Posts Tagged ‘nonprofits’

Older Entries »
h1

Tips for a Great Volunteer Year

April 13, 2011

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Fun = Done

January 27, 2011

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?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

501 Mission Place: New Resource for Nonprofits

November 16, 2010

As a nonprofit, you have to learn to live without the bells and whistles and perks.  Hiring the services of a great consultant to teach you how to implement a social media strategy or guide you through dealing with marketing issues– not in the range of affordable for most NGOs on a monthly basis.

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Two Kinds of People

November 9, 2010

“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:

“There are two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

h1

Why Can’t You Be More Like Coke?

October 26, 2010

In impoverished places where so many development nonprofits focus their efforts, there is a lack of access to almost everything: education, technology, clean water, transportation, healthcare.  But one thing they do have? Coke.

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Talking about Social Marketing…

October 21, 2010

Words matter.  When you want to be accurate, when you want to be persuasive, when you want to be taken seriously– and in the NGO business, is there ever a time when all of those aren’t at play?  A common problem when embarking on new social media efforts is that the words used to plan out strategies and impact never seem… concrete. Measurable.  Predictable.

“Social media” can be such a nebulous and mysterious force when you first approach it– the opposite of what you want when spending your limited time (and money) developing a new form of marketing for your organization.  Is the only answer to have blind faith, charge forward, and hope it all works out with some good results and new supporters after the dust clears?

Errrr… no.  Nor do you necessarily have to shell out loads of cash on hiring a social media expert to do all the thinking for you.

For those looking for a way to start their own meaningful discussion about using social media as a marketing tool, read this fantastic post from gigaom.  Six terms that are specific to the impact and effects of social media, not approximated from another form of marketing which may or may not relate to the machinations of Facebook et al.  It’s a thought-provoking read, and will have your organization thinking about ROI in a more concrete way after just a few minutes!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

The Big “So What”

July 19, 2010

Yesterday the Times published an article on the lack of jobs for graduates of training programs for the recently unemployed.  What jumped out at me from this story was the gap between the program’s demonstrated success in training tens of thousands of people and the subsequent failure of these people to find jobs afterwards. It feels wrong and unfair.

Why did it jump out at me?  Because it is exactly the same thing that happens when a nonprofit program is designed around outcomes that ignore the big “so what”.

Consider the situation: a grant opportunity comes along for exactly the type of program your organization is best at.  Great!  You tackle the writing process focusing on what you know– program activities and how you perform them.  The application asks for outcomes and after scratching your head for a while you come up with some reasonable numbers: 500 clients served, or 2 new daycare centers, or 1500 hours of youth volunteer work.  Measurable outcomes, no?

No.

When you plan outcomes for a program, it is very tempting to think about the success of the process.  After all, as a staff member the first questions that come to your head are about logistics and how things will be accomplished.  Therefore, when you are structuring outcomes, the outcomes mistakenly become about the process– about YOU.

Instead, to be truly outcome-based, a program needs to keep its eye on the client. What is the change you wish to make in their lives?  The question you should be asking yourself is not “how many”.  The question is… well, look at the title of this entry.

For employment training programs, the outcome is instinctive– people should be better able to get jobs after they are done.  That is the whole point.  Of course, in the case of the struggling national economy there are plenty of complexities contributing to job loss and lack of job creation which the article does a nice job of outlining.  No program, however fantastic, is going to suddenly create jobs for successful participants.

Nonetheless, as your nonprofit designs new programs you should keep this in mind as a cautionary tale.  Why does it feel so unfair for the program to claim success for simply delivering job trainings to a certain number of people?  Why does it seem like an empty success? What’s the one question that keeps coming to the surface?

“So what?”

Don’t let it happen to you!

Online Resources on Outcome-based Planning
The Innovation Network Logic Model Workbook: A very practical and thorough way of thinking about outcomes as you begin program design and grantwriting.  Also, helpful worksheets at the back of the workbook!
Shaping Outcomes: This is a full online course, it seems, to introduce outcome-based planning and evaluation to novices.  It is targeted at libraries and museums, but the pieces I looked through were fairly applicable to any program planning.
Excerpt from Complete Idiot’s Guide to Grantwriting: A nice summary of process versus outcomes, with a sample grant piece written from both perspectives.  It is very clear which one is more compelling!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Innovation and Bureaucracy in the Same Sentence

June 30, 2010

In the beginning of my career I had a surprising and monumentally rewarding experience working for The Man.  I worked in the press office for the City of New York Administration for Children’s Services as a communications associate.  In the midst of unglamorous daily routine, I got a peek inside the top level workings of the Giuliani administration and I got to hang around with some amazingly talented folks at the top of their game.  This was a time when child protection was changing rapidly in the city and the old way of doing things was simply not good enough anymore.  Innovation was flourishing, right in the middle of the country’s biggest city bureaucracy.

One of the innovators I met was a Deputy Commissioner at the time, Linda Gibbs.  I admit, I hadn’t thought about this energetic and rather brilliant lady in a while, but then I read this recent article in the Times, about a program she spearheaded to provide cash incentives to parents of children at risk.  (Read it– the details are interesting to say the least!)

The first time I read through the article, I thought– dang, that is some outside-the-box thinking!  Paying parents to parent their children, and paying children to do what is in their best interest.  It got me thinking about programs which are innovative versus programs which are proven.  How does an organization choose to balance the new and the old?  When is it time to take a leap and try something really different from the status quo?

On the one hand, funders love to be the first ones to fund a new idea.  Why?

  • It is more remarkable than funding something that has already been done before.
  • They get to put their ownership stamp on a project.
  • They get to be the ones to say, “We are only funding this for 2 years, then it has to be self-sustaining.”

Ahhhhh.  There’s the rub.

Nonprofits are encouraged to be innovative, because funders enjoy working on innovative programs, but then when the incubation period is done the funder leaves, satisfied, and the nonprofit has to figure out a way to keep supporting this programming.  Naturally, nonprofits are often reluctant to take a leap too far from the status quo, when the stakes are so high to keep it going on its own steam after such a short time.

All the same, nonprofits do make this leap all the time.  Finding new ways to do things because they are better– outside the box or not.  When I worked at ACS, there was a program associate whose name I can’t remember.  She saw that a significant number of kids were in foster care who had incarcerated mothers.  She also noticed that foster parents were not, on the whole, bringing kids to visit their mothers while they were in prison.  She found out that the reason for this was that the visitation room at Riker’s Island was so frightening to children, so bleak and unwelcoming, it was often more traumatizing than it was worth to bring the children there.  In addition, transportation to Riker’s was difficult and pretty scary in itself.

With barely any budget, this program associate set change in motion.  She worked with the Rose M. Singer Center on Riker’s to get permission to convert an unused visiting area room into a children’s visitation center.  A little paint, some donated toys and kid-friendly plastic furniture, coloring books and crayons– suddenly there was a place that kids could feel at home, despite the circumstances surrounding their mom and family.  She also worked to secure private bus transportation at set times during the week for foster parents and children, so that they would not have as many problems reaching the island.

Now, a decade later, the ACS Children of Incarcerated Parents Program has grown tremendously.  It “stuck”.

So– maybe the idea of paying parents to be good parents is off the wall.  But just imagine if nobody had been brave enough to try it.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Giving BIG

December 11, 2009

I was a bit blown away by an online seminar I participated in last week.  The theme was giving BIG.  As in, giving away to charity as much as or more than you keep for yourself to live on.  The concept intrigued me, and I thought… err… there is no way that masses of people would do this!  A few altruistic angels, but… I just couldn’t get my head around it.

Take, for example, one of the seminar participants, Tom Hsieh.  He and his wife have a one-year-old and live in L.A. with an average yearly income of $200,000.  Now the kicker– the Hsieh family only lives on the median household income for America ($46,000), and gives the rest away to charity every year.  That’s three quarters of the family income earmarked for charity and a commitment to philanthropy as a way of life.

After listening to Tom speak about how he arrived at his personal decision to live within modest means and make a huge impact on the world around him, I started to think it was possible.  Possible that as a development professional, you could think of this as a fundraising tool by appealing to a donor’s desire for charity as a way of life– not just for planned giving with future assets, but for giving NOW.

There was another philanthropist in the discussion, Anne Ellinger.  She is not only a big giver herself, she is an expert in the art of big giving.  Ms. Ellinger and her husband founded a nonprofit called Bolder Giving and she actively encourages donors to examine how much they can give, and how big giving can play a role in their lives.  According to Ms. Ellinger, the process starts with some self-examination.  It takes courage to strike out on a path off the norm, to commit to giving so much when you don’t see yourself as a Rockefeller.  The first step for giving big is to decide what your goals are for your giving, and examine what you value and what you can commit to in order to accomplish these philanthropic goals.

So, in the end, it sounded familiar– speaking with donors about what they want to accomplish as philanthropists rather than attacking them with a sales pitch about your nonprofit.  This is a standard and successful approach for donor development, to be sure.  What is new and fresh, however, is the perception that anyone can be a philanthropist.  Whether someone makes $50,000 a year or millions, that is inconsequential in a way.  The important thing is helping them find a personal strategy for giving at whatever bold level suits them and their goals.

I know that this discussion certainly opened my mind to how non-trust-funded folks could be encouraged to examine their own role as philanthropists, not just donors.  If you are interested in learning more, take a look at the discussion thread here, and check out Bolder Giving for its great resources page.  And as you approach the donors in your own files in the upcoming year, be BOLD!  It may just open up a whole new world of support for your organization.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments »

h1

Dipping Your Nonprofit Toes into Social Networking

December 1, 2009

I’ve worked at enough nonprofits to know that the subheading running through most heads right now is something like, “Without Wasting All Your Time On Something That Doesn’t Bring In Money Or Help Programs.”  With resources stretched tight at many nonprofits– never moreso than lately– it may seem a bit fatuous to expect that on top of a normal 11-hour day, there is an employee hanging about who would like to update the Twitter feed or make a YouTube video.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that developing a Facebook following and an e-newsletter and a YouTube community are going to fill the coffers in the first year.  Or the second year.  Or possibly the fifth.  Short term monetary gain is not a compelling reason to do it.

So why do it at all, then?  Because statistics show that donors who contribute the most money to nonprofits every year are fifty years and older.  Which means that ten years from now, the first huge surge of Facebooking, blogging, Twittering donors will start making big contributions to those organizations that reach out to them effectively.  I am no fortune teller, but I have a feeling that will not be the organizations who exclusively do once a year snail-mail appeals.

Cultivating today what will bear fruit tomorrow– isn’t that what development is all about?  Creating bridges between a donor and a cause is something that social networks are uniquely positioned to do.  Donors are empowered to be ambassadors and activists: asking Facebook friends to check out a new Cause they joined, or submitting a 30-second video to promote universal healthcare, or getting real-time updates out to a group of people who care about a particular legislation.  These are roles that used to be played only by expert nonprofit staff– now, by relinquishing just a bit of control, your nonprofit can gain the power of thousands more voices.

Will this pay for program overhead, necessarily?  No.  But it may just garner you loyal supporters for years to come.

So when you are ready to wiggle those toes in the cool waters of social networking, here are a five top tips on how to successfully start that won’t tax your current budget or require oodles of staff time:

1.Pick The Right Social Networks

Going from zero status updates to 5 different websites, a blog, and a vlog may be setting yourself up for failure at the start.  Instead, be strategic: do you want young people who can volunteer for you and get their friends to help out?  Maybe MySpace is right for you.  Do you have alumni who want to connect, share stories, and create a warm fuzzy feeling that engenders generosity?  Nothing better than Facebook!  Whatever your needs, know what they are and choose 1-3 social networking tools which you believe will help you in tangible ways– even if it’s not monetary at first.

2. Fill Your Networks with Exciting, Viral Content

Is anything more depressing than a Youtube video of a guy behind a desk, giving a jargon-laden speech about why his nonprofit deserves your cash?  Unfathomable program talk will not win your cause friends and supporters, no matter how well-intentioned.  Instead, try pithy, compelling updates and links via Twitter.  Or edgy and provocative videos made by clients instead of staff.  Be aware that people have lots of things to capture their attention at any given moment.  Be fun, be informative, be grass roots– and most of all, be interesting!

3. Provide a Way for Donors to Get News and Give You Money Online

Websites are not social networking per se, but they are still a worthwhile point to touch on.  If your website does nothing else, make sure that it can a) provide pictures and news stories that illustrate the great work your organization does, and b) give visitors a one-click way to support you with donations.  Network for Good is a wonderful resource not only for all things web-related, but also for a free online service that allows nonprofits to receive and track their online donations without the hassle of bank fees.

5. Update Frequently: 7 to 1 Rule Still Applies!

Whether you are using Twitter, Facebook, or e-newsletters, you won’t be very effective if the only time your supporters hear from you is when you want something.  A wise mentor of mine once told me about the magic seven to one ratio: donors should hear from you seven times with something that interests them for every one time you ask for something that interests YOU.  Think of social networking as a great and inexpensive way to keep you and your organization on a donor’s mind with exciting and weekly updates.  That way, when you want to ask for money or volunteers, they will feel more inclined to help you out.

And finally– how about you?  Social networking horror stories?  Great successes?  Extra tips?  Feel free to share in the comments!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments »

Older Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.