On the contrary, for my husband and I this weekend was tax weekend.  April 15 passed us by with nary a glance at the mailbox. Instead, this Sunday we sat down to do our Portuguese taxes. I will spare you tales of bureaucracy run amok and receipts painstakingly entered in one by one.  What I want to share is something I found so refreshing– the way in which Portuguese taxpayers can contribute to their favorite charity, without paying a single penny.

No, this isn’t about deductions, and it isn’t about adding $3 for the environment.  The system allows you to direct .5% of your yearly taxes to the charity of your choice.  Of course in Portugal, there is a good chance that your taxes were going to be going to support some charities anyhow– the socialist safety net is a strong one.  Nonetheless, I think it is a great way to acknowledge an organization which does work you love.

If you are doing taxes in Portugal, here is a list of organizations you can support, and their NIPC codes.

For us, we chose Banco Alimentar, the Food Bank of Portugal.  Times are tough here (austerity measures, anyone?), and people are having a harder and harder time getting food on their table.  Grocery prices are shockingly high to my American eyes! We are eaters of modest tastes (with no children around raiding our cupboards) and it costs upwards of $700 per month with almost no dining out.  With unemployment going up and the average wage decreasing, the work that Banco Alimentar is doing is more important than ever.

If you are not doing any Portuguese taxes, but would still like to support this fantastic organization, here is a link to the campaign advertised in the video: Alimente Esta Ideia, or “Feed This Idea”.  Have some fun! Go shopping Portuguese style, and the food in your basket will turn into a donation to support this great cause.  You will even learn the Portugeuse words for milk, tuna, sausage, olive oil, sugar, and vegetable oil.  Pretty nifty!

Yes, I’m thinking about National Volunteer Week, April 10-16. When someone volunteers to help your organization instead of staying late at work, or having drinks with their friends, or playing with their kids, or just vegging out on the weekend– what a gift!  And, of course, volunteers are also your ambassadors to their family, friends, and social networks, helping you generate new donors much better than you could on your own.

But you knew all this, right?  In fact, if your nonprofit had an ego, it would get a big boost from all this.  You rate pretty high up on your volunteers’ priority lists.  Take a moment.  Feel the love.

Errrr, that’s enough, now.  Don’t get cocky, tiger.  Like any good relationship, you have to show some appreciation if you want to keep the flame burning.  You are likely all finished with gifts, notes, maybe even an event this week.  Great!  But don’t be that guy who orders roses on Valentine’s Day but forgets to be thoughtful every other day of the year. (That guy is a real jerk.)

Here are a few great resources to review as you consider how to let your volunteers know how much they mean to you all year ’round.

Volunteer Match Learning Center

A Shangri-La of free webinars about inspiring and appreciating your volunteers.  This center has a huge range of topics, and they thoughtfully repeat the topics several times over the year, so you don’t need to worry if you miss one!  Whether you are looking to learn more about how to maximize your volunteer recruitment on the site, need some help writing a volunteer handbook, or  want to get your whole organization working to recruit and manage volunteers, you will find it here.  There is also a very cool area with webinars specializing in Boomer Volunteers.

Microvolunteering: Why It’s Better Than Sliced Bread

This is a link to the transcript of one of the most interesting discussion I have found on linking your social networking and volunteer strategies without creating a management nightmare and overwhelming work for staff.  Definitely worth the free registration to take a look! (In fact, if you don’t yet have a free registration to Network For Good, why don’t you??)

Best Practices (from Volunteer Canada)

Yes, Volunteer USA probably has something like this, but I really like the .ca version.  To the point, and on point.

HuffPost Volunteer Page

If you want some news, ideas, or thoughtful discussion on volunteering, this catch-all at the Huffington Post is the perfect place to start.

Volunteers for More Birthdays

This link will inspire you.  It will make you grin and say, DANG, I wish I thought of that.  And it will make you realize that there is no reason that social networking can’t be incorporated into your own storytelling.  This brilliantly named American Cancer Society campaign lets volunteers tell their own stories, and nothing is more powerful than that.

There is a world of difference between the fundraising machines and philanthropic resources in the United States and the seedlings of fundraising in a country like Portugal, where social services are more or less fully funded by the state.  As state budget problems and dwindling resources become more and more apparent, universities realize that they cannot live on government subsidies alone.  Hospitals realize they can’t sustain services if they continue to suffer budget cuts.  Social service organizations are serving more people, and with fewer financial resources to do so.  (Sound familiar?)

As the times are a’ changin’, resources are starting to pop up to help them navigate this new world.  One of the best I have found is a site called Project Impulso Positivo.

Started in 2010, Project “Positive Impulse” sprouted from the publishing group Vida Económica and serves as a platform for private and nonprofit organizations to find common ground for collaboration.  It is a unique meeting place of ideas and news from the government, the private sector, and the third sector of NGOs.

Highlights

It has a fantastically useful collection of guides and documents on creating public-private partnerships, fundraising, and social responsibility which are helpful for users from any of the three target audiences.  The Forum is well-participated, if still a bit sparse.  And the Events listings are genius, linking to conferences, fundraisers, seminars: anything which could be interesting to do-gooders!

My favorite section, though, has to be the interviews.  I have so often been disappointed when looking for info on the trendsetters and leaders in fundraising here in Portugal, it seemed for ages as thought there was nothing happening.  Not so! I had a little squeal when I found a list of interviews with David Alves, an executive at the company Optimus who is charged with working to create a policy of corporate social responsibility in the organization.  Or an interview with Sónia Fernandes, president of Pista Mágica, a one-of-a-kind volunteer training school.

It is entirely in Portuguese, entirely relevant for Portuguese businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations, and entirely free. Espectacular!

University of Birmingham/AP

Health researchers put up messages on stairs in a suburban mall in Coventry, England to see if they could influence people to get a little exercise instead of just riding up the escalator.  ”7 minutes of stair climbing daily protects your heart” was the very encouraging, sensible message.

Result? The number of people using the stairs increased from 4% to 10%.  One of the researchers was quoted as saying, “You can exercise without even really thinking about it.”

On the other hand… you ARE thinking about it, aren’t you?  You see those signs, and you think, “Eh, I really feel tired but I will feel GUILTY and tired if I don’t take the stupid stairs, so I may as well get it over with.”

These messages are very sensible, and they are mildly effective at shaming some people into moving their legs, but it is hardly an inspiring success, is it?  A full 90% of the mall-goers are still using the escalator.

It is really easy, given this evidence, to think that there is only so much you can do– people just don’t WANT to take the stairs, even when they know it is good for them.  How can you change willfully self-destructive behavior?

Errr.  You can make the alternative more fun.

Volkswagen tackled the same problem using a different approach: the fun theory.  When their researchers thought about how to encourage people to use the stairs, they decided to make it a WANT TO rather than an OUGHT TO incentive. They made the stairs at the Odenplan metro in Stockholm into a working piano you play with your feet as you climb.

Their results?  A 66% increase in people using the stairs. Apparently, while people may not like to exercise, they really enjoy playing on stairs that make music.  By changing the message, these innovators significantly changed behavior.

As nonprofit folk, this example of dramatically changed behavior offers a huge opportunity.  How are YOU approaching your employees, clients, and donors?  Are you giving them a OUGHT TO incentive?  Or are you giving them a WANT TO opportunity to have fun (while doing the things you want and need them to do)?

Another way to put it: positive incentives trump threats.  If you have any lingering doubts, think about the effectiveness of sporadic speed traps versus this, another idea from The Fun Theory folks: Speed Camera Lottery.

It’s time to put some more fun in your mission, don’t you think?

‘Tis the Season!  It is mid-November, which means your e-mailboxes and snail mailboxes will soon be stuffed with a cornucopia of Annual Appeals from your favorite charities.

And if you are a fundraiser, you are likely already up to your ears in sorting through mailing lists, drafting compelling letters, and proofing designwork as it comes back from the printer.  Ah, the smell of blueline proofs– it’s like gingerbread for the development department.

I am not the only one ruminating on the coming weeks of appeals, judging from the wealth of interesting blogging that is going on about it these days!  A little holiday goody for you all, as you wrap up your own end of year campaigns: a collection of some fascinating blogposts on End of Year Fundraising.  Grab your egg nog, and start clicking!

Frogloop: Women Rule the Philanthropic Roost

A wonderful piece on why you should actively target your women constituents. Not only are women proven to be more generous donors on the whole, they are the holders of the charitable pursestrings in most households! At the bottom of this article, there are links to others with tips on exactly how to target women donors effectively.

donorpowerblog: Holiday Conundrum

A thoughtful piece on what the author calls the premium arms race:  calendars, labels, magnets, etc. as free giveaways to attract donors.  It poses a great question to reflect on: “How meaningful are our donor cultivation actions?”

the Fundraising Coach: Membership Dues vs. Annual Fund

A nice look at the benefits and drawbacks of memberships and donations, and how to maximize income for your nonprofit by recognizing the role of each.  Also– it was written by the Director of Development for the Baseball Hall of Fame, which is pretty cool.

GiveWell: The Process of Giving

A touchstone for all of us as we flurry through strategy and lists this season: a story from one donor on why he gives, and how he decides to do so.  It makes you realize just how your efforts are perceived on the other end– at least through the lens of this one donor.

There are a few services out there which are fantastic and (more or less) free, such as the Chronicle of Philanthropy Community Section or Network for Good’s Learning Center. They provide a consistent range of really high-quality offerings on topics that span a wide range of concerns for NGO fundraisers.  Seriously– these are must reads.  Great general resources, but still… not exactly the same as someone listening to your particular concerns and getting back to you with professional advice.

Until now?

Chris Brogan, one of my all-time favorite sources of info on new ways to think about social marketing and “human business”, has just released a new service for nonprofits. 501 Mission Place is a platform for getting help and support from Chris, his team, and other nonprofits in your area of work, region, or just others facing similar challenges.  Seminars, live Q&A, links to relevant articles and blogs… it is all right there, as it is on the other sites.

In this case, in addition to  a library of knowledge, you are accessing the collective wisdom of your peers and nonprofit leaders as well as the professional guidance of the Brogan team.  It’s still in the beginning stages, but it looks like a really interesting proposition, and may just make “collective consulting” a lot more personal for a price tag even an NGO could love.

Here’s a look on the inside of the service, courtesy of Chris’ blog:

Interested in learning more?  Click here to get to the 501 Mission Place site.

“There are two kinds of people in this world: …”

How do you finish that sentence?

Those who lead and Those who follow.

The Haves and the Have-nots.

Elvis people and Beatles people.

Red Sox fans and Yankees fans.

All fun, all true in their way, and all just scratch the surface of possibilities. But no matter how clever and unique you are in ending that phrase, the pleasure in the aphorism always comes from the same implied meaning. In this world, it’s a virtuous “us” versus a very lacking “them.”

I’ve watched the elections unfold over the last few weeks in the US, the run-up and the aftermath, and I have been shaking my head and thinking about two kinds of people a lot. Those who talk and those who listen. People who are part of the solution and people who are part of the problem. Uniters and Dividers. Sane people and the Crazies. (Thank you Jon Stewart!)

Now, make no mistake: I am a pretty partisan gal.  But the funny thing is, these dualisms could apply to either the Democrats or the Republicans depending on your personal politics.  Specific statements of accomplishments– no.  Those belong to the world of fact and reason.  (Booooring.)  But simply pitting “us” versus “them” needs no rationale.  It encourages such a delicious feeling of unwarranted superiority.  You are on the right side of an inside joke, just like that. Ahhhh.

The trouble comes when “us” versus “them” forces energy into proving superiority rather than… well… achieving it.  An article came out in the NonProfit Times that declared it a post-election tough road ahead for nonprofits everywhere.  Not exactly breaking news, eh? But it still makes you gulp when you read that the country will be “moving to almost draconian cuts in the future.”

What really burns me is that the reason for the bleak outlook is not because some political party has achieved fascist power and wants to crush do-gooders into extinction.  It’s because the energy of all politicians will be devoted to positioning themselves for 2012.  Who wants to be caught out as soft on spending cuts in these hard economic times?  Better safe than sorry– if your opponent proposes cutting food pantry subsidies by 30%, why not counter by cutting unemployment benefits by half?

I suppose this could be viewed as people doing what they have to to protect their OWN jobs.  But I’m afraid I can’t be that generous.  It seems to me that it makes the two kinds of people in this world so concerned with fighting each other that they forget how to actually do what is in their job description.  Govern.

Or, as Mark Twain more eloquently put it:

My husband and I adopted Sydney (the little munchkin above) earlier this year from a great organization called União Zoófila here in Lisbon.  When we arrived at the adoption center we were just there to consider whether sometime in the future we should adopt another cat when we already had (a rather curmudgeonly) one at home.  After a little while, a volunteer worker approached us and we began chatting.  When she found out I was American, she got a gleam in her eye and took us immediately into a room with four black cats, scooping up one of them for me to hold.

“Since you are American, I want to show you these black cats.  We Portuguese can be very superstitious about owning black cats.  It is hard to find homes for these little ones.”

And that, my friends, was the end of it… I may have had dreams of an orange tiger kitty or delusions of waiting a few months before pulling the trigger, but knowing that the little “gatinha” in my hands would have a hard time finding acceptance was the best salesmanship technique there could have been.  We took Sydney home that very day.

So, what was it about this encounter that was so impressive?  I was struck with how naturally skilled the volunteer was at soliciting the “donation”  of a home for these kitties– a cause hurt by fear and prejudice.  I have fundraised for organizations with troubles in that area.  Mental health, alcoholism, geriatrics… these are not sunshine and feel-good causes which lend themselves to easy fundraising from any donor.

If it is your job to find support for causes tainted by fear or prejudice, don’t give up hope!  Like with the black-furred kittens, it just may take a few extra steps and some fundraising savvy to find that perfect “home” for your cause.  Here are three tips:

1. Target Marketing

The volunteer who approached us at the adoption center didn’t start off by taking us to the black cats.  Instead, she got to know us.  When she found out I was American, a light bulb clicked on over her head.  She was target marketing to me, and that was a very smart move.  I imagine if a owner comes in and has kids, or lives in a house with a big yard, or any number of other things, she takes it on board and recommends a different cat to appeal to them.

Matching cats and owners is not unlike matching donors and causes.  Pay attention to who you are speaking to.  Target market to the audiences you feel will be most likely to support your cause.

2. Make Your Audience Feel Special

If you find yourself in a position of fundraising for a cause that not everyone connects to, then you should use that to your advantage.  One of the smartest things that volunteer did was to make me feel like I was special enough to understand something nobody else could.  I was immediately tied to these cats, and… well, you know the result.

When you find your target market, don’t be afraid to make them feel special.  If you are raising money to combat alcoholism, then you can find some incredibly strong supporters in successful, recovered alcoholics who understand exactly why your clients need help.  Who are themselves the kind of people your clients can hope to be.  Once you connect a feeling of pride with a donor’s understanding of your cause, the support will naturally follow.

3. Educate at the Right Times

I just got a Facebook posting from the União Zoófila about black cats.  Their message is that black cats love their owners without caring about their appearance, so why would you hold it against a cat what color their fur is?  Simple, right?  But the best part: today is Halloween.  Black cats and Halloween go together like bunnies and Easter.  If any day is a likely day to catch some open minds, it is today.

Pick the right time to educate, and your efforts will be more richly rewarded.

How can I resist a mandate like that?  Get your popcorn, your blanket, and your footie pajamas.  It’s time for the Great Pumpkin…

The Great Pumpkin Says… Check All the Details

One of the most gut-wrenching feelings a grantwriter can have is realizing that a proposal you sweated over and cared for like a beloved child was rejected– because you stapled the pages together when you were forbidden to do so.  Or, you forgot to put the grant ID number on the manila envelope before you mailed it.  Or, you thought it had to be postmarked by the due date, when it had to be received by the due date.

Okay, enough examples, I’m getting a bit queasy just thinking about it.

The point is, grantwriting is not just about making a strong case.  It’s not just about promising that you will deliver value for money.  It is about showing that you can absorb every detail the funder wants to see in the proposal and then give it to them.  How you structure your narrative, how many pages you write, or what binding you use: it ALL matters.  Otherwise, you may end up flat on your back in the leaves, wondering… “how did this happen?“

The Great Pumpkin Says… Deliver What You Promise

I know, I know.  Writing grants is an act of salesmanship.  And it is certainly human nature to try to sell yourself and your program as hard as you can.  You want to make it sound like your proposal is THE solution they are looking for, the most compelling program in the world (which you believe from your heart).  But when you are writing outcomes and deliverables, be realistic.

For one thing, grant reviewers read a lot of proposals, and they can spot overreaching.  If they sense you are promising the moon, it only weakens your proposal.  For another thing, if you DO get funded– well, the fury of Sally Brown is nothing compared to the embarrassment and trouble you will have if you promise more than you can deliver in the end.

The Great Pumpkin Says… Don’t Freak Out

While you are in the middle of it, the grant process can be all consuming.  I have gone without sleep, without proper meals, without human contact for days when the finish line is in sight.  Every letter of recommendation, every edit you receive from program staff, every budget line has an aura of overwhelming importance that can’t be left alone for a moment.  And something I learned from that kind of overexcited process?

It doesn’t make the grant more compelling. It only makes you more… exhausted.

Plan ahead, be systematic, be ready for a few late nights, but don’t forget– it is only as scary as YOU make it!

The Great Pumpkin Says… Don’t Give Up

This last piece of advice is especially for nonprofits who have only tried for a few grants, or none at all.  You have to be ready to lose some of the battles you fight.  You will be disappointed sometimes– no matter how great your program is, no matter how clean and crisp your writing.  In grantwriting, you can’t win them all.

Linus believes in the Great Pumpkin, and in his little patch.  In the end, if you keep your faith in your little patch and keep submitting well-crafted proposals, you will win more than you lose.

Or so points out Melinda Gates in this compelling presentation on what NGOs should learn from Coke.  Specifically,  how can international development nonprofits use Coke’s strategies to make condoms and vaccinations as widespread as the ubiquitous frosty cola? Even if your nonprofit doesn’t work in the developing world, this will get you thinking about how to reach your constituents in new and dynamic ways.

If you can’t view this video above, you can click here.

And if you haven’t yet been introduced to TED videos, prepare to learn some very cool things, then click here.