Mrbenchmarks.com Donordrive.com Networkforgood.org Also see these articles at NonprofitWorld.org/ members: How to Measure Online Fundraising Success (Vol. 26, No. 1) Beyond the Single E-Mail Message: Running Effective E-Mail Campaigns (Vol. 23, No. 3)
moving? let us know!
Reach New Supporters with Multichannel Tools (Vol. 29, No. 2)
Send old AND new address, with mailing label if possible, to:
Using E-Mail & the Web to Acquire & Cultivate Donors (Vol. 21, No. 1) The Purposeful Techie: Nonprofit IT with Intention (Vol. 30, No. 5) Online Fundraising Success Factors (Vol. 26, No. 2) Harnessing the Internet to Raise Funds (Vol. 31, No. 2) Remember Your Brand when You Market with Social Media (Vol. 33, No. 4)
The Society for Nonprofits P.O. Box 510354 Livonia, MI 48151 The post office WILL NOT forward copies of Nonprofit World. So let us know BEFORE you move so that you won’t miss any issues.
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 7
fundraising forum
The Most Deadly Fundraising Mistake Be sure you never make this disastrous error. By John Minges
W
hat’s the biggest mistake you can make in your fundraising practice? It’s a shockingly common error – forgetting to say “thank you” properly. Although too many fundraisers consider it a trivial matter, it isn’t. It can hurt your fundraising success more than anything else. Here are some countermeasures to keep in mind:
Acknowledge donors in your newsletter, Web site, annual report, social media, and any other communication vehicle
Be instantaneous. In today’s super-charged age of speed, it’s
Also include as much detail as possible about the donor’s history with your organization. Donors especially love to hear how you’ve used previous gifts and how you hope to use this one. The more tangible information you can give, the happier – and more likely to give again – your donors will be.
crucial to be as prompt as possible with your thanks. A call, text, or e-mail the same day you receive the support would be ideal. Then you can follow up later with a longer thank-you. In the United States, there are 228 nonprofits for every individual. Donors have options. They need to feel good about the contributions they make. Otherwise, they’ll move on to another worthy cause. That’s why it’s so important to make a solid connection with each donor. Nothing does this better than genuine, heartfelt, swiftly given gratitude. Your responsibility doesn’t end when you receive a gift. In fact, it has just begun. Be multi-faceted. Thanking donors once isn’t enough. You
must connect with them, in some way or another, at least seven times, before they’ll feel adequately thanked. If you feel this unwritten rule is excessive, ask yourself this: Have you ever heard a donor complain about being thanked too many times?
you can think of. Such thoughtfulness will pay huge dividends. Be thorough. For tax purposes, it’s essential to provide the
donor with the amount and date of the gift. That’s the bare minimum of what you must provide in your thank-you letter.
Be diligent. How many of your donors are sticking with you
through the years? How many are leaving? The only way to know for sure is to measure your retention rate. Be sure you have a donor tracking system in place, even if it’s something as simple as note cards in a filing box. Your system should track every gift made. It should also assure that all donors receive a series of thank-you communications. Be constant. Keep trying different ways of involving donors.
Continually ask for their feedback and pay attention to their input. Don’t make gratitude a one-time, two-time, or ten-time thing. Turn it into a relationship that lasts. John Minges (john@minges.com) is a consultant in the nonprofit field.
Successful nonprofits know the secret to keeping a donor: Keep finding new ways to keep their interest alive. For example: Have board members call and thank donors. This simple
act is one of the best ways for board members to use their time. It will go a long way in strengthening donor relationships. It’s imperative to learn your donors’ interests so that you can further involve them in your organization. What better person to find out that information than a board member who is already excited about your cause?
Send notes hand-written by board members, expressing
appreciation. These notes should reinforce the true spirit of the gift. They should explain why the gift truly matters and how it is an investment in the lives of others.
“
Be Resourceful Read in-depth articles at www.NonprofitWorld.org/ members: How Much Detail Is Needed in a Thank-You Letter? (Vol. 27, No. 1) Accelerating Fundraising through Social Media (Vol. 28, No. 3) 12 Ways to Say Thank You (Vol. 16, No. 6) Is It Time to Consider New Ways to Communicate? (Vol. 25, No. 4) How to Foster a Positive Funding Relationship (Vol. 32, No. 4)
Your responsibility doesn’t end when you receive a gift. In fact, it has just begun.
”
8 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
10 Ways to Improve Your Fundraising by Next Week (Vol. 33, No. 1) Also see Learning Institute programs on-line: Resource Development (www.NonprofitWorld.org/ LearningInstitute).
apps for nonprofits
Three Tools for Managing Your Calendar Keep on top of your schedule, and plan meetings quickly and easily. By Amy Sample Ward
O
ur calendars are our ultimate tools for staying on top of our work, meetings, and to do-lists. For something that’s so critical to our daily success, it’s surprising how many of us struggle to keep track of our schedules.
It would be much easier if it weren’t for the endless e-mail threads and phone calls involved in setting up meetings. Luckily, there are apps to solve this problem. Whether you currently use Outlook, iCal, or Google Calendar, you can use the following apps as add-ons or extensions to your online calendar. They’ll help you do the following: • Find times to meet that work for a full group of people. • Allow others to reserve time on your calendar directly. • Update your calendar with bookings automatically.
All three of the following apps are free. (There are also paid options that include advanced features and customization.) Doodle (http://doodle.com/) is designed to stop the endless
e-mail threads about finding a time for a group of people to meet. To get started, you select days and times that you want to appear as options and then circulate a single link to your meeting participants. Each time someone provides their availability, you’ll receive a notification. The app will automatically highlight the best times (the ones with the most participants indicating they can participate) so it’s easy to follow up and confirm your meeting. Doodle is especially valuable when you’re trying to schedule a call or meeting with participants in multiple time zones. When you put in the options, you can select the time zone you’re using and responders can use their own time zones when picking the best options for them. The app will calculate the times correctly, taking different time zones into consideration, so you can be sure there won’t be any mix-ups or confusion.
“
Some organizations use these tools to manage volunteer sign-ups.
”
Calendly (http://calendly.com/) is another option for allowing
others to book their own appointments with you. It’s designed for individuals and organizations that want to manage a high volume of outside calls or meetings. Much like youcanbook.me, calendly allows you to create a profile and sync your available times, creating a single link you can share with others or post on your Web site. When a meeting is reserved, the time is booked on your calendar directly and the public availability changed to match. Whether you have recurring meetings or one-time calls, calendly will minimize your time scheduling so you have as much time as possible to do your work. Give it a try today with a free trial at the premium level at calendly.com Amy Sample Ward (amy@nten.org) is CEO of NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network and author of Social Change Anytime Everywhere.
Test it out for your next meeting at doodle.com Youcanbook.me (http://youcanbook.me/) moves the
scheduling away from you and over to those who want to meet with you. After setting up your profile (it only takes a minute or two!), scheduling meetings is as simple as sharing your youcanbook.me link with your colleagues. When they visit the link you provide, they can see when you’re already booked, the times you’re available, and preset options for your preferred length of meeting. After they choose a meeting time that works for you and them, the event appears on your personal calendar, and your availability within your profile is updated. Some organizations use tools like youcanbook.me to manage volunteer sign-ups or other community calendars. Set up your profile and get scheduling at youcanbook.me january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 9
legal counsel
14
14 Questions to Ask before You Hire an Attorney Do you need a lawyer? If so, how do you find the right one?
H
iring an attorney can be just what you need to set things right. Or it can be your worst move at the worst possible time. Here are 14 questions you should ask yourself before you decide to hire legal counsel.
“
Hiring an attorney can be your worst move at the worst possible time.
1. Why Do I Need an Attorney? Sometimes the need for a lawyer is obvious. You need help preparing non-routine tax forms, defending a tax audit, preparing an estate plan, starting a new business, or conforming your organization’s activities to the changing requirements of the law. At other times, it’s less clear-cut, and it may not be a lawyer you need but a different kind of help altogether. The first step is to identify your perceived need for an attorney.
2. Is Hiring an Attorney the “Right Thing” to Do? What appears on the surface as a legal problem, especially if it involves conflict resolution, may have its roots far afield from anything legal. Probing root causes is always a good starting point for conflict resolution. Ask yourself: • Are you seeking reconciliation or vindication? • Are your motives for seeking legal counsel bringing out
admirable qualities in you?
• Are you truly motivated by a desire for justice and fairness?
When we’re driven by the wrong motives, we’ll never be satisfied with the results, win or lose. Whether you pursue a legal resolution or not, make sure you’re seeking what’s truly best (even for your adversary).
3. What Should You Do before Seeking Legal Advice? Before you hire a lawyer, try these steps first: • Seek the advice of trusted advisors. • Consider alternative approaches to answering your
questions or solving your problem.
• Determine what expert assistance is available for free.
Your question may be answered by a call to your state or local government offices or to a private organization such as the local Chamber of Commerce or a consumer protection group.
• If your legal need is conflict resolution, your first step may
be to contact an alternative dispute resolution service. For
10 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
”
more information, peruse the Web sites of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (fmcs.gov) and the Christian Conciliation Service (christian-conciliation.org).
Even if none of the above services solves your problem, they may give you a better idea about what your problem is and what you want to accomplish. That will save time and money if you do go on to hire a lawyer.
4. W hat Is an Attorney’s Proper Role? Attorneys are most often retained for one of three purposes: • Prepare or review documents. • Analyze transactions (as when buying or selling a business). • Resolve conflicts (such as enforcing contracts or suing for
property damage or personal injury).
People tend to rely on lawyers too often for the third purpose (resolving conflicts) and not enough for the first two (preparing documents and analyzing transactions). Don’t make those mistakes. Using attorneys to resolve conflicts can escalate matters and make the situation much worse than it needs to be. And not using attorneys when preparing documents and analyzing transactions can be extremely risky. Minimize your legal risks by keeping attorneys in their proper roles.
5. W hat If You Just Need a Little Legal Advice? Sometimes there’s a government agency to which you must report, a form you need to fill out, or new organizational requirements you should consider to avoid unexpected legal problems in the future. These may be simple matters you can handle on your own. Or you may need an expert’s help to set things up as the law requires. If you’re unsure of how to proceed and don’t know someone who has done it before, you would be wise to seek legal advice.
6. W hat Should You Look for in an Attorney? Seek a lawyer with a good reputation in your local community and in the nonprofit sector. This should include a reputation for discretion and confidentiality.
legal counsel Good attorneys are known for integrity, wise counsel, and the ability to see how seemingly minor details can have a significant effect on a situation. Stable relationships at home and on the job indicate a person whose life is in order.
7. Do You Need a Specialist? Law is becoming as specialized as medicine. Just as you wouldn’t be a guinea pig for a pediatrician who wants to practice brain surgery, you wouldn’t want a real estate attorney or securities law specialist to prepare your tax forms or defend your organization in a personal injury suit. Ask prospective attorneys to define the speciality your matter involves and describe their experience in that specialty.
8. How Do You Find This Attorney? Get referrals from friends, nonprofit leaders you respect, or lawyer referral services in your area. Other good places to check out: • the American Bar Association, americanbar.org • your state or local bar association • the Federalist Society, fed-soc.org • the Christian Legal Society, clsnet.org.
9. Is It Time to Call the Attorney? Unless you’re in an emergency situation, you may be better off not calling until you have at least three prospective attorneys on your list. This will let you compare personalities, experience, availability, and price. Test the information you receive in your first call when you speak to subsequent attorneys. But don’t take the last attorney’s word for it; give the attorneys you spoke with earlier a chance to explain themselves.
attorney’s analysis of the problem, the degree of complexity, a description of what further research will be required, and an idea of the attorney’s experience in your area of need. You should leave this meeting with the names and phone numbers of three or four past clients who had similar legal needs and have agreed to serve as references. Money is an important issue both to you and the attorney. Discuss it fully and forthrightly. When you leave the initial meeting, you should know exactly how you will be charged. You should also have a good idea of what the fees and expenses will be if you proceed.
12. What’s the Difference between Legal Fees and Expenses? Most attorneys itemize direct costs such as photocopying, filing fees, and so on, and itemize them separately on the bill. These costs, known as disbursements, are in addition to an attorney’s hourly fees, which generally range from $100 an hour for newer attorneys in smaller localities to over $1,000 an hour for the most experienced specialist in the larger cities. On a few routine matters, such as preparation of corporate papers, some attorneys may have fixed fees which you will pay to get the job done, regardless of the amount of time the attorney actually expends. Seek an estimate up front. Ask to receive monthly billings. Establish a “not-to-exceed” figure,” which will require the attorney to notify you and get your approval before investing in more time.
13. What Is a Contingency Fee?
10. W hat Do You Say in Your Initial Phone Call?
In cases requiring litigation, an attorney may be willing to work for a contingency fee. This means that the attorney gets paid only if you win the lawsuit or receive a settlement payment. Even in contingency cases, however, the client is usually responsible for all disbursements (defined in the previous answer).
Tell the secretary that you’re seeking an attorney for a new legal matter. Generally, you’ll be put through to the attorney, or in some cases the secretary may be trained to handle the preliminary intake.
Depending on the complexity of the case and other risk factors, the contingent amount you’ll need to pay may be as low as 15% or as high as 50%. Sometimes it will be a sliding scale, such as 25% if settled out of court and 33% if litigated.
Briefly describe your perceived legal need. Ask for information regarding the attorney’s availability, experience with the subject matter, and standard charges. Seek a half-hour in-person interview with at least two prospective attorneys, if possible. Ask beforehand what this interview will cost. Many attorneys will provide an initial interview at no charge.
11. W hat Should You Discuss in Your First Meeting with a Prospective Attorney? Discuss projected fees and costs, availability, expertise, and the time table for handling the matter. You should get the
14. S hould You Get All This in Writing? Absolutely. Many states require attorneys to provide a written agreement setting forth the financial and other details of the attorney-client relationship. It’s possible that the attorney may not have prepared a draft retainer agreement at your first meeting. But if you mutually agree to move forward, this should be the first step as you begin your relationship. This article was prepared by Gammon & Grange (gg-law. com), a law firm serving nonprofit organizations and businesses throughout the United States and abroad.
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 11
volunteer vectors
Common-Sense Answers about Volunteer Involvement An expert
NE DEPART W MENT!
on volunteer engagement shares her experiences and answers some questions. By Susan J. Ellis
I
t’s amazing the questions people ask about volunteers. At our organization, which specializes in volunteerism, we’re often taken aback by the questions we receive. Here are four actual questions people have asked us:
“
Many of these rules actually keep volunteers from being effective.
• What are valid tasks for a volunteer to do? • How do we make sure a volunteer doesn’t get romantically entangled with a client? • What are acceptable retention rates for volunteers? • How can we prove that recordkeeping software will make our volunteer management system more effective? WORD IT ANOTHER WAY
The attitude underlying all these questions is that there’s something unusual about volunteers. The best way to come up with an answer is to rephrase the question. Substitute the word “employee” for “volunteer” and see if this alters the premise: • What are valid tasks for an employee to do? • How do we make sure an employee doesn’t get romantically entangled with a client? • What are acceptable retention rates for employees? • How can we prove that recordkeeping software will make our employee management system more effective? When we put the question this way, the perspective suddenly changes. We realize that we wouldn’t draw conclusions about all employees. Why, then, do we so often make assumptions about all volunteers? For instance, few paid staff earn a gold watch after 25 years on the job anymore. Retention of employees, while important, is hardly the first question on everyone’s mind. What makes this such a hot button when it comes to volunteers? In the case of romantic involvement, the question isn’t about volunteers or employees but about human beings. We understand that an organization needs to maintain propriety and protect vulnerable people but can’t prevent emotions.
“
It’s amazing the questions people ask about volunteers.
”
12 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
”
So the issue becomes one of policies regarding how any representative of the organization should behave (not feel). Finally, some questions would never be raised at all in the context of employees. When managers ask for something, be it computer software, time to attend a conference, or anything else they deem necessary, the main question is whether the cost is covered in the budget. Most managers don’t expect to be challenged on the legitimacy of their requests. Yet, over and over, volunteer resource managers must defend their purchase requests, not on grounds of cost but on “is this really worth it?” The old myth “volunteers are free” rears its ugly head when money needs to be spent. DON’T OVERREACT
It’s alarmingly common for organizations to overreact when it comes to volunteers. Recently, for instance, a volunteer at a tutoring program was accused of unwelcome advances toward a student. Naturally this is serious and, until the facts were determined, that volunteer should have been asked to stay home. But what happened? All the volunteers were barred from doing any tutoring! Can you imagine a school furloughing all teachers if one was accused? Or a church closing its doors to all its clergy? Absurd. Some organizations are so afraid of any risk, no matter how slight, they decide not to engage volunteers at all. Because someone might get hurt or do something wrong, services needed by clients are stopped before they start. Risk assessment is always valid. An organization should keep all participants safe. It makes sense to minimize volunteer risk, but decisions should not be made based on worstcase scenarios. Unfortunately, however, some executives automatically say “no” to new volunteer initiatives, even if the same risks apply to paid staff. This is not risk management, it’s risk avoidance. And what are the consequences to serving clients if volunteers are always stopped from doing something new or difficult?
volunteer vectors USE YOUR LOGIC
Take a close look at how you and your organization treat volunteers. Ask yourself: • Do you give volunteers the same opportunities, consideration, and respect as your paid workers? • Do any of your policies demonstrate misunderstanding
about what is or isn’t “different” about unpaid workers?
• Have you educated your paid staff about ways to ensure
that volunteers feel included and valued?
Root out any rules or actions that make it difficult, uncomfortable, or awkward for volunteers to do their work. Give them the appreciation they deserve. Let’s hear it for basic common sense!
CREATE BALANCED POLICIES
It’s common, too, for organizations to devise illogical volunteer policies. Many of their rules actually keep volunteers from being effective. In one instance, an organization put key information on an intranet with no system for giving volunteers access to it. Another organization gave passwords to a discussion forum to employees but not to volunteers. Sometimes it’s the IT staff that resists allowing volunteers entry to what they consider sensitive online information, but the policy from the top should be to give every team member – paid or not – access to the information and tools necessary to do the work assigned. Barring volunteers from online information is counterproductive for the whole organization, making it difficult to accomplish projects. And it conveys a negative message about the value you place on volunteers. It’s simple to correct such problems. Simply keep volunteers in mind whenever you initiate policies or procedures, and make decisions based on the work they do and not on their pay level. Here are some other ways to be sure you’re not treating your volunteers as second-class: • Designate special spaces for your volunteers. Set aside
And there’s one more question that’s well worth asking: When would it be more effective to treat our employees the way we should treat volunteers? For example, how often do you do something special to recognize good work by the paid staff? (A paycheck is not a “thank you.”) How much choice or flexibility do employees have in the things you expect them to do? The practices of good volunteer management actually make your workplace more welcoming and productive to all of your team members. Susan J. Ellis is president of Energize, Inc., an international training, consulting, and publishing firm specializing in volunteerism. Based in Philadelphia since 1977, the firm has helped a wide diversity of clients to start or expand volunteer efforts. Ellis has written 14 books on volunteerism and dozens of articles. She is co-publisher of the international online journal, e-Volunteerism (e-volunteerism.com) and dean of faculty for the online volunteer management training program, Everyone Ready®. Browse the 1200+ pages of free volunteer management information on the Energize Web site: energizeinc.com.
More Common-Sense Solutions You’ll find more ways to involve volunteers with these articles (www.NonprofitWorld.org/members): Where Are Your Volunteer Leaders? (Vol. 30, No. 6) How to (and Not to) Put Your Volunteers to Work (Vol. 18, No. 3)
desks, computers, and other needed tools for their use. Don’t make them hunt for an open work space.
Are You Boring Your Volunteers to Death? (Vol. 24, No. 3)
• Provide an official e-mail address, letterhead stationery, and business cards for volunteers who are working as
Maximizing Volunteer Participation (Vol. 28, No. 2)
representatives of the organization.
• Give volunteers a secure storage area where they can leave
purses, briefcases, and other personal items while on duty.
• Invite volunteers to meetings that are relevant to their assignments. There’s no reason to exclude volunteers
from staff meetings, conference calls, or planning sessions involving volunteer projects.
How to Create a Staff-Volunteer Team (Vol. 18, No. 4) Free Webinar Recording for Members: Welcome, Adapt, Or Avoid? Responding to Trends in Volunteerism. This webinar offers an overview of key trends and the issues they raise for volunteer engagement. Also see Learning Institute programs on-line: Volunteer Management (www.NonprofitWorld.org/ LearningInstitute).
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 13
your ingenious nonprofit
Do You Want to Change the World? Will People Pay for That? By Karen Eber Davis
Y
es, people will pay to help you fulfill your mission if you engage, surprise, and delight them.
In just four years, would you like to:
• Grow your six-figure donors by 30%?
• Develop a new event that attracts 100,000 people? • Earn 50% more from foundations such as Carnegie, Gates, Rockefeller, and MacArthur? While this article can’t promise you those things, it will tell you how the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) achieved these feats. It also shares six elements your nonprofit can use to emulate NYSCI’s success. NYSCI is changing the way we help children learn by creating educational models for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) topics. Their STEM-based learning models engage children in fun, play, and excitement. Hosting nearly a half million visitors per year, the New York Hall of Science was originally built for the 1964 World’s Fair. Today, the site offers visitors 450 interactive STEM exhibits and more.
What’s the Appeal? 1. A Recognized Challenge. The work of NYSCI responds to
a national challenge to improve STEM education.
You: Even if your nonprofit isn’t working on a Presidentially
2. Value.
We can trace NYSCI’s overwhelming success to the way its approach engages learners and creates delight. For example, ratios befuddle many middle school youth. Traditionally, teachers use word problems to teach kids about ratios. NYSCI uses a more creative approach. When I visited the New York Hall of Science, Exhibit Projects Creative Director Peggy Monahan showed me how it’s done. With an iPad she created a picture of me being stomped by a large foot. Then, using a paper-doll-like pair of pants on a stick, she created a picture of me dressed in clown pants. To create the desired effect, she used ratios so the pants were neither too big nor too little, but just right. Now that you’ve viewed me in clown pants (see the photo below), visualize young teens making silly pictures with their friends while learning about ratios. Imagine the fun. You: Design your proposals with appeal. Use joy, fresh thinking,
and learner engagement.
3. Experience. New York City families have plenty of museum and excursion options. NYSCI has remained open for 50 years by mastering the art of captivating visitors. You: Include your expertise in your solutions. Be the logical
choice for your funding partnerships.
recognized challenge, such as STEM, it does face a challenge that addresses well-known needs in your field. To create partnerships like those enjoyed by NYSCI, design a solution to that challenge.
Peggy Monahan from the New York Hall of Science shows the author how clown pants can make learning about ratios fun for kids. 14 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
your ingenious nonprofit 4. Leverage. What happens at NYSCI doesn’t stay there.
NYSCI uses its physical site as a learning incubator. The goal is to reach classrooms nationwide. NYSCI designs its models for classroom use and includes teacher education in its work. Models use readily available items, such as aluminum foil, to fit tight budgets.
You: To inspire partnerships like NYSCI, design your proposals
to start at your site and move everywhere.
5. Location, Location, Location. Yes, NYSCI is located in
New York City, close to a subway line. Transportation does provide NYSCI easy access to millions. However, this isn’t Manhattan. It’s “all the way out to Flushing.” NYSCI’s location makes it “scrappy.” Its Queens neighborhood means that its employees have the opportunity to test their ideas with people who reflect America’s growing diversity.
“
Design your proposals to start at your site and move everywhere.
Create Partnerships, Grow Your Impact, & Obtain Income The world you want to change may be as significant as STEM education in America. It might be midsized or small and still be critical. Whatever the size of the challenge, use the six NYSCI elements. Apply them to get people excited about investing in your work. Karen Eber Davis (karen@kedconsult.com) is an expert in maximizing philanthropic impact and the author of Nonprofit Income Streams: Open the Floodgates to Sustainability! Sign up for her free newsletter “Added Value” at kedconsult.com.
You: As you think about seeking partnership with foundations
or individuals to create extraordinary impact, you’ll undoubtedly moan about some aspect of your location. Turn this around. Find your advantage.
6. A Culture of Yes. The NYSCI staff said yes to my request
for an interview about nonprofit income opportunity. Not everyone does.
You: A culture of “yes” is subtle but critical. Partnerships
require openness. To succeed, especially with fiscal partners, you need to balance your nonprofit’s needs with your partner’s needs. Are you ready to say yes, a lot?
”
Coming Up in “Your Ingenious Nonprofit”: Don’t miss upcoming issues, in which you’ll learn how to develop a “forever income” strategy, follow the steps to sustainability, and sort through available income streams to choose the best one for your organization.
Enjoy Reading NONPROFIT WORLD ? Here are more benefits of membership in the Society for Nonprofits
• 12 issues of Nonprofit World Funding Alert, providing monthly updates on grant and funding opportunities • Membership in GrantStation, with instant access to over 5,500 grantmakers via the Find-a-Funder searchable database • Complete access to over 1,200 printer-ready management articles, searchable by author, key word, or subject • Discounts on products and services, including books, audiotapes, videotapes and Webinars presented by experts in the field • Reduced enrollment fees from the Learning Institute for the Society’s Certificate of Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership and Management • Free job postings on our NonprofitCareers.org job site
For more information, visit: www.NonprofitWorld.org january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 15
Healing
Governance Ills Requires the
Right Diagnosis
I
Here are four of the most common board problems – and how to solve them. By Jim Mueller
have served on many boards over the years and I confess it can be difficult to figure out what’s wrong when things go askew. Over time, I have recognized that there are certain common ailments that affect many boards; and if you understand the symptoms and diagnose them accurately, you have a better chance of bringing about productive change.
“
Start the healing process by focusing on the organization’s cause.
”
To succeed, it’s important to correctly identify which condition is affecting your board, because each requires a different approach. I will describe four of the most common ailments in order of least to most serious: Benightedness, Phobia, Obliviousia, and Xenoskepticosis.
Though it is eminently clear that an ounce of preventive medicine—i.e., the development officer meeting individually with board members before jumping into the board presentation—would have averted this uncomfortable experience, the symptoms remain the same.
Benightedness
Some might jump to the conclusion that the board members in this example are afraid of fundraising, but the symptoms suggest that they just don’t know what to do.
The first condition I call Benightedness. It’s an archaic word that perfectly captures the nature of the problem. Literally it means “in the dark.” It is the condition of being inexperienced. It arises when board members are asked to do something for which they are neither knowledgeable nor equipped. Since most board members want to be successful, this is the easiest condition to address. You’ve probably witnessed this yourself. Let’s say your organization hired its first development officer. The development officer is invited to a board meeting and asks board members to review some lists and identify people they can cultivate for the organization, and maybe consider hosting a reception in their home. Suddenly the room goes quiet with board members looking at their lists with a bit of apprehension. Finally, to break the silence, the board chair asks: What exactly are you asking us to do? From the development officer’s point of view it’s perfectly clear, and as such, that staffer is at a loss for words. Sensing the discomfort in the room, the executive director steps up and suggests that the board table this for discussion for another meeting. Everyone seems relieved. 16 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
If you were the development officer in this situation, what would be your next move? Well, after you salvage your relationship with the executive director and regain that person’s trust and confidence in your competence, you’d put together a learning experience for members of the board. It’s important to meet with each board member individually to learn the extent of each one’s experience. This should not be an inquisition, but a series of conversations about why members are engaged, what they love, what inspires them, and what experiences they have had with nonprofit governance and fundraising. Throughout these conversations, you are identifying the educational needs of the members. When you’ve completed the interviews, it’s important to meet with the chair of the board to plan an educational strategy that the chair endorses.
“
Show board members the research on how giving is more satisfying than getting.
”
BENIGHTEDNESS SYMPTOMS: Frustration: don’t know what to do or how to do it Confusion: misunderstand expectations
PHOBIA SYMPTOMS: A lack of direct eye contact when the topic is discussed Shuffling papers or acting distracted A predisposition to changing the topic at the first opportunity Lack of follow through on tasks When confronted, passiveness will turn into anger or
Mild resistance: • “What do you expect of us?” • “Why are you asking us to help?”
BENIGHTEDNESS TREATMENT: Determine what board members need to know and what they don’t know. Individualize your approach. One size may not fit all. Develop an educational approach that is an enjoyable learning experience. Engage the chair in planning the learning process. Conduct a series of conversations to introduce proven practices. Don’t just tell them; engage them. Offer examples of success stories. Be explicit about the roles you expect board members to play. Provide practical tools and information. As you implement the strategy, don’t just tell board members what they need to know. Make it a discovery process, engage in discussions using scenarios and case stories, expose them to board members from other organizations who are knowledgeable and successful, and design activities where they can experience success. Going forward, make sure your new-board orientation covers the knowledge board members need to be successful. A thoughtful, well-considered orientation is another form of preventive medicine.
Phobia The second condition is Phobia. Fundiphobia, planaphobia, recruitaphobia, inovatiphobia . . . there is an almost endless range of things that can make board members uncomfortable. Phobia differs from Benightedness in two primary ways: • First, it is not a condition of lack of knowledge. And giving
board members more information at the outset won’t help.
• Second, the degree of resistance to the task that provokes the fear is more intense when dealing with a phobia. The
resistance can be both passive and active. It first shows itself when members don’t follow through or when they become unresponsive. Then, when the behavior is confronted, board members will either disengage further, or use bullying tactics to push back.
You can’t confront a phobia head-on because board members are unlikely to discuss it. So, it is important to recognize when and where the resistance occurs. If you are observant, a pattern will become obvious and you will know the source of the fear. Since a phobia cannot be resolved through a direct approach, I recommend shifting focus away from it. Spend time talking with board members about how they view the organization’s mission, what they are passionate about, and what they envision for the future.
complete disconnection
PHOBIA TREATMENT: Help board members tap into their passion. Create opportunities for them to tell stories about why they love the work of the organization. Connect them to the heart and soul of your cause: Have clients, donors, or community stakeholders meet with the board to tell members why they are so glad the organization exists. Host mission tours: Give board members real-life experiences of why the organization’s work is important and worthwhile, and how the organization is changing lives. Replace the thing they fear with practical tasks: • If it’s fear of fundraising, focus on building relationships and friend-raising. • If it’s fear of outreach, take board members on a visit with you where you take the lead. • If it’s fear of planning, break it down into simple, interesting questions. Finally, don’t ask board members to do anything that is not a good fit. Make adjustments for various personalities. Discuss strategies, aspirations, and actions that will lead to success. In short, get the board’s attention off the red herring. Then create a back door to the solution. Let me give you a few examples. Since fundiphobia is the most prevalent phobia, let’s begin with it. Predominant fundiphobia fears include: being embarrassed, losing face, offending friends, or coming off as pushy. It is very important to start the healing process by focusing on the organization’s cause and the great work it does for those it serves. A powerful strategy is to introduce board members to beneficiaries who are grateful for the work of the organization and can talk passionately about it. Another is to introduce them to donors who love to support the organization. By doing so, you are showing (not telling) board members how the organization is worthwhile and how people feel good about supporting it. You are shifting the paradigm from motivation to inspiration. For some board members, this bit of inspiration will do the trick. For the rest, demonstrate how fundraising is all about building relationships. I often tell board members not to ask people for money if it won’t make them happy! They should not ask their friends if they are uncomfortable. I further show them the stages of relationship, where people must move from awareness, to interest, to involvement, to engagement before a board member should think about asking them for a gift. So, focus on relationship-building, not asking. I also show them the research on how giving is more satisfying than getting. I tell them that you know when to make an ask because it excites you and the donor—because you both believe in a shared cause
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 17
and trust the organization to deliver on its promise. Don’t ask sooner and don’t ask for any other reason.
OBLIVIOUSIA SYMPTOMS:
Planaphobia, recruitaphobia, and others require a similar approach. Start by focusing on the importance of the cause and the impact of the organization. Talk about vision and what board members hope to achieve. Don’t focus on a comprehensive strategy. Focus on a few steps wherein they can experience immediate success.
Disengaged when responsibility is discussed
For planaphobia, I suggest starting with a simple exercise: • Begin by asking,“What does success look like?” • At a following session, you might ask, “What are the critical gaps between our aspirations and our current
reality?”
• At a third session, you could ask, “What’s most important?”
When you simplify the process by focusing on a few interesting questions, board members will provide critical input to the strategic plan without realizing they are doing strategic planning. A similar process can be used for recruitment: Make it simple, one bite at a time. With each phobia, the success of the treatment is directly related to tapping directors’ passion for the cause. Fear fades away when people are immersed in their passion and see the relevance of the activity they are being asked to undertake.
Obliviousia The third condition I call Obliviousia. It is the state of being oblivious to a range of governance responsibilities. Obliviousia differs from Benightedness in that board members who are oblivious to their responsibilities are more resistant than those who lack know-how. Whereas those with Benightedness are receptive once they know how to do what is being asked, those with Obliviousia are not. A typical response might be: “You want us to do more?” Let’s look at a typical scenario. Facing a revenue shortfall, the executive director brings in a consultant to “get the board charged up.” At a board meeting the consultant introduces best practices of high performing boards—describing how members of such boards are engaged in year-round board development, are actively involved in the annual appeal, spend time reviewing lists and cultivating relationships, host point-of-entry events, do advocacy and outreach, and make significant personal gifts. Concerned about the outcome of the discussion, the executive director peers around the room and sees some board members whispering to one another and others disengaged from the presentation. Then one speaks up and says, “I thought that was the staff’s job. We hire good people and we pay them well.”
“
A “deer caught-in-the headlights” gaze Dismissive attitude: “No one told me.” Defensive posture: “I thought that was your job.”
OBLIVIOUSIA TREATMENT: Connect board members to the cause through focused
discussion and by providing examples of how the organization is succeeding for those in need. Tap their passion, inspire them. Engage board members in a process of discovery regarding new
strategies and opportunities to meet the challenges at hand. Outline a game plan that includes both staff and board responsibilities. Be very clear about the extent of board member responsibilities. Start small. Demonstrate how the staff will provide full, competent support for any new initiative. Provide the tools board members need to succeed. Celebrate successes. Reinforce new practices through regular attention to them at board meetings. Needless to say, the executive director should have done some homework. If board members were surveyed in advance, it would have been clear that the board has no clue about the breadth of governance responsibilities. It does not matter that the board is being asked to do something that is proven to be effective; what matters is that it isn’t what board members had in mind when they agreed to serve. A better way to approach a board with this condition is to begin where I have suggested for the other conditions. Focus on the impact of your cause, talk about vision and changed lives, connect board members to people who have benefitted from the programs and services. In short, stir their passions, inspire them. Once the board has made this connection, you can begin to introduce new opportunities, strategies, and tactics that will help the organization thrive. Introduce a few at a time: • Explain how the staff has been trained and is prepared to
support the board.
• Lay out a strategy showing board members how they can
uniquely make a contribution that complements the staff’s efforts.
• Be very clear about the extent of board members’
responsibilities.
• Take it slowly, step by step. Don’t throw a full menu of best
practices at the board all at once.
Encourage board members to tell stories about why they love the work of the organization.
”
18 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
• Start where you have the best opportunity for success. And
when you do succeed, talk about it, celebrate it.
Bringing health to the board is not the result of teaching or persuading. It is found through discovering relevant activities, alleviating angst, clearly defining expectations, and helping board members understand how they can competently take
“
Get the board’s attention off the red herring.
”
on this heretofore-unknown responsibility. Don’t rush. Build the case. Coach.
Xenoskepticosis The most challenging board ailment is Xenoskepticosis. This is a board culture that is deeply skeptical of anything unfamiliar or unusual. It’s most often found in boards that have lost touch with their organization’s vision or cause. It’s usually a condition that develops over time. Any of the first three conditions I described—Benightedness, Phobia, or Obliviousia—may develop into Xenoskepticosis if unchecked. Several years ago I resigned from a board that was suffering from Xenoskepticosis. Board meetings started and ended on time, the founder-executive controlled the agenda, many of the board members were friends of the founder, and the chair was one of the most polite people I’ve ever met . . . to the organization’s detriment. Innovation was not embraced. I was asked to join the board because of my professional position at the time. The organization served a cause that was near and dear to my heart and I was excited to see what could be done. Within a year I left out of frustration—just after two others did the same. One was the individual who had recruited me and the other was an individual I had recruited. The person who had recruited me was a very successful and wealthy entrepreneur and former chief executive in a Fortune 500 company. The person whom I had recruited was a social activist and wealth investor from New York. Our leaving the board did not create the slightest ripple in the organization . . . everything just stayed the same. Xenoskepticosis is highly resistant to any form of intervention or treatment. The more longstanding and deeply embedded, the more impervious. Form trumps function. Comfort and convenience are valued. Risk and innovation are eschewed. Bringing about change for a board with Xenoskepticosis is not achieved through information or persuasion, assurances or staff support; it’s rooted in building credibility and trust, exhibiting extraordinary patience, and tenaciously holding to a vision for change. The most critical task is to recruit the right person to chair the board. Without the right chairperson, there is little hope for change. Getting that right person on board takes time and requires finesse. It’s akin to a political campaign. It needs to be an individual who is accepted as the leader by other members. Important characteristics of an effective chair include: • the right motivation (passion for the cause, desire to serve that cause, a strong focus on impact) • strategic thinking • courage, confidence, and diplomacy. This needs to be an individual who can build a band of believers, someone who can tenaciously pursue a compelling vision and inspire others to join.
XENOSKEPTICOSIS SYMPTOMS Board members focusing on reports and dissecting decisions Little to no generative thinking Little to no time spent on strategic planning Little debate or controversy Little to no strategic focus on outreach and financial resource development Resistance to change: “That’s not our job.” “We don’t do it that way.” XENOSKEPTICOSIS TREATMENT: Recognize that there is no quick fix. Commit to a thoughtful, long-term strategy. Recruit the right chair. Reinvigorate the board with new, passionate board members who embrace the role of governance. Focus on vision and mission-impact. Engage in a process of discovery at the right moment— when the board begins to question current practices and shows signs of receptivity to new ideas. As with the board chair, recruiting new board members who have a passion for the cause and embrace their governance responsibilities is another effective strategy to employ. It requires a carefully crafted board member recruitment profile, a thoughtful and sustained recruitment process, and a sound orientation program. As this process unfolds, cultivating a consistent focus on vision and mission-impact will begin to evoke consideration of new and different approaches and practices. Ideas that were previously
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 19
“
You can’t confront a phobia head-on because board members are unlikely to discuss it.
”
perceived as “that’s not the way we do things” are now seen as effective ways to achieve greater impact. The best way to sustain this epiphany is to structure a process of discovery rather than teach new practices. This is an opportune time to hold a board retreat managed by a skilled facilitator. Once you have achieved this level of engagement, you have turned the corner and are on track toward a healthy recovery. Boards can get lost in the doldrums of Xenoskepticosis for years. But there is hope. Case in point, one board with which I’m familiar is now healthy and thriving. A new chair took the helm. This person had the perfect temperament to deal with the founder (gentle – most of the time – but firm) and was stimulated by the challenge. He had a passion for the cause, exuded confidence, and held the board accountable for governance that was mission centered. He strategically recruited new members and focused on achieving new program and fundraising goals. He also had an uncanny ability to know which battles to fight. He once told me that his success is rooted in his ability to see the whole battlefield, not just the skirmishes.
Meet Board Members Where They Are, Not Where You Want Them to Be
More Board Woes Addressed For more details on healing board afflictions, see these articles at www.NonprofitWorld.org/members: Board Problems Reflected in Training Requests (Vol. 32, No. 5) How Effective Is Your Board? Rate Yourself, & Take Action (Vol. 32, No. 2) Use Coaching to Retain the Leader’s Edge (Vol. 28, No. 2) When Board Members Are Hurt & Angry: Strategies for Damage Control (Vol. 13, No. 4) Board Members Beware! Warning Signs of a Dysfunctional Organization (Vol. 16, No. 2) How to Create a Strong Board-CEO Partnership (Vol. 27, No. 1) Where Can You Find Good Board Members? (Vol. 17, No. 5) How Your Board Members Can Raise Funds without Asking for a Dime (Vol. 19, No. 6) Five Golden Rules for Board-Exec Retreats (Vol. 26, No. 1) Free Webinar Recording for Members: Four Lessons an Olympian Can Teach Us about Communicating Expectations that Raise the Bar for the Board of Directors. Learn practical techniques that raise the bar for your board members. Also see Learning Institute programs on-line: Board Governance (www.NonprofitWorld.org/ LearningInstitute).
To help ailing boards be more effective in governance, we need to accurately understand the dynamics of problems we face and engage in appropriate actions. The majority of board members are smart, reasonable people with very full lives. When we employ the right approach to problems with intelligence and respect, board members are much more likely to respond positively to change. You have probably noticed throughout this article how often I return to passion for cause, vision, and mission. That’s where inspiration lies. So often we fall prey to trying to motivate board members through obligation, peer pressure, goals, and objectives. Motivational tactics have a limited shelf life. Sure, they might work for short-term objectives, but they do not create exceptional boards. Exceptional boards are inspired boards whose members are emotionally and intellectually engaged in a cause that is deeply meaningful to them. Jim Mueller (jmueller@jmuellerassociates.com) has a consulting practice (jmuellerassociates.com) and over 40 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector. This article is reprinted from YOU and Your Nonprofit Board: Advice & Practical Tips from the Field’s Top Practitioners, Researchers, & Provocateurs, courtesy of CharityChannel Press, available at CharityChannel.com, Amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com).
20 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
W H AT ’S U P ONLINE ? To broaden online discussions on nonprofit topics, we’re expanding our Discussion Forum with a ListServe, provided by Yahoo Groups. To join, you can either click on the “Yahoo” button at: http://www.NonprofitWorld.org/social/ (free Yahoo login required) or send a blank e-mail to: NonprofitWorld-subscribe@yahoogroups.com If you have any questions, contact Jason Chmura at jchmura@NonprofitWorld.org.
The Are
Best Leaders
Change Agents
Use this checklist to be sure you’re prepared for the changes to come. By Carol S. Ritter
L
ife in the nonprofit world has drastically changed over the last decade, and the upheaval is continuing. Nonprofit leaders can’t expect success unless they confront change directly, becoming agents of change.
So, are you a changemaker? As a leader today, being a change agent isn’t only necessary; it’s critical. But before you can say, “I’m a change agent,” you need to have a few things in place.
Checklist for Success Use the following as a checklist to be sure you have the essential ingredients in place so that you can spark change in your organization: Your board members must believe that growth doesn’t
occur without change – and act on that belief.
You must have partners who share your vision and bring
you new supporters and new dollars.
You need a results driven growth plan with a timeline for
success and a strong networking component.
You must give lots of value to the community. And you must
communicate in a way that makes your value crystal clear.
Steps to Take If you’re weak on any of the checklist items, try taking one or more of the following recommendations. Start by picking just one, and move forward slowly but surely. Hold a board retreat. That’s the best way to help your board
members understand how important growing is to the future of your organization. An annual board retreat will help assure that you have a board dedicated to growth.
Encourage your board members to attend networking events. Be sure they have a clear, concise (no more than 30
seconds) response when someone asks, “What does your organization do?” Build relationships with the leaders in your community. Spend time attaining and measuring results, real results.
Communicate those results clearly to all your stakeholders.
Arrange for board members to speak publicly to spread the
word about your organization. Again, arm them with a clear, brief description of who you are, what you stand for, and how you impact the lives of others.
Communicate using many different channels, both
offline and online, in ways that reflect the preferences of your stakeholders.
Become the Change Change agents understand the difference between managing people and leading them. Managers handle, direct, and control operations. Change agents lead by inspiring and influencing. As the leader of an organization, can you let go and encourage your teammates to do what they do well? Are you willing to let them fail in that process? Are you there to help them reach their goals without criticism? Your utmost responsibility as a leader is to serve your board. When you make your board members genuinely feel important and match the task with the skill, they will perform. Not much is for sure in this ever changing world. But you can count on this: If you and your board are dedicated to change, you’ll see more money, better results, and more supporters attracted to your cause. Carol S. Ritter (tellkids@aol.com, caroltalks.com) is a professional speaker, coach, and consultant on nonprofit and educational leadership.
Teaming Up for Change Read more about making change happen with these articles (www.NonprofitWorld.org/members): The Promise and Pitfalls of Organizational Change (Vol. 28, No. 4) How Do Leaders of Nonprofit Partnerships Foster Collaboration? (Vol. 22, No. 3) Match Your Change Strategy to Your Organization’s Maturity (Vol. 21, No. 5) How to Assess and Improve Your Board’s Performance (Vol. 24, No. 1) Transforming Your Organization from the Inside Out (Vol. 25, No. 4) Are You Walking Your Walk? Rate Yourself with This Easy-to-Use Grid (Vol. 29, No. 5) How to Improve the Process of Change: The Sanctuary Model (Vol. 28, No. 6)
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 21
$
$
$ $
$
$
$
The Story Behind the Numbers:
How Financial Information Showcases Your Impact It’s all about the story – and the way you tell it. By Frank Jakosz
S
torytelling plays an integral role in our lives, whether it’s teaching a lesson, illustrating a point, or selling a service. Great stories spark creativity and cause people to view the world differently.
Your organization’s financial story is fundamental to achieving your mission and showcasing your accomplishments. It demonstrates impact, increases transparency, and builds trust. It helps you maintain a strong donor base, obtain additional funding, and thrive – even during tough economic times. Like a good book that’s hard to put down, the most powerful stories feature thought-provoking themes, a range of emotions, a dynamic plot, and complex characters. While nonprofits tell inspiring individual stories of the people they help, they often do a poor job of using their financial success and challenges to tell an engaging story that resonates over time. Accurate numbers add depth and spark action.
Offer More than an Annual Update Large investment firms provide daily real-time information on the performance of investors’ assets. While donors don’t want or expect to receive similar information on a daily basis from the nonprofits they support, they would like more than an annual update. Like investors, donors want to receive regular details about the organization managing their money. They hunger for answers to questions like these: Has the organization grown over the last year? What is its predicted growth in the coming year? How does the organization measure programmatic and financial success? What percentage of funds covers administrative expenses? What are the organization’s sources of revenue? Is the organization primarily state or federally funded or does it receive funding from a variety of sources? How does the organization monitor compensation levels
for its staff?
How many people sit on the organization’s board? Where
do they work?
22 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
Does the board have a financial expert?
When you treat donors the way fund managers treat their top investors, you’ll reap rewards. Your stakeholders will feel valued, embrace your organization’s story, and commit to investing in your success.
Forget the Balance Sheet What’s the best way to share your story with stakeholders? Start by surveying donors. Ask them how often they want to receive information and through which medium (e-mail, mail, etc.). In your communication with donors, prioritize key financial highlights. Don’t overwhelm donors with entire balance sheets, income statements, and hundreds of numbers. Instead, help them understand how they can help write the next chapter in your organization’s story. Share only relevant and abbreviated information that provides insight into the organization’s financial status, including: • total revenue • total expenses • change in net assets. Relate all financial results to your mission. Make the information clear, concise, and accurate. Never assume that everyone interprets data points in the same way. You need to show donors why the information matters and explain its implications in the short and long term. Graphs and charts can help present the data in a compelling way since pictures often tell a clearer story than words. Despite the digital age, far too many nonprofits waste thousands of dollars sending donors printed financial materials – including balance sheets and income statements – via mail. Customized e-mail communication saves valuable resources. Companies present both negative and positive information to their stakeholders. They often invest millions of dollars in “reputation management” for numerous reasons – including protection during crises. You can do the same. You can build trust and strengthen your reputation with financial
“
Donors want to receive regular details about the organization managing their money.
”
transparency. A reputation for strong financial health over time can lead to increased support from individual donors when state and federal funding falls short during a budget crisis or when unexpected costs arise.
Connect Mind with Heart Individuals everywhere yearn for stories that evoke emotion. Crafting a financial narrative alongside inspiring examples of human impact taps into stakeholders’ emotions and motivates them to invest their intellectual and financial resources in your mission. Nonprofits serve as agents for positive societal change. By leveraging the power of an authentic and holistic story, effective communication with stakeholders makes this change a reality for people around the world – every day. Frank Jakosz, CPA (fjakosz@sikich.com) is a partner in Sikich LLP’s not-for-profit services practice (sikich.com). Frank has 42 years of public accounting experience and deep expertise in serving not-for-profits. He has also co-authored numerous not-for-profit accounting publications and speaks at conferences and training sessions around the country. He is an active member of various not-for-profit and other technical standards committees in several standard-setting accounting organizations.
Coming Up
in Nonprofit
World
Your Financial Story You can find more ways to tell a compelling financial story by perusing the articles at www.NonprofitWorld. org, including: Why Telling the Right Brand Story Matters So Much (Vol. 32, No. 2) The Nonprofit Overhead Myth: Devil in the Details? (Vol. 31, No. 5) Measuring Outcomes in the Real World (Vol. 30, No. 6) Deeper Donor Relationships = Increased Contributions (Vol. 26, No. 4) Reach New Supporters with Multichannel Tools (Vol. 29, No. 2) Harnessing the Internet to Raise Funds (Vol. 31, No. 2) Key Performance Indicators: Nonprofits Need Them, Too (Vol. 31, No. 2) Free Webinar for Members: Introduction to Online Storytelling. Learn how to get storytelling started in your organization and apply it through a variety of media.
• Are You Telling the Right Liquidity Story? • Diving into the Hispanic Donor Pool • To Gain Passionate Supporters, Try a Fantasy Camp • A Primer on Generational Philanthropy • Do the Benefits of Tax-Exempt Loans Outweigh the Costs? • Emeritus Board Members: The How, the Why, the Art • Wow People with Your Digital Material • Inside Out: A Fresh Perspective on Finding Volunteers • Is a Personalized Letter Always Better? • Not a “Someday” Dream: The Steps to Sustainable Income • The Top Five Digital Tools You Should Be Using Right Now
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 23
relevant reviews
Developing Your Organizational Team
This reader-friendly handbook provides the essentials for managing your most vital resource. By Terrence Fernsler Human Resources Management for Health Care Organizations: A Strategic Approach. By Joan E. Pynes and Donald N. Lombardi. Softcover. 424 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., wiley.com.
E
mployees are the most important aspect of a nonprofit organization. They define an organization’s character, affect its capacity to change, and carry its knowledge base.
Human resources management plays a key role in selecting, motivating, and developing employees. Therefore, it’s crucial to your organization’s success. At the same time, human resource practices must be attuned to constituents’ needs if you want to provide quality services. While this book is intended for health care organizations (which are defined very broadly in the book), its principles can be applied to any organization. There are only a few short passages specific to the heath care professions; most topics are inclusive enough to apply to any type of nonprofit. The authors explain how important human resources management is in staying competitive, avoiding lawsuits, and keeping constituents satisfied. They cover job analysis, selection procedures, performance evaluation, career development, and factors influencing compensation. Along the way, they provide helpful, practical examples. Again, nearly all these techniques are highly relevant to any nonprofit organization. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter allow the book to be used as a textbook. However, it seems most useful as a handbook, helping to guide organizations in making decisions about employment practices by clarifying human resource principles. Nonprofit organizations are increasingly being held accountable to their purposes. Strategic human resources management can help meet this demand by integrating personnel practices with the organization’s mission. This book demonstrates to leaders how human resource policies and procedures can proactively support the work of organizations. Terrence Fernsler, MNPL, has been a nonprofit professional for over 30 years. He is currently an advisor to nonprofits and a PhD student in the School of Strategic Leadership Studies at James Madison University in Virginia.
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Building Pride An important part of human resources management is strengthening an alliance between each staff member and the organization. Here are some affiliation strategies that will lead to greater commonality of purpose and, ultimately, organizational achievement. Create a credo – a statement of your organization’s basic beliefs. Going beyond the basic mission statement, the credo should reflect your core values and commitment to your customers. Emblaze the credo with your logo, and post it at all employee entrance points and other places where it can be readily observed, as well as on your Web site. Produce a set of “house rules” that reinforce lessons learned by employees in their day-to-day work. These rules might include common-sense maxims such as “Never say, ‘I don’t know’; immediately find someone to answer the question at hand.” These rules not only represent standards for conduct; they supplement the credo and act as a positive reinforcement for staff members. Use T-shirts, windbreakers, and other garments bearing the organization’s logo, credo, and other features to bond employees and boost awareness in the community. Such branded items have a tremendous impact on staff members and their friends and neighbors.
nonprofit briefs Top 10 Fundraising Trends, Predictions, & Tips for the New Year Here are the key issues nonprofits need to address this year, according to fundraising expert Gail Perry (gailperry.com). In providing this foresight, she notes, “I’m not touting shiny new ideas or be-all solutions. Every nonprofit needs a wellrounded fundraising program with diversified sources of revenue. These are the strategies that are coming into their own as important. Select a few that can enhance your work, and make it happen.” 1. “Donor loyalty” is the place to invest your resources. Smart nonprofits have learned that it’s much more cost effective to retain current donors than to bring in new donors. Across the board, nonprofits retain only one in five new donors, usually because of an abysmal post-gift experience for the donor. Here’s the place to start — by tackling your donor retention. • Invest more staff and resources in donor relations. • Measure the performance of your donor relations programming. • Educate your leadership and board members in this important metric. 2. Crowdfunding will become a serious fundraising tool – for the right nonprofits. Crowdfunding can enlist new supporters, bring in new major donors, and engage current donors in something playful, social, and mission-focused. And it can raise significant money too. • Devote resources to your social media presence. • Identify donors who are active users of social media and enlist them to be your online “ambassadors.” • Participate actively in Giving Days. 3. The end is coming for general unrestricted fundraising. It’s undeniable: Donors give more when they’re offered a chance to fund a specific project. Look at the success of DonorsChoose.org or Kickstarter campaigns – they’re focused on specific projects and outcomes, and donors love that idea. • Give donors the opportunity to fund specific projects. • Re-frame your general appeals to focus on distinct programs. 4. The new communications tools will revolutionize how, when, and where nonprofits tell their stories. All sorts of different platforms and channels are available to help you reach new audiences and connect much more deeply with donors. You can even use technology to develop custom individual stewardship plans for donors. All of these are transforming fundraising today: new (and fun) social media tools, innovations in e-mail marketing, the use of poignant images and video – even video embedded inside paper capital campaign case statements. • Increase your use of technology. • Expand your skill sets in new media. • Be willing to innovate, take risks, and experiment.
5. There’s a new use of the word “philanthropy” instead of “fundraising.” And it has the potential to shift many attitudes for the better. • Ask board members, volunteers, and program staffers to discuss their “role in philanthropy” rather than their “participation in fundraising.” The more all-encompassing view of “philanthropy” feels like a higher calling to our better human nature. Somehow the word “fundraising” evokes sales and pushiness, making people back off. 6. Nonprofit leaders aren’t giving their staff the resources they need to raise funds. It’s not a new problem, but it seems to be getting worse instead of better. Nonprofits are leaving money on the table – just sitting there – because of their reluctance to invest in fundraising. Development staffers are stretched impossibly thin — with unbearable work loads. Alas. Management issues are the biggest impediment to greater fundraising totals. • Budget adequately for your fundraising programs. Embrace philanthropy as an organization-wide commitment so that staff members aren’t left alone to do the work. 7. Mobile giving will continue to increase. Blackbaud reported that 17% of gifts processed on Giving Tuesday came from mobile devices. The rate peaked at 10 p.m. when 42% came in from smartphones and tablets. • Make sure everything you send out is “mobile-enabled.” 8. New forms of philanthropy will continue to confound regular nonprofits. Moguls and billionaires are challenging traditional philanthropy and coming up with their own strategies to change the world, God help us. Impact investing, venture philanthropy, social enterprise – they’re all pretty far away from the good solid local nonprofit that’s trying to feed kids or serve hot meals to the elderly. Many nonprofits can’t reach these mega donors, can’t talk their language, and find relationships with them to be challenging. • Don’t be dazzled by these out-of-reach donors. Stick to the basics: solid direct mail, great Web site, and major gifts. 9. Funders and donors will require clear measures of performance and impact. • Talk about your accomplishments in meaningful and measurable ways. • Demonstrate clear results for the people and causes you serve. • Turn your annual reports into “impact reports.” 10. Sustainer fundraising programs will be king. • Focus on developing a monthly donor program. Or if you have one, give it new attention and prominence. It’s the golden place for sustainable fundraising. Hint: Don’t include a monthly request as part of a regular appeal. Instead, make it important — in a stand-alone appeal. • Stick with your sustainer programs – knowing they sometimes take years to gain traction. Brand and promote these programs across the board. Enjoy repeated, rich revenue from a loyal group of donors.
january / february / march 2016 nonprofitworld.org | 25
nonprofit briefs Does Your Board Model Lack the Key Ingredient? The problem with most board models is that they ignore the most important factor of all, as Stephen Block points out in his latest book, Social Work and Boards of Directors: The Board Relationship Model (Lyceum Books, lyceumbooks.com). That overlooked but essential piece of the puzzle is the human element. In his book, Block dissects the most common board models, including the Traditional Model espoused by Cyril Houle in The Effective Board and the Carver Model promoted by John Carver in Boards that Make a Difference. Both models are “rooted in hierarchy, power, and control” rather than interpersonal relations among board members and the executive director, Block says. Block’s model – the Board Relationship Model – is different. After interviewing hundreds of executive directors, Block found that the most successful organizations eschewed the usual models and, instead, focused on interrelationships. Although Block notes that it’s not an easy model to implement, he explains why it’s worth the effort. Here are a few guidelines to smooth the way: Realize that the rule-bound models of the past have led to “expectation overload,” causing board members to struggle to meet impossible demands. Instead of reprimanding them for missing board meetings, not raising funds, or failing to meet all the other expectations set out in earlier board models, find the reasons for their underperformance and help maximize their strengths. Let go of expectations, and be grateful for whatever they can give. Block has found that this simple shift in viewpoint is liberating for executive directors who have been expecting too much from busy people with limits on their time and energy. Be sure the board isn’t too large. The bigger the group, the more chance that dysfunctional relationships will form and the harder it will be to develop camaraderie. You’ll have the best chance to promote healthy relationships in a board of around 12 to 15 people. Keep an eye on how board members communicate with you and with one another. Be sensitive to emotions, such as the sadness people feel when a board member leaves; if you don’t acknowledge that sense of loss, other board members may also decide to leave. Never discount the importance of food. Include breakfast, lunch, or snacks with every board meeting. Eating together bonds people. Whenever board members have a negative experience, counter it with five positive ones. If there’s a disagreement during a board meeting, for example, balance it with humorous comments, anecdotes, compliments, and questions that draw people into the discussion. Take time to meet with each board member periodically for breakfast or lunch. Get to know what motivates them, and find ways to provide whatever it is that makes each individual proud to be part of your organization. Be an equal partner to the board. You’re not the board’s boss, nor does the board hold a position of authority over you. The more you can be a colleague and partner to board members, the more productive the relationship will be.
26 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
Investing in Your People People are one of the most underutilized resources in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit leaders tend to invest very little in developing the abilities of staff and volunteers. The Talent Development Platform (josseybass.com) presents a system for leading your organization to increased performance by supporting your employees’ talents. Components of this system include: Evaluate the organization’s learning capabilities. Assess each individual in the organization in 10 fields
of practice. Match people’s learning styles to training
opportunities. Structure a talent development plan for each person.
Fiscally constrained nonprofits often place staff development on the back burner. This book not only makes the argument for developing the skills of your people to improve your organization’s work, it demonstrates how to do it and what it takes to make it work well. – reviewed by Terrence Fernsler
Is Your Board Asking the Right Questions? Effective board leadership is all about the willingness to ask good questions. Here are a few your board should be asking: 1. Are we prepared to respond to a changing world? Do we keep our ears to the ground by holding public forums where we can listen to community members? Do we know what’s happening in our state house and in Washington? Do we hold an annual board retreat to dig deeper into complex issues? Do we have good radar to sense important shifts in the world around us? 2. Do we know if our programs are having an impact? What is or isn’t working? Why? Do we have hard data to back up our claims? 3. Have we built a secure financial base? Have we saved for a rainy day? 4. Do we have monitoring systems in place to ensure that we’re getting accurate financial data? Have we inspected the organization’s finances ourselves as well as having an outside expert do so? 5. Do we govern rather than manage? Do we have formal policies that help us delegate effectively? Do our board meetings focus on questions of major policy rather than how many fundraising letters to send out this year? 6. Do we think and act strategically? How can we do more of what makes us successful? – from Make Your Board Dramatically More Effective, Starting Today (Emerson and Church, emersonandchurch.com)
nonprofit briefs Why We Need a Fundraising Revolution “Fundraising results are lousy” throughout the nonprofit sector, says Ellen Bristol in Fundraising the SMART Way (wiley.com, bristolstrategygroup.com). Nonprofits’ dismal results, compared to much better outcomes by forprofits, reveal the need for a revolution in the discipline of fundraising. Nonprofits possess many advantages – such as high public awareness and admiration – that for-profits would kill for. So why do nonprofits tolerate such anemic flows of income when they could do so much better? The problem, Bristol says, is that many nonprofits rely on hope rather than a documented, measurable set of key performance indicators, so their development efforts focus on working harder, not smarter. She urges nonprofits to remember four simple rules of process management: 1. You can’t manage or improve it if you can’t measure it. 2. What you measure is what you get. 3. You can’t figure out much by using a single measurement. 4. If the only thing you measure happens after the process is complete, you won’t learn much. In other words, measuring things that are diagnostic, using a range of measurements, and making sure that you measure things at the beginning, middle, and end of a process all combine to provide management controls over the fundraising function. Nonprofit leaders who practice these principles will enjoy a revolutionary surge in fundraising results.
How Resilient Are You? Resilience is one of the key components of emotional intelligence, which is an important prerequisite for effective leadership. Are you a resilient person? Consider the following scenarios, and answer these questions “Yes” or “No.” 1. You make a mistake and are criticized for it. Can you shrug it off and take it as a learning experience? 2. Your water heater breaks. Can you keep it from affecting your mood, knowing you can just call a plumber and get it fixed? 3. You’re being considered for an important professional award, and it goes to someone you consider less qualified. Can you move on quickly?
How to Avoid Burnout
4. A driver uses the shoulder to zoom in front of a long line of traffic. Can you shake it off quickly rather than fuming about it for a long time?
If you’re feeling unmotivated and stressed at work, you’re not alone. Studies find that almost half of all surveyed workers admit to feeling burned out. Here are some strategies to help you prevent, mitigate, or recover from burnout.
5. You try a new restaurant and the food is awful and the service snooty. Can you accept the situation without letting it ruin your evening?
Explore your creative side. An innovative mindset is a vital key to staying fresh, passionate, and engaged. It’s also one of the keys to organizational success. Take a class in art, music, or writing. Read books such as Ordinary Genius by Kim Addonizio and The Poetry Home Repair Manual by Ted Kooser, which explain how to unleash your imagination by writing poetry.
An emotionally resilient person will be able to answer most or all of these questions with a resounding “Yes.”
Find one or more buddies, and get together on a regular basis to discuss your stressors, your worries, your failures, and your successes. Be sure there’s someone outside your office who will let you vent, in confidence, about your work. Also find someone you can talk to about your personal growth and non-work development.
Cognitive behavior therapy. Identify irrational, hurtful thoughts, and replace them with more rational, helpful messages to yourself.
Imagine you’re interviewing people for your own job. How would you describe it to them? What are the benefits, challenges, and opportunities inherent in your work? See if this perspective gives you ideas about how to enjoy your job in a new way and delegate the parts of it that you don’t relish. Keep a log of the pleasant and unpleasant experiences of your day. Feel the emotions connected with these experiences as fully as possible. Recognize, accept, and then release them. When you wake up in the morning, don’t leap out of bed. Take five minutes to lie there and take advantage of that wonderful twilight between sleeping and waking. That’s when you’re likely to have your greatest insights. If you use it well, it can be your most productive and rewarding time of the day.
To become more resilient, use mental techniques such as these:
Mindfulness meditation. Sitting quietly, turn off the chatter in your mind by observing your thoughts without judgment, then letting them go. Well-being therapy. Pay attention to ways you can be more generous, positive, and optimistic. – adapted from The Emotional Life of Your Brain (Hudson Street Press, penguin.com/ meet/publishers/hudson-street-press)
Do exercises like the ones in Waking Up Happy : A Handbook of Change with Memoirs of Recovery and Hope (http://www.amazon.com/WakingUp-Happy-Handbook-Recovery/dp/1468126350), which includes “365 Steps on Your Journey” – an exercise you can do every day to renew yourself. Ask others to do the same exercises so that you can discuss results and share insights.
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nonprofit briefs Money for Meaning As practitioners steeped in capitalism, the authors of The Impact Investor: Lessons in Leadership and Strategy for Collaborative Capitalism (John Wiley & Sons, wiley.com) believe strongly that capitalism will continue to evolve and not collapse in on itself. Evolving means capitalism must turn outward, collaborating with the civil and public sectors. Most business people (although not necessarily the most influential—yet) are realizing that a social contract requires at least some private sector investment in social concerns. Collaborative capitalism acknowledges that people can make a profit while investing in projects that have a community impact. Such impact investing can be done by individuals or institutions. The authors (Cathy Clark, Jed Emerson, and Ben Thornley) explore impact investment opportunities across the board, insisting that investment without consideration of community impact is unsustainable. Especially intriguing for nonprofit stakeholders are the last two chapters. The first of these discusses “multilingual leadership” – that is, learning the language of both the financial and social sectors so that people from one sector understand what people from the other are talking about. This is vital to collaboration. Then there’s a look at trends in impact investing and scenarios for its future. These trends are occurring now, and nonprofit leaders would be wise to pay attention to them. This book should get organizations thinking about their own investments, no matter the size. More to the point, there has been increased overlap in the operations and goals of the social and business sectors recently, and the kind of investing highlighted in this book will have tremendous— and growing—impact on our organizations. – reviewed by Terrence Fernsler
laughter alert YOU WRITE THE CAPTION CONTEST Submit your best caption for the cartoon below to Jill@ NonprofitWorld.org. Win a prize, and have your caption featured in our next issue.
Is There an “I” in “Team”? The title of Mark de Rond’s book says it all: There Is an I in Team. Trying to pretend there isn’t, as many have done over the years, only makes team-building more difficult. Instead, we need to recognize, appreciate, and build on people’s individual differences. This insightful book (published by Harvard Business Review Press, hbr.org) debunks many long-held assumptions and identifies the challenges involved in this new way of thinking about teams. For example: The old: Everyone needs to be on the same page. The new: People have different versions of reality. Whether they’re correct is less relevant than what their realities tell you about their priorities. The challenge: Learn to manage conflict constructively. Conflict within teams is inevitable. Rather than something to be avoided, it’s a good thing, as long as people remain respectful of one another. Simply reminding people of what matters to each of them personally is often a good first step in calming the waters. Doing so will help them realize how working on their own aspirations can often be the best way to support the team. Research shows that coaching team members one-on-one greatly improves the team’s performance. Helping people work through individual issues is one of the best ways to strengthen the team as a whole.
Creating Social Change What do ousting a murderous tyrant and increasing the minimum wage have in common? They’re both acts of social justice. Although not as oppressive as tyrants, bureaucratic rules can repress people. In Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World (Spiegel & Grau, www.spiegelandgrau.com), Srdja Popovic recommends many of the tactics professed by Saul Alinsky in the midtwentieth century to correct social wrongs – creating dilemma situations, helping people claim their power, and isolating the target, among others. He combines these tactics with the nonviolence promoted by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Fighting injustice takes more than tactics. But the tactics are what get noticed and tend to motivate people, which is why they must be fun, easy, and tied to something most people care about. There must also be commitment to the long haul and willingness to sacrifice, whether it’s giving up shopping at a favorite store or risking jail or being beaten — the level of sacrifice will be different for different people. Social justice can happen anywhere, because the vast majority of people want it and believe in it. It is people, in the form of supporters, that make up nonprofit organizations. In offering a new perspective in organizing our supporters, this book is a valuable addition to nonprofit literature. You may not use all of Popovic’s suggestions, but Blueprint for Revolution can help you rethink how to organize people for social change. –reviewed by Terrence Fernsler
28 | nonprofitworld.org volume 34 • number 1
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