Stop trying to be a COWBOY — invest in the power of ideas

Most of last week I spent time in Milwaukee with friends of mine from the Boys & Girls Club movement. I spoke to executive directors, board volunteers, fundraising professionals and program staff. Since I just opened the doors to my new consulting practice — The Healthy Non-Profit LLC — this was my first ever conference as an exhibitor. I found it very interesting that many of the conversations I entered into started with the words: “Erik, I have a problem that I need your help with . . .”

After taking a few days to digest the conference and all the people I spoke with, I’ve come to this very simple and disturbing conclusion:

Y’all need to stop trying to be cowboys!

As I revisit those conversations, they sounded something like this:

  • My revenue budget looks grim for next year. What should I do?
  • Our board members only want to cut their way out of this budget crisis. What should I do?
  • My donor database is a mess. What should I do?
  • The board of directors is disengaged and expects me fix everything. What should I do?

As I think back to those conversations, I realize that there was one song that ran through my head (kinda like background music on an elevator) and it was this song by Bonnie Tyler. Of course, if you just clicked that YouTube link, then you’re probably laughing because I just accidentally cast myself in the role of Shrek. ROTFLMAO!

As someone who is new to consulting, these conversations are very encouraging because they validate my business plan. However, truth be told, this isn’t what I am actually thinking about today . . . I keep circling back to the idea that my non-profit friends need to stop trying to solve these problems alone. You are not a cowboy! You are not Superman!

While you might think I am trying to turn this blog post into a “case for support” for hiring a consultant or coach, please believe me when I say I am not. In fact, I believe almost everyone I spoke to at the conference currently has the resources to solve their problems if they just engaged their volunteers, donors and community leaders in an open and honest dialog about whatever ails them.

I live in the Chicago area of the country, and this week is “Chicago Ideas Week“. In this event’s own words this week-long event includes 100 speakers in 7 days that will result in ONE inspired city. “Chicago Ideas Week (CIW) will bring the world’s top speakers together with Chicago’s best thinkers to create an ecosystem of innovation, exploration, and intellectual recreation.” Click here to visit their website and learn more.

So, here is my crazy idea . . .  why not leverage the collective talent and genius of your non-profit supporters and community much like the City of Chicago is trying to do?

I can see it now. A room full of donors and supporters hearing board volunteers and staff honestly talk about the “state of your non-profit organization”. After hearing an update on a particular subject matter (e.g. program outcomes, board development, fundraising, etc), a question is posed to the audience. Participants break into smaller work groups to brainstorm. After a sufficient amount of time, these sub-groups report back, notes are taken, and solutions are generated. Before leaving this ideas conference, donors/volunteers/supporters are invited to help implement the solutions they just generated (but they are asked to only volunteer for what they feel passionate about working on).

Am I crazy to think that we need to let our defenses down and find ways to engage all stakeholders in solving our agency’s challenges?

Please use the comment box located below to weigh-in with your thoughts. What would stop you from doing something like this? Why not engage supporters in brainstorming and rolling up their sleeves to help you? Are there any take-aways from the Chicago Ideas Week concept that you think you might be able to use at your non-profit organization?

We can all learn from each other. Don’t be shy. Please share your thoughts below. And if you don’t know where to start in organizing an event like this, please give me a call because I’d love to help!

Here is 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

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 5: Engaging Correctly

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health! ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 5: Engaging Correctly

You made it! You understand Twitter, you’ve signed up, tweeted and set up your Twitter management system. In the last of our week-long series, it’s time to make magic happen and talk with strangers. That sounded much better in my head.

Technicals

There are two ways to talk to a particular person or entity. One is doing it publicly – for all to see on Twitter. It’s called a ‘reply’ and looks like this “@carknow Thanks for reading my blog, see you soon!”.  The other way is private, called a Direct Message or DM.  You can DM (or reply) by clicking the appropriate button on their tweet (in hootsuite) or in their profile (the info box about them that pops up when you click on their name in hootsuite).  In your tweeting bar in Hootsuite, DMs will start with a lowercase ‘d’. (Note: you can tweet via text but the commands may be different, be careful.) Hootsuite also has a ‘reply all’ feature in the drop down of their tweet so you can reply all to several people if more than one are included in a conversation.

The culture of Twitterville

In college I had the great opportunity to spend some time in Ghana, Africa. In Ghanian culture, you don’t cross your legs (because it blocks the traditional good spirits from flowing) and you don’t use your left hand to shake hands or pass food (because in rural villages you wipe with that hand – yes, just what you’re thinking).  Breaking these cultural norms offend people, make you look stupid and ruin your chances of a healthy relationship with the locals. Same goes for Twitterville.

The best suggestion I have is to remember our cocktail party analogy from day 1. You’re walking into a room with millions ofpeople. You have no idea who’s watching, no idea who you’ll meet and no idea what you’re doing there (though you’ve got a good start).

So, don’t be rude, over-share, brag, interrupt, beg, curse, etc.

Do – be honest, open, genuine, fun, funny, make connections, offer wisdom, spread good karma, compliment, make introductions, remember no one’s an expert and be responsive.

You’ll quickly learn that many people don’t follow the rules/norms above. Like it or not, you have a personal brand and you can either keep that in mind and work to improve/protect it, or not. For more on branding yourself, check this out.

Increasing engagement

Your network is measured by quality, not quantity. However, there are some things you can do to increase the likeliness that your tweets are seen and increase both the size and quality of your network.

1. Participate in twitter chats.

It’s when 10-100 people set a day/time to discuss a particular topic. For a HUGE list of over 500 chats, check out this Twitter Chat Calendar and do a search for keywords or topics of interest.

2. Thank people.

For mentions or retweets (RTs). Not only are they paying attention to you, but they’re doing it publicly and some of their followers may start following you.

3. Give kudos.

‘Follow Friday’ is a Twitterville cultural norm that happens mostly on Fridays. You’ll see hashtags #followfriday or #FF and it’s basically a public endorsement of a handle or group of handles. There are two ways to do it.  You can either list a bunch of people that you suggest others follow. Or, you can list one person and share why people should follow them and/or what topics they’re knowledgeable of.

4. Pay it forward. Give Klout.

Klout is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a measure of someone’s online influence. In reality, a company started measuring it, Twitter now includes it in your profile. It’s based on some super-top-secret algorithm of followers, retweets, regularity, etc. You can go to Klout’s website to learn more BUT you can actually give Klout to other people (also via their site).  Spend some time paying it forward and ‘giving’ influence points to someone who’s helped you, educated you, connected you, informed you, etc.  Like karma, it’ll come back in its own way.

There you have it – it you made it this far through the series, you should be off to a great start! Tweet away and have a ball. Keep me posted on your progress and share what you learned. We’re all here to learn from each other.

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 4: Managing Twitterville

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health! ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 4: Managing Twitterville?

Ok, so you understand the concept, you’ve signed up and you’ve tweeted! Congratulations. Now comes the fun part. A backstage pass, behind the scenes look at my own personal Twitter management system. The 4th in this week’s series, we’re going to make sense of the neighborhood that is Twitterville.

Remember the bazillion messages we talked about in the first post? We’re going to get you set up on Hootsuite so you can filter all those tweets and only see what you want, when you want to see it – so that you can get to the holy grail of social media – appropriately engaging with the right people and not being so overwhelmed with info that you loose sight of its value.

Understanding streams

First, it’s important to understand that I only use Hootsuite for Twitter.  You can connect all sorts of social media outlets to it but I haven’t…yet.  That said, here’s how I think of streams. Take a colander from the kitchen and put it under a running faucet.  The water goes from one faucet stream to 10-100 smaller streams of water. Same concept in twitter streams – you’re using keywords and searches to separate tweets you want to see from those you don’t. As a bonus, you can lump similar streams into tabs – think of tabs as overarching categories. Hootsuite has made it pretty easy to technically set up a stream, the harder part is thinking through what all you want to see.

Read through these examples and we’ll work on your shortly.  I get a little stream/tab happy and to be honest, can’t keep up with the ones towards the end…but here’s what I have…

My tabs and streams

Tab 1 – Mine still has the default name of ‘Featured’.  I use this tab for hashtags (remember, index/topics) at conferences or when I’m using Hootsuite on my iPhone – because it’s all about the quickest access on the fly. Currently on that tab I have streams for #afpmeet, #fundchat, #SMindyNP, #ynpn, #11ntc #ynpchat and #ynpn.

Tab 2 – My second tab is titled with my Twitter name and follows (in order) my home feed, mentions, a search stream for @nathan_hand (I use this as a fail-safe/backup for mentions because hootsuite can sometimes miss mentions and it’s embarrasing/rude to not respond to peeps!), #fundchat, #bin2011, #millennialchat, #givingshow, Direct Message Inbox, Direct Message Outbox, Sent tweets.

I manage several other Twitter accounts – each account gets its own tab along with relevant streams.

Tab 3 – Titled @indysow and includes streams for Home, Mentions, search for @indysow (fail-safe), Direct Message Inbox, Direct Message outbox, Sent Tweets, Pending Tweets, and a list of those that tutor for us – ambassadors of sorts.

Tab 4 – Titled @AFPIndiana and includes streams for Home, Mentions, search for @AFPIndiana, Direct Message Inbox, Direct Message outbox, Sent Tweets, Pending Tweets and #afpmeet.

Tab 5 – Titled @Backpackattack and includes streams for Home, Mentions, search for @Backpackattack, Direct Message Inbox, Direct Message outbox, Sent Tweets, Pending Tweets

The remaining tabs are for particular subjects/topics that include streams for ‘sub-topics’.  For better or worse, I only use searches and keywords.

Tab 6 – Titled indysow – for topics related to that entity that show tweets we might care about. Streams are @indysow, “School on Wheels” (a search for our org name in quotes so it grabs those exact words), homeless, homelessness, homeless indianapolis, homeless children, homeless education, homeless youth, donate homeless, donate homelessness.

Tab 7 – Titled ‘fundraising’ – streams are fundraising, major gift, annual fund, planned giving, fundraising indiana

Tab 8 – Titled ‘nonprofit’ – streams for nonprofit, nonprofit management, nonprofit marketing, nonprofit leadership, not for profit

Tab 9 – Titled ‘marketing – streams for nonprofit marketing, social marketing, nonprofit email marketing, cause marketing

Tab 10, 11 & 12 are for ‘philanthropy’, ‘Indianapolis’ and ‘Leadership’ with streams for related sub-topics.

The advantages to tabs and streams are abundant. If you follow more than 20 or so people, the ‘home’ stream is difficult to keep up with – especially if those you follow are prolific tweeters.  Let’s work on your set-up.

(UPDATE: At the request of @Maggie_Stevens – here’s a screenshot of my hootsuite dashboard)

Your tabs and streams

Grab a blank piece of paper and map out the keywords and topics you want to follow, personally and professionally.  Use the bio you wrote as guidance.  Let’s say you wrote “Dir Digital Communications for Seattle Agency for the Aging. Husband, Dad, aspiring BBQ judge, runner, photographer and organic chef.”  I’d suggest,

Tab “Work” w/ streams – digital communication, social media, nonprofit email, aging, elder care, elderly, over 60

Tab “BBQ” w/ streams – BBQ, bar-b-que, BBQ judge, BBQ judging, food contest, BBQ festival, BBQ expert

Tab “Run” w/ streams – running, run, runners, marathon, fitness, 26.2, distance running

Tab “photo” w/ streams – photography, digital photography, photo composition, digital camera

Tab “chef” w/ streams – foodie, organic, chef, food network, hell’s kitchen, chef show

Use paper or a white board and map this stuff out before you set it up. The reality is that you’ve got to start somewhere. As you engage further on Twitter, you’ll learn the different hashtags and terms people use to discuss all these.  You may start out following words, and later you’ll have streams and tabs of hashtags.

So you understand Twitter, you’re set up, you’ve tweeted and now you’re managing tweets and info. Tomorrow is the big, last and most important. Engaging!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 3: Actually Tweeting

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health! ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 3: Actually Tweeting

Welcome back! This is the 3rd in this week-long series. Come back each day, subscribe via RSS or get posts via email (see right). Unlike the others, this is participatory and may take a few minutes for you to do. Ready?

Are you sitting down? This is gonna rock your world.  We’re not going to use Twitter to tweet. What?!?! Say it out loud to yourself.

“I will not use Twitter to tweet.”

That’s right. While the folks at Twitter are really smart, there are better ways to actually tweet than using Twitter.com.  What you need to do is go to Hootsuite.com right now and set up an account and connect your Twitter account.  Don’t worry, it takes a few seconds and is super-easy. Go ahead, I’ll wait….

Welcome back. Good job! I’ll explain the streams, columns and other stuff later. First up…

The tweeting box

1. Compose a message – this is where you type in what you’re going to say. Let’s practice. Type “I’m learning how to tweet from @nathan_hand“.  (while a bit self-serving, there’s no harm done by actually typing this – but if you’d rather just type “I’m new to twitter!” that’s ok too.)  See the little ’140′ count down as you type? This helps you keep track of how many characters you have left.

2. Add a link – let’s say you’re referencing this post.  Copy the website address in your URL bar above (the www.blahblahblah) and paste it in the spot where it says ‘Add a link’. Then click ‘shrink’. It immediately creates a new link that fits within your 140 characters. Smart huh?

3. Click ‘SEND’. Go ahead, take a big dramatic breath and click SEND! Done? You did it! You just tweeted! Give yourself a pat on the back, high five or toast to your technological prowress – well done! Ready for more?

4. Scheduling posts – this is one of my favorite features. You can schedule a message to be sent at a later date.  Let’s say you just read 4 amazing articles all about _____(insert your hobby here) and you want to share them.  The reality is that if you share them all at once, and then don’t share anything for a few days, your account may be seen as a bit spastic. Instead, schedule them over the course of the next couple hours or days. That way you don’t look like a hibernating tweeter who just comes out to see the sunlight and reads once every few days.

5. Drafts, attachments and location – I seldom use these but you may find them helpful.  There’s nothing wrong with exploring and testing – see what works for you!

Anatomy of a tweet

Let’s take a look at a sample tweet that you might see.

  1. Hardlynormal is the name of the person/entity tweeting – you can usually click on it (or their avatar/photo) to learn more about them.
  2. The time shown is when they sent the message (duh) but it also shares which tool they use. This line is clickable and takes you to the actual status update on twitter.com
  3. See the RT? That stands for retweet. It means that @MitzvahCircle (another person/entity) actually sent this message out and then @hardlynormal chose to forward it, or retweet it out to his followers.
  4. See the #kindness and #hope? These are called hashtags.  Hashtags are a way of indexing twitter. We’ll learn later that you can follow particular words or hashtags in order to watch or take part in conversations about that word/topic.  If you click on the hashtag #hope – you’ll see all the latest tweets referencing #hope. Cool huh?

Oh my gosh! You’re tweeting! Reach your left arm straight out, then over to the right, then touch your right shoulder-blade with it. Then reach your right arm out, then over to your left and touch your left shoulder blade. Now give yourself a hug. Congrats.

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 2: Signing Up

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health! ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 2: Signing Up

So you’ve heard enough about Twitter and you’re ready to at least sign-up and see what it’s all about.  No, I’m not going to do it for you but here are some tips to get off on the right foot.

The second in this week-long series, come back each day, subscribe via RSS or get posts via email (see right).

Your handle

Your handle is your ‘Twitter name’.  Pretend you’re a trucker. It’s what people will know you by, what they’ll click on to learn more about you and what you’ll be associated as.  You can technically change it later but it’s better not to.  10-4 good buddy.

  • Keep it real & simple – many people (myself included) select their name, see @nathan_hand.  Or some combination of their name, title, identity or descriptor. See @profsaxton, @charityideas, etc.
    Don’t use trucker language…or ’10-4′ or ‘over and out’ on Twitter.
  • Keep it short – remember that tweets are only 140 characters. The shorter your name, the more space you (and others) will have to converse.
  • Keep it clean & appropriate – people will come to know you by this. Would you want your Grandma yelling @BgKahuna in church? Maybe if you’re @BgKahuna.
  • Keep it transferable – Including your work or location can make it difficult when/if you ever change jobs or locations.  Then again, it can make you more relevant or help people understand more about you.  For example, if @NicoleWTHR ever switches stations or cities, she may need to change her name.  However, those that come across her tweets are more likely to understand she’s connected to a TV station than if she was @NicoleMisencik.

Your avatar

No, I’m not talking about the 12 ft tall blue Na’vi creatures from James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster. Your ‘avatar’ is the little picture that exemplifies you on Twitter.  Brands usually use their logo. Some people use professional headshots, others crop family photos or create cartoon versions of themselves.  I really don’t think this matters a lot. HOWEVER, make sure you use it. Otherwise Twitter puts a big ugly egg there until you do – and you’ll be known as an egg-head – not to mention it’s very impersonal (the opposite of social). Remember, the pics are small, so don’t use a full-body image or group shot – you want your head/shoulders so people know what you look like or what you stand for.

Your bio

This is where the magic happens. The purpose of your Twitter bio is to let other people know who you are and why they might want to follow you. If you’re a squirrel expert or are only going to tweet about fireworks, it’s probably a good idea to say that. What makes you interesting? You’re looking for quality followers, not quantity, so be real and honest. Here’s one of my favorite posts on Twitter bios.

Your location

This is simple.  You can put the city, state you’re in. Maybe the area of the country/world you spend most of your time in. You can use it to make a statement, or just follow the norms for once. Maybe you want to be creepy and put “Psst! Right behind you!” You only have a few spaces so think hard and wordsmith wisely.

Your settings

Most of them are easy but there are a couple I think are important. Like any social media, you want to be (somewhat) responsive – meaning if a week goes by and you haven’t responded to someone who tweeted you – you’re not following the Twitter customs. So, under ‘Mobile’, set up mobile alerts for when you’re mentioned or sent a Direct Message (DM – I’ll explain soon).  That way you’ll receive a message if someone’s trying to contact you via Twitter…and you’re not lame-o. Also, go to ‘Notifications’ and determine when you want emails.  I prefer the ‘less is more’ approach to emails – you can uncheck all the boxes because we’re gonna use Hootsuite and mobile to handle it – not email.

Now you’re ready. Open Twitter in another window or tab and refer to this post as you sign up! Tomorrow – we’ll TWEET!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 1: Why Twitter?

Good morning everyone! This week I am privileged to be attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Midwest Leadership Conference in Milwaukee, WI. With all hustle and bustle associated with attending a conference, I decided to find a “guest blogger” to take over for me this week. It wasn’t a difficult search. As a subscriber to the Nonprofit Nate blog on WordPress, I have become a huge fan of Nathan Hand and was thrilled when he agreed to step in for me. The cherry on top of this sundae is that Nate agreed to post all week on the subject of Twitter and how non-profit organizations can/should use that social media network. So, the following is a little bit more about Nathan and today’s post. Enjoy . . . and I’ll see you next week. Here is to your health!    ~Erik Anderson, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

Nathan Hand is an AmeriCorps alumnus, holds an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University, a Masters in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University. Nathan is Vice President of Development at School on Wheels, an organization helping homeless children in Indianapolis. He writes at www.nonprofitnate.com sharing thoughts for nonprofiteers and helping visitors navigate the world of giving. For more, follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his blog!

Twitter Bootcamp Lesson 1: Why Twitter?

If I have to explain the importance of Twitter one more time I’m going to vomit in my mouth and swallow it, fighting through the sore throat it creates.  Just kidding. I love it. I love it so much I thought I’d share the first in a five-part series this week. Designed to help you understand it, sign up correctly and do it right – come back each day, subscribe via RSS or get posts via email (see right).  Already tweeting? Convert your friends or add something to the conversation…smartypants.

Understanding the concept

Before you dive in and sign up, it’s important to frame your understanding of Twitter.  My favorite analogy is a global cocktail party.  Imagine a giant room full of all sorts of people, from all sorts of places, conversing about all sorts of topics…without the house wine or mini quiches.  The room’s at a constant buzz. People are bouncing from table to table, some are laughing, some are in serious conversation, some are teaching things, some are looking for business, some are bragging about themselves and some are quietly taking it all in. Oh, and it’s happening 24/7.  The only difference is that it’s online.  Twitter is bazillions of short messages being fired off from all around the planet at all hours of the day.

Just like a normal cocktail party – the truth is you probably don’t give two naked squirrels about most of what’s being said.  The trick to finding value in Twitter is cutting through the bazillions of messages and finding the few that you actually care about. The beautiful thing is that there are super-easy tools that help you do that – I’ll get there soon, bear with me.

A megaphone back-flip

Why is Twitter important? Besides being able to share/hear/learn from people in a crazy-awesome quiche-free environment, it changes the global communication dynamic.  What do I mean?  In traditional marketing 30 years ago, a company put up a billboard or created a commercial to craft the message it wants people to hear and think about a product (think Mad Men).  It was large, mega-phonal, one-way communication.  If United airlines lost your luggage, you’d complain to your friends and family and just maybe a couple of them wouldn’t book United the next time they flew.  The reality? United did not care.  (que tear and sniffle) They didn’t have to. They had millions of other customers and loosing one or two to your vengeful word of mouth rampage didn’t matter to them…at all. They’d produce a commercial or put up a billboard and quickly replace you with new customers spending new dollars.

With Twitter (as with Facebook, YouTube, social media, etc.) the dynamic has changed.  Individuals can see/measure the power of their network and amplify their message.  Most importantly, they can have as much or MORE influence and power than a company or brand using traditional marketing. See the infamous “United breaks guitars” video and case study.

What Twitter is not

Twitter is not a bad word. It’s not a waste of time. It’s not only for young-ens. It’s not the cool kids’ table. It’s not only for athletes, Ashton Kutcher or Ryan Secrest. It’s not too confusing or too much trouble. It doesn’t take away from your priorities and it’s not hard. At the same time, just like sushi or rollerblading, Twitter’s not for everyone.  At the end of this series, if it’s not for you – that’s ok. I just ask that you give it your best. I think you’ll like it.

Ready for Twitter 102-105? Come back each day, subscribe via RSS or get posts via email (click here to visit Nonprofit Nate and sign-up ).  Tweetcha later.

The Sounds of Annual Campaign Planning: Part 4

As most of you already know, I am dedicating all of this week’s blog posts to the 2012 annual campaign planning process, and I’m putting it all to music just for the fun of it. Today’s post focuses on constructing your campaign’s policies.

Cue the music . . . click here for your first musical selection then start reading.  🙂

First, let me admit that I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to skipping the policy writing part of the annual campaign planning process. For some reason, I always saw this exercise as a harmless corner that could be cut without too much damage being done. For this reason, it is important to address this question first: “Why should you write policies pertaining specifically to your annual campaign?”

When in doubt, I always say “Google It!!!” … so I did and found this great little blurb straight out of a U.S. Department of Agriculture manual:

“Policies give direction to plans. They are a road map [that] management can follow to reach goals and attain objectives. Well written policy facilitates delegation of authority to the lowest feasible level . . . “

Let me use an example to help illustrate the importance of this wonderful little blurb and put it into context for a volunteer-driven fundraising campaign. So, let’s say I am sitting with a donor and just asked her to consider making a pledge of $1,000 to our annual campaign. The donor seems agreeable, but has some questions. I handle the first few questions flawlessly, but then we start getting into territory where I don’t have the slightest idea of what the answer might be (e.g. can the gift be paid for in stock, how much time does the donor have to pay-off their pledge, etc). Uh-oh! Maybe I shouldn’t “close the deal” right now because I need to find some answers to this donors questions.

Volunteers are already super reluctant to participate in face-to-face solicitations. One of their many fears is being unable to answer a donor’s question (or providing inaccurate answers to their questions).

From a staff perspective, written policies are your friend because they keep volunteers from calling you every other time with questions about whether or not something can be done. When your volunteer solicitors are empowered with that kind of knowledge, they are more successful at “closing the gift” and have fewer prospects to follow-up with after the original solicitation call.

Overall, writing campaign policies saves both staff and volunteers time and increases a volunteer’s confidence heading into a solicitation call.

Writing policies does not need to be a difficult or time-consuming part of your annual campaign planning process. I encourage staff and campaign volunteers to sit down and make a list of commonly asked questions. I suspect the following questions might be found on most lists:

  • How often can the non-profit send me a pledge reminder (e.g. how many payments can I slice my pledge into)? Or can you bill me on an irregular schedule of May, August, November and December?
  • By when do I need to have my pledge paid?
  • Do you accept stock as a form of payment? Or can I pay my contribution with a credit card?
  • Do you accept in-kind contributions, too? (e.g. cars, computer equipment, etc)
  • Will you send me an acknowledgement letter that I can give to my accountant for tax purposes? How soon will I get that documentation?
  • Will you share my name and contract information with other companies?
  • Can I make this contribution anonymously?
  • I hate receiving all that junk mail from charities . . . can I opt out of those mailings (e.g. newsletter, etc)?
  • I don’t like public recognition, can you keep my name off of donor honor rolls, newsletter recognition and the website?
  • May I designate my annual campaign contribution to a specific program or to a future building fund?

This list can go on and on and on, which can make this step in the planning process look time-consuming. So, I encourage you to not get carried away. If you haven’t ever written campaign policies, then start small. You can always add written policies in the future.

If you already have written resource development policies as part of your organization’s written resource development plan, then you may not have to re-invent the wheel. However, staff and volunteers should still take a moment to review those policies to ensure there isn’t anything missing from an annual campaign perspective.

If you are a “googling fool” like me, it will be a challenge to find samples if you try searching “annual campaign policies”. I suggest searching on phrases such as: “donor recognition policies” or “fundraising policies”. You’ll have a little more success. Or you can just facilitate an organic exercise and ask questions like the ones I pose above.

The biggest thing to remember is: involve your volunteers in this process. This is NOT a staff-only activity. Don’t forget that these written policies exist to help your volunteer solicitors feel more confident and get “The Question Song” out of their head before/during/after a solicitation call. So, excluding them from this process would be counter-productive.

ALSO … don’t forget that only the board of directors has the ability to bring written policies to life. So, whatever the annual campaign committee decides needs to be reviewed and approved by the board.

Does your organization have written policies that help guide your annual campaign? If so, are you willing to share them with others? How did you develop your policies? How and when do you educate volunteer solicitors on these policies before sending them out to talk to donors?

Please use the comment box below to answer some of these questions. As I always say, we can all learn from each other.

Here is to your health!

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

The Sounds of Annual Campaign Planning: Part 2

For those of you following along, you know that I am dedicating all of this week’s blog posts to the 2012 annual campaign planning process, and I’m putting it all to music just for the fun of it. Today’s post focuses on prospect identification & evaluation and campaign goal setting.

Cue the music . . . click here for your first musical selection then start reading.  🙂

For many of you, this is budget season and you’re sitting around your computers plugging numbers into spreadsheets. Finance committee and board volunteers are poking and prodding, which results in revisions and more meetings. “Lather-Rinse-Repeat“.

As you go through this mind-numbing process, I know many of you are projecting your annual campaign revenue all alone in your locked office. Even more likely, you’re probably pulling numbers out of the air, plugging them into spreadsheet cells that previously held smaller numbers, and are muttering things under your breath like:

  • “Well, we just don’t have a choice. The annual campaign simply needs to bring that in.”
  • “We raised $X last year … surely our volunteers and staff can increase that by 10%.”
  • “Once we make the case to our annual campaign donors, they will see things for what they actually are and everyone will increase their gift a little bit.”

If this picture describes you, then stop what you’re doing. Put down the Häagen-Dazs ice cream. And push away from the spreadsheet. Click here for your next musical selection because we need to take a good hard look in the mirror.

As I posted yesterday, I really encourage you to sit down with volunteers to do your 2012 annual campaign planning. Before tossing numbers around and rationalizing a new goal, I urge you to dig into your donor database and start with real numbers.

I’ve always liked involving volunteers first and starting with donor identification & evaluation exercises, then using that data/analysis to back into a campaign goal. For some reason it just feels more real to me. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Look at who gave last year. Determine who is likely to make another contribution. Set a ‘suggested ask amount’ based on past giving history and what the people around the table are saying about that donor’s capacity and willingness to contribute in 2012.  (Always remember — people’s lives change)
  • Look for new prospective donors. Ask volunteers to review donor lists from your special events (or any other fundraiser for that matter). Also ask them to review donor honor rolls from other non-profits and service club membership rosters. Many of these are ‘cold leads,’ but with the right person making the solicitation they might just turn into a supporter. Be very conservative when assigning suggested ask amounts to these prospects.
  • Look at your agency’s ‘prospect cultivation list’ for the last year. Add any names from that list if you think they’re ready to take that next step from ‘prospect’ to ‘donor’. Again, be very conservative when assigning suggested ask amounts to these prospects.
  • After you and your volunteers have agreed upon a complete list of prospects and assigned each of them an ask amount, sum the column and divide by two (or divide by three if you want to be very conservative). Congratulations . . . you now have your first draft annual campaign goal that can be inserted into the agency’s 2012 budget spreadsheet.

The truth is that this is probably just a starting point. Many fundraising professionals and executive directors like to start tweaking the numbers from here.

  • Some people pull out the donors with giving history and only applying the “divide by two” or “divide by three” rule to new campaign prospects.
  • Some people use a Range of Gifts chart to do this analysis, and instead of dividing anything, they add two or three prospects for every gift required.
  • Some people have these discussions with volunteers around a table, and others use a paper or digital process to take personalities out of it and inject an air of confidentiality.

There is no science to this process, but the hard truth is that you need to develop a process that instills a sense of confidence in the numbers for your volunteers. I believe starting with prospect identification and evaluation exercises that lead into a discussion around goal setting keeps things realistic. Of course, there will be talk about “what needs to be raised,” but the work you do on the front-end will help balance the urge to use ‘plug numbers’ in your agency’s budget spreadsheet on the back-end.

If you start down this path now, then you might just find yourself humming this song from R. Kelly when sitting in front of your spreadsheet plugging in revenue numbers for your annual campaign.

How does your agency set its annual campaign goals? What ‘science’ do you bring to the table with your volunteers? Too many of us pull numbers of the air. So, please step up and share how you do things because we can all learn from each other.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson
Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
eanderson847@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Beware of vampire staff

There is an invisible line that exists in the board-staff as well as the donor-staff relationship. Unfortunately, it is a blurry line that gets stepped over from time-to-time. Sometimes it is innocent, and other times it is malicious. Today’s blog post focuses on those not-so-innocent times and offers a few suggestions to both board and staff on how to handle these situations.

First let me start by stating the obvious: “The board of directors has ONLY one employee, and that person is the CEO (aka Executive Director) of the organization.” If this truism is not clear to everyone, then please know that trouble lies ahead on your journey, and it is preparing to ambush your organization.

While the CEO is the board’s only employee (and all other staff work for the CEO), there are times that the CEO finds it necessary to create an environment where their employees interact directly with the board. For example, agencies that are lucky enough to employ resource development professionals need to let that person(s) work directly with board volunteers to plan, implement and evaluate the comprehensive resource development plan. It is in situations like this that the “line” I referenced earlier can get trampled.

Here are a few real life examples that I’ve seen in my travels and work with non-profit organizations:

  • The RD professional was friendly with the COO. Unfortunately, the COO wasn’t performing at a high level and was on a corrective action plan and on the verge of termination. The RD professional didn’t agree with their CEO’s management decisions, started actively engaging the board president, and lobbied for the CEO’s termination (and implying that they should be named the CEO instead).
  • An employee who had been receiving poor evaluations for a few years sensed they were on thin ice. In an effort to undercut the CEO, they befriended key board volunteers and constantly chatted with them about non-work related issues (e.g. health problems, family problems, etc). It was obvious this strategy was an attempt to create sympathy and make it next to impossible for the CEO to terminate them without dealing with potential political blow-back from the board.
  • A special events coordinator hadn’t been making goal, and the CEO was starting to turn up the heat. Suddenly, the staff person initiated an extramarital affair with a married board volunteer who carried a lot of weight on the board and in the community. Oh, did I mention the volunteer was also a fairly substantial donor? <<Gulp>> Needless to say, terminating this employee suddenly came with many complications for the CEO.
  • A VP of Development decided they didn’t like the CEO’s management decisions (or the ‘tone’ they took with staff) and decided they would make a better CEO. Not only did they start openly lobbying for the CEO’s termination with the board president (who was a very good personal friend), but they did so with other key board volunteers and even donors.

Here are a few tips that should help when “the line” gets stepped over (and unfortunately it happens more often than you think even if it isn’t in such egregious ways as I’ve highlighted above):

  • Board volunteer tip #1: Don’t let staff (including the CEO) get too close and blur the line between professional and personal. When conversations shift to personal things, be polite and redirect the conversation at your earliest convenience.
  • Board volunteer tip #2: Be very familiar (and review annually) what your agency’s written policies say about how staff should register complaints about your only employee (aka CEO). So, when a staff person crosses that line you can quickly redirect them to that policy and urge them to follow it. Remember — not following written policies can put you in a legal position at a later date if the board finds that it needs to terminate a CEO’s employment.
  • Board volunteer tip #3: Similar to tip #2, make sure your agency has adopted written “Whistleblower policies” (this is above and beyond complaint policies in your employee handbook). Make sure the law is being followed with regards to posting and implementing that policy. Click here to read a really good blog post from Thomas Silk at Blue Avocado on this subject.
  • CEO tip #1: Don’t foolishly give your staff unfettered access to the board of directors. Be smart about it, and supervise the situation like a hawk. Remember — “You reap what you sow”.
  • CEO tip #2: Be proactive and upfront with your staff. Tell them during their orientation as well as periodically throughout their employment that there is a “line” that exists between board-staff and staff-donors. Be gentle yet firm and upfront about what will happen if that line is crossed.
  • CEO tip #3: Don’t be soft on staff who step over this line. Once a staff person violates the trust you have placed in them, it is almost impossible to regain it. Be prepared to terminate those employees who lack boundaries, and be prepared to do it swiftly regardless of the consequences. If they lack boundaries when it comes to this, then they lack boundaries all over the place.  Cut your losses quickly!

So, am I being too harsh? Do you think these vampire staff who prey on a board volunteer’s or donor’s good nature can be rehabilitated? Have you ever witnessed examples of similar situations? If so, how did the situation play out? Was there ever a ‘happy ending’ or does it always end up messy? Please use the comment box below to weigh-in because we can all learn from each other.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson
Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
eanderson847@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Killing sacred cows

A few weeks ago, a dear friend of mine from down south sent me this message through LinkedIn:

“I would like to get your perspective on how to handle an advisory board that loves their special event (they gave birth to it), it costs $0.95 on each $1.00 raised and takes months of time and effort. “

My first thought here was: “WOW, it only costs 95 cents to raise a dollar with that special event?”

For those of you who are not familiar with Charity Navigator’s “2007  Special Events Study,” I strongly urge you to read it. They discovered that the average special event fundraiser (when considering direct and indirect costs) will cost a non-profit agency $1.33 to raise $1.00.

I wonder if the aforementioned 95 cent cost included indirect costs like staff time.

Not included in the study (because it would be impossible to do) is calculating the “opportunity cost” involved with a special event fundraiser. In other words, what other fundraising opportunity did we miss out on because we spent our volunteers’ time doing a special event? How much more money could we have raised (and at what cost) if we asked the same staff and volunteers to run an annual campaign pledge drive instead of that labor intensive gold outting?

Here’s the thing . . . volunteers LOVE special events because it is the least scary form of fundraising. They are out selling tickets and feel comfortable doing so because they’ve rationalized that their friend is getting something of value in exchange for their donation; whereas, no one is getting anything in return for an annual campagn pledge.

According to dictionary.com, a sacred cow is “an individual, organization, institution, etc., considered to be exempt from criticism or questioning.” In my opinion, special event fundraising is likely one of the non-profit volunteer’s most sacred cows, and killing sacred cows is hard to do!

If you are determined to kill a sacred cow, then you only have one path to travel . . . it has to be the idea of those people who hold it sacred.

How can that be done? Here are a few ideas:

  • Engage your event volunteers in a post-event evaluation meeting. Share the Charity Navigator study with them. Calculate the event’s TRUE cost (direct + indirect) and share info, too. Ask them how they’d handle the same situation back home at their place of employment if a product or service was losing money.
  • Use your resource development committee, as part of your annual resource development planning process, to look at every revenue stream and its true cost. Engage them in reviewing your agency’s resource development policies. If you don’t already have policies setting ROI standards for events, walk them through that exercise.
  • Pull together a focus group of key donors. Share the Charity Navigator study along with your special event data with them. Ask them for their observations and suggestions. See where the conversation takes you. It might be very interesting! Make sure all of the focus group’s feedback gets shared with the event committee, resource development committee and board of directors.

It is important to remember that special events do serve a good purpose, especially with providing an opportunity to engage new prospective donors. It is never a good idea to just eliminate all events. A few well oiled special event fundraisers (with decent ROI) can serve an important role in your agency’s resource development program.

What advice would you give my dear friend? How do you keep special events from getting out of hand at your agency? How have you killed sacred cows without incurring your volunteers’ wrath? Please use the comment box below to weigh-in on this subject because we can all learn from each other.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson
Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
eanderson847@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847