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United Way Revenue Dips
11.3%
There were big fundraising
winners and big fundraising losers in the United Way system
between 2007 and 2008. According to the latest figures released
by United Way on Sept. 25, Erie, Pa., posted the largest
percentage decrease of -67.5 percent and Newark, N.J., posted
the largest increase at 50.8 percent.
The United Way in Erie, which
had 2007 total revenue of $16,154,887, raised only $5,254,332
during 2008. Following Erie in percentage decreases was Flint,
Mich., -48.3 percent; Hamilton, Ohio, -46.1 percent;
Hattiesburg, Miss., -44.1 percent; and, Mesa, Ariz., -38.6
percent.
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Management ...
10 learning questions you
need to ask
In his book “The Art of Quantum
Planning,” Gerald Harris advocates a scientific approach
to nonprofit management. Harris offers 10 questions to help
create more questions to spur reflective thinking.
The questions are:
- Are we looking at the organization
as if it were a static, disconnected thing and not as a living
system?
- Do we perceive something (an asset
or product) too narrowly, as being only one thing when it could
be more?
- What if a different set of values
were being applied to our position? What might we learn or see
differently?
- What do we think is unknowable, and
how will we find and use diverse points of view about
it?
- How can we see this beyond a "right
vs. left" perspective and look for the "top and bottom, front
and back, in and out and all around"?
- What are our real intentions, and if
we changed them, what would we see differently and need to learn
more about?
- Where is a sequence of events vital
to our thinking? If the sequence were broken, how would we
capture what we might learn?
- What is on the periphery of our
concerns that could change and become central, and how can we
efficiently learn more about it?
- How might we evolve and change in a
manner that incorporates what we have done in the past with new
elements taking us to a new level?
- How can we see ourselves through the
eyes of others and learn from those
perspectives?
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Grants ...
Do you know the correct
answers?
While you are mulling over the
problems of how to fulfill mission, you might take a few minutes
for this pop quiz. The quiz appears in “The Only
Grant-Writing Book You’ll Ever Need” by Ellen Karsh
and Arlen Sue Fox.
1. Which is the best example
of something that a small grassroots organization might be
likely to get a grant for?
A. Uniforms for the Little League
team. B. A neighborhood day care center. C. A community science
and technology museum. D. A city-wide literacy program for
immigrants.
2. A document known as a
501(c)(3) is:
A. A license to raise money. B. Proof of
not-for-profit status. C. A certain kind of government grant. D.
A way for donors to hide their identity.
3. Most foundations give
grants only to:
A. Nonprofit organizations of all kinds. B.
Cultural and arts institutions. C. Governments. D. Social
service agencies.
4. Why is it so important to
“know who you are” before writing a proposal?
A.
Because not every person or organization is eligible for every
grant. B. Because you might not be eligible for any grant at
all. C. Because you might need to do a few things before
applying for a grant. D. All of the above.
The answers:
1. A. Small
grassroots organizations should “think small” while
they are small.
2. B.
3. A. The key is “of all
kinds”; not specific types of not-for-profits.
4. D. If
you don’t know who you are, funders won’t
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Boards ...
5 things board members really
want
Got board? Finding and keeping a good board
is a daunting task for any organization, although most nonprofit
managers would agree that a good board can be of incalculable
value.
Is there a magic formula?
There’s no magic, but in her book
“The Truth About What Nonprofit Boards Want,” June
Bradham, founder and president of consulting firm Corporate
DevelopMint and someone who has spent years interviewing board
members and managers, insists that full engagement by board
members is crucial.
Further, such engagement can only come about
if the goals and needs of board members, administrative leaders,
staff and those served by the nonprofit are in
alignment.
To get that alignment, Bradham says that the
following are absolute musts:
- Written criteria for board membership and a
job description for an A-plus board.
- Board members who are painstakingly chosen
for their wisdom and passion for the mission, not necessarily to
fill a particular skill set.
- A board composed of a diversity of opinions
and backgrounds as long as all members can make a solid impact
on board work.
- Active individuals who use their networks
and contacts to stimulate funding security and
awareness.
- Defined measurement of performance against
their personal satisfaction of engagement.
- The means to support the organization
financially.
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