Posts Tagged ‘mission’

We all have our moments of discouragement.  There are times when we are getting beaten up so badly that we would rather throw in the towel than continue to get pummeled.  This situation can occur in just about any area of our lives…personal and professional.  But what do you do when it happens in your nonprofit?  How do you know when to press on or when to give it up?

As it happens, I had this very conversation a few days ago with an acquaintance of mine who runs a small nonprofit ministry.  He and his wife started the organization about 15 years ago and what little momentum they had back in the early days has long fizzled out.  They find themselves practically alone in keeping it going.  Anymore, they are struggling to figure out why they even keep on trying.  Bill is very discouraged and, for the first time, is seriously thinking about hanging it up.  Maybe you are there, too.  How do you know what to do?  Predictably, the answer is not so simple.

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Thanksgiving is a wonderful, home-grown holiday.  It is a time for family and friends, eating way too much and, most importantly, a time for reflection about all the things we have to be thankful for.  I heard someone mention this a few days ago, and it is very true:  Thanksgiving is about the only major holiday in America that is not, almost cannot be, commercialized…so much so that retailers just overlook it and start hawking Christmas stuff about 1 minute after Halloween ends!

Instead of just looking at what you are thankful for personally, how about reflecting upon a few things your nonprofit can be thankful for this year?  Here are three things if you cannot think of any:

A giving spirit. The citizens of this great land give more to need around the world than all other countries combined.  Sure, we are a blessed people…rich by the standards of most other countries.  But did you know that as a percentage of GDP, private philanthropy in the US is 1.7%…2 1/2 times the percentage of the next highest countries, Canada, Great Britain and Australia (average 0.7% each).  Other wealthy nations barely register on the radar by comparison.  Did you know that 3 out of 10 Americans gave to the tsunami relief efforts a few years back?  That ordinary citizens donated $1.4 billion to 9/11 charities in the days following the attacks on New York and Washington, DC?  That nearly four times that amount has been donated to Katrina relief efforts?  Even in these tough economic times, the number of people giving to charity has not decreased, only the amount they can afford to give.  That’s something to be thankful for.

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The honeymoon is over.  It seems like yesterday that everyone was full of passion, vision and warm fuzzies.  You were going to save the world and nothing could stand in your way.  Now, passions have cooled, visions have diverged and the warm fuzzies have been replace with contempt and backbiting.  How did things go south so quickly?

Operating a business, especially a nonprofit, is a lot like a marriage…minus the romance.  What starts out with mutual respect and unity of purpose can descend into open hostility.  And, it can threaten your organization’s effectiveness…even its very existence.  Conflict management is an essential skill that every nonprofit leader must learn and utilize.  What follows are some key points to consider regarding effective conflict management:

Conflict is inevitable. Learn it, live it, love it.  The sooner you dispense of the notion that conflict can be avoided, the sooner you can manage the realities of it.  Conflict is inevitable because people are involved.  And where there are people, there will eventually be conflict.  Just like in marriage, you and the other leaders in your organization have different ideas, backgrounds and experiences.  These all color the way you approach life, including your approach to running your nonprofit.

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One of the most challenging situations your nonprofit organization can face is the need to expand.  It is also an exciting challenge.  Compared with the alternative of diminishing effectiveness and shrinking support, growth is a good thing.  At least it means (usually) that your programs are having a positive impact and people are motivated about your organization’s cause.

But with expansion comes growing pains.  To significantly increase your footprint or your scope (or both!) requires a huge commitment on the part of the leadership, members, staff and volunteers.  When your organization is faced with opportunities that scream “Take action!”, there are critical things you must consider.  In this post, we’re going to take a look at two scenarios:  1) location expansion and, 2) additions to program services.  Knowing what to do in these situations can spell the difference between success and failure.

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So, you want new donors?  You want to make sure that you keep getting funds from the donors you currently have?  What are you doing to make sure that both of these things are happening?  If you lack a strategy and purposeful intent to cultivate and maintain a donor base, you will certainly have money troubles.  “Form it and they will give” doesn’t work well for many nonprofits.  Here are three things to consider to cultivate and maintain an active donor base:

1)  A Compelling Purpose.

You need a compelling purpose.  Are you doing anything that a donor might want to support financially?  Are you providing your community with services that are indeed needed?  If a donor can relate to, or is interested in, the services your nonprofit provides, the donor is more likely to be happy giving to that cause.  If there are many other nonprofits in your community that are providing the same services, you will have to try harder to differentiate your organization from the other nonprofits.

Maybe your purpose IS compelling…to you.   You understand things about the need for your program that the public doesn’t easily grasp.  For example, the need being met by a homeless shelter is pretty obvious.  If, on the other hand, your organization’s purpose is to research treatments for dry-eye syndrome, you are going to be challenged trying to garner wide monetary support for your efforts.  Those with the problem will jump on board, but your work is cut out for you with everyone else.  You need to understand #3 below:  communication.  But don’t skip #2.  It’s big.

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The idea for this article came from my good friend, Belinda from Madison, Alabama.  A few weeks ago, she wrote us an email asking the following:

“Due to the economic downturn and, with the increasing requests for benevolence assistance, are there guidelines for churches and non-profits on what they can assist with and how much?”

Great question, Belinda.  I know others are asking the same thing.  Benevolence is synonymous with charity.  It’s the very definition of it.  But, there is a definite line between charity and what the IRS calls inurement (or private benefit).  This economic recession has caused many churches and charities to be overwhelmed with requests for help.  So, what follows are some things to consider when asking, “How much is too much?”

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Your board of directors is one of the most important assets your nonprofit has.  Assuming they understand their role and are there for the right reasons, your board members provide invaluable insight, direction and oversight.  They volunteer their time and expertise, usually for little more than a pat on the back.  They also assume a certain level of liability in exchange for their efforts.  The old phrase, “No good deed goes unpunished”, is not something you want to see come true.  Let’s explore how to protect those who give of their time to your organization.

Understanding the issues. The first step to properly protecting your board members is to educate them as to what they are responsible for.  It is discouraging to see the level of ignorance that many boards operate under.  We frequently encounter boards where some members are merely placeholders who are doing a favor for the founder.  They rarely participate in substantive discussions or planning, nor are they consulted with by the program director.  They have no idea that there is any liability to them, but there is.  This liability usually falls into three categories:  1) corporate (state), 2) federal (IRS) and, 3) general liability.  Let’s take a closer look at each:

1. Corporate liability:  Board members are the legal, governing body of a nonprofit corporation.  They collectively represent the organization and its interests.  Each nonprofit corporation is incorporated in a particular state, according to that state’s corporate law.  Board members are responsible to make sure the corporation follows state law and that it follows its bylaws.  It is not terribly uncommon to hear of court cases involving other board members, or members of the public, accusing the organization of not abiding by its bylaws.  And, if the corporation is an employer, the board members have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that employment taxes and related things are properly handled. Read the rest of this entry »

It often seems that when otherwise business-savvy individuals become involved in a nonprofit organization, they set aside all they ever learned in business and proceed to operate their nonprofit as if business rules do not matter.  As most soon find out, they matter a lot.  In this post, let’s take a look (in no particular order) at 10 business basics that nonprofits ignore at their own peril.

Money. This may come as a shock to some, but being “nonprofit” does not, cannot, mean NO profit.  With the notable exception of GM, AIG and a few others, a business must make a profit to survive.  Your organization is probably not on Geitner’s list for TARP funding, so red ink should be regarded as impending doom.  With the uncertainty of this economy, you simply must be solvent.  You and your board may have to make some tough decisions.  Some programs may have to be scaled back or eliminated.  Fundraising must become even more focused and intentional.  I won’t repeat a lot of what we’ve discussed recently concerning funding…suffice it to say you must keep a lid on overhead…now more than ever.

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It is the burning question of every nonprofit organization:  “How do we get funding?” With the economy in the dumps, and recovery looking like a distant hope, this question screams for an answer.  In fact, we get more requests from newsletter subscribers for articles on funding than just about any other topic.  The purpose of this article is to do just that, but maybe not like you expect.

We could present an article on the how-to of bake sales or silent auctions or raffles.  We could lay out, point-by-point, the best method for putting on a first-class consignment sale or Spring Fling carnival.  We could wax eloquent about the best practices of grant writing…and we probably will discuss all these things later on.  But for now, we would rather challenge you to think about the bigger picture.  We believe it will provide a much better environment for specific ideas to flourish.

So, what does it take to get funding?  Let’s look at several, key concepts.

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In this tough economy, nonprofit organizations are needed more now than ever.  More and more people are finding themselves in difficult circumstances and, according to all available evidence, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.  Despite all the assurances of government, it simply isn’t possible for government to keep up with the need.  And even if it could, America’s charities prove on a daily basis how much more effective and efficient the private sector is.  But, there lies the quandary.  If times are tough for individuals and governments, times are also tough for charities…at just the time they are needed the most.  So, what steps are required to make sure the organization you are starting (or currently running) can work in tight economic conditions?

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This is installment #2 in our ongoing series on leadership.  Our first installment was more of an introduction.  In this post, we are going to explore the concept of governance vs. management.

Governance and management:  For many, these are interchangeable terms.  They shouldn’t be.  And in far too many nonprofits, the leadership fails to understand the difference.  Properly separating the concepts of goverance and management can be critical to the success of your endeavor.

Governance is leadership of the big picture.  Primarily the responsibility of the board of directors, governance describes the notion of governing. Several ideas are simultaneously embodied in the concept of governance, including: mission establishment, strategic development, planning, goal setting, responsibility, accountability, oversight…the list goes on.  Most successful organizations rely on a group of individuals with a diversity of talents who collectively chart the course for the organization and actively pursue the accomplishment of its mission.

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The word “leader” conjures up a variety of images:  your old Little League coach, a military general, your boss…even the president of the United States.  Regardless of who (or what) comes to mind, there is the common thread of someone who leads.  But what does leadership really mean?  Certainly it means more than just being in charge.  And in the setting of a nonprofit organization, is the meaning different?

I would submit that while the meaning is not so different, the goal of leadership often is.  For example, in a for-profit setting, the goal is the financial success of the company.  Sure, there are other intermediate goals and purposes.  But when you get down to brass tacks, it’s about the money.  The leaders expend their energy leading employees and influencing prospective customers in an effort to make a profit.  In politics, the goal may be the establishment of a political agenda.  Leaders attempt to influence voters to support their particular brand of government.  Just look at the current election cycle.  Not that pandering is the same as actual leadership, but I digress…

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