nonprofit – Page 69 – The Healthy Non-Profit

What do your donors value?

February 10, 2012 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising, Fundraising

A few months ago, I had the privilege of facilitating a values exercise for an organization. I blogged about it weeks afterward in a post titled “Does your non-profit have a soul?” Yesterday, I had a similar privilege to facilitate a focus group with a different agency, and one of the questions I asked clients was “what values do you see the organization living?

Wow! If you ever want to know if you live your values, pull together a group of clients and ask them what they see. It can be an incredibly affirming exercise. I suspect it can also be eye-opening.

After yesterday’s focus group, I decided to spend a moment reflecting on the power of that exercise. I found my mind wandering back to the same question:

“I wonder how many non-profits know what values their donors hold close to their hearts and how that impacts their willingness to invest in their mission?”

For some dumb reason, I’ve never considered how a donor perceives an agency’s values, reconciles it with their own personal values, and factors it into their decision to donate or not. After thinking about it for a moment, it is as obvious as the nose on my face. However, I must admit that this never has consciously crossed my mind. <<Embarassing>> Additionally, this revelation has now trigger more questions:

Could fundraising ineffectiveness in part be caused by an organization that doesn’t have a well-defined set of organizational values?
Could an agency that only has values “on paper” and fails to live by them, negatively impact their fundraising program?
What can non-profits learn if they ask their donors what values they see the agency living?
How can a non-profit organization best ascertain what values their donors cherish?

Regardless of how you answer these questions, I suspect you will conclude as I have that it is important to figure out how to best communicate what your organizational values are throughout the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship processes.

However, first things first . . . what does your non-profit value? I will leave you with the following incomplete list of values and principles that I’ve seen some agencies embrace (e.g. the YMCA’s core values are in the graphic to the right of this paragraph):

Excellence
Honesty
Fun
Creativity
Respect for Others
Quality
Diversity
Innovation
Winning
Care for Others
Cooperation

Lots and lots of questions for a Friday. If you find yourself with some answers, please scroll down and share those thoughts in the comment box. 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

Choo! Choo! All aboard the philanthropy train

February 9, 2012 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising, Fundraising

On Tuesday of this week, I climbed aboard a train and made my way to downtown Chicago for a meeting with a former co-worker and current marketing consultant. It was on that train trip that I was thunderstruck by a revelation . . . trains are an amazing metaphor for non-profit organizations when it comes to resource development.

It starts at the train station. If you look around at those waiting for the train, you’ll observe people from all walks of life. There is a lot of diversity standing on that train platform, which also holds true for the average non-profit agency’s pool of prospective donors. Those who are interested in supporting your agency are young and old, white-collar and blue-collar, and rich and poor.

Non-profits who are successful at resource development recognize their mission is something everyone wants to climb aboard, and those agencies are very good at offering seats to everyone on that train.

Once the train pulls up to the platform, the doors open and the conductors come down out of the train onto the platform. They greet commuters, provide valuable information, and assist those who need help getting up into the train. After everyone is seemingly aboard, they look around and make sure there are no stragglers.

Successful fundraising organizations use fundraising professionals and fundraising volunteers to identify, cultivate, educate, inform and help prospective donors.

On the train, conductors are punching pre-purchased tickets as well as selling tickets to those who need them. Everyone pays to ride and no one goes without a solicitation. This all occur while the train is chugging along to its destination. After the solicitation period is over, the conductor stops and chats with passengers. They answer questions and talk about the “expected outcome,” which of course is arriving safely at your destination. The focus isn’t on the solicitation, it is on the outcomes (e.g. talk about the journey, reminders about safety, and the final announcement at the end of the trip that the ultimate outcome has been achieved).

Non-profits who make fundraising look effortless understand that fundraising isn’t the focus. They work hard to keep their donors and supporters focused on the journey, the outcomes and the impact. The message is never “we need your money” . . . it is always “we’re making a difference because of everything you do to support us.”

As the train pulls into Union Station, the conductor makes the following announcements:

We’ve arrived on time (e.g. we delivered on our promise)
Thank you for riding Metra (e.g. appreciation and acknowledgement)
Have a great day, watch your step getting off the train, and be safe
Remember to buy your ticket at the station for your return trip because you’ll save money

Stewardship is more than just thanking donors for their money. In addition to thanks and appreciation, the effective non-profits share return on investment information with their donors and take a genuine interest in their lives.

If you’re reading today’s blog post and think I’m exaggerating to make a point, then I think you need to take a train trip. For me, the proof is in the pudding when I see how many commuters appear to personally know their conductors and look happy to see them.

Non-profit organizations who want to improve their resource development programs and make them more donor-centered should climb aboard the philanthropy train and enjoy the ride. None of us are ever too old to learn a thing or two. 😉

Who are the “conductors” for your resource development program? No everyone is cut out for that job . . . how do you identify and recruit those individuals? Are you strategic in your efforts or is it more organic? What does your agency do to keep the focus off of fundraising and on the outcomes and impact (while ensuring donors are still contributing)? Does your fundraising program feel like a fun journey or is it just a series of unconnected stops?

Please use the comment box below to weigh-in. I promise that it is a warm and nurturing place. It will not bite you. 😉

Here’s to your health!

Non-profit workers of the world unite?!?!

February 8, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

Let me start by apologizing to all of the non-profit CEOs in Elgin, Illinois. When I was among their ranks many years ago, I remember countless meetings that turned into “bitch sessions”. My fellow CEOs would channel Rodney Dangerfield’s mantra of “no respect” and gripe about how the non-profit sector deserves more attention, more government funding, and more respect from community leaders.

My guilty admission today is that I used to roll my eyes at those meetings. However, my blogger friend Joanne Fritz at about.com wrote the most amazing post the other day titled “Nonprofit Workforce Grew During Recession” and it echoes much of what my non-profit friends were saying years ago, including:

The non-profit sector is a large part of the economy; third largest only behind the retail and manufacturing sectors.
The non-profit sector accounts for 10 percent of employment in our country.
Non-profit employment is concentrated in services that healthy communities demand and need (e.g. healthcare, childcare, education, etc), which can be a great foundation for any case for support.

OK, OK, OK . . . you were right and I was wrong. I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart. With age comes wisdom and knowledge, and I was a young executive director who thought I knew more at the time than I probably did. However, I am older now, and I have a few observations of my own that I think you need to hear.

I don’t see many of you treating your employees very well.
I don’t see salaries and hourly pay being particularly good. How many of you are paying a “living wage”? Because I see too many paychecks closer to minimum wage.
I don’t see very good benefits packages for employees who work on the frontline. Sure senior staff traditionally received great health insurance and retirement benefits. However, I see major gaps once you get outside of the executive suites and into middle management and program staff ranks.
I see lots and lots and lots of employee turnover. While finding replacements seems to be an easy task during tough economic times, I remember a day not so long ago when it was difficult.
I see cash strapped non-profit organizations who aren’t even budgeting cost of living adjustment wage increases for their staff.
Sadly, I see non-profit employees accessing other non-profit social services (e.g. food pantries, utilities assistance, subsidized childcare, etc).

I could go on and on, but it I know that many of you know exactly what I’m talking about.

When I see situations like this, my gut always tells me that it isn’t sustainable and a market correction is sure to follow. Again, Joanne Fritz did a great job in her blog post talking about how for-profit companies are starting to step-in to fill the gap. Based upon history, I would guess that for-profit companies will bring more business acumen and more competitive compensation packages with them to this fight. I also suspect that the fight for workers hearts and minds won’t be a fair one and non-profits will likely be at a disadvantage.

However, there is also a second possible development to which non-profit leader should pay attention. History tells us that when employees don’t believe their voice is being heard and their pocketbooks are being squeezed, this provides an opening for unions to step-in and organize the workplace. With union membership dwindling across the country, you know that union organizers are looking everywhere for opportunities.

I come from a union family. I am a union supporter down to my socks. If I were writing a different kind of blog post, I might even argue that non-profits could benefit from a partnership with public employee unions if it was done right. After all, who else in America has a strong enough voice inside the government bureaucracies and legislatures to advocate for on-time payment and processing of government funding and grants?

However, I won’t go there today.

Instead, I encourage all non-profit CEOs to listen to the old ancient Greek expression (and Spiderman’s father, Ben Parker) when they said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Congratulations . . . you were right about your strength in numbers and economic impact. It is now time that you live up to that promise and do the right thing. If you want to maintain your labor market strength and avoid unionization, then I have the following advice for you:

Diversify your funding streams and stop relying on government funding as heavily as you currently do. We’re likely heading into an age of government austerity because we have a lot of debt to pay back over the next generation.
Invest in resource development systems and personnel. Focus hard on raising money the old fashion way.
Work feverishly at making new donor friends, and work even harder to maintain existing donor relationships.
As you raise more private sector fundraising dollars, don’t continue to expand programming and grow your mission until you’re really ready to do so. Instead, invest in your current programs, systems and employees because you’re likely under-resourced right now.
Invest in collaboration! Strategic alliances around back office operations could be a start. Sharing resources including staff might help. Partnering with for-profits on those things they do better than non-profits could yield interesting results.

Most non-profits are living day-to-day. The pressure that comes with that lifestyle will kill you. Build capacity and invest in people. It is the only way to guarantee your survival.

Do you find yourself in a different employee situation than what I describe in this post? Do you have a different point of view on public employee unions and their possible value as collaborators? How are you positioning yourself from a resource development perspective in this new economic environment? How are you investing in your employees and treating them well? Please scroll down and share your stories, examples and answers to these questions in the comment box below. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

Are non-profit organizations destroying our communities?

February 7, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

A friend of mine works at city hall in my hometown of Elgin, Illinois. A few months ago, I found myself in her office explaining a series of blog posts calling the city’s Nightmare on Chicago Street event into question for its use of non-profit organizations to sell tickets and staff the event with non-profit volunteers. After a great meeting where I explained myself (and I think we found ourselves on the same page), this friend decided to play Oprah and loaned me a book titled “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods” by John McKnight and Peter Block. After reading the book, I find myself asking:

Do non-profit organizations do more to hurt our communities than help?

Well, ain’t that a kick in the pants? LOL I was all excited to read this book because it is an urban planning textbook about neighborhood planning and engagement, and I have two degrees in urban planning. I really thought this book would be a fun walk down memory lane. Instead, it called my entire career path in non-profit management into question.

In a nutshell, the thesis of the book is that we’ve moved from a citizen and neighborhood based society to a consumer-based one. In the citizen-based society, people lived and thrived within their neighborhoods. Everything they needed (e.g. safety, jobs, food, family, care, etc) could be found in their neighborhood. Today, our consumer-based world has us looking for all of these things outside of our neighborhoods, which in effect results in us surrendering to others “… the power to provide what is essential for a full and satisfied life”.

While this is something that is very theoretical, I find the implication of these ideas to be revolutionary in nature. After all, how many times do you hear things like:

citizenship, empowerment and engagement can be undermined by corporations, government and professional & academic institutions,
the social cost of “consumerism” is that it contributes to families losing their function, and
the marketplace cannot solve our problems.

The book calls out the non-profit sector as part of the consumer-based world and one of the institutions that undermines our sense of neighborhoods and citizenship. Check out this passage from the book:

“In the consumer ecology, the word care has been co-opted by systems: business, agencies, and governments … Our charities ask us to give money to pay for the care of people. … In each case, they are actually providing a paid service — not care. This is a key distinction, the difference between care and service. Systems offer services for pay; they offer actuarial, medical, and administrative services. We know it is not care, because genuine care cannot be paid for. It is given, free of charge.”

That last passage got me thinking. Do non-profit organizations really try to “replace” families and neighborhoods. Or do they just try to patch the holes in a safety net for people who don’t have strong families and neighborhoods on which to rely? And then I read this passage in the book:

“In the system world of philanthropy, generosity is sometimes called “charity,” which is really an unstable and false generosity because it is oriented around the needs and deficiencies of just one party in the transaction. Charity is demeaning in this way. As if you need me, and you have nothing but gratitude to offer in return. Charity says, “You have not earned this; I am giving it to you because you have so few gifts.”

Whoa! This last passage from the book really upset me, but then I stopped and thought about it for two seconds. There is truth in those words, especially for many non-profits who practice a form of “tin cup” fundraising.

At this point, I think I was beside myself and wondering if my career path choices have contributed to the erosion of our sense of community and citizenship. So, rather than find a tall building to jump from, I decided to focus on the few positives that non-profits should take from this book:

Focus your fundraising and philanthropic efforts on building something (e.g. return on investment) rather than “charity” and “tin cup” appeals.
Invest in relationship building and using your agency as a vehicle for connecting people and building a sense of neighborhood and community.
Offer programming that teaches people to “do for themselves” and stop doing it for them.
Create philanthropic opportunities that go beyond just donating money and allows people to donate things/stuff, time and talents.

I appreciate that today’s post was very theoretical, but it certainly does give any free thinking non-profit person cause for pause. Right?

What are your thoughts on the book that my friend from city hall loaned me? Did you find any truth in it? How does your agency build relationships between people and institutions? How do you guard against practicing tin cup philanthropy? Do you know how your fundraising volunteers are framing your case for support with donors, and are you sure it isn’t tin cup philanthropy?

OK . . . I need someone to talk me down off the ledge.

Here’s to your health!

Lessons Learned from The Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Use of Social Media

February 6, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Mondays with Marissa, technology

How important is social media to non-profits? Ask the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Last week, the popular breast cancer awareness group announced that it would no longer provide grants to Planned Parenthood. In the past, the Susan G Komen Foundation provided funding to Planned Parenthood to provide mammogram screenings for those in need. Due to a change in policy, based on an investigation into where donor dollars were making the largest impact, these grants would no longer be funded. With in hours of this announcement, Facebook and Twitter were alive with posts from people voicing their opinion on the matter. Within 72 hours the decision was reversed.

Let’s not focus on the politics at hand, but moreover, what can we learn from this situation?

1. Never underestimate the power of the web. We are living in an age that has seen governments overthrown due to the organization efforts of people on Twitter. These days, information travels faster than the speed of sound. How are you using this to your advantage? Does your organization have an active presence on social media networks or is it more haphazard? People use social media every single day. Facebook, alone has over 800 million users and is projected to hit over a billion in August of this year. These are all people who can hear about the mission of your agency, but they can’t hear about it if you aren’t talking. Make sure that the message that is being published on social media sites on behalf of your organization is being controlled and constantly monitored to ensure that the message is clear and fosters a sense of community.

2. We are all connected. Do employees and volunteers understand how their activities on the web impact the mission of your agency? For example, what if an employee, let’s call him Sam, has your organization listed as their place of work and he comes home from a hard day and vents his frustration on Facebook. The next day, a donor, Jane, is looking for a new organization to donate her hard-earned dollars to, does a google search and finds your organization. On the side of your website there is a Facebook link. Jane clicks it only to find that her friend — Sam — works and your organization and is connected. Upon clicking on Sam’s profile, Jane sees what he has to say and thinks twice about making that donation. If your organization does not have a clear social media policy for employees, this situation could very likely happen.

3. The most important lesson for non-profits that can be taken away from last week’s news, is that transparency is the best policy. I know that Erik has stressed this before on the DonorDreams blog, and I can’t help but echo it again. The Susan G. Komen Foundation made a very difficult decision that they knew would probably anger some supporters. Where they made a mistake was in the messaging. They allowed people to make the issue a political one because they didn’t share all of the details behind why that action was necessary. Susan G. Komen Foundation had a number of resources at their disposal to share information and defuse the situation after the announcement was made. If they had reacted to their critics in real-time through social media as opposed to reacting through a produced video a day or so later, they might have controlled the situation a little better. How do you use social media to announce changes to your agency?

This hiccup in the timeline of The Susan G. Komen Foundation will sure come to the minds of future donors. However, what I find most interesting is to see how if they will embrace social media to help control the conversation and move the public forward.

In my upcoming “Mondays with Marissa” posts, I plan to focus on one social media site a month and how you can cultivate a community of supporters through it. To best serve our readers, I have created a quick survey to see what sites are being used and how. Please take a few moments to share your thoughts, by clicking on this link. Thank you!!

What fences exist in your fundraising program?

February 3, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

This week we’re looking for non-profit and fundraising advice from one of my favorite books — “It’s Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider” — written by Jim Henson, The Muppets, and Friends. In yesterday’s post, we examined a movie quote from Kermit the Frog and talked about donor recapture initiatives. Today, we look at a quote from Jon Stone who was one of the creators of “Sesame Street” and the person who brought Jim Henson into that television family.

The following short three sentence description of Jim Henson by Jon Stone encapsulates a very important idea that all non-profit and fundraising professionals need to understand and take to heart:

“Jim didn’t think in terms of boundaries at all, the way the rest of us do. There are always these fences we build around ourselves and our ideas. Jim seemed to have no fences.”

A few days ago I was sharing a cup of coffee with an long-time non-profit friend. She was talking about how things used to be before the Great Recession and how things need to change as we enter “The New Normal”. She talked a lot about the need for non-profit professionals to focus on “unrelated earned income” and entrepreneurial ventures that augment the more traditional charitable giving revenue model upon which most non-profits operate.

While I’m not certain, I suspect my friend might be a Jim Henson type of person. She definitely doesn’t have any fences in her life.

A week ago Jamie Morris, the development director from the Boys & Girls Club in Evansville, Indiana, sent me a YouTube link to a video titled “Trickwinkle” that they produced with former New York Yankee Don Mattingly. They sold some sponsorships and raised some money. According to Jamie, they are trying to get their video to “GO VIRAL” . . . I ‘m still not positive that I understand all of the resource development aspects to this project (I think might even be a possible product sale angle around the T-shirts you see being worn in the video), but I am certain that those guys in Evansville don’t have any fences in their lives.

Please click the link to Boys & Girls Club of Evansville’s “Trickwinkle” YouTube video and do them a favor by posting it on your Facebook page and sharing it on Twitter. They’d consider it a personal favor and so would I. 😉

There are very few of us who can claim to have Jim Henson’s ability to operate in a boundary-free world. However, we can do the next best thing which is invest in evaluation and assessment efforts and ask this simple question: “What fences exist in our non-profit organizations and fundraising programs?”

Please scroll down and share with us what some of your fences may be? Have you ever used fundraising volunteers to help with evaluating your resource development efforts? If so, did you ever discover things that you might not have otherwise seen? What did you do about it?

Here’s to your health!

Wise words from a frog on donor recapture initiatives

February 2, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

This week we’re looking for non-profit and fundraising advice from one of my favorite books — “It’s Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider” — written by Jim Henson, The Muppets, and Friends. In yesterday’s post, we examined song lyrics from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem band and the importance of training your annual campaign volunteer solicitors. Today, we look at a quote from Kermit the Frog and the concept of re-engaging lapsed donors.

The following passage is something Kermit said in one of the muppet movies. I think these words are inspirational for non-profit and fundraising professionals who are looking at a long list of lapsed donors and contemplating how to re-engage them.

“Look at all those people out there. Lots of people. But my friends . . . my friends are all gone. Well, I’m, I’m going to get ’em back. I’m gonna get ’em back! ‘Cause the show’s not dead as long as I believe in it. And I’m gonna sell that show. And we’re all gonna be on Broadway. You hear me, New York? We’re gonna be on Broadway! Because, because I’m not giving up! I’m still here and I’m stayin’! You hear that, New York? I’m stayin’ right here. The frog is stayin’.”

While every non-profit organization’s donor recapture initiative will likely look a little different due to circumstances and available resources, they are all rooted in the following foundational approaches:

Identifying which lapsed donors are the best candidates for your recapture activities,
Assessment to determine if there were systemic reasons for the donor disengaging,
Developing a case for support specifically focused on why a donor should come back, and
Creating a plan that involves varied cultivation, solicitation, stewardship and testing strategies that uniquely speak to a family member who has been away from home for a while.

Doing all of this falls into the category of “good strategy,” but what Kermit speaks to is something entirely different — good attitude.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve opened a letter, taken a phone call or visited with a fundraising professional who wants to engage me in a conversation about renewing my lapsed financial support. For me, it is all about tone and energy. I can tell if you really care about me or if you just care about my dollars. I can tell if you believe in your heart that I’m a member of your non-profit family.

You can put together the most strategically sound donor recapture initiative and still fall short if you don’t take Kermit’s words to heart about:

Being perseverant and demonstrating sticktoitiveness,
Believing in a cause, and
Understanding the concept of salesmanship.

Jerry Juhl was a good friend of Jim Henson and a puppeteer associated with the muppets. He said, “Kermit is the eye in the middle of the hurricane. And, you know, he’s always in control. And the interesting thing about it, of course, is that he created the hurricane.”

Every fundraising professional should take these words to heart because: 1) you are at the center of your agency’s fundraising program, 2) you need to always exude a sense ofbeing calm, cool and collected, and 3) you likely created the situation that you’re currently dealing with.

Has your agency every created or invested in a donor recapture initiative? If so, please share what it looked like? If you created a special case for support, what were some of the messages and themes you hit upon? How did you infuse emotion into your efforts? Please scroll down and share your thoughts using the comment box below. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

Fundraising advice from Dr. Teeth

February 1, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

This week we’re looking for non-profit and fundraising advice from one of my favorite books — “It’s Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider” — written by Jim Henson, The Muppets, and Friends. Yesterday, we looked at the idea of being “mission-focused” in a quote from Jim Henson. Today, we’re taking some fundraising advise from the keyboard player and leader of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem band.

Here are some lyrics from one of the band’s hit songs that I think contains great advice for volunteer solicitors who are out there making the ask during tough economic times:

“Whenever there’s a dream worth a-dreamin’
And you want to see that dream come true
There’ll be plenty people talkin’,
Say forget all about it
Say it isn’t worth all the trouble.
All the trouble that you’re goin’ through
Well, what can you do?

You can’t take no for an answer
You can’t take no for an answer
You can’t take no for an answer.

No, no, no!

Whatcha gonna do when the times get tough,
And the world’s treatin’ you unkind?
You’ve got to hang on to your optimistic outlook,
And keep possession of your positive state of mind.”

Where was the Emmy nomination for THAT song? Well, I’m just glad that the recent muppet movie song “Man or Muppet” got an Academy Award nomination for Best Song at this year’s Oscar celebration. Congratulations to all of my muppet friends. 🙂

So, back to fundraising . . . I believe Dr. Teeth has some very important advice for fundraising volunteers when it comes to:

Preparing yourself mentally for “The Ask” because 1-out-of-4 solicitations will end in a “NO”.
Preparing yourself to be politely test the question: “What does NO really mean?”

As for mental preparation, I am always amazed at how few non-profit organizations put together a well-run annual campaign kickoff event. Too often, I’ve attended a kickoff meeting that feel 75 percent social, 20 percent administrative (e.g. prospect assignment) and five percent training focused. My advice to fundraising professionals is to turn this approach on its head and use the kickoff meeting to engage, train and prepare volunteer solicitors for the following:

how to make a technically proficient face-to-face solicitation,
how to prepare for the solicitation meeting both mentally and physically, and
how to deal with all possibilities including YES, NO, and MAYBE.

I’ve seen nothing more damaging that ill-prepared volunteers running out the door with pledge cards in hand only to run into a buzz saw of NOs. Believe me when I tell you that the first report meeting is ugly and demoralized volunteers are hard to re-motivate. So, using the training portion of the kickoff meeting to prepare volunteers on how to handle NO and maintain a mission-focused positive mental attitude is critical.

As for Dr. Teeth’s idea of “not taking NO for an answer,” I believe this also goes back to your campaign kickoff meeting. I think it is important to train to volunteer solicitors to underestand that NO simply means “not now”. Once this is understood, let’s teach volunteers to not tuck their tails and run once a prospective donors says NO. With a little training, volunteers will be able to casually engage prospects in a conversation that will net valuable information such as:

Is this just a bad time to be asking for a contribution? Is there a better time?
Is the NO a result of something the agency did (or didn’t do)? If so, what is it and what can be done to fix the situation?
If there is a willingness to donate but simply no money to give, then is the prospect open to supporting the agency with other gifts of time or talent?

What does your annual campaign kickoff meeting look like? What types of trainings do you provide fundraising volunteers so they feel comfortable using some of Dr. Teeth’s sound advice? How do you capture this information in your donor database? Do you use contact reports? If so, what do they look like and how do you inspire your volunteers to fill them out?

Please use the comment box below and weigh-in with your experiences and ideas. We can call learn from each other. 😉

Here’s to your health!

Is mission-focus difficult? Try being green!

January 31, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

Those of you who know me know that I look for philanthropy and inspirational non-profit and fundraising messages and lessons under every little rock on the path of life. I recently re-read one of my favorite books — “It’s Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider” — written by Jim Henson, The Muppets, and Friends. While many of the short stories and quotes in this book can probably be applied to many of life’s little lessons, I will use excerpts this week and apply them to non-profit work, fundraising and philanthropy. I encourage you to get a copy of this inspirational little book and keep it close by at all times because I guarantee it will be a source of inspiration for years to come.

Let’s start the week off by looking at the idea of “mission-focus” through the eyes of the puppet master himself, Jim Henson:

“I cannot say why I am good at what I do, but I can say that I work very hard at it. Nor am I aware of any conscious career decisions. I’ve always found that one thing leads to another, and that I’ve moved from project to project in a natural progression.

Perhaps one thing that has helped me in achieving my goals is that I sincerely believe in what I do, and get great pleasure from it. I feel very fortunate because I can do what I love to do.”

I decided to start this week’s series of posts with this Jim Henson quote because it reminded me of a very good friend and non-profit executive director with whom I recently shared a cup of coffee. During that meeting, she waxed poetic about her decades of experience running her non-profit agency. She never looked at what she does as a job or career. She barely sleeps and spends most of her waking hours thinking about her agency. She doesn’t view any of it as work . . . it is just something she does out of a sense of love and passion.

There are nine keys to inspiring and engaging your board and volunteers in fundraising success (or really anything else associated with your agency). One of those nine keys is “mission-focus”. This essentially means that board members and volunteers will be more successful at whatever they’re being asked to do if they can see how it effects and advances the mission of the organization.

In other words, when volunteers are just focused on “raising money,” then it can become an arduous and fearful type of activity. However, when board members see the annual campaign or special event fundraiser as something that will help countless people get [insert your mission here e.g. gain access to healthcare], then they will find passion and energy for fundraising.

If you take Jim Henson’s inspirational words to heart, then they beg the question about hiring practices for non-profit professionals and recruitment practices for board members and volunteers.

After all, wouldn’t it be a heck of a lot easier to maintain an intense mission-focus on everything from fundraising to finance to revising the agency’s policy manual if those sitting around the table believed as Jim Henson did: “…I sincerely believe in what I do, and get great pleasure from it”?

How does your agency find people like this when conducting an employment search? What practices do you put in place to attract those who don’t see the job they are applying for as a “job”? What questions do you ask during the interview to get at this sense of mission-focus? Likewise, how do you identify potential board members and volunteers like this? What questions to do ask volunteers to determine if they’re interested in serving based on a burning passion for your mission? For those board members who slip through the cracks and join your ranks for other reasons (perhaps business or professional reasons), how do you instill a sense of mission-focus?

Lots of questions! Please scroll down and use the comment box to provide some answers. Remember, we can collectively answer all of these questions and learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

How Google’s Recent Changes Affect You and Your Non-Profit Organization

January 30, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Mondays with Marissa, technology

Google. The little search engine that could – has changed search, yet again.

This month, Google made significant changes to how they deliver search results and the Terms of Service attached to each of their products. Today we’re going to take a look at what you need to know about these changes and how they affect your agency’s presence on the web.

Search + Your World
Google became popular because it was able to develop an algorithm that would deliver relevant search results to the user. Over the years, Google has improved on its formula and has become the most recognizable search engine in the world. The cyber-world has changed a bit during this time as it has become social. Today, people are using Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to access information on topics before heading to Google. Why? They trust their already established social network. Recognizing that curated search results are popular, Google adapted it’s algorithm and introduced Search + Your World.

This new system has 3 features:

Provides Personal Results – Now when you search for “fundraising ideas” on Google, the first set of results that you see will be anything that may have been shared with you from your social network. This includes photos, blog posts, videos, ect.
Profiles in Search Results – Google+ is Google’s social network. With the new changes, if you search for a topic such as “photography,” the Google+ profiles of photographers may show up at the top of your search.
People and Pages – Again, directing the user to Google+, search results will now offer up profiles of people or pages related to your search topic.

A few things to keep in mind:

Facebook and twitter results are not included in search results.
If you have a Google account, your own media (photos, blog posts, videos, etc) will show up in your results. Also, they will show up in the results of anyone Google thinks you might know.
You can opt-out. On the Google search results page, in the upper right hand corner, there are two new icons: a person and a globe. If you click on the globe, you will see search results without the new “+ Your World” filter.

What does this mean for your non-profit organization?

Seeing as this change has happened only recently, it is hard to see how it is affecting organizations when it comes to where they show up in search results. However, as we all know, social media is becoming increasingly important to having new donors find you on the internet. One scenario came to mind. Say a donor, volunteer or staff member talks about their experience with your agency on their personal blog. That post could show up in a friend of the writer’s search results before your official site.

The curation of search results will continue with both Twitter and Facebook trying to step into the ring. Now more than ever, it is important for your agency to have a controlled and active online presence to ensure that the information you want to show up first, does. Test it out. Google your organization and see if this new way of search has made an impact.

Google’s New Terms of Service (or One Google To Rule Them All)
If you’re anything like me, I live my life in Google. I use Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google+, YouTube, Zaggat, Google Maps and Android, pretty much everyday. Currently, each of these services has it’s own Terms of Service (TOS) outlining how Google will use my personal information. That will change on March 1, 2012 when all Google products will operate under one TOS. Google claims this will enhance results across their products and improve how products work together.

However . . .

People concerned with privacy are worried about how their information is going to be shared on the internet. For example, say a person uses Gmail for personal correspondence and is trying out stand-up comedy on YouTube under an alias. After March 1st, the person’s real name will be associated with the YouTube account – easy for anyone to find. It should be noted however, that Yahoo! and Microsoft already have similar practices.

Again, what does this mean for your non-profit agency?

If you are currently using any Google service on behalf of your agency, it is important that you are aware of how your information will be combined. I suggest creating separate personal and professional accounts before March 1, 2012 to make sure that the separation is clear to Google.

Also, if your organization already uses Google products, I would review what services are being used with your account. This can be done by logging into Google Dashboard.

Finally, if you decide that Google products are not the best fit for your organization, you can always export your data and delete your Google account.

What do you think about the changes Google has made? Do you see them as a help or hinderance to your organization? I’d love to discuss this with you, but you need to start the conversation using the comment box below! 😉