DonorDreams – Page 2 – The Healthy Non-Profit

Playing nice with each other in the non-profit sandbox

July 5, 2012 DonorDreams organizational development

Since opening my non-profit consulting practice almost a year ago, the most number of phone calls for assistance relate to starting a new non-profit organization. Just this morning, I saw in LinkedIn’s non-profit discussion group that someone posted a note asking for help with starting a non-profit organization.

Why is it that every time someone has a new idea, they want to start a new non-profit organization to do it?

I find this knee jerk reaction so interesting and confounding. Instead of starting a new organization, it could be “Ah-ha, I have an idea and think I’ll take it to a non-profit organization in my community that does similar things and work with them on starting a new program.”

It has become my standard operating procedure to sit down with these nice, well-intentioned individuals who call me asking for help and beg them to please not start another non-profit organization.

Why? Because every year tons of new non-profit start, and every year tons of other organizations go out of business. It is hard to create, build, and sustain a non-profit organization. Bylaws and incorporation paperwork, board development, staffing, fundraising, donor engagement, program evaluation, outcomes measurement, annual IRS 990 tax filing, and on and on and on.

When I opened my consulting practice, The Healthy Non-Profit, I decided to do business as a LLC. It was a page or two of paperwork, 15 minutes of time, and a small sum of money. Poof! I was a business owner and entrepreneur in no time. I didn’t even have to break a sweat.

I guess all of that time, paperwork and money required to start a non-profit is a result of the preferential tax status Uncle Sam bestows upon you.

The truth of the matter is that the last thing the non-profit sector needs is more struggling non-profit organizations competing for similar resources, which brings me back to my original question.

I suspect part of the problem is that many people want to start a new organization rather than partner and collaborate because existing agencies don’t play nice in the sandbox. Sure, everyone says the right thing about partnering, collaborating, and creating alliances, but our actions say something entirely different.

I don’t think this is malicious behavior. I suspect it is because non-profits are under-resourced and stressed out. The last thing they want to consider is adding a new program and figuring out how to fund it.

Of course, the irony is that this behavior in part contributes to tons of new non-profits being created every year, which places a burden on the sector and adds stress to your under-resourced agency.

I think that non-profits need to learn how to play nice with each other in the sandbox and with others who come with new program ideas.

Has your agency been highly collaborative and entrepreneurial about starting new programs? Please use the comment box to share your story and best practices? Do you disagree with my observations about how little “real” collaboration takes place in the non-profit sector. If so, give it to me by leaving a comment with data illustrating your point.

Here’s to your health!

Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
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http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Founding Fathers have the answer for today’s non-profit leadership deficit

July 4, 2012 DonorDreams organizational development, Planning

It has been said more than once on this blog as well as in many other places on the internet that non-profit organizations are challenged from an executive leadership perspective. Compensation packages are poor. Boards make bad choices. Evaluation is the exception rather than the rule. Succession planning is more talk than anything else. Let’s face it . . . today’s non-profit executive leadership picture is less than rosy.

However, tomorrow’s executive leadership picture is likely going to get much worse according to The Bridgespan Group who recently carried out a study on executive leadership issues focused on non-profits with revenues greater than $250,000. Click here to read a copy of the executive summary.

The bottom line according to this study is:

The non-profit sector will need 80,000 new leaders in 2016;
Non-profit agencies lack the size and resources to develop its leaders from within;
The non-profit sector lacks robust management-education and executive-search capabilities.

By the way, Happy Fourth of July 2012. I decided writing about this subject today because it feels especially appropriate.

I’ve always looked at what the Founding Fathers did in Philadelphia in 1776 as an exercise in organizational development and leadership, and I’m convinced that non-profits can find lots of answers to their challenges just by studying history.

I can mentally picture George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin sitting around after a tough day at Independence Hall working through issues dealing with how to sustain the country in the long-term.

If I were to guess, the idea of having both a federal government and 13 independent sovereign states bound together into one governance system had a lot to do with checks and balances and not trusting big government. However, I also suspect there was some thought given to how separate governance models at the state level would create a training ground and leadership engine for the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.

Even if this thought never crossed their minds, it still turns out to be genius!

As you go about celebrating Independence Day 2012, I encourage you to chew on the following questions:

Does your non-profit agency have a written succession plan? Is it real orjust something on paper?
What does your training and professional development program and budget look like?
What leadership opportunities are you providing staff members to help them gain the necessary experience to step-up and lead in the future?
Are there places (e.g. structures, committees, groups) inside your organization where people can “cut their teeth” and learn how to be a leader and develop skills?
If not, what does the constitutional convention look like for your agency to make those adjustments? Who is sitting around the table?
Much like the states interact with one another, are there other non-profits in your community who you can collaborate with around issues of succession and leadership?

Here’s to your health! And have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Charitable giving was anemic in 2011

July 3, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, resource development

It is that time of the year when Giving USA releases its findings on how well (or not so well) the charitable giving sector did in the previous year. After adjusting for inflation, the experts tell us that charitable giving rose less than one percent in 2011, and individual giving did about the same.

You can secure a free copy of executive summary of Giving USA’s report from their online store or by clicking here.

A few observations

Nothing has changed. The charitable giving sector has been in a holding pattern for a number of years since the economic crash of 2008. It mirrors the slow sluggish economic recovery numbers. Is anyone surprised? I know that I am not.
It could be worse. Charitable giving dropped by dropped by double digits in 2008 and 2009. Complaining about a one percent increase feels wrong when juxtaposed against those historic numbers.
Good is still good. Look around your community and you will see three different kinds of non-profit agencies . . . ones that are struggling, ones that are holding their own, and ones that are have found a way to do well.

The bottom line is very simple for me. Donors have less money (or feel like they have less money) and started prioritizing their charitable giving. Figuring out their priorities and how to remain a priority is as simple as asking them.

Are you a non-profit organization that has either weathered the storm or done fairly well since the 2008-09 economic crash? If so, please scroll down and share why you think that is in the comment section.

Here’s to your health!

Don’t Forget to Backup!

July 2, 2012 DonorDreams Mondays with Marissa, technology

As I write this, the house I live in is currently without power and will probably be without power for quite some time. Upon hearing this news, the first thought that went through my head was, “Oh, I hope my computer was turned off.” I had documents and projects at various stages open, which got me thinking that I should probably have a better backup system than the one I currently have.

Everyone knows that backing up your data is important,; but how many of us actually do it? Today, we are going to look at a few options to help you set up a backup system that will work best for your non-profit organization.

For the purpose of this post, I will be focusing on how to backup one single computer. However, based on the size of your organization, you might have a need to backup a server or several computers at once. Please talk to your IT Department about possible solutions in situations like these. If you’re too small to have such a department, then consult with a volunteer with a technology background.

First things first . . . remember that data is sensitive and the first step down this road is deciding what needs to be backed up and when. Additionally, you might not be able to save all of the data that you want, and there might be some data that only needs to be saved for a certain amount of time.

A basic backup plan usually entails having a local copy of your data as well as a copy that is stored somewhere offsite. Of course, the reason for offsite storage is to protect you against loss of data due to a disaster such as fire, tornado and any other “act of God”. Additionally, both of these backups should be done on a consistent basis. The easiest way to make sure this happens is to hook up an external hard drive to your computer and use the “backup functionality” that you will find in both your Windows and OS X Operating Systems.

In Windows, you can find the backup function in the System and Maintenance section of Control Panel.

For OS X users, Time Machine (found in System Preferences) can help you set the schedule for data backup.

There are also some solutions for saving your data in “the cloud”. This can be a great help because users don’t have to worry about owning an external drive, and your data will be able to be accessed from anywhere.

Using a system such as Carbonite, can help you back up your data without having to think about it. You simply schedule your backup and data is uploaded to the cloud as you go about your day-to-day tasks. It’s that easy. Also, cloud backup sites can be quite cost-effective as they usually do not cost much. There are a few other services that you may want to check into such as Sugar Sync and Mozy.

There are a few things you can do to help prevent disaster when it comes to backing up data.

Save your document often. Get in the habit of saving your document after every paragraph or major change. This will ensure that the most recent version is available if your computer crashes.
Plug your computer into a surge proctor with battery backup. This gives your computer a little extra power if the power goes out. It also gives you a little more time to close your documents and turn off your computer properly.
Start using cloud based services where possible. Cloud applications usually save projects automatically, and you won’t have to worry so much about having access to data when power is not available.

I hope this post has you thinking about the best way to save data for your non-profit organization. Once set up, data backup is one of the most automatic forms of maintenance you can do for your computer.

What’s your data backup policy? Or have you fallen victim to a computer crash and had a backup to save the day? I’d love to hear your stories in the comment section!

Effective non-profit professionals KNOW what is inside their circle of influence

June 29, 2012 DonorDreams leadership, nonprofit, organizational development

Welcome to O.D. Fridays at DonorDreams blog. Every Friday for the foreseeable future we will be looking more closely at a recent post from John Greco’s blog called “johnponders ~ about life at work, mostly” and applying his organizational development messages to the non-profit community.

Today, we’re focusing on a post that John titled “X the Concerns“. In that post, he talks about a person’s circle of concern versus their circle of influence. More importantly, he speaks to the impact of focusing on things outside of your circle of influence and the consequences that come with that behavior.

“When we focus on things that we really can’t do anything about, we are actually expending valuable time and energy that could have been used to work on those things that are inside your circle of influence, those concerns that you really could do something about.”

I see executive directors and fundraising professionals get paralyzed by this all the time. Non-profit organizations are so under-resourced, and everyone is wearing too many hats. So, when you don’t have a clear understanding of what is inside your circle of influence and what isn’t, then things seems to get worse.

Here is a short list of things I’ve seen many of my non-profit friends worrying about recently:

Will the economy double dip?
How much of a cut in city funding will we have to take?
Will Mr. & Mrs. John Donor renew their contribution this year?
Will the State of Illinois pays its bills this month or will my accounts receivable line grow a little larger?

If you go through the exercise that John suggests in his post “X the Concerns,” some of you might put all of these things outside of your circle of influence. After all, you have no control over whether or not a donor writes a check to you this year. You can’t control the dysfunctional and broke State of Illinois. City staff and council members are going to do what they are going to do when it comes to allocation of funding.

Right?

Well, I say “not so fast!”

The difference that I see between very high functioning non-profit professionals and people who struggle with working in this sector is that the high functioning individuals KNOW what they have influence over, and they focus on it like a laser.

Take the example of Mr. & Mrs. John Donor. It is true that you cannot make someone donate to your organization; however, it is a mistake to put this outside of your circle of influence. Doing so dramatically increases the odds that you won’t secure that contribution. However, placing this donor inside of your circle of influence means investing time and resources in cultivation and stewardship activities. In the end, you can’t force them to sign that pledge form, but you are able to greatly increase your odds by not leaving things like that to chance.

Great leaders have this instinctive ability to KNOW what is inside their circle of influence even when at first blush it seems to be outside.

So, what should you do if you lack that instinct? Does that mean you are ill-suited to be a non-profit executive director or fundraising professional?

Maybe?

If you are smart and figure out how to overcome this obstacle, then you are well on your way towards being an effective leader who doesn’t get paralyzed by things that you can’t control and who doesn’t succumb to fatalistic impulses that undermine your efforts.

Those who I’ve seen “figure it out” have done so by embracing collaboration. They engage a wider group of people in answering the question “What is inside our circle of influence?” and “What should we do?” I’ve also seen these individuals invest in executive coaching services to help find perspective and question their instincts.

Again, if you haven’t read John’s post “X the Concerns,” then click over and do it now. Go through the exercise. Afterward, take a step back and re-evaluate by asking: “Are there things that I initially put outside of my circle of influence that might belong inside? If so, what should I do about that?”

Are you paralyzed about things that you have no control over? What do you do to get unstuck? How do you KNOW that everything you place outside of your circle of influence really belongs there? Please share some of your thoughts in the comment box below because we can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

Marketing your organization’s volunteer program

June 28, 2012 DonorDreams volunteers

This morning I woke up to a very nice email in my inbox from Helene Schmidt. She had read the three-part blog series on non-profit degrees and certifications, liked what she read, asked me to read an article that Onlinecollege.org recent published titled “12 Reasons Community Service Should Be Required in Schools” and share it with the DonorDreams online community.

So, I did read the article and can honestly say it is very good. As you can see, I’ve already shared the link in the first paragraph and you should totally go read it.

I didn’t decided to share this post on “why volunteerism should be required in school” because I agree with the policy position. Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m not for it. I’m not against it. However, I do think that making volunteerism “required” feels antithetical to the entire idea of volunteerism.

The reason I am sharing this article is because after reading it I thought, “Wow! These are all great selling points for any non-profit organization’s volunteer program.”

You might want to incorporate some of the “12 reasons” offered in the Onlinecollege.org article in your volunteer marketing materials.

Speaking of volunteer program marketing materials . . . you do have marketing materials for your volunteer program, right?

Uh-oh. Well, if you are like many of the organizations with whom I’ve worked, then you have volunteer opportunities and not-so-actively “hope” volunteers walk through your doors. Many of the programs I’ve seen lack structure such as:

volunteer coordinator
written volunteer plan
written volunteer job descriptions
orientation and training opportunities
evaluation opportunities

I just haven’t seen many agencies actively marketing their volunteer program. Perhaps, your agency is different; however, have you looked closely at who and who you are marketing your volunteer opportunities?

I’ve read a lot recently about how the retiring Baby Boom generation is looking for volunteer opportunities. I’ve also read a lot about how the Millennial generation is really into volunteerism.

It doesn’t take a marketing professional to conclude that what motivates a 20-something-year-old to volunteer is probably very different from what motivates a Baby Boomer. So, targeting your marketing message might increase your effectiveness and bring many more volunteers through your agency’s front doors.

If the recent economy has your non-profit organization turning to volunteers to fill gaps and get things done, then you will need to do more than cross your fingers and hope volunteers find you. You need to invest in a volunteer program.

One such investment will be in how you market your volunteer opportunities. The article that I shared at the beginning of this post provides 12 great selling points that you might want to share with young people. Click here if you want to read more about how to more effectively market your volunteer opportunities to Baby Boomers.

Does your agency have a volunteer program? If so, what investments have you recently made and have they paid off? How do you market these opportunities and recruit volunteer? Please use the comment box to share your experiences. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

Marissa was right . . . crowdfunding works

June 27, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Mondays with Marissa, technology

Let me take you back and set the scene. It was Monday, February 13, 2012, which can can only mean one thing at DonorDreams blog — it was “Mondays with Marissa”. On that particular Monday, Marissa wrote a post titled: “Can your non-profit raise $1,000,000 in 24 hours using a crowd funding site?” I have a confession to make this morning. When I was editing that post, I was a little skeptical. I have seen crowdsourcing sites and know they be a powerful fundraising tool for certain types of projects, but I thought $1,000,000 was a bit exaggerated.

Apparently, I was wrong and Marissa was more right than I gave her credit for.

A few weeks ago that YouTube video of the bus monitor, Karen Klein, being bullied by middle school children went viral. Almost 8 million people have viewed the video, and every media outlet in America has been all over this story. After hearing the story and viewing the video, a good Samaritan set-up an online campaign using a crowdfunding platform called Indiegogo with the intent of raising enough money to send Karen on a vacation.

As of this morning, the fund sits at $660,756, and I am wondering how close it will come to $1,000,000 before it closes down in 24 days.

Now please don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that you rip up your organization’s written resource development plan and put all of your fundraising eggs in a crowdfunding basket. Most of the crowdfunding campaigns that I’ve seen raise relatively small amounts of money. This situation was different (e.g. fueled by public outrage, the viral nature of YouTube, and an insane amount of media attention).

If you have the same ingredients for a project at your non-profit organization, then by all means double down on a crowdfunding strategy. If not, then I suggest recognizing crowdfunding is a viable fundraising strategy and placing it inside of your already crowded fundraising toolbox. Use that tool whenever the situation warrants it.

So, you’re probably asking: “When might the situation warrant a crowdfunding strategy?”

I believe crowdfunding works for non-profit organizations when they are trying to raise money for a specific project from a specific audience. You may want to go back an re-read Marissa’s February 13th post because it contains a few fantastic pointers. Catherine Clifford at entrepreneur.com wrote a post titled “Want to Raise Money With Crowdfunding? Consider These Tips” that you also may want to check out.

Have you ever used a crowdfunding site to raise money for a non-profit project? If so, please share your experiences and lessons learned in the comment box below. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

Add a tribute gift strategy to your fundraising plan

June 26, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

Over the last few days, Team Obama has come under some mocking scrutiny from media outlets. While Mitt Romney has been cultivating and stewarding fundraising “bundlers,” the President’s team launch a new online wedding registration for couples who want to encourage tribute gifts to their campaign. Of course, the harsh critique springs from the comparison of fundraising strategies. The Romney strategy will literally net hundreds of millions of dollars, and the Obama strategy might bring in thousands of dollars.

Most non-profit organizations don’t have hundreds of fundraising “bundlers” at their disposal, but many of the fundraising professionals who I know are always looking around for good ideas to add to their fundraising plan. In spite of the harsh critique, I think the Obama campaign’s focus on tribute gifts might be something many non-profit organizations can replicate.

In my opinion, this fundraising strategy works for the following reasons:

People like to be honored by their friends and family. It makes them feel good.
Most Americans own too much “stuff” and don’t have space for more “stuff”.
People like to know that they were involved in doing something that benefits the greater good.

Unlike the Obama campaign’s strategy of focusing on weddings, tribute gifts can come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. In fact, the following are just a few ideas that some non-profit organizations are asking their supporters to donate towards in someone’s honor:

birthday
anniversary
new baby
thank you
holidays

I am sure that your organization can get really creative, especially if you enlist the help of your resource development committee or a focus group of donors to help with the brainstorming.

The following are just a few good examples of non-profit organizations who have already added this fundraising tool to their toolbox:

It is important to remember that tribute gifts are not quite the same as regular contributions to your annual campaign. In addition to sending acknowledgement letters to those who make the contributions, you need to send a nice letter to the person who is being honored. It is also customary to tell the honoree the names and addresses of those who made a contribution in their name so that they can also follow-up with a personal note of appreciation.

I also suggest that you consult your donor database manual before embarking on a tribute gift strategy. Every software program that I’ve seen deals with this type of contribution a little differently, and it is important that you appease your technology platform. 🙂

If you’re still skeptical that anyone would ever do such a thing, please take my word that some people get really excited by this kind of opportunity. When my partner and I celebrated our civil union, we rented out a local restaurant and invited 100 of our closest friends and family and begged them not to bring gifts. Instead, we asked everyone to please make a tribute gift to Equality Illinois in honor of our commitment to each other. I must admit that I was a little skeptical, but in the end we ended up raising more than $5,000 for our charity of choice.

Does your organization have a tribute gift strategy? If so, how do you let donors know that this is an opportunity? Is it a stand alone strategy or is it woven throughout your annual campaign? Please share your ideas in the comment box below. We can all learn from each other.

Your website is the key to your non-profit social media strategy

June 25, 2012 DonorDreams Mondays with Marissa, technology

Is your non-profit organization struggling with development of its social media strategy? Perhaps, you’re starting in the wrong place because having a functional, vibrant and active website is the start of any good social media strategy. Why? Because linking your social media communities to original website content is key to engagement. Of course, some days it is easier to come up with content than others, which is why I thought looking at five original content ideas for those difficult days might be helpful.

In no particular order:

1) News related to your mission.

Sharing the latest news with your audience does two things. First, you are demonstrating that you are an expert in your field because you are up to date on the latest news. Second, you are educating your audience on your mission and what is important to your organization. Having an educated audience will help supporters answer the question: “Why do I care about your agency?”

In resource development terms, sharing news related to your mission can have a cultivating effect on new prospective donors as well as a stewardship effect on existing ones.

Click here to see an example from One Campaign with regard to agricultural initiatives and famine.

2) Spotlights

People like to feel special. So, why not make more people feel special by featuring them on your website? Highlighting the volunteer/donor/employee/member of the week/month/year on your site is a simple way to generate content.

By featuring a photo and a short interview piece on your site, you are letting your audience know who makes up and supports your organization. The more personal your site is, the more familiar people will feel with your agency and the more apt they will be to volunteer or donate or work for you.

Click here to see an example from helpline center.

3) Financial News

Did you just get a large donation? Were you awarded a grant? Using your website to share information with your community demonstrates your agency’s commitment to transparency.

Additionally, if your organization’s financial management situation is publicly questioned, then posting a response on your website can help you control the message.

Click here for an example of how to demonstrate financial transparency on your website from Marklund.

4) Events

Do you have an event coming up? Tell people about it. Multiple times if possible. Did you just hold an event? Tell people how it went. Post photos of the good times had by all.

Are you currently holding an event? Consider liveblogging it. Depending on the event, it might be nice to update people on what is happening at the event as it happens.

Click here to see a good example from the Barrington Area Council on Aging.

5) Behind the Scenes

Share photos or stories about what happens in the office. Does your office participate in Office Olympics? Maybe post who won. Did you hold an organization picnic? Share photos from it. By sharing a little bit of the behind the scenes info with your website audience you are adding to the personality of your site, which can benefit you because people will feel as though they know who your organization is.

Here are just a few tips to keep in mind as your execute these five content strategies:

Posting original content to your website should represent your organization in the best light possible. While adding personality to your site is great, you still want to come off as professional at the same time.
Just like with your agency’s newsletter, make sure that you have a team of people looking at content before it goes up.
Don’t forget to link all of your great work to all of your connected social media sites.

I only mentioned five original content ideas, but there are a bunch of others. What are some of your favorite topics to talk about? Please use the comment box to share some of your ideas. Feel free to link to examples as well. If we all pitch in, then this post can be a resource for us when we’ve hit bloggers block. I am looking forward to see what we come up with!

Your non-profit space is affecting donors, staff, clients, and board

June 22, 2012 DonorDreams leadership, organizational development

Today, we’re focusing on a post that John titled “Admit the Effect“. In that post, he talks about how our behavior is a function of our environment, which means if you want a something different from your employees (or clients or board members or donors), then you might want to look at changing the physical work environment before you change the performance management plan.

The effect of space on donors

When I first became the executive director at the Boys & Girls Club, our administrative office was located downtown in an old building that still had kind elderly gentlemen operating the elevators. In an effort to save money, my predecessor rented an office on a floor that was under construction and our rent was greatly reduced to compensate for the inconvenience.

Within the first 18 months of being on the job, we conducted a resource development audit for evaluation purposes prior to writing the agency’s first resource development plan. As the consultant conducted confidential interviews with approximately 30 donors and supporters, it became very clear that our administrative space was a problem.

Donors were judging us based on that space, and their donations reflected it. Many donors openly expressed doubt that we’d ever be able to raise the necessary $3 million to build a new clubhouse facility. When asked why . . . many donors pointed to our administrative office and simply said they can’t even raise enough money now for modest office space.

Needless to say, we moved our administrative office because we wanted our donors to see us differently and we needed a different behavior . . . we needed them to participate in the capital campaign and invest in our future. In other words, behavior is a function of our environment.

The effect of space on clients

The Boys & Girls Club clubhouse used to be a small 2,000 square foot house that must have been at least 75-years-old. The space was designed for a small family of four or five. It was never meant to be an after-school space for 50 to 75 kids. The computer lab was squeezed into the basement adjacent to the arts and crafts corner, which also doubled as a homework space when kids first arrived. Do I even need to tell you what it was like for those many kids to share a one toilet bathroom facility? Ugh!

I can remember being so frustrated whenever I’d visit the clubhouse because it always seemed like staff were dealing with behavior issues more than running the valuable after-school programming that I wanted and needed them to run. Don’t get me wrong. The staff did their best and always got the job done, but I oftentimes thought to myself: “Darn it! These kids don’t behave this way at school.”

Why was I surprised that those kids were putting their feet up on furniture and acting like they would as if they were at home after-school? I shouldn’t have been surprised because the house looked and felt like their home. It didn’t look for feel like school or any other institutional building that they’ve ever been in.

Today, the new 15,000 square foot Boys & Girls Club clubhouse is a reality. It is a testament to an engaged group of donors who invested in an organization’s future, and it is a beacon of hope for future generations of kids. I walked into the facility the other day, and my first reaction was: “Wow, these kids certainly act differently than I remember. As a matter of fact, the staff act differently, too.” Duh . . . behavior is a function of our environment.

Have you ever changed the physical environment at your agency to get a different result? What message does your existing space send to your donors? Where do you host your board meetings and have you ever thought about changing the location to get a different result? Please use the space below to share a quick story. We can all learn from each other. If you haven’t clicked over to read John’s post “Admit the Effect,” I encourage you to do so now because it is really good.

Here’s to your health!