In their book Forces for Good, Leslie R. Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant argue that high-impact nonprofits recognize that there are three critical elements needed to maintain and deepen their effect over time. The authors wrote that these elements do not constitute a practice, but they are important for success. The three elements are: People - Develop a people strategy and invest heavily in top performers. The authors surveyed 12 organizations that they consider successful, and every one cited staff as a critical success factor. Top-flight organizations have developed particular capacities for hiring, developing and retaining top talent. Capital - Find the right sources of funding. None of the organizations could keep going without having one or more sustainable funding mechanisms. … Continue Reading
A New Year’s Resolution from PresenTense
Our New Year Resolution - and our commitment to you PresenTense has always understood itself as an open-source movement. Not because we like the jargon, or because it's trendy to use the words 'open-source', or because it gives us good branding - but because that is what we literally have been since day one: a collection of individuals from around the world who are committed to contributing to the Jewish People in the here and now, to upgrade our community's Operating System so our programs, activities and ideas are up-to-date and actionable for these years and the years to come. When a few dozen of us started working on the magazine back in 2006, the concept of being an open organizing framework was core to how we envisioned our work in the time to come; when we developed the Institute in … Continue Reading
Cultivating Donors: What Is It All About?
We hear the expression “cultivating donors” all the time and everyone who is involved in financial resource development and fundraising says, “It is all about the donor”. In reaching out to potential donors and working with present donors what does it really mean to “cultivate the relationship”? Is it just another way of selling the charitable cause you want the donor to contribute to or is there something else behind the familiar language that captures a different meaning than just “marketing the product” to sell it to the contributor. Whether you are a volunteer leader or a professional agency staff person or consultant in the non-profit sector, you are always in contact with people who are either presently contributing or have the potential to contribute to one or more … Continue Reading
The Transparency Litmus Test
We talk a lot about nonprofit transparency and how essential it is today to provide potential supporters with up-to-date, accurate and useful information. Transparency is no longer an ideal to strive toward, it is an operational requirement that should be as carefully monitored as an organization's budget, its allocations and its income. Transparency (or the lack of it ) influences reputation and reputation, as we all know, trumps everything else. Here are a few ways to determine how transparent your organization is. 1. Look at your web site - it is where many people will go to check out your organization. At minimum, the site should make it easy for a visitor to find: your mission statement and statement of purpose - ideally, written in some reader-friendly language, presented on your … Continue Reading
Building Donor Loyalty
If donor retention is so important to nonprofits, why are we not doing more to keep them? by Adrian Sargeant We continue to lose our donors at an alarming rate. When I last studied retention in the UK I identified that it wasn’t at all unusual for a nonprofit to lose 50% of its cash supporters between their first and second donation and then 30% year on year thereafter. I thought that was bad, but here in the US I discovered that initial attrition rates of 70% are considered acceptable by many organizations. Given that most nonprofits lose money on their donor acquisition activity, this increasingly leaky bucket is costing the sector dear. Even regular giving, where the economics are quite different, sees attrition rates of 30% from one year to the next as the norm. No business would … Continue Reading
Maintaining Trust in an Age of Bad Behavior
Is everyone in public life a swindler, a philanderer or a miscreant? Or am I just over-reacting to the daily revelations of misdeeds by some heretofore highly-respected elected official, popular talk show host, religious leader, head of state, business tycoon…or…. well you fill in the blank. I don’t know about you but I am no longer surprised by anyone’s behavior however outrageous it may be. That is what happens when you are constantly barraged with bad news. You become inured to its impact and you may even start to become cynical. The nonprofit sector is part of the public community and as such has always worked hard to maintain its esteemed place in the hearts and minds of the American public. The level of trust and respect nonprofits (Jewish and secular) enjoy is both a result of … Continue Reading
Do You Have a Media Friendly Policy?
from About.com: The New Media Relations for Nonprofits How Nonprofits Can Get Their Stories Out Through Bloggers and Twitter Media relations in the world of Web 2.0 have changed dramatically. While it is still important to keep in touch with the so-called "main stream media," especially your local reporters, that is no longer sufficient. With the reduced number of people in newsrooms across the media landscape, even reporters are looking for better ways to keep up, and nonprofits must now spread word of their good deeds through the new social media tools. A report by The Hatcher Group, points out that a survey of 4,000 U.S. journalists revealed that 71% of them have a list of blogs that they check on a regular basis. By connecting with those bloggers that cover the nonprofit sector, … Continue Reading
State Registration Laws: First Steps
You Can’t Ignore State Charity Registration Laws Any Longer, Part 2 by Tony Martignetti, Esq In Part I, I covered why it’s important to be in compliance with state charity registration laws, what is a solicitation, and where should your organization be registered. Now I’ll leave you with a plan for proceeding. Charity begins in the home, so register first in your home state. I trust by now you recognize this is not incorporating in your state. This is also not registering your Charitable Gift Annuity program, if you have one and if your state requires it. Those having been completed, your non-profit must comply with this additional layer of home-state regulation. Then look at where you send the largest number of solicitations. If your fundraising is mostly from online giving, … Continue Reading
“I Work Here, Do I Also Have to Give Money?”: The Meaning of the Staff Contribution to the Non-Profit Organization
Many non-profit organizations have annual fundraising campaigns. The campaigns focus on the broader community’s support of the agency’s activities and its overall investment in building and strengthening the life of the community. It is not unusual for a committee of the board of directors to assume responsibility for developing the theme for the campaign and recruiting committee members who conduct the solicitation of past and potential contributors. Of course staff members of the organization provide support for the committee’s activities, and a questions often arise as to what extent the employees of the agency should participate in the campaign. Is their participation voluntary or do they have an obligation to be a donor as well as an employee of the organization? Although the … Continue Reading
You Can’t Ignore State Charity Registration Laws Any Longer
We've posted previously on the importance of being current with the changes to IRS Form 990 and the various State charity registration requirements that most nonprofits need to report on. Today, we bring you the first of two guest posts by Tony Martignetti, Esq. laying out some state specific information. We also strongly suggest you review your organizations' procedures, and needs, with appropriate professional advisors. State charity registration laws have been on the books for decades. And largely ignored. Now that the IRS has stepped in, the game has changed, and you can’t ignore these laws any longer. These are the laws, different in each state and the District of Columbia, requiring non-profits of every stripe to obtain approval from state authorities before conducting … Continue Reading
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