The Academy & Nonprofits

This is a natural connection, as noted in this article from the Houston Memorial Examiner.

For those organizations I work with who need to have an advisory board in addition to their governing board, I always recommended connecting with local universities for advisers, as it is a natural fit connecting the advisor's academic discipline that is congruent with the organizational mission.

An excerpt.

“For the fourth consecutive year, Rice University MBA students are making a mark on the city of Houston with their involvement in nonprofit boards as part of the Jones Graduate School of Business Board Fellows Program.

“The program matches Rice MBA students with Houston community-based nonprofit organizations. Students serve as nonvoting board members for either 12- or 18-month appointments and attend board sessions and relevant committee meetings under the mentorship of a current board member. As students become familiar with their organizations, they have additional opportunities to work with the board to develop special projects that will identify and address issues faced by the organization.

“The program is mutually beneficial for both students and the organizations involved, said Donna Platt, associate director of development for the Jones School and the program’s coordinator.

“It’s remarkable not only how much the students gain from the program, but how much it benefits the Greater Houston community,” Platt said. “Students develop valuable leadership skills and experience, and organizations gain access to the ideas and energy of future business leaders.”

“MBA students LaMecia Butler and Rahila Odhwani both serve on the Board Fellows Program’s student leadership team and have witnessed the program’s benefits firsthand. Butler served on the board for Amazing Place and said she especially appreciates the experience gained from applying classroom knowledge to business issues.

“As a board member, I’ve had to draw from my studied subjects to contribute in board meetings,” Butler said. “It might be something as simple as using what I learned in accounting to analyze financial statements. When you have to apply those principles in real time during the course of your studies, it further justifies the importance of the instruction we receive in the classroom for our post-MBA endeavors.”

“Odhwani, a fellow at the Women’s Home, said the program provides new and valuable learning opportunities for many students, herself included. “I get a glimpse of how boards make various decisions on sponsorships, budgets and future planning, and sit on a committee to strategize development opportunities.”

“Many of the students, including Butler, enter the program with prior experience serving nonprofits; however, Butler said she appreciates the opportunity to participate in the decisions affecting the long-term health of the organization. “As a (nonvoting) board member of a well-established nonprofit, I have the opportunity to witness more long-term strategic planning, which influences the future of the organization.”

Grassroots’ Marketing

An excellent article from Nonprofit About on ways small nonprofits with limited budgets can get the word out about themselves.

I have been involved with virtually all of these types of efforts at some point in my many years working in the nonprofit field, and they do work.

An excerpt.

“How can a small local nonprofit simultaneously spread the word about their organization - and ultimately get more donors - with minimal impact on the budget?

“Tap local pools of talent

“With a small staff, it's likely you neither have the time nor all of the expertise needed to accomplish your marketing, fundraising, and awareness campaigns. As you tap into local pools of talent you'll not only find that expertise, but also spread the word about what you do along the way. This leads to more donors.

• Nearby college or university: Ask department heads for class projects. Example student assignments are ...

• Journalism: Writing PSAs, press releases, OP-EDs, and cover live events.

• Art or graphic design: Creating an infographic for your annual report; images for website; graphics for an appeal; etc.

• Film & photography: Creating videos and taking action and/or compelling photos from an outsider's viewpoint (a prospective donor).

• Computer science: Enhancements to your website. Or convert all or parts of site to a CRM platform so you can EASILY revise and add content on static pages.

• Chamber of Commerce: Attend events. Join a committee. Find people interested in what you do and partner with them. For example: A choral group and a music store. At a choral concert the music store sponsors light refreshments or helps pay for the programs.”

Yes, Tax Increases as a Default Solution

Which is the answer to the question the Sacramento Bee editorial poses “is anything sadder than padlocked pools”.

The other answer presented by the editorial, to give money to the government nonprofit, doesn’t work so well since people have became somewhat questioning with government’s ability to manage money and public services efficiently.

An excerpt from the editorial.

“Swim time is almost over at Sacramento's public pools.

“Only six of 13 city pools opened this summer, and they'll all be closed for the season by Labor Day. Next summer, only three pools are to open. In a city of 466,000, that's a disgrace even in these hard times.

“City Hall needs all the help it can get to keep pools open. But by not asking loudly enough and by not making donations easier, the city is missing out on a potential lifeline.

“Jonathan Rewers, chairman of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, says the city needs to do a better job of telling the community that public pools are a "vital service." They are also smart policy: If kids aren't frolicking in pools, they could be getting in trouble on the street.

“This is a prime opportunity for a civic-minded corporation to make a sizable gift that would buy priceless good will. Some feelers have gone out, but with no success.

“The city also ought to have a formal matching donation program. If a neighborhood association raises a significant sum – say at least half the $100,000 it costs to run a city pool for a year – the city should come up with the rest.

“Rewers says the city needs to better publicize the donation programs that do exist.

“Gifts to Share, the city's 26-year-old nonprofit partner, is the conduit through which residents, businesses and community groups can support parks and recreation, cultural, education and neighborhood improvement projects. More than $1.2 million went through it last year….

“Rewers and other parks advocates are pushing for a citywide property tax assessment for parks maintenance, including pools, on the 2012 ballot. Residents would get to decide how important keeping up parks and keeping open pools is to them.”

Service Program Clients on Program Board

It is a sound principle, virtually a mandatory one for any program involving the transformation of individual behavior to actually have long-term credibility, and it is what this group of homeless are asking for, as reported by the Winston Salem Journal.

An excerpt.

“Decisions about the homeless have, for years in Forsyth County, been made mostly by well-meaning people who have never spent a night on the street.

“Today, a group of homeless and formerly homeless people will try to change that.

“The Homeless Caucus, a group formed by the community-organizing group CHANGE, called a public meeting tonight to ask for two voting seats on the executive board of the Homeless Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.

“The council is a coalition of nonprofit and government representatives who do an annual count of homeless people in Forsyth and help distribute federal grant money to agencies that deal with the homeless.

“David Harold, executive director of the Homeless Council, could not be reached Monday.

“The caucus wants the homeless representatives to be paid, said Ryan Eller, lead organizer of CHANGE.

"Everyone else on the executive council is being paid by their respective employer to be at those meetings," Eller said. "The caucus, it was really humbling. They said, 'We don't care about the amount. We don't really care if it's five bucks. We just want to not be treated differently from everyone else.'"

“The caucus also will ask Mayor Allen Joines to commit to having homeless or formerly homeless people serve on boards and committees that deal with the issue.

“Joines said he will listen to what the caucus has to say. "I can certainly see the merits of having someone with those experiences on the council," Joines said Monday.

“Richard Cassidy, a Davidson County native who spent several years homeless in California, said those who have lived without a home have a perspective that others don't.”

Nonprofit Resource Book

The new book, Nonprofit Management 101, which I recently purchased and am now perusing, is an excellent resource, but, like many books about the nonprofit sector, it consistently omits inclusion of the foundational aspect of religion in its pages.

As an example, consider this quote from one article in the book:

“More democratic efforts to encourage and professionalize philanthropy arose, with two important community-based models arising at the same place and time. The Community Chest, founded in Cleveland in 1913, was the first major effort to collect money from a broad community for a variety of causes. Its successor, the United Way, is today joined by many other such efforts.” (p. 13)

Reading this, in the article entitled, The Role of Nonprofits in American Life, (pp. 5-19) leads one to assume that secular nonprofits pretty much set the pace and tone, but, that is not the case, as Wikipedia notes speaking about Catholic Charities:

“Catholic Charities, USA (CCUSA), with headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, was founded in 1910 as the National Conference of Catholic Charities. In 2010, Catholic Charities' centennial year,[8] more than 1,700 agencies, institutions and organizations composed the Catholic Charities network - including individual organizations of the dioceses, such as the Archdiocese of Chicago. Nearly 90 cents of every dollar donated to Catholic Charities agencies goes directly to programs and services.[9] In 2008, Catholic Charities agencies served over 8 million individuals.

“Together, with the local, diocesan-associated Catholic Charities, it is the second largest social service provider in the United States, surpassed only by the federal government. Throughout the centennial year, Catholic Charities USA worked together with their member agencies to find pathways out of poverty for more people than ever and to draw the country's attention to the people in our country who are struggling to find work and feed their families.”

Adding to the omission in the article (and pretty much in the entire book) of the Catholic role in American charity, is the curious fact that the author of the article is a faculty member at the University of San Francisco, a Catholic Jesuit University (also my alma mater}.

That being said, it is still an excellent resource, and another book, Catholic Charities USA: 100 Years at the Intersection of Charity and Justice, provides the definitive history of Catholic charity in America.

Social Media

Using it to help with your nonprofit needs to follow the three basic guidelines for the results you want in your use of any media, and this article from GuideStar reminds us of what those are.

An excerpt.

“Most nonprofits understand the potential power of social media to connect with both old and new supporters, advocates, and clients. But few nonprofits can articulate the strategy behind the time they spend on blogging, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

“All good communications strategies start with a goal: What are you trying to accomplish via your communications? More specifically with social media, what do you want the reaction to be when someone reads your blog, or Facebook status update, or tweet?

“I think the answer boils down to three basic choices for nonprofits. You want people to DO something, to THINK something, or to FEEL something.

“DO Something. Your words are calling them to some kind of action. Donate, volunteer, call your legislator, register, and tell a friend are all common examples of nonprofits asking supporters to do something.

“THINK Something. Your words are sharing something helpful or educational. You share a link to a news article or to a free download. You share an interesting fact or story. You offer some how-to instructions or tips. By sharing these updates, you hope readers will think about what you have presented.

“FEEL Something. Your words show the human side of your organization and prove that there really are passionate people behind the 501(c)(whatever you are). You are building rapport by sharing content that makes your supporters laugh, cry, smile, feel included, or swell with pride. Never discount the value of building that human rapport. As Dr. Maya Angelou says, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

“Strive for a mix of these three outcomes as your write for social media.”

Smart Merging

Following up on Friday’s post on the possible merger of two local arts groups, here is an article by one of the major experts on nonprofit mergers, David La Piana, published last year in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

An excerpt.

“In the midst of the worldwide financial crisis, funders are increasingly suggesting that nonprofits consider merging—that is, fusing their boards, management, and legal entities to form a single organization. In 2009 alone, my consulting firm delivered nearly 60 presentations and workshops on mergers and other partnership forms to more than 6,000 participants—double the previous year’s tally. Similarly, our strategic restructuring practice (which handles mergers and other partnerships) grew 60 percent last year, during the worst part of the recession.

“Now 2010 is upon us, and the urge to merge shows no signs of abating. Underlying this trend are two core beliefs: The nonprofit sector has too many organizations, and most nonprofits are too small and are therefore inefficient. Mergers, the thinking goes, would reduce the intense competition for scarce funding. Consolidating organizations would also introduce economies of scale to the sector, increasing efficiency and improving effectiveness.

“Yet a closer look at the nonprofit sector suggests that this thinking is too simplistic. Mergers are risky business. They sometimes fail, although not so frequently as in the corporate world. They usually cost more than anticipated. They sometimes create more problems than they solve. And the problems that they allegedly solve—too many nonprofits, too small in size—may not be problems after all.

“Instead of reflexively pulling out the biggest gun in the partnership arsenal, nonprofits should consider a variety of ways of working together. After facilitating some 200 nonprofit restructurings (including mergers, administrative consolidations, and other partnerships), my colleagues and I have developed a few rules of thumb for when nonprofits should merge, when they should remain fully independent, and when they should undertake unions that lie between these two poles.1 We’ve also identified how funders can help—or hurt—the formation of nonprofit partnerships.

“THE RIGHT NUMBER OF NONPROFITS

“A familiar cry in the nonprofit sector, particularly among funders, is that there are just too many organizations competing for too few dollars. The sector has allowed not only thousands of flowers to bloom, but also quite a few weeds, the critics say. With the recession upon us, they conclude, the time has come to prune.

“But are there indeed too many nonprofits? Let’s take a look at the numbers. When funders talk about mergers to reduce competition for funding, they are usually discussing the small subset of nonprofits that have annual operating budgets above $100,000. They aren’t discussing the myriad small, mostly volunteer groups that make up the bulk of the sector, because these organizations are not filling funders’ inboxes with grant requests.

“In 2005, only 170,000 of 1.4 million U.S. nonprofits reported expenses of more than $100,000.2 And only 55,000 nonprofits had expenses greater than $1 million, including the 5,000 hospitals and colleges that are typically not included in discussions of the sector.

“In contrast, 6.7 million of the nearly 30 million U.S. businesses had receipts of at least $100,000, and 1.4 million had receipts greater than $1 million.3 Compared to business, the nonprofit sector is tiny, in both overall number and average size of organizations. Thus the cause of the sector’s current feverish competition for funding would not appear to be “too many actors” in the marketplace. Instead, the principal reason for the run on funding is that, as if by some fiendish design, there are too few dollars available to support the vital services that nonprofits offer and that communities need.

“Most nonprofits respond to what economists call market failure: Nonprofits provide desperately needed services to constituents who lack the means to pay the full cost. Government and private funders must then bridge the funding gap. In bad economic times these third-party payers pull back, leaving nonprofits with inadequate funding—often at the very moment that they are experiencing increased demand for their services.”

Local Arts Nonprofits Merging?

It appears so, as this article from the Sacramento Bee explains.

An excerpt.

"The leaders of the Sacramento Opera and Sacramento Philharmonic are discussing a merger as a way to secure their futures – and potentially grow – despite a troubled economy.

"Like other organizations that have gone down this road, they are learning there are pitfalls as well as benefits. Marc Scorca has seen it all in his years as president of Opera America.

"There are a number of factors to consider, like the issue of loyalty to an art form among donors," Scorca said. "Blending the two can be less appealing to everyone than the individual identity over which they are passionate.

"Sometimes aggregate philanthropy decreases when there is a merged organization," he said.

"In other words, donors who now give equal amounts to both organizations might not add the two figures together when the groups combine.

"Nationally, the idea of opera companies merging with their symphonic brethren is not a new one. Many have considered it, but few have acted on it, Scorca said.

"Companies that have acted on mergers include the Utah Opera and Symphony in Salt Lake City and the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Symphony and Opera.

"So far, staff members from the Sacramento Opera and Philharmonic have sat in on each other's meetings, including Jane Hill, the recently arrived interim executive director of the Philharmonic.

"Already, the two groups are co-producing "Il Pagliacci" and a concert of arias.

"This burgeoning alliance is still in the embryonic stage," said Rod Gideons, general director of the Sacramento Philharmonic. "We're defining what a strategic alignment means, and that includes things like staffing, programming, marketing and development."

"Merger talks will likely intensify now that the James Irvine Foundation has expressed interest in funding a consultant to explore the merger idea. La Piana Consulting of San Francisco will likely do the work, Gideons said.

"The merger talks are crucial for the Sacramento Opera, which in December canceled the bulk of its 2010-11 season. At the time the company had a $85,000 budget deficit after soft ticket sales for its season-opening production of Handel's "Orlando."

Business Model, the Museum?

Yes, the museum is what this provocative and commonsensical article from Harvard Business Weekly suggests as a model for business, advice which applies equally well for nonprofit leaders.

An excerpt.

“At first blush, the consumer appeal of a business like Groupon seems pretty obvious. The popular deal-of-the-day Internet start-up sells vouchers to restaurants, spas, and other local businesses at major markdowns--and who wouldn't want to score a 100-dollar sports massage for 50 bucks?

“But Harvard Business School's Ray Weaver says that what Groupon is up to is much more sophisticated than just offering 50 percent-off coupons. Groupon, along with companies like Apple, Facebook, and Progressive Insurance, is a leading example of firms that are thinking about customers in a new way—much like how a museum curator orchestrates the experience of patrons. Weaver, an assistant professor in the Marketing Unitat HBS, believes that part of Groupon's success is borne of the careful way the company presents wares to its customers: providing a very limited amount of choices at a time, along with a brief, engaging description of each offering.

“To that end, Weaver is exploring the idea that many consumer-centric web-based businesses would benefit from acting more like museum curators.

"Many museums have enormous collections, so the possibilities are nearly endless," he says. "And most museum patrons don't know anywhere nearly enough to make these decisions on their own, and even if they were armed with some relevant information, most don't have the time or inclination to pore over it. So while we sometimes think that particular curators have missed the mark, in general we understand the role and appreciate that an expert who functions as our decision-making proxy makes for a much better museum-going experience."

“Weaver argues that web-based businesses would benefit from such expert curators. On the web, options for products, services, and information are virtually endless, too. It's daunting for customers, and there's an increasing body of academic research showing that the public responds positively to limited choices. (For instance, a recent paper demonstrated that smaller menus are generally preferable to big ones.”

Innovation in the Social Sector

Though it is usually not known for it, this article from Harvard Business Review suggests ways it might become more so.

An excerpt.

“Innovation, in word and deed, has been a golden calf of the business world for decades. Companies like Apple and Google are prized and admired for their unending commitment to introducing new services, products, methods and strategies. Now the concept has taken on a second life in the social sector, where a tougher than tough economy has made "innovation" the theoretical one-size fits all answer for every challenge, with little discussion about the associated costs and challenges. Donors no longer supporting your work? Innovate! A harsh, unyielding, volatile political climate? Innovate! Shrinking staff? Innovate!

“I myself, charged aggressively into this recession with all of my 22-year old energy and generational swagger, armed with Seth Godin books, ready to innovate and "change the game", despite never having played it before. Working for the nation's oldest and largest civil and human rights coalition, I ran head first into the reality that innovation, however sexy and necessary, is much easier said than done. Since then, I've founded a new project and brand within the country's largest progressive think tank and am now working with ambitious social entrepreneurs to develop, experiment with, and incubate new ideas. In other words, I've seen how hard innovation can be in every possible social sector setting.

“Why is this? Well, for starters, failure is a critical part of innovation. In order to try something new, one must be willing to fail on the path to success. Unfortunately for many non-profits, failure is perceived as more than an uncomfortable and painful outcome, but a grave and dangerous one. There are two huge reasons why failure is seen as so negative in the social sector:

“1. There is too much at stake. Businesses risk money. Non profits risk political capital that can take years to rebuild, and in many cases, the very lives of the people they serve or advocate on behalf of. Failure in our world can mean less effective services to the homeless, less responsive assistance for victims of domestic violence, the squandering of funds for public education, and so and so forth. This is not a game. But the problem with this seriousness, no matter how accurate it may be, is that is often applied with such tenacity and to such great extent as to morph into a self-righteous excuse to settle for the status quo. Will people really die if you reformat the way you send out an email? Will genocide be any more intense if you try a creative online action for your organizations? Will the world really end if you try to engage students in their own advocacy vs. just parents? Probably not. What many don't understand is that while our issues may seem too important to risk failure in the short term, their importance has kept many in the sector from experimenting and innovating fast enough to succeed in the long term.”

Volunteering

A lot of time volunteered last year, as this report from Nonprofit About.com notes.

An excerpt.

“The Corporation for National and Community Service this week released figures from its research into volunteering for 2010. The big number is the 8.1 billion hours that Americans gave to volunteer activities last year. Those hours are valued at nearly $173 billion of services throughout US communities.

“Here are some other stats from the research:

• 8.1 billion hours clocked...about the same as in 2009.

• the rate dropped slightly, but hours remained the same due to many volunteers increasing their volunteer hours.

• number of volunteers serving 100 hours or more per year increased to 33.8%

• the median number of hours volunteers served increased to 52 per year

• Generation X (born 1965-1981) volunteers gave more time to volunteer work in 2010 than they ever had, doubling their rate between 1989 to 2010, from 12.3% to 29.2%.

• teen volunteer rates have been consistently higher between 2002 and 2010 than they were in 1989, reflecting the rising interest and the increasing opportunities for these young volunteers

• the volunteer life cycle shows that volunteering peaks during a volunteer's mid 30s to early 40s

• volunteering diminishes as volunteers become older, but that decline has become less severe, reflecting the improving health and appreciation for the age-defying effects of volunteering by older people.”

Client-Centric vs Service-Centric

It is a very old paradigmatic struggle for grassroots programs working to transform behavior, which is well addressed in this article from Bridgespan.

From my perspective, the best approach is the mentor model with linkage to needed client services—whether from single-service programs or multi-service ones— determined through the mentoring relationship.

An excerpt from the Bridgespan article.

“Jared is 15 years old. He doesn’t know who his father is; his mother is a heroin addict who bounces in and out of temporary recovery. For four months last year, Jared lived in a dorm for homeless teens.

“Now he is back in an apartment with his mother, three younger brothers and a pregnant older sister, but he is thinking of moving out because there is only one bedroom and his mother has started using again. He doesn’t want to go back to the shelter though, because it’s too restrictive. For the moment, Jared is in summer school, trying to make up classes he failed during the school year. But he’s not sure he is going to go back in the fall; he’s been held back twice, and at 15, he’s embarrassed about starting eighth grade again.

“Jared is on an anti-depressant, and visits a psychiatrist each week, taking a 40-minute bus ride to get there. His social worker’s office is a short walk from his mother’s apartment and he sees her regularly also. Through the social worker, Jared received referrals to see a dentist and a doctor, but their offices are also more than 40 minutes away by public transportation, and since he doesn’t live in the group home anymore, he doesn’t have a ride and keeps cancelling appointments.

“Jared’s teachers and the other professionals he sees try to talk to him about the future, and make it sound as if he can someday go to college and become independent. Jared knows they are all trying to help him, but he doesn’t see how that bright future they all talk about can happen for him.

“Many people, like Jared, face complex and interrelated challenges. To overcome those challenges, they require sustained support over time that addresses both the individual problems with which they struggle and their connection to one another. This type of integrated, extended support is becoming more common in the health care arena. There is also a small, but growing body of literature about its application in human services, and emerging evidence that it is a more effective approach to helping individuals facing multiple challenges achieve significant, long-term outcomes.

“Multi-service organizations (MSOs)—nonprofits that provide services across multiple categories such as substance abuse, housing, and education—are uniquely positioned to provide this kind of holistic help. While nonprofits that provide a single service (from mentoring to job training) often draw more media attention, perhaps because they are easier to profile, MSOs have tremendous potential to help people struggling with complex problems transform their lives. Delivering on this potential should be an MSO’s comparative advantage. Should be, but too seldom is.

“The problem is that many MSOs tend to be organized around the services they deliver, not the needs of the clients they serve. Clients receive the service they were referred to, not the full set that they need in order to improve their lives. Staff are focused on providing a high-quality service and achieving a narrow, short-term outcome, which isn’t a bad thing, but they don’t have authority or accountability for helping the client achieve long-term, life-changing outcomes. We call this “service-centric” strategy.

“To realize their full potential, MSOs have to shift from being service-centric to being “client-centric.” Being client-centric means working with a client to set long-term goals, understanding what services the client will need to reach those outcomes, providing those services in a coordinated way, and following up to make sure the client achieves their goals.”

Program Evaluation

It is one of the most crucial items in a nonprofit’s toolkit for attracting donors and/or securing public contracts—especially those programs focused on transformative change—and this article from Nonprofit About.com is a good look at it.

An excerpt.

“Measuring the results of your nonprofit's programs is not easy, but it is crucial. Knowing how effective your programs are will guide your long-term planning, help you to correct course, and reassure your donors that your organization is worthy of support.

“New Philanthropy Capital, a consultant to philanthropists, is in the business of evaluating charities and making recommendations to their wealthy clients about where to invest their philanthropic gifts. Their advice to charities about measuring results include these tips:

• Stick with what you know. Don't make measurement any harder than it needs to be. Stick to what you are passionate about as an organization. Talk about impact that anyone can understand. You don't need to become abstract and theoretical.

• Think in terms of change. What does your organization seek to change in its community, people's lives, socio-economic conditions, health-care policy, the environment? Figure out the change you seek to bring, and then how to measure those changes. When you succeed in changing the status-quo, that is an outcome...the outcome you and your supporters want to see. Make sure you capture it.

• Keep it simple. Better to measure just one or two aspects of your program's results, that are at the center of what you do, than try to measure everything. You'll only spread your efforts too thinly and have less to show for it.

Online Donations

A good article from Nonprofit About.com for those organizations whose websites offer this.

An excerpt.

“All the great marketing copy, email solicitations, and earnest pleadings can and do fail once a donor gets to the donation page on your website.

“It happens to all of us all the time. Just think of the times you've abandoned your shopping cart at your favorite online shopping sites. Somehow, we just don't convert to being an actual buyer. The same thing happens with your donation page. It might not get the would-be donor over that leap of faith to the actual donation.

“Convio, a leading supplier of donor software to nonprofits, and Donordigital, a consultancy specializing in online fundraising, recently explored the factors that might influence a would-be donor to become an actual donor once he or she lands on your web donation form.

“In "Beyond Best Practices," a study of the donation pages of seven large nonprofits, the two companies tweaked and tested a number of donor page elements. The goal was to determine how to improve the user experience for existing audiences on donation landing pages to increase conversion.

“According to the researchers, "...a typical web donation page that has never been tested converts less than 15 percent of the visitors that reach it." Just think of the money your organization might be leaving on the table by not testing your donation page.

“The Convio/Donordigital study found that there was no "single set of changes to a donation form...that's guaranteed to work for every organization." However it did reveal the elements on those forms that most influence conversion. Just knowing that could make your own testing easier.”

Leadership Coaching

I have been providing this service for years and the way I approach it is a pretty straightforward process of listening, advising, and inspiring.

This article from the Nonprofit Quarterly examines it.

An excerpt.

“Ruth McCambridge: If coaching is the answer, what’s the question?

“Bill Ryan: The question is, “If my organization wants to get to Point X, how am I, as a leader, in the way, and what do I need to do to get out of the way?” That’s a negative formulation of it. Another way to put it would be, “If my organization wants to get to Point X, what do I, as a leader, need to do to build on my strengths and manage my weaknesses to help it get there?”

“RM: It was interesting to see in the report how vague and all over the place the definitions of coaching are. Can you talk a little bit about what people mean when they talk about coaching?

“BR: There are lots of people attempting to nail down the definition. The practice of coaching is still relatively new, so everyone is trying to definitively type it, and, in particular, they’re very anxious to distinguish it from consulting or therapy. Some people, invested in the practice as a profession, want to put coaching on the map as something highly distinctive.

“RM: But isn’t it kind of a weird combination of consulting and therapy?

“BR: That’s right—when I talk to coaches and they describe what they do, it reveals that they’re doing a blend of things, and there was a nice typology put together by editors at Harvard Business Review that did show the overlap.

“I think, probably, the big difference many are trying to emphasize is that consulting would be about trying to come up with the answer, therapy would be about trying to get to self-understanding by understanding the past, and coaching is in the middle.

“[Coaching] should help you gain enough introspection to come up with your own solutions looking toward the future. [Leadership guru] Warren Benning was quoted as saying, basically, that the effort to distinguish it from therapy is partly just to make it more legitimate. No manager, certainly no for-profit one, is going to say, “I’ve got to stop our meeting now, it’s time for me to meet with my shrink.” But to say, “It’s time for me to meet with my coach” would be acceptable.”

Corporate Philanthropy

It is an avenue too few grassroots nonprofits tackle but it can be a very supportive one, and this paper from Harvard Business Weekly reports on a recent paper examining it.

An excerpt.

“Analyzing several Fortune 500 firms over the period of 10 years, Christopher Marquis and Matthew Lee discuss the factors that influence corporate philanthropy, using the subject to theorize about and test how structural features of organizations help senior leaders to shape firm strategy. Key concepts include:
• Many practitioners today view corporate philanthropy as a strategic activity that addresses both social and economic goals.
• Corporate philanthropy is highest in corporations with new CEOs, and decreases with the length of CEO tenure.
• The greater the proportion of female senior managers in a company, the greater the corporate philanthropic contributions will be.
• Companies with larger boards tend to have higher philanthropic contributions.

Abstract

“We examine how organizational structure influences strategies over which corporate leaders have significant discretion. Corporate philanthropy is our setting to study how a differentiated structural element, the corporate foundation, constrains the influence of individual senior managers and directors on corporate strategy. Our analysis of Fortune 500 firms from 1996 to 2006 shows that leader characteristics at both the senior management and director levels affect corporate philanthropic contributions. We also find that organizational structure constrains the philanthropic influence of board members, but not senior managers, a result that is contrary to what existing theory would predict. We discuss how these findings advance understanding of how organizational structure and corporate leadership interact, and how organizations can more effectively realize the strategic value of corporate social responsibility activities.”

Optimism & Leadership

Excellent advice for anyone working within an organization, from Harvard Business Review.

An excerpt.

“One of my greatest mentors was the late Jay Chiat of TBWA Chiat Day, an iconoclast in the field of advertising with a constant imagination for possibilities in business and life. Jay embodied the three traits of a "lucky attitude" that I described in my last post: humility, intellectual curiosity, and optimism. Of these three characteristics, it was Jay's optimism which was perhaps his greatest lesson to me. He inspired people to embrace optimism — inside themselves, and also, as importantly, in others. It is a gift to understand how to project, share, and inspire with optimism. It is an even greater act of generosity to be inspired by optimism from others and to be willing to receive it.

“The capacity to be a natural recipient of ideas and other peoples' optimism is what makes for the ultimate optimist. You may be open to experimenting with new things, but do you truly see the good in something before the bad? The order of this thought process is critical: to try and see everything good in an idea before seeing anything bad. While most of us like to think we do, and would therefore self-describe ourselves as optimistic, more often (if we are truly honest with ourselves) we are natural critics (even cynics). Experience brings wisdom, but its collateral damage is that it can jade one against new concepts, turning many of us into Pavlovian skeptics. Whether we openly say it or not, we often think of what might be wrong with someone or something before we try to understand what might be right or good. The temptation and reflex for cynicism is usually more common than a natural responsive optimism. Cynicism is indeed the enemy of optimism.

“Here's a practical tool for the skeptic or cynic in all of us: the 24x3 rule. The next time you hear an idea for the first time, or meet someone new, try to wait 24 seconds before saying or thinking something negative. This reinforces a foundational skill of good optimists and good leadership. That basic skill is listening. As you gain the ability to listen and pause for a brief 24 seconds before letting the critic in you bubble to the verbal surface, move to the next level and try to do it for 24 minutes. At 24 minutes, you are able to give more considered thought to the idea and think more carefully of the many reasons why it might actually work, why it might be better than what is out there, and why it might just topple conventional wisdom.

“And yes, you should also work towards the ability to wait 24 hours — one single day — before pondering or verbalizing the cons against something. Of course, most times this will not be possible. Our minds cannot compartmentalize so easily, nor shut off our past experiences. But the 24x3 rule is a type of reflective meditation for developing a more optimistic approach towards people and ideas. The simple guideline of 24x24x24 is just a good reminder that a prerequisite of optimism is to have a willing suspension of disbelief.”

Nonprofit Management: Drucker's Seminal Classic

Yesterday I noted a new book that is an excellent resource for nonprofit leadership, and today I wanted to remind you that the seminal nonprofit management classic still reigns supreme, and that is Peter Drucker’s Managing the Non-Profit Organization: Principles and Practices.

Drucker, who passed away in 2005, is the most important thinker on management in America over the past several decades and his seminal book is a brief 250 pages that captures the timeless wisdom and wonderful insights marking his work.

Here are the opening two paragraphs.

“The non-profit organization exists to bring about a change in individuals and society. The first thing to talk about is what missions work and what missions don’t work, and how to define the mission. For the ultimate test is not the beauty of the mission statement. The ultimate test is right action.

“The most common question asked me by non-profit executives is: What are the qualities of a leader? The question seems to assume that leadership is something you can learn in a charm school. But it also assumes that leadership by itself is not enough, that it’s an end. And that’s misleadership. The leader who basically focuses on himself or herself is going to mislead. The three most charismatic leaders in this century inflicted more suffering on the human race than almost any trio in history: Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. What matters is not the leader’s charisma. What matters is the leader’s mission. Therefore, the first job of the leader is to think through and define the mission of the institution.” (p. 3)

Nonprofit Management: Basic & Advanced

Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals, is a terrific book, with timeless advice from some of the top people in their respective nonprofit disciplines, reviewed here by Nonprofit About.com.

I added it to my library a few days ago, and suggest you get a copy also as it is a wonderful resource, and, as important, very fairly priced to fit within just about anyone's budget.

An excerpt.

“Lest you think that this book, at over 600 pages, is just a doorstop, let me assure you that you won't use it that way.

“These 50 essays from 50 nonprofit experts, such as Michael Watson of the Girl Scouts of the USA; David Greco of the Nonprofit Finance Fund; Holly Ross of NTEN; Andrea McManus of the AFP; Katya Andresen of Network for Good; and Beth Kanter of Zoetica, cover the gamut of nonprofit topics from human resources to social media.

“Furthermore, the essays embody the tried and true pillars of success associated with nonprofit work, while riding the edge of contemporary thought. They are not likely to go out of style any time soon.”

Due Diligence

It is something far too few donors conduct on programs they encounter face to face, especially small grassroots efforts where they are often enamoured by the charismatic founder, which is what this article from Stanford Social Innovation Review is about.

An excerpt.

“Donors should always aim to put their philanthropic capital to the best possible use. However, in the current economic climate, where resources are diminished and society’s problems are all the more pressing, the need for strategic giving is greater than ever. Moreover, the emergence of scandals such as the one underlying Greg Mortensen’s Three Cups of Tea has put the onus on donors to do their homework. With that in mind, I suggest ten due diligence practices for would-be funders who are in the process of sizing up a philanthropic opportunity.

“Don’t let dazzling stardom cloud your vision. Though the leader of your potential grantee may be brimming with charisma, be sure to go through all the standard checks that you normally would.

“On a related note: Look closely at the leadership. Is the leader’s brilliance a mask for the structural weakness of the organization? As the management guru Peter Drucker once famously advised, “No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings.”

“Use multiple sources for your decision-making. Don’t rely on just one set of opinions when forming a view about a nonprofit; carefully consult the whole range of stakeholders with whom they work. Speak with other funders in the same issue area—and not just those who are supporting your potential grantee. Conduct a site visit, since often there is nothing like seeing it for yourself. If that’s not possible, interview staff working at various levels throughout the organization, including the executive director, the project managers, and the board.

“Don’t overlook governance. In our recent Think Philanthropy report, “The State of UK Charity Boards (2011),” we contend that an engaged board—with members who have diverse skills and networks, and who exercise full oversight over their organization—are essential to the success of a nonprofit.

“Use Web 2.0 and peer review tools. One of the Internet’s most useful features for budding donors is its interactivity—it’s easy to find and share donor experiences with charities and other organizations.

“Remember that growth does not mean effectiveness. The mere fact that a charity is growing in staff size and income does not indicate that it is more successfully pursuing its mission. It merely indicates that it is good at fundraising. More money can fuel more marketing prowess, but the key question is whether that extra money fuels more programmatic output.

“Consider funding through intermediaries. There are several organisations, such as Global Greengrants, Give2Asia, the African Women’s Development Fund, and innumerable community foundations worldwide, that provide excellent channels for funding projects; they combine a skill for grant-making with on-the-ground knowledge of the area or community to which they are giving.”