Author, coach, copy-writer, nonprofit marketing consultant and political junkie, Pamela is the author of “Five Days to Foundation Grants”  and  the creator of Simple Development Systems, the only online coaching program created for the overwhelmed fundraiser in the one-person marketing and development shop.

Pam segued from six years working in programming and communications at a regional grantmaking foundation to the world of fundraising in 2001.  In her first position as a 15-hour a week development director for an agency with a $3 million dollar budget, she increased individual giving by 25% – while reducing costs by 31% – and increased foundation funding by an astonishing 93%! She’s raised over $10 million in funding since then and has been positioning small nonprofit organizations on the path to sustainable funding ever since  with her “Simple Development Systems” of donor-centric fundraising methods.

With an eclectic 20 year background in politics, sales, marketing and philanthropy, Pamela’s greatest satisfaction lies in teaching the small community-based nonprofits how to, in her words,  “market like the big boys” with limited time and resources.

Seven Secrets to Great Nonprofit Leadership

1. The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. RALPH NADER

In other words, let your leaders lead.

I worked as part of a five-person development team for a large organization for twelve long months. During that time period three development directors came and went, not to mention program staff, membership staff, the CFO and more.

The problem? A CEO with a brilliant knack for finding and hiring talent … coupled with an utter inability to let loose of the reins and let her people do their jobs.

2. You learn far more from negative leadership than from positive leadership. Because you learn how not to do it. And, therefore, you learn how to do it. NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF

Learn from bad leadership (see above). But don’t forget the lessons learned by observing a genuinely good leader either.

We’ve all heard the horrible board stories, yet how many “good board” stories have you heard?

I had the good fortune to work with one Executive Director who was nothing short of brilliant at putting together a remarkably cohesive board (and this for a tiny nonprofit agency with a yearly budget of $500,000) of remarkably diverse individuals. Every member of that board brought their own unique gifts to the table, whether it was in terms of connections, education, creative thinking or – let’s be blunt here – plenty of money.

3. Leadership is an active role; ‘lead’ is a verb. But the leader who tries to do it all is headed for burnout, and in a powerful hurry. BILL OWENS

Learn how to delegate. Given half a chance, people will rise to meet the level of your expectations of them.

4. Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better. BILL BRADLEY

Allocate for training.

One of my all time favorite employers mandated that every employee take a minimum of two enrichment courses per year. Thanks to her leadership, staff was always up-to-date on the latest software and business techniques.

By the same token, in nearly every nonprofit position that I have held, I have paid out of pocket for books and training (for shame!). Next to your donors, your employees are your greatest resource.

5. No man ever listened himself out of a job. CALVIN COOLIDGE

Listening involves more than sitting down with your board members and staff. Real leaders aren’t stuck in hierarchal notions. Real leaders will occasionally take on receptionist duties or data entry to gain perspective and stock of the public’s perception of them.

6. If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance. ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Respect creativity and give it a chance. It may work … then again, it may not.
I once proposed setting up an eBay account for a nonprofit organization I was working with. Board members and donors donated items and I photographed, listed them, sold them and shipped them. It netted over $8,000, but was, in the long run, a disappointing venture in terms of the time and effort involved.

7. You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Prepare for the future by acknowledging that, like fine wine, donor-centric fundraising is your long-term solution – and it takes time.

Here is another great article from Gayle Gifford for Step By Step Fundraising- (pictured at left).

Gayle brings over 30 years of experience to her work with nonprofits – from her personal activism for peace, disarmament, environmental, human and civil rights, to her professional work as a consultant and former director of development and senior nonprofit manager.

She is one of fewer than 100 individuals in the US who hold the advanced fundraising credential, ACFRE, issued by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Gayle learned her craft as Director of Development and Communications at PLAN USA, as Deputy Director/Director of Development and Marketing at Save The Bay, and as Director of Development at CityYear RI.

I urge you to read more from Gayle’s fantastic collection of articles and learn about her consulting services by visiting her site, Cause & Effect. I also would recommend that you check out the book Gayle wrote called “How am I Doing, the 1 hour guide to evaluating the performance of your nonprofit board” available through Contributions Magazine. – Jim Berigan

What does your Board Treasurer do?

Unless your organization is very small, with no or very few staff, it’s unlikely that your board Treasurer is directly managing the finances of your organization. In staffed organizations, day to day financial management is done by a chief financial officer, a business manager, the Executive Director, a bookkeeper, or some combination of all of those positions.

So what does a Treasurer do?

It’s pretty common practice for the Treasurer to chair the Finance Committee and present a report of the financial condition at the Board meeting, usually taking the statements that have already been prepared by the staff financial officer and reporting them to the Board. Treasurers tend to focus on the issues that matter to them most. For some, that’s cash position or year-to-date to budget. For others, it’s how the organization is doing compared to last year. Sometimes corrective action is recommended.

While monitoring the financial condition is a basic role, I have higher aspirations for the ideal  Board Treasurer. I see this individual as the facilitator of a financial brain trust within the Board (through the Finance Committee) that can help the organization think very strategically about the relationship of mission to money, both short and long term.

So here are a few items I’d like to add to the Treasurer’s job description:

• facilitate strategic thinking within the Board about short- and long-term financial vitality
• develop financial literacy among all the directors
• establish a dashboard or set of key performance indicators that tells the Board at a glance how the organization is doing on critical measures (after facilitating a discussion with the Board on what those critical measures are)
• regularly report to the Board on that dashboard

Along with these basic duties:

• ensure prudent asset management in accordance with financial objectives and Board-approved policy
• ensure that staff implement strong internal controls
• oversee development of and monitor compliance with Board-approved financial policies
• chair the Finance Committee and ensure that it achieves annual goals and objectives
• ensure that staff properly receive and give receipts for all moneys due and payable and deposit all moneys in the name of the organization in authorized financial institutions

What’s in your Treasurer’s job description? I’d love to have you share.

Related posts:

Three things your Vice President could do

You’re not the boss of me – Board Chairs and CEOs

By Amy Eisenstein 7 Comments

If you’ve ever heard me speak before, you know how passionate I am about fundraising and nonprofit leadership. My “no-nonsense” attitude comes across loud and clear about board members’ roles and responsibilities with regard to giving as well as the executive director’s important role in fundraising.

The following might seem more like a rant, which may help you confirm or deny your feelings about certain aspects of nonprofit leadership and get you agitated about others. Either way, speak up in the comments. Your opinions are just as valid as mine.

Nonprofit Leadership: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I didn’t distinguish the following into categories of “good, bad or ugly,” as many of the topics could fit under more than one heading depending on the situation.

1. Executive directors and nonprofit staff are generally underpaid.

This is something I feel extremely strongly about. Sometimes this stems from a true lack of financial resources, but often it’s some crazy perception by the public and/or the organization’s leadership that people should be paid poorly in our sector. I couldn’t disagree more. If the general public and supporters of our organizations truly want the organizations to be run efficiently and effectively, then we need to pay people with skills and competencies to do the job.

As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for,” which is why so many nonprofits are running into the ground these days. If possible, give raises each year to the staff you want to keep. (And fire the others—don’t wait for them to get the hint.)

2. Executive directors are passionate about the mission and the cause of their organizations.

This is clearly under the “good” category, because I have yet to come across an executive director who doesn’t feel passionately about their organization. Koodos to them!

3. Board members often don’t know what they’re doing.

Board members, in theory, are the leaders of our organizations. But unfortunately they often haven’t been recruited properly, given good direction, job descriptions, training, or expectations. Although there are certainly exceptions, I find that most boards are a major work in progress.

Boards are essential for successful fundraising. So help your board leadership by providing them with the training, resources and the direction and guidance they need to be effective leaders as well as passionate about your organization.

4. Executive directors need to lead the board, not be led by board members.

Although the board is “the boss” of the executive director, when executive directors don’t provide leadership, the organization flounders. If you’re an executive director, don’t let the board walk all over you. You are in the daily grind, and they should not be micromanaging. Although I’m sure some of my nonprofit colleagues will disagree with me on this, the executive director needs a heavy hand in creating agendas and goal setting for the board.

5. Executive directors must fundraise.

Need I say more?

6. Our organizations are making the world a better place.

Despite all of my complaints above, I do love the nonprofit sector because individually and collectively, we are truly making the world a better place.

A Final Note to Executive Directors

Invest in yourselves and your staff.

I was at lunch with a colleague the other day who personally pays for all of her professional development. I was horrified. If you want your staff to stick around and be with you for the long haul, you need to invest in them as well as yourself. I’m sure that you probably didn’t go to school to become an executive director, so make sure you are the best you can be by going to management and fundraising classes.

You are here:  Home General Fundraising The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Nonprofit Leadership

Greetings!  I would like to introduce a new guest author to Step by Step Fundraising.  Jo Miles is a marketing consultant at Beaconfire, where she works with clients to create successful fundraising campaigns and online communications, and uses analytics to help engage users online.

Beaconfire helps nonprofit organizations that serve good causes accomplish great things on the Internet by designing and building Web sites and crafting online campaigns that make people care – and act.

I’d like to thank Jo for sharing her time and knowledge with our readers!  Please check her site out!

Working with nonprofits, on both sides of the fence

There are two ways to work in the nonprofit sector.  You can work for an organization, as a nonprofit staffer. Or, you can be a consultant, working with a range of nonprofit clients while your employer is a for-profit.  (Ok, there are other types of jobs in the sector, but these are the two we’re going to talk about today.)

There is a lot of back and forth between organizations and consultants.  Many of Beaconfire’s staff worked at a nonprofit before they came here. Some have worked at many nonprofits over the course of their career.  When staff leave here, it’s not unusual for them to go back to working at nonprofits. Personally, I’ve only worked on the consulting side, so I talked to some of my colleagues with nonprofit backgrounds to understand how consulting is different than working for an org.

Doing Good

Whichever side of the fence you’re working on, there’s one powerful reason to work in the nonprofit sector: working for a good cause. Whether they previously worked in government or the corporate world, or stumbled into a nonprofit right out of college, everyone I talked to said that doing good was a big reason they came to the sector, and a big reason they stayed. Some were drawn to a specific cause, while others had a more general desire to do good.

When you work for an NPO, you have the opportunity to dedicate yourself to a single cause, often one that you feel a personal connection to. As consultants, we don’t get to pick the cause we’re working on each day, but the tradeoff is that we get to work on many great causes over time, far more than any one nonprofit could offer.

Time and Money

There are benefits and drawbacks on both sides. A smaller salary is an almost universal drawback of working at an NPO… but, it can be offset by a deep, personal sense of accomplishment in your org’s achievements. Consultants get to feel accomplishment too, of course, but we’re always a step removed from our clients’ successes.

I had expected that longer hours would also be part of the nonprofit experience, but in my colleagues’ experience, that’s not always true, and depends more on the culture of the organization and your position in it. The same is true in consulting. Neither is a guarantee of a 9-5 workday.

Working Culture

In some ways, small nonprofits are as different from large nonprofits as any nonprofit is from consulting. Smaller orgs have an energetic staff, and lots of opportunity for individual staffers. If you want to learn something, like how to build a website or manage social media, you can do it.  (A couple people said this was their entry into nonprofit tech: they volunteered to build their org’s very first website.)  In contrast, larger orgs tend to develop a hierarchical reporting structure, which limits your ability to step outside your role. Large organizations can be weighed down with bureaucracy. But at a nonprofit of any size, motivated and capable people are crucial to success.

When they first came to Beaconfire, the biggest difference was the pace of work. At a nonprofit, doing a timesheet usually meant writing in 8 hours for each day.  As consultants, we measure our days in 15-minute increments, which can feel like a lot of pressure to make every minute count.  We’re constantly required to work efficiently – knowing just how many hours we’ve been allocated to get a task done – and to efficiently switch between tasks and clients at need. They found it “exhausting” at first, though they adjusted to it soon enough.

Outside Looking In

Everyone agreed that their nonprofit experience makes them better consultants, helping them empathize with clients and anticipate their needs. They also found that working with multiple clients helped offset the common frustrations of nonprofit work – if one of your clients is going through a difficult period, you can empathize with them while still feeling pleased that other projects are moving ahead smoothly.

The flip side of working with multiple clients is that, as a consultant, you may work only on part of a project, because both your time and the client’s budget are limited. Only certain roles are involved from the beginning to end of a project. For people who like to see the big picture behind their work, this is sometimes disappointing.

Their experiences also helped them understand the role consultants play within an organization. In many nonprofits, consultants are a respected voice, and as outsiders, they can be free to say things that internal staff can’t. Once they adjusted to this role, several people found it liberating and rewarding to help clients speak up to management, and communicate difficult points.

To me, this was the most interesting thing I learned in our conversations: just how much my colleagues’ experiences at nonprofit jobs helped inform their work at Beaconfire, and makes them better, more understanding consultants for our clients.

Amy Eisenstein, MPA, CFRE specializes in fundraising consulting for local and national nonprofits. Her “no-nonsense” approach to fundraising yields big results for her clients and readers.

Today, Amy has returned to Step by Step Fundraising with another very insightful and helpful post about what to look for when hiring a development director.

Just as a reminder, Amy is the  author of 50 Asks in 50 Weeks and a certified fundraising consultant.

If you’ve never visited Amy’s site, TriPointFundraising, I highly suggest that you take a few minutes, when you’re done reading this piece, to click on over. She has a wealth of useful information for people actively engaged in raising money for non-profits.

Amy has also created a very intriguing e-class, The 5 Week Fundraising Training. This e-class includes guided lessons and assignments, a copy of her book, 50 Asks in 50 Weeks, fundraising templates that you can customize, an audio lesson, personal coaching, and a lot more. The best part is that you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home to benefit from what she has to offer.

This class is currently underway, but Amy is planning on opening it back up in the future, so if you are interested, contact her today!

I want to thank Amy once again for her generosity in sharing this very valuable information about donor identification with us. I hope you enjoy this post and get to know Amy better!

How to Hire a Fantastic Development Director

Frequently my clients ask for help in hiring new or first time development staff. To hire an exceptional development director takes real skill.

There are two main things I look for:

1. A specific fundraising skill-set.
2. A good personality match for the organization.

Post a Development Director Job Description

The first task is to write a job description. Feel free to copy from other similar job descriptions. Don’t be too specific with requirements, because potentially great candidates have all different types of backgrounds and experiences. You wouldn’t want to scare applicants off by having too many restrictions or requirements.

Things you’ll need: be sure to ask for a cover letter (you want to see their writing style), resume, salary requirements, and references.

Once you are satisfied with your job description, it is time to post. Determine where you will get the most bang for your advertising buck. These days, I post electronically only on idealist.org, AFP and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

• http://www.idealist.org/
• http://www.afpnet.org/jobcenter/
• http://philanthropy.com/section/Jobs/224/

Bookmark these sites!

What to Look For in a Development Director

The next step is to wait for resumes to roll in. And in the current job market, they inevitably do. Look for prior development experience, longevity at jobs, increasing levels of responsibility, and dollars raised. Any fundraiser’s resume without dollar figures included on it should be a red flag. Of course, the size and type of organization will determine what is or is not an impressive amount. Someone at a large, national organization should have raised significantly more than someone at a small, grassroots nonprofit.

Depending on the position you are looking to fill, credentials and certification are important. I always favor someone with a CFRE, because I know they are committed to the field of fundraising.

A Note to Development Director Job Seekers

For those job seekers out there, a very important note: don’t lie on your resume (or in the interview, for that matter). I had what I would consider an “A” candidate on paper. His resume was right at the top of my “to interview” pile. His resume stated that he’s was a longstanding member of NSFRE. RED FLAG. (For those of you old time AFP members, you know that’s a big lie.) NSFRE hasn’t existed for more than a decade. This lead me to ask what else he’s fabricated (or worse) on his resume?

The Growing Shrinking World of Fundraising

Also, the world of fundraising is very small and even smaller now, thanks to social media. The chances that I know someone who knows you or someone who works at your organization is very high.

A few weeks back, I received a fantastic looking resume. Unfortunately for that candidate, I knew several people at the organizations where he’d worked. So of course I picked up the phone to get the scoop on his job performance. Guess what? He didn’t get an interview.

Finally, once you’ve sorted through the good, the bad, and the ugly, it’s time to pick your favorites and schedule interviews.

Interviewing Your Future Development Director

The first interview will determine that the person knows what they claim to know on their resume. In other words, do they have the skills you need? It’s extremely helpful to have an experienced fundraiser in the first interview to help determine whether or not the candidate knows what they are talking about in fundraising terms.

After that, hiring decisions are often about the personality fit for an organization. After all, the executive director will need to work with this person day in and day out. They will need to get along, enjoy each other, and trust one another.

After narrowing it down to two finalists, it’s a good idea to bring candidates back for a second interview with additional staff and board members. Make sure they present themselves well a second time and the good vibes are still there.

Once you’ve made the decision, offer the job and negotiate terms. Then you’ll be well on your way to having a fantastic development director working with your organization.

Need Help? I’m Happy to Assist

If you or someone you know needs help hiring development staff, contact me. I’ve got a lengthy track record of success in this area and I’d be happy to help.

Your Hiring Experiences?

What about you? What sort of experiences have you had hiring development staff? Any winners? Any nightmare candidates? Do tell in the comments.

I just read a fascinating article on the Charlotte, N.C. National Public Radio website, WFAE.org. It was called “Finding Chemistry In The Boardroom Through Speed-Dating”.

The article reported on a recent gathering of several area non-profit agencies and approximately 30 people who were seriously interested in becoming board members.

Just like regular speed dating, the two parties, the non-profit and the board seeker, sat at a table in a large room and talked for a few minutes before a bell rang and everyone shifted to meet new people.

During the time together, the agencies and the candidates tried to get a feel for each other to determine if they would make a good match.

I have never speed dated before, professionally or personally, so I can only imagine that the pressure during this brief period must be high. I have, however, conducted many job interviews, but I’ve never placed a time limit on them, so I would guess that would force the questions and answers to be very focused. Which is a good thing, I suppose.

This concept got me to wondering. What questions would I ask in such a situation. First of all, I thought about it from the perspective of the non-profit, but then I remembered that this event was really more of a two-way conversation, rather than a standard, old-fashioned job interview. So, then I started thinking about what I, myself, would have asked if I were the person looking to find the right non-profit to serve.

I think the first question I’d have for the non-profit is “why”. Why are you here looking for board members? I’d be curious to see if it was more out of desperation rather than just a real search for new talent in unexpected places.

The answer would tell me if the group were proactive and creative or passive and uninspiring. I say this because I believe that a non-profit that has its act together is going to attract a whole host of board candidates organically. This is the kind of group I’d want to be a part of. If the non-profit came to this speed date event, only because they couldn’t find anyone to join them, I’d be very worried.

The next question I’d pose to the non-profit would be about the board itself. I’d ask a very open-ended question, such as “Tell me about your board.” I would purposefully take this broad approach, because I’d want to see what they thought was important to tell me.

I’d be looking for information about how the individual members got a long with each other, how passionate they were about the organization, if they had regular board training sessions and retreats, if they were always looking forward into the future of their group, and what kind of turn-over they experienced in their ranks. From their answer, I’d be able to gauge if there were a high level of drama on this board. Were politics more important than their mission?

I think I’d also be able to tell a lot from the group’s body language during their answer. Were they open and relaxed when they spoke to me or was their description of their operation tense, worried, and negative? When you give people an open-ended question like this one, they tend to reveal a great deal more about themselves than they would have if you only asked them yes or no type of questions.

The next bit of information I’d want to ask about is how their board relates to their executive director. If the director were there, I’d still ask the question to see how comfortable/uncomfortable the situation became. It would be pretty easy to determine if they were telling the truth about their relationship or if they were feeding me a line of you-know-what.

I would specifically want to know how the board viewed their role in relation to the executive. Did the board micro-manage him or her or did they see themselves as a resource for their organization’s operational leader? I know that I would not want to be part of a board where we regularly poked our noses into the day to day goings-on of the group. This undermines the director and hurts the growth of the non-profit. Yet, many boards confuse their responsibilities and do just that. If I had several choices of boards which I could join, I would look for a group whose members knew their roles and were comfortable in them.

What questions would you ask if you were in this position? If you could pick your own perfect board situation, what would it be? Please share your ideas with us in our comment section. I’d love to hear what you have to say!

Photo by: pasukaru76

I had just given the group of 12 adults their instructions to put on their blindfolds, cinch them up tight, and take hold of a 50 foot length of rope. I could tell that some of them were pretty nervous.

I told them their mission was to form as close to a perfect square as they could while blindfolded. They could talk to one another, but they could not see.

Once they thought they had the formed the perfect square, they were to lay the rope down on the ground and agree, as a group, to remove their blindfolds to check their work.

So off they went. I moved around the large room, making sure no one ran into a wall or a chair.

Now, to explain: this group was made up of social workers from a large non-profit service organization. The leader of this group “Cathy” had contacted me and told me that their group was having communication problems. Their inability to talk effectively to each other was hurting their ability to service their clients. She didn’t know the root of the problem, but she knew that something had to be done.  She emphatically told me to “fix” them.

With that information in mind, I created a three hour program that would help us get to the bottom of their communication problem and hopefully come up with some acceptable solutions.

“The Blindfolded Square”, as it’s called, is just one of several activities that show me how the group collectively handles stress. And, in this case, boy, did it.

At first, the group was rational. They found the ends of the rope and then started to make an effort to form “corners”. This is a good strategy. However, at some point, one of the women lost hold of the rope, which she wasn’t supposed to have done, and she quickly got disoriented, as she was still blindfolded. “Susan” ended up walking away from the group, instead of toward it. I watched her the entire time, but I didn’t speak to her or help her back. I just made sure she didn’t inadvertently walk out the door into the parking lot.

Susan’s body language told me she was scared. I’m sure that she was also embarrassed to have become separated and didn’t want to call out that she was lost. That raised a red flag for me right then. Why wouldn’t she call for help to her teammates? But, I waited and let the situation play itself out.

Cathy, the supervisor of this group, was also the dominant force in this activity. I was surprised how she repeatedly talked over her team members and almost shouted down their suggestions. After only a few minutes, the group had pretty much given up trying to solve the problem and just let her tell them what to do.

Shortly after Susan had become separated from the group and was standing alone in a corner, Cathy called out to assign her a job. Susan didn’t respond at first. Her hands were trembling.

Cathy called out again, this time with anger and frustration in her voice. “Susan! Where are you!” Finally, Susan said quietly, almost to herself, “I’m here.”

“Susan! Why are you so far away? What are you doing?” The rest of the group was silent.

“I, I accidentally let go of the rope,” Susan stammered.

Then Cathy uttered an expletive that is not allowed to be printed on this family website.

“Typical. Just typical! If anyone was going to screw up, I should have known it was going to be you! Now, take your blindfold off and get over here!”

Wow! I was floored at what I had just seen.

I didn’t have to guess anymore at what the problem was for this particular group.

Susan was humiliated. The rest of the group was embarrassed to have been present for this. I’m sure they were all glad they were blindfolded. No one spoke up.

Well, I stopped the activity and offered them a bathroom and coffee break. We needed to diffuse the situation.

After that, I moved onto other activities that offered them a greater chance of success, while still working on how to respect one another. As often as I could I directed Cathy to be more empathetic toward her employees/staff members. I realized that this entire training was about getting her to treat her staff with respect and getting her staff to speak up and not accept this kind of verbal and emotional abuse.

Perhaps your work environment isn’t quite so dysfunctional, but remember that often times, the problem we are having in our work has roots in our own behavior.  I’ve seen this proven in case after case.

In future posts, I will be writing about the various ways a team building retreat can benefit any non-profit team.

Photo by: Natalie Vella

In the first part of this article, I recommended that you/your non-profit organization plan to host a summit meeting with as many of the non-profit groups in your community as you can gather in one place at one time. Once at this summit, I started listing goals that you should strive to accomplish. The first four of these goals were:

1. Make a thorough introduction of each group and person that goes beyond the casual niceties of most meetings.
2. Launch a brainstorming session that lists the problems facing your community.
3. Actively seek out opportunities for collaborative projects between groups with similar missions.
4. Look for ways that the non-profits can combine services in order to save money.

In the second part of this article, I will continue this list.

5. The fifth goal that I recommend this summit address is a thorough review of all fundraising calendars. Every group should be prepared to share the dates and the kind of fundraisers that they are planning to run in the upcoming year (groups should bring printed copies of their schedule to pass out).

This could catch some groups unprepared, as not every non-profit is used to thinking ahead like this, so you should make this part of the invitation. Announce that you would like to create a master community fundraising calendar so that no groups conflict with each other, any more than is absolutely unavoidable. Then, give the groups time to put their calendars together before the summit date.

At the meeting, ask everyone to pass around the copies of their calendar. From there, start discussing which dates, if any, are in conflict.

The most important things to look for in this process are clashing dates of major fundraising events between groups and a repeat of the kinds of fundraisers that are being run. It’s just poor planning if four different non-profits are holding a silent auction in the spring- trust me, I’ve seen that exact situation happen. People in the community start rolling their eyes and saying “Oh no, not again!” Business owners cringe when their front doors open, because they know it’s yet another group asking for a donation. If you don’t want this fundraising logjam to pile up in your community, you’ve got to compare notes with the other organizations.

This is also an exercise that will encourage groups to get creative. If you all decide that four silent auctions is just too much to foist upon any one town, then two or three groups will have to come up with something different. And that’s a good thing! There are so many different kinds of events or sales or other methods that can raise just as much money as a silent auction. People just have to be willing to try something new.

Of course, this could also lead to in-fighting amongst the participating non-profits. That is the least desirable outcome of a summit, so try to avoid this, if possible. Each group should be willing to compromise a little to gain a lot. If you learn of groups fighting over dates, see if you can help negotiate a settlement or just let them keep their dates. A damaged relationship is not worth it.

6. The sixth goal that should come out of this summit is one that will have to be expressed to the public at large, and that is the creation of a unified front of the non-profit community in your area. Eventually, everyone will realize that the wide array of 501(c)(3)s are working together for a greater good. They will become aware of a fundraising atmosphere in the town that is thoughtful of donors and of the other non-profits.

And, if a new non-profit group were to suddenly spring up, the leaders of that organization would have an excellent resource to plug into and they would quickly learn how not to step on other groups’ collective toes.

However, this kind of a unified front will take time, effort, and persistence to build. There will be plenty of opposition to making this kind of a move, because it require compromise and change, and many people don’t like those two words. So, the groups present at this meeting will have to agree to “sell” this notion of unity within their own organizations, and every time they do a press interview going forward, they should find a way to mention the wonderful non-profit community that exists in their town. After a while, people will pick up on this new ear of communication and cooperation.

To be continued…

Check back soon for the conclusion to this article.

Photo by: galleryquantum

I have a suggestion for anyone working at a non-profit organization in a town that has multiple non-profits. I think you should get together and schedule a non-profit summit. And you, yes you- the person reading this article- should be the one to make the phone calls to put it together.  Why you?  Well, if you don’t do it, probably no one else will.  So, take the initiative and git ‘er done.

It doesn’t have to be fancy. Call a local hotel and ask them to donate a meeting room for a day. Or if there isn’t a hotel in town, ask the VFW for a place to meet. Or whatever. Get some bottled water and ask someone to bake a couple dozen cookies.

Then all you have to do is put an agenda together that leaves lots of room for open discussion.

So, what should you accomplish at the first ever Non-profit Summit? That’s a great question. Here are eight goals that I can think of, right off the bat. I’m sure you can come up with many more, given your knowledge of your own local area.

1. First of all, the group of you (and by “group” I mean all the non-profits you can rustle up: schools, churches, scouts, sports teams, hospitals, human service agencies, animal shelters, you-name-it- anyone with a 501(c)(3) designation) should really get to know one another. Perhaps a few of you from different groups are already acquainted or maybe even friends, but I’m talking about a genuine and full introduction of all non-profit professionals in your community.

You need to get to know who the other groups are and what they do- exactly. Until you get a good picture in your mind of who the various players in your community are, you won’t be able to take full advantage of all the potential resources. So, that’s the first order of business, and it should not be rushed through.

I’ve attended meetings like this, in which representatives from different groups introduce themselves, and it’s always been very surface-y. I give my name, the company I work for, how long I’ve been there, and maybe a fun fact about myself, like who my favorite Muppet is. That’s no good.

I would suggest coming up with a specific list of items that people must mention during their introductions that really mean something. I would want to hear what each group is currently working on that they think is dynamite and what challenges have them truly stumped at the moment. This honesty could really open up some quality discussion.

2. Next, I’d want to move on to discussing issues that are currently troubling your community. With a room full of non-profit execs, I’m sure coming up with a few societal ills wouldn’t be too tough. Having this discussion will reveal what the various priorities are in the room. You will see that some groups agree on certain items, while other groups will point out problems that nobody else has experienced. One group’s concerns could spark a solution from another group. Just coming up with a master list of problems that your community is dealing with could take all day!

3. Take a minute and think of all the good things that could spring up from this conversation! There could be two groups that had never really interacted with each other before the summit. But, because they found out that they had similar concerns in the community at large, they realize that they might be able to work on some solutions together. And that’s the third goal that you should have when scheduling this get-together: developing collaborations.

There are so many upsides to non-profits working together to solve common problems, that the opportunities must be explored. (For more on this topic of collaboration, please read my articles 5 Reasons You Should Collaborate with Another Non-profit in 2011- Part I and II.) Without holding this summit, these two groups might never have had the chance to work together.

4. The fourth goal of a non-profit summit would be to have a frank and open conversation about the numerous administrative challenges each organization is facing. For instance, perhaps several of the groups present struggle with having a strong web presence, due to the high cost involved and the technical skills required to keep an active website up and going. Maybe no one group could afford to hire a web developer on its own, but if they all went in together on one talented freelancer, suddenly they have leverage to negotiate a much more affordable rate. This kind of cooperative solution can be applied to many different scenarios. I’m not talking about all the groups merging into one mega-non-profit, but there are places where costs and services can be shared for mutual benefit.

To be continued….

To read more goals for a non-profit summit in your community, check back here soon.

Photo By: MarriottSandestin

Strong leadership is essential to being successful with your fundraising goals.  There’s not just one or even a handful of leaders that are important to a nonprofit organization.  Leadership can come from staff (at all levels), donors, committee members, advocates, volunteers serving on short term projects (like fundraising events) or those that give a few hours each week. Leadership is often It could come from the most least expected of sources.

So today here is a quick link roundup with thoughts on leadership…

Weak economic times call for strong leadership skills me, rephrasing John Chappelear.

Who Said Leadership Was Fun? Kate Barr, Nonprofits Assistance Fund

Now is the Time for Nonprofits to Come Together from Nonprofit Leadership 601

Authentic Leadership and Your “Crucible Story” Ed Batista