Saturday, October 30, 2010

Election Blogging Break


Dear Reader:

I’ll be taking an election period break from blogging until Wednesday, November 3rd, when I hope we will all share in a great wave of common sense voting, bringing committed public leadership to serve this great nation and our beloved communities.

Take care.

David H. Lukenbill

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Government Funding & Human Service Nonprofits

In Sacramento there are discussions about turning over the government's help for the homeless to nonprofits, and in St. Louis, as reported by St Louis Today, nonprofits helping the homeless are asking for the money owed to them by the government.

Not a pretty picture anyway you look at it, and those who need help the most, the homeless and others—such as the domestic violence victims in the St. Louis article—continue to suffer from a disorganized method of help, all too often made worse by government’s involvement.

A terrific book to read for some foundational knowledge around this issue is, To Empower People: From State to Civil Society, by Peter Berger and Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, and here is an excellent review of it.

An excerpt from the St Louis article.

“Nonprofit groups contracted by the government to provide basic shelter for the city's homeless and domestic violence victims are frustrated because they have been stuck holding the bills for months.

“The agencies began providing services for this year's federal emergency shelter grant in January. None of the $870,000 in grant money has been paid.

“The St. Louis Department of Human Services, specifically its homeless services unit, has administered such grants for years. Director William Siedhoff said Tuesday that he is disturbed by the "tremendous lag" in payments this year and assured checks would be cut sometime next month.

“Siedhoff said he became aware of the situation last month.

"There has got to be a better way to do this, and I am going to figure out how to do it," he said. "I know the hardship this creates."

“The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. James Heard, director of HUD's St. Louis office, said the money has been delayed this year because the city had provided incomplete paperwork about how the housing grant was used in previous years.

“He said this year's money was cleared for release last month.He was surprised to find out Tuesday that the nonprofit groups are still in limbo.

"We are concerned," he said. "They need to be paid."

“The delay has caused some nonprofit groups — already strapped by a heightened demand for services — to dip into reserves, lean on lines of credit and cut back on items as inexpensive as bus tickets.

"We have a really small margin of error," said Michelle Schiller-Baker, executive director of St. Martha's Hall, which helps abused women and their children. "We don't have bus money to get to that doctor's appointment, to get to that job interview."

“She said the city owes her agency $35,800 in housing grant money. It's just a sliver of the nonprofit group's $900,000 annual budget, but Schiller-Baker said "every single penny is accounted for."

"Regardless of what amount it is of our budget at the shelter," she said, "you owe me the money, you better give it to me."

“Lydia's House, which provides transitional housing for domestic violence victims, is owed $27,000.”

"We are looking forward to getting that funding," said executive director Ellen Reed. "We haven't had to cut programs, but it has certainly made things tight. We have had to dig into our reserves."

"Catholic Charities Chief Financial Officer Colleen Dusek said its Housing Resource Center for the homeless is owed $80,000. She said the agency experienced similar delays last year. The center has covered its costs with a line of credit from the Archdiocese of St. Louis."

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Women Give More

Almost twice as much from those in the middle income range, as this article from USA Today notes.

An excerpt.

“Women are more generous than men when it comes to charitable donations, a study released today suggests.

“In all income groups, women are more likely to give, and in four of five groups, they give more than men do — sometimes twice as much, according to the study by the Women's Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.

"Women have just been socialized as the care-givers in their families to be more empathetic and altruistic," says Debra Mesch, director of the Women's Philanthropy Institute. "I think this is being manifested in giving to charity."

“It's not just character, though, Mesch says.

“She explains, "We know that the primary factors for philanthropic giving are wealth, education and income. We see, especially in the USA, extraordinary gains in those areas for women."

“In the study's middle range of income, $43,500 to $67,532, the average donation was $728 from women, $373 from men.

“The report, Women Give 2010, found never-married and divorced women more likely to give than their male counterparts, and they gave more. Widows were less likely to give than widowers.”

Monday, October 25, 2010

Donor Loyalty

An article from Sumac note some good points in retaining donors.

An excerpt.

“According to Adrian Sargeant, a professor of fundraising at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, a typical nonprofit will lose 50% of its donors between the first and second donation and up to 30% per year thereafter. With these rates, organizations must continually scramble to bring in new donors. But donor acquisition is very costly. According to Penelope Burk, president of Cygnus Applied Research, “new donors are expensive to get and rarely give much the first time.” In the end, “acquisition is more expensive than retention and often runs at a loss.” If non-profits focused instead on boosting donor retention, therefore, the payoff could be huge.

“Boosting Donor Retention

“Likewise, Sargeant argues that even a small improvement in retention can yield a windfall over time. Even boosting the retention rate by as little as 10 percent, he says, can increase the lifetime value of a nonprofit’s donor base by up to 200%.

“So, how do you boost donor retention? You give donors what they want. Thanks to Burk’s national research studies on the key motivators of donor loyalty, we know exactly what that is. In that research, 93% of donors indicated three things that would influence them to stay loyal and give increasingly generous gifts over time:
1. Prompt and personalized gift acknowledgement
2. Confirmation that funds will be used as originally indicated in the solicitation
3. Measurable results on donors’ last gift before they are asked for another one.

“All three of these things, Burk points out, are tied to donor communication and are within the control of charities and fundraisers to change. So, why don’t non-profits focus their attention on changing communications to meet donors needs?”

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Hope & Change

Certain times seem to generate optimism, others pessimism, and for many observers of the public arena, this is one of those very optimistic times, as we wait for the results of the elections across the country that will surely usher in a new sense of public policy making.

With all of the hitches in the formerly ascendant narrative putting some halt to its once remorseless advance; the stiller, smaller, voices of the people have been raised in a dynamic chorus of hoping for change, and it does appear that change will occur, at least in public leadership.

Whether the change in public leadership—assuming it does happen—will actually lead to a change in public policy, remains to be seen, as many who enter the halls of power from main street often become so self-enamored by their very ascension, that they forget how and on whose shoulders they arose, but I am optimistic it will happen and they will not forget.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Small Nonprofits

Over the past few years legislation was passed that required all nonprofits, even those with income of $25,000 a year or less, to file a 990 form with the IRS, and though it is a straightforward online process, many small nonprofits still struggle with it.

In response to the new interest in small nonprofits, the Urban Institute produced a brief, "Small Nonprofit Organizations: A Profile of Form 990-N Filers” and it is worth a read.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Nonprofits & the Public Good

As the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports, the discussion around government regulation of nonprofits has many facets.

An excerpt.

“Making the case that philanthropic dollars do good and benefit society isn’t going to be enough to convince lawmakers and the public that foundations deserve the freedom and tax benefits they now enjoy, William Kristol, the conservative commentator, told an audience at the Philanthropy Roundtable’s annual meeting.

“Instead, he called for a “more principled defense” against government regulation of foundations and their work.

“Mr. Kristol said that it’s not always the case that philanthropic dollars help society, a message he joked would make him the “skunk at the party.” The argument that foundations deserve autonomy because of all the good they do was made by his co-panelists during the discussion, and it is a focus of a new public-education campaign by the Philanthropy Roundtable.

“Mr. Kristol suggested that some charitable projects are ill-conceived, others cause real harm, and some are totally at odds with each other. “You can support think tanks that are either propounding Obamacare or opposing Obamacare, and you can’t both be right,” said Mr. Kristol. “They can’t both be good for the country.”

“He said that people who question whether foundations deserve their special tax status are not necessarily unreasonable. Such people see foundations as big pools of money, led by individuals who are relatively unaccountable to the public and who are spending that money however they see fit.

“They don’t have to be idiotic populist yahoos on the left or right” to raise those questions, Mr. Kristol said.

“He urged donors to embrace a broader defense of philanthropic freedom. “I would turn the question on its head,” he said. “People who have a stake in philanthropic freedom have a stake in freedom.”

“A university’s decision not to recognize a student group because of its beliefs, or efforts to force the Boy Scouts of America to accept gay people, he said, ought to give donors pause. Donors and nonprofit organizations should be concerned about the freedom of corporations; nonprofits, like businesses, are operating in the private sector, Mr. Kristol said. He also said that nonprofits should be worried about President Obama’s recent attacks on organizations registered under section 501(c)(4) of the federal tax code, nonprofit groups that can engage in lobbying.

“I don’t think that philanthropic freedom will survive,” he said, “if we sit back and allow the freedom of other entities to be severely constrained.”

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Microsoft Helps Advocacy

In this New York Times article, Microsoft's efforts are described, which is very good news for nonprofit advocacy groups, who are often the only vehicle to get out information crucial to people’s lives, especially in countries dominated by tyranny.

An excerpt.

“MOSCOW — Microsoft is vastly expanding its efforts to prevent governments from using software piracy inquiries as a pretext to suppress dissent. It plans to provide free software licenses to more than 500,000 advocacy groups, independent media outlets and other nonprofit organizations in 12 countries with tightly controlled governments, including Russia and China.

“With the new program in place, authorities in these countries would have no legal basis for accusing these groups of installing pirated Microsoft software.

“Microsoft began overhauling its antipiracy policy after The New York Times reported last month that private lawyers retained by the company had often supported law enforcement officials in Russia in crackdowns on outspoken advocacy groups and opposition newspapers.

“At first, Microsoft responded to the article by apologizing and saying it would focus on protecting these organizations in Russia from such inquiries.

“But it is now extending the program to other countries: eight former Soviet republics — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — as well as China, Malaysia and Vietnam. Microsoft executives said they would consider adding more.

“We clearly have a very strong interest in ensuring that any antipiracy activities are being done for the purpose of reducing illegal piracy, and not for other purposes,” said Nancy J. Anderson, a deputy general counsel and vice president at Microsoft. “Under the terms of our new nongovernmental organization software license, we will definitely not have any claims and not pursue any claims against nongovernmental organizations.”

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Organizations as Environment

Echoing the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a great Catholic thinker, Gareth Morgan writes about the holistic way to view organizations.

“Many biologists now believe that it is the whole ecosystem that evolves and that the process of evolution can really be understood only at the level of the total ecology. This has important implications because it suggests that organisms do not evolve by adapting to environmental changes or as a result of these changes selecting the organisms that are to survive. Rather, it suggests that evolution is always evolution of a pattern of relations embracing organisms and their environments. It is the pattern, not just the separate units comprising this pattern, that evolves. Or as Kenneth Boulding has put it, evolution involves the “survival of the fitting,” not just the survival of the fittest.

“Organizations and their environments are engaged in a pattern of cocreation, where each produces the other. Just as in nature, where the environment of an organism is composed of other organisms, organizational environments are in large measure composed of other organizations. Once we recognize this, it becomes clear that organizations are, in principle, able to influence the nature of their environment. They can play an active role in shaping their future, especially when acting in concert with other organizations. Environments then become in some measure negotiated environments rather than independent external forces.” (Morgan, G. (1998). Images of Organization: The Executive Edition. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. (p. 61)

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Social Entrepreneurship

Posted on before, this type of leader is becoming more common, but still rare, and this article from the Foundation Center remarks on their attributes.

An excerpt.

“One of the remarkable traits about social entrepreneurs is their ability to play many roles. They care deeply about how their vision is implemented and feel personally invested in the outcome. Social entrepreneurs are often so involved in all aspects of the organization that they end up holding up decision making, losing talent, and creating bottlenecks. At some point, grumblings of dissatisfaction from employees or frustrating inefficiencies emerge and need solutions. To avoid getting to this detrimental stage, the entrepreneur must recognize that he can no longer do everything himself and preemptively prepare to let go. Before hiring any high-level managers, he needs to assess his own strengths and weaknesses honestly. Social entrepreneurs must ask themselves questions such as, What do I enjoy doing? What am I really good at doing? What am I not good at doing? What kind of people do I need around me?

“Board members play a particularly important role at this stage of the process. They should instigate conversations with the social entrepreneur about building strong, talented management teams, and preparing for leadership succession. To ensure that this happens, entrepreneurs should fill their board with opinionated members who bring skills, networks, and experience to the organization. Entrepreneurs must use the start-up stage as an opportunity to build trust with board members and ensure that board members are invested in the vision and long-term sustainability of the organization. This trust enables entrepreneurs to heed advice that can often feel personal or be difficult to hear. Strong boards help entrepreneurs grow comfortable with dissenting voices, challenged ideas, and evolving roles.

“Entrepreneurs should map out their senior management hires ahead of time. Too often, they see an oncoming cash flow crisis and hire someone with an accounting background, or decide they are overwhelmed with direct reports and hire a COO. “Social entrepreneurs are often encouraged or forced to get a person or a skill set in immediately,” says Sally Osberg, president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. They “often go into it feeling cornered.” Kevin Flynn, director of client services at Commongood Careers, sees this behavior frequently. “We hear, ‘I need someone who is an entrepreneurial CFO and can do technology and fundraising and also code in Java,'” says Flynn.

“The Leadership Team

“Once the social entrepreneur has spent time in honest self-reflection and frank board discussions, it's time to create a new leadership team. The entrepreneur must approach leadership team development with the same thoughtfulness and determination that he applies to creating his vision or he risks making the wrong hires. Our research indicates that there are five essential leadership roles in an organization that is ready to scale up. These roles may or may not be filled by five separate people; in some cases multiple roles can be filled by one person.

“Evangelist

“The most important member of the leadership team is the evangelist — the person who is deeply passionate about the organization's mission and convinces others to help fulfill it. When the founder is still at the organization, he is the person who fills the role of the evangelist. If the founder has been replaced, it is the entrepreneur who is running the organization (often with the title of CEO, president, or executive director) who becomes the evangelist.

“The evangelist has a number of responsibilities. First, he is the organization's visionary, continually refining its mission and strategy and making sure that priorities are established and met. He needs to share his vision with people inside and outside of the organization, especially with the leadership team. Willy Foote, president and founder of Root Capital, explains that the evangelist is going to see new opportunities that may not fit with the current organization's strategy, and his role is to “get the team to believe in the value of disruption, while being very cautious to court disruption, not destruction.”

“The evangelist also maintains the organization's culture. For example, when Mike Feinberg, co-founder of the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), served as CEO of the KIPP Foundation, he ensured that each conference room held the name of a children's book that held significance on the KIPP school campuses. All new hires learned the symbolism of these books and embraced the metaphors associated with them. For example, The Polar Express represented the message that all “KIPPsters” (students who attend a KIPP school) can “hear the bells” even when naysaying communities, peers, or adults try in vain to convince them that college is not an option. Each evangelist will choose a different way to keep the organization's culture alive, but he needs to be the person who constantly reminds others of the importance, characteristics, and values of the organization's culture.

“The evangelist is also the external face of the organization. People want to understand the evangelist's underlying motivations for leading the organization and be captivated by the organization's founding story and long-term vision. The evangelist can skillfully weave together the organization's mission and programs with stories that express it in personal terms in order to truly “evangelize” and convert non-believers.”

Monday, October 18, 2010

Leadership

In this article—Building a Great Organization—from Leader to Leader magazine, the leadership attributes necessary to do that are examined.

An excerpt.

“Peter Drucker wrote, “There may be natural born leaders, but there are so few of them that they make no difference in the greater scheme of things.” Leaders are self-developed; they work on themselves continually. In Talent Is Overrated, Geoff Colvin (a Fortune editor) shows how business leaders—starting from the beginning of their careers—develop themselves through hours and hours of “deliberate practice.”

“The essential skills are like parts of a mosaic, and you must work on them for a decade—or at least 10,000 hours—to master them. For our book Now, Build a Great Business!, we conducted a World Success Survey in 110 nations to determine the key traits of leaders whose impact has lasted more than 20 years. We found seven key steps to maximize the impact of your organization.

“Just as Peter Drucker’s famous “five questions” are deceptively simple—but extraordinarily poignant and challenging—so too are our seven principles. These questions are necessary for every leader to address in order to create a great organization.
1. Become a great leader: How will you develop yourself and hold yourself accountable?
2. Plan: What will it take to create a useful business plan?
3. Surround yourself with great people: How will you attract and honor your team?
4. Offer a great service: How will your products make a real difference?
5. Design great marketing: Why should this organization matter to others?
6. Perfect a great sales process: How will you engage and educate customers to buy in to your mission?
7. Create a great customer experience: How will you engage people in an extraordinary relationship with your product or service?”

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Designers & Nonprofits

This is a terrific partnership—one that has also happened in Sacramento on a regular basis—and its application is noted in this article from the Nonprofit Quarterly Newswire.

An excerpt.

DesigNYC just advertised its second call for applications so we thought we would introduce you to what we think is a pretty great idea. The program matches nonprofits with master designers on a pro-bono basis. The project may be landscape design or architectural design or campaign materials design but it seems to us this idea is well worth replicating.”

Friday, October 15, 2010

Nonprofits and Government

The ideal relationship is that program innovation, development, and management comes from the nonprofit; and base funding and technical support comes from government, which appears to be the case with two programs (YouthBuild & College Summit) in this article by their respective founders in Governing.

An excerpt.

Harlem Children's Zone and its founder Geoffrey Canada are famous.

“Many know Harlem Children's Zone from Waiting for Superman, a recently released documentary which focuses on Canada's efforts to transform a failing public education system.

“The same week of the film's release, the White House announced $10 million in planning grants under Promise Neighborhoods, a new Department of Education initiative based on the Harlem Children's Zone model.

“Praise for Harlem Children's Zone is well deserved. But the temptation to attribute superhuman qualities to Geoffrey Canada and other social innovators who have been blazing new approaches to the hard task of rebuilding broken communities is dangerous. Cities may fall into the mistake of waiting for their own "superman" to fix their problems, or they might set themselves up for disappointment if the results are not as otherworldly as expected.

“The real lesson of the Harlem Children's Zone is that government should be looking outside its own bureaucracy for determined, albeit human, innovators who will thrive with government support and partnership.

“YouthBuild and College Summit

“One of us started an organization that also works with young people in Harlem. For over 30 years, Dorothy has infused YouthBuild with important values such as taking personal responsibility for our lives and community; treating everyone with profound respect; and, as intangible as it may sound, believing in the power of love.

YouthBuild programs not only build about 1,000 units of affordable housing each year, they also engage about 10,000 students (40 percent are court-involved) in the process of completing their GED or high school diploma through a full-time, 10-month program. YouthBuild USA turned over its program model to the federal government, and now serves in a training and technical assistance role to charter schools and community-based nonprofits that receive federal grants from the U.S. Department of Labor to implement local YouthBuild programs.

“I founded College Summit, which like YouthBuild, knits a positive peer and adult mentor culture together with a focus on leadership development. Designed to help high schools in low-income communities shift from being destinations to being launch pads for college and career success, College Summit works on two assumptions. First, young people are motivated to work hard in high school not by a diploma, but by a chance to create a brighter future -- better job, more money, better college and better life. Second, young people themselves are best situated to create a college-going culture at their high school.”

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Dependence Index

The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Dependence on Government is an important document for nonprofit leaders—especially those in human service nonprofits—as it helps in defining the environment within which they operate.

An excerpt from this years report.

“Abstract: Year after year, The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Dependence on Government documents the ever-growing number of federal aid programs and the ever-growing number of Americans who rely on government subsidies for their existence. The number of Americans who now pay no taxes has passed 35 percent. The International Monetary Fund predicts financial devastation for the U.S. by 2015 unless drastic cuts are made in the deficit immediately, and Congress has lost control of the national budget. An impending tipping point for the structure of American government and civil society is tangible. Following are preliminary estimates for the upcoming 2010 Index of Dependence on Government that all Americans should heed.

“The Heritage Foundation has published the Index of Dependence on Government for eight consecutive years. For each of these eight years, the Index has signaled troubling and rapid increases in the growth of dependence-creating federal programs; and for each of these eight years, Heritage has warned of the threat that rapid growth in government dependence poses for the United States’ republican form of government, as well as for the broader civil society.

“Preliminary estimates for the 2010 Index dramatically underscore the concerns of years past. According to preliminary estimates by The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis (CDA):
1. Americans’ dependence on government grew by 13.6 percent in 2009.
2. The Index’s dependence variables that grew the most over that past year are:
• Health and Welfare at 22 percent,
• Rural and Agricultural Services at 20 percent, and
• Housing at 15 percent.
3. The increase over 2009 means that the Index has grown by 49 percent since 2001.
4. Americans’ dependence on the government was 14 times greater in 2009 than it was in 1962.

“The increase in the Index of Dependence on Government during 2009 is the greatest single-year percentage change since 1976. It covers data through the end of 2009, which was a momentous year across a wide horizon of public policies. Even seasoned Washington insiders, however, might be surprised to learn just how noteworthy that year was.”

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Measuring Advocacy

It has always been difficult to measure the impact—especially the economic impact—of nonprofit organizations that advocate for a particular cause, but this new report out from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, indicates that it is possible, and that is a very good thing.

The report is incomplete in many respects—for instance, it doesn’t calculate the costs of the crimes committed by the criminals that would have been housed in a prison whose construction was stopped, saving $1 billion dollars in building costs (p. 4)—but nevertheless, is a very good effort.

An excerpt.

“The social concerns that funders address with their grantmaking – education, human needs or environment, for example – exist in a larger context shaped by many forces, including public policy, economics and community culture. Many funders believe that to be successful in their chosen areas of interest they must address the larger systems that shape these realities.

“Why and how do foundations and other institutional grantmakers invest in policy advocacy, community organizing and civic engagement by nonprofit organizations, and how does it make a difference in the daily lives of local residents if they do?

“This report describes, measures and, where possible, monetizes the policy impacts that 20 community organizations in the Northwestern region of the United States achieved with foundation support during a five year period (2005–2009)….

“Using these resources and strategies, the groups had significant accomplishments:

“> Collectively, the groups helped garner more than $5 billion for marginalized communities over five years. These dollars were in the form of wages, expanded services, state investments in housing and other programs, savings from costly and ill-conceived initiatives that were prevented, and other benefits.
> The groups achieved substantial impacts that could not be monetized; yet, these benefited tens of thousands of underserved residents. Examples include protecting and advancing LGBTQ rights, promoting fair immigration policies and protecting communities and natural resources from environmental threats.
> The 20 groups demonstrated a remarkable depth and breadth of civic engagement. Collectively, they trained more than 11,000 leaders, grew their memberships by 98,000 individuals and turned out 417,000 people at public actions. They also registered more than 71,900 voters, including many Native Americans, Latinos and people of color.

"Foundations and other institutional grantmakers provided critical monetary, capacity building and convening support to these efforts. Funders contributed $23.2 million, or 69 percent of all policy engagement funding over five years. Members of the organizations also contributed significantly to their own success: among 15 organizations, membership dues collected over five years totaled almost $4.9 million.

“NCRP totaled the monetary benefits of the impacts in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington and calculated a return on investment (ROI). For every dollar invested in their advocacy, organizing and civic engagement ($33.9 million total), the groups garnered $150 in benefits for their communities.” (pp. 3-4)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Criminals Becoming Entrepreneurs

Though it seems counter-intuitive (but also has application to other marginalized groups) this is the centerpiece of the rehabilitative approach used by several nonprofit organizations—profiled by the Cleveland Plain Dealer—and by being congruent with the operating mantra of many professional criminals, will probably continue to work, as this article in the Plain Dealer notes.

An excerpt.

“CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For nearly 10 years, Augustus Turner had a lot of time to ponder an American dream that he refused to believe was out of reach because of a big mistake and a permanent label.

“Turner was a prison inmate, hoping to run his own business after serving time for drug trafficking.

“He knew the odds weren't good. Although 97 percent of prisoners are eventually released, only 53 percent find work, and a far smaller share start their own businesses.

"What I learned from the streets is how to hustle," said Turner, 39. "You can dream. You can pray. It all starts there. But you have to actively make it happen."

“And he did. Today, Turner operates Masterpieces, a 10-year-old art studio, tattoo shop and silk-screening business on the West Side of Cleveland.

“Turner made his dream happen through sheer perseverance, but a growing movement across the country is trying to train released convicts to achieve success as entrepreneurs.

“Northeast Ohio might be lagging behind the trend. A few people here are trying to make a difference, but no coordinated effort has emerged to help parolees stay out of prison by starting businesses.

“More than 700,000 people will be released from the nation's state or federal prisons this year. About two-thirds will wind up back behind bars within two or three years.

“Government, private-sector officials and academics seem to agree that a job helps keep an ex-prisoner from returning to the penitentiary. And nobody disputes the challenges of becoming employed.

“For instance, studies in Milwaukee and New York found that a criminal record reduces employment opportunities by 50 percent for white people and 64 percent for black people -- at a time when jobs are already scarce.

"More than 60 percent of employers surveyed in the 2002 Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality (MCSUI) reported that they would "probably not" or "definitely not" hire applicants with criminal history records.

“The answer might be entrepreneurship, according to a 2007 national report from the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "Venturing Beyond the Gates" is considered the most extensive recent study on successful re-entry to society through entrepreneurship.

“Only a handful of entrepreneur-loan programs exist for ex-prisoners. And communication is virtually nonexistent among them, according to the study.

“The most notable and biggest prison entrepreneurship program is in Texas, with offices in Houston and Dallas. Former Wall Street investor Catherine Rohr founded the program in 2004 after she toured a prison and decided that executives and inmates had more in common than most would think. Both know how to manage others, and even the most unsophisticated drug dealers understand business concepts like competition, profitability and proprietary sales channels, said David Joekel, executive relations manager at the prison program.

“Hardened criminals including murderers, thieves, drug dealers and gang leaders from more than 60 jails in Texas are invited to apply each year. Those selected are transferred to one correctional facility, where they learn entrepreneurial skills as well as strategies for finding a job. With private funding, MBA students as mentors, a highly selective admissions process and stringent pre- and post-release programs, ex-prisoners have started about 60 businesses in the program's six years.

“So far, 600 inmates have graduated. In the last two years, 98 percent of the graduates have found decent jobs within three months of release, with an average starting salary of $10.75 an hour. The program continues to gain momentum and interest from volunteers including business, government leaders and dozens of MBA programs, because of a return-to-prison rate of less than 10 percent for the graduates.”

Friday, October 8, 2010

Nonprofits & Government

As we have seen locally, many nonprofits that have become dependent on government funding are struggling, some even having all their funding cut off.

This new report from The Urban Institute examines the situation in relation to human service nonprofits.

An excerpt.

“The recession crippled the budgets of many nonprofits just as demand for their services rose. On top of shrinking revenue from donations and fees, many organizations struggled with ongoing payment problems from one of their biggest funders—government agencies. As a result, many were forced to cut services and staff or close program sites, hurting the communities they serve. While pain from the recession may have been unavoidable, better government management of contracts and grants can at least avoid adding to nonprofits’ financial stress.

“Goodwill, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the American Red Cross, homeless shelters, food banks, and child care centers—these are just a few examples of human service organizations that Americans count on every day. Although human service nonprofits are heavily funded by government, which extends their reach, little is known about the size and scale of these contracting relationships or how effective they are. This study aims to provide a comprehensive look at the scope of governments’ contracts and grants with human service organizations in the United States and document the problems that arise. We also assess how these nonprofits were affected by the recession, how they responded to shrinking revenues, and how flaws in government contracting practices intensified their budget woes.”

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Organizational Blogging

Every organization needs to have a blog, even if the minimal one post a day with no comments format I use, as it provides the electronic office for busy people to acquaint themselves with your organizational mission, current issues, and organizational views.

This article from Guidestar encourages blogging with some good facts about it and reasons to do it.

An excerpt.

“Blogging statistics are staggering.

“A September 2010 study from eMarketer on the continued rise of blogging says the medium will continue to grow in popularity as more users turn to blogs to produce and consume content. According to the same study, by 2014, blog readership will rise to more than 150 million Americans, or 60 percent of the Internet population in the United States. June 2010 figures from WordPress (which powers many of the blogs you read) cite 11.4 million blogs hosted on their platform, with WordPress.com users publishing about 350,000 new posts on an average day (and their readers, in turn, leaving 400,000 new comments every day).

“With all that conversation, discussion, opinion, interjection, and objection, it's easy see why some communicators consider blogging to be a daunting task. But the blogosphere is calling you, beckoning input and insight from you and your organization. And while it is something that requires dedication and commitment, it is a necessary communications tool in today's social media environment.”

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Social Media

This story from the Sacramento Bee about local—and national—nonprofits using social media to help with fundraising and building supporter community, is another reminder of the importance of understanding and using technology.

An excerpt.

“Women Escaping a Violent Environment in Sacramento needed cash, and needed it fast.

“So the nonprofit agency, which serves victims of domestic violence, sent out a modern-day SOS.

“With a critical program on the chopping block last summer because of the loss of county money, WEAVE enlisted the pro bono help of technology firm Activate Direct, and launched an elaborate e-mail, Facebook and Twitter campaign.

“The effort created a viral response that raised nearly $25,000 in less than three weeks, enough to save the group's Sexual Assault Response Team program, which provides an advocate to meet rape victims at hospitals.

“As big-money donors cut back and government funding grows scarce, nonprofits like WEAVE are successfully turning to social media to solicit smaller donations to make up for shortfalls.

"We knew we could not do without this program, and we needed to find the money fast," or lose matching federal dollars, said Amber Stott, WEAVE's director of community development. "It used to be enough to send a newsletter through the mail. That's no longer the case."

“During the past two years, social media campaigns have become an important part of the communications and fundraising repertoires of nonprofit agencies in Sacramento and across the country.

“According to a Dartmouth study published last year, 89 percent of the 200 largest charities in the United States were using at least one form of social media in 2008. Ninety percent of charities described social media campaigns as successful, and 45 percent said the approach is "very important" to their fundraising strategy.

“Savvy nonprofits now are able to instantly tap into longtime supporters while cultivating a whole new audience through forwarded messages and blogs, shared links and re-tweets, said Lesley Miller of 3fold, a Sacramento marketing company that contracts with agencies to design and run campaigns.”

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Philanthropy & A Life

Behind most major individual philanthropic efforts is a story of individual achievement providing the resources to conduct major philanthropy and a personal history from which the compassion to help grows.

The story of the saving and restoration of the great ship, the SS United States, from the Philanthropy Roundtable is such a story.

An excerpt.

“She was once the fastest ship in the world, the pride of the United States. She held the trans-Atlantic speed record, re-taking it from a British vessel. “She’s the first, first lady of the sea,” went the song composed before her maiden voyage. And there she sat, barnacling in Philadelphia’s harbor. Her paint peeling and faded, her name lined with rust: United States.

“Some called her a relic. An ocean liner built at the cusp of the jet age; a hulking heap whose repair would cost more than her worth. She was bound for the scrap yard.

“That’s when Gerry Lenfest intervened. Barely a day before bids from scrappers were due, and without even seeing the ship first, he made a $5.8 million pledge to purchase and bring new life to the SS United States.

“She is worth saving,” he explains. It’s a simple but telling statement. It reveals a profound sense of history, a deep sympathy for the underdog, and a healthy appetite for risk.

“In other words, it reveals a lot about Gerry Lenfest.

“From Seventeen to Seven Billion

“H. F. (“Gerry”) Lenfest is used to sudden, abrupt changes—which may help explain his willingness to take bold, decisive action. When he was 13 years old, his father uprooted the family from their suburban home in Scarsdale, New York. Lenfest suddenly found himself on a working farm in Lambertville, on the New Jersey–Pennsylvania border. “Milking the cows and most other chores fell to me,” Lenfest would later explain. “Working on a farm was not my dream.” Not long thereafter, his mother died.

“Lenfest was devastated. Her cerebral hemorrhage was unexpected. His twin sister was sent to a boarding school, and his father was frequently away on business. (He was a naval engineer who worked in Lower Manhattan, with a 60-mile daily commute.) Unsurprisingly, Lenfest’s grades suffered. He struggled academically, drifting from school to school. Only once his father secured him a place at Mercersburg Academy was he able to correct course.”

Monday, October 4, 2010

Employee Classification

It has become a newly important issue—independent contractors or employees—as this article from Third Sector New England notes.

An excerpt.

“Classifying workers as employees or independent contractors may be the hottest and most contentious issue in human resources management. It is also one that creates confusion and potential problems for nonprofits.

“The issue is hot because the U.S. government and state officials are aggressively pursuing employers who misclassify employees. According to the New York Times, President Obama's 2010 budget assumes that the federal crackdown will yield at least $7 billion over 10 years.

“More than two dozen states, Massachusetts included, also have stepped up enforcement. The Obama administration plans to expand investigations by hiring 100 more enforcement personnel. The IRS has begun auditing 6,000 companies to see whether they are in compliance with the law.

Focus on Protecting Workers

“Federal and state regulations related to properly classifying workers were put into place for two key reasons. First, the regulations were designed to generate tax revenue. Second, the regulations help protect workers by ensuring they receive minimum wage and basic benefits. Given that most nonprofits strive to stand in solidarity for the rights of the underrepresented, it follows that we would want to abide by and support these laws. And, in fact, many do.

“In April, the National Employment Law Project and two dozen worker and civil rights, faith-based and other interested groups sent a letter to Congress urging support for this heightened scrutiny.

“Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, explains, "Independent contractor misclassification robs federal and state treasuries of billions in needed revenues... and denies wages, benefits and workplace protections to huge numbers of workers. More workers are falling prey to this kind of exploitation, and it puts a drag on the whole economy."

Dollars and Sense

“Yet we regularly hear from cash-strapped organizations that contracting with consultants or independent contractors, rather than hiring employees, often makes good financial sense. Employers are required to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes when workers are classified as "employees." They don't incur those expenses when workers are classified as "independent contractors."

“In difficult financial times, reducing payroll expenses may be a tempting way for organizations to maintain mission-critical programs and services. And in fact, some workers prefer to be paid as independent contractors because of both the real and perceived financial benefits to them.”

Friday, October 1, 2010

Three Leaders

In this article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the different types of leaders (monk, architect, diplomat)—seen as necessary for organizational success—are examined.

As the spiritual aspect of nonprofit work is, I believe, the most important part, here is an excerpt from the role of the monk.

“BE A MONK, NOT A FATHER

“Monks invite you to become spiritually engaged in your work. They do this by subtly modeling the values they want to impart. They listen carefully, never direct you paternalistically, and always strive to help you find your way.

“Successful social entrepreneurs recognize that their primary role is to turn the organization’s mission and values into practice. Like monks, they know that everything they say and do—and don’t say or do—sends signals through the company about what values are important.

“So be mindful of your powerful effect on people in your organization. No matter what the formal company documents say, you make values visible. If respect for others is an important company value, what do you do when you, the CEO, walk into an office where two co-workers are engaged in a business conversation? Do you interrupt them because you and your agenda are more important, or do you wait your turn until they are finished? Gun Denhart, cofounder and former CEO of children’s clothing company Hanna Andersson, responded by saying: “I wait until they’re finished. If it goes on, I’ll leave and come back. I don’t break in and interrupt their work. Unfortunately, I’ve seen that rudeness too often from ‘important people.’”

“Don’t feel you need to know everything. If you did, there’d be no room for anyone else to contribute. Admit to “not knowing,” even as you help others develop their competence. This creates an atmosphere of honesty and transparency, where employees share information and responsibility, accept doubt, and expect help in finding sustainable solutions to business challenges.

“Another way to lead like a monk is to incorporate spirit into your work. At RSF Social Finance, a San Francisco-based socially responsible financial services organization, when monthly financial statements are sent to investor clients, each client’s company representative personally initials each page of the statement. In these moments, they are mindful of their client’s situation and of communicating that attention simply. Over the last 60 years, that one practice has received more positive response from investors than any other of the bank’s client services.

“Entrepreneurs can extend that mindfulness beyond traditional company boundaries, too. One CEO, for example, after recognizing how her seasonal business affected the working hours of her distributors’ employees, shared her market research with her distributors so they could better predict work cycles and not increase seasonal employee stress.”