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Grantseeking for Nonprofits

Filed Under: Asides, Events, Fundraising, governance, Grants, Karen Downing, leadership, management, Notes on a Nonprofit, Social Enterprise by admin — Comments Off
December 2, 2011

By Karen Downing

During times of economic stress, grant seeking becomes a required activity for many nonprofit organizations within our communities. As need in the community increases, and public funding for social services, the arts, health and other nonprofit work decreases, nonprofits increasingly need to turn to other sources of funding to survive and thrive.

With so much need for funding, where can nonprofits turn to in order to get funding information for their organizations?  The Internet can easily overwhelm even savvy information users.  Libraries of all types are wonderful places to learn more about non-profit funding, and librarians who are knowledgeable about funding resources are great resources for non-profits.

In the greater Detroit area, there are several Foundation Center Cooperating Collections (satellite libraries for The Foundation Center in NYC), all of which provide access to an array of resources about foundation-based grant-seeking.

Cooperating Collections are free information centers that provide a core collection of Foundation Center publications and a variety of supplementary materials and services in areas useful to grantseekers.

At each Cooperating Collection, you will find access to Foundation Directory Online, a database that you can search that includes profiles of over 100,000 U.S. based foundations and public  charities, hundreds of thousands of grants that have already been made, and direct corporate giving programs. This massive database is searchable by your geographic area, the population(s) you serve, the area of emphasis of your non-profits’ work, and more.

The Foundation Directory Online is also available at NEW’s offices in Ann Arbor (734-998-0160 x218) and Detroit (313-887-7788 x300).  Call for an appointment.

Karen Downing  is the University Learning Liaison and Foundation Grants Librarian at the University of Michigan

As part of the mission of The Foundation Center to make grant-seeking information available to communities across the country, in conjunction with the Nonprofit Enterprise at Work and the U-M Detroit Center, the Cooperating Collection supervisors of the Wayne State University Library and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor will be co-presenting a free session on using Cooperating Collection information resources on Wednesday, December 14th from 10am-12noon at the University of Michigan Detroit Center, located at 3663 Woodward Avenue, Detroit. The session is now closed due to space limitations, but if you’d like register, you’ll be put on a list to receive follow up information from the event.

If you have any questions contact Dan Robin, drobin@new.org, 313-887-7788 ext 300.  For more information about NEW’s programs and other training opportunities, sign up for NEW’s Notes.

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(Excerpts from) Top Ten Fundraising Tips

Filed Under: Darian Rodriguez Heyman, Events, Fundraising, governance, Grants, leadership, management, nonprofit profile, Notes on a Nonprofit, Social Enterprise by admin — 22 Comments
November 2, 2011

*Note: All these tips and more can be found in Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals.

 

1. How to get your board more involved in fundraising:

Stage a Board Member Thank-a-Thon

Tons of nonprofits experience frustration with getting their boards to fundraise; in fact, it’s the second biggest reasons why E.D.s leave their post according to

CompassPoint’s “Daring to Lead” study. Any easy way to give board members a

chance to dip their toes in the waters of donor engagement is staging a thank-athon. The key is to make it easy for board members to participate, and to help them understand that fundraising is much more than making an ask. By inviting your board members to come together one evening or weekend to call and thank recent donors, they will get exposure interacting with donors and will leave feeling empowered and connected to your organization’s work. This will also help to improve relationships with your donors, who will be delighted to receive a thank you call without an attached ask. Read more from Bob Zimmerman in Chapter 31, “Getting Your Board to Fundraise.”

 

2. How to increase your chances of getting a grant:

Never Apply for a Grant Without Contacting the Foundation First

As much as you might want to believe that grants are awarded simply due to the fit of the program and the excellence of the application, it simply isn’t true. In fact in our experience the odds of getting a grant that you send in without contacting the foundation are about 5-10%. Just as in individual (and all!) fundraising, developing relationships is critical. There are people at these foundations, called program officers, who are directly responsible for deciding who gets money and who doesn’t. They care deeply about the work they are funding, and consider it an advantage to be able to scope out potential grantees. In person meetings with program officers are ideal, but even a short phone call with a grant manager or administrator can still yield the basic information you need, as well as getting your name in the mind of someone at the foundation. Sometimes these initial conversations can save you valuable time in applying for a grant program

that was not a fit—always do your homework on their funding goals ahead of time! But often, they are valuable knowledge gathering sessions: use the call or meeting to

identify their key priorities and desired language, which many times cannot be found on their website; figure out which of your programs or initiatives is the best fit, and determine how much money you should request. Finally, go out on a limb and ask if they would be willing to preview your LOI (Letter of Intent) or proposal before your official submission. This will give them a sense of ownership over your request and provide you with valuable feedback. Start today by calling the offices of your top foundation prospect and seeing if you can get on a relevant program officer’s schedule. Read more from Tori O’Neal-McElrath in Chapter 20, “How to Seeka Grant.”

 

3. How to secure a donation:

Make Specific and Direct Asks for Money

People give because they are asked–if you don’t ask, the answer will always be “no.” It can be tough to look someone in the eyes and ask for money, but somewhere in your pitch, some variation of the words, “I’d like to invite you to invest $100 in our work” need to find their place, ideally followed by as long a pause as it takes to get an answer. For fundraisers, you can’t make the mistake of not asking because you feel greedy or you think they will know what you want. Ask with pride for the cause you are so committed to raising money for, and be honored to be the potential bridge for that donor from need to impact–donation to solution. Be sure to ask for a specific amount (something that’s a stretch, but not unrealistic), and be clear on exactly what you will spend the money on and the impact it will generate. Tell the story of someone you’ve served who enjoyed the impact of these types of donations. Start today by calling a lapsed donor and asking for a small renewal gift, even if it’s $25! Practice this type of direct and specific ask on your board members, fellow co-workers, family, and friends, and in no time you will be a master fundraiser. Read more from Andrea McManus, CFRE in Chapter 18, “Fundraising: Knowing When to do What” and check out Tip 4 for more on this important topic.

 

4. How to build loyal, happy donors:

Map Donations to Impact

People don’t give to you because you have needs; they give to you because you meet needs. Donors and prospects don’t want to hear about the woes of the economy or your organizational struggles—no one wants to join a sinking ship. Instead, they want to know exactly where their donation will go, or has gone, and what impact your work is having on their community and the issues they care about. Use the power of personal stories to demonstrate how critical and important their support is to your work. Emphasize impact and stories in all your communications with donors, both in person and in your written materials. Make sure that you send timely thank you notes, reports on progress and success, and ongoing communications to build loyalty and trust with your donors. Start by sending a handwritten note to your best donor today! Read more from Kay Sprinkel Grace, CFRE in Chapter 19, “Individual Donor and Major Gift Strategies: The 83% Solution to Fundraising.”

 

Resources:

  1. www.Nonprofits101.org
  2. Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals.

 

Darian Rodriguez Heyman is the former Executive Director of the Craigslist Foundation and is Co-Producer & MC, Social Media for Nonprofits , Editor, Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals , and author of the article seen in the Huffington Post, “The Two Keys to Social Media Marketing Success”

Darian will be speaking at NEW’s October 18th Get Connected, Top Ten Tips for Fundraising.  If you have questions contact Dan Robin, drobin@new.org, 313-887-7788 ext 300.  For more information about NEW’s programs and other training opportunities, sign up for NEW’s Notes.  

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Still a Challenge: Performance Management

Filed Under: Uncategorized by admin — 19 Comments
October 5, 2011

Despite the passage of almost 20 years since the implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) and the subsequent emphasis by funders placed on development and utilization of performance measurement/management systems, most non-profit organizations have not yet implemented a system of performance indicators which are used for management and upon which their strategic plans are based.

 

Explanations for the general failure of non-profit organizations to embrace the model of management by performance derive from several areas. 

 

Organizational Culture

Perhaps the greatest impediment has been organizational culture.  Most executives in the non-profit world are a part of the pre-GPRA mindset, a time when supplying funders with numbers served was enough to insure continued financial support.  The shift to a system built on measuring organizational processes and outcomes and then using the resulting information for management has challenged long-standing practices.  An allied cultural shift has been to make “public” the indicators by which management actually takes place.  In order to implement a performance informed system, it is necessary to specify what real factors drive the organization.  While it sounds nice to say that the organization strives to improve consumers’ quality of life, for example, the true driving forces may lie in the area of financial stability, which doesn’t sound nearly as aesthetically appealing.  The fact that many funders have continued to work with organizations which have not shifted to a performance management system, trying to bring them into the fold, has only served to reinforce whatever beliefs remain among leadership that the old system is still viable. This often leads to a “paper-based performance system”, one that looks good on paper and can be distributed publically, but which does not form the basis of the true organizational decision-making. Changes in the culture of many organizations necessary to shift to a performance driven model may well need time until there is turnover in leadership, until those whose experience has been solely in the era of management by performance mature into leadership positions.

 

Added cost

A third barrier to initiation and utilization of a performance management system is the added cost.  In order to design and implement a solid system, organizations typically will need to contract with, or hire, someone who possesses expertise in the area.  Most agencies look at the short-term cost of this endeavor rather than the longer-term benefit of having developed the capacity to manage with more efficacy, which ultimately has more appeal to potential funders.  Together with this is the indirect added expense of data gathering.  While in program evaluation, it is not unusual for an evaluator to conduct the data collection, a performance management system depends on rapid time information, which often means increases in workers’ time necessary to acquire data.  Non-profits are ordinarily populated with staff who already are working at capacity, and this extra requirement, no matter how minimal, is perceived by all as an added burden.  Direct and indirect costs associated with incorporating a performance-based management system will likely remain a hurdle for some organizations until the benefits are recognized, and the accompanying tasks perceived as part of a persons job rather than an additional responsibility.

 

Understanding how to develop & implement

The final difficulty encountered by organizations is the general lack of availability of individuals who understand the development and implementation of performance-based approaches.  Because of the poor general implementation of these techniques in the non-profit world, the number of persons with experience is still not great enough to fill the need. This further delays the extent of utilization.  Borrowing from both the cultural and economic arguments above, the likelihood that the number of individuals with the necessary expertise will increase substantially is really dependent on a number of organizations making a commitment to address whatever barriers to performance-driven management exist internally.

 

Resources:

 

  1. The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox: A complete guide to program effectiveness, performance measurement, and results
  2. Bridgespan

 

Brian Dates is the Director of Evaluation and Research at Southwest Counseling Solutions.  Southwest Counseling Solutions encompasses a broad range of programs for children, youth, adults and families. All these programs provide services that enable and empower individuals and families to change their lives toward a healthier and more hopeful future. In each of these Centers of Excellence – Adult Counseling Services; Early Childhood & Family Literacy; Children, Youth and Families; and Supportive Housing – Southwest Counseling Solutions is recognized as an experienced leader, delivering proven and effective results.

 

Brian spoke at NEW’s September 27th panel on Best Practices for Measuring Social Impact.  Register now or, if you have questions contact Dan Robin, drobin@new.org, 313-887-7788 ext 300.  For more information about NEW’s programs and other training opportunities, sign up for NEW’s Notes.

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Power in Numbers: Learning from Evaluation

Filed Under: leadership, management, nonprofit profile, Notes on a Nonprofit, Social Enterprise by admin — 4 Comments
September 21, 2011

The practice of program evaluation has always been shaped by the demands of its many stakeholders, including nonprofit organizations, their clients, community members, and evaluators themselves. One of the most significant influences on evaluations’ purpose and practice in the field has been the demands from the paying customer—most frequently, public and private funders. Through their control of resources, funders have determined many of the goals, uses, and methodologies of evaluation. Interest in better self-assessment and a genuine desire for learning drive many nonprofits to undertake evaluation; however, the funders of these organizations often set agendas that predetermine—sometimes unintentionally, sometimes purposefully—the development of methodologies and choices around how evaluation is implemented.

 

FUNDERS

As funders’ demands shape evaluation in nonprofits, funders in turn are shaped by the changing climate and circumstances surrounding public and private funding of programs and services. At the federal level, the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) required government agencies to specify measurable results of their work in order to contribute to data and evaluation-based decision-making by Congress, improve public confidence and accountability of government, and strengthen internal management within public agencies. As a result of GPRA, evaluations of federal programs were designed to meet the new accountability requirements. The language of GPRA promoted use of logic models, and interest in logic models on the part of the evaluation community increased correspondingly. Earlier, Wholey (1987) helped to introduce logic models to program design and evaluation planning, but the demands of GPRA forced attention on application of this tool to better describe and measure pro- gram outcomes across federally funded agencies and grants (McLaughlin & Jordan, 1999).

 

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Education issued “New Directions for Program Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Education” that identified four types of program evaluation they would support:

 

  1. continuous improvement
  2. performance measurement
  3. implementation  studies
  4. field trials

 

Field trials were defined as answering the question, “What works? What specific educational interventions lead to increased student achievement?” In the most controversial part of this statement, randomized controlled trials were defined as not only the best way but the only way to determine “what works.” This standard continues today and has been set across federal agencies and echoed within some philanthropic funding.

The investment of public dollars to achieve specific and publicly desired outcomes more efficiently and effectively will continue to drive demand for specific and measurable returns on that investment. The pressure of fiscal accountability has permanently raised the stakes for evaluation to assist in policy and decision-making.

 

NONPROFITS

For nonprofits, this emphasis on outcome measurement and fiscal accountability can feel like a bureaucratic exercise.  However, nonprofit leaders who look at this pressure to provide data as a gift are the most likely to be successful. The keys are using the right evaluation methods and then using the data for the nonprofit’s own learning and improvement.

 

For organizations whose work includes efforts to reform systems, standard evaluation methods miss many of the important types of outcomes.  Systems change outcomes – changes in relationships, resource allocations, policy, etc. – are important to measure and report.  In recent years, new evaluation approaches based on systems thinking tools that can help assess these types of outcomes have been developed. Appreciative inquiry, systems dynamics modeling, social network mapping and action-to-outcome mapping are a few of these new tools.

 

The learning cycle – sometimes described as “plan-do-check-act cycle” – is a useful framework for how to use data collected (by whatever method) for improvement.  The logic is simple: plan your program, carry it out, check to see if expected results were achieved and act on what you learned by revising the program.  In practice, making the time to reflect on the data – the “act” part of the cycle – often gets short shrift in the drive to collect every larger amounts of data.

 

As nonprofit leaders, being aware of your funders’ needs — and constraints — about data and its use is a necessary but not sufficient step in the evaluation process.  Choosing methods that meet your own data and learning needs is just as important.  Being able to use the data to inform practice – of both the funders and the nonprofits – is the real power of evaluation.

 

Resources:

  1. 1.     Evaluation and Foundations: Can we have an honest Conversation? 2006 Nonprofit Quarterly, Written by Tom David
  2. 2.     Idea Encore – Outcome Measurement

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Teresa R. Behrens, Ph. D is the Director of Special Projects at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy. Teri joined the Johnson Center in January 2009. Before joining the Johnson Center, Teri served as the director of evaluation for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, providing leadership for the Foundation’s overall evaluation program. From 1995-2001, Teri consulted in program planning and evaluation for organizations such as the National Science Foundation-supported Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers. From 1990-1995, Teri was a program officer for the Michigan Strategic Fund for the Michigan Department of Commerce.

 

Teri will be speaking at NEW’s September 27th panel on Best Practices for Measuring Social Impact.  Register now or, if you have questions contact Dan Robin, drobin@new.org, 313-887-7788 ext 300.  For more information about NEW’s programs and other training opportunities, sign up for NEW’s Notes.

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Fundraising: Science and Art

Filed Under: by Ann Gladwin, Fundraising, Grants by admin — 12 Comments
May 16, 2011

Let’s talk about the science part of the equation of finding support for your organization.  When it comes to finding grant monies (just one piece of the fundraising pie), the best resource we know is the Foundation Directory Online (FDO). NEW subscribes to this valuable tool and welcomes you to use it in our offices in Ann Arbor and Detroit.

You can spin your wheels searching the Web for foundation giving, but you’ll waste time, get frustrated and wonder if there isn’t a better way. FDO has it all in one place. It’s too expensive for most of us to subscribe to so you use it at a library or other subscriber location.  You can search by appropriate “field of interest” topics and geographic boundaries that will result in “tagged” records of funders who are likely to accept a proposal.

FDO includes profiles for over 100,000 foundations and corporate giving programs in the United States. Profiles include every bit of information included in the directory – no note taking necessary! You save them as pdf files and email them to yourself.  Also, the system allows you to export a spreadsheet of the contact information for your tagged list that is easily used as a work sheet for follow-up. How cool is that?

Foundation Center staff members have also cataloged over two million searchable grant records that provide factual data on exchanges of money and allow you to easily see what grants national funders have given in your area.

To use FDO at NEW’s offices, make an appointment with Ann Gladwin in Ann Arbor (agladwin@new.org, 734-998-0160 x 218) or Dan Robin in Detroit (drobin@new.org , 313-887-7788 x 300) for a two-hour slot of time.   If Ann Arbor or Detroit are not convenient for using the dynamic FDO database, look for Cooperating collections of the Foundation Center.

 

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Profits for People: The Case for Social Enterprise

Filed Under: by Tom Everill, Social Enterprise by admin — 1 Comment
May 9, 2011

In the face of government spending cuts compounded by sluggish and capricious charitable giving patterns, many nonprofit organizations have been forced to consider other more sustainable sources of funding.  For human services organizations whose daily work involves the health, dignity, and even the very lives of people facing severe challenges, the stakes are unimaginably high.

Most hybrid funding solutions involve social enterprise in which the nonprofit operates businesses that generate earned income. In ideal social enterprise applications, the profit-generating operations deliver mission value as well as earned income.  For example, our organization’s landscaping, building maintenance, commercial laundry, and document management businesses provide hundreds of jobs in integrated settings for people with developmental conditions – as well as unrestricted income for our vocational training, early education, and therapy programs.

The problem with social enterprise

A successful hybrid solution like social enterprise might seem like an intuitive and even ingenious solution to pressing social challenges.  But the specter of nonprofits making money the old-fashioned way raises eyebrows in some quarters.  A recent Harvard Business Review article argues that the urge to earned income is a dangerous trend that “can distract nonprofits’ managers from their core social missions and, in some cases, even subvert those missions.”  The problem with social enterprise, the critics say, is that nonprofit organizations are inherently unsuited to business.  Nonprofits have conflicting priorities that limit profitability, and they often lack business expertise and infrastructure.

 

Yet every for-profit business faces comparable issues in one form or another.  Bad business models fail every day, but for-profit entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes and try again.  Free enterprise has emerged as the funding mechanism of choice for advantaged people in our society despite its inherent risks.  Why can’t free enterprise work for the disadvantaged as well?  The only real difference between nonprofit business and for-profit business is where the income goes and who benefits from it.  Why exclude the disadvantaged? Everyone deserves the dignity, autonomy, and satisfaction that come from working hard, taking risks, enjoying success, and recovering from failure.

Leveraging complexity

The challenge of nonprofit leadership is to manage multiple outcomes – to ensure that mission is accomplished by ensuring the means exist to accomplish that mission.  In my experience, the success of social enterprise organizations depends on leveraging the complexity inherent in hybrid solutions by paying attention to several critical factors.

 

  • Mission first. Business can enable the real work of a nonprofit organization, but it must not become the purpose itself.  Successful social enterprise organizations are very clear about why they exist (poverty, social justice, education, jobs, and so on) and use their business activities to support the real work.
  • Alignment. The more closely business activities are aligned with the real work, the more the conflicting sensibilities of business and mission can complement and even amplify each other.  For example, operating a light manufacturing or janitorial business can make a lot of sense for a nonprofit dedicated to vocational training and job placement – but not to a nonprofit devoted, say, to eradicating malaria.
  • Talent with a heart – Successful social enterprise organizations hire the very best business talent they can find.  Experienced business managers who have toiled for decades creating shareholder value in the corporate world often find social enterprise to be the best of both worlds – a uniquely satisfying place where professional expertise can intersect with heart to create human value.
  • No compromises – Social enterprise organizations face complex challenges that can appear to be stark “either/or” tradeoffs – business vs mission, profits vs inclusion.  However, successful hybrid organizations keep working until “both/and” solutions emerge that integrate all of the desired outcomes – mission through business, profits through inclusion.
  • Demand excellence – The success of a business matters even more when the ultimate bottom line is human value.  Do it really well, or don’t do it at all!

 

Risk and reward, like everyone else

It is easier to make profits than to make justice, and running a social enterprise nonprofit is more difficult than running a business or a traditional social services agency.  But even the HBR critics concede that “earned income is precious because it comes with no strings attached.”  As more and more nonprofit human services agencies master the skills of social enterprise, the urgency of their missions will make them formidable marketplace competitors. The concept of applying the proven techniques of business to serving real human need is a significant evolutionary step forward in the endless search for social justice.

 

Resources:

Social Enterprise Alliance

Stanford Social Innovation Review

Nonprofit Finance Fund

Tom Everill is President & CEO of Northwest Center, in Seattle, Washington.  At Northwest Center, the world we’re seeking is one where people with disabilities experience justice rather than charity, service rather than help, inclusion rather than pity.

Tom will be speaking via Skype at NEW’s May 17th panel on Best Practices for Starting and Managing a Social Enterprise. Register now or, if you have questions  contact Dan Robin, drobin@new.org, 313-887-7788 ext 300.  For more about NEW’s programs and other training opportunities, sign up for NEW’s Notes.

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Give your Board a Check-up

Filed Under: Assessment, By Dallas Moore, governance by admin — 31 Comments
May 2, 2011

The Job of the Board
The board of a nonprofit organization has a very important job, from setting the organization’s policies and strategic direction, to raising funds, to maintaining oversight of its operations. Such important functions need to be done by people who are committed to the organization’s vision and welfare. Nonprofit board members are generally committed to their communities, passionate about the organization’s mission, and very busy. It is up to them to do the high-level strategic work for the organization and leave the day-to-day work to the staff. The board is responsible for oversight and accountability of the organization, its executive director and its policies.

The Board’s Accountability
In addition to keeping the organization on track, the board needs to look in the mirror and keep itself on track. Every three to five years, or when a turning point comes to the organization, it is a good idea for the board to do a self-assessment. Turning points could be a change in leadership, beginning a strategic plan, collaborating with another organization, downsizing the organization, or starting a major fundraising campaign. You get the idea. Take a look at board performance on a regular basis to help improve efficiency and impact.

What to Look At
There are five important areas of board work to consider when evaluating  the board.

  • Board Operations

o   Do you have term limits? Do you have formal board orientation? How do you determine board composition?

  • Strategic Planning

o   Is there a plan? Does the board refer to it?

  • Resource Development

o   Do board members go on “asks”? Do you have 100% board participation in giving to the organization?

  • Oversight

o   Do you have a conflict of interest policy? Do board members know how to read financial statements?

  • Ambassadorship

o   Do board members get out into the community on behalf of the organization?

Board Self-Assessment Tool
NEW offers Board360™, a self-assessment tool that evaluates board performance in those five areas of board governance. With pricing based on budget size, it is affordable and full of impact.  Each board member responds to  survey questions that are reported out as an action plan with low, medium and high-priority action items.   Do your organization a favor and order Board360™ today!

 

Dallas Moore is Manager of Program Support at NEW. She has worked for the BoardConnect program for several years, being instrumental in the launch of Board360 and other online tools available from NEW.

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A Case for Social Enterprise

Filed Under: By Chad Audi, Social Enterprise by admin — 26 Comments
April 25, 2011

New Ways for Nonprofits to do Business
As a Michigan non-profit agency, we provide services in what continues to be a bad local economy, with everyone’s resources even more strained by looming deficits at the state and national level.  We can either reflect on the difficulties of doing well in such a bad environment or we can accept our environment and find new ways of doing business that help us and our community thrive. We have chosen the second course of action.

Income Generation and Partnerships
Our strategy has become to create programs that provide a benefit to the communities and people we serve while generating income that can be used to extend our non-profit services to the community.  In 2008, Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries began planting the seeds for the first of its self-sustaining ventures to provide training to its homeless clients: a very nice restaurant in Highland Park with an excellent menu and wonderful service.  For those of you who have visited the Cornerstone Bistro, just south of the Davison on Woodward Avenue, you have found that it is an affordable place where residents and business people come to enjoy wonderful meals throughout the days and evenings, hold business meetings and meet with family and friends.  The meals themselves are prepared and served by clients from our various substance abuse treatment or housing for the homeless programs who want to train in careers that will support them in a field they can love. Through our collaboration with entities such as Wayne County Community College, our students not only get hands-on work experience, they also receive college-level certificates and degrees that accelerate and deepen their learning experience and provide marketable credentials.

 

Using the Skills of the People We Serve in the Community
Our concept was to enhance the local community with a positive program that would be an asset Highland Park could be proud of while providing people with training in the full range of skills needed in a high-end commercial restaurant:  management, the fundamentals of purchasing and inventory control, organizing customer amenities such as valet services, kitchen management and culinary arts.  As trainees did all this, they would also have the satisfaction of giving back to the community.  To our relief, after making the initial investment in establishing the program, we find we are able to cover costs and accomplish our many goals.

Teaching by Training
Now we are launching into our second enterprise to provide training and services and enhance the community in which we do business.  We are completing renovations at a facility on Forest Avenue in Detroit near Gratiot that will provide the community with a training and banquet center while giving our program participants on-the-job training in banquet and special events management.  Training grants will pay for instruction while program fees will pay for the cost of events that are hosted at the facility.  We are excited about this opportunity to extend a viable social enterprise model to a new neighborhood and teach skills in a venue that expands our students’ resumes and ability to compete for jobs in a tough economy.  I’ll be talking more about this concept at the upcoming NEW panel on May 17.  Click here for information on how to participate and learn more about the many opportunities in this region!

 

Chad Audi is President and CEO of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries which provides 4,651 men, women and children with emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and substance abuse treatment, supporting these families and individuals towards recovery and rehabilitation, employment and housing.

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The Role of the Nonprofit Board Chair

Filed Under: By Diana Kern, governance, leadership, management by admin — 22 Comments
April 18, 2011

Critical Role of the Chairperson

The role of the board chair for a nonprofit today is critical.  When I look at high-quality, productive, and mission-focused nonprofits, I generally find two things: an impressive executive director and a supportive and engaged board chair.  I have been on many boards and when I serve for a chair who is not focused on the mission, is afraid to set norms and culture for the board, does not engage the board in outcomes and does not take control of the agenda and run meetings well, I find my service as a board member to be less meaningful and, sometimes, downright painful.

Too many times, I see people unwilling to step up and assume the role of chair.  Board members often feel pressured into the role or continue to hold onto it because no one else will take the responsibility.  How disappointing  for the executive director when the peer group that is supposed to be passionate about the mission and working to recruit other engaged and skilled board members can’t even identify one  person who will gladly accept the role of chair!

 

Top Qualities to a Good Nonprofit Chairperson

For me, a good board chair will manage the volunteer peer group and will also look to the executive director and staff to provide the best reports possible to the board.  The board needs reports that will inform them, educate them and help them in their visioning, while ensuring they don’t need to micromanage the staff.  Poor reports result in board members needing to ask a lot of questions to make sure they understand operations.

 

Other top qualities include:

  • Following an agenda with time limits on each item
  • Requiring the committees to submit written reports to the board with notification of “action” items required of the board
  • Giving  strong support to fundraising and ambassadorship
  • Policing  the peer group, calling  out inappropriate behavior and expecting engagement and follow-up
  • Maintaining a strong, positive and supportive relationship with the top executive
  • Focusing on succession planning for the officers, especially grooming the next Chair

Support for Board Chairs

Everything that I have ever done well in my life required me to educate myself, to engage a mentor and to learn from others who did it well.  Anyone who is thinking about becoming a chairperson or who already is one, but knows they have more to learn, should take the time to educate themselves about the job.  Sure, it is a volunteer position, but it can be the most meaningful work you do in your life.

 

Resources for Board Chairs:

Lodestar Center   (http://lodestar.asu.edu/organizational_assistance/ask-the-nonprofit-specialists/frequently-asked-questions/the-chair-of-the-nonprofit-board)

BoardSource  (http://www.boardsource.org/search02.asp?cx=015381910504498641353%3Aw395utngpjm&cof=FORID%3A10&sa=Search&ie=UTF-8&q=Board+Chair&x=0&y=0&siteurl=www.boardsource.org%2F#938

The Nonprofit Quarterly (http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1359:the-best-and-worst-of-board-chairs)

 

Diana Kern is the Vice President of Programs at NEW and the director of the BoardConnect program.

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Volunteers, Volunteering and Volunteer Coordination

Filed Under: by Ilana Schuman-Stoler, leadership, management, volunteerism, young professionals by admin — 8 Comments
April 11, 2011

Apropos to this week’s National Volunteer Week 2011, and our most recent Spring Into Service event, this week’s blog will cover the topic of volunteer engagement and its contribution to the success of your organization. 

A volunteer is defined as a person who voluntarily expresses a willingness to undertake a service.  In the nonprofit world, recruiting, retaining and managing volunteers is a challenge but volunteers are a great resource that.  If implemented correctly, your volunteer engagement program can create success and will also build a network of supporters promoting the work that your organization does. 

Who Are They, These Kind, Giving, Community-Member-Volunteers?

Community members that voluntarily give assistance to your organization will represent a variety of characteristics (age, orientation to your organization, professional career/specialty), but they will be similar in that they all made the decision to take time to help your organization succeed in the work that you do.  Here are a few different examples of types of volunteers you might hear from or see at your volunteer events:

1)    The Community Volunteer: this volunteer is someone (or a group of someones) who come to support your organization at larger, volunteer-based community events—theater production, meal event, race, building renovation projects such as painting or organizing offices, classrooms or libraries, etc.  They might have found you through community bulletin boards or through an online search Like United Way’s Volunteer Solutions site.  These volunteers can be one-time volunteers or you might see them often.  Both are a consistent contributor to the success of your events in the short term, and to the success of your organization in the long term.

2)    The Long Term Volunteer: this volunteer is someone who has the desire to commit his or her help to your organization for an extended amount of time.  Often this volunteer will be assigned a project like database management, file organization, and other organization-specific projects.  These projects are created by the organization and the volunteer together making sure to have shared goals and expectations.

3)    Your Board! Your board members in particular are the ambassadors of your organization’s mission and vision and serve the purpose of propelling you and your organization towards all the success and recognition that it deserves.  It is important to note that the type of volunteering that board members do for your organization will depend on the age and maturity of your organization, your organization’s internal processes, staff size and mutual expectations between the board and your Executive Director.

Of course, all of your volunteers are ambassadors to your organization and this is extremely important to note as we move into the next section.

A Guide to Working With Volunteers

Above all and any guidelines to utilize when considering incorporating volunteers into your organization’s next fundraiser/5K/dinner event/community speaker/forum/roundtable etc, know this above all else: volunteers are not free help.  There is a structure that must be built around your volunteer engagement program(s) to ensure that both your organization and your volunteers are content with the work being done and the relationships being established.

1)    Empower Your Volunteers: HandsOn Network has tons of resources for developing volunteer programs for your organization that ensures consistency in the interaction between organization staff and volunteer community.  Enabling volunteers to do the volunteer work without too much micro-management is best.  An event that is staffed by volunteers needs to be properly planned to the point where volunteers can feel empowered to do what is asked of them independently (of course, there will always be questions and there must be staff available for this purpose).  Additionally, it is always a good idea to identify volunteers that are consistently helpful, independent, focused and committed to the work that is being done through your nonprofit.  These volunteers can be encouraged to take on a leadership role for future events, and might even have insight on how to run volunteer programs for your organization. 

HandsOn Network has a publication for developing volunteer leaders that can be used as an aid in this process of empowering your volunteers. 

2)    Thank Your Volunteers: This is an integral piece of volunteer program coordination at all levels of volunteer management.  Always keep a record of volunteers who worked at your event or who gave their time to your organization in any way.  Thank yous can be as simple as a card or even an e-mail, and can be as extravagant as a gift bag (gift certificates, t-shirts, mugs, etc.) dependent on the event, your budget, and your volunteer population.

Follow these guidelines, and your volunteer community will increase and recruiting and retaining volunteers will become a more simple and directed process that will lead to a broader community understanding of your organization’s mission, vision and purpose.

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Ilana Schuman-Stoler is an employee at Nonprofit Enterprise at Work at our Ann Arbor office as a Program Assistant.  Feel free to contact Ilana regarding any of the advice, tools or service mentioned in this post by email at ilana@new.org or via phone at 734-998-0160 ext. 221

About NEW
NEW’s mission is to help nonprofits succeed by strengthening nonprofit management and offering solutions to issues facing our nonprofit community.

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