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charitableadvisors

Jan 15

Attracting and retaining good fundraising talent

By Sponsor Insight

By Lee A. Ernst, Associate, Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates

The foundation of a strong fundraising program is built on relationships. When your organization has a talented and dedicated staff, you have the key elements to form relationships with your donors.

What can you do to ensure you’re attracting and retaining your most valuable asset – people – while growing a strong culture of philanthropy?

What does the data show us about the current landscape of hiring development staff?

Recent research shows that the fundraising profession has a high turnover in staff positions and a dearth of qualified candidates to fill the void. Working with our clients, we hear stories of vacancies, long searches and short stays.

Here are some basic facts:

  • The average tenure for major gift officer positions is 18 to 24 months, according to a study by the Education Advisory Board.
  • According to the Underdeveloped Study, development director positions are also in a high state of turnover, with 50 percent of development directors indicating they anticipate leaving their position in the next two years and anywhere from 11 to 27 percent — depending on organization size —  saying they anticipate leaving the field of development all together.
  • The same study found that more than half (53 percent) of executive directors reported that their most recent development director hiring process attracted an insufficient number of candidates with the right mix of skills and experience.

What can be done to help attract and retain fundraising talent?

  • Think outside the box. More nonprofits are seeking and recruiting talent with “non-traditional” fundraising backgrounds. Many other professions such as sales and marketing have transferable skills that apply well to relationship building in fundraising.
  • Consider compensation incentives.Incentive-based bonuses can be a good way to help promote a team culture and encourage an entire team to hit a fundraising goal as long as it’s done without compromising the AFP code of ethics.
  • Be flexible.Flexibility in the workplace allows staff to maintain a balance of work and home life. Rethinking policies to allow for earlier and later start times and accommodating working from home and part-time work can benefit the organization and accommodate staff.
  • Orient and train new staff.Take the time to connect new fundraisers to your mission. Make the job about advancing the mission, not just raising funds. The core of good fundraising is building relationships, and if a gift officer isn’t excited or connected to the mission, donors will pick up on this.
  • Consider promoting from within. Look for opportunities to home-grow your staff. Forward looking organizations can focus more on promoting from within to build future leadership. This will require a stronger emphasis on training and mentorship from those currently in leadership roles, but will pay dividends in the future.
  • Build a culture of philanthropy.A shared sense of purpose and vision fosters board, CEO, and organization-wide teamwork. When everyone understands what development is working to achieve, all can see how their individual roles can further support and promote the mission.
  • Communicate goals regularly.Conduct performance evaluations with feedback regularly and reinforce both short-term and long-term goals, in alignment with the strategic plan.

As the economy improves, jobless rates fall, and we see the long-anticipated surge of baby boomer retirements come to fruition, we can expect the scarcity of qualified development candidates to continue to present a challenge to hiring and retention. However, with ingenuity in attracting and adapting nontraditional candidates and a focus on training and connection to mission, organizations can position themselves to fill the void and find future staff members to help carry their mission forward.

Experience as a successful major gift officer at a large university has given Lee Ernst a unique understanding of major gift work and donor dynamics. As an associate at JGA, Ernst uses this experience to assist nonprofits in the creation and implementation of development and major gift plans that can help organizations achieve their philanthropic goals. She has demonstrated success in a wide range of development situations, and has a proven track record of personal cultivation and solicitation.

Dec 18

Board certified: Learning how to govern from the experts

By Sponsor Insight

By Sara M. Johnson, FACHE, Director, Executive Education, IUPUI-School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Public service is important and over the last 30 years has evolved beyond just describing government careers. Many people are motivated to volunteer on the “front lines” and even donate money to worthy and favorite causes, especially at year end.

And, as critical to the sector as these activities are, serving as a nonprofit board member can be even more important.  A board member’s role includes fiduciary responsibility, potential for conflicts of interest, oversight of an executive director and a responsibility to those the organization serves.

In her book, “Five Life Stages of Nonprofit Organizations,” author Judy Sharken Simon defines governance as, “… the legal authority responsible for guarding the organization’s adherence to its mission and ensuring its long-term stability and operations in order to do so.” As organizations move through the five stages, Sharken Simon also describes the phase of governance that characteristically accompanies these five developmental stages.  She accurately applies an existing concept of organizational development — the organizational lifecycle to nonprofits.

Interestingly, though, Sharken Simon doesn’t suggest board development until the board is governing in the Third Stage.  Prior stages describe the accompanying governance stages as “locating people to serve on the board” and “Homogenous, passionate.”

Is it really a good idea to begin with “locating people to serve on the board” and, then, wait until the organization is more mature to conduct board development?  What if you began with locating “qualified” people to serve on the board?  Maybe this is inferred in Sharken Simon’s writing, but without this consideration, many boards do just that: “locate people to serve.”  Often, accepting the role as a favor, these individuals are not prepared for the responsibilities of nonprofit governance.  This approach is not consistent with effective management or governance practices.

Several years ago, Indiana University Executive Education faculty, experts in nonprofit management and governance, developed the Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership (CNEL) program. This program has successfully prepared nonprofit leaders for nearly 10 years.

Information can be found here: https://spea.iupui.edu/executive-education/leadership-programs/nonprofit-executive-leadership-certificate.html

This same team of expert faculty has now turned their attention to address the need for qualified board members.

The Certificate in Effective Nonprofit Governance (CENG) is designed to prepare individuals to effectively serve on a nonprofit board…BEFORE (or soon after) they are on the board.  This IU certificate program not only provides busy professionals both online and face-to-face education and training, it also creates a much-needed pipeline of qualified board members for Indiana nonprofits.

“Taking this course was the right thing to do.  I feel better prepared to serve on the board. The course is well organized and I highly recommend the course to anyone who is considering serving on the governing body of a nonprofit.” Donna Haggard, Hendricks Regional Health

SPEA will offer its third noncredit Certificate in Effective Nonprofit Governance beginning in February. The program prepares board members to be proactive in their critical governance efforts. Please check out the Certificate in Effective Nonprofit Governance here.

Consider sponsoring someone to earn this certificate and better support your organization or, if you are an individual wanting to enhance your own board effectiveness, contact our Executive Education team for additional information at spea.iupui.edu/executive-education.

Be proactive – develop your new board members now – it’s a critical role that warrants preparation.

Sara Johnson is clinical assistant professor for the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs and director of IU Executive Education. Johnson teaches graduate and executive education courses. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). As director of Indiana University Executive Education, Johnson leads a team of over 40 faculty and staff.

Dec 18

Ask more of your supporters in the Season of Giving

By Sponsor Insight

By Mark Shreve, director of client experience, SmallBox

Among the doorbuster offers, year-end appeals, and shipping confirmations, this survived your daily email sweep. This holiday season – as corporate and nonprofit brands compete for your attention and money – it’s time you ask more of your supporters.

Previously we shared (Charitable Advisors, March 2017) that nonprofits should ask, listen to and involve their audiences as part of their brand strategy. This approach aims to strengthen engagement among supporters and amplify the connection with a broader network.

When we interview supporters of organizations, we hear repeatedly that they desire a greater connection, they want to belong and attach to experiences, and they want to know how they can best serve as your advocates in the larger community and within their circles of influence during the giving season (and every day).

If you have a long wish list this holiday season include your supporters in your ask. It is a great time to finish the year with momentum, and jumpstart initiatives for 2018.

Here are some examples of what our clients and friends have done to activate a larger audience on their behalf:

Empower your ambassadors

#Giving Tuesday has become a ubiquitous holiday tradition among nonprofits, following corporate Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns, to jumpstart end-of-the-year giving appeals. One local social-service agency (rather than organization to use another word) joined the #Giving Tuesday festivities this year with a different approach — not asking previous donors for money. An email sent to donors asked for them to serve as ambassadors, provided a toolkit with sample language and photos, and requested them to encourage their contacts to support the organization.

By asking and providing a framework of how to help, this organization was able to expand their reach during this one-day campaign.

Mobilize to energize

A grant-making organization devoted to improving our local communities is setting a new strategic vision to guide their work. Rather than create a plan based solely on internal feedback, this organization decided to directly involve members of the community. Over the course of one month, they were able to convene a group of 40 community leaders, provide training to properly solicit feedback from neighbors, and synthesize the data into actionable insights.

One ambassador said the involvement “left me with so much hope for the future.” Because of the hundreds of facilitated conversations with community members, this organization will enter 2018 with the insights and energy needed to address complex community issues.

Create their! own experience

There’s still time to end the year with energy that can continue into the new year. A county library system is asking patrons to participate in the design of a library experience that aligns with their usage preferences (both online and in branches). Based on interviews and indirect research performed in local branches and on digital surveys, library leaders will start 2018 with patron feedback that will jumpstart efforts to create and deliver more personalized experiences.

These few examples exhibit how your organization can invest in dynamic, end-of-the-year experiences with your stakeholders.

Since your supporters are accustomed to hearing from you, and may be searching for ways to help at this time of year, seek to increase their loyalty by involving them in the mission of your organization. For many organizations, asking for feedback reinforces a connection to supporters and may also lead to financial donations.

Mark Shreve has supported nonprofit organizations for over a decade and is currently the director of client experience at SmallBox, a creative agency that builds meaningful brand experiences with organizations and their audiences. To learn what this may generate for your organization, ask Shreve for coffee at mark@smallbox.com.

SmallBox is a brand experience design agency that collaborates with organizations dedicated to creating impact and serving others. Initiate a conversation with SmallBox at info@smallbox.com.

Dec 18

Tax bill could impact Indiana’s charitable giving

By Feature, Legislation

By Charitable Advisors staff

At this time of year, we are reminded that Americans are generous people. Last month, for example, an estimated $274 million was raised online during the sixth annual Giving Tuesday event. And much of that total will be written off on people’s taxes.

By the end of this week, Congress is expected to approve changes to the U.S. tax code, and it’s important for nonprofits to understand their potential effects. Dissecting what we know about the pending bill can help put it in perspective.

The details of the fast-moving tax code rewrite released on Friday indicate that the standard deduction will temporarily be increased from $6,350 to $12,000 for single taxpayers and from $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. In 2025, those deductions will revert to the current law.

One consequence of roughly doubling the standard deduction would be to significantly lower the number of filers who itemize. Currently, only taxpayers who itemize can deduct charitable contributions.

This change has the potential to affect middle-income families, according to Una Osili, professor of economics and associate dean for research and international programs at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She estimates roughly 30 million households making between $50,000 and $100,000 will be less likely to itemize their deductions on their taxes.

According to IRS data, over 500,000 donors in Indiana claimed the charitable deduction, accounting for $3.2 billion in donations. But without seeing a direct link between their contributions and their bottom-line tax obligations, fewer potential donors are expected to open their wallets.

Research by the Lilly School shows that itemizers are much more likely to donate to charitable causes. A recent report showed that 83 percent of itemizers reported donating any amount of charitable giving at all, compared to 44 percent of non-itemizers. And non- itemizers contribute less than 20 percent of total giving. Lilly’s Osili predicts at least a $13 billion annual drop in charitable giving if the new standard deduction becomes law.

One remedy this fall was a universal charitable deduction introduced by U.S. Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) that would have incentivized charitable giving for low and middle income earning individuals and families. The Universal Charitable Giving Act (H.R.3988) would have established a universal charitable deduction for individuals and married couples who did not itemize, and be in addition to the standard deduction.

According to Marissa Manlove, president and CEO of the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, it is disappointing that it was not considered.

“This solution would have allowed taxpayers at all income levels to take advantage of the 100-year-old charitable deduction. Without such an incentive, I fear charitable giving could decrease dramatically, placing underserved Hoosiers at greater risk. I encourage our nonprofit sector to monitor the effect tax reform has on their organization and to share stories of people affected with their policymakers,” she said.

 

Dec 04

Nonprofits: Taking a productive break

By Feature, Governance

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

The advice is often well-intentioned, and it’s something that hard-working, driven individuals may hear a lot: Stop and smell the roses, get away and clear your head, or take a sabbatical to rest and rejuvenate.

When one person in a company takes a break, the work can still go on. When the whole company takes a break, there’s an inherent danger that the vacation will be permanent.

Nonprofits, many of which operate on limited budgets, are no exception. Out of sight, out of mind? A temporary shutdown could be considered a gamble, but it could also be just what a struggling organization needs.

Several years ago, two area nonprofits  — the Indianapolis Opera Company and the Martin Luther King Community Center — announced they were taking a break. It raised many questions in the community over the future of the two organizations.

Both nonprofits resumed operations in about a year and from all indications, appear to have used their “downtime” wisely.

Both nonprofits had funding issues that needed to be resolved, but beyond trying to shore up their financial shortcomings, both used the time to figure out their roles and how they stood in the community. One tactic for both boards was to carve out time to listen to their constituents, to understand what services were important to them, or in the case of the Opera, what performances did their patrons prefer.

To help with the process, both organizations had funders who were willing to keep the process moving.

Kimberly Sterling was Martin Luther King’s board president when the decision to temporarily close was made in early 2014. The board’s goal was to temporarily transfer programming to other agencies, and within six months be back up and running. Early on, the board hosted a town-hall meeting, and according to Sterling, there was a great community response. Attendees shared which services were critical and which could go away.

“So as we began to work on a strategic plan for both the short term, and more importantly from a sustainability perspective for the longer term, we were able to heed the voice of the community,” Sterling said.

United Way of Central Indiana offered the center financial support to hire a consultant, Pat Gamble-Moore, to serve as a kind of interim director and keep things moving, things like paying bills and working with the board to design a plan. She worked with the board for nearly a year, and after taking a position at PNC, joined the board herself.

During its pause, the center’s building was never unoccupied. While there was no staff, tenants and agencies were using the building. And while it had to revamp and transform the organization, the board formed strategic partnerships with other groups such as the Edna Martin Christian Center and Kaleidoscope to provide youth programming.

Matt Mindrum, the Opera’s current board chairman, had just signed on to the board when the announcement to shut down was made. He noted that not only was the environment changing here, but opera companies were changing in many places and moving away from large performance spaces to more intimate ones and adding variety to their repertoire.

“So the business model was changing on a macro level at the same time that our circumstances were changing at a micro level. I think that combination really required us to press the reset button. Not only did we need to pause so we could pay our bills, and figure out how to get moved into the Basile Opera Center building and do all the things that we talked about doing for a long time, but we also needed to pause to figure out where we were going.”

After the company canceled the final opera of the 2013-2014 season, a funder provided a grant to assess the future of the Opera, hiring a consultant and market research firm. Together, Steven Stolen and Smari helped the board identify what audiences wanted and determine what various future paths could look like.

“We treated the study, not only as an opera study, although it was opera-funded through the Lilly Endowment, but we included the IRT, the ISO, Butler, the Chamber Orchestra, the Phoenix Theater, the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Jazz Fest and Dance Kaleidoscope. We went out and talked to folks who weren’t just our core audience, but really the arts-inclined audience broadly speaking. And we heard a variety of things from them,” said Mindrum.

Among the findings: Sponsors’ expectations were not being met, the budget needed to be severely cut and reworked, the venues were too large, leadership had to change, and the board of directors needed an overhaul.

“Quality had been inconsistent, and that was probably the biggest takeaway, and quality if you’re a professional performing arts organization, is job one. It’s not that we didn’t have some really high-quality productions, but we had too much variability,” said Mindrum who inherited the chairmanship of the company’s first year back.

David Starkey, the Opera’s general manager and artistic director since March, says the Opera’s board did something more difficult than they realize — they didn’t let the quiet or dark period go on too long. According to Starkey, these resets have a national average of about 3 ½ years.

MLK changes

In its search for a new director, Sterling said the Martin Luther King board was looking for someone with leadership capabilities who had community center experience but not necessarily as the leader. It was also important to understand the uniqueness of how community centers work.

In June of 2015, the MLK board hired Allison Luthe. She had both a community organizing background, and a short stint at a community center. She came on board as managing director, an interim position.

With a short-term playbook in hand, Luthe worked with the board to change both programming and mission. The mission had focused primarily on providing programming, but now it was also trying to be more inclusive to the needs in the neighborhood.

“It was pretty clear to me that we weren’t connected to the neighborhood,” Luthe said.

She cites an example. On Labor Day, a couple of months after she arrived, there was a group of parents across the street from the MLK center on West 40th Street who were protesting chain-link fence going up around the adjacent Butler-Tarkington Park because of park improvement. Luthe met some of the protesters  — youth football coaches — who feared they would lose practice fields because of the park’s development.

Luthe found out the coaches didn’t know Martin Luther King was a community center to help serve some of the very kids they were coaching. No one had ever introduced themselves before, the protesters said.

“There was a disconnect,” Luthe said. I just spent a lot of time getting to know them, we had the town hall meeting at the school and they came to that. We ended up seeing each other in a couple of other places.  One of them, their brother was murdered, so we helped them plan the peace rally that they had. So really, we just spent time getting to know them and now they all bring their kids here, the football team works out of here.”

Luthe would become the center’s executive director and worked with the board to develop a long-term strategy.

Before the pause, United Way provided more than 60 percent of the funding for the MLK center. Today it’s at 23 percent and the center has a mix of funding from a variety of sources. Luthe secured a small grant from Meridian Street United Methodist Church to restart some youth activities, and the church has continued as a partner.

When Luthe began as managing director, there were 1.5 employees. Today, there are nine full-time, five part-time permanent employees and 10 temporary employees in the summer. The budget went from $300,000 to $1.2 million, with federal and state contracts.

One main question that the center had to answer: When does it make sense for the center to have its own programming and when should it collaborate?

And while programs and staff have returned, the center now offers its after-school K-5 programming at the neighborhood’s public school, School 43. The program is funded by a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, which is highly competitive. Grades 6 and 7 meet at the center, but the center is submitting a proposal to expand the grant to add those grades to the school as well.

There is still a long list of partnerships, which won’t go away even with funding, said Luthe, since the partners excel at offering these programs.

The board realized that a signature fundraising event was needed to maintain community relationships. MLK’s grew out of conversations with community members during Luthe’s first summer. With four murders in the neighborhood in the summer of 2015, she had calls from former neighbors who were concerned and wanted to help.

Her response to each of them was simple.

“We’re in a renewal phase and doing better. What if we had a breakfast event and you come and talk a little bit about the history, so that we could stay in touch with our history?“

The Founders’ breakfast fundraiser was born and now happens the Friday before Martin Luther King’s birthday and is hosted by Meridian Street United Methodist Church.

Financially, there is a short leash. There are check limits and the finance committee meets monthly. Everything that is proposed has to have a funding source. The board is proactive, and asks tough questions.

Recently the center hired a wellness coach. The center already had employment coaching and a WorkOne mobile unit. For people who want a better way of life, no matter how much is in their bank account, the center wants to help them grow personally or professionally.

MLK spent the last year doing focus groups with the Public Policy Institute, which is getting ready to produce a report about gentrification, racism, neighborhood safety, and perception of where you live.

Visitors to the center tell Luthe the building has a sense of life, and she’s hoping to add an MLK Guild to help make it more of a welcoming community-owned place.

Sterling said one of the board’s goals was to see people using the facility.

“I think that’s always important when people who are coming for services feeling like it’s a place that they would want to be in. But I think most important are the services that are being provided are based on the needs that are assessed,” said the former board chair.

Opera changes

One of the changes that the Opera made was to its programming venue. It moved from Clowes Hall that had a capacity of 2,100 to the Schrott Center for the Arts, which seats 450. The Opera has also offered programming at Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre in Carmel, which is similar in size to Schrott.

In addition, the office’s move to the Basile Center at 40th and Pennsylvania streets, Starkey said, was a game changer and is helping it to become a center for community arts and culture with its additional tenants.

“It changed the Opera from being a producer to a community leader. And when you look at IMA, and IRT and the Symphony, those three nonprofits, they all have place.

“And now we’re in a place where we are daily giving to our community, and that changed the mindset,” said Starkey. “An arts organization that takes that more collaborative approach is a core of the 21st century model. I have found tremendous dedication to this neighborhood, this building, to this revitalization, how they shift and move has been really encouraging.”

But that’s not all that has changed.

“So, venue, programming, collaboration, and then maybe the final thing would be the type of artists that we seek to cast and to develop here. We’ve embraced the idea that we want to be a training ground for the next generation of world-class singers. We’ve got the best opera school in the country an hour down the road (Jordan School of Music at Indiana University), and we’ve got lots of other great programs nearby.  We’re a rich community when it comes to vocal arts,” said Mindrum.

“We believe we need to be the champion of the vocal arts, the champion of opera. And opera is automatically the top of the food chain. Our responsibility is to be the best professional company that does opera and theatrical representations of that,” said Starkey.

That now includes building a strong middle and offering shows that have ensembles.

“When you do a South Pacific, it’s an ensemble show, when you do Man of LaManchia, it’s an ensemble show,” said Starkey.

The Opera’s board has taken steps to try to ensure a pause doesn’t happen again, including shrinking the board. Mindrum said the board was somewhat unwieldy. The board, he said, now provides more detailed and regular oversight in a variety of places, especially financial. The budget changed, too. It was at $1.9 million and is now a little over $900,000.

“So we shrunk the board, but we’re now in a position where we’re ready to expand it again a bit. We went from a maximum of 45 in our bylaws to a maximum of 35 in our new bylaws. We’re at 23 or 24 right now. We definitely had to sort of narrow before we could broaden again,” he said.

Starkey said it’s a change of philosophy.

“It’s not about how big and bulky can you be. It’s about the nimbleness that you have in your leadership. So size shall represent philosophy and philosophy should represent size. The board has to have a more intimate relationship and understanding of its involvement, and it cannot be just oversight and check the boxes,” said Starkey who moved back to Indiana from Asheville, N.C. in March.

While Mindrum and Starkey believe the temporary suspension was necessary, Mindrum reminds that a pause is never going to be perfect on the other side.

“You feel like you’ve stopped, you’ve done the right things. You’ve taken stock of where you are, you’ve asked the marketplace where you should be going and you put the strategy together. You hired a new director, and you’ve gotten the board reconstituted. Everything is in where you think is the right spot, and then you press “go” and not as much audience comes back as you thought was going to come back. You run into funders who said, ‘I want to see a couple of years of history before I’m going to come back and provide funding.’”

The Opera didn’t have a surplus the first year back and Kevin Patterson, the general director serving both executive and artistic roles, was the “right guy” to get them back on stage. Now with Starkey, Mindrum believes the Opera has the guy who was going to get us to operate within our means.

“He did a great job with Man of La Mancha. We took what had been tracking toward another deficit year and turned it around and broke even in this last fiscal year, and now we’re on track for a solid surplus this year.

My two primary goals as chair were to continue to put on quality productions and operate within our means. That’s really it. And I think that will get us to a place where we’ll continue to build confidence and use this new programming model to develop new audiences, continue to build the education program that is been so strong and really fits nicely with our approach to develop talent, use this building in a better way.”

 

Dec 04

Advice from those who have been there

By Feature, Governance

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

For many people, experience is the best teacher. And while not all nonprofits have taken a pause, two local organizations have recently been through the rigorous process and can offer their perspectives.

Kimberly Sterling, the former board president of the Martin Luther King Center, and Allison Luthe, the center’s current executive director, shared advice applicable to a human services agency.

The Indianapolis Opera’s Matt Mindrum, the current board chair and David Starkey, the general manager, looked at the pause from an arts perspective.

Here are some of their suggestions:

Have a clear plan and consistent messages

Sterling said it’s not enough to just ensure that clients will be served. The board should have a purpose behind the pause. Why is it happening? Is it purely financial or are there services that are being duplicated by others?

Before the pause, a nonprofit needs a media plan, and everyone from staff to leadership has to be clear in their descriptions of the reasons for the break. Electing a spokesperson is important to make sure messages are consistent. Having one person delivering the message also frees up others to attend to other steps to turn around the organization.

Know your board

Sterling said it is critical when planning a pause to understand who on the board is willing to work. During a pause, there will be an additional time commitment, and an oversight board will not work.

“Everyone needs to be all in, and if you’re not, it’s OK, we just needed to know who’s staying and who’s not. It needs to be a board that clearly understands its role and works well together. Board development was absolutely critical, especially in the short term, particularly when we didn’t have staff.”

In MLK’s case, the board chair decided to step down because of other commitments, and Sterling took the helm.

The board also knew it needed a strong treasurer and someone to work with the auditors. MLK’s was a volunteer who stepped up after reading about the center’s situation in the newspaper, and volunteered his services to help. Although his term is up, Jeff Gearries continues to serve on the board.

When Sterling rotated off the board at the end of her term, she wanted to make sure there was a strategic plan. The board’s responsibility was not only to fight fire an immediate need, but also plan for the next three to five years.

Sterling said the board’s work was guided by a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King: I am what I am because of who we all are.

“As you think about what a community center is, it’s about the community, it’s not about the staff members, and it’s a reflection of the community or at least it should be.”

Recognize that healing needs to take place

In both cases, there was a lot of personal attachment to the organization as it was.

Starkey, who became the Opera’s general director in March, recognizes that the healing is still happening.

“When you have an accident and you injure your body, you have to be very dedicated that you heal, and you must be very optimistic. I came to a city and to an organization that was deeply troubled. I knew many of the people and many of the circumstances, knowing the past leadership of this company, admiring it from a distance. The healing is still happening. And I think we have the greatest healing tool, and that’s music, specifically singing. Time does heal. If you come back pretty quickly, then some of that didn’t have time yet.”

Know your community

Luthe’s first month on the MLK job saw the Double 8 food store on Illinois Street close. Her first reaction was to move into action and provide support. While the center didn’t have a lot of money at the time, they did have two shuttles available, and people in the neighborhood that needed food.

Their plan was to drive folks to the nearest grocery store. They produced fliers, and got everybody excited.

But nobody showed up to ride the shuttles.

“That’s when I said, ‘We’re going to have to get in touch with people and find out what they do need.’ If you’re going to be a community center, you’ve got to be grounded in the neighborhood. Make sure that in your renewal that you’re really connected to whom you should be connected to.”

Define your organization

Luthe said people had to understand that, “collectively this is going to be a new thing.”

“If you have a million dollar house next door (in Tarkington Tower), and then you’ve got an abandoned block of boarded-up houses, what’s your mission and who are you really here to serve? So I think people needed to figure that out. Are we a social justice organization that is a cultural center, are we a social service provider or are we a gathering place?”

Nov 27

Leverage infrastructure grant programs

By Sponsor Insight

By Teddie Linder, business manager, Netlink, Inc

The largest companies in the world are invested in good corporate citizenship.  As a nonprofit leader staying up to date on these opportunities could enhance the resources you have available.

One area in particular has options you may want to investigate: technology infrastructure. This phrase simply means the common area where your files, database and company information is stored.

Large (or even medium) organizations have a LOT of information that many people have to work with and access regularly.  They need to be in a shared area like a server.  On-premise servers (the big box in the back closet) now cost at a minimum $10,000 and sometimes grow to $18,000 – $22,000 by the time everything is said and done.  Finding the funds for this capital expense every 5 to 7 years can be difficult.

These days, many organizations and companies are going to “the cloud.”  Clouds are simply large datacenters run by companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

The advantage of utilizing these services means being able to afford the storage and convenience of a server, but paying a monthly fee (operational expense) rather than outputting funds for a large hardware purchase (capital expense).

Then there’s this: the two largest companies in this arena – Amazon and Microsoft – have strong nonprofit programs and are heavily invested in good corporate citizenship.   Their programs include grant credits that offset the costs of paying the monthly service fees.

These grants are not difficult to obtain.  Depending upon the usage, a grant could cover several months of fees or most of the year.

Amazon web-services grant

Amazon Web Services offers nonprofits a $2000 annual grant that can be used toward AWS services.  Depending upon your organization’s needs, this grant could cover several months of payments.  One of Netlink’s clients was able to offset an entire quarter.  This grant requires you to be a member of Tech Soup and to pay a $175 administrative fee.

Microsoft Azure grant

Microsoft offers nonprofit organizations $5,000 in grant credits toward usage fees.  This grant is requested directly from Microsoft and covers all usage fees.  A small- to medium-organization may have a monthly fee of $300 to $400.  Even at the top end of that range, that pays the usage for the year.

Cloud management is also important!

Which one is best and should you go after the larger grant?  That really depends on your organization’s needs, and it’s important to get expert guidance in this area.  Infrastructure in tech is just as important as it is in your building.  You rely on your technology infrastructure to keep your organization’s digital assets safe.

Your technical experts should be part of your team to make decisions that keep your technology up to date.  Look for programs for NFP’s in technology, and let your team know about them to save funds and have a strong technology base.

Teddie Linder is the Operations Manager for Netlink, Inc.  She has over 20 years experience helping businesses use technology to accomplish their strategic goals.

 

 

Nov 13

A helping hand for fundraisers

By Sponsor Insight

By Pamela Clark, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Since 2008, Nathan Hand has raised money for causes he believes in. Working for nonprofits like Christel House, School on Wheels, and the Mind Trust, he has gained a wide range of both field and management experience.  The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy alumnus shared his thoughts about philanthropy, his fundraising career and provided advice for relatively new fundraisers.

Hand joined The Oaks Academy about four and a half years ago and was recently named its chief advancement officer. He says that a few key points stand out about its development program – including that the school and everyone involved with it are “aligned around a set of thoughtfully developed core values” that provide direction for all aspects of its work.

“Our board and leadership are supportive of relationship-based fundraising and understand that we’re in the business of building relationships over time and inviting people to join an incredible mission,” Hand says. “The mission itself is multi-faceted, drawing interest from those interested in (or motivated by) poverty alleviation, community development, racial reconciliation and faith.

“I was always taught to hire people smarter than me, so I’m part of a brilliant team who are experts in their roles, work their tails off, support each other and believe fully in the mission.”

Helping people has been a central tenet for Hand since childhood. “My parents were active in the church and community and expected the same of us kids,” he says. “They modeled a service-oriented lifestyle and always put others first. Many of my early experiences in philanthropy were facilitated by the scouting program, service clubs and activities. They gave me an early understanding of privilege, civic responsibility and the power and beauty of giving.”

Hand attended DePauw University thanks in part to a scholarship that included 20 hours of service each week throughout his four years in Greencastle. He participated in several nonprofit internships and says, “I found myself fascinated by the sector and how various groups came together to address a common concern.  Philanthropy and nonprofit leadership became a focal point. I felt at home in the space and loved jumping out of bed every morning to try and move the needle for a cause.”

For him focusing on fundraising seemed a natural choice. He quickly recognized the centrality of funding to any mission and was not shy about inviting people who could help to join him in achieving funding goals.

“I loved meeting new people, understanding their interests and making meaningful matches between people and causes. During those early internships, several nonprofit CEOs shared that in their career path into leadership, they didn’t realize that much of a nonprofit CEO’s role is fundraising and that they didn’t feel comfortable doing it and/or didn’t know how,” Hand says. “I figured I would study and try to excel at something that would be needed in the marketplace. Frankly, it’s less about ‘development’ or ‘fundraising’ and more about mobilizing and engaging a group of people to accomplish something important.”

Hand’s pursuit of such accomplishments led him to study at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI, where he earned a master’s degree in philanthropic studies.

“People are at their best when they’re giving of themselves and that’s enjoyable to be around every day,” Hand notes. “One challenge is that not everyone has a positive image of or experience with fundraising. Too many fundraisers over ask, rush into it, exert pressure and don’t honor people. Philanthropy in its purest form is absolutely beautiful. It should be enjoyed and appropriately facilitated.  Some supporters have been burned by bad experiences and assume they can’t engage with a cause without fear of being treated poorly.”

Hand shared five things that could be helpful to fundraisers who are early in their careers — those with two to five years of experience.

  1. Realize that relatively speaking, this is a new and still unknown profession. Many boards and CEOs are looking for ‘quick fix’ fundraising with overnight results, not long-term sustainable philanthropic community building. It’s likely you’ll need to do a lot of coaching and educating internally. You can’t plant today and harvest tomorrow. Find a place/nonprofit that understands that and hasn’t over-committed themselves. That only adds undue (and unrealistic) pressure to fundraising staff and worse, their community of supporters.
  2. Being an early-career fundraiser is hard. Most of the larger donor relationships are held by the CEO and lead fundraising staff.  Make the most of your role, learn the various parts of fundraising work, and meet with everyone you can. Practice building solid relationships and your comfort level with talking to complete strangers about important things.
  3. Stay on top of trends. People and institutional funders are looking for outcomes, sustainability, scale, etc. More and more people are seeing their philanthropy to be an ‘investment’ and expect returns.  It’s much less about ‘charity’ than years ago. Be ready to champion that thinking internally in your organization.
  4. Thank people. Personally.
  5. Only work for causes and people you believe in.  That’s what will get you through the long days and remind you how important the work is. Seek out great bosses and mentors who share those values.

Hand says newer fundraisers can benefit from professional development and training, but it’s important to look for reputable, research or experience-based programs, whether seeking in-person or online courses. One such example is The Fund Raising School, which he says also is   accessible, has a strong faculty and is a great way to understand the concepts in several areas of fundraising quickly.

Hand, who teaches at The Fund Raising School, also suggests getting involved in as many parts of the nonprofit’s fundraising operation as possible.

“Take any tasks that no one else wants to do. Do them perfectly and ask for more,” he says.

“When it comes to personal fundraising, it’s very hard to ‘go along’ on a donor visit due to the dynamic between the people and the fact that a personal ask is being made. Instead, afterward ask your boss to walk you through how the visit went, what was said, the donor’s reactions and so on. Learn from that and apply what you learn to your own visits as you build your career.”

Pamela Clark is Director of Student Services and Admissions for the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI. She has served in university admissions and advising roles for more than 20 years and enjoys working with students and supporting them in achieving their academic goals. 

Nov 13

Partnering to measure poverty

By Feature

By Lynn Sygiel, editor, Charitable Advisors

Poverty in America. It’s a problem that has been analyzed and dissected by many sources. It’s been the subject of books, TV documentaries and combatted by a host of social services agencies.

But do we really understand the ins and outs of poverty?

A complete answer likely remains elusive, but a local university and a national nonprofit have been working together to get a better grip on the changing needs of America’s poor.

The resulting product is the annual Human Needs Index (HNI), a multidimensional report that stems from a partnership between IUPUI’s Lilly School of Philanthropy and Salvation Army USA. The index is a more comprehensive in-depth look at our nation’s poor, according to Una Osili, the Lilly School’s assistant dean for research and international programs.

Traditionally, poverty has been measured in a narrow vein: income level based on government figures. The HNI goes beyond that and uses data the Salvation Army has been collecting on its own since 2004 based on the services it provides.

The first HNI was released in 2015, but the project was seeded four years prior, when the Virginia-based Salvation Army invited the Lilly School to a conversation at its headquarters. While reading the latest U.S. poverty statistics in USA Today in 2011, one of the agency’s board members recognized that the Salvation Army had more up-to-date data on poverty than what he was reading, and together with the entire board, suggested a potential partnership with the Lilly School.

The meeting led to the partnership where both entities benefit: the Lilly School is able to disseminate information helpful to the nonprofit sector, and the Salvation Army gets validation that its data and work are valuable tools to better serve the public.

While often associated with urban work, the Salvation Army’s safety net programs have a presence in every ZIP code, including mobile outreach in rural areas. For years, the organization had amassed data from more than 7,000 sites. Four statisticians oversee the collection of its data, one for each territory. Most of Indiana is part of the Central Territory, which covers 11 states and has 2,342 operations centers; the exceptions are the seven counties that comprise Indiana’s northern border.

The HNI tracks need in seven areas: meals, groceries, housing costs, clothing, furniture, medical bills and energy bills.  The need is also compiled seasonally. A score is assigned to the nation as a whole in addition to scores for different regions. Scores were assigned retroactively back to 2004. Upward and downward movements in the scores often reflect economic conditions such as a recession or even natural disasters.

When first approached by the Salvation Army, Osili said the School of Philanthropy was intrigued but it was too early to tell whether the data was relevant.

First the university conducted a validation process, doing a rigorous analysis comparison of Salvation Army data with other local, state and national figures on poverty. In addition, multiple calls with the territorial statisticians helped the Lilly team understand the story behind the data. Working alongside the Salvation Army,  the Lilly team better understood its collection process and had the opportunity to raise lots of questions.

“I’ll give you one example. We noticed that energy orders that the Salvation Army was providing spiked in March, April and May. That was a bit of a surprise to us, because you would have expected that people would have needed assistance in the winter, not needing energy in the spring when temperatures tend to be more moderate,” said Osili.

What they learned, through conversations with the Salvation Army’s team, was that many cities and municipalities have ordinances that prevent winter heat shutoffs for low income or elderly residents. Even with unpaid balances, the heat stays on. But come March when temperatures were more moderate, the needs inflate, resulting in higher assistance requests from the Salvation Army.

“We wouldn’t have found that out on our own. Salvation Army had the data, and so that’s why the collaboration and the partnership made a lot of sense. Clearly, they were the content experts. It was basically taking all that information and then distilling into what we thought were the basic aspects of human needs,” Osili said.

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Sharing the knowledge

Filling an information void about local safety net programs, the Human Needs Index can be more just a cool data visualization tool or source of information inquiry into the measurement of need.

It can model how communities and philanthropy might collect, share, and use data to improve outcomes for clients, organizations, and community residents.

To that end, the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has begun to share the lessons of HNI through workshops and webinars.

And while encouraging, Osili cautions that an organization needs to have a process to validate the data, and compare to other figures in order to establish a benchmark.

Another challenge for some nonprofits is that some are just present in rural areas but not in urban.

“The other big lesson that nonprofits can take away is kind of the power of collaboration. We’re used to thinking about universities doing one thing, and national and local nonprofits doing another,” said Osili.

She said this is an example of how you can actually bring together different sectors together. Nonprofits don’t always have the expertise in-house.

“So it’s thinking about all of our resources whether it’s our own data as an asset or community around us as far as the power of collaboration.”

“I think it would be great to also do something locally, so that our local nonprofits here can better understand,” said Osili.

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Natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, were another example. It wasn’t just the communities where the disaster occurred that needed assistance, but extended well beyond Louisiana, into Texas and Arkansas. With its boots on the ground, the Salvation Army was able to provide a detailed picture of needs, and expand the geographical need beyond the disaster.

Osili  agreed that we tend to look at poverty based on income. But that changed when Angus Deaton, the 2015 Nobel Prize-winning economist, noted that to understand poverty, it needed to also be looked at through a consumption lens.
“Basically that is, what are people having trouble with, where are families struggling, what kinds of areas are they needing assistance,” said Osili. “Because the HNI views things more through a vulnerability lens, you can actually see how households struggle to meet energy needs, get assistance in health care or access to clothing. Those are things that are general poverty and statistics aren’t really going to tell us.”

The tool can be useful both at the local, state and national levels to help determine if poverty is improving and how needs and access to services are changing.

Locally, Susan Solomon, the Salvation Army’s divisional social services director,  believes the index helps to give a broad picture of what is happening.

“There may be some things that we may miss in a given community, and then when we look at it collectively and have discussion, it raises awareness.”

Solomon said the Salvation Army, founded in 1865 in London, is a large old organization, and it is easy to continue to offer services because of tradition. With the reality of fewer dollars available, reviewing the data challenges the nonprofit to look at particular services to determine if they are still needed or perhaps duplicated by another agency. The result, hopefully, is to collectively meet more needs, she said.

“Has it had a fairly radical effect on the services we offer? I cannot say that’s happened, but it does raise our awareness of what do we do and do well and where needs are not being met as we plan and move forward,” said Solomon.

Spearheaded and funded by dollars raised by the Salvation Army USA’s board, the initial cost was designing and creating the infrastructure, and the annual upkeep is not as expensive. After each territory applies its checks and balances, the Lilly School receives quarterly data, releasing the HNI once a year.

Osili said while it would be easier to only report if the needs went up or down, the project teams decided to investigate more deeply to include what specifically was different in each wave of the data collection and to ask new questions. For this year’s index, they posed: What were the vulnerabilities that rural households were facing and how did the solution differ?

This year’s HNI has illustrated persistent pockets of poverty in rural America that might not have been apparent from traditional government measures like unemployment data, SNAP usage and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Poverty Report. Osili said things like Indiana’s low unemployment or what economists call full employment can mask poverty. For example, the state’s opioid epidemic has contributed and changed the levels of assistance and needs.

“How does that show up in the Salvation Army data? What we see is that even though other measures like unemployment are showing declining patterns, we also see that they’re starting to show up in health care needs. People are coming to Salvation Army for assistance with substance abuse and drug treatment facilities. What you can actually unpack is the particular challenges that households are facing,” she said.

Osili believes the HNI has been a bit of an inspiration for many organizations, leading many nonprofits wondering if they could do something similar. And while many nonprofits are starting to collect this type of data, not many have the comprehensive, historical and geographical reach of the Salvation Army USA, said Osili. Two — Catholic Charities and Feeding America — are starting to look at their own data footprint.

“I think there are a lot of lessons to learn. The first one is that nonprofits are often consumers of data and use data in making decisions, but they can also be part of the leadership on what data is collected and how we share that information. Data can be really powerful in helping to shape decision-making and then for policy makers, too, to better understand very complex issues facing a given community.

“The second take away is that nonprofits can be part of shaping how society understands the problem. You know just beyond the service delivery side, you can also be part of the generating new insight and knowledge,” she said.

Oct 23

Impact of rising benefit costs

By Sponsor Insight

By Mike Harrington, president, Synergy

A business encounters many costs, but the most volatile expenses are those surrounding employee benefits.

Last year, employers spent an average of $8,669 per employee, an increase of nearly $500 from the year before. Multiply that rising number by each staff member and the costs can significantly pile up. There are a number of ways the rising cost of benefits negatively impact your business, but there are also several methods for alleviating this major issue.

Hurts your bottom line

The initial implications of this trend are clear. The more your organization spends on employee benefits, the less profits it will make. One of the biggest culprits hurting your bottom line is the price of prescription medication. Already taking up 30 percent of an employer’s health care costs, prescriptions are set to rise 7.3 percent in 2017, with specialty meds rising 16.8 percent.

The bill employers have to foot for healthcare is rising overall, with 77 percent of organizations seeing increases, and nearly a quarter of those employers seeing an increase of 16 percent or more. These numbers provide hard evidence that profits will rapidly shrink if action is not taken.

However, any action must be approached carefully and strategically. One area where making a wrong decision can be especially devastating to a budget is in compliance. A single slip-up can cause lingering legal issues and attract hefty penalties and fines.

As healthcare reform continues to hang in the balance and confuse business leaders across the country, cutting corners to skimp on costs in this area is not a viable option. During these confusing times your business needs an expert versed in compliance, whether it’s a cost-effective outsourced partner or a higher-priced in-house talent.

Damages retention and recruiting

One increasingly-common way organizations are circumventing profit loss is by passing employee benefit costs to employees through higher deductibles, co-payments, and premiums. While this can look good on financial statements, it is resulting in decreased employee morale. Some workers may brush off increased healthcare costs, but many others will be motivated to look for a new job that offers more affordable benefits or a higher salary. After all, if costs go up once, employees will expect them to go up again.

Similarly, the rising cost of employee benefits is impacting the hiring and recruiting of businesses. Even if you’re able to attract an in-demand candidate into an interview and entice them into considering a formal job offer, it won’t take much to push them to a competitor. When you’re offering a similar salary and responsibilities as someone else, being able to tell a candidate that they will get great benefits at a low cost can be the deciding factor in securing their talent. Additionally, only 20 percent of employers continue to offer a retiree program. Candidates who see such a program in your job offer will take notice and view your organization as a career destination.

Ways to lessen the impact

Despite the gloom and doom surrounding the rising cost of benefits, there are a number of strategies that can lessen the negative effects.

  • Consumer-directed health plans such as HSAs are one option that allows employees to have more involvement. Such a plan provides tax incentives while also encouraging participants to consider the cost of healthcare services more deeply, meaning they may not go to the emergency room for minor health issues.
  • Utilizing virtual doctors and health hotlines can deliver an affordable alternative to employees going through costly office visits when they just have one or two questions. Not only does this save money, but it takes the anxiety out of a visit to the doctor and can help employees catch bigger illnesses before they fully develop.
  • Wellness programs are a popular option, and for good reason. Encouraging employee health with a trained coach/leader can promote healthy lifestyle choices that lessen the potential of preventable diseases and injuries. Rewards for certain milestones and regular checkups are typically included in such a program.
  • Audit your healthcare programs regularly. Whether due to confusion or ill intent, it’s often discovered that ineligible dependents are being covered when they should not be. Searching for costly inefficiencies such as this is necessary for those serious about accurate and legal benefit administration.

The rising cost of benefits

It can be difficult to take action and implement new strategies for combating the rising cost of benefits without experience, and especially when you have other pressing core business concerns. That’s why the greatest solution of all could be engaging with an expert PEO. The right outsourced HR partner can provide strategic direction and instantly save money by connecting your organization to a larger employee base providing better and cheaper benefits.

Mike Harrington is the president of The Synergy Companies. Joining the organization in 1995, Harrington has held several leadership roles within the company working to ensure its effective delivery of human resource and PEO services. Prior to joining Synergy, Mike spent five years with Safeguard Business Systems in direct sales and sales training and support. He holds a BS degree in marketing from Eastern Illinois University.