Thanks to all who attended the "Fundraising and Information Technology for Nonprofits" class at the Mesa County Public Library on May 27th!
For notes regarding this presentation, go to the Nonprofits tab on our site, and the Articles and Resources section. The PowerPoint presentation is filed under the Fundraising/Grant Writing/Humor section, and the Donor Software options article is filed under the Donor Relations section.
Third Sector conducts workshops and trainings throughout the year, so check out Upcoming Workshops for the latest information!
"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore." - Cesar Chavez in his address to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, November 1984
Researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. Some participants stood next to friends during the exercise, while others were alone.
The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.
- From "What Are Friends For? A Longer Life" by Tara Parker-Pope in the NY Times (April 20, 2009)
"We need to teach ourselves to sit quietly and listen, just listen, long enough to leave a decent indentation on the couch." - Gregg Levoy, from his book "Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life"
"I remembered one morning when I discovered a cocoon in a bark of a tree, just as a butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to come out. I waited a while, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life. The case opened, the butterfly started slowly crawling out and I shall never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and crumpled; the wretched butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to unfold them. Bending over it, I tried to help it with my breath but in vain.
"It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of its wings should be a gradual process in the sun. Now it was too late. My breath had forced the butterfly to appear, all crumpled, before its time. It struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my hand. The little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my conscience, for I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm."
Hi, Illene: I have a question regarding your two handouts, "Ten Stupid Things That Board Members Do To Mess Up Their Organizations" and "10 Practical Ways to Engage Your Board of Directors in Fund Development." Perhaps you've been asked this question before…
Who has the authority to ensure that this advice or these suggestions are followed? The language implicitly assumes that some one or entity has the power or authority to make sure these things happen -- or don't. It would be wonderful if providing board members with copies of your practical advice would solve the problem, but we both know it won't. So who runs the show and gets board members to get things done?
I have my own thoughts, obviously, but your answer and/or thoughts are welcome. Thanks for your time.
Dave Stiller, Executive Director North Fork River Improvement Association Hotchkiss, Colorado
Dave – Thanks for the question; here’s my best shot at a meaningful response…
Regardless of the respect garnered by the Executive Director, this person has no position power to “make” a board of directors do things in a certain way. I believe that the worst-case scenario – and the one most frustrating to staff – is when the Executive Director has knowledge that can be helpful to the board, but is hamstrung in conveying and leading execution on this knowledge.
Thus, the staff’s role is relegated to providing structure and systems that allow the board to succeed, should it ultimately choose to take action.
People involved with any endeavor – including and particularly the board members of a nonprofit entity – can run the organization in any way they choose as regards performance expectations, accountability, structure, etc. Regardless of external pressures and internal motivators, doing nothing always is an option.
The impetus to change, excel or otherwise take action must come from within the leadership body – typically this either is in the form of a president, a fund development chairman, a self-designated champion of organizational excellence, or similar. The zealot, catalyst, whatever you want to call him/her will be the one who makes certain that things get moving. Interestingly, tasks often are tackled single-handedly by the given individual. Other board members certainly will be “along for the ride” and glad to give permission for action, but may put in little collective time or effort.
This doesn’t fit perfectly with the theories people like me espouse, but it is the most common reality.
In 1787, about the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
- From bondage to spiritual faith
- From spiritual faith to great courage
- From courage to liberty
- From liberty to abundance
- From abundance to complacency
- From complacency to apathy
- From apathy to dependence
- From dependence back into bondage ."
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some 40 percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
We need to realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting."
My son Aaron sent me this link. I encourage you to view the short YouTube video - it will get your day going in a great way!! Especially if you're a Fleetwood Mac fan...
The featured singers are the PS22 Chorus, a group of low-income (and many English as a Second Language), 10-year-old students all enrolled in the PS22 School in Staten Island (NY). They've gotten lots of attention for their exceptional delivery of contemporary music, and it's largely a credit to their inspiring music teacher Gregg Breinberg ("Mr. B").
With special thanks to Sally Kane at KVNF Public Radio
sally@kvnf.org wrote: Hi, Illene. I hope this finds you well. I'm holing up at home to get some thinking and writing done, as I watch the metal roofing flap around on the various sheds we have around here, wondering if they'll hold!
I was asked to present at this year's National Federation of Community Broadcasters' conference. They'd like me to speak, as a manager, on the importance of strategic planning. I am wondering what comes to your mind regarding why strategic planning is such an important thing to do. It's true that you can't know you've arrived if you don't know where you are going, but so many organizations are buffaloed by how to determine that and just get caught up in the minutia. If you were me, what would you say to them to get them to commit to strategic planning? - Best, Sally
thirdsec@earthlink.net wrote: Hi Sally, and thanks for the note! I just went running, and it's pretty windy here, as well. Write from Oz if that's where you land :)
I have a couple of thoughts on your question (a subject matter I LOVE, by the way!). I hope this will prompt more ideas for you, too...and please send them back to me - I get all my best material this way!
1. It is the planning PROCESS that is very beneficial, not the plan document. Getting people together to discuss the sorts of things for which there is no time at regular meetings is invaluable...not to mention the camaraderie built, opportunity for reflection and introspection, etc. I'll never forget your board retreat last summer when we asked the board members the simple question of why they serve on the board of KVNF. They gave us quite the series of pat and politically-correct answers. But after everyone had warmed up to the process a bit, Jim got very emotional and choked up about what the station means to him on a very heartfelt, personal level. That sort of thing doesn't typically happen in an organizational business meeting, but it cuts to the core of why people show up and why they pour their resources and energy into your organization.
It important to not take that for granted - not only because those personal motivators are powerful, but they reflect who we are as individuals, what each brings to the organization and how that can best be put to service.
2. A strategic plan is probably the best fundraising tool you can have these days, particularly with major donor types. Foundations today reward organizational excellence - NOT solely mission or population served. With a contracting economy and increased competition for a limited pool of dollars, this reality will only become more pronounced. As you know, the new Colorado Common Grant format now asks very directly for evidence of planning efforts and board financial giving; these were NOT the emphasis when the common application concept was first developed just a few years back.
Hope this helps - Illene
sally@kvnf.org wrote: Your point about fundraising is so very true. When considering raising significant dollars, the plan isn't just a tool - I think it's an imperative.
When we needed a new facility and new equipment, and had to raise $950,000 to pull it off, KVNF's planning practices were brought into question and we became motivated to address the shortfalls...
The station had a spotty history of planning efforts:
- We had a recurring pattern of no follow-through. We tended to make a laundry list, call it good and forget to revisit it.
- There was no ongoing evaluation. We didn't know how to establish reasonable benchmarks, and didn't integrate tactics into job descriptions or work plans.
- We had no documentation of the rationale for strategies. As a result, successors had no understanding of what they were inheriting, why it mattered, and in what context they could continue meaningful work.
In this type of planning climate, we had a hard time pinning down who was responsible and for what, thus creating accountability issues. Voltaire said, "No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." His words speak to the problem when there is no assigned responsibility nor accountability; as such, we put ourselves in a position of low probability of success for carrying out a plan.
The KVNF "Turn Your Radio On" Capital Campaign ended up becoming a galvanizing force for planning...or a crucible, depending on how you look at it! Simply put, our campaign combined the tangible with the philosophical. We began walking a different road with regard to planning.
As I look back on the past four years - raising the $950K and renovating a 6,000-square-foot building into a state-of-the-art "green" radio station - I must honestly say that we still don't have what I would confidently call a good strategic plan. What I CAN say is that we now know what is wrong with our process and we are engaged in improving it because we believe its best for our organization. THIS is the fundamental change. Our final document may not be what I'd like it to be, but our organizational attitude about the value of the planning process, and the inherent benefits of committing to such a process, have moved us forward, and for the better.
- Still in Paonia (not Oz), Sally
thirdsec@earthlink.net wrote: Sally - Exactly! I really do think that strategic planning is, effectively, a "way" of doing business. In an ever-changing environment of limited resources, competition, niche marketing and massive technological revolution, a strong organization must be strategic in order to avoid the sort of "business as usual" that will quickly leave one standing at the station with the train already miles down the track.
Your list of KVNF's historically dodgy planning practices made me think of this quote I heard last week at a training conference for VISTA Volunteers. Do you know Richard Fox at Trees Water and People (out of Ft. Collins)? He says, "If it isn't written down with a timeline and a deadline, it is a fantasy." I can definitely take that one on the road...to Oz or wherever.
sally@kvnf.org wrote: Richard Fox, the Fire Juggler Richard?!?! Yes, he's an unbelievable community organizer!
The quote made me think of one more thing: I do believe that strategic planning offers at least as much to managers, EDs, CEOs as to anyone. Here's why: Planning is a way to avoid the trap of trying to be a superhero, and also of becoming a target. It allows the head staffer to "manage the morphing" of the organization. It helps in knowing - as the leader - when to bend and when to stand tall, when to lead and when to follow, why to stay with the organization and - when it's time to go - how to leave a legacy and not a minefield in the wake.
I think we make a mistake in viewing strategic planning as a necessary evil. When we recognize the basic yet essential value of planning, it is time to prioritize it as part of the organizational culture. It should be embraced for what it is - a transformational experience! When the process is completed (which, of course, it never fully is), the manager can thank him/herself and the organization will benefit greatly.
I'm starting to get excited about facilitating this discussion at the conference - thanks so much for your thoughts! Sally
thirdsec@earthlink.net wrote: One more thing that may help you with your presentation, Sally. I think this is a really interesting commentary on our lives, and certainly promotes the machinations and benefits of the planning process...
Not too long ago, there was some research conducted with people older than 90 years of age, asking what they would do differently if they could live their lives over. The top three answers? 1 - Take more risks, 2 - Do more significant things and 3 - Reflect more.
WOW! I am certain the same applies to organizations. As we consider the life of the organization, and look back at our efforts, I suspect that most of us would come up with a similar list of regrets. A good strategic planning (and implementation) process accommodates all three of these desires! Why, then, does organizational culture tend to fear and avoid risk, continuing to do what it has always done (even when we no longer know why!)? Why do we rarely make time to talk about what has happened and why it matters?
I appreciate the mental challenge and philosophical stretch on this subject, Sally!!! I am thinking that our exchange could make for a great article. You'll do a fantastic job with your presentation - Illene
Hi Illene -- I just saw this thread and couldn't resist adding a quote that is the best, brief, rationale for strategic planning at all levels that I have come across: “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” This quote by Joel Barker says it all. Visit his website, to learn more about him. I have used his Power of Vision video and concepts to motivate leadership teams several times in the past with great success.
Regarding the question, Why does organizational culture tend to fear and avoid risk?" One answer is that many individuals in organizations have seen strategic planning done poorly in the past and don't want to repeat the exercise. Doing strategic planning well requires a strong and respected leader with technical skills (i.e., has made themselves a student of strategy and understands Joel Barker's quote), the experience and knowledge to know that good process is as important as the result (a point made earlier), and the confidence to involve as many people in their organization in the process as possible. This last part is critical. So much of the knowledge needed to plan well resides there. Moreover, the motivation and commitment to carry out the new strategy is much higher on the part of individuals who have been involved in developing it.
I'm curious, how did Sally Kane's presentation go?
