The biggest cardinal sin an executive director can commit

January 14, 2014 erik Board development

sin Working with organizations in New Mexico and West Texas means lots of windshield time, and last week I found myself contemplating the question: “What is the biggest cardinal sin a non-profit executive director can commit?” In the final analysis, my conclusion surprised me, which means it was destined to end up here on the DonorDreams blog for you to chew on and contemplate.
In the time you’ve read the first paragraph, your mind already probably started spinning and there are so many good possibilities to choose from, right? Here are just a few examples:

embezzlement
letting the agency’s fundraising program die on the vine
not fostering an organization culture of planning
not being transparent
treating donors like an ATM
hiring bad staff
misuse of funds

I could go on and on. You probably already have many more examples to share (and I encourage you to do so in the comment box below).
As for my number one answer that I finally settled on?

Not understanding, building and supporting a good board development process.

There is a lot that goes into this sweeping generalization. Here are just a few examples:

Allowing board prospects to be targeted without any consideration of expectations and necessary skill sets
Recruiting prospects without helping them see what they are saying ‘YES’ to doing
Failing to develop an annual evaluation and recognition process for board volunteers
Failing to provide orientation and ongoing board training

I could provide more examples, but I think you get the idea.
The reason this turned out to be my number one answer is because this cardinal sin provides the fertile ground for all of the other sins I listed at the start of this post.
For example, it is the existence of a weak and unsupported board that creates the conditions for embezzlement or misuse of funds.
Please use the comment box below to share your idea of the biggest cardinal sin and why. Also offer a solution while you’re at it. 😉
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Your non-profit needs to learn how to say "Cheese!"

January 13, 2014 erik technology

Online pics are worth a thousand words!

By Rose Reinert
Guest blogger
We have all heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Well, that is the basis of Lon Safko’s eighth chapter, which he titled “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (Photo Sharing)”. In this chapter, he discusses the impact of utilizing images in social media.
Safko illustrates the impact of utilizing photos in social media through an example. I will utilize the same concept, but place it in terms of donors.
Put yourself in the shoes of a donor. You have been engaged by an organization, and you want to learn more about them. When you go onto their website you find pictures of events depicting a wide array of supporters. You also see pictures of the agency’s leadership (e.g. board of directors) and see their mission in motion on Facebook through pictures with client activities and events.
While this seems like it might not make a big difference in regards to whether or not the prospect ultimate engages, consider the alternative.
You begin researching an organization and find very few images on their webpage or social media sites. There are no pictures of leadership, events or even of their facilities. What questions would that leave in your mind?
Still not convinced, consider these statistics provided by MBooth:

Photos are liked two times more than text updates
Videos are shared 12-times more than links and text posts combined
Facebook reached 100 million users in 4 years, but Instagram is on pace to beat it
42% of all posts on Facebook are photos

Is there any doubt? Adding images enhances the users experience, and it is lots of fun!
Where should you start? Simply begin to think about your posts and experiences through images. I started to look around at some well known organizations to see which ones stood out to me.
Girl Scouts of America
I just loved their Facebook page that was filled with various images. What I loved was how they branded each message with their colors and their logo.
They also included pictures of Girl Scouts from throughout the nation doing various projects and activities.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
This group really understands how images can impact and catch the viewer’s eye. With every post on Facebook, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital included an image.
This really pulled me and engaged me in their stories!
There were stories of success, struggle and impact both from those benefiting from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as well as those supporting the organization.
World Wildlife Fund
Of course, when I looked at WWF’s Face book page I expected to see tons of pictures of animals. I was surprised, however, to see even more.
This group also does a great job posting a photo or a video with each story. The posts were not just highlight various animals, but also provided daily things each of us could do to help.
What about your agency?
So, now it’s your turn! It is pretty easy, and very fun. Start spicing up your posts and see how people respond. I would love to hear more about your experience.
How have you used images to tell your story? What responses have you see to your usage of images? What struggles have you had with sharing images?

Changing your agency's culture means double loop learning

January 10, 2014 erik organizational development

Management by Walking Around . . . in a Loop

By John Greco
Originally published on March 17, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
single loop1 A CEO who had begun to practice his own form of “management-by-walking-around” learned from his employees that the company inhibited innovation by subjecting every new idea to more than 275 separate checks and sign-offs. He promptly appointed a task force to look at this situation, and it eliminated 200 of the obstacles. The result was a higher innovation rate.
— Chris Argyris, Good Communication That Blocks Learning

Finally, a success story in one of these posts!

Not so fast.
This may sound like a success story, but, is it? It certainly is; the CEO uncovers a flawed process and, with his team, drives a dramatic improvement.
What’s not to like?
Chris Argyris would call the CEO’s work above a great example of “single-loop learning;” addressing an issue but leaving the more fundamental problem unexamined and unsolved.
A double-loop approach would have the CEO asking some tougher questions; questions about — yes, you guessed it — the company culture.
Good: “How long have you known about the 275 required sign-offs?”
Better: “What goes on in this company that prevented you from questioning these practices and getting them corrected or eliminated?”
Best: “What beliefs do my leaders hold, and what behaviors do they exhibit, that lead them to support and embed a process that requires 275 sign-offs and approvals?
single loop2 Phenomenal!: “What assumptions am I making and what biases do I hold that are manifesting themselves in the culture of this organization, leading to an approval process with 275 signoffs and associates that are reticent to challenge that process?
Double-loop learning asks questions to understand what’s underneath the visible, presenting problem. It seeks the fundamental cause and effect.
I often get accused of asking too many questions. In fact, a couple of years ago, after a quarterly meeting, I was approached by a peer and admonished: “John, you are asking too many tough questions. You are putting people on the defensive. You need to fit in more, go with the flow of the presentations.”
<sigh>
I feel compelled to help others (and myself) break out of the single loop! Interestingly, though, most managers are thrilled when they successfully walk the single loop. In fact, don’t most organizations reward managers that are effective in walking the single loop? They are always solving problems, right?
So why incessantly ask questions that seem to deny the good work that they’ve just done and that everybody else recognizes?
Besides; who has time? I mean, there’s so many other pressing problems to solve!
I keep asking because one successful double loop walk is worth many, many; yes, many single loop walks…
Management by walking around… in a double loop. Make a difference.

How to appreciate your agency's executive director

January 9, 2014 erik Uncategorized

I can’t prove it, but I suspect that executive directors for non-profit organizations are the most under-appreciated bunch of people on the planet. Working for a group of people (e.g. board of directors) compared to one person is difficult, and I think this contributes to my observations pertaining to appreciation. Simply stated I think group dynamics are such that every person thinks someone else is doing the appreciating and recognizing.
Turnover is an expensive proposition for non-profit organizations. Here are some of the obvious and not-so-obvious costs associated with losing your executive director:

costs associated with executive search process
lost institutional knowledge
orientation and training expenses
lost organizational momentum associated with implementation of strategic plan, fundraising plan, etc
impact on donor confidence in your agency

Usually when having this conversation with board members, I get asked what are a few ways to better appreciate your executive director. The following sections represent just a few thoughts and ideas.
Annual performance evaluation
I cannot tell you how many times an executive director has confided in me that their board does not evaluate them.
Not only is a year-end performance evaluation a best practice that will keep you out of legal trouble down the road, but it is the logical place for a board to express appreciation.
Annual performance plan
No one likes to “make it up as you are going along“.
So, development of a written and measurable annual performance plan is a recognition tool of sorts. It provides the executive director with a clear road map on what they need to do in order to receive kudos.
Mid-year check-up
For all of the same reasons why a year-end performance appraisal makes sense, so does a mid-year check-up visit.
This meeting allows the board an opportunity to recognize successes. It also provides for course correction on other performance objectives, which sends a clear message that you care about the executive director’s success.
Year-end token of appreciation
During the holiday season, many executive directors are organizing holiday office parties and finding ways to show their staff they are appreciated. A good board makes sure that someone is looking out for the executive director.
It doesn’t need to be an actual gift (e.g. gift card to the exec’s favorite restaurant), even though that is always a nice gesture.
It could be as simple as every board member adding the executive director to their holiday card mailing list and writing something poignant about what they appreciate about their number one employee.
When I facilitate board engagement trainings, one of the nine volunteer engagement principles I talk about is “recognition/appreciation“. In reality, the same holds true for employees. If you want to get the most out of your executive director and keep them around for a while, then you need to find ways to appreciate them.
What are some ways your agency’s board of directors demonstrates its appreciation for its executive director? Please use the comment box below to share your favorite examples.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Is it good that you're running your non-profit like a for-profit business?

January 8, 2014 erik Board governance

Running your Non-profit like a Business?

By Dani Robbins
Re-published with permission from nonprofit evolution blog
success I cannot tell you the number of people over the course of my 20 years in non-profits that either congratulated me for running my non-profit like a business and went on to tell me non-profits should be run like a business. I never knew what to say. Thank you?
It seems to be one of the true disconnects that proves my often repeated phrase “where you sit always determines where you stand.”
For those of us who have spent our careers in non-profits, we hear it as an insult that implies businesses are better run, even though there is ample evidence to the contrary. For those who were raised in the for profit sector, the comment acknowledges that some non-profits are run by well-intentioned but poorly trained leaders, and it is meant as a compliment. The compliment being that the Exec watches the bottom line and is accountable, professional and transparent.
We want, need and demand that our non-profits be accountable, appropriate and transparent. However, we also want them to meet mission. Perhaps, that’s the disconnect. Businesses have no mission.
mission Non-profits have to manage the budget AND meet the mission.

We expect them to meet the needs of clients in an equitable manner.
We insist they spend money the way it was awarded and budgeted. When that isn’t possible, the Board or the funder approves the change.
We expect staff to be held to the same standards, and paid similar salaries for similar work.
We count on our Executive Directors to be responsible to the Board, and the Board to be responsible to the community.

Now that I own my own business, I can tell you that the checks and balances inherent in running a non-profit are much more stringent than those needed to run a small business. As a business owner, I can pretty much, within the bounds of the law, do whatever I want. I have no Board to report to, or to hold me accountable. It’s my company. I started it. I make the decisions and it lives or dies with me. That is the structure of a small business. That is not the structure of a non-profit.
board5 Non-profits are not run by one person for a reason. The Board represents the community as the owners of the organization. The organization exists to meet a need. Businesses, which also address needs, exist to make money.
This is the real crux of my beef with non-profits being run like a business. When they are, the Exec leads and the Board is an after-thought; often because the Board was built that way by an Exec that wants to run the non-profit like a business. The Exec sets the direction, and tells that Board what she or he feels they need to know, and the Board accepts that. There is a lot of rubber stamping and very little governance. In such cases, the Board only becomes engaged when there is a crisis. That was not the leader I aspired to be, and not the Board I built.
I want more from our non-profits. I want them to meet the level of accountability our communities expect and deserve. I want them to meet their missions. I want them to have an engage Board and innovative leadership and to move the needle of change in their community.
As always, I welcome your feedback and your experience.

Non-profits are engaging and collaborating using wiki

January 6, 2014 erik technology

How can your agency effectively use wiki?

By Rose Reinert
Guest blogger
Last Monday, we dug into chapter 6 of Lon Safko’s book “The Social Media Bible” and talked about the benefits of reading and writing blogs. This week, we explore chapter 7 where Safko investigates “The Wisdom of the Wiki.”
When I cracked open this chapter and began to read, I instantly found myself concentrating very hard. I read, and re-read, to try and wrap my head around first what was a “wiki” and how the heck I could figure out how to turn it into a blog post.
What is a “Wiki”?
A wiki is a browser-based web platform or software where individuals can add information and edit content. Wiki are sometimes used internally in an organization and require registration; however, there are also more public wikis that allow edits and contributions without registration.
Wikis are an open set of documents so they are accessible to the public or a large group, as such there is always a chance that content could be compromised or what Safko refers to as “vandalized.”
Very open wikis often require you to register to help to reduce the chance of this or offer follow-up to a user.
Let’s Get Wiki-with-It!
wiki Safko recommends getting started by visiting some wikis.
So I did!
Wikipedia is one of the most popular public wikis. I suggest you visit, read, add some facts, and make some corrections (if you find any) and then Google for more Wikis.
Ironically, as I looked around for wikis, I found Wikispaces Classroom, which is a wiki for teachers to utilize with their students. It is also a platform to coordinate and execute class projects. I found a great article on this site highlighting some great examples of how non-profits are using wiki.
Here are some of my favorite examples:
Rt. 1 Day Center
The Rt. 1 Day Center, a homeless center in Columbia, Maryland, uses their wiki to coordinate volunteers for their meals, showers, laundry and social services. More than 40 churches in the area partner with the center, volunteering for a day’s service once a month. The wiki is the community hub where volunteers sign-up, check what’s been happening at the center, and inform next-day volunteers about needed food and supplies.
CARE
CARE is a global non-profit working to fight poverty. They use Wikispaces Private Label as a platform for members to communicate, collaborate, and share best practices. They have many wikis on their site, including:

A knowledge café where individuals share best practices for engaging the cultures and communities in which they work
A wiki where they train their global members and volunteers in emergency preparedness and response
Various wikis designed by groups of employees interested in bringing new capacities to the organization
Wikis devoted to strategic planning, improving their organization, and measuring the impact of their various projects and initiatives

With Wikispaces Private Label, CARE has built an active community where members can find resources, develop skills, and improve the long-term health of the organization.
Skills Standards for the Woodworking Industry
Until recently, the woodworking industry was one of the few industries left without standards to help evaluate, educate and compensate their workforce. A group of woodworking professionals from across the industry used Wikispaces to compile a set of skills standards. Wikispaces enabled them to rewrite the standards for 33 woodworking tools with only a single face-to-face meeting. The work they did on the wiki over a two-year period was approved by the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America [WCANA] and released in July 2009 as a 134 page manual for the field.
These are just a few examples. I am eager to learn from you all! Please use the comment box below to share your experience working with wiki.
Have you ever had a great success with using wiki? What are other ways you can think of to utilize this resource?

Does your non-profit culture contain bears?

January 3, 2014 erik organizational development

Run!

By John Greco
Originally published on April 19, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
Two men were walking through the woods when a large bear walked out into the clearing no more than 50 feet in front of them.
The first man dropped his backpack and dug out a pair of running shoes, then began to furiously attempt to lace them up as the bear slowly approached them.
The second man looked at the first, confused, and said, “What are you doing? Running shoes aren’t going to help, you can’t out run that bear.”
“I don’t need to. I just need to out run you.”
[Author unknown, but greatly appreciated! If you or anyone you know has a proprietary interest in this story please authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as appropriate.]

bear2 Ha!
Think of your co-workers, or your circle of friends.
Would you take off and leave them for bear food?
Would they take off and leave you for bear food?
In the organizations we work in, if we see this kind of behavior on an isolated, every now and then basis, we would likely be safe to attribute it to unbridled ambition, to competitive spirit run amuck.
But if we see this consistently, broader …
Have you ever worked in a culture where there were ever present threats, where there was a palpable feeling that to survive you needed to, well, look out for yourself at every turn? Every man for himself?
Not exactly a culture, one would think, that drives cooperation, communication, collaboration… and not exactly a culture that we would predict would produce stellar results.
bear3 But here’s something we can predict: embedded in these cultures we will find organizational policies and/or management practices that pit one associate against another … we will find policies and/or practices that recognize and reward individual achievement without also recognizing and rewarding teamwork and team results … and we will find organizational initiatives that at best only temporarily solves problems (because they only address symptoms) without real and substantial effort and action to fundamentally address the root causes of problems.
In other words, we will find the bear.
RUN!

New Years resolutions for me and your non-profit agency

January 2, 2014 erik technology

Good morning everyone! Yesterday was New Years Day and I spent the first day of 2014 in a car trying to make it half way back to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. As many of you know, I am still working on a contract temporarily providing technical assistance and organizational services to 20 organizations in New Mexico and West Texas.
During the first leg of my drive yesterday, I spent lots of time thinking about New Years resolutions, which is the focus of today’s post.
To resolve or not to resolve?
Let me first address the question of whether or not resolutions are meaningful.
There is lots and lots of talk about whether or not New Years resolutions are helpful or just a waste of time. The way I look at it, resolutions are akin to goal setting. And an individual or organization without goals is rudderless. Right? So, where is the harm in setting a few realistic resolutions.
While driving yesterday, I came up with a few goals for improvement that I’d like to tackle in 2014. Of course, there is my annual re-commitment to health and weight loss, but I’m not going down that path with you today.
There are two other resolutions that I am very excited about and thought you might want to consider adopting for your agency.
Technology
tech When I opened my non-profit consulting practice 2.5 years ago — The Healthy Non-Profit LLC — I did so on the cheap. I used $15,000 of savings to get everything off the ground including: branding, marketing materials, website, home office set-up, and technology.
Needless to say, I ended up making some tough decisions around technology. Case in point, I’m typing this mornings blog on a small Netbook laptop-ish looking computer that operates with an Itel Atom processor (which I think is akin to having a gerbil power the engine of my car).
One of my 2014 New Years resolutions is to invest in technology in a way where I will straddle a 3-way fence.
What I mean is that I will combine the power of the technology world’s three biggest players:

Google
Microsoft
Apple

When I opened my business, I sold my soul to Google. I primarily did this because there was lots and lots of free stuff to be had.
I also didn’t have money to purchase Microsoft products and ended up using free productivity software like Apache OpenOffice, which is really good public domain free software that mimics Microsoft products.
However, the world is changing and technology is progressing along faster than ever. Microsoft is racing to the cloud and challenging Google for market share. Have you seen the new Microsoft Surface computers? What about Microsoft 365? These questions don’t even touch the issues associated with Google purchasing Motorola and getting into the smart phone business. Ugh!
My New Years resolution to move closer to the cutting edge of technology by purchasing a Surface tablet/laptop, subscribing to Microsoft 365, and integrating an iPad into my Google and Microsoft new world order is ambitious. But the timing feels right to me.
For your non-profit agency, I suggest you take a good hard look at technology. I suspect there there might be a New Years resolution waiting there for you.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve walked into a client’s office and their technology is biting them in the butt.
Many non-profit organizations are “resource poor” by definition. In environments like these, technology is typically basic and under-maintained.
Since tech has a short shelf life, most non-profits live with severely outdated hardware, software, networks, and systems.
I can almost hear you moaning and yelling into your computer: “But we don’t have the money, Erik!”
OK, OK, OK . . . 2014 doesn’t necessarily have to be about buying technology for your agency. Your resolution could be all about getting the right group of volunteers around the table to help you develop a written technology plan addressing issues such as:

How will your organization upgrade its tech over the next three years?
What should your agency’s tech policies look like?
What does your agency want to look like from a tech perspective (e.g. network, cloud, Apple, Google, Microsoft, desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, website, blog, ePhilanthropy, databases etc)? And how will all of this capacity be maintained?
What is the funding model to attain and maintain what you build?

Tackling this issue is the right thing to do.
Non-profit leaders need to break out of this “starvation cycle” in which they find themselves. It isn’t healthy to under-invest in organizational capacity building because you weaken yourself and plant the seeds of your your own demise.
Communication
enews One of the features on my company’s website offers viewers the opportunity to subscribe to a free monthly eNewsletter.
I must confess that I’ve been woeful at keeping this promise. Over the last two years, I’ve published just a handful of newsletters.
My other New Years resolution for 2014 is to do a better job of getting my eNewsletter situation figured out and in working order.
While zipping down the interstate yesterday, I started wondering if this might also be a good goal for your organization?
Too many of my clients seem to be in the same boat as I am when it comes to finding time to publish a newsletter.
However, the reality is that you are going to put yourself out of business if you don’t get this thing figured out. That’s right . . . you heard me correcting — “out of business“!!!
Donors need to hear three big things before they make another contribution to your organization:

Thank you . . . we appreciate your investment
We are using your contribution in the manner in which we told you we would
Your donation is having an impact and making good things happen

Your newsletter or eNewsletter strategy is focused on communicating these three things. Your inability to find the time to communicate these things drives your donor turnover rate sky high, which in turn makes raising money arduous and expensive.
Tackling this issue is the right thing to do.
As I said earlier in this post, non-profit leaders need to break out of this “starvation cycle” in which they find themselves. It isn’t healthy to under-invest in organizational capacity building because you weaken yourself and plant the seeds of your your own demise.
What are your New Years resolutions for 2014? Please use the comment box below to share. Let’s inspire each other today.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

2014 predictions for the non-profit sector

December 31, 2013 erik Board development, Fundraising, Planning

predictions3 It happened again yesterday. A non-profit friend of mine called and we talked for an hour about their revenue model and fundraising issues. Questions included:

We need to start doing more with private sector fundraising. Everyone at our agency agrees on this point. It is in the new strategic plan. But after lots of talking no one wants to do anything. What should we do? How do we move forward?
We are very dependent on government funding. How should we start diversifying our revenue streams?
Our revenue strategies that worked well prior to 2008 no longer work very well. We want to course correct, but the people sitting around our boardroom table were recruited with an old revenue model in mind. Can we ask these people to help us make the necessary changes? Or do we need to change the people sitting around the table? How quickly can all of this be done?

Ever since the economy changed in 2008, non-profits have been wrestling with these kind of questions. What economists and politicians are calling “The New Normal” has non-profit leaders scratching their heads and wondering what to do about it.
I’ve seen some non-profits pivot nicely, and I’ve seen many more struggle. This trend will continue into 2014!
Based on this prediction, I think the following trends are also likely to follow:

Non-profit boards and staff will continue re-examining and tweaking their revenue model. (Click here for more info on different types of non-profit revenue models)
Non-profit boards will continue to struggle with who should be sitting around their boardroom tables as they attempt to change their revenue models.
Non-profit staff will continue to struggle with developing and using volunteer engagement strategies and tools in an effort to move their agency FROM a pre-2008 revenue model TO a new 2014-and-beyond revamped fundraising plan.
There will be renewed interested by non-profit boards and staff to engage the services of fundraising professionals who can provide technical assistance around these questions.
The word “bankruptcy” will be used more and more by donors, stakeholders and the news media in 2014 to talk about non-profit organizations and municipalities (e.g. Detroit, etc) who weren’t successful in tweaking their revenue models.

Is your organization currently engaged in asking questions like the ones with which I started this post? Are there additional questions you’re asking in your boardroom? What do you think about these five predictions I’ve made? Am I full of bologna?
Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts and experiences.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Why your non-profit agency should be blogging

December 30, 2013 erik Fundraising, technology

Non-profit blogging: What’s In It For Me?

By Rose Reinert
Guest blogger

Last Monday, we explored chapter 5 of Lon Safko’s book “The Social Media Bible” and talked about how online forums might be helpful to your non-profit organization’s fundraising program. This week, we explore chapter 6 where Safko unpacks the history and power of blogs.

A little history

As we discovered last week, online forums or communities became public in the 1990’s. Using various online communities, people posted to bulletin board systems and forums. People started posting online diaries or journals that documented their personal activities to these sites, and they often included pictures and video. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, blogging began to move from personal diaries to include other topics.

If you are reading this- you can check “reading a blog” off your bucket list!

The very first guest blog that I posted on the DonorDreams platform addressed the key issue that all readers address every time they open an email, visit a website or visit a blog. Of course, it is the question of “What’s in it for me?” (aka WIIFM). What’s cool about today’s post is that we’re going to discuss WIIFM with regards to both reading a blog and writing a blog.

WIIFM? – Reading Blogs

We all know there is only so much time in the day, and while we work to fulfill our day-to-day job duties, it remains challenging to also fit in personal development and staying up-to-date on industry trends. Who has time for trainings and conferences?

There is an easier way!

I recommend hitting the web and taking a look at some blogs that speak to your profession.

Select a few that you can remain committed to reading. Subscribe to those blogs, and content will be delivered to your email inbox as frequently as the blogger publishes. Some bloggers write a monthly post, others do it weekly, and some (like our friend Erik Anderson at DonorDreams blog, try to post something every day).

My suggestion is to set aside about ten minutes into your schedule at the beginning of your day when you’re powering up your computer. Dedicate those 10 minutes to your professional development by reading a blog or two that you’ve subscribe to and speaks to your professional interests.

If you are not sure where to start you can ask colleagues about some of their favorites. Here is a short list of blogs that I suggest you check out:

For more suggestions, please check out the Blogroll section of the DonorDreams blog. If you have suggestions of other blogs to add to blogroll, please use the comment box to share your suggestion and Erik will add them to our online community. (Isn’t he always saying something like: “We can all learn from each other?”)

WIIFM?—Writing a Blog

This is the first time that I have ever blogged. I did one or two guest spots here on the DonorDreams blog platform, but this is the first ongoing guest spot that I have had.

The first several times that I sat down to write- I ended up:

stopping and doing the dishes
making a phone call to my mom
writing a little . . . erasing it
playing a game with my kids
finally pushing through to finish

Much like anything, with practice, it becomes less intimidating and each time I sharpened that skill a little more.

Any time you enhance communication with your donors or supporters, you continue to build trust. Depending on how you structure your blog contents, a blog can:

engage donors
keep them updated on news
align your organization with national trends or initiatives
demonstrate how your organization is working to meet needs and solve problems.

If your agency is striving to become a donor-centered organization, your blog content should be focused on:

appreciating and expressing gratitude to donors
showing donors that you are using their investments how you said you would during the solicitation visit
illustrating the impact that contributions are having on the lives of your clients and throughout the community

Blogging is a great way to show relevance within your industry. I believe that anytime you can differentiate your organization as an expert in a certain area, you build trust and accountability.

Are you thinking about starting a blog? If so, don’t just jump in and start blogging this afternoon. Ensure you are committed to the time it takes. Make sure your dedication to consistently blogging is a sustainable commitment. The worst thing to do is start with a bang and fizzle out.

So, now it’s your turn. I would love to hear more about your experience blogging. If you don’t blog, then please tell us the comment box to tell me about your favorite blogs.

Does your organization currently use blogging? If so, who is the target audience? Share your ideas for blogging for your organization. Do you think blogging is worth your investment of time?