David's blog

Experiment #1: Soliciting Financial and Moral Support

The Question

The first experiment took place on that behemoth of all social media, Facebook. A colleague had invited his contacts on Facebook to mark his 50th birthday with a gift of $50 to an advocacy organization to which he is committed. Wanting to honor his day in some fashion, I followed his suggestion and made my donation of $50 through the organization’s Facebook/Causes page.

Here are more responses from my colleagues on Linked In to the question, "What advice would you have to offer a new and perhaps first-time E.D.?"

1. Find a mentor that is successful in leading a nonprofit.
2. Learn the difference between the "legislative" style of leadership in a nonprofit and the "executive" style in a for-profit.
3. Become an "expert" on board governance. Good relations with the board are critical and a well functioning board is very important.
5. Be humble, have a learner's heart. Ask lots of questions.
6. Be passionate about your mission.
7. If you are a person of faith, pray.
(BG Allen)

Besides serving as a management consultant to nonprofit organizations, I am actively involved as a board member in two at present, one of which is underway with a search for a new executive director. Meanwhile, a very dear friend is working her way through her first year as an E.D. So I would like to share with you some advice intended for any new executive director, but especially for one who may have prior business experience in the for-profit world and is entering the nonprofit E.D. role for the first time.

The Art of Adaptation

Some organizations have thoroughly delineated methods by which to develop new programs while others are rather more ad hoc in their approach. Either way, the cycle of adaptation typically contains four elements: First, leaders listen to the environment. Based on what they hear, they experiment and innovate. Then, they evaluate and learn what works. Finally, they modify programs as well as future plans. Mastery of this cycle is one of the six practices of high-impact nonprofits according to Crutchfield and Grant in their excellent book, Forces for Good (2008, my recommended resource last month).

The Surprise

Why

I still believe in the value of annual reports to constituents, even though the trend appears to be in the opposite direction. The trend, if my perception is accurate, is ironic because, over all, nonprofits are being advised to communicate more often and more fully than ever before. Given all the new technologies available today in even the modestly equipped office, it is easier to produce an annual report than ever before too, particularly compared to those ancient days at the start of my professional life, the era of Selectric III typewriters and index card files.

The Fundraising Cycle
Fundraising can be understood as a continuous cycle of four segments, cultivation, solicitation, recognition, and documentation. All four segments are critical to being effective.

Don’t expect what you don’t inspect. (Source unknown)
In any organization, what is watched or counted tends to be what gets done. The lay leadership of a church, for instance, will notice if the minister does not show up for the Sunday service. Yet, they may be oblivious to the fact that the visitors’ restroom could be used as a location set for a CSI episode. If it matters, monitor.

Who Are They?

In every organization, some constituencies are obvious. National advocacy groups and local faith communities both count members. Clinics and hospitals monitor patients. Schools study student enrollment and try to stay in touch with their alumni. Many nonprofits whose business model is fee-for-service rely on third party referral sources. Nearly all nonprofits of whatever sort know they have donors and recognize, in theory if not altogether in practice, that it is important to keep in contact with them. After all, the next gift is always easier attained from a past donor than from a prospective one.

Who Are They?

In every organization, some constituencies are obvious. National advocacy groups and local faith communities both count members. Clinics and hospitals monitor patients. Schools study student enrollment and try to stay in touch with their alumni. Many nonprofits whose business model is fee-for-service rely on third party referral sources. Nearly all nonprofits of whatever sort know they have donors and recognize, in theory if not altogether in practice, that it is important to keep in contact with them. After all, the next gift is always easier attained from a past donor than from a prospective one.

When I wrote about courage of commitment some while ago, I identified two elements of it, namely boldness in the face of opposition and perseverance in the face of exhaustion. Both of these are fundamentally moral qualities – qualities of character.

Though the concepts are closely allied, I see steadfastness of purpose somewhat differently. By this phrase I refer to the practice of staying true to and clear about one’s aim. And doing so, it seems to me, is essentially a matter of critical thinking applied regularly and consistently to operational decision-making. It is what helps us stay on course toward realizing our organization’s vision and avoid that pesky weed which is forever popping up in the nonprofit garden, mission creep.

This is from my friends at Green Bird Media.  I share it with you here because websites are as important to nonprofits today as mimeographed newsletters were fifty years ago.

We often see customers after they have had one or two failed and expensive design launches. As a rule, we can usually see the problems were built into the hiring or communication process right from the start. We thought we would share some great strategies and tips on how to hire a web design team that will suit your site's needs.

What is a” Comprehensive Development Plan” and why bother with it?

We have all seen it happen over and over again: A major grant comes to an end and suddenly an agency needs to examine whether it can continue a successful new program. Or, the annual gala just isn’t attracting the crowd it once did and, after the latest one, the Development Committee is left wondering how to make up for what was not raised. Or, maybe that rummage sale has become more work than it is worth…

Within the context of leading and managing nonprofit organizations (NPOs), creativity has both contemplative and active modes. When we are “being creative,” generally we are thinking along new lines and perspectives. When we are “doing something creative,” we are doing new things.

Versatility, as I see it, is creativity’s close cousin. Versatility is about being flexible with respect to method and allowing oneself and others to experiment with new ways of doing things.

The Value of Creativity and the Cost of Neglecting It

What is strategic planning?

The essential purpose of strategic planning is to answer a basic question: Where do you want to go as an organization? Another way to put it is: What do you want to see happen? Or, again: What do you want to accomplish? That question begs another: How are you going to get there? How are you going to realize your aspirations? A sound strategic planning process helps leaders arrive at informed, clear answers to these most basic questions.

Why should we bother? (Who knows what the future will bring anyway?)

The Situation

In some ways, we are constantly assessing our organizations. We review financial statements, monitor service statistics, and receive updates on accreditation or licensing reviews. In other ways, organizational assessment is an exceptional undertaking. A key senior manager leaves, so we review the structure of the whole department. Or, the complaints about technology become so loud that we decide to review all our technical systems.  Ideally however, our assessment should not just be constant; it should be regular. And it should not only be exceptional; it should be comprehensive.

The Comprehensive Assessment of Current Conditions