With a little help from my friends

It is a common occurrence in my life for a non-profit organization to call and want The Healthy Non-Profit (aka me) to fix their problems. Of course, these problems run the spectrum:

  • Revenue issues (e.g. our revenue model isn’t working, our fundraising campaign is in decline, etc)
  • Board engagement issues
  • Staff issues
  • Org culture issues
  • Systems issues (e.g. donor database, etc)
  • Facilities issues (e.g. expansion of space)

Sometimes, I am happy to jump in with both feet and get to work. However, before starting to frame/contract the engagement (and depending on the issue), I oftentimes will ask:

“What have you done so far to address the issue?”

What I am looking for is an answer that aligns with Joe Cocker’s classic rock-n-roll song “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
In other words, has your organization reached out to others in your community to ask for help/advice? Friends such as:

  • United Way
  • Community Foundation
  • Donors
  • Other non-profit executive directors
  • Board members
  • Former board members

Supporters of your organization can and should be seen as much more than just ATMs. In addition to contributors, it is wise to ask supporters during challenging times for:

  • Time
  • Advice
  • Influence (aka door openers)

Your organization is part of a larger ecosystem full of talented individuals and other organizations. Accessing those resources is a healthy first step before doing anything else.
Think of it in terms of your personal life. How many times have you personally ended up in a difficult place and reached out to family and friends for advice or help? I can think of a number of examples in my life.
Please don’t misunderstand me.
I recognize that during difficult times, it feels appropriate to pull-up the draw bridge of our organizational castle and not let people who support us (either with time or money) see our struggles. However, the reality is that people close to us typically can see things for what they are even if we are trying to shield them from those issues.
While “full disclosure” and letting the entire world see the “sausage making process” might not be in your best interest all of the time, you might not have to go that far. After all, you are in control of what you share and how much you share. Right?
Have you ever pulled together a task force of supporters to brainstorm solutions to challenges your organization was facing? If so, please use the comment box below to share you experience. How did you frame the issue(s)? What was the result? What would you have done differently in hindsight? 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

What will Trump's impact be on the non-profit sector?

I’ve been struggling with how to blog about President Trump and his administration, which isn’t even through its first 100 days in office (even though it feels like it has been a lot longer on some days). I literally had a blog post queued up to go live the week after the election, but I unscheduled it because it just didn’t feel right. In fact, when I came across that old draft post this morning, I opened it up, re-read it and promptly deleted all of it. I’m starting over and sharing my newer, evolved thoughts with you this morning. Please let me know what you think by using the comment box below. Thanks!


Lots has been said about President Trump and how his administration will impact the non-profit sector. The thing that strikes me as funny is that if you go back to those speculative news articles and online stories that started popping up in November and follow them through to current day, everyone seems to be right and at the same time wrong.
Here are a few of my favorites:

Perhaps, the best post I read immediately after the election was written by Dan Mollsen at American City Bureau (one of the oldest fundraising consulting firms in the country). He wrote the following:

Come 12:00 p.m. January 20, 2017 we will have a new President. I’ve been reading quite a bit about the ramifications of a Trump Presidency and a Republican-controlled congress on nonprofits. There appear to be three main concerns for nonprofits:

  1. Tax overhauls that would jeopardize tax breaks that encourage giving – he campaigned on capping all write-offs at $100,000 for single people and $200,00 for married – but there are powerful congressional leaders who won’t agree.
  2. Federal budget cuts to social service agencies – promotes cuts totaling $1.2 trillion over 10 years. There will be cuts, but the depth is unknown. Most agree that Obamacare will be cut back, as will funding for civil rights, environmental protection and social welfare.
  3. Increased scrutiny and pressure on foundations to fill the voids created by those budget cuts.

Key your eyes on the major economic factors with the strongest relationship to individual charitable giving:

  1. Income levels
  2. Wealth/net worth
  3. Tax policies
  4. The S&P 500 (this is the strongest predictor of giving)

Truer words could not have been spoken in my opinion.
A wise person once told me when I was a college student studying planning that when the current state is chaotic, it is difficult to craft a vision or do much planning, but it isn’t impossible if you choose the right planning model. (For some reason, I’m stuck trying to figure out how to turn this into something that sounds like it came from Star Wars’ Master Yoda. LOL)
I think the reason why I have struggled with writing this blog post for so long about non-profits and Trump is because I felt compelled to write about how the next four years were going to be a disaster (and there is a compelling argument to be made) BUT my non-profit soul was conflicted and screaming:

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

Shocked? Wanna argue with me?  Awesome … please take that energy to the comment box below. If you are curious as to why I might hold this opinion, then I encourage you to stay tuned to tomorrow’s post. I’ll share a few thoughts as to why my intuition is telling me something very different than what many other experts seem to be saying.  😉
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

Want to know what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving?

thanksgiving2013A few weeks ago I was reading my friend Jay Love’s Bloomerang blog post titled “Donor Advised Funds: A Wake Up Call For Fundraisers,” and it was at that moment I knew exactly what this Thanksgiving’s “big thing I’m grateful for” would be. Towards the end of Jay’s post, he starts gushing about Vauhini Vara’s New Yorker article “The Wealth Gap in Philanthropy” on October 27, 2016.
Seriously gushing . . . Jay included THREE pullout quotes from Vara’s excellent piece.
It was the last of the three pullout quotes that left me feeling thankful for the non-profit sector and grateful to people like you (DonorDreams’ readership which is composed of nonprofit professionals, board members, volunteers, donors, and other consultants).
Here is that quote that I’m hanging my hat on this Thanksgiving:

He said that philanthropy is only partly about raising funds—what’s more important, he said, is its capacity to mobilize communities around important issues. He pointed to the role of nonprofits, and the individuals involved with them, in changing societal perceptions about issues like civil rights, the role of girls in sports, and drunk driving. “Real social change happens when millions of people get involved, average donors get involved, and work collectively on big issues,” he said.”

Thanks to all of you for what you do. Happy Thanksgiving!
(And I think I want to add a second “big thing foe which I’m grateful” . . . the Chicago Cubs finally winning the World Series. WooHoo!)
With lots of gratitude . . . 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

When you have to say "I'm sorry" to donors, volunteers or anyone

sorryLet me start by being transparent. The idea for this post grew out of the fact that I haven’t posted a new blog for a few weeks.
I recognize there are many readers and subscribers to this blog who enjoy reading my musings. I know this because of how many people tell me they keep an eye on this space and thank me for putting time into sharing my experiences, thoughts and best practices. You’ve shared this with me at conferences, while visiting my exhibitor booth, during conference calls and site visits, and even in kind emails and handwritten notes. Please know that I appreciate your gratitude. It is what has kept this little blog going for more than five years. Really!
So, when my work and travel schedule get a little hairy and I let my blogging slip, I feel a little guilty and know the right thing to do is apologize. So . . .

I’m sorry for becoming undisciplined and distracted when it comes to keeping up with writing for the DonorDreams audience. This was wrong because I made a commitment to keeping this site current with content, and over-promising and under-delivering is never acceptable. In the future, I will do a better job of juggling my commitments or finding guest bloggers to fill-in for me. Will you forgive me?

The truth is that none of us are perfect, and all of us have had to apologize for things throughout the years. However, I believe non-profit professionals are more carefully scrutinized because we work with other people’s money.
In my experience, I think I did more apologizing than any other time in my life when I was an executive director working on the front line. Sometimes, those apologies were because I goofed up in major ways. (Let’s face it. We’ve all been there. Right?) And other times, the mistakes were small but magnified by circumstances, egos and the simple fact the buck stops with you.
So, if you’re going to pursue a career in non-profit work, I suggest you learn how to apologize in a heartfelt and sincere manner.
Since I’ve had to do so much apologizing in my 20-year non-profit career, I think I might have some credibility on this subject and thought I’d share a few tips that have worked for me.
Channel Brenda Lee
In the 1960s, Brenda Lee recorded the song “I’m Sorry” and it climbed the record charts. If you can’t recall her catchy lyrics, then click on the YouTube graphic below to jog your memory.
brenda-lee-im-sorry
I’ve always found it helpful to dig this song out of my long term memory and start humming it while I contemplate what I’m really truly sorry for. I don’t know why it helps. It just does. Maybe it puts me in a humble and reflective mood.
Tell them why you’re sorry
I believe it is important for volunteers and donors (and anyone else you’ve wronged) to hear you say the words “I’m sorry” followed by exactly what you are sorry for.
In my experience, apologies are more likely accepted when the person you’re apologizing to can see/hear that you understand why you are apologizing. Failing to do this has oftentimes escalated the conflict because the person I was apologizing to thought I was just trying to move past the situation.
In recent year’s, I’ve even found there is another step beyond apologizing and naming the offense. If you are able to demonstrate why the offense was something needing an apology, then you are well on your way to having your apology accepted.
And after all, isn’t that really what this is all about?
Avoid the pitfall of explanation
Ugh! This is hard for me, and I fail at it more often than I succeed. (I just did it again the other day and wanted to kick myself)
There are always reasons for what went wrong. However, listing off those reasons sounds like excuse making, which is akin to throwing gasoline on a burning fire.
One thing that helps me avoid this is simply jotting down the four or five things I want to say on a piece of paper. I’m not talking about writing a speech. Just a few short bullet points to help keep me focused. It works great if you’re apologizing on a phone call. When doing so in-person, it can look and feel awkward, but you can work through that by telling the person that you made a few notes because you didn’t want to goof up what needed to be said.
Make the ask
If you are a good non-profit professional, you know there is nothing worse than the “non-ask ask.” What I mean by this is when you make your case and then imply you’d like the donor or volunteer to do something. If I had a nickle for every time I’ve seen a rookie fundraising volunteer or professional forget to ask for the money, I’d be a wealthy man.
Well, the same is true when it comes to apologies.
Verbalize what you want from the person to whom you’re apologizing . Simply ask “Will you please forgive me?” or “Is this something we can get past?
You better get used to this
Let’s face me. Leadership is hard and good leaders make tough decisions. On top of all this, everyone makes mistakes. And even if it isn’t a mistake, edgy difficult decisions can result in hurt feelings and bruised egos.
It comes with the territory. And so does learning how to becoming an expert apologizer.
Do you have additional tips to share from your experiences? If so, please do so in the comment box located below. We can all learn from each other!
My promise to DonorDreams readers
The next few months are going to be very busy for me. While posting two and three times a week might not be possible, I will make it a priority to get something new up every week (probably on Wednesdays). And in weeks when I can do two and three posts, I will definitely do that. I promise! I hope you can forgive me.
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

Nonprofit community in spotlight after mass shooting in Orlando

I really hate writing about national tragedies. I sometime worry that all of this media attention (e.g. television, radio, blogosphere) simply rewards sick people who seek this exact type of attention (e.g. their 15-minutes of fame). In spite of this belief, I’ve had a few epiphanies this week as I mourn the events of Orlando with my LGBTQ friends and all of my fellow Americans, and I really want to share. So, please forgive my hypocrisy for the next few minutes.
Realization #1: Lots of blame to go around
blameAs I’ve attempted to process this most recent horrific shooting, I couldn’t help but watch the news. In doing so, I’ve heard so many different people and groups stand-up to condemn what they believe is the root cause of this catastrophe. Interestingly, there are many different groups who cannot seem to agree on what the driving force was behind the Orlando massacre.
After days of listening to others and trying to make sense of it all, here are all of the things I’ve been told by others to blame:

  • Lack of gun control
  • Mental illness
  • Terrorists
  • Republicans
  • Democrats
  • Voters
  • Homophobia (externalized and perhaps even internalized homophobia)

After almost a week of watching news reports and television shows, I’ve come to two conclusions:

  1. I need to stop watching TV because anyone with an opinion seems to be getting a chance to voice it
  2. There are likely many different reasons why this gunman did what he did

Realization #2: Homophobia in all forms is harmful
homophobiaTwo weeks ago, I wrote a blog post titled “Time to address homophobia in the non-profit sector?” I focused on my experiences over the last two decades as a member of the LGBTQ community trying to work in the non-profit sector. Most importantly, I tried to talk about my internalized homophobia and reactions to institutional homophobia and just homophobia in general.
My internalized homophobia has caused me to:

  • quit jobs
  • lie to friends, colleagues and clients
  • impose upon those who I love (e.g. my husband)
  • engage in self-destructive behavior (e.g. overeating, etc)

To bottom line this realization, HATE is one of the most powerful and motivating emotions known to humankind. I suspect that where there is HATE (regardless of whether it is homophobia, racism, sexism, misogyny, etc) there will always be a high likelihood of violence.
Realization #3: Non-profits bear responsibility for this mess and will also be the solution
nraI’m sure many of you probably think I’ve lost my mind. After all, what rationale could I possibly come up with that would allow me to blame non-profit organizations for this mess and charge them with fixing it?
Please join me in reviewing the list of non-profit organizations that I heard/read mentioned in news coverage this last week:

I’m willing to bet if I tried a little harder that I could double this list. All of these groups are non-profit organizations. Some of these organizations have been blamed for the problem, and others are rushing in to help address it.
nonprofit2However, I want to take this point one step further with the following random non-profit thoughts as they pertain to solving our country’s mass shooting crisis:

  • I’m interested to see how the NRA reacts to the legislative push to outlaw people on the terror watch list from being able to legally purchase guns
  • I’m interested to see how after-school programs will embrace diversity programming to help kids appreciate our differences rather than hate and bully
  • I’m interested to see how churches rally and Muslim mosques rally their congregations in the name of love (and likewise which ones will embrace hate)
  • I’m interested to see how mental health non-profits addressing the issue of gun rights and the rights of their clients in addition to looking at homophobia differently
  • I’m interested to watch the Democratic Party and the Republican Party try to spin the Orlando shooting into political gain in November
  • I’m interested to see if organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations can stop anti-Muslim legislation and help foster a healthy interfaith dialog
  • When will organizations like the Boy Scouts of America finally stop teaching kids that gay people can’t be trusted to be leaders because their values are different (thus helping create another generation of gay scouts who struggle with internalized homophobia and straight scouts who look down upon LGBTQ individuals)

So, what do you think now? Lots of “non-profit stuff” going on when it comes to the Orlando shooting, right? Please use the comment box to share your thoughts, experiences and concerns. Nothing is off limits. All I ask is that you keep it civil.
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

Time to address homophobia in the non-profit sector?

I apologize to the DonorDreams community for not publishing anything in the last two weeks. I’ve been working on this very personal post and it took me quiet a long time to get it all out and written the way I wanted. Today’s post is heavy and serious, but I’m hopeful you will enjoy and appreciate what went into writing it. Here’s to your health! ~Erik


Step into my shoes and see the non-profit world through my eyes

By Erik Anderson
The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

internalized homoRecently, I was approached with a business lead and encouraged to pursue it. In discussing the opportunity with friends, they shared that I’d have a better chance teaching a pig to fly than securing the work in question.
Why?
Because one of the organization’s biggest stakeholders was seriously homophobic. This influential individual wasn’t just politically opposed to the LBGTQ agenda, which has been front and center in our news cycle for the last few years, but they allegedly advocate for not hiring gay people for a number of unfounded and ignorant reasons.
As a gay man in a 14-year married relationship and living openly and out of the closet with my husband, you can imagine some of my initial reactions to this revelation . . . denial, hopelessness, anger, etc. After working through these feelings, I found myself in a familiar place, which was inside my own head fighting against my internalized homophobia.
After working through some of these emotions, I decided to blog about my non-profit journey as it pertains to my sexual orientation. I promise you that this will be a very factual blog post. My intention is to simply share experiences and not editorialize. If I choose to offer a few suggestions, I will do so in a subsequent post.
My time with the Boy Scouts
bsa homoI know what you’re thinking, and I did know about the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) membership policy restrictions before I applied. I loved this organization so much (e.g. being a member since 7-years-old, Eagle Scout, summer camp staff, etc), I actually convinced myself that I could be celibate and never need to worry about being caught.
At the time of the job offer, very few people knew that I was gay. I had recently gone through a divorce and had only recently started grappling with sexual orientation questions. Interestingly, it was the BSA’s job offer that prompted me to come out of the closet to my Mom (she was the first family member I had told).
Why?
Because there were scout professionals and volunteer leaders who were being fired for being gay, and it was common for those events to make their way into newspaper stories. When I thought about the possibility (albeit unlikely) of my family learning about my secret from a newspaper article, it broke my heart and prompted me to take action. I drove from the council parking lot to my Mom’s place of employment, which is where I tearfully confessed my secrets and asked for her help in making an employment decision.
I loved my time working for my local BSA council. I was back in the youth development sector working with volunteers and learning new skills (e.g. fundraising). For my career, things were sunny. For my personal life, things were dark. The LBGTQ question was top of mind for the organization, and I can honestly say it was a topic of conversation among employees and volunteers at least a handful of times every month.
Here are a few examples of conversations I vividly recall:

  • Volunteers pointing at phrases in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to justify the ban on LGBTQ kids and adults. Phrases such as “morally straight”  or “A scout is clean” or “A scout is reverent
  • What to do about a group of teenage scouts who were doing inappropriate and seemingly somewhat sexually experimental things on camping trips and whether or not those activities should be considered “gay” and a violation of the BSA membership policies.
  • The day after Matthew Shepard was attacked, tied to a fence and stoned to death for being gay, every scout professional in the country received a media notice from the national office. The alert informed us of the incident, identified one of the murderers as an Eagle Scout, and provided scout professionals with instructions for what to do if contacted by a member of the news media.
  • A colleague and friend expressing concern that I wasn’t dating anyone after a few years of being divorced, and humorously suggesting I should be careful because “people might assume that I was gay.”
  • Of course, the Supreme Court case — Boy Scouts of America v. Dale — was still in the media spotlight and everyone loved speculating and chattering about hypotheticals (e.g. the Mormon church would disaffiliate if the ruling went against the BSA, membership would fall, councils/camps would close, etc)
  • My favorite conversations (sarcasm intended) were with adult leaders who saw gay men as a perversion and outright said or strongly implied that gay men were pedophiles.

It was an uncomfortable few years, which is why I was so excited to receive a job offer to become the executive of a local Boys & Girls Club organization.
My time with Boys & Girls Club (local)
bgce homoWhile I was coming out of the closet to more family and friends by this time, I strategically made the decision to professionally remain in the closet. The following is a myriad of reasons (aka fears) that ruled my life at the time and provided me with the excuses to remain closeted:

  • Our organization had strong support among the African American community and was seen by some as the main after-school provider for that community. When you juxtapose this reality with the news reports and studies about homophobia within the African American community, it was enough to give me pause.
  • I had local religious leaders serving on my board of directors and helping with fundraising efforts, and none of those congregations were LGBTQ friendly.
  • There were socially conservative individuals who were donors to the organization, and the idea of someone pulling their support, because they didn’t like the executive director’s sexual orientation, was a risk I didn’t feel comfortable taking.
  • The State of Illinois had not yet passed Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) legislation, and I asked the board to change the organization’s EEOC policy to include “sexual orientation” protections. I wasn’t motivated by my circumstances, but some foundations at the time were making their funding contingent on making these changes. Needless to say, that was an uncomfortable boardroom discussion.

Working for the Boys & Girls Club was a significant improvement from the toxic anti-LBGTQ Boy Scout culture; however, I met someone in 2003 and started secretly dating him. After integrating him into my professional life by introducing him as a “fundraising volunteer,” it became clear this strategy only would work for a short period of time. It was obviously not sustainable.
In December 2006, I dropped to one knee and asked the love of my life to spend the rest of his life with me. This was prior to civil unions and marriage equality. Within 60 seconds of proposing, I asked for the largest favor that I had ever asked anyone in my life. I asked my husband-to-be if he could give me up to 12 months to find a new job before we move in together and plan a reception/party for family and friends where we could proclaim our love for each other and intentions to spend the rest of our lives together.
What should’ve been one of the happiest moments of my life, instead felt conflicted and complicated because of my internalized homophobia.
Boys & Girls Club (national staff)
bgca homoIt didn’t take a year for me to find a new job. I hooked on with the national organization. I naively thought my professional life in the closet might be coming to an end. However, it was just a few days into my new job that a very dear friend, who also worked for the organization, spelled out the “rules of being gay.”
He explained that many of my co-workers would be generally accepting. He even suggested some professionals and volunteers working for local affiliates (which were the clients I would be working with as an internal consultant) might also be very accepting. However, there would likely be many local affiliates located in smaller communities, who wouldn’t take kindly to an openly gay individual coming into their boardrooms and communities to work with them on fundraising and organizational development.
So, the bottom line was . . . “Be careful and use your common sense.”
Yet, it was the final few sentences of this conversation I found chilling and a cold splash of reality. He said:

Erik, if local organizations choose to lock you out because of your decision to be open about your sexual orientation, your employer won’t be firing you because you are gay. They will simply be firing you because you are ineffective in getting your job done.

While truer words have never been spoken on this subject to me, the result was more time in my professional closet and continued “game playing.”
Some of you are probably wondering what I mean by “game playing.” Let me try to explain . . .
It was very common for the organizations with which I worked to ask all sorts of personal questions during the course of our work. The following are just a few examples:

  • Where do you live? Grow up?
  • What is your background? (both personally and professionally)
  • Why did you leave your Boys & Girls Club to work for the national office?
  • Are you married? For how long?
  • Do you have kids? Do you want kids?

I never viewed these questions as something stemming from nosiness or inappropriateness. I understood that consultants (regardless of whether they are internal or external) and their clients must develop a foundation of trust. Without trust and a great rapport, it is impossible to achieve goals and grow the organization.
So, the following are a few examples of the “games” I would play:

  • become silent and only answer direct questions
  • answer a benign question or two before changing the subject
  • play the pronoun game (e.g. only refer to my husband as “my spouse” or “they”)

My time at Boys & Girls Clubs of America was a time of tremendous personal and professional growth. I love the people there, and there isn’t a day that passes when I don’t think about how grateful I am. (Who knows? Maybe I’ll go back one day if the timing and situation are right.)
Shortly after turning 40-years-old, I found myself in a difficult place of conflict. I suspect many people might call this a “mid-life crisis.” While there were many things playing into this emotionally tumultuously time in my life, I’m confident my continual practice of “lies of omission” in my work life helped this situation germinate.
The idea of spinning off my own non-profit consulting practice started making a lot of sense to me.

  • I could choose my own clients
  • I could develop my own toolkit, approaches and points of view
  • I could cut back on my travel schedule based on who I decided to take on as clients
  • I might be able to start living my life completely out of the closet (professionally speaking)

The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
THN homoIn May 2011, I registered my new non-profit consulting practice with the Illinois Secretary of State. The Healthy Non-Profit LLC was born.
If you’ve gotten this far, then you probably can see what is coming, and it can all be summed up in an old expression: “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
I get many phone calls from organizations wanting to hire me, and I immediately wonder how open would they be to hiring me if they knew I was gay. While this was a concern when I was an internal consultant working for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, it is even more acute now that I am an external consultant.
Why? Because external consultants don’t get paid if they don’t sell work, which means there can be a financial incentive to bend on your values/principles from time-to-time.
Here are just a few examples of difficult situations in which I’ve found myself over the last five years:

  • I was in a client’s boardroom getting ready for my portion of the agenda while board volunteers argued over revisions to their bylaws pertaining to LGBTQ questions
  • I was verbally pinned down by a board volunteer, who didn’t have much patience for the pronoun game I was playing, and I flat out lied by turning my husband into my wife
  • After mustering a little courage and referencing my husband in a conversation with staff (who you could tell were shocked and confused by what I was saying), I was a coward and reverted back to the pronoun game
  • I periodically get requests for proposals from faith-based organizations, which a majority of the time I will refer to other consultants because I’m convinced they wouldn’t want to work with me if they knew the truth

And this is where I am at today.
However, before I wrap up this long blog post, I want to go back to the very beginning, which is where I should’ve started but didn’t have the courage to do so.
And in the beginning . . .
endaAs a recent college graduate, I accepted a unit director position working at a new Boys & Girls Club in a very small rural town. I only stayed one year because I couldn’t pay the bills on that salary. The person who they hired to replace me didn’t last very long. I was asked by the advisory board to sit down with the search committee to help them build a candidate profile and brainstorm ways to build a better applicant pool.
What happened in that meeting was of no consequence to today’s blog post, but it left an indelible mark on my heart.
Here is how the post-meeting dialog went down (names are changed to protect the not-so-innocent):
Joe: “Before we all leave, there is one other thing I want to discuss with the group.”
Mark: “Sure, please tell everyone what you and I discussed before the meeting.
Joe: “Well, I don’t know if everyone knows, but the organization’s executive director recently had a roommate move in with him. This male friend was his former roommate from the last community where he worked, and he just moved halfway across the country to join him up here.
Mark: “Can you be a little more specific for those who may not understand what you’re getting at, Joe?
Joe: “Well, I’m saying this guy is much more than his ‘friend’. They are a couple. With what we’re trying to teach the youth of our community, I don’t think the corporate board is sending the right message by putting this guy as the face the entire organization.
Mark: “So, what are you suggesting we do about it?
Joe: “I think we need to call a few members of the corporate board, talk with them about the situation, and get it figured out.
The messages I heard and internalized were loud and clear:

  • Gay people need not apply
  • If you do get the job, then you better hide because we’re watching closely
  • If you don’t hide well enough, then we’re going to “talk it over, figure it out, and then come for you

A Call To Action?
closetI promised you in the very beginning of this post that I would refrain from editorializing; but I will end with two calls to action (one of which is for me and other is for you).
While I am not the most religious person, I cannot get this Bible verse from the Book of Genesis out of my head:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

For too long, I have not let light into my professional life. As you can imagine, the closet is a very dark place. While I cracked the door on this closet many years ago and shared the truth with some of my non-profit friends and colleagues  (e.g. introducing them to my husband, talking about my life truthfully, etc), many people still don’t know and many new clients that comes into my life don’t have any idea.
So, today’s long blog post represents “. . . the first day” in a new professional life. The truth is that I don’t have a clue how I will go about achieving this bold proclamation, but I do know that my personal call to action is . . . to dedicate every fiber of my being towards figuring it out. Enough is enough!
This, of course, brings me to my second call to action, which involves you.
If you are a DonorDreams blog reader or subscriber who doesn’t see eye-to-eye with me on LGBTQ issues, let’s just simply agree to disagree. My hope is that you can try to see the non-profit community through my eyes and maybe you can see our values are more similar than dissimilar. More importantly, I hope you see that we have similar goals around making your organization bigger, better and stronger, which has nothing to do with what happens in my personal life.
However, if this isn’t possible, then please know that I accept you. Thank you for all of the good things you do every day for other people. Best wishes!
If you are a DonorDreams blog reader or subscriber who does see eye-to-eye with me (or perhaps this blog post helped you see things from a different perspective), then I have a favor to ask of you. If you think other people in your social networks might benefit from stepping into my shoes and seeing the non-profit world through my eyes, then please electronically share this blog post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc and ask your connections to share it with their networks and so on and so on forth.
If enough people start looking at homophobia in the non-profit sector differently, then maybe more non-profit professionals, volunteers and clients might have the courage to burn down their closets like I am attempting to do. At which time, we can all start having honest discussions with each other. I suspect those discussion threads could be endless (e.g. programs, services, policies, procedures, bylaws, recruitment practices, marketing, resource development and fundraising, etc).
If you have strong thoughts on this subject, please feel free to share in the comment box below. I will approve all comments unless they are violent, extraordinarily hateful, or too far off topic. As I typically say at the end of my posts, we can all learn from each other.
I also usually sign-off by saying, “Here’s to your health,” but today I think I’ll change it up for the first time in five years by saying . . .
Here’s to your health (and my health, too)!
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

View from a conference exhibitor's booth

20160511_134455I love conferences where non-profit professionals get together, especially ones where the organizations are from similar backgrounds and missions. This week I am in New Orleans as an exhibitor at Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s (BGCA) National Conference. I thought it would be fun to write a few blog posts from my vantage point as a conference exhibitor (e.g. things I see, hear, etc). Then in next week’s post, I want to share an AH-HA moment I had from a conversation I had with another exhibitor. (Note: if you are reading this post and at the same conference, please swing by the booth and say hello).
Observation #1: The buzz & energy is palpable
From my booth, you can feel the buzz, especially when people pour into the exhibitors area after a big inspirational general session. For example, yesterday afternoon the big buzz was about “Year of the Teen.” People who washed into my booth were talking about it. I was able to overhear people passing my booth engaged in discussions about teenagers. It was the “topic du jour.
Why was this the case? Simply said, it was because BGCA used their bully pulpit to share their case for support on this important issue with their local affiliates. Here is the session description:

Keynote speaker Dr. Shawn Ginwright will discuss the need to place healing and hope at the center of educational and political strategies, and share how ‘teacher-activists’ in community organizations and stressed schools are using healing strategies to help youth become powerful civic actors.

I get goosebumps just reading the session description. AWESOME!
Observation #2: Hope, optimism & change are in the air
People wash into your booth when you exhibit at conferences. It is simply how it works and why exhibitors pay to exhibit. Organizations have needs for products and services, and exhibitors hope to fill those needs. What I most love about this “speed dating dance” is hearing people’s stories.
Here are just a few quick hits from yesterday:

  • One organization just acquired an old church. Now they are wrestling with whether or not they need a capital campaign consultant to help them raise the necessary funding to renovate the facility. As they tell their story, the words almost sizzle with energy when they talk about the possibilities and all of the new things they will be able to do.
  • Another organization is writing a grant for a community gardening program they operate. Their kids are engaged in healthy eating, sustainable gardening, entrepreneurial activities involving sales of vegetables, etc. They now plan on acquiring a bus in order to distribute their produce to food desert areas that lack access to healthy foods. As I listen to the fundraising professional describe the business opportunity for me (e.g. to help them develop a business and marketing plan), I could hardly get a word into the conversation. This person was working on two hours of sleep. She was racing a grant deadline and was super charged up and passionate about this program.
  • An old friend stopped by to say hello. I’m not sure how long he has been his organization’s CEO, but I’m confident it has been at least two or three decades. Our conversation was all about the planned giving activities he has been involved in throughout the years. He doesn’t want to retire until he sees some of the fruits of that labor. To say there was anticipation and excitement threaded throughout that conversation would be an understatement.

I could go on and on . . . I just love the energy.
Obervsation #3: Old friends and fellowship
People passing by my exhibitor booth are engaged in conversations, but it looks different from most typical conversations I see back home. What I’m seeing looks deep, thoughtful and engaging. I suspect it is because many of these non-profit professionals are old friends who haven’t seen each other for a while (perhaps since last years conference).
Friends and colleagues are:

  • sharing successes and failures
  • talking about the future
  • getting caught up on personal things (e.g. family)

I love that I just used the word “family” in my last bullet point because that is what I see from the vantage point of my exhibitors booth. It is one big family reunion, which is simple #AwesomeSauce!


If you have never exhibited at a conference, you may not know that there is a fun dynamic at play among exhibitors. There is a “we’re all in this crazy sales game together” feeling. There is also a family reunion atmosphere for some of those who only see each other at these conferences and have developed friendships throughout the years.
Sometimes when attendees are in session, exhibitors start visiting each other’s booths to visit and sharing information. Next Tuesday, I will share with you a story about an exhibitor who washed into my booth and how that interaction resulted in an amazing AH-HA moment for me as it relates to the intersection of programming and resource development.
Do you have any fun conference stories that you want to share? Please use the comment box and tell us about it. 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

Illinois budget crisis impacting non-profit organizations — Part 4

When I started this blog series two weeks ago, I thought it might be a good idea to invite a few of my local elected officials (as well as former policy-makers) to weigh-in on the subject. Unfortunately, everyone has either declined or not responded except for Michael Noland, who is my state senator. I want to thank Senator Noland for taking the time to be thoughtful and responsive. (A copy of the senator’s guest blog can be found in the space below.)
For those of you who are coming to the party a little late, here is a quick summary. In Part 1 of this series, I shared survey results provided by United Way of Illinois along with other insights and perspectives . In Part 2, I talked to a non-profit executive director whose organization lost significant funding as a result of Illinois’ budget impasse and shared some surprising developments. In Part 3, I offered a few suggestions for Illinois non-profit leaders on how to tackle this issue inside their organizations as the crisis deepens.
I hope this four part series on the Illinois budget impasse and its effect on non-profit organizations has been information and engaging. Please share your thoughts in the comment box below. Here’s to your health! ~Erik


noland
In February of 2015, the governor proposed his first budget to the General Assembly, a budget that would make harsh cuts to important services in our state. His message was a call to cut waste where at all possible. In 2015, I was hopeful that we would be able to work with the Governor to establish both a source of revenue and make responsible cuts to balance the state budget.
The Governor also submitted for the General Assembly’s approval what he referred to as his “Turnaround Agenda”.  The agenda was one that called for creating Right to Work Zones; an end to collective bargaining for teachers and state workers; reduced funding for education and health care and tax breaks for large corporations and the wealthy; all, clear non-starters for Democrats.
A year has passed and it has become clear to me that the Governor wants nothing more than to continue his standoff to push a “turnaround agenda” that is harmful to the people of Illinois and specifically to the working-class families I swore to represent.  And so, since June 1st 2015 Illinois has operated without a budget.
Over this time I have received numerus emails from citizens, heads of social service organizations, small business owners and others over the lack of a state budget and I continue to share in the anxiety and hardships that this places on my constituents and on our state. The result of this delay and uncertainty over the funding for our vital programs and services in Illinois is an inexcusable disaster that I do not go a single day without standing at the ready to negotiate a solution with the Governor and Republicans in the General Assembly.
The truth is, in Springfield, in the senate, we have passed numerous budget proposals since June 1st in attempts to address the budget impasse. The senate has fought for a budget for K-12, worked to secure the appropriation of federal funds, battled for funding for the Monetary Award Program to support our college students, attempted to grant funding to human services programs not covered by consent decrees and more. Most recently, the senate approved SB2059, which would appropriate 3.8 billion dollars in funds to various agencies, including social service programs and higher education. The fact remains that the Governor is simply unwilling to negotiate a budget that does not include multiple aspects of his harmful agenda.
Through all these legislative proposals the public must understand something very important that is often forgotten: the General Assembly does not have the power to distribute these funds. All we can do is grant the Governor the ability to do so. The Governor, as chief executive, directs staff to write the checks we have allowed him to write. This budget impasse is shaped by two main causes. The first and foremost is the Governor’s unwillingness to compromise and listen to the angry voices coming to him with legitimate concerns and crises.  These angry voices, our social services, colleges and universities and health care providers are asking to be paid for their services and the Governor, quite simply, refuses to write the checks for the money the state owes them.
However, the Governor is right about something that is impossible not to acknowledge.  We have a lack of revenue in Illinois. Elected officials that ignore this are simply kicking the can down the road, something I personally refuse to do. There are social service programs that simply cannot be cut, there are educational services and public safety programs that need more funding and to do this the state requires more revenue.  There is ample evidence that we, as a state, are more than capable of providing that revenue.  This is a discussion that needs to be happening in Springfield now and not later when the state is in even greater crisis than it already is.  As we now return for the second half of the spring session in the Illinois General Assembly, I look forward to working with members on both sides of the aisle to craft a state budget that meets the just demands of the good people we are sworn to represent.
Sincerely, State Senator Michael Noland (D-22nd)
noland sig
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Illinois budget crisis impacting non-profit organizations — Part 1

illinois budgetLast week I had the privilege of attending a Fox West Philanthropy Network meeting where Jack Kaplan, Director of Public Policy & Advocacy for United Way of Illinois (UWI), reported on survey findings about the impact of the state’s budget impasse on the non-profit community. It should come as no surprise to anyone the longer this budget crisis drags on the worse it becomes for the state’s non-profit sector.
If you have time to read the white paper summarizing UWI’s survey, then click here. If you’re on the run today, here are a few of the highlights (or should we say “low-lights“):

  • The number of organizations that have made cuts to clients served as a result of the state’s budget impasses has more than doubled since July 2015
  • Nearly half of respondents reported making cuts to services, programs or operations as a result of the budget impasse
  • The number of respondent that reported making cuts to services increased dramatically from the survey conducted in July 2015 to the one conducted in January 2016
  • Of those agencies responding, 49% said they’ve tapped into their cash reserves
  • Of those agencies responding, 26% said they’ve had to access their line of credit
  • Of those agencies responding, 27% said they’ve laid off staff
  • Of those agencies responding, 5% have “skipped” a payroll

As I soaked in all of this survey data, I came to the following conclusions:

  • The longer this budget impasse lasts, the more programs are likely to be cut
  • The longer this budget impasse lasts, the more staff are likely to be laid off
  • The longer this budget impasse lasts, the more likely it is that agencies will cannibalize themselves — undercutting their organizational capacity — and do long term damage to their infrastructure and ability to come back from this crisis (read more about the Nonprofit Starvation Cycle in the Stanford Social Innovation Review)
  • The longer this budget impasse lasts, the more likely organizations will lose their most valuable and talented staff, who I suspect are currently looking for alternative employment
  • The more programs that are cut, the more clients will go without necessary services, which will have a long term effect on our communities (e.g. increased homelessness, increased crime, decreased student test scores, etc), which ultimately always leads to increased public expenditures down the road (e.g. increased taxes for policing, increased taxes for prisons, increased taxes re-open state institutions that were closed for cost savings when those services were shifted to the non-profit sector decades ago, etc)

I admit all of these conclusions are “my opinion” and none of us will know the real truth until the damage is done and smarter people that I are doing research years from now on the impact of the Illinois budget impasse. However, my intuition tells me I’m not too far off with these thoughts.
In addition to these thoughts, I’m also left with a number of questions such as:

  • When did so many Illinois non-profit organizations get so reliant on state government funding? And how can we avoid this from happening again in the future?
  • As is the case with most crises, there are really bad things that happen but there are usually unexpected good thing that come from the experience. I wonder what may rise from the ashes?
  • When will the budget impasse finally get resolved? (Note: I’ve heard some people predict Illinois won’t have its next budget until November 2016 or possibly even the beginning of 2017. Just for the sake of perspective, the last budget expired on June 30, 2015.)
  • What will happen to FY 2016 state contracts that were issued to non-profits “in lieu of appropriation” if the state never passes a FY 2016 budget and simply skips to passing a FY 2017 budget?

Lots of opinions and many more questions. I suspect many of you are in the same boat. Please use the comment box to share your thoughts and experiences.
If you want to learn more about the Illinois budget impasse and its potential impact on non-profit organizations, then I suggest the following:

  • If you are interested in diving into the survey data, I encourage you to click the link I provided earlier in this post to the United Way of Illinois survey summary.
  • If you want to review the PowerPoint slides that Jack Kaplan used for his presentation to the Fox West Philanthropy Network (FWPN), I uploaded them to one of my cloud drives and you can see them by clicking here.
  • Carol Gieske, who is the President of the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, shared an easy to understand infographic she secured from Illinois Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger that illustrates the severity of the Illinois budget crisis. The infographic explains the budget issues as if your home finances were in the same position as the State of Illinois. I also uploaded this document to one of my cloud drives and you can see it by clicking here.

Next week I plan on publishing two more blog posts on this subject. While they are still coming together, one of the posts will summarize a discussion I had with an organization who has been significantly impacted by this crisis (of course, names will be changed to protect the innocent). The other post will likely focus on what organizations might consider doing to weather the storm. Who knows … there may even be a fourth post if things get too long. Stay tuned!   😉
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

It is gift giving season. Do you know what you're giving your donors?

IMG_20151220_110543620[1]Happy Holidays, DonorDreams readers! I am one of those people who procrastinates gift shopping until the last minute, which is why I was so relieved last night when I snagged the last Minecraft video game for Xbox 360 off the shelf at Target for my niece. Phew! That was a close call. I know that gift giving isn’t just on my mind because last week one of my clients gave me a pen and set of blank cards designed by their clients as small token of their appreciation (see picture to right).
Giving gifts to donors as part of a campaign (e.g. mugs, plaques, frames pictures, tote bags, etc) or at the end of the year as part of a holiday stewardship initiative is fairly commonplace in the non-profit sector. Of course, this activity is full of an angst because the last thing in the world a non-profit organization wants to do is leave the donor with a feeling that their donation had just been wasted on gift giving and appreciation.
A few years ago, a fundraising professional wrote to me and ask me for advice on this topic. I shared the following:

  • Pick up the phone, call your Top 10 donors and ask their opinion on what they think is appropriate in your community (because a simply phone call can be as much of a gift as any tote bag or appreciation plaque)
  • Send every donor a holiday card at the end of the year and include a simple Impact Report along with it (or at least incorporate some simple ‘impact messaging’ with your card)
  • Utilize “The Smell Test” and don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right (when it comes to donor gifts)
  • Practice the “KISS principle” and don’t do anything too extravagant (when it comes to donor gifts)

Gifts don’t always need to be something physical. Sometimes a personalized acknowledgement can be a very thoughtful gift.
For example, last week our friends at Bloomerang gave me the best gift of all when they named the DonorDreams blog to their list of “64 Fundraising Blogs You Should Be Reading in 2016“. This was the second year in a row that this blog made that list, and it was better than almost any other holiday gift I’ve received in recent memory.
(Side note: I encourage you to click-through and read the Bloomerang article about other non-profit/fundraising bloggers. There are a number of smart and engaging bloggers on that list who you might want to check-out.)
Do you give your donors gifts? If so, what do you give them and how do you make sure that you don’t over-do-it and upset your donors? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below because 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