Just take that virtual

photo of man using laptop
Photo by Ekaterina Bolovtsova on Pexels.com

“Oh, that’s easy . . . just go virtual.”
It seems like every time I turn around, some non-profit expert is glibly sharing this advice with an executive director or fundraising professional who is experiencing organizational challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are a handful of real life examples I’ve come across in just the last few days:

  • We had to cancel our annual dinner” . . . no worries, just do a virtual event
  • We had to cancel our auction fundraiser” . . . just do an online auction
  • We can’t provide services to our clients during this stay-at-home order” . . . have you heard of Zoom
  • The print shop is closed and I can’t get my newsletter produced” . . . use Constant Contact and turn it into an e-newsletter

If I put a little effort into this crazy coronavirus inspired exercise, I’m sure that I can come up with another five examples in less than five minutes. I’m not kidding.
I don’t mean to suggest anyone should be ungrateful for the advice. But I really wish everyone would stop dispensing this type of sugar-coated advice. It is overly simplistic. And dare I say, it can even feel a little dismissive.
Going “virtual” is simply not as easy as it sounds. Consider the following issues I’ve seen non-profit organization’s grappling with just this week:

  • Employees lack the skills to do what needs to be done to take programming and services virtual
  • Internet bandwidth is challenging
  • Hardware is lacking
  • Software or online services hasn’t been acquired yet
  • The organization’s budget can’t support those tech investments
  • A digital divide in the community means clients don’t have access
  • Not every donor has a Facebook account

My “pandemic wish” for the non-profit thought-leadership community is to stop tossing around nuggets of meaningless advice and let’s start getting specific.
For example, rather than simply saying, “just pivot and take your fundraising event online,” let’s explore the organization’s current state.  What systems do they have in place? What needs to be put in place to support their people? How does going virtual impact their organizational culture and the direction they were heading before the pandemic hit?
Then after getting answers to all of the assessment questions, let’s get specific about live streaming vs. recorded online videos or cross-channel donor communications utilizing email, text, website and social media.
OK, I’m going to get down off my soapbox because this rant is going to get nerdy very quickly.
I’m interested in hearing from you about how “going virtual” (aka your digital strategies) is working for you? What hiccups, if any, are you encountering? How are you solving those challenges?
Please share your experiences in the comment box below. We can all learn from each other!
Be well, stay safe!
Erik Anderson
https://thehealthynonprofit.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thehealthynonprofit/

Will your non-profit be a 'winner' or 'loser' during Trump era?

Two days ago, I published a post titled “What will Trump’s impact be on the non-profit sector?” and I followed it up yesterday with “How is Trump ushering in renaissance for non-profit sector?” Today, I’ll end this series by talking about your non-profit and sharing a few readiness tips for your consideration.
President Trump is famous for talking about “winner” and “losers.” He is also a self-described conservative who campaigned on shrinking the size of the federal government. In the administration’s first budget to Congress, there are a number of programs he proposed reducing or eliminating that has a direct impact on non-profit organizations. In just the last few days, I’ve heard my clients chattering about the following few proposed cuts:

  • 21st Community Learning Centers
  • Meals on Wheels
  • Community Development Block Grants

As our society enters a new era where government starts tightening its belt, those non-profit organizations that are heavily government funded and have little experience with private sector philanthropy will likely be “losers” in my estimation.
Similarly, if your organization has strong relationships with individual donors, then I believe you are well positioned to be a “winner.” I believe this is especially true because of the reasons I provided in yesterday’s blog post.
However, you may want to start changing the way you speak to your donors in this new era. As Tom Ahern is famous for saying, properly utilizing the right emotional triggers will be your key to success. You won’t simply be able to get a away with shouting the word “Trump” and sitting back to watch the money roll in.
The following few sections are just a few thoughts I’ve had on how you can start tapping into a new generation of engaged donors.
Increase your non-solicitation communications to donors
Donors want to know how those you serve are being impacted by the changing world around us. So, help them see it.
Doing an informal audit of your last few newsletters is a great place to start. Pull those communications tools out of that dusty archive file and ask yourself:

  • How much of your content is about your organization (e.g. upcoming fundraisers, your organization’s needs, etc)?
  • How many times are you using the word “WE” and “US” versus “YOU”?
  • Do your stories focus on how your donors are heros? Or do they talk about your successes?
  • Is your content focused on seeing the world through your clients eyes or your eyes?

If you are talking more about your organization, then you want to change that practice and figure out how to make your donors the hero and reasons for those successes.
More importantly, check to see how many of your donor communication pieces are solicitation oriented compared to cultivation and stewardship oriented. You will want to change that ratio to lean more towards sending more cultivation and stewardship pieces (with small hints here and there about where the donor can contribute).
Talk about client needs and not about Trump
It is easy to point at Trump and blame everything on him. It is “shorthand” and he is an emotional conduit for some donors’ emotions. However, it is too easy for people to shrug their shoulders and say, “He’s the President. I’m just a little donor. I’ll try to make a difference in a few years when I go to the ballot box.
It is a far better strategy to highlight the issues donors care passionately about and pull on those emotional heartstrings. Sure, feel free to point at policy changes being proposed that you feel will worsen the situation, but don’t rely on it as your case for support.
Explain how one donor’s contribution can and will make a difference in the lives of those you serve.
Pay more attention to small and mid-size donors
Over the last decade we’ve seen politicians prove this point. How much money did Obama, Sanders and even Trump fundraise in smaller donations of $25, $50 and $100 gifts? They talked about it constantly, and it is time non-profits start following suit.
After all, today’s small annual campaign donor is tomorrow’s lead gift in your capital or endowment campaign.
This means evolving your resource development plan. Don’t add more special events, which are labor intensive and costly. Look at peer-to-peer solicitation opportunities such as annual campaigns, monthly giving programs, a-thon style events, targeted mail and online peer-to-peer giving opportunities. These things don’t happen organically. They require thought and strategy. So, take the time to think it through on paper with your board members and fundraising volunteers.
Add more personal contact with donors
It is easy to send a piece of mail or an email to large groups of donors and potential supporters. However, there is a lot of that going on from many different organizations. Information overload is a real thing. So, tweak your approach to increase the effectiveness of your message.
Don’t stop sending mail and email. But think about adding some in-person opportunities. Here are just a few thoughts:

  • Host a series of town hall meetings focused on the issues your clients face
  • Host special (e.g. exclusive) donor receptions to meet those you serve and let them tell the story
  • Invite donors to periodic coffee meetings with your organization’s executive director to talk about the issues

Encourage donor advocacy
Remind your donors they can and will make a difference by contacting your local, state and federal legislators about issues impacting your clients. Send out periodic notes talking about proposed policy changes that directly effect your clients. Encourage them to attend meetings, pick-up the phone or write a letter. And make it easy for them to do so. (off-handedly mentioning that a contribution will also help might not be a bad idea, too)
A note to those non-profits who are heavily government funded
OK, your organization might not be experienced in doing these things. You might be one of those organizations I indicated earlier in this post that are heading for that “loser” label.
Don’t fret! It isn’t too late to change your approach.
Here are a few suggestions you might want to look at:

  • Gather your board members together and develop a short list of individuals who you think are like-minded and supporters of your issues
  • Pick one or two of the things I mentioned above and start executing those strategies. Start small and make adjustments as you go
  • With your volunteers, develop a small resource development plan that adds two or three small individual giving strategies. Start small and be realistic. It might be as simple as sending targeted mail to 50 individuals a few times a year and hosting a simple fundraising event. Dedicate yourself to growing it steadily over the years.

If you need help convincing board members, I suggest giving them a copy of the book Who Moved My Cheese, encouraging them to read it, and facilitate a boardroom discussion about what it means for your organization. There is wisdom in your boardroom. Trust me. All you need to do is tap into it.
Here’s to your healthy!
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

How is Trump ushering in renaissance for non-profit sector?

Yesterday, I published a post titled “What will Trump’s impact be on the non-profit sector?” and I ended with a cliffhanger with the following tease:

The Trump Administration will mark the beginning of a renaissance for the non-profit sector!

If you didn’t have a chance to read yesterday’s post, I encourage you to go back and do so. It wasn’t very long, but it helps set the stage for what you’re about to read.
As I explained yesterday, I had written a blog post a few days after the election about what Donald Trump’s election might mean to the non-profit sector. However, a funny thing happened on my way to clicking the “publish” button . . . my inner Jiminy Cricket started chirping. While I normally ignore my intuition because I don’t trust it, I’ve been working on developing this inferior function (yes, this is a geeky Myers-Briggs reference … LOL) over the last five years. And I think it paid off in this case.
In the days and weeks after the election, I started to sense a “drip-drip-drip” of non-profit news coverage. There were random stories in my Google feed in addition to what I heard on the radio and saw on television. Again, I didn’t put the bigger picture together right away, but it did give me pause and kept me away from my blog’s dreaded “publish” button.
Here are a few examples of the “drip-drip-drip” I was seeing:

At first I kind of dismissed this as something I would describe as: “My-Liberal-Friends-Are-Rallying-The-Troops” phenomenon. Of course, you are thinking the same thing, right? It must be because the headlines are full of non-profits that seen as “liberal causes” such as:

  • American Civil Liberties Union (e.g. fighting Trump on immigration issue)
  • Planned Parenthood (aka abortion issue)
  • International Rescue Committee (aka Syrian refugees)
  • Center for Public Integrity (aka investigative journalism)
  • The Marshall Project (aka criminal justice system issues)
  • NAACP (aka civil right)
  • Human Rights Campaign (aka LBGTQ issues)
  • Anti-Defamation League (aka addressing anti-Semitism)
  • Sierra Club (aka environmental issues)

Take a good look up and down this list. It is way to easy to buy into an explanation like “My-Liberal-Friends-Are-Rallying-The-Troops” phenomenon.” Right? And I almost did, but Jiminy Cricket was still wagging his finger at me (or maybe it was Trump). So, I held off on publishing my Trump blog post for a little longer.
And then it came to me . . .
I was at Bloomerang‘s Bloomcon conference in Orlando, FL on February 13, 2017. One of the many expert speakers that day was Tom Ahern. (He is one of my all-time FAVs) And he was on his favorite soapbox talking about his favorite things:

  • storytelling (e.g. make the donor the hero of your case for support)
  • emotional triggers (e.g. anger, exclusivity, fear, flattery, greed, guilt, salvation) and neuroscience
  • 13 most influential words in the English language (#1 on the list is the word ‘YOU’)

My ah-ha moment came to me like bricks falling from the sky. It occurred while Tom was waxing poetic about great non-profit stories having “good guys” and “bad guys.” And this is when things started making sense:

  • Who is the perceived ‘bad guy’?  President Trump
  • What is the problem?  The new administration will [fill in the blank with things like repeal the healthcare law, deport millions of people, etc]
  • Who is the ‘good guy’?  YOU … Mr. or Mrs. Donor who cares about these issues
  • What is the solution?  A trustworthy non-profit organization asking emotionally buzzed up donors to get involved (aka volunteer, sign a petition, call your legislator but definitely don’t forget to make a contribution)

So, put a check mark in the “Good Storytelling Material” box.
But what about the emotions at play in these donors’ philanthropic decisions? (hint: go back up to the bullet point where I list Tom’s favorite seven emotional triggers and quickly refresh your memory)
The following is what I believe is driving this wave of engaged donors:

  • ANGER — donor is upset about Trump victory, especially because it was a surprise and they might now have been emotionally prepared for it
  • FEAR — donor is confident that policies and programs they value will be dismantled and people will get hurt (and the 24/7 cable news networks certainly stoke this fire)
  • GUILT — donor feels guilty that maybe they should’ve done more to help Clinton campaign (e.g. could’ve donated, knocked on doors, volunteered, etc)

These three emotions are all powerful in and of themselves. However, there is synergy between these emotions, which I believe exponentially took people to a new place (I prefer to think of it as a philanthropic place set in technicolor).
For those readers, who are excited because it sounds like I am saying that fundraising is as easy as saying: “BOO! Donald Trump is President so won’t you please give to my organization?” . . . I encourage you to think again.
But, oh snap, look at the time. It is getting late. <yawn> And I am way past my maximum word count guideline. I guess you’ll need to come back tomorrow for another installment of this series of Trump-inspired posts. But I guess it is only fair to give you a little preview:

“Trump is like having a golden ticket’ to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for those organizations who know how to fundraise. But those organizations who have been fat and sassy and accepting lots of government funding instead of fundraising are likely going to fail or merge with other organizations.”

Don’t worry. If your organization falls into the “fat and sassy government funding” category I just described, I’ll have a few tips for you tomorrow (or maybe the next day).   😉
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

Another book that every non-profit professional should own

For those of you who are keeping score, it has been three straight days of posts. And the entire week has been “all Mazarine … all of the time!” I think it should be fairly obvious at this point that I’ve become a big fan and I think you should be, too.
Let’s take a moment to recap where we’ve been and where we’re going:

  • Two days ago, I reviewed one of Mazarine’s books in a post titled “One book that every non-profit professional should own
  • Yesterday, I shared with you a virtual interview with Mazarine. In that post, she talked about her upcoming Fundraising Career Conference, which does not require any travel or lodging expenses because it is an online virtual conference
  • Today, if you keep scrolling down, I will talk briefly about another one of Mazarine’s books that I absolutely loved
  • In a few months (sometime this summer), there will be a fourth and final blog. I will share with you another virtual interview with Mazarine. We will talk all about her other online virtual conference in September — Nonprofit Leadership Summit

Are you new to the fundraising field? Do you fundraise for a small to mid-sized organization? Are you expected to know a little bit about a lot of fundraising things? Is your resource development plan full of diverse revenue strategies? Then I think I’ve found a great book for you — The Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising.
In fact, if you are an experienced fundraising professional, who has already raised millions of dollars throughout your career, then I suspect you, too, might really appreciate this book. (Teaser . . . I’ll explain this a little more later in the post)
From the very beginning in the foreword section of the book, Mazarine captured my sense of curiosity when she wrote:

“Why I wrote the Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising?

  • The world needs more realistic optimists
  • There are so many good causes, and so few fundraisers
  • You can change the world with these tools, and the world needs some big changers right now

I wrote this book to be a fun primer to fundraising I never had.”

Seriously? How could I not keep reading?

  • I wanted to know more about what she meant by “realistic optimists” as it pertains to the fundraising field.
  • I completely agree with her about too few fundraising professionals and the power to change the world using a philanthropy paradigm.
  • But most of all, I was super curious about how she intended to transform a book about fundraising into a “fun primer.

Most of the fundraising books I’ve read throughout the years, immediately start off in chapter one with technical, wonky resource development concepts. With all due respect to those authors (and I really love those books, too), it can sometimes sound like Ben Stein’s teacher character in the 1986 movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
But Mazarine started off completely different.

  • Chapter 0 (not a typo … indeed she has a chapter zero) is titled “All About YOU! Your Family Background
  • Chapter 1 immediately tackles the myth that fundraising is about money. She titled this chapter “Development is about communication
  • Chapter 2 is about finding a fundraising job that it a right fit for you. And even if you already have a great job, I think you might find some of the resources in this chapter really fun and helpful (e.g. link to her presentation on ‘your fundraising personality,’ instructions on how to write stories using a ‘What-How-Wow structure,’ etc)

I expected the first three chapters to be about special events, grant writing and annual campaigns and trudging onward into major gifts, capital campaigns and planned giving. This formula is fairly typical for most entry level fundraising books. But Mazarine is far from typical. She threw me a curveball, and the first three chapters were all about ME. Needless to say, I was hooked. Go figure. LOL
It is worth noting that Mazarine tips her hand by starting her book in this way. The fact that the first three chapters are all about ME and not about her (or about fundraising strategy) sends a clear signal that her teachable point of view on resource development aligns with Penelope Burk’s Donor-Centered Fundraising books and school of thought.
Before I give you the wrong impression about this book, there is lots of material written on traditional fundraising topics. Here is a list of just a few chapters (and yes, these are her actual chapter titles):

  • Building Relationships: How to find & cultivate donors
  • Events (AKA Kicking Ass and Throwing Parties!)
  • Appealing (Ever want to write beautiful letters for a living?)
  • Phone-a-thons (Yo, what’s your ring-tone?)
  • Putting it all together: Your Wild Development Plan!

There are 17 chapters in all. None of the chapters are very long. Every chapter is packed full of suggestions and resources. Most importantly, nothing reads like an Econ 101 textbook (not that there is anything wrong with that).
There is a lot about this book that I like, but the one thing that I LOVE is how she distills big ideas down into simple nuggets and surrounds them with easy to implement suggestions. It is what makes this book so AWESOME for new fundraising professionals.
As I teased earlier at the start of this blog post, I think this book is a treasure for experienced fundraising professionals in the following ways:

  • It is a fun way to “refresh” your point of view on many fundraising ideas (and there are links to resources in this book that I appreciated as a long-time fundraising professional)
  • It is a great resource to use during a new employee orientation, especially if the newbie to your development department is kinda new to the profession or nonprofit sector
  • It is a great resource to give to the volunteers serving on your organization’s resource development committee

Learn more about Mazarine Treyz
If you can’t tell, I’ve quickly become a fan of Mazarine Treyz. She is one of the more genuine people who I’ve met in my travels, and I’ve quickly become a fan. Like me, Mazarine is a blogger and you can learn a lot about her by visiting her blog and sifting through her posts. You can find her at Wild Woman Fundraising. But if you do nothing else, you should go buy a copy of this book. I promise that you won’t regret it!

Interview with Mazarine Treyz about the online Fundraising Career Conference

Yesterday, I posted a review of “Get The Job: Your Fundraising Career Empowerment Guide,” which is a book written by a very talented fundraising coach/consultant by the name of Mazarine Treyz. If the title of the book intrigues you, then you definitely want to check out my review. I suspect that after reading more, you’ll most likely be running off to Amazon to get yourself a copy.
It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows Mazarine (or gets to know her through her books) that she used her book as a foundation to build an online virtual conference called the Fundraising Career Conference. This year the online conference is on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting on April 17th. There are 10 different sessions, and Mazarine has some very awesome presenters lined up. (If you are looking for CFRE credits, then you don’t want to miss this opportunity to earn some)
The training sessions are designed to deepen your knowledge on the topics presented in the book. The ultimate outcomes for participants include:

  • Finding a new job
  • Better understand your skills gaps
  • Creating a better work environment for you and those around you
  • Identifying and achieving your career goals

And if you’re afraid that someone also logging into the conference will see your name in an attendees box and tell your boss, then fear no more because Mazarine is keeping everyone’s identities hidden.
If you aren’t yet signed up for this online conference, I urge you to click-through and check it out. After all, it isn’t just for people currently looking for a job.
In order to give you a better feel for Mazarine and what her book and conference bring to the table, I “virtually” interviewed her. You can read the transcript in the space below. Enjoy!


Q: What drives your passion to write a book and host an online conference to help people with their fundraising career aspirations?
A: I have such a passion to help fundraisers because I feel like fundraisers are my tribe.  I’ve moved on up from Development Associate, Development Assistant, Development Officer, to Development Director and now, finally, to Fundraising coach and conference organizer.
When i left my last fundraising job in 2009, I immediately began to write The Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising with everything I knew from the last 3 years of full time fundraising jobs in a one person shop.  I wanted to pass on what I knew to people because so often in our fundraising jobs we just WING IT and we aren’t set up to succeed.
Now of course, after 8 years of teaching, I have so much more to teach that I’ve written 10 e-courses and a number of webinars about various aspects of fundraising in a LOT more detail than I went into in the book.
And during my time in full time fundraising, I had the experience of bosses that really did not know what they were doing. We had the issue of the MBA boss coming from the board in my last 2 fundraising jobs, which means they may understand business, but they don’t know fundraising.
So because of this experience, it makes me feel like we have to protect fundraisers from unrealistic expectations, and help them find out if there are going to be these unrealistic expectations RIGHT IN THE INTERVIEW. So what we teach at the Fundraising Career Conference is career self empowerment. Everything from how to negotiate your salary to how to build a better relationship with your boss.
But! We also have to teach bosses what fundraising is and how to manage us better. So that’s why in 2016 I created the Nonprofit Leadership Summit, so we could speak to both sides of the aisle.
It helps people learn how to fundraise more effectively but it ALSO drives home the cost saving message that if you TRULY want your nonprofit to be efficient and effective and raise BUCKETLOADS of money, you need to treat your staff well, and help them stay.
 
Q: What is the biggest challenge you see fundraising professionals grappling with regarding their career path and advancement opportunities?
A: I tend to see two types of challenges with people. One is people who are victims of gender bias as women. They tend to be underpaid, under-appreciated, and under-resourced in their fundraising jobs. So usually they have to move to another nonprofit to make any changes to their situation.
Sometimes women who are older, who feel like no one wants to hire them because they are older women come to me and ask me what to do. They get the double whammy of age bias and gender bias combined.
And then there’s people who have had bosses who don’t understand fundraising, which leads to a whole host of problems, including no money invested in fundraising databases, or events, or marketing, or insisting that the fundraiser be at their desk when they need to be out in the community meeting people. That’s why this year at the Fundraising Career Conference we’re going to talk about how to manage up at your fundraising job, and teach your boss why you do what you do, and how they can best support you.
 
Q: The average tenure for a fundraising professional is just a couple of years according to some studies. Why do you think the development director position is such a “revolving door?”
A: The revolving door is a result of a few things. According to Penelope Burk’s Donor Centered Leadership, AND the Underdeveloped Report by the Haas Jr Fund, people leave because:

  1. They do NOT have a good relationship with their boss. That’s why this year we’re going to teach how to deliberately build trust with your boss at the online Fundraising Career Conference in April 17-21, 2017.
  2. They can get a better salary elsewhere. And this is unfortunately how it goes, instead of negotiating in their current role, they jump ship and go somewhere else. But in this fundraising career conference we’ll be teaching people how to negotiate their salary at their current organization, as well as in a new job. But we’ll also talk about what else you can get, aside from salary, to help this be your dream job.
  3. I find that when people in fundraising are supervised at all, at least in small nonprofits, we aren’t encouraged to focus on our strengths, and we are given 3-5 people’s jobs to do, and we burn out. This does happen much more often than we like to admit, and so often we see it as a personal failing that we can’t do the work of 2-3 people. But it’s not a personal failing. It’s not your fault.  This is what is known as a super job, when you have to do more than one person’s job for no extra pay. And lots of people have this problem, from hotel maids and pepsi truck drivers to nurses and doctors. So we need to work on our boundaries, and last year we went over that.

So in this 2017 Fundraising Career conference we’ll talk about how to manage up, use your strengths, and create space for deeper conversation instead of pretending the problem doesn’t exist.
 
Q: Do you have any advice for fundraising professionals who seek greater longevity and a sense of fulfillment in their current job?
A: Yes. I wrote a whole book about it, so answering this question feels like trying to fit an elephant down a plughole.
For greater longevity, read this interview with Kishshana Palmer about how to manage up in your fundraising role. This will help you be aware of what your boss does and doesn’t understand about fundraising, and hopefully help you start conversations that will make your workplace support you more.
Next, for greater longevity, you want to help your boss learn to trust you. Read this interview with Marc Pitman, as he talks about the signs that are there when there’s lack of trust, and gives you 13 tips on how to create trust with your boss.
Then, if you want a greater sense of fulfillment in your work, you need to check out the Gallup test, where they interviewed 3 million people, and found out that people have these strengths. Take the Strengthsfinder 2.0 test online. Once you find your 5 strengths based on that test, you’ll have a better idea of what you are good at in fundraising and what you should focus on. We’re always told to shore up our weaknesses, but in honesty we should focus on our strengths as much as we can, because this is where we get the juice to be a good fundraiser.
Of course, you can get the book, Get the Job, Your Fundraising Career Empowerment Guide, on my website, and you can definitely come and ask questions at the Fundraising Career Conference, because these two things together will help you get this.
 
Q: Most fundraising professionals need to become experts at “managing up” in their organizations. Do you have any tips or fun success stories on how to do so effectively?
A: Oh yes! First, you want to ask your boss, what’s your favorite communication style? And they might say, “Email” or “Texting” or “Phonecalls” so, you want to try to communicate with them most often in that manner. However, face time is still important. So,
Second, insist on meeting with your boss every week for 5 minutes on Monday. Go over your priorities for the week, explain why they are your priorities, and ask your boss if they have questions. Or, if your boss is setting your priorities, ask if there’s anything they would like you to do differently. This way you’ll be able to head off any miscommunication at the pass.
Third, if they expect you to do 2, 3, 4, or 5 people’s jobs, when you have this meeting, you can say, “OK you’ve given me 80 hours of work. Which 40 would you like me to do?” This is a way you can push back and have better boundaries at your job.
We are going to be covering how to manage up in a LOT more detail at the Fundraising Career Conference, with a session on how to do this with Kishshana Palmer. I’m really looking forward to this, people are going to learn so much! (Myself included)
 
Q: What is your favorite story you like to tell others about your book “Get The Job! Your Fundraising Career Empowerment Guide” (either in writing the book or anything associated with the book)
A: I like to tell people that the reason I wrote this book is because I GOT MAD.
I got mad when I saw good fundraisers raising a lot of money and being treated like garbage.
I looked at them being thrown out for systemic problems, not because they didn’t know what they were doing.
I was outraged when I witnessed people being fired for no reason other than their boss got a wild hair. This led me to research workplace bullying, and help people understand it.
It upset me when I saw bosses stealing large sums of money, and lying and cheating their staff out of the wages they were supposed to have from a government contract.
I heard about friends going to interview and being offered $10/hour and having the interviewer laugh and say “ha ha we all wish we could make more! You just have to believe in the mission!!” and that made me even more upset.
Probably the most egregious thing was when I talked with a government leader at the Portland Development Commission, who was in charge of facilitating better relations with the largest apparel and technology companies in our state (Nike, Adidas, Intel, etc).
I asked him, “Why don’t you focus on nonprofits?” And he said, “Because nonprofits bring the median income of a region down.”
And that, right there, is when I knew that I needed to agitate for worker rights, and for helping fundraisers and all nonprofit staff demand a higher salary, better working conditions, no super jobs, a pension and retirement fund, better healthcare, and just decent work.
Why should we be punished with bad wages, no real healthcare, and no way to retire, just because we wanted to make the world a better place?
HOW can nonprofits say they want to create a better world when they actively make it worse for their employees? It’s the height of hypocrisy.
I wrote my Get the Job book in 2013, but it wasn’t enough for me. I wrote a research report called Shafted in 2014, but that wasn’t enough either.
So in 2015 I started the online Fundraising Career Conference and in 2016 I started the online Nonprofit Leadership Summit, and it’s my goal to have as many people as possible take part in these events, so that we can start a larger conversation around decent work in this country. They’re already having the conversation in Toronto with the Ontario Nonprofit Network in Canada. We’re lagging behind here and we’ve got to get caught up.
 
Q: I see that this is the third year you’ve hosted the Fundraising Career Conference. What new and exciting things can participants look forward to this year?
A: Yes! I’m so psyched about this year because we’re going deeper into how to create a better relationship with your current or future boss.
Now, if you’re any good in fundraising at all, you will have been fired, because to be a good fundraiser you have to be able to say no. And so you probably have had a boss who, to put it mildly, has NOT been able to support you in the best way in your work.
Well, this year we’ll have a session from Marc Pitman about how to build trust with your boss, deliberately, which I’m looking forward to very much.
We’ll have a session with Pearl Waldorf, a therapist, who is going to be talking about how to create space for authentic communication at work, and how to assess your boss to see how to communicate with them.
We’ll have a session from Peter Drury all about how to be a better mentor and manager.
We’ll have a session from Kishshana Palmer on how to manage up,
And we’ll have a session for new consultants on how to be a better consultant, how to market your business starting out, and more.
There are so many good sessions that are new and exciting this year, it’s hard to not list them all. But these sessions are the ones that I think signify the integration theme of this year, where it’s not adversarial against your boss, and we’re not focused on healing. Rather, we’re focusing on how you are like your boss, and how your boss is like you. We’re encouraging people to step up and be leaders in their organizations, no matter what their titles are, and that, I think, is a true step towards self empowerment in your career.
 
Q: Unlike in-person conferences, the Fundraising Career Conference is online. What inspired you to develop and offer a virtual conference? And for those who have never participated in an online conference, what should they know and do you have any tips for them?
A: Here’s the deal.  I’m a millennial. Millennials are lazy! That’s why you can attend this conference in your pajamas. Just kidding. Millennials have no money. Because we’re in late stage capitalism. And on top of that, many nonprofit people are underpaid.  That is why you can attend this conference without having to go on an airplane and buy a taxi ride and eat crappy airport food and stuff like that. I wanted it to be available to anyone who wanted to go.
At an online conference, the nice thing is, you can sit at your desk at work (or in a coffeeshop somewhere) and attend this conference. Then you can go back to doing your work.
And if you have to miss some sessions, we’re recording everything for you, so you can go back and watch it later. And we have a phone number to listen in as well. So whether you choose to connect on the phone or on your computer, you’ll have  a way to be involved. We also have a questions pane where people can enter questions during the sessions each day, so everyone will have a chance to have their questions answered.
This is one of my favorite things, being able to answer questions during and after each session, and pass questions on to the presenters, who have also graciously volunteered to answer questions after the conference is over.
Learn more about Mazarine Treyz
If you can’t tell, I’ve quickly become a fan of Mazarine Treyz. She is one of the more genuine people who I’ve met in my travels, and I’ve quickly become a fan. Like me, Mazarine is a blogger and you can learn a lot about her by visiting her blog and sifting through her posts. You can find her at Wild Woman Fundraising. But if you do nothing else, you should go buy a copy of this book. I promise that you won’t regret it!

One book that every non-profit professional should own

A few weeks ago, I was at Bloomerang’s Bloomcon conference in Orlando, FL when an energetic fundraising coach/consultant walked up and introduced herself. Her name was Mazarine Treyz. Much was discussed and at the end of the day I walked away with two of her books.
As the weeks have passed, I’ve rapidly consumed Mazarine’s written thoughts on resource development and charting a career path in fundraising. To say that I’m impressed would be an understatement.
This week’s three blog posts will focus on Mazarine’s two books and an virtual online conference she is hosting.


If you don’t own a copy of “Get The Job: Your Fundraising Career Empowerment Guide,” then I strongly suggest clicking over to Amazon and purchasing a copy of this book.
As I read this book, it dawned on me that everyone can benefit from Mazarine’s work:

  • Individuals looking to break into the fundraising field
  • Fundraising professionals looking to find work-life balance and fulfillment
  • Employees looking to “manage up
  • Executive directors and board volunteers currently in a search process

To those who are interviewing
Mazarine breaks it down for you with practical and pointed advice on:

  • Writing your cover letter and resume
  • Interviewing
  • Negotiating your salary and benefits

In these initial chapters, I really liked what she wrote about anticipating certain tricky interview questions and how to respond. One such question she tackles is, “Why do you want this job? How does this fit into your plans for life?” Sure this question seems simple, but as someone who has been tripped up by it, I really wish I would’ve read this book first.
What I liked even more than the chapter on interview questions was the section addressing what types of questions you should be asking of your interviewers at the end of the interview. Here are just a few gems:

  • How much was raised last year, and how much would I be expected to raise in the first year?
  • How many times has this position been filled in the last four years?
  • What are some difficult decisions that need to be made? Staff cuts? Budgets? Funding cuts?

For the person currently looking for a position in fundraising, this book is pure GOLD!
To those searching for balance and success
Mazarine starts from Day One with a chapter on what your first 90-days should look like. She provides tips on how to be a better fundraising professional; how to manage your career path; and how to focus your efforts and balance competing demands on your time.
Perhaps, some of the best stuff in the book for individuals currently holding down a fundraising job are case studies (e.g. interviews with other successful non-profit professionals). There is more wisdom shared in that chapter than I can possibly describe.
Managing Up
Mazarine hits the nail on the head when she describes the day-and-the-life of a typical fundraising professional in a one-person development shop. In approximately 10-pages, she covers lots of ground including:

  • Organizational culture
  • Managing your boss (aka the executive director)
  • Assessing what type of boss your work for

There are many things that go into making a top notch fundraising professional, but one thing I see in almost every single one is their ability to “manage up.” Lots has been written on this subject, but Mazarine digests it down very nicely.
Are you hiring?
If you are an executive director or board volunteer currently in the middle of a search process, Mazarine’s book can act like a mirror. It can help you better understand the candidates with whom you are meeting. It can help you craft better interview questions and anticipate what good candidates will say in response to those questions. It will help you know what questions those interviewees may ask of you.
It may even make you a better employer.
Learn more about Mazarine Treyz
If you can’t tell, I’ve quickly become a fan of Mazarine Treyz. She is one of the more genuine people who I’ve met in my travels, and I’ve quickly become a fan. Like me, Mazarine is a blogger and you can learn a lot about her by visiting her blog and sifting through her posts. You can find her at Wild Woman Fundraising. But if you do nothing else, you should go buy a copy of this book. I promise that you won’t regret it!

Are we starting to see year-end solicitation letters v2.0?

direct mail3A few years ago I noticed some of the letters being sent to me by non-profit organizations were getting less wordy. In fact, these next generation donor communications pieces were mostly featuring a big photograph of someone/something that was supposedly mission-focused.
At first, I really didn’t like this new approach to donor communications. Don’t get me wrong . . . I disliked the blah-blah-blah letters. Like most readers, I would read the old solicitation letters like this:

  • Salutation (e.g. did they spell my name right?)
  • First few sentences (e.g. how much do they want and what’s the case for support this time?)
  • Skip to the signature (e.g. do I know the person who signed the letter?)
  • Post script (e.g. don’t know why, but I always read the P.S.)
  • If this five second review hooks me, then I’ll go back to the beginning and start skimming (honestly probably paying more attention to bullets, highlighted text and anything in bold/italics)

It was even worse with gift acknowledgement letters, which I would read like this:

  • Salutation (e.g. did they spell my name right?)
  • Did they get my pledge or gift amount right? (e.g. this is for the IRS and I can’t afford an error)
  • Is there a personal notation on the letter (e.g. did my gift merit a little love or was this just a transaction?)
  • Is the boilerplate IRS verbiage about the value of any goods or services being received by me from the non-profit as part of my contribution correctly listed (e.g. as I said earlier . . . I don’t wanna tangle with the IRS)

The first few times I received what I am describing as “next generation donor communication pieces,” I simply didn’t like it because it represented change. It threw me off my reading routine, which is silly reason to dislike something. Right?
However, the first time one of these letters was used to acknowledge my contribution by a local non-profit organization, I was upset for a few reasons:

  • In their haste to use as few words as possible, they got wrong the boilerplate IRS verbiage about the value of any goods or services being received (this was a technical error)
  • I felt slighted because it was as if “my gift didn’t even rise to the level of deserving a handful of kind words” (by the way, the letter couldn’t have been more than three or four sentences with a giant cute picture of a client)

And then . . . I changed my mind after recently receiving the following year-end solicitation letter from my alma mater
uofi-yearend-letter


Three short paragraphs. One large picture. Lots of wonky ways to give my money.
Here is what appealed to me and changed my mind about this style of donor communications:

  1. The picture took me back to my college years. I know exactly where those four students are standing. I’ve stood there before. I suspect that I felt that same way they appear to be feeling. This picture created an immediate emotional connection for me in a way that words never have.
  2. The logo at the top of the letter also created an immediate emotional connection. It is a picture of the iconic Alma Mater statue. For many students, this artwork at the entrance to the Quad symbolizes many things (e.g. a sense of welcoming, nurturing, school pride, etc). Many students have fond memories attached to this statue.
  3. The shortened fundraising verbiage cut to the bottom line and the three most important things to me and most other donors: a) the university is grateful for my last contribution; b) my gift made a difference in the life of a student; and c) they want me to continue my support. All three of these messages are emotional in natural (e.g. they love me, they flatter me, they want me back).
  4. The multitude of choices is appealing (e.g. cash, credit, EFT/ACH, monthly giving options, gift restriction options). This makes me feel “in charge” and not like I’m giving money to a large, faceless organization that is going to do whatever it pleases with my financial contribution. Again, another emotional message (e.g. providing choice implies trust and respect in our society)

I’ve been a fan of Tom Ahern for years. I think he is one of the smartest donor communications experts in the field. In his videos and e-newsletters he often takes about the the six most powerful emotional triggers that marketers use to get people to do “something” like purchase a product, vote for a candidate, make a charitable contribution, etc.
Just in case you’re wondering, here are those six emotional triggers:

  • anger
  • exclusivity
  • fear
  • flattery
  • greed
  • guilt

Tom also talks about the 13 strongest words used by marketing professionals. Here is a list of those words:

  • discovery
  • results
  • proven
  • early
  • safety
  • free
  • save
  • guarantee
  • new
  • money
  • health
  • YOU

I love Tom, but I do cheat on him from time-to-time by reading other donor communications and direct mail experts like Mal Warwick.   😉
The following are five positive triggers that marketers use to emotionally move us to do something:

  • hope
  • love
  • compassion
  • duty
  • faith

As you review these lists of emotional triggers and powerful words offered by some of the smartest thought-leaders on this topic, can you identify which trigger the University of Illinois wove throughout its letter? Can you see how they did it? If you look really hard, you’ll be surprised at how much more is actually going on in this very short and powerful letter.
Please use the comment box to share your thoughts and observations. We can all learn from each other.
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

How you can stop the vicious cycle of trading donations with your friends

reciprocity2Just the other day, I found myself in a boardroom facilitating a training on how to make a textbook-perfect, face-to-face solicitation. Discussion topics focused on all the usual suspects including fears, begging, best practices for getting on someone’s calendar, the 12-step process for making the actual ask, etc etc etc. However, at the end of the training and facilitated discussion, one board volunteer asked the following question:

If you ask friends to contribute to this organization, then how can you stop them from coming back and asking for reciprocity for their favorite charities?

I get this question all of the time, but I’ve never blogged about it. So, I thought I’d tackle this issue today by providing a few simple solicitation tips/tricks/suggestions that I’ve seen work.
Stop worrying about it!!!!
Does “quid pro quo solicitation” occur? Sure it does. Does it happen often? Well, it depends on how you solicit other people. However, it doesn’t happen nearly as often as you think it does. This is a classic example of how fear manifests itself and makes things seem bigger than what they actually are.
I titled this section “Stop worrying about it” because control is an illusion. There is nothing you can do that will stop your friends from doing anything in this world, which includes asking you to make a pledge, buy some cookies or volunteer a little time.
This is a mindset issue, which is why I encourage you to start with changing how you look at this.
Of course, there are other things you can do to minimize how often you get asked for charitable reciprocity. So, please keep reading . . .
Stop asking for “favors”
reciprocityOver the years, I’ve heard volunteers say all of the following things when trying to fundraise:

  • Hey, I need a favor. Can you find some time in your busy calendar to sit down with me to talk about [insert name of organization and their fundraising activity]
  • Thanks for agreeing to sit down with me. You know I wouldn’t be here asking for a contribution if I wasn’t an expectation for board members to do fundraising. I would consider it a favor if you’d make a pledge to support [insert name of organization and their fundraising activity]. Anything you can do would be appreciated.”
  • Do you remember the time when you asked me to make a pledge to [insert name of organization and their fundraising activity]? I need to call in that favor because I’m raising money for [insert name of organization and their fundraising activity].”

If you stop asking for “favors” during the solicitation process, the number of “return favor” requests will go down. It really is that simple.
Don’t beg for money. Frame your ask as a social investment in the community.
Make your passions known
When soliciting friends to make a contribution to your favorite non-profit organization, make sure to share your commitment and passion right before making the official ask for support. It might sound something like this:

  • As you know, my non-profit passions are 100% all about [insert name of organization and their fundraising activity], which is why much of our household’s charitable giving is dedicated to this organization. I wouldn’t be asking for your consideration today if I wasn’t all in.”
  • I believe so strongly in [insert name of organization and their fundraising activity] that this is only one of a very small number of charities we support and focus our philanthropy on. We wouldn’t be asking other people to invest if it wasn’t something we believed strongly in.

Sharing your commitment during the solicitation call does two important things from a psychological perspective:

  1. It is a reminder to yourself that you’re personally invested and not begging for money and definitely not asking for favors
  2. It is a direct message to the person you’re soliciting that your philanthropic priorities are set, which is a subtle message about what you may or may not consider in the future if they choose to solicit you on behalf of other charities

Be prepared to say NO
Saying NO is a difficult thing for most people. It usually comes with a number of fears. However, if you are afraid of friends coming back to you to leverage their contribution to your favorite organization for your contribution to their favorite organization, then you need to start practicing the art of saying NO.
Of course, the challenge is saying NO the right way.
The following are key messages you’ll deliver during that quid pro quo solicitation call with your friend:

  • You’ll remind them of what you said during your solicitation visit with them about your philanthropic portfolio (e.g. priorities, preferences and household charitable giving budget)
  • You’ll remind them that you asked them to support your charity of choice because you felt like it was a good fit with their philanthropic passions.
  • You’ll gently tell them that you didn’t ask them for “a favor,” but rather offered them an opportunity to invest in a great organization with a great mission and community impact.
  • You’ll appreciate them for their passion for their organization. You’ll ask them to share their stories and ask questions along the way.
  • If you end up saying NO to a financial contribution to your friend’s charity of choice, hopefully you’re willing/able to engage in a brainstorming session about who else in your shared social circle might be willing to consider involvement or financial contribution.

Saying NO involves an explanation, compassion, and gentleness; but it isn’t as hard as you think. While this might sound silly, I suggest practicing this conversation in the mirror or in your head in order to become comfortable. If you need more advice on saying NO, I suggest clicking through to Alexandra Franzen’s blog post — How to Say No to Anyone (Even a Good Friend).
Have you had experience with charitable reciprocity and your friends? How have you dealt with it? Please us the comment box to share your experiences, thoughts and practices. We can all learn from each other.
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

Working with fundraising-phobic non-profit boards

boards on fireOrganizational culture is a difficult dynamic to change. After all, birds of a feather flock together, right? It is for this reason that simply changing the people sitting around your boardroom table is likely a very difficult strategy to employ (albeit not impossible or wrong). While this strategy is the most commonly suggested one by non-profit consultants, I recently found comfort and inspiration from Susan Howlett’s book Boards on Fire! Inspiring Leaders to Raise Money Joyfully.
In Howlett’s easy to read paperback book, she recounts a story about working with a board that was resistant to fundraising. After trying everything, she simply asked everyone if they would be willing to call two of their friends and engage in a discussion about:

  • why they decided to serve on the organization’s board of directors
  • what the organization’s mission is and what it does
  • a recent organizational success story

At the end of the phone call or coffee meeting, board members were coached to ask their friend if they would mind receiving periodic updates (e.g. email, phone call or in-person visit) about what is going on.
If the board volunteer’s friend was agreeable, then in the subsequent months board volunteers were provided the following shareable things:

  • short emails with snippets of good news or links to online articles about the organization
  • requests to do something on behalf of the organization (e.g. call legislators or city council representatives)
  • invitations to attend something (e.g. facility tour, reception, etc)

In the end, Howlett’s strategy changed board culture and resulted in what she describes as a “board on fire.”
If you couldn’t tell, I highly recommend adding this book to your summer reading list. I suspect it will be a game changer for you if you’re grappling with the question of “how to inspire and engage your board in fundraising success?
After reading this joyful little book, I was reminded of the following basic truisms:

  • fundraising is a learned skill and not something people are born to do
  • engagement (e.g. cultivation) is important to fundraising volunteers because when it comes time to asking for money it feels like the pre-solicitation groundwork has been laid (e.g. they’ve earned the right to ask for money)
  • cultivation doesn’t happen without significant staff support (e.g. feeding volunteers materials to share, organizing informational house parties, etc)

look in mirrorIf your board is resistant to the idea of fundraising, I encourage you to first take a good hard look in the mirror and ask yourself the following questions:

  • What boardroom trainings and generative discussions have you helped add to the board meeting agenda and support?
  • What cultivation materials have you provided to board volunteers with instructions on how to share with others? (e.g. stories, videos, articles, advocacy opportunities, newsletters, annual reports, etc)
  • What cultivation events have you organized? (e.g. lunch-n-learns, facility tours, house parties, etc)
  • What individualized coaching have you done with especially resistant board volunteers? (e.g. teaching others how to tell better stories)
  • How many cultivation visits have you gone with board volunteers on to model effective storytelling and information sharing? (e.g. modeling for others how to tell better stories)

I know it might be a bitter pill to swallow, but the reason your board might not be excited about fundraising could be because you aren’t excited about it or you aren’t supporting them effectively.
If you have done these things, you might want to ask yourself a different question, “How could I tweak these strategies to make them more effective?
Have you had success in changing your boardroom culture around the idea of fundraising? If so, what strategies did you employ to create a “board on fire?” Please use the comment box to share your thoughts and experiences. We can all learn from each other.
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 time to eliminate the charitable giving tax deduction?

tax deductionLet’s face it. Our government is broke. We The People have accumulated almost $20 trillion in debt. As government leaders wrestle with this issue, the non-profit sector continues to rally from time-to-time insisting every other sacred cow in the tax code should be scrutinized except for our own. Putting aside the fairness and hypocrisy questions, I’m left wondering: 1) why do we cling to this entitlement so strongly, 2) what is the real effect of this tax policy on our sector and 3) what would really happen if lost this tax status?
Why do we cling?
In my opinion, I think the non-profit sector is afraid of change. It might be as simple as this.
The reason I come to this conclusion is that I cannot find any compelling research-based evidence that clearly proves that giving taxpayers a deduction for their charitable giving has any significant effect on whether or not your organization receives support.
How I did come to this conclusion? There are many stories in the Wall Street Journal, Nonprofit Quarterly and Stanford Social Innovation Review that speak to this issue. While there are opinions on both sides of this debate, the following facts remain:

  • More than half of the deductions being taken for charitable giving comes from a very small percentage of taxpayers (some say this gives taxbreaks to people who don’t really need them)
  • Taxpayers who don’t itemize their taxes (a very large number of people) still donate to charities
  • Review of the history books demonstrate, despite tax code tweaks and changes, charitable giving has remained constant at around two percent of GDP
  • Eliminating this tax deduction amounts to $51 billion more dollars in tax revenue

These are simply facts. (Note: many people come to very different conclusions around these facts)
However, when I set aside the facts and look back over my 20-years of non-profit and fundraising work experience, I can only recall ONE PERSON who was strongly motivated to make a charitable contribution because of the tax code. And for those of you are wondering, “Was that donor and accountant?” the answer is “Of course, he was.
calculateI don’t want to muddle this point. So, let me be clear. I’ve spoke with many donors (both large and small) who mention the word “tax deduction.” It is usually in reference to needing documentation for their accountant. Only one donor actually pushed the pencil and said he needed to make a donation of a certain size to minimize the amount of tax he would pay to Uncle Sam.
Based on the facts and my experience, here are the opinions I hold:

  • Donors who take advantage of the tax deduction do so because it is available to them
  • Many donors don’t determine how much they plan on giving to you because of the deductions (of course, there are exceptions and most are probably related to estate planning and in some instances NAP credits in certain states)
  • Donors don’t decide if they will donate to you because of the tax deduction (I believe they donate to you because they support your mission and the people closest to your mission)
  • No one really knows if charitable giving will go down (or go up) if the tax deduction is eliminated (and anyone who claims to know probably thinks they know who will win the next election or what next year’s crop yields will be)

So, based on facts and opinions, I can only conclude our sector’s resistance to eliminating the charitable giving tax deduction is largely based on the fear of an unknowable future.
What is the real effect of this tax policy?
Again, this is hard to quantify and know for certain, but the following are a few guesses:

  • It helps push a large quantity of charitable giving from individuals into the fourth quarter of the calendar year (because fundraising messages focus on “giving before the December 31st deadline”)
  • It can muddle case for support messaging (e.g. instead of focusing exclusively on community needs and your organization’s solutions/programs language about taxes and non-mission focused based rationale creeps into the discussion)
  • It can hamstring non-profit organizations from engaging in robust lobbying and public policy efforts on behalf of your organization and clients (e.g. IRS rule about public charities only being allowed to engage in a limited amount of legislative lobbying or risk losing their non-profit tax status)

What if the deduction disappeared?
carnacI am not a fortune teller. I cannot predict the impact of such a policy change. However, I can confidently say a few obvious things:

  1. Eliminating the charitable giving tax deduction would be a “market disruptor” and result in change
  2. Recent disruptions in other sectors has produced winners and losers
  3. Market disruptions oftentimes results in innovation
  4. Non-profit organizations who are unskilled or simply bad at basic fundraising best practices such as developing a compelling case for support will most likely struggle until they adapt, innovate or go out of business
  5. Non-profit organizations who are donor-centered, relationship-builders, collaborative, innovative and good at fundraising basics (e.g. case for support, prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, donor stewardship, etc) will likely survive and quite possibly thrive

I suspect many readers have strong opinions on this subject, and you’re invited to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below. I’m also curious what, if any, market disruptions you might be able to think of (e.g. if you could hit the reset button for our sector) that would spur change, innovation and growth. Please feel free to weigh-in with those thoughts, too.
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