A key piece that must be in place if you want to Fully Fund your nonprofit is strong leadership. 

Fully Funded organizations have strong leaders in place, both staff and Board. The Executive Director is a good leader who instills pride in their staff.  They carry the vision for the organization into the community and represent the organization well. The Board is a well-functioning group of community leaders who are passionate about the cause and committed to its success.  They understand and embrace their roles, and are willing to do whatever it takes to change lives.

Here’s a short video with a bit more of an explanation of strong leadership.

http://youtu.be/NBeprHMXf60

I was at a fundraising committee meeting recently and we were talking about growing the organization’s donor base. This is a common goal for nonprofit organizations, right?  Well, I’m always delighted when folks who don’t have formal fundraising training get it, as happened that day.

As we were talking about strategies for growing the donor base, we talked about how minimizing the loss of donors would help increase our overall number of active donors.  That’s when one sweet man said “we need to put our picture on their piano.”  We giggled immediately knowing what he meant.

I remember when I was little, my Grandma had lots of photos of family and friends on her beautiful upright piano.  That was her way of keeping them close and remembering them often.  The suggestion of putting our picture on the donor’s piano was a perfect way to describe the importance we need to put on relationships with our donors.  Our donors are so much more to us than just the check they write.  Their gift is a vote of confidence in the work our organization is doing.  It’s their way of saying they support what we’re doing and they want to see us succeed.  They, too, want to see the change we’re after in the world.

And that kind of support deserves our attention and respect.  Maybe we should put their picture on our piano, too.

How to Work With Bosses and Volunteers to Raise More Money

Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of speaking at the Western North Carolina chapter of AFP in Asheville.  I had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones.

Can you imagine me anywhere not having fun?

I spoke to them about working with bosses and volunteers in fundraising, especially when you don’t like your boss or volunteer.  I know this is (unfortunately) a common issue for lots of people and I’ve experienced it myself.

I remember working as a Development Director and not liking my boss much.  It wasn’t easy, but we were able to be successful in fundraising as a team.

Here are some of the things I shared with the group.

There are three keys to being able to work with a boss or volunteer in fundraising. 

The first is communication. We must learn to be clear in asking for what we want and in sharing information.  And we must learn to set clear expectations when we set out to work with someone else.  This above all I think is critical in relationships!  I see lots of problems on Boards because people were not given a good idea of what to expect when they agreed to serve on the Board.  Being clear in the beginning can prevent a lot of problems later.

The second key is trust. No matter how much we like or dislike someone on our team, we must work to build trust with them.  Otherwise, we aren’t going to get very far.  Some ways you can build trust are to act consistently and keep your word.  Do what you say you will do.  And treat people with respect.  Remember, if you don’t respect someone, it’s your problem, not theirs.  It’s yours to fix.  Again, I know this isn’t easy, but it’s what will help you be successful in raising money.

Finally, I talked about ‘leading from the chair.’ There are an awful lot of Executive Directors and Board chairs out there who have little in the way of leadership skills.  If this is your situation, then you can try providing leadership without actually being in charge.  It’s not easy to do, but with some grace, it can be done.  When I was in this position, I found that it was a matter of gently (and I mean gently!) sharing information that my boss needed to know, and making suggestions as to the action that was needed.  Over time, my boss turned to me repeatedly for advice and insight into lots of situations.

Sometimes the relationship with your boss or your volunteer is so damaged and broken that no amount of trust and respect will repair it.  That’s when it’s time to dust off your resume and go find another job.

The good news about working with bosses and volunteers in fundraising is that you can get a lot more accomplished when working as a team.  They may have connections in the community that you need or knowledge of your organization that you don’t have.  Either way, presenting a united front to your donor prospects will get you much farther down the road of raising money for your good cause.

Work rhythms are common. We all fall into ways of doing things that serve us in some way. We host the same special event each year or we submit the same grant application each year. It works for a while, but then attendance starts to drop off or our grant is no longer funded. But it’s a good idea to evaluate your work habits periodically to make sure they still work.

I was talking with a client yesterday and she was telling me about someone in her organization who has become a problem child. Every time others talk about changing things or trying something new, this woman says “that’s not the way we do it.” She’s not willing to hear a new idea. She’s so stuck in the old ways of doing things that she’s starting to impede the progress of the organization. In fact, she clings so tightly to the old ways, that she’s gotten quite negative with others and has lost sight of the mission of the organization. Others are now avoiding interaction with her because of her negativity. It’s become “me vs. them” and she’s determined to win.

I can remember working with a couple of people just like this. In one case, I came back from a conference with new ideas ready to implement, and she did her best to discredit me and squash my enthusiasm. I never could understand why she was so negative, unless she was terrified of change. Either that or she wanted to be the “Star of the Show” and I was stealing her limelight. Either way it was holding the nonprofit back from doing bigger and better things.

So, back to my original question. What happens when you do what you’ve always done? You get what you always got.

If you aren’t happy with the fundraising results (or any results for that matter) you’re getting, then you MUST change what you’re doing. Simple as that.

You have to find a way to get these negative folks on board with moving forward, or they need to be let go. I know that’s harsh, but it’s true. You have way too much important work to do in the world to be held back by someone who has their own agenda.

Have you had experience working with negative people in your nonprofit who were reluctant to change? I’d love to hear your story. Click on the comment link and share.

“If you do what you’ve always done, then you’ll get what you’ve always got.”

I love that saying.  In the world of fundraising it means that if you keep doing things the same old way, you’ll keep getting the same old results.  I’m stunned by how many people are surprised when things don’t turn out differently. When you send the same tired appeal letter year after year, you aren’t going to raise more money. If you hold the same mediocre event year after year, don’t expect an increase in response.

I was coaching a gala committee made up of Board members and volunteers recently.  They have a wonderful annual event and they’re very disappointed in the results they are getting.  They have over 400 people in the room and are raising just over $20,000.  Not good, says I.  So I asked them in detail about the event.  From what I gathered, they are telling their story, sharing client testimonials, and engaging people in their vision, but when it comes time to make the Ask, they are dropping the ball.  They are leaving it up to their guests to figure out if they should give and how much to give.  In otherwords, they are being a bit wishy-washy about asking people for money.

There’s a lesson here for everyone:  you MUST ask for a gift. Don’t assume that people know how much you need or how much it costs to run your programs.  Be bold and ask for a specific amount for a specific purpose.  For this particular group, I told them they need to let people know how much it costs them to provide service to 1 client for 1 year, and ask donors to sponsor a client.  And, I told them to include indirect costs when they calculated the costs per client per year.  (There was a bit of silence at this point.  Then they realized they don’t know what it costs them per client, which I told them was their first piece of homework.) 

After many of the ideas I shared, committee members said “We know that.”  I tried to explain to them that knowing a thing and doing a thing are different.  It’s one thing to know you need to exercise every day, but it’s a whole different ball game to actually do it.  Your body will definitely reflect the difference in whether or not you take action on the things you know about exercise!  If the things you “know” aren’t working, then it’s time to do some self-reflection.  Are you implementing what you know?  If not, there’s the first place to make some changes.  If you’re someone who says “We tried that and it didn’t work” then it’s time to find some new ways of doing things.  Either way, you’ve got to get out of your rut and start thinking differently. New ways of thinking usually results in new action and new results.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.  Don’t let fundraising drive you insane.  Change up what’s not working to what we know works and I guarantee you’ll see better results.

I’ve heard several stories lately about Executive Directors being competitive with one another and frankly, it irritates me.  What’s the point? Why waste the energy feuding over service delivery?

I remember many years ago working for someone like that.  He was so quick to point out the flaws in our “competitors” and talk trash about them.  I was quite uncomfortable with it, but wasn’t sure what to say. After all, he’d been there for years and I was new.  When I did speak up and rock the boat, I was let go.  What made it worse for me was that it was a Christian organization.  Surely Christian nonprofit leaders wouldn’t speak ill of others, right?

Now what I know is that there’s no need for competition in the world of nonprofits.  There are plenty of people in need for all of us.  And if you do happen to completely meet the need and work yourself out of a job, isn’t that a good thing?  There are plenty of donors out there and more than plenty of money for all of us.  If everyone who gives to charity gave 1% more, we’d all be cash-flush!  So, if we as professional fundraisers engaged our donors and encouraged them to upgrade their giving just a tiny bit, we’d be able to fully fund our mission.

How would it change things if people stopped comparing themselves or their organizations to others and simply focused on the people we’re here to serve?  Would our service delivery improve?  Would staff morale improve?  Would staff turnover improve?  Maybe nothing would change, but I doubt it.  I think the elimination of all that negative energy from nonprofit leaders would have a big impact on the work we nonprofits are doing.

So, I challenge you to stop thinking about your fellow nonprofits as competitors.  Look for ways you can partner.  Or at the very least, stop saying or thinking anything negative about them.  Focus on engaging your donors and fully funding your mission.  It’s much more exciting!

Coaching is catching on faster and faster in the nonprofit world.

Coaching provides a unique form of support.  It’s deeper than a seminar and more personal that a consultant.  And it’s not a one-shot deal.  A coach gives you someone to work with over a period of time and someone you can count on.

Many major companies have embraced executive coaching as a great form of professional development.  It’s viewed as a way to support top producers.  For the Nonprofit Professional, knee-deep in work and starved for resources, hiring a Coach can be a tremendous investment. When you enhance your skill set, time management, and confidence, it ripples through the organization.

But before you hire someone to be your coach, ask them if they have a coach.

If you’re going to invest in yourself in this very personal way, make sure that your coach is also investing in themselves. You want someone who walks their talk and who can being their best ‘A’ game to support you.

Personally, I have several coaches and mentors.  I learn different things from different ones.  This year, I decided to invest in some expensive, high-end coaching and it’s been a wild ride!  The simple decision to do it shifted my thinking and how I look at things.  With the help of my coach, I’ve been able to plan bigger than ever before, and work toward making those plans a reality.  I don’t think I could have accomplished so much without her.

I’m already thinking about who will coach me in 2011.  Are you?  If you’re thinking about having support next year, I’m working on a hybrid coaching/consulting program that will absolutely take your fundraising program to the next level.  There will be LOTS of cool stuff in this program, including retreats, attending the AFP conference in Chicago (I’m paying for you to go!) and learning activities with horses.  If you’re interested, shoot me an email at sandy@sandyrees.com and I’ll send you an application.

Coaching is effective for people who want to make change but aren’t sure how to do it. If you want to make some changes in your nonprofit organization, think about starting with a coach.

I’m a big believer in continuing education.  I encourage my students to take advantage of learning opportunities, and like a good coach, I practice what I preach.

Last week, I went to a 3-hour seminar with a group of my friends.  And it stretched my thinking.  Actually, I’m still processing some of the material nearly a week later.

Four of us piled into the car and drove from Knoxville to Atlanta.  We chatted nonstop on the way down about our challenges.  We shared our goals and supported each other to dream bigger. (Isn’t it great to have people like that in your life?  People you can openly share with and know they’ll give you the honest truth?)

Personally, I had a couple of big “aha” moments that afternoon.  I got really clear that I have some big dreams about the impact I want to make on the world. I saw how BIG my dreams are. I also saw that I have some work to do to make it happen.  And I’m ready!

How about you? Are you working to improve yourself and your skills so that you can reach your dreams?  Or are you “playing it safe” and staying with what’s comfortable for you?

I’d love to hear what you think.  Hit the comment link and share.

Today’s post comes from Skip Weisman of Weisman Success Resources, Inc.   Skip helps business leaders create “Champion Organizations” with improved personnel, productivity and profits.

During a lunch meeting with a new client I learned he was becoming increasingly frustrated with senior team members and frontline employees who:

• Were not taking responsibility for their jobs
• Needed constant prodding to get things done
• Were not responsive to client requests and phone messages
• Were throwing their fellow employees “under the bus”
• Were having shouting matches in the office
• Procrastinated on business opportunities
• Were showing up late or leaving early with no explanation
• Had negative attitudes
• Were not producing results

My project began searching for the underlying cause of these issues through interviews, focus groups and observation. Through this research it was learned that my client was violating virtually every leadership communication mistake.

To simplify the project I categorized them into “The 7 Deadly Sins of Organizational Leadership Communication.”

These behaviors had caused significant damage to my client’s business, estimated at about $5 million over 10 years:

• Communication Sin #1: Lack of Specificity
  This causes people to mind-read or guess as to what is being requested. Details are left out or are ambiguous. The recipient fails to ask for more specifics and has to figure it out on their own.

• Communication Sin #2: Lack of Focus on Desirable Behaviors
  People are great at saying what they don’t want or don’t want others to do, but have trouble identifying the preferred desirable behaviors. Where your focus goes, grows, so people are getting more of what they don’t want because they continue to focus on it.

• Communication Sin #3: Lack of Directness
  This is where people gossip behind the backs of co-workers, peers, bosses and subordinates. Another example is the leader who calls a team meeting and offers a blanket directive to fix a problem better addressed to one offending individual. A third is when an employee tells a manager the mistakes of co-worker hoping to make themselves look good.

• Communication Sin #4: Lack of Immediacy
  This is procrastination. This is when communication is avoided because the conversations are difficult and leaders don’t know how to approach the offending party, so they tolerate poor behavior.

• Communication Sin #5: Lack of Appropriate Tone
  Ever had someone in a professional setting raise his or her voice at you in a condescending or threatening manner? How about responding in a sarcastic manner? These are just two ways inappropriate tone ruins company cultures.

• Communication Sin #6: Lack of Focused Attention
  In this day of technology and multi-tasking too many office conversations occur passing in the hallway, while one person is checking/responding to e-mails, or talking while on hold.

• Communication Sin #7: Lack of Respectful Rebuttals
  This may be the most common, yet subconscious of all leadership communication sins. It’s the conversations when someone agrees or provides positive feedback in the first part of their sentence, only to be followed by “but.” After the “but” comes the other shoe and you end up feeling misled and unfulfilled.

These seven leadership communication habits cause significant damage to an organization’s culture, including low employee morale, motivation and productivity. Long-term toleration of these communication styles creates a low-trust, highly toxic work environment.

The best organizations develop an environment where leaders and their teams agree to communicate at a high level and hold each other accountable to overcoming these communication challenges.

To learn how to fix organizational leadership communication problems like these download a free white paper at www.HowToImproveOrganizationalCommunication.com.

Skip Weisman of Weisman Success Resources, Inc. of Poughkeepsie, NY helps business leaders create “Champion Organizations” with improved personnel, productivity and profits. He can be reached at 845-463-3838.  His latest White Paper is “The 7 Deadly Sins of Organizational Leadership Communication” available free at www.HowToImproveOrganizationalCommunication.com.

I’ve just returned from a short trip to New York and I wanted to share an amazing adventure with you.

Part of my travel required a flight from Philadelphia to Newburgh, NY.  Everything up to Philly was uneventful.  But when I arrived in Philly, I found out they had cancelled my flight to Newburgh and it was going to probably be 9 am the next morning before I could get on another flight.  I needed to be in a meeting with my new business coach at that time, so I said to the woman in line next to me that we should rent a car and drive.  I didn’t know how far it was, but it couldn’t be that far.  Turns out she worked at a college in that area and knew the drive (about 3 hours she said).  After about a half hour of waiting in that line and getting more agitated, we decided to go for it.  Several other passengers decided to jump in with us and our merry band of 5 struck out to find the car rental counter.

Long story short – I made some wonderful new friends including a preacher, an assistant Athletic Director at a college, and 2 pre-med students.  I got to see part of the country I’d never seen before, and I arrived safe and sound at my destination just a couple of hours later than originally planned.

It took a little leadership on my part to suggest the idea and a little leadership on the part of another to rent the car, but we made it happen.  The big lesson I came away with is that sometimes things don’t work out as planned. But if I keep my eyes on my goal and keep my cool, there are always options for reaching the goal.

I’m going to be sharing more about planning over the next couple of weeks and I think this is the perfect time of year for it.  We’re all still thinking about the year in front of us and how we can make the most of it for our fundraising efforts.

So if you need a little help getting your thoughts together for creating a plan, stay tuned!!