Creating Change from Spare Change

The various social media (Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, blogs, more) offer lots of ways to build out communications for community benefit (aka nonprofit) organizations. Remember when your group got started? Maybe it's been around too long for current leaders (staff, board) to remember, but at some point there was something missing in the community. So, this is the USA, and we love to get together to right the wrong or forge the missing link or put on the show. So, we form a nonprofit and apply for tax exempt 501(c)(3) status.
And as our group grows, raising some money, making new friends, fighting the good fight, parameters take hold (federal/state/local law, by-laws, accounting standards, ethics, etc) and calcification sets in.
Of course, we need to play like good boys and girls and obey laws.
But we need to figure out how to keep that innovative, revolutionary spark kindled that was there at the outset. How can we overcome the needs of the bureaucracy to keep things as they are and get those creative juices flowing so we might achieve the impossible?
Here are a few things to keep some forward motion:

• Commit to reaching out to bring new voices and ideas coming in.
• Activate the commitment by using Twitter, Facebook, blogging.
• Keep the rules of the road in mind, but loosen up the reins so there's a free flow if ideas.

Identify allies on the board of directors who are open to the new. Who know change is the green energy source that helps attract the resources you need to make the mission a reality. Without energy, the mission is dead in the water.

Jordan Viator, writing for Connection Cafe (http://bit.ly/43TChi), quotes Seth Godin, a bright light on social media:

“Take a look at the top 100 twitter users in terms of followers. Remember, this is a free tool, one that people use to focus attention and galvanize action. What? None of them are non-profits. Not one as far as I can tell. Is the work you're doing not important enough to follow, or is it (and I'm betting it is) paralysis in decision making in the face of change? Is there too much bureaucracy or too much fear to tell a compelling story in a transparent way? …..Where are the big charities, the urgent charities, the famous charities that face such timely needs and are in a hurry to make change? Very few of them have bothered to show up in a big way. The problem is same as the twitter resistance: The internet represents a change. It's easy to buy more stamps and do more direct mail, scary to use a new technique…Please don't tell me it's about a lack of resources. The opportunities online are basically free, and if you don't have a ton of volunteers happy to help you, then you're not working on something important enough. The only reason not to turn this over to hordes of crowds eager to help you is that it means giving up total control and bureaucracy. Which is scary because it leads to change.”

So, what do you think? Is this ringing a bell for you?

If You Got the Money, Honey, I Got the Time

Nothing vexes nonprofit boards more than fundraising. It's a never-ending battle, to generate the revenue to get the mission done. Why is this the case? How come there is so much frustration over raising bucks?
True, we're in some challenging times. Supposedly, we're emerging from what may be the worst recession since the Great Depression. And we're learning, daily, that unemployment continues to rise and new job creation lags behind a recovery. How can we deal with this misery and get some energy to raise the money we need to do the work that needs to get done?
Here are just a few tips that come from my days as a fundaising executive with the American Lung Association, including three-time Gold Award winner (in New Hampshire) for fundraising achievement:

• Tell our story. In our holiday appeal, in our newsletter, on our website let's tell our story about what we're doing for our clients. Be sure to make the appeal focused on those we serve, not "poor us." When we whine about hard times it sounds like we want the $$ for the organization, not for those we benefit with our service. Keep it simple, and ask.
• Check out our website. Have information (more stories!) that make the site attractive for return visits both for our clients and our supporters (donors!). Use Flash Player and have video, changing it weekly so there's fresh new material to bring people back. Post a weekly blog with fresh material on what's up with the benefit you bring to the community. Is it easy to donate? Are you using PayPal or credit cards?
• Re-tool event to raise more $$. Events raising under $10,000 should be evaluated for their capacity to raise significant $$. Your development committee needs to formulate a plan that'll get you step-by-step to the goal you need to reach. All folks connected to you need to engage their networks to help somehow raise appropriate amounts that'll get you where you need to go. A sound plan well executed will go a long way to getting you there!

There are lots of folks out there looking for organizations like yours doing good work in your community who they want to support. Times may be tight, but particulary at the holiday season most people will find a way to help their community at the same time they do their best to make Christmas merry for family and those nearest and dearest.

It's do-able!

The Board Role in Marketing: The Plan and Its Execution

Nonprofit boards of directors can learn and become very helpful in applying principles of marketing to advance the mission of the nonprofit they pledge to support.
The concept of "marketing" is in transition as people gain comfort and experience employing social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook LinkedIn, YouTube, and more). Fortunately, marketing is not rocket science: it's built on some pretty common sense concepts.
When I write or talk or consult about marketing, I'm thinking about this:
A set of strategies designed to influence behavior of target audiences by preparing beneficial exchanges that will build a relationship between the individual and the organization (Alan Andreasen, Strategic Marketing).
I advise noprofit organizations to formulate a marketing plan that coincides with the strategic plan. And I advise that the strategic plan be rooted in the primary customer(s) of the nonprofit: the people you serve whether you're prividing education, health care, or a direct human service; or, if you're an arts organization running a community theater or any creative arts program. When your nonprofit organization is clear on whom you serve (primary customer) and the thing or service you deliver that has value to that customer, and you can measure the impact you're having, your nonprofit has taken the basic steps in executing a marketing plan.
The Marketing Plan addresses components of the marketing mix and how your nonprofit will apply it. The marketing mix includes Product, Placement, Price, Promotion. If we're lucky, we have a Marketing and Communication Committee among whose members are professionals who know how to apply the mix to bring maximum benefit to te primary customers, bring recognition and supporting customers (donors!) to the nonprofit, and advise the nonprofit on how to measure results in a low-cost way.
A tool I like to use when training boards in their governance role in marketing is Gary Stern's booklet, Champions With a Cause: The Nonprofit Board Member's Role in Marketing (First Nonprofit Education Foundation). Among other things, Gary points out that the board needs to

• Root all marketing decisions in the mission
• Develop Governance policies that guide marketing
• Use care and diligence in developing the nonprofit brand
• Develop clear marketing roles for board members, collectively and individually

Developing this Marketing Plan will help keep everyone strategically focused and mission focused.

Board members are not always fond of having to do this kind of work. If you have one or two members with professional marketing or communication experience, they can create and reinforce the kind of message you're reading in this blog. Enlist these volunteers to help lead the effort and coax the kind of behavior out of the board that will put your nonprofit on the map in your community. It's a challenge to get the energy together to move the board in this direction. Think of these words of Eleanor Roosevelt as you embark on this effort: Do what you feel in your heart is right, for you'll be critized anyway. Better to take the "damned if I do" approach. "Damned if I don't" is the road to nowhere.

Steve Smith is Principal of It's The Results, LLC, a consulting company focused on board development, strategic planning, fundransing. Learn more at www.itstheresults.com. Follow Steve on Twitter @STEVENETWORK. E-mail: s.p.99smith@gmail.com.

Boards Need Focus, Boards Need Information

Nonprofit boards of directors work best when they're focused like a laser on the mission. Whether it's health, education, human service, arts....each nonprofit board needs to be clear on direction in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.
If it's clear to us that we're seeking a cure to a dreaded disease, or that we're getting butts in the seats of our community theater, or that we're out to reduce drug or alcohol addiction to a defined population, or that we want to get more kids interested in reading...once we all affirm what we're going for it becomes easier to make the next level of decisions on strategies to get our goals accomplished.
Board of director meetings that spend their time deciding things that are operational are not making best use of their time. Staff leaders and board leaders need to work collaboratively to assure that meetings are strategically focused, that debate is leading to decisions that are best made at the board level, and that we have ways to measure how we're progressing in getting to the goals we plan to achieve.
Boards whose members are clear about where they are going, are more willing to engage their resources, their networks, to get the mission accomplished. And this is what the customer or client needs to know is happening. That the leadership is working hard on their behalf to help them recover from an illness, experience quality programming in their venue, know they are getting great education making the tuition and time a worthwhile investment.
At the same time there is clarity around mission focus, staff and volunteers with marketing in their job descriptions should be tuned in to advances in social media. There are lots of great, bright communications stars available on the web through blogs, websites, Facebook, Twitter to check out and learn from. Recently, I read Jill Ward's article Social Media, Integrated Marketing, and a Morning Out of the Office posted on Connection Cafe: http://bit.ly/1WA1Aa. Jill attended the Mass Comm Week program at Texas State University, and cited the speakers (including David Neff, Director of Web, Film, and Interactive at American Cancer Society) who shared their wisdom. Witnessing and hearing how some of the best in nonprofit management are doing helps stimulate thinking of all nonprofit leaders on how to apply social media to the NPO marketing mix.
Barak Obama was recently at Texas A&M speaking at the Points of Light Foundation which recognizes excellence in volunteers, started in the Bush 41 administration. President Obama was promoting United We Serve, established to grow the volunteer base in the USA. He called for a "public service mindset": http://bit.ly/3G8AWa.
Each nonprofit serious about growth, and applying the latest in marketing, technology, and social media to advancing its mission should be following these sources of leading edge thinking. So much to learn and so little time.
As I work with nonprofit organizations in New England, I find that the boards who are in sharpest focus, and who have a good diverse mix of skill and experience on board, are usually in the best position to benefit from the resources at all our fingertips.
Check out my previous posts for other links to helpful information that can get to where you want to go. Let me know how I can help you pick and choose from all these great options, and advise on educating and building your board of directors.

Shrinking the Wide World of Internet

Last time, I wrote about the value of networks and how to more effectively engage them for your nonprofit organization (http://bit.ly/2ByZB). This time, I'll cover some resources to help you get your staff and volunteers focused on expanding the reach of your mission to folks that'll be most helpful to you.
A good place to start is Wild Apricot: the blog that introduces nonprofit webmasters and Internet junkies to stuff that'll help you "do more with less." Recently, the blog covered Twitter Lists: a way to organize folks you're following (I'm following 550 people) into custom lists, so you can get right to their tweets instead of scanning hours of postings. It's coming soon to all Twitter users...stand by if you don't see it as an option on your Twitter sidebar.
Social Net Daily is a useful blog. Recently (http://ow.ly/uOo5) Glen Gilmore wrote about generational differences in the workplace as well as among our supporters. We need to understand the variations in values and interests between and among generations if we expect to attract and "donor-fy" broader audiences. If only "build it, and they will come" were true.
And if you're going to open up the gates to social media like Twitter, Facebook and the rest, you likely want to set policies on how these media will be used at work. http://j.mp/2BUet features an article on "social media governance." I'm comfortable with open usage. There may be some who'll abuse the priviledge, but there are so many more benefits (in my little mind) than drawbacks. But staff leaders are accountable to a board of directors. And some of these folks are pretty conservative and see social media as a waste more than a plus. We have to respect where our volunteer leaders are and not get too far ahead of them.
Mashable is another trusted blog: maybe one of the biggest in the business. I follow @mashable on Twitter. Nearly always something useful, creative to say. Check out the Social Media Guide: http://j.mp/22oejX.
In my view, there'll be opportunities for the taking. The more we all play with these social media toys, the more we'll learn and, I believe, open ourselves to fundraising potential otherwise not accessible to us. Go for it!
And share your thoughts with my readers.
Thanks.

Engaging Networks for Results

With financial resources increasingly scarce, nonprofit organizations should utilize their other precious asset—their networks—to strengthen their ability to deliver on their mission today and prepare for growth after the recession.The goodwill, future financial support, and contacts developed by networking during this stormy financial period will be the silver lining to emerge when the clouds of recession inevitably lift.Networking is the art of identifying, cultivating, and engaging friends of your organization. These friendships ultimately may yield monetary support, sources of non-financial support, and ambassadors who can, in turn, cultivate more friends. Now is the time to identify these potential friends, hone your messaging, and plan how to best deliver those messages. By getting your staff, board of directors, and other volunteers ready for brighter days, you’ll build your capacity to thrive when recovery comes.The best place to start is a meeting of the board of directors, who must constantly stay mindful of their critical role as emissaries for the organization to which they have committed. They know the mission, they know the goals, they know the good that the organization brings to the community. How do they communicate this value? How do they spread the good news with people they work with, play with, pray with?
Start with a conversation. Take some time at a staff meeting and the next board meeting to talk about reaching out to friends to share your mission. There may be members who are doing this now. Identify them before the next meeting. Ask them to share their techniques with the group. Use their experiences to kick off the discussion. Listen for the ideas that have been most successful. Share a summary of the results with all who can benefit from these experiences.
Continue the conversation. Be sure to put the discussion on the agenda for subsequent meetings. Find out in advance who is trying the new techniques. Ask one or two of the new practitioners to report on what they’re doing.
Engage communications experts to share advice. Do you have a director of communications on your staff? If not, does one of your board members or volunteers have communication expertise? Strategize with this person about your approach to engaging networks. Incorporate messages that are consistent with your brand so your staff and volunteers are talking about your work in a unified and consistent way.
Twitter? Facebook? Blogs? Is someone on your team familiar with social media and willing to show others how to effectively use these tools? It’s likely that this person will be younger than most of the team. If so, this is an excellent opportunity to let an up-and-comer show their stuff. An effective plan for social media can engage people you otherwise might miss who will support your mission once they learn what the organization is about.
What’s your story? Nonprofit organizations have numerous stories about your clients’ great experience with your services. Incorporate telling of stories as part of “conversation time.” A program staff person or a volunteer probably has more than one such story to share. Let your group hear a story or two each time you meet, and encourage your board, staff, and volunteers to retell these stories when they are out engaging their networks.
Begin at the beginning. Gary Stern, a marketing expert based in Portland, Maine, encourages nonprofits to be sure that their mission and clients are in the forefront of their thinking, planning, and doing. “Begin at the beginning” is his first admonition in his pamphlet, “Ten Things Every Board Member Should Know.” In your networking, you want your conversation and stories to be about the people you serve. That way, potential supporters and volunteers will be more eager to join your cause when they realize that it’s more about the people you serve than it is about your organization.
There is a reservoir of good will out there, ready to hear about the good you do. And every day, your volunteers and staff talk with many people who will want to help bring the “good” you deliver to more people. Your organization’s job is to forge links through staff, board, and volunteer networks so you can grow the circle of friends and supporters. When you take the time to apply creative approaches to communication through networks, you engage and energize people for your mission. It takes commitment and work, but it will put your organization in the strongest possible position when the economy inevitably begins to grow.