4 Ways to Remove a Board Member

I'm a member of Alliance for Arizona Nonprofits and I subscribe to their newsletter, The Connector. In today's newsletter, the topic was geared towards board members. In one of the articles, this blog post on Blue Avocado about how to remove a board member was referenced:

Four Ways to Remove a Board Member

1. Personal Intervention

2. Leave of Absence

3. Term Limits

4. Impeachment

I realize there may come a time when I have board members and a decision will have to be made to boot a member off the board, but I'm really, really, really not looking forward to that. LOL. Hopefully, the decision won't have to be made by me.

The post can be read in its entirety HERE.

7 Cures for Nonprofit Writer's Block

Kivi Leroux Miller Marketing Moment

I subscribe to marketing expert Kivi Leroux Miller's newsletter and she sends out a weekly email filled with marketing tips.These newsletters are chock-full of great words of wisdom from the marketing field and I've decided to create a little "moment" just for her.

As a writer, I know what it's like to have writer's block. I've read many different ways to get rid of it, but none have worked for me. I just tend to wait to hear the voices of my characters speak to me and then I know that it's time to jump back in. I guess the same can be said for nonprofit marketing folks, and in this article, Kivi provides 7 ways--and links to other resources--to knock it out:

1. Look at current headlines.

2. Look at the calendar and holidays. I signed up for her Free Monthly Writing Prompts

3. Pick the format first. Her top 5 favs are:

• How-to Article
• List (e.g. Top Ten)
• Fact Versus Fiction (or True or False)
• Advice (usually in response to a question)
• Roundup (group several smaller items together under a common theme)

4. Fill in the headline. Some of her nonprofit favs are:

• The Secret of [blank]
• Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All
• [Do something] like [world-class example]
• Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of
• The Lazy [blank's] Way to [blank]
• Do You Recognize the [number] Early Warning Signs of [blank]?
• You Don't Have to Be [something challenging] to be [desired result].

5. Start with a Metaphor. You can become a free member of the Nonprofit Marketing Guide and get the 25 Metaphors Nonprofits Can Use To Get Their Messages Across e-Book. For free. I like that word.

6. Survey your readers.

7. Ask a question on Facebook.

For #4, Kivi provided a link to Copyblogger's post 7 More Sure-Fire Headline Templates That Work. When I clicked on it, this post provided another previous post, 10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work. Gah! How awesome is that? I'm definitely going to have to bookmark these posts for later.




A web copy of this article can be found in its entirety HERE

Drawing Your Communcations Arc

Kivi Leroux Miller Marketing Moment

I subscribe to marketing expert Kivi Leroux Miller's newsletter and she sends out a weekly email filled with marketing tips.These newsletters are chock-full of great words of wisdom from the marketing field and I've decided to create a little "moment" just for her.


In this article, Kivi talks about how you can create a story arc over a series of weeks, or even months, that will keep your supporters hooked. She references a 3-act structure of a play:

• Act I: We meet the character and learn his situation and aspirations.
• Act II: The character hits obstacles, and eventually rock bottom.
• Act II: The character overcomes, and (usually) succeeds.

As well as an 8-part story arc found in Nigel Watts' book, Writing A Novel and Getting Published:

1. Stasis
2. Trigger
3. The quest
4. Surprise
5. Critical choice
6. Climax
7. Reversal
8. Resolution

From a writer's point of view, I totally understand the second reference. The full article can be found HERE. She also referred to a post that she wrote yesterday regarding this same topic about showing the progress of a communications arc that you've created:

1. Pick some aspect of your work that includes several interesting people and stories.

2. Map out several potential touch points.

3. Think of different ways to tell stories along that arc, hitting on the major touch points.

4. Schedule when you can tell these stories into your various communications channels on your editorial calendar.

5. Deliver the content.

I think this is such a great idea and TWZ could so go to town on something like this, being that we're all about writing. I'm looking forward to trying this out.

Creating Sustainable Funding For Your Nonprofit Seminar

Date / Time: Monday, May 16. 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Location: Sojourner Center, Fillmore Commons, Empowerment Education Building. 2330 E. Fillmore Street, Phoenix, AZ 85006.

What would it look like to have an ever-increasing stream of major donors who love your mission? Join Benevon for this free seminar, presented by Terry Axelrod, Benevon Founder and CEO, on how to create sustainable funding for your nonprofit. Learn a system for fundraising you can start to implement right away, as well as how to get your organization off the annual fundraising treadmill forever. In the first year, their groups raise an average of $200,000 in gifts and pledges.
By the end of this session, you will have learned the following:

• A tested system to identify and cultivate donors who love your mission - donors who will give for operations, capital, and endowment
• How to engage your community in your organization's mission and to inspire giving
• How to get started right away to implement mission-focused, permission-based fundraising

What I learned:

1. Point of Entry
~ Facts 101
~ Emotional Hook
~ Capture Names

2. Follow-Up: Listen and Involve
~ This is also known as the Cultivation Superhighway

3. Ask for Money
~ Units of Service
~ Multiple Year Pledges

4. Introduce Others
~ Free feel good cultivation event

What kind of results I can expect:

~ In 2009, the average 1st year group Benevon worked with raised $202,214 in gifts and pledges.

~ Groups report that over 60% of that money came from new donors

~ By the 3rd year, groups in the 5-Year Program raise an average, cumulative total of $1.5 million in gifts and pledges from using this model.

~ By the 5th year, groups in the 5-Year Program raise an average, cumulative total of $3.5 million in gifts and pledges from using the model

This workshop was held at the Sojourner Center and we got to hear first-hand from the Development person how they have benefited from using the Benevon model. That was a real nice touch. The 5-Year Program is expensive and I asked Ms. Axelrod if this model worked well for start-up nonprofits. She instructed me to use the books first and if I get frustrated then make the call. When the time comes, I do plan to buy the books and use this model.

Three Tips for Nonprofit Media Moguls

Kivi Leroux Miller Marketing Moment

I subscribe to marketing expert Kivi Leroux-Miller's newsletter and she sends out a weekly newsletter filled with marketing tips.These newsletters are chock-full of great words of wisdom from the marketing field, that I've decided to post them here.

In this article, Kivi talks about how we're expected to share all kinds of content in multiple ways. It can't always be about the content, it's about participating in conversation with your supporters. We have the power and direct control over what gets shared with our supporters and can do so in the following three ways:

1. Get Your Content Creation Process Organized

2. Keep It Interesting

3. Repeat Yourself

I never would've thought to do #3, just for the fact that I wouldn't want to sound redundant, but I guess that's a good thing. I certainly didn't see myself as a media mogul before reading this article, but it makes sense now. It's called "freedom of speech" and people can throw anything out there and the general public will believe or not; read it or not. Good or bad, the media--in all its many forms--is here to stay (and changing) and I like the idea of having the power to say what I want to my supporters. In whatever form I choose. For the full article, go HERE

Done and Done...I survived Spring 2011

The spring semester was officially over last Friday, the 6th. I received A's in both of my classes. Thank you to Shoshana Ross, Volunteer Coordinator at Free Arts AZ for mentoring my Volunteer Management course, and Chantal Sheehan, Exec. Dir. of New Global Citizens for mentoring my Human Relations course. They were so great and I learned so much. With Shoshana, I came away with a Volunteer Management Plan I can utilize and with Chantal, I learned about the different parts of HR. As part of the evaluation process, I had to evaluate myself and then my mentors had to evaluate me. A couple of things Shoshana said stood out for me. One of them was that I "...sought more structure, details and examples than necessary...".

She also said:

"...My one critique would be to encourage Ms. Colston to be more self-sufficient and self-starting in her work, as would be necessary were she to pursue a career in this field. Ms. Colston is very capable and needs simply to have faith in her own ability to craft projects/blurbs/whatnot on her own, utilizing her own skills and creativity..."

In my defense I cry INSTITUTIONALIZED. This type of experiential learning environment is frowned upon in public schools. LOL. I have way more freedom than I'm used to and, despite the fact that I've been in this program for nearly 3 years, it's apparent that I can't shake the whole public school structure thing. It's also the fact that I'm learning something new. I only know the NP sector from a volunteer standpoint. I keep feeling that there's a wrong way and a right way to do things. What I'm slowly learning is that I don't have to reinvent the wheel. If it's already out there, why start over? I can just take from all sources and tweak it to fit my needs.

As for her comment about simply having faith in my ability, she is spot on. I've heard that before from my best friend and I'm going to have to be honest and say I don't know where that comes from. It's not like I had a bad childhood where I was verbally or physically abused. Quite the contrary. I had a great childhood and I love hanging out with my parents. When I was younger, I had a lisp and stuttered. Not as bad as Mel Tillis, but it made me self-conscious to the point where I didn't do a lot of talking. I no longer have the lisp and I don't stutter as much, but I occasionally stumble over some words. I was better at communicating on paper than verbally, which is probably why I became a writer.And kept diaries. And write blogs.


Maybe once I see the light at the end of this educational tunnel (4 more semesters to go!) and have a better grasp of the NP sector, I'll grow into self-starting and self-sufficiency.

Maybe once I have a better handle on my idea, what my community needs, and I start to feel that TWZ will really happen, I'll just grow into"faith in my abilities."

I think I have to feel passionate about what I'm doing to be there, to feel/know any of that. And right now, I'm just not there.

Yet.

NOTE: I'm still looking for mentors for the Fall 2011-Summer 2012 semesters. See here for more details.

Music to my ears...

Music Around the World Free Arts Day

When: Saturday, May 7^th, 2011 from 9 am – 1 pm

Where: The Musical Instrument Museum

I'm a volunteer for Free Arts AZ and on this rare occasion, I actually got to participate in a Free Arts Day at the Musical Instrument Museum. This featured a drumming workshop with renown Free Arts of Arizona Professional Teaching Artist, Frank Thompson. It was so. Much. Fun. The MIM is a spectacularly beautiful facility. We didn't get to go through the whole thing, of course. That would take too long. But we got a quick tour, got a chance to play some instruments in the hands-on area, created a handmade castanet (out of beads, tiny rocks, string, and pill cups) and participated in a drumming circle.

So. Much. Fun. I love volunteering with Free Arts AZ.

4th Annual Nonprofit Business Summit

Connecting the Valley’s Nonprofit Sector to the Valley’s Business Community

 

A critical date for nonprofit executives: 

May 3, 2011 | 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

As we work through the challenges of the recovery, do not miss this opportunity to connect with Valley business leaders and participate in executive level, educational sessions that will enrich your organization's developmental and operational missions. 

---

2011 Breakout Sessions include:

A Megaphone For Your Mission: The Necessity of Advocacy in Today’s Political Climate

The Hawaii state legislature is considering repealing tax exemptions for nonprofits, potentially costing organizations millions of dollars. Nevada’s state government is considering imposing mandatory financial filings that would cause nonprofit professionals to spend more time on paperwork and less time delivering services. And similar headlines come across the wire every day. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we speak eloquently – and in unison – about the essential impact that nonprofit organizations have on the communities and people they serve. This interactive and informative session will equip and empower you to become an advocate for your organization – and the nonprofit community at-large.

Effective Board Development and Assessment

Having an engaged, motivated Board of Directors is the key to running a successful, sustainable nonprofit organization.  This workshop describes the entrepreneurial perspective of an organization, and the Board’s role in fund raising and leadership. The Board’s role in annual fund programs including special event fundraising, major gifts, board/staff solicitations, sponsorships, and in-kind goods/services will be covered in this workshop. 

Diversified Funding Resources / Earned Income 

A workshop for enterprising nonprofits. What are social entrepreneurs doing to solve social problems? Learn about earned income models for tax exempt, for profit and hybrid social enterprises. With social entrepreneur, Karl Gentles, executive director, Back to School Clothing Drive, and social enterprise consultant, Gayle Pincus, discuss emerging sustainability models, social venture philanthropy, and how business thinking shapes solutions to society’s challenges. Open your eyes to new revenue-generating ideas, upcoming learning opportunities, and how to apply them to your organization!

Leveraging Volunteers in the New Normal

Thoughts on Volunteer Management for 2011 & Beyond:  This interactive and informative session will equip you to recruit and retain quality volunteers for your organization, including best practices on episodic, skills-based, project-focused and long-term volunteers. You will walk away energized to build and maintain an highly engaged corps of folks dedicated to helping you realize your mission.

Making the Ask:  Corporate Funding 

You will receive information and practical tips on not just 'how to ask', but how to develop a great relationship with corporate funders.  You will hear more about the specifics of effectively approaching organizational funders.  The business community's needs as related to their Corporate Citizen priorities will also be covered.  In the second half of the session you will hear directly from a panel of corporate funders sharing their perspectives and advice and responding to your questions. 

Making the Ask:  Individual Funding 

(Larger Organizations with Mature Programs) – This session will delve into the critical elements necessary for fundraisers to build long-lasting individual relationships and is focused on those nonprofits that have a mature individual giving program.  This interactive session will explore concepts of total donor value and experience, communication techniques and persuasion as well as how to work with donors on principal and planned gifts.  Participants will leave the session with a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding donor behavior that will translate into fully growing the donor relationship.

(Small to Medium Sized Organizations) –  This session will explore the fundamentals of individual giving, with a focus on tips and techniques for nonprofits with new or less developed individual giving programs.  This interactive session will explore ideas on how to build an individual donor base, techniques on building relationships and making solicitations, and stewardship to grow gifts.  Participants will leave the session with ideas for building or enhancing their individual relationship building skills for long-term results!

Programming for Collective Impact:  Effective Collaboration for Social Change

In today’s environment there is inordinate pressure for nonprofits to collaborate in program provision, and while there are many successful partnerships that have varying impact in our community, there are also those that are not successful due to lack of shared goals and shared accountability.  Attend this interactive session to learn how organizations, coalitions and leaders can come together to develop community wide programs to effectively drive large-scale social change via cross sector-coordination, shared outcomes, shared results driven decision making, shared resources and shared accountability among participating organizations.
-----------
I attended the following 3 breakout sessions:

Effective Board Development and Assessment

Diversified Funding Resources/Earned Income

Making the Ask: Individual Funding (Small to Medium Sized Organizations)

I will talk about what I learned from each of these sessions in three separate posts. The Summit began with a General Session featuring a panel discussion on corporate community relations and dealing with today's issues. For the sessions I was unable to attend (wish I'd had clones or staff to attend the other ones), there were key points to note.


Leveraging Volunteers in the New Normal

~ Volunteer Recruitment - without volunteers, most nonprofits would cease to exist or would otherwise suffer a drastic reduction in capacity to serve communities and achieve the mission of the organization. Recruitment is the first step in securing volunteer participation in your national service program.

~ Volunteer Scheduling - The you plan your service projects will significantly affect the success of your volunteer recruitment.

~ Volunteer Retention - The best way to increase your volunteer base is to retain current volunteers. Retention is simply a matter of making volunteers feel good about themselves and their service. It includes motivating volunteers before the project, engaging them during the project, and leading them to reflect on the project.

Programming for Collective Impact: Effective Collaboration for Social Change

~ Collective impact is "the commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem".

~ The 5 conditions of collective success are:
~ Common Agenda: collective impact requires that all participants have a shared vision of change.
~ Shared Measurement System: agreement on the ways success will be measured and reported.
~ Mutually Reinforcing Activities: all participants are not required to do the same thing, but are encouraged to undertake the specific set of activities at which it excels in a way that supports and is coordinated with the actions of others.
~ Continuous Communication: to develop trust and create a common vocabulary.
~ Backbone Support Organization: dedicated staff who can plan, manage, and support the initiative.


Making the Ask: Corporate Funding

~ Relationship building first and foremost.

~ Think about and plan for the connection between your organization and the corporation by viewing the relationship from the corporation's standpoint as much as possible.

~ Be flexible!

~ Do what you say you will do.

~ Go above and beyond!

A Megaphone For Your Mission: The Necessity of Advocacy in Today's Political Climate

~ Storytelling is Key - People don't buy how you do it, they buy why you do it. Tales about your organization should be Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, and Emotional Stories (SUCCESS)

~ Portrait to Landscape - Tell personal stories that tie into a bigger picture.

~ Know Your Rights - If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.

All in all, this Summit was information overload for me, but it's stuff I need to know. I feel like I'm going to be so prepared when the time comes. And wherever their are handouts, I'm snatching them up and adding them to my Nonprofit GuideBook.

4th Annual Nonprofit Business Summit, May 3rd 2011: Part III

Diversified Funding Resources/Earned Income 
Karl Gentles, ED, Back-to-School Clothing Drive
Gayle Pincus, Social Enterprise Consultant, Palo Verde Business Advisors, LLC


A workshop for enterprising nonprofits. What are social entrepreneurs doing to solve social problems? Learn about earned income models for tax exempt, for profit and hybrid social enterprises. With social entrepreneur, Karl Gentles, executive director, Back to School Clothing Drive, and social enterprise consultant, Gayle Pincus, discuss emerging sustainability models, social venture philanthropy, and how business thinking shapes solutions to society’s challenges. Open your eyes to new revenue-generating ideas, upcoming learning opportunities, and how to apply them to your organization!

Some things I learned:


~ A growing number of tax-exempt organizations create earned income streams to strengthen their financial stability and program reach.

*8 Basic Principles of NP Entrepreneurs

~ Earned income is paramount
~ Be a player or don't play at all
~ Starting a business venture is not the only path to success
~ Unrelated business activities are dangerous
~ Be patient-and don't run out of money.
~ Recognize the differences between innovators, entrepreneurs, and professional managers
~ The "nonprofit" culture gets in the way
~ Remember the Noah Principle: No more prizes for predicting rain. You only get a prize if you build the ark.

4th Annual Nonprofit Business Summit, May 3rd 2011: Part II

Making the Ask:  Individual Funding

Nancy A. Dean

Senior VP, Resource Development

Valley of the Sun United Way

(Small to Medium Sized Organizations) –  This session will explore the fundamentals of individual giving, with a focus on tips and techniques for nonprofits with new or less developed individual giving programs.  This interactive session will explore ideas on how to build an individual donor base, techniques on building relationships and making solicitations, and stewardship to grow gifts.  Participants will leave the session with ideas for building or enhancing their individual relationship building skills for long-term results!

I learned a hell of a lot in this workshop. This was another opportunity to obtain the PowerPoint (52 pages this time) by leaving your business card with the facilitator. And once again, I put my card in the pile. This is another useful tool that will come in handy.

Some things I learned:

20 Ways to be Donor Centric
~ Receipt promptly
~ Receipt relevantly
~ Ge the date right
~ Let donors say where their money goes
~ Give donors choices on use of their names (anonymous or not)
~ Say "you" a lot
~ Send a newsletter
~ Make your newsletter about your donors
~ Respect your donors' tastes
~ Don't project yourself onto your donors
~ Be easy to read
~ Make everything about your donors
~ Be specific
~ Be incredibly transparent
~ Let all your donors make a difference
~ Make giving easy online
~ Make it easy for donors to find a human
~ Encourage donors to talk to you
~ Listen to complaints, but don't let them drive the ship
~ Do great work!

*The key to individual fundraising is relationships, knowing your donor (it's more than demographics)and paying attention to research results.

*Key finding in increasing charitable donations from individuals

~ There is $45B of market opportunity, limited in part by high levels of loyalty in charitable giving

~ Donors are generally satisfied with nonprofits, but cite being solicited too often as their key area of frustration

~ Few donors do research before they give, and those that do look to the nonprofit itself to provide simple information about efficiency and effectiveness

~ Behaviors matter: there are six discrete segments of donors with different primary reasons for giving

*Recommendations for improving fundraising capabilities

~ Segment on behaviors, not demographics

~ Tag and track your donors by segment

~ Determine what segments are best for your organization, given your strengths

~ Develop consistent outbound marketing that appeals to target segments

~ Capture donors early

~ Understand how to manage different segments when approached

*Donors break out into six behavioral segments:

~ Repayer - supports alma mater or organization that has had an impact on them or a loved one

~ Casual Giver - primarily gives to well known NPs through payroll deduction or donate money to host a table.

~ High Impact - gives to NPs that he/she feels are generating the greatest social cause or supports causes that seem overlooked by others.

~ Faith Based - gives to their church or organizations that fit with their beliefs

~ See The Difference - gives to small organizations s/he feels they can make a difference or thinks it's important to support local NPs

~ Personal Ties - gives to an organization where they are familiar with the people who run it supports causes because their friends asked them to.

*There are 4 types of BEHAVIORAL Strategy:
~ People oriented
~ Task Oriented
~ Detail Oriented
~ A blend of all three

*There are 4 types of THINKING Strategy
~ Kinesthetic - sensory
~ Visual
~ Auditory
~ Blend of all three

During this workshop, we filled out a Communication Style Assessment form. Each word I circled in the 11 questions had a value of one, two or three attached to it. Based on the number of 1 words, 2 words or 3 words, I was able to determine how I perceive the world. I possess a detail-oriented behavioral strategy with a kinesthetic way of thinking. I think this form would work great in a staffing capacity, to see how well people work together.

4th Annual Nonprofit Business Summit, May 3rd 201: Part I

Effective Board Development and Assessment
Patricia Lewis, ACFRE
Sr. Professional-in-Residence
ASU Lodestar Center for Philosophy and Nonprofit Innovation

Having an engaged, motivated Board of Directors is the key to running a successful, sustainable nonprofit organization.  This workshop describes the entrepreneurial perspective of an organization, and the Board’s role in fund raising and leadership. The Board’s role in annual fund programs including special event fundraising, major gifts, board/staff solicitations, sponsorships, and in-kind goods/services will be covered in this workshop.

Ms. Lewis provided a copy of the PowerPoint for this breakout session for those that left business cards for her. I definitely took advantage. It's a 42-paged document that will make a good reference guide.

A few things I learned:

The core responsibilities of a board are:
~ Vision/Mission
~ Policy
~ Strategic Planning
~ Fiduciary
~ Resources
~ Board Development
~ Community Liason
~ Government Relations
~ Employer of Chief Staff Person
~ Leadership

Engaged Board Members ACT:
~ Regular attendance
~ Prepared to discuss, make decisions, contribute
~ With knowledge of organization, programs/services, customers
~ Are out in the community promoting organization
~ To keep current on related issues: journals, conferences, etc.

Advocacy and Lobbying - Can nonprofits do it? Apparently they can, but walking a fine line in doing so.
~ A policy-led activity
~ Furthers the mission
~ Intensity increases as needed: public education, gov't relations, advocacy, lobbying
~ No restrictions until lobbying activity
501(c)(3)s - IRS allows $1 million, by gradation, based upon total expenditures
501(c)(4)s and (6)s do not have same restrictions

To be honest, I'm not real a political person. I consider myself Switzerland. At this point, I'm going to say that TWZ will not be dipping its toes in political ponds and the board will have to sign something to that effect. They can be asses, elephants or Switzerland in their personal lives. But if they're representing TWZ, they're going to be Switzerland.

Board's Role in FUNdraising:
~ Leadership
~ Ethics
~ Planning
~ Contacts
~ Passion
~ Contacts
~ Involvement
~ Creativity
~ Business acumen
~ Risk
~ Change
~ Evaluation
~ Fun

There were a lot of questions from the audience about board members balking at the idea of fundraising. The overall consensus is that it has to be done, but board members should know upfront if it's expected of them. Hildy Gotlieb, co-founder of Creating the Future, was a guest speaker at the Summit. On her site, she has an article about boards and fundraising.

On the other hand, Tom Suddes of the Suddes Group (love this guy), says that the board is NOT responsible for fundraising.

Overall, it's been interesting to hear about the different sides regarding this hot button of an issue. What I like is that whether it's a "should" or a "should not", there is information to back-up each claim. Tom says no and here's why. Hildy says yes, but here's a better way to do it so it's not so icky.

I love the idea that I'm learning this from scratch and can create my own options by using--and piecing together--techniques that will work for my own organization.