Thursday, June 30, 2011

Social Entrepreneurship

It has been an innovative and inspiring way to envision nonprofit work over the past several years the concept has been percolating within the sector, but like many trends—capacity building is one I still favour—it can become an end unto itself, as this article from Nonprofit Quarterly reports.

An excerpt.

“How to thrive in turbulent times, improve organizational sustainability, and generate significant social impact are crucial questions currently confronting many nonprofit leaders and boards. There appears to be an answer within reach, and its formula is as simple as it is powerful: You and your agency need to become more entrepreneurial.

“Over the last ten years, the fascination with and interest in social entrepreneurship seem to have grown exponentially. Today, this concept has positioned itself at the very heart of discussions about the future and evolution of the nonprofit sector, as a number of nonprofit executives have “embraced social entrepreneurship as a model of management.” There are several reasons behind this fast development, and I want to mention two in particular.

“First, despite the many constructive and positive impacts created by nonprofit organizations both locally and nationally, there exists a looming doubt that our current efforts are reaching far enough fast enough, and that traditional ways of addressing community needs and social issues have the transformational capacity to deal with many of today’s complex and new social problems. In other words, the search is on for a new paradigm—a “game-changer”—based on fresh and different ways to create systemic change.

“Second, corresponding with this search for novel and innovative ways to deal with social issues, a new generation of philanthropists and institutional donors has been eager to promote the idea that the key to solving all sorts of pressing social predicaments is to be found in business principles and practices. As the story goes, the challenges and perceived inefficiencies of our current approach to social problems will, as Forbes.com described it, “ultimately be properly managed, or maybe even solved, when desperate governments and NGOs finally surrender their ideologies and tap the private sector for help.”

“Social entrepreneurship has united these two ideas to form a powerful fusion from which a new approach is indeed emerging, one that is backed by high-profile advocates like Bill Clinton and Nobel Peace Prize–winner Muhammad Yunus. The nonprofit literature has also noted that the means and tactics of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise “[are] being accorded a status of—if not quite a panacea—then at least a significantly important emergence in the societal management of key social needs.”

“Despite the tremendous energy and excitement surrounding social entrepreneurship, many nonprofit practitioners find it a highly elusive, difficult topic. I believe that one of the fundamental reasons behind this elusiveness lies within the social entrepreneurship phenomenon itself. More specifically, in contrasting what is being said with what we know about this phenomenon, I have started to believe that in many aspects social entrepreneurship is a fetish, an object of desire—more important for what it symbolizes than for its substance and applicability to nonprofits. My purpose here then is to discuss some of these symbolic properties and illustrate what makes them powerful, but also what makes them problematic.”

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Thank You Letters

I am continually amazed at how many nonprofit organizations do not send thank you letters.

I would estimate that perhaps 30-40% of the organizations I have donated to over the years have not responded with a personal thank you letter.

It is absolutely crucial to do so, as this article from Nonprofit About.Com notes, with all the links at the jump.

An excerpt.

“Your thank you letter to a donor concludes one transaction but, more importantly, it is a bridge to future support. Get the thank you letter right, and you are well on your way to future fundraising success. Here are 10 tips for making that thank you letter just right. For more tips, I recommend Sandy Rees' Deepen Donor Relationships With a Power-Packed Thank You Letter and Sandy's other great advice at Get Fully Funded.

“1. Respond to a donation quickly

Within 48 hours of receipt of the donation is ideal for getting that thank you letter in the mail. If that is impossible, aim for under a week. The sooner, the more impressed the donor will be, not to speak of being reassured that the donation got to you safely.

“2. Personalize your thank you

Personalize it with the donor's name, and write directly to the individual. Use personal pronouns and include information about the donor that you may know, such as how long they've been a donor, or that you enjoyed seeing them at the last annual event. Perhaps the donor has received an award or gotten a promotion. Feel free to add something about these events to your thank you letter.”

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Grassroots Marketing

If you are a grassroots organization serving the needs of your local community, you should be getting out pretty regularly discovering what is currently going in and letting people know about the work you are doing.

A central and very inexpensive tool in this process is your business card, which this article from Fast Company examines.

An excerpt.

“I heard a story that a few years ago Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, happened to drive past one of his stores. In passing, he noticed something wasn't quite right with the characteristic blue stucco. So, he pulled over, parked, and went in search of the local manager. Needless to say, the manager was a little taken aback when the head of the company asked why this store had chosen to use this type of plaster. The manager proudly explained that this store had saved Ikea literally half the amount of money the company would ordinarily spend by using cheaper stucco of a far greater quality. As the story goes, Kamprad said: "I don't care how much it costs--whether it costs more or less--it needs to be removed." Within weeks the stucco had been replaced with the more expensive, yet poorer looking plaster--all in order to send the right message to the Ikea customers: We're careful about how we spend our money--even when it comes to our choice of stucco.

“I'm often asked why some brands succeed and others fail. Ikea's ability to stay on message and maintain focus on its core vision is one of the secrets. They have an induction process. When any senior manager begins working at Ikea, they're shown to their new office. Much to their surprise, the office is empty. There's not a chair or a bookshelf in sight, let alone a desk. Within minutes, a few warehouse workers arrive with a stack of boxes containing all the components of an office--a desk, some chairs, bookshelves, and lamps. Attached to the packaging is a welcome message inviting them to personally sample the company's wares.

“When a brand truly lives its vision across every touch point and in every possible scenario, predictable as well as unpredictable, it becomes clear how well managed the brand is. I have a simple rule of thumb: If a brand can describe its core values and philosophy on its business card without resorting to a detailed description, then the brand becomes a full representation of its vision.

“A company that lives its vision will indeed be able to communicate its vision on its business card without having to explain it. If you're puzzled about how this would be possible, then think of what an Ikea business might look like. Bear in mind that Ikea is all about DIY--do it yourself. How do you think their design philosophy translates onto their card?

“Well, at first glance, the business card looks kind of normal. It features the iconic blue and yellow Ikea logo. But when you look for the usual contact details, what you'll see is NAME….. EMAIL….. PHONE…. Under each feature there's a blank line, leaving a space for the bearer to fill in their personal contacts. DIY from another angle.

“My mantra when building any brand is that a company must live their vision and stay true to their philosophy. Ideally, every core value that they have should be able to be expressed on a business card. If you're able to crack the business card challenge--you'll be able to crack every touch point your brand have with its customers.”

Monday, June 27, 2011

Ohio Nonprofit, Creating Jobs Nationally

An interesting nonprofit job creation model being spun out nationally, as reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

An excerpt.

“Can one region "JumpStart" a national economy?

“However unlikely the proposition, the Northeast Ohio region of 4 million people is giving it a real whirl.

“First, it's leading by practice. Drawing on the region's historically large foundation resources, since 2004 it has had a "Fund for Our Economic Future" focused on such goals as connecting cutting-edge industries.

"This is regional, collaborative and for the long haul," says its president, Brad Whitehead. He cites the sparks of creativity and growth potential in such innovations as taking "a Rolls-Royce facility in fuel cells in North Canton, hooking up with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, with polymer technology in Akron, and then materials and metal strength in Youngstown."

“Now, the Ohioans' signature job-producing nonprofit — JumpStart, a 7-year-old organization that invests public and private funds in entrepreneurial startups — is "going national" with a new affiliate, JumpStart America, which aims to raise $2 billion in the next decade for investments in promising ventures across the country.

“That effort, in turn, is working with the Obama administration's recently announced Startup America campaign, designed to celebrate, inspire and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship nationwide. That campaign is working, in turn, with the new Startup America Partnership, an alliance of venture capitalists, angel investors, universities and CEOs (AOL founder Steve Case chairs the group). A major focus: to encourage regional business-university-research coalitions (like Northeast Ohio's) to accelerate the creation of new companies and more jobs.

“All this falls under the classic notion of building interactive, idea-, product- and job-generating economic clusters. But it's needed with special urgency in the United States, right now.”

Friday, June 24, 2011

Poverty & Innovation

A great article from the Denver Post revealing how social entrepreneurs are engaging in poverty solutions around the world.

An excerpt,with links at the jump.

“More than 1 billion people on Earth earn less than $1 a day. Two billion earn less than $2, and 5 billion earn less than $10 per day. Roughly 1.6 billion people have no access to electricity. Some 1.2 billion lack clean water. And 22,000 children die from preventable causes each day.

“Of the world's total population of 6.5 billion, 90 percent have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted.

“Two remarkable Colorado men have led the way in helping to find innovative solutions to global poverty. Neither believes it is possible to donate people out of poverty, but rather they advocate that businesses and nonprofits provide low- cost, profitable means for people to earn their way out of financial impoverishment.

“Longtime Coloradan Paul Polak, the author of "Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail," seeks to foment a revolution in how businesses design, price, market and distribute their products. He believes that when industry designs products that are "radically affordable," with low profit margins and vast market potential, and utilizes profitable "last mile" distribution channels, hundreds of millions of people can lift themselves out of poverty and the businesses selling and distributing the products will prosper.

“In 1982, Polak founded International Development Enterprises (ideorg.org), a Colorado nonprofit that has received millions in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. IDE works with farmers in rural areas all over the world, empowering them to develop their land, create new businesses and establish market-based economies. To date, IDE's solutions have helped more than 19 million farmers lift themselves out of poverty. See Polak's recent TEDxMileHigh talk "The Future Corporation".

“Bernard Amadei is another Colorado visionary who has led a global movement to inspire engineers to design solutions for the other 90 percent of the planet's inhabitants. In 2000, Amadei learned that in San Pablo, Belize, schoolchild ren spent their days retrieving water from a nearby river instead of going to school. Along with eight engineering students from the University of Colorado at Boulder, he designed a sustainable clean-water-delivery system powered by a local waterfall at a cost of $14,000, solving the community's water needs and freeing the children to pursue their education.

“In 2002, Amadei founded Engineers Without Borders (ewb-usa.org), a Boulder-based nonprofit organization, to support community-driven development programs across the globe by collaborating with local partners to design and implement sustainable engineering projects. EWB now has more than 12,000 members working in 48 countries on 400 projects. Amadei sees "huge opportunities for doing well by doing good" by empowering the world's poor "in a respectful way where we create capacity at the local level." Watch Amadei's recent TEDxMileHigh talk "Technology with Soul".”

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Charitable Creativity Chastised

Over the past several decades many new ways of giving have evolved—some involving capitalism—which have generally deepened the ability of society to help the less fortunate.

Many in the nonprofit sector, who retain a distinct dislike for capitalism, will find a way to decry them, as does this article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

An excerpt.

“Decades ago, when America’s nonprofits grew to about 5 percent of gross domestic product, it was pretty easy to guess that the market would start to find ways to peel off some of the larger and potentially more profitable parts of charitable activity.

“First it was nonprofit health care, with hospitals, clinics, and health-insurance groups like Blue Cross and Blue Shield converting to for-profit status. Next came higher education—colleges, universities, and vocational schools were acquired or started by for-profit corporations like the University of Phoenix/Apollo Group and Kaplan.

“While those were by far the most obvious and lucrative targets for profit-seeking investors, one had to wonder how long other parts of the nonprofit world, such as human services and antipoverty efforts, would be spared the avarice of capital. We need wonder no longer.

“Led by the United Kingdom’s Conservative government, and mimicked by the Obama administration and several states, social-impact bonds are the latest push to commercialize the financing of the nonprofit world. The idea is both to give nonprofits a way to pay for their programs and to give investors a way to achieve a financial return when they save government money, such as by reducing the number of criminal offenders who land back in prison after they are released.

“This is but the latest in a long string of efforts working to substitute market models—and values—for altruism, philanthropy, and government responsibility for the common good.

“Let’s quickly look at the recent history of benevolent capital’s efforts to do good while also doing well.

“First came corporate marketing deals that allowed businesses to boost their brand image and sales by tying some small portion of profit to a charity or social need. These arrangements—started by American Express in the 1980s to raise money for the Statue of Liberty renovation and now seen everywhere—do some good, but they almost always benefit the commercial enterprises more than the nonprofit organizations.”

Monday, June 20, 2011

Fundraising

The tendency of many organizations which are primarily government funded is to remain complacent about the need to be creative and innovative in raising money, something all nonprofit organizations need to do on a regular basis (and there is plenty of money out there, note: individual, foundation and corporate giving went up to $290.89 billion in 2010 from $280.3 billion in 2009) rather than, as the article from the Sacramento Bee notes about this well-known local program, just beginning:

“One example is the agency's first private home fundraiser, which former California Arts Council head Muriel Johnson hosts Wednesday. Proceeds will go to SMAC's Cultural Arts Award program. Another fundraising event is planned for October.

"This is our first event like this and we're planning on doing more fundraising and more revenue-generating," Halpern said.”

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Building Social Capital

It is the core mission of all nonprofit efforts (a good paper about social capital is here) and seeing the forprofit sector embrace it at a deeper level—under the rubric, ‘creating shared value’—is inspiring, as this article from Stanford Social Innovation Review does.

This would be a good area of research for nonprofits seeking corporate grants.

An excerpt.

“A growing number of multinational corporations—including Unilever, Intel, and Wal-Mart Stores—are embracing a new way of doing business, one that puts societal issues at the core of the company’s strategy and operations. This approach differs from traditional “corporate social responsibility,” which is often built around compliance with environmental and social regulations, improving the corporation’s reputation, and unfocused charitable giving to a variety of causes frequently unrelated to the business.

“The new approach to doing business, dubbed “creating shared value” by FSG co-founders Mark Kramer and Michael Porter, extends well beyond those practices. (See their cover story, “Creating Shared Value,” in the January-February 2011 issue of the Harvard Business Review.) Shared value is created when companies generate economic value for themselves in a way that simultaneously produces value for society by addressing social and environmental challenges. Companies can create shared value in three distinct ways: by reconceiving products and markets, redefining productivity in the value chain, and building supportive industry clusters at the company’s locations.

“Shared value taps the capacity of global businesses to solve social problems, just as social entrepreneurs do through smaller-scale enterprises. Porter and Kramer believe that widespread adoption of a shared value approach could reshape capitalism and its relationship to society. They also predict that it will drive the next wave of innovation and productivity growth in the global economy as it opens managers’ eyes to immense human needs that must be met, large new markets to be served, and the internal costs of social deficits—as well as the competitive advantages available from addressing them.

“The idea that companies should create shared value carries many implications that corporate leaders are only beginning to understand, which is why we brought together corporate practitioners to share their experiences and discuss evolving practices. On Dec. 8, 2010, executives from 10 major corporations gathered at Goldman Sachs’s New York City headquarters to discuss how their companies were implementing shared value. They were brought together by FSG, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP). Some of the companies—such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM—have been taking a shared value approach for some time. Other companies—such as Western Union, Alcoa, and InterContinental Hotels Group—are new to the approach. But all of the participants—which also included Goldman Sachs, Dow Chemical, Medtronic, and PG&E—are enthusiastic about the results and prospects for the future.

“The candid discussion, led by Kramer and FSG managing director John Kania, was wide ranging and posited a number of interesting shifts in the way companies address social problems when they pursue shared value. It profoundly changes the relationship between companies and nonprofit organizations, creating a mutual interdependence and heightened accountability for delivering results. Shared value engages companies more deeply in social issues, holding the promise of far greater resources and a multitude of innovations to address today’s most urgent needs. Above all, it accelerates and expands the potential for social impact as major corporations launch initiatives that reach millions of people at a pace and scale that have rarely been achieved by the nonprofit sector. At the same time, as the participating executives acknowledge, shared value demands a delicate balance between social needs and corporate profitability that is not easily achieved.”

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Nonprofit Sector Reduction

This June 8th article from the New York Times puts the recent reduction of nonprofits by the IRS in context.

An excerpt.

“The I.R.S. announced on Wednesday that it had revoked the tax exemptions of 275,000 nonprofit organizations after they did not meet legal requirements to file annual tax forms.

“The action shrinks the nation’s growing nonprofit sector by roughly 17 percent, to about 1.3 million charities, trade associations, membership groups and labor unions.

“Lois Lerner, director of the division of the Internal Revenue Service that oversees tax-exempt groups, said the agency believed most of the organizations on the list were defunct, though there was really no way to know because so many of them simply could not be reached.

“In many cases, we didn’t have a good address because the last one was many years old and they hadn’t had to file since then because they weren’t big enough,” Ms. Lerner said.

“Leaders of several nonprofit groups predicted disruptions and nasty surprises as a result of the I.R.S. action, but most said it was necessary.

“In the long run, it is going to be a good thing because academics, researchers, policy makers and others will have more accurate data on the nonprofit sector,” said Tim Delaney, chief executive of the National Council of Nonprofits, a trade association.

“Until a change in federal law in 2006, only organizations with annual revenue of $25,000 or more — roughly one-third of the 1.6 million nonprofit groups — were required to file.

“That law, the Pension Protection Act, required all organizations to file returns, but because it was embedded in 393 pages of a law that otherwise dealt with pension issues, many nonprofit groups did not know that.

“When the deadline for complying with the law came last year, the I.R.S. realized as many as one-quarter of all nonprofit groups on the rolls, including charities as well as labor unions, membership organizations, trade associations and others, stood to lose their exemptions.

“The agency issued a reprieve and redoubled its efforts to alert nonprofit groups of the responsibility to file. It reached out to state nonprofit associations and umbrella groups, asking for their help in getting out the word about the new requirement, and made a big push to get local news media to report on it. “I spoke to a different TV station every 15 minutes for an entire day,” Ms. Lerner said. She said the impact of that effort and others was “quite big,” with many groups taking advantage of a program that helped them avoid revocation if they complied by Oct. 15, 2010.”

Monday, June 13, 2011

From Career to Calling

If you are fortunate enough to be combining both already, this story will validate your effort, but for those making that shift, this article is an excellent resource from Stanford Social Innovation Review.

An excerpt.

“John Kerr spent most of his life working for Boston’s main public television station. After 40 years, he stuffed his possessions into a storage locker, sold his house, and headed for Wyoming—not to retire but to fulfill his dream of working in the national parks.

“Today, Kerr is a summertime park ranger in Yellowstone, keeping people and bears away from each other. How did he get from WGBH fundraiser to part-time park employee? By talking his way into an internship designed for people almost half a century younger.

“Kerr, and millions of others his age, are wending their way into uncharted territory, reaching the spot where middle age used to end and old age once began. They want work that matters, but they’re finding it’s a do-it-yourself project with few pathways and little help getting from what’s past to what’s next.

“It shouldn’t be so hard. The surge of people into this new, encore stage of life—after midlife and before true old age—is one of the most important phenomena of the new century. Never before have so many people had so much experience—as well as the time and capacity—to do something significant with it. That’s the great potential payoff on all the progress we’ve made in extending lives.”

Friday, June 10, 2011

Tax Exemption Revocation Tools

If your organization has had its tax exemption revoked (see yesterday's post for access to list), the National Council of Nonprofits has designed a webpage (all links are after the jump) and resources to help.

An excerpt.

“On June 8, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a list of more than 275,000 nonprofits that had their tax-exempt status automatically revoked due to failure to file annual returns.

• Read the National Council's tip sheet on automatic revocation and what to do if your organization's tax-exempt status was revoked.

• Listen to this podcast from the IRS about the obligation of nonprofits to submit annual returns to the IRS and how revocation is automatic when a nonprofit does not file its annual returns for three consecutive years.

• The effective date of revocation is "the original filing due date, without regard to extensions, of the third annual required return or notice that was not filed." (Source: IRS Exempt Organization Update, February 24, 2011) For many nonprofits on the automatic revocation list, this effective date is May 15, 2010.

“How will we know if our organization’s tax-exempt status has been revoked?

“Check the automatic revocation of exemption list on the IRS website.

• The nonfiler revocation list will be updated monthly by the IRS.

• Separate lists will be published for each state, the District of Columbia, and all other territories and countries. The list will provide each revoked organization's name, Employer Identification Number (EIN), subsection code, last known address, and effective date of the revocation.

• Guidestar’s analysis in February 2011 indicates that 56 percent of the nonprofits most likely to be affected are 501(c)(3) public charities, and the vast majority—82 percent—appear to have incomes of $25,000 or less.

• Resources from Guidestar on revocation.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Revoked Tax Exemption List

It has now been published by the IRS in this IRS Website Posting.

An excerpt.

“The IRS has started publishing a list of organizations that have had their federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked for failing to file an annual information return or notice with the IRS for three consecutive years. The Automatic Revocation of Exemption List (Auto-Revocation List) is available in Adobe and Excel formats, and divided into separate lists by jurisdiction. The Auto-Revocation List provides the name, employer identification number (EIN), organization (subsection) code, last known address, effective date of revocation, and date on which the name was posted on IRS.gov.”

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Hassle Factor

This article from About.com Nonprofits really does a great job of explaining why it can be such a barrier to support.

An excerpt.

“…nonprofits are just as likely as any other business to ignore the little hassles that they put their donors, volunteers, or clients through. In fact, nonprofits, because they are often understaffed and overwhelmed, may feel that they are "entitled" to some degree of hassle. Their's is a good cause, right? Surely people will be patient with the little rocks in the road.

“It isn't so. When I recently had to register at a nonprofit's website before I was allowed to donate online, it made me crazy and I quit. Why should I have to fill in the same information twice? When I tried to volunteer with an organization, and then was insulted when I arrived because the person in charge of that activity had not been told to expect me, I was so discouraged that I never went back. When I run into a contact form on a nonprofit website instead of the ability to contact someone directly, I click on to somewhere else.

“How does your organization manage to "hassle" your supporters, clients, donors? What is the hassle map?

“Is your website easy to navigate? Is your donation process easy and transparent? Do you send out thank you letters promptly? Do you make sure you don't waste your volunteers' time? Is your front office staff helpful to people who walk in or who call? Is your phone system helpful or a frustrating maze? Do you have ways for people to contact real people when they have a problem?”

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Leadership & Character

They are inexorably entwined in successful and optimal ventures, and what keeps them congruent is contemplation, reflection, thinking about and through one’s life and dreams in relation to one’s work, be it a calling or a career, which, in the best of all worlds, is both.

This article from Harvard Business Weekly examines the linkage.

An excerpt.

“In recent months several high-level leaders have mysteriously lost their way. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund and a leading French politician, was arraigned on charges of sexual assault. Before that David Sokol, rumored to be Warren Buffett's successor, was forced to resign for trading in Lubrizol stock prior to recommending that Berkshire Hathaway purchase the company. Examples abound of other recent failures:

• Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd resigned for submitting false expense reports concerning his relationship with a contractor.

• US Senator John Ensign (R-NV) resigned after covering up an extramarital affair with monetary payoffs.

• Lee B. Farkas, former chairman of giant mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, in April was found guilty for his role in one of the largest bank fraud schemes in American history.

“These talented leaders were highly successful in their respective fields and at the peak of their careers. This makes their behavior especially perplexing, raising questions about what caused them to lose their way:

• Why do leaders known for integrity and leadership engage in unethical activities?

• Why do they risk great careers and unblemished reputations for such ephemeral gains?

• Do they think they won't get caught or believe their elevated status puts them above the law?

• Was this the first time they did something inappropriate, or have they been on the slippery slope for years?

“In these ongoing revelations, the media, politicians, and the general public frequently characterize these leaders as bad people, even calling them evil. Simplistic notions of good and bad only cloud our understanding of why good leaders lose their way, and how this could happen to any of us.

“Leaders who lose their way are not bad people; rather, they lose their moral bearings, often yielding to seductions in their paths. Very few people go into leadership roles to cheat or do evil, yet we all have the capacity for actions we deeply regret unless we stay grounded.

“Self-reflection: a path to leadership development

"Before anyone takes on a leadership role, they should ask themselves, "Why do I want to lead?" and "What's the purpose of my leadership?" These questions are simple to ask, but finding the real answers may take decades. If the honest answers are power, prestige, and money, leaders are at risk of relying on external gratification for fulfillment. There is nothing wrong with desiring these outward symbols as long as they are combined with a deeper desire to serve something greater than oneself.

“Leaders whose goal is the quest for power over others, unlimited wealth, or the fame that comes with success tend to look to others to gain satisfaction, and often appear self-centered and egotistical. They start to believe their own press. As leaders of institutions, they eventually believe the institution cannot succeed without them.”

Monday, June 6, 2011

Strategy Simple

The complicated can be made straightforward as in this article from the Harvard Business Review.

An excerpt.

“My partner Mats Lederhausen, formerly worldwide head of strategy for McDonald's, introduced me to "Strategy Trees." The concept is, like most useful things, deceptively simple. It forces you to get at the heart of what you are trying to achieve. The "tree" analog comes from the linkage between the questions in a Strategy Tree. Start at the root purpose of why you are doing something and link it to your goal and how you will measure progress. Graphically, it looks more like a series of adjacent boxes…:

“It comes down to asking the "Why, what, who, and how" of your business, arraying it across one page in a way that makes it extremely useful as an alignment tool amongst management or board members. This is hardly a novel concept, but it falls into that category of common sense that is not so commonly done. There are various permutations of these questions, but here are four that I have come to use in trying to summarize the big picture of a portfolio company…”

Friday, June 3, 2011

Foundation Grants

They are an excellent source of funding, a perspective this article examines.

An excerpt.

“In 2009, according to Giving USA, foundations contributed 13% to the overall philanthropic pie, while individual giving accounted for 75% of it. It is wise for nonprofits to keep those proportions in mind when they are developing their annual fundraising plans.

“Although foundation grants are a small chunk of philanthropic giving, it is an important one, and most nonprofits do or will pursue those grants. The question is where they should look for grants, and how much time and energy they should pour into the grant seeking process.

“I asked three grants professionals for their opinions on two questions: 1) is there a recommended ratio of grants to other income for small nonprofits, and 2) where should small nonprofits look for grants?

“Here is what they said:

“April A. Northstrom, Jigsaw Communications, Inc, Savvy Grants Blog

"It is difficult to put an exact formula to the ratios that small, medium and large nonprofits 'should' depend on grant funding. My own belief, through experience and research is that any organization should not be more than 25% dependent on any type of grant funding.

"Funding from foundations and corporations is usually responsive to the economy and thus, just like with any investment, you don’t want all of your eggs in one basket. Even foundations don’t want you to be too dependent on their funds and usually like to see multiple funders supporting one project or program.”

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Old School Still Works

Online fundraising is a great tool, but still is far outpaced by the old school method of direct mail, as this post from About.Com: Nonprofit Charitable Orgs reveals.

An excerpt.

“Multichannel giving has become a hot topic among fundraisers, with most of us assuming that we must fundraise through all available channels to reach our modern, multi-generational, and multi-tasking donors.

“The latest survey by Blackbaud helps unravel the clues about multichannel donors a bit more.

“Here's what I got from Blackbaud's recent survey:

• Nonprofits have generally embraced multi-channel fundraising as an objective.

• However, donors actually don't practice multi-channel giving as much as we might have thought. They typically give through one channel--direct mail.”

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Working with the Public

A report from IBM providing many useful methods of how to engage the public through the use of online tools, and the link to the report is at the jump.