By Jim Simpson, CPA and director, Financial Technologies & Management
In the nonprofit community, outsourcing typically means long-term delegation of key operation to outside experts. The accompanying expectation is improvement of the quality, strengthening effectiveness, and lowering or controlling costs.
A key difference in the nonprofit sector is not only controlling costs, but becoming a more effective organization. Finance and accounting departments are two essential back-office areas in nonprofit organizations.
With limited resources, a nonprofit can outsource some or all its financial functions, which can help a nonprofit efficiently staff and conduct its financial operations. It also respects the board and executives limited time or expertise to manage the finance functions, and allow more allocation of resources toward mission and program outcomes.
Here are six overlooked, and sometimes unknown, benefits of outsourcing nonprofit accounting.
By Jessica Love, associate executive director, Prosperity Indiana
While nonprofits excel at providing work opportunities “that matter,” their employees oftentimes sacrifice salary or additional perks available to those in the private sector.
Most of the time, the intangible rewards of work outweigh the downsides of working for an organization on a tight budget.
But when an unexpected hospital visit or a car repair bill hits, it can often snowball into a full-blown financial crisis. When faced with those expenses and, the lure of fast cash available at a payday loan store may become tempting.
But sadly, this short-term solution often extends far deeper into its users’ pockets than originally promised. Because payday lenders encourage multiple renewals of loans — leading to interest payments frequently many times greater than the original loan amount, the product is generally considered a debt trap. Nearly 76 percent of payday loans are quick re-borrows or renewals.
Payday loan payments consume 36 percent of the typical borrower’s biweekly paycheck. However, the average payday borrower can afford only 5 percent a paycheck, making it difficult to pay the loan off in a standard two-week loan period. In Indiana, the average payday borrower takes out approximately nine loans per year. According to a recent report by the National Consumer Law Center, this recycling of the same debt results in typical payday loan fees in Indiana averaging 382 percent annual percentage rate.
But programs like the Community Loan Center — affordable small dollar loan alternatives — have recently become available.
Seeing the devastating impact of payday lending products, Prosperity Indiana has partnered with Community Loan Center of America to offer a ‘turnkey’ alternative to payday lending. Community Loan Center (CLC) loans are made to employees of participating employers, and borrowers repay through payroll deduction. All funds loaned are provided through a community-based loan fund, offered by a nonprofit acting as a local lender, not the employer.
CLC loans are unsecured and have a one-year term for a maximum $1,000 loan with an 18 percent interest rate and an initial $20 loan fee.
As a result, the CLC employer-based model meets the same short-term lending needs of payday lending without applying the burdensome fees, interest, and repayment period associated with payday loans.
The CLC program also complements other sources of financing by reporting borrower payment history to credit bureaus, which can increase borrowers’ FICO scores. Improved FICO scores help CLC borrowers qualify for other conventional financial products in the future, like credit cards, mortgages and preferred insurance rates.
Highlights and benefits of the program to participating employers include:
Attracting and retaining employees
Fully automated loan payments
Reducing financial stress, resulting in less employee absenteeism
Fewer payroll advances
Minimizing “presenteeism,” physically present, but distracted employees
Zero cost to employer
CLC loans also rarely end in default. Nationwide, the program has originated more than 10,000 loans with a loan loss of less than four percent.
Through Prosperity Indiana members, Brightpoint in Fort Wayne and HomesteadCS in Lafayette, this opportunity is now available in 22 Indiana counties in Northeast and West Central Indiana.
One participating employer in Lafayette is LTHC Homeless Services, a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness.
LTHC Executive Director Jennifer Layton said, “As a nonprofit we are always looking for new ways to increase our benefit package to support our staff of 24. Partnering with the Community Loan Center Program was a great opportunity. This program allows my staff to overcome emergent needs as they arise and can assist them with building their own credit. It’s a win-win for LTHC Homeless Services and my staff.”
Prosperity Indiana plans to bring the CLC program statewide by expanding the network of lenders, working with local lenders to recruit more employers to the program and assisting local lenders to assemble operating and loan capital to serve new borrowers. It is currently seeking local lenders to bring the program to Central Indiana and other areas of the state.
If your organization is interested in being a lender, which comes with capital requirements, or becoming a participating employer to provide this free benefit, please let us know.
This program is open to any employer: nonprofit, for-profit and governmental entities. Establishing a stronger case for market demand could aid Prosperity Indiana in finding the right local lender to bring this service to your organization and community.
Jessica Love is the associate executive director for Prosperity Indiana and works with the executive director to provide team leadership for staff. She is responsible for developing and managing organizational systems for Prosperity Indiana to ensure effective management and control. She also provides one-on-one technical assistance to Prosperity Indiana members, informed by her media and grants management background. With 15 years experience in the nonprofit sector, Love’s consulting work focuses primarily on resource development and creating processes and tools for effective management and program compliance.
For more information about this program, please contact Prosperity Indiana’s Assets & Opportunity Network Manager Kelsey Clayton.
For Linda Foster, 16, and Taneiscia Persinger, 15, middle school was a struggle. Both had blase attitudes about school, which were reflected in their grades.
Then about three years ago, they each had a relative who cajoled them to join the Boys & Girls Club in their neighborhoods. That’s when things began to turn around. Now the sophomore and freshman give education a “5” in its importance and both have aspirations to attend college.
“In my family, my mom, my grandma, my aunt, my great grandma, none of them went to college. I want to be the first girl in my family to actually go to college and break that chain,” said Foster, who attends Arsensal New Tech High School.
Persinger believes that education is imperative for everything – to drive, to write to read.
Why did their attitudes toward school change?
Foster credits the after-school and summer programs at Wheeler-Dowe at 30th Street and Keystone Avenue and Persinger the Keenan-Stahl club on Troy Avenue.
“There are a lot of staff members who care about my education and me making it somewhere. They’re all different. They all push you in different ways, and I say the staff member that pushes me the most and keeps it most real with me is Miss Bria Amons because she doesn’t sugarcoat anything,” said Foster.
According to LeeAnn Harris, the director of club operations, education has always been a key program component, but for the past six years, college and career readiness has become a club priority. Working for the clubs since 1989, Harris has seen lots of societal changes including lack of involvement of parents involvement, all part of what spurred a conversation in 2011 to fine tune the clubs’ focus and investment.
“We took a really hard look and gathered all of full- and part-time staff. We asked each staff member to think about “a” child that they saw at the club everyday and asked them to think about that kid growing up at the club through the age of 18, and then aging out of the club.
“What impact do you want to say you had on that young person? What skills do you want them to leave with? What attitudes do you want them to leave with? What do you want them to take away?”
At the first discussion with the clubs’ 130 staff members, three big areas emerged — job readiness/academic success, healthy lifestyles and character and leadership development.
After that meeting, Harris reached out to individual clubs. While she walked away from those conversations confident that if any staff member who overheard kids talking about delinquent activity, they would intervene, she also recognized that 90 percent of club staff watched kids walk daily and chuck their backpacks in the corner. As Harris and club leadership saw it, academic success and job readiness had the most potential for growth.
“It wasn’t our natural responsibility. But because of who we are, because we care about kids, because staff said it’s important to see kids be academically successful, it became our responsibility to do something about it,” said Harris.
Next, Harris started collecting data on club attendees — ISTEP pass-rate data, graduation data and the school-dropout data for the feeder schools for each of the clubs – to identify the need and create a baseline measurement.
In the fall of 2011, each club added a full-time education director. Lilly Endowment helped pay for a two-year project with the Center for After-School Education, providing professional development for full-time and part-time staff. The center’s staff observed club programs and helped staff write action plans to improve programming and recommended regularly sharing learning activities between clubs. Now, every month at staff meetings, the host staff begins by engaging the group in a high-yield learning activity.
It didn’t take long for to realize that one education director for each Boys & Girls club wasn’t enough and in the fall of 2012, the clubs added full-time graduation counselors.
Supporting this effort is a full-time college readiness coordinator who works with young people at all of the clubs getting them on track to college. Since September, Jane Hurdish has served in that role, dividing her time between the five clubs.
Now instead of putting the backpacks in the corner, each club has a daily Power Hour where the emphasis is on homework. Everyone at the club is engaged in learning activities, working on tomorrow’s homework, a long-term school project or investing time in enrichment-learning activities. Clubs involve kids in a Career Launch curriculum to expose them to different careers and the difference between a job and career. Last summer the clubs offered Take-a-Girl-to-Work Day, and this summer the clubs will add boys. One of the topics the clubs asked the volunteer professional to discuss with the kids was benefits.
“We had to break that down for the volunteers and say, ‘We don’t mean explain your 501(c) 3, your 401(k), just tell them you get paid even when you are sick. That will blow their minds.’
“There are few if any people in the lives of most of our club members who get paid sick time or get paid vacation share time. They’re amazed you have a refrigerator where you work, and you can get free soda. You get a lunch break and you get paid while you’re eating lunch. Most of the people in their lives have jobs, and they don’t know that there are other options,” said Harris.
According to Harris, when the college readiness program first started, kids had unrealistic ideas about school. Some thought they were to going to go to UNC and play basketball just because they wanted to. She shared a story about a high school student who didn’t realize she had to pass classes to graduate from high school. She had taken all the classes on the list to get her Core 40 diploma, but didn’t realize until she approached graduation that she wouldn’t be graduating.
“There is no one telling them that information. What we’re trying to do is to create opportunities for our young people to be able to get good jobs that will support them and allow them to live the life that they want for themselves. It’s understanding what the difference between a job and a career and what benefits are.”
Originally, Hurdish wanted formal graduation plans for each student, but realized it needs to be more informal.
“A lot of the focus for College Readiness has been understanding that college doesn’t have to mean a traditional four-year school. I think some of the kids think that’s the expectation, and if that’s not what they’re going to do, then there’s really no place for me in this conversation,” said Hurdish.
To get to those conversations, Hurdish begins with talking about personal and family barriers and then branching off that.
“Before we can talk about the logistics like SATs and GPAs and all that, just having conversations about what are barriers to getting to college. A lot of times the answer is, ‘I don’t know if I’m even going to graduate high school.’ Or ‘there’s no way I’m going to be able to afford it,’” she said.
Teenagers have the opportunity to tour college campuses in the fall and spring. They earn points for volunteering with younger kids, leadership tasks and involvement in college readiness activities. There are also tours of Indiana campuses for younger teens. The overall goal is to give urban students exposure to college life.
Hurdish said that the college tours have had a ripple effect.
“The college tours have become a big thing. The teams are really into it and feel set apart if they go on a trip. And so I think what happens that’s even cooler, is they go back to the club and they talk about it, and we hang up pictures of the trip. It’s part of the conversation starter with other kids,” she said.
Over spring break, club members, their graduation counselors and Hurdish traveled to Ohio to tour two colleges and spent time at a Cincinnati Boys & Girls Club. In advance of the tour, each student had to research a school and develop questions for tour guides. Their questions — What is it like on campus? How many people stay in one dorm? What does your GPA have to be to go? – help them change some of the previous misconceptions and mindsets.
Foster and Persinger were part of the group of 24 that visited Wilberforce University, the first private HBCU, and the University of Cincinnati, which has the first living-learning community on a campus that focuses on first-generation college students.
Both Foster and Persinger were intrigued by Wilberforce.
“Wilberforce caught my eye. I knew right when I stepped on the campus, it was just so small, but there was kids communicating. All the groups came together, so it wasn’t like a rivalry. They were like, ‘How you doing today?’” said Persinger.
It also prompted more questions and reflections.
“How am I going to get there because I’m not going to be able to pay for that? But the B&G Club, that’s my rescue to get to college, because I know that they can help,” said Persinger.
And that includes getting them enrolled for the 21st Century Scholars program, so that they have access to resources. There are regular check-ins to see if teens are completing the requirements.
Persinger is hopeful that there is another resource.
According to Harris, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis has the largest endowed scholarship program of any in the country. Started privately, CICF manages 28 funds, the Dr. James R. East Scholarship Programs.
Scholarships are available to any graduating senior going on to a post-secondary institution, which could be vocational, two-year or four-year programs. One requirement is that the applicant must have been a member for at least three years at any age.
In 2013, when Harris began to manage the scholarship, four teens applied. Last year, four years after graduation counselors were in place, 15 applied.
“I think that impact in four years speaks volumes about how important those graduation counselors and college readiness program were. My goal is if we can stay at that higher number and keep kids in school, then we end up utilizing each of those scholarship funds. I would love to have that challenge,” said Harris.
By Jennifer Pendleton, vice president Indiana, Aly Sterling Philanthropy
When an organization begins a fundraising effort, it tends to be special events.
We dream up creative new ways to hold auctions, cook-offs, bake sales and golf outings.
While these events bring people in our door – regardless of whether they are interested in our cause or not — we quickly learn the return on investment (ROI) for these events is low.
Each takes a lot of work and doesn’t necessarily yield long-term donors or relationships that lead to sustainable gifts. Many people just come to have fun and play golf with friends, not to get involved or learn more about the organization’s mission.
That’s when we get “it.” Fundraising is all about relationships. And we understand – firsthand – that we need to cultivate the donors with potential for the largest gifts. We know this is where the cost to raise a dollar is the lowest. So we work to screen our major gift prospects, cultivate the relationships and woo them by showing how we can work together to impact the community.
Then we wait and hope they fall in love with our mission and decide to make a sacrificial gift to our organization. The highs and lows of chasing major gifts are thrilling and exhausting, and can make planning for programmatic needs challenging.
World weary and seeing those closest with new eyes
At some point, however, we realize there are people who have been loyally giving to our organization over the years, sitting right under our noses.
Right under our noses!
These people are so close to our mission we’re practically neighbors. We don’t need to convince them we’re trustworthy or that our work matters. These donors next door are also already writing checks and volunteering to help. We don’t even need to convince them to act.
That’s when it dawns on us: perhaps we’re both ready for a deeper, more meaningful relationship…
Mature programs make room for all kinds of friends
Our mission already has a devoted crew of donors and doers. So, why do we ignore them to compete against every other organization in town for the same slate of big donors?
While these “usual suspects” are undeniably important, they only represent part of the picture. Every nonprofit should pursue a diversified spectrum of donors. What does the diversified spectrum look like? Is it one-time donors? Board member introductions?
Sustainable fundraising programs cultivate a range of donors with the aim of building loyalty and providing more and better ways for them to engage.
Getting started
An organization’s databases contain an abundance of next-level donors waiting for the invitation to do more! They have raised their hands, possibly multiple times, to show us they care.
It makes sense we should start by getting to know our middle-donor segment. Are they Gen Xers? Millennials? Baby boomers? Knowing who’s on our list (and how they like to engage) will help inform early decisions about outreach.
As we begin building relationships, we should develop a program to standardize communication with this group moving forward. Note what works and what doesn’t, and ask donors for feedback. Our goal should be to create a simple-to-operate program that offers meaningful engagement for everyone.
Finally, these are our donor-pyramid people. If they see the results and impact in their giving, they could invest a little more (or a lot more) each year. Is there a path for them? If not, create one that provides them with opportunities to deepen their involvement with the organization’s mission.
Now’s the time to take the first step to identify and connect with your donors next door to create deeper relationships that lead to more meaningful engagement and loyal support…
Jennifer “Jen” Pendleton is a self-described board governance “nerd” who believes sound leadership and strong organizational culture are keys to nonprofit success. She’s also driven to help these leaders identify their nonprofits’ unique qualities and roles in the community, with the goals of making nonprofit magic happen and bringing vibrant visions to life. Before coming to ASP, Jen served as president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Boone County (Indiana).
By Patrick M. Rooney, associate dean, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
With the myriad demands nonprofit professionals face for their time and attention, it can be tough to make professional growth and career advancement a priority. Here are some steps you can weave into your schedule that will help you in your current position and prepare you for your next opportunity where you are now or elsewhere.
Become an issue expert and share what you know. Research and educate yourself on a key topic, and then develop original podcasts, blog posts, and opinion articles. ““Blogging makes you a go-to person,” Joe Waters, a cause marketing speaker and coach, wrote in an article for HubSpot, noting that becoming an expert lets you become “the person in your organization that people seek out to understand an issue.” Waters says that the experience “prepares you for your next big thing,” whether that’s being noticed by recruiters, writing a book, starting your own nonprofit or becoming a consultant.
Volunteer at your organization and beyond. “Volunteering to help with an event or a special project at your nonprofit — particularly those that cut across functional boundaries — can help provide the sort of well-rounded experience that leadership roles require,” according to an article by Bridgespan Group. Volunteering elsewhere lets you observe which roles are of interest or a good fit for your next career step, and serving on a nonprofit board helps you gain skills including decision-making, fundraising and program direction.
Step up for a stretch opportunity. Accepting assignments that stretch your limits helps you grow and enables managers to identify whether you are likely to succeed with more responsibility, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Job shadow and do informational interviews. Not just for first-time job seekers, observing and talking with people who hold the type of position to which you aspire can help you determine what that type of role entails and whether it is really for you. It can also show you what additional knowledge, training, and skills you’ll need if you pursue it.
Select an effective mentor. People with mentorsearn higher salaries, are promoted more frequently, and report higher job satisfaction than those without mentors, according to research by Audrey J. Murrell, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh.
Form or join a peer-to-peer leadership group. Also called leadership circles, these small groups are made up of nonprofit professionals that meet periodically to listen to and coach each other. As the Center for Nonprofit Excellence says, “These circles provide a confidential setting in which peers can discuss and solve real-time problems with real-world experience.” For more information, see the March 14 issue of Indianapolis Not-for-Profit News.
Stay on top of developments in the field and in your issue area. Not sure which podcasts or newsletters are most helpful? Ask your peers, mentor, or other, more experienced professionals what they read, listen to, and follow.
Join a professional association and take advantage of the member benefits. Membership in professional associations offers numerous career-boosting advantages, including access to the latest information and best practices, professional development and training, conferences and networking.
Make time to participate regularly in professional development. Be intentional about blocking out and adhering to time on your schedule for professional development. Stick to the commitment as you would any other appointment. It’s easy to let the challenges of the day-to-day workload and over-the-transom projects derail your plans.
Earn a graduate degree. Increasingly, most of the people that Bridgespan Group spoke with agreed, formal degrees provide a distinct advantage for those aspiring to leadership roles. Article on developing oneself as a nonprofit leader. “I can think of several great nonprofit leaders who don’t have advanced degrees, but it’s an increasingly indispensable attribute,” said Stephen Pratt, CEO of MY TURN, Inc., a Brockton, MA-based youth development agency.
That thought was echoed by Sandra Gutierrez, COO at Latin American Youth Center, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that serves youth and their families. She said, “the rigor and discipline required to complete a master’s degree program give nonprofit professionals a big edge. . . . You see a really big difference in people who come into a program manager role with a master’s degree compared to an undergraduate degree,” said Gutierrez, who also noted that most of the people she hires complete their master’s while working.”
Patrick M. Rooney, Ph.D., is associate dean for academic affairs and research at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
[content_box box_type=”normal”]The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy recently announced that its master’s degree program can now be completed entirely online, offering working professionals more flexibility and convenience. Learn more.[/content_box]
Six years ago Joyce Johnson was hired by Rock Steady Boxing’s board and charged with the task of figuring out a way to expand its program.
“We were getting calls from all over the world where people would hear about it, and they would call and say, ‘Where’s Rock Steady Boxing in Colorado Springs?’ And I would have to say, ‘I’m sorry, there’s only one Rock Steady Boxing, and it’s here in Indianapolis,’” said Johnson.
There was no long-range plan in place in 2006 when Scott Newman — at the time Marion County’s prosecutor and public safety director – started boxing. Newman had been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease, and his friend, Vince Perez, an attorney and former boxer, wanted to help. His intention was just to keep Newman active.
And so they started boxing in Newman’s basement. Newman started getting better. His tremors lessened, his balance improved, and he got stronger. He had lost his ability to type on his computer, and he got that back, and had a lot more confidence when he was in court.
“I often describe it as being serendipitous. He had no idea it was going to work when he started boxing. He and his bud were just trying to keep him active,” said Johnson.
By the time Johnson entered the picture, Newman and Perez had moved from the basement to a friend’s gym, and then opened the first-of-its-kind Rock Steady facility. Originally, Rock Steady’s board thought that Kristy Follmar, a former world champion boxer and one of the founders of the program, was going to be the Jane Fonda of home DVDs.
The board envisioned growth to be simple — sell DVDs to people with Parkinson’s who could then exercise in their living rooms. But it wasn’t too long before they realized that it wasn’t just the exercise.
[content_box box_type=”normal”]
Rock Steady Boxing training camp
“At our training camp, we teach people about Parkinson’s and the symptoms, we give them some boxing information and then we teach them why boxing is the most effective way to combat Parkinson’s,” said Johnson.
Training Camp (the boxing term for “seminar”) provides an overview of Parkinson’s disease, beginning boxing techniques and adaptations of our fitness program designed to combat 23 common symptoms of PD. The course includes classroom instruction, hands-on training and a workout in the gym with Rock Steady boxers.
Coaches should be at least 18 years of age and must attend the entire two-day seminar to be eligible for coaching certification, with an optional Saturday morning. This year’s camps are sold out until August.
Training fee: $699 first attendee; $500 each additional attendee from same location.
[/content_box]
“I think we all realized that the camaraderie in the gym, people all with Parkinson’s working together fighting back, there was just something to that. Plus it isn’t really safe to be in your living room doing a lot of strenuous exercises,” said Johnson.
When Johnson was hired in 2011, she read lots of articles about scaling nonprofits. She quickly realized it wasn’t a franchise operation they were hoping to establish. Rather it was a nonprofit helping people fight back against Parkinson’s, and they needed a diverse approach.
Subsequently, she and her team tackled a new design for expansion, beginning with writing a manual to replicate the program. Follmer had learned about Parkinson’s, had been a boxer and had developed a system, so sharing that experience was critical, and potential coaches needed to see the program in action. Soon the idea for a two-day training camp in Indianapolis was born.
Johnson emailed people who made those early phone calls looking for the Rock Steady program in their communities, and told them Rock Steady was launching a training program. That was in 2012, and it resulted in three affiliates.
“The biggest question the board has had, and probably all of us have had from the beginning is ‘Can you really replicate this?’” Johnson said.
“In the first six years, everybody thought that this whole program was Kristy and her enthusiasm and her boxing knowledge. She’s really special, and she’s got this big wonderful heart, and it just really embraces everybody. Everybody loved her and that’s why we kept growing (locally), and I think people thought that you couldn’t bottle that, that you couldn’t take her personality and replicate it.
“But it turns out that that you can,” said Johnson, who says the proof is in the videos posted by affiliates.
People who come, they have discovered, want to do this.
“They are fighting Parkinson’s, and that’s real different. This isn’t a random thing where somebody graduates with an exercise science degree and just decides to come take our training. That isn’t the way that it happens. They have some connection to Parkinson’s,” said Johnson.
In the first couple of years growth was steady. By 2015, there were 83 affiliates in 23 states and three international programs.
One of those affiliates was in New York City, and one of the participants was Aaron Latham, husband of CBS’ Lesley Stahl. Stahl pitched the story idea, and that November, a 10-minute piece aired on “Sunday Morning.” The rest is history. The phones started ringing and the website crashed, according to Johnson.
“It turns out that Lesley Stahl and CBS can do more for you in 10 minutes than you can do in 10 years. Sometimes, we just walk down that path already laid out. And so Rock Steady has been growing since then and will continue to grow,” she said.
And grow it has. Today there are 356 affiliates in 46 states, and 20 affiliates in seven countries.
The Indianapolis gym, the only stand-alone gym, has over 200 participants with two fulltime and four part-time coaches. The gym is open six days a week, and offers 19 classes for four different levels, which is based on the person’s physical condition and how advanced their symptoms are.
Membership at the Indianapolis gym is $60 a month for unlimited classes, with most people coming between 10 and 12 times a month. In LA where the cost of living is higher, Rock Steady charges $150 a month.
The affiliates’ programs are typically housed at another facility, like YMCAs, rehab hospitals and boxing gyms.
“Boxing gyms have added a Rock steady program during the daytime, when they’re normally empty. Most of the people who do Rock Steady are retired, come in the middle of the day when most of these buildings are empty of adults,” said Johnson.
One lesson the nonprofit has learned is that one Rock Steady program in a metropolitan area is not enough. In Central Indiana, for example, there are programs in Anderson, Bloomington, Brownsburg, Greenwood, two in Hancock County, one at the Westside Garden Plaza and the JCC.
People with Parkinson’s have difficulty driving more than 15 or 20 minutes, and many lose their ability to drive at later stages. The driving time added to a 90-minute class for many is their limit.
“So that’s why we keep saying there needs to be a Rock Steady in every community in the country. That’s the goal,” said Johnson.
Affiliates have to agree to do the Rock Steady method the way it’s prescribed and sign a contract with an agreement that classes will be group class only, adhere to the methods learned in Indianapolis and pay a yearly fee of $800. As an affiliate, sites can access online the coaches’ management system, which includes everything Rock Steady has developed over its 11 years.
“Every document, every waiver, even videos of how to put on gloves. Everything that we’ve developed once they’ve become an affiliate they have access to. We don’t want them to reinvent the wheel. We want them to do it the way that we have taught them to do it,” said Johnson.
The best way to access how affiliates are doing is through social media.
“All of our affiliates post videos of themselves with their classes,” said Johnson.
Johnson said that what happens in the gym hasn’t changed dramatically because over the first six years, the Indianapolis coaches had seen hundreds of people and developed the program at all levels. They were confident that the program works.
What has changed, though, is that Indianapolis is now a home office that manages 356 affiliates. It has the responsibility for making sure instructors are trained properly, executing the program effectively and answering all their questions.
As an organization, it is still learning how important its brand is.
“When we very first started, we had questions like the guy in Australia who wanted to replace the Statue of Liberty in our logo with a kangaroo,” Johnson said.
“We’ve had to learn what it means to worry about branding and to trademark our logo and our bylines. We’ve got a couple – Fighting back against Parkinson’s, In this corner hope — are both trademarked taglines.
“We’ve had to safeguard that, and as we’re moving along, now we have manufacturers that want to put the Rock Steady logo on stuff, and so now we’re learning about royalties.
“We started out as a local nonprofit, hand-to-mouth, having barbecues, to pay the coach. There’s a lot more business end to what we do than there used to be.
What does the organization have planned?
Recently Rock Steady launched a free quarterly 32-page magazine, “In Your Corner.” It is one way to connect the affiliates, and make them aware that they are a part of something bigger – fighting Parkinson’s.
It is also developing an online certification program, which for the next year, it will be available only to affiliates.
But most importantly, it continues to stay focused on its mission.
“We are experts in Parkinson’s, you have to have a Parkinson’s diagnosis to be here, and so we just feel like that’s the strength of the program. We haven’t tried to develop any other programs for other diseases. This is what we do. There are 10 million people in the world with Parkinson’s. There are people everywhere with Parkinson’s that need this,” said Johnson.
Rock Steady Boxing was founded in Indianapolis in 2006.
Forced, intense exercise has been scientifically proven to reduce, delay and even reverse, some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
At its flagship Indianapolis location, 19 classes are offered each week, serving more than 200 people.
Sixteen “Training Camps” are presented each year to replicate and establish Rock Steady affiliate programs throughout the world.
As of April 2016, there were 356 affiliates in 46 states, and 20 affiliates in seven countries.
The effect of boxing
While participants have reported success, Stephanie Combs-Miller, associate professor and director of research at Krannert School of Physical Therapy at the University of Indianapolis, has been studying Rock Steady for the past nine years. Learn more about the longitudinal study.
Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease is neurological disorder that many include symptoms such as muscle rigidity, tremors and changes in speech and gait.
As many as one million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease, which is more than the combined number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year, and this number does not reflect the thousands of cases that go undetected.
More than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease.
Incidence of Parkinson’s increases with age, but an estimated four percent of people with PD are diagnosed before the age of 50.
Men are one and a half times more likely to have Parkinson’s than women.
Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, National Parkinson’s Foundation
After the Leslie Stahl CBS’s Sunday Morning segment aired in 2015, Rock Steady had an increased demand for its training camps. This spring number of affiliates has grown to 356 from three in 2012.
By Cali Curley, assistant professor, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI
Every March since 2012, Brackets For Good, an Indianapolis-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization, hosts online “competitive giving” fundraising tournaments. With March Madness as the impetus, there are now nonprofits in 10 additional cities involved, and a national competition.
Participating nonprofits organizations rally enthusiastic donors to out fundraise their opponents in order to advance into the next round of the tournament. By generating stakeholder excitement, promoting the tournament, and soliciting corporate involvement, nonprofits earn increased exposure, raise funds, gain access to free fundraising tools and are introduced to new donors.
Dollars from donors translate to points, giving participants the opportunity to advance in their bracket. Competing nonprofits keep donations received during tournament play, no matter how far they advance. The winning organization in each city receives an additional Championship grant sponsored by corporate sponsors.
This year’s tournament concluded last week with more than $3.5 million raised for nonprofits across the country. That total eclipsed the amount that the organization helped raise in its first five years combined. Indianapolis led all areas with more than 7,000 individual donations.
Capitalizing on the excitement of this bracket-style tournament, Brackets For Good teamed up with myself and SPEA at IUPUI colleagues Drs. Jamie Levine Daniel and Marlene Walk to better understand the impact that competitive giving, as a new fundraising strategy, has on nonprofits, their donors and the community at large (e.g., sponsors, participating cities).
Guided by input from Brackets for Good, this ongoing research reflects community needs and holds academic and practical relevance. For instance, a grant from the IUPUI’s Sports Innovation Institute made it possible for the SPEA research team to incentivize donors with additional dollars to donate in exchange for donors’ participation in a survey. Data from the donor survey provides insight into donation frequency, donation reasoning, expectations and the impact of “competitive giving” on supporters’ decision to give. Additionally, participating nonprofits were surveyed to paint a clearer picture about the sector’s capacity to adapt to the evolving forms that philanthropy is taking.
As millennials become even more central participants in philanthropy, fundraising innovations such as ‘competitive giving’ becomes even more important.
SPEA’s collaborative-competitive-giving research team will begin investigating the results to answer questions central to understanding the implications of using competition in philanthropy.
Keep an eye out for future publication of findings.
Cali Curley joined SPEA IUPUI in 2014 after receiving her doctorate in Public Administration and Policy from the Askew School at Florida State University. Her research focuses on the intersection of policy and local government. Her primary interests revolve around the individual level motivations, incentives, and barriers related to policy participation decisions.
By Ann M. Merkel, Senior Vice President and Chief Market Development Officer, The National Bank of Indianapolis
You are sitting at your computer, working happily away on a project, when you receive an email from a co-worker or friend, encouraging you to open an embedded link or an attachment. Or maybe it’s an urgently worded email from your organization’s executive director, instructing you to immediately wire funds to a new vendor. Or worse, the message instructs you to email to them the W-2 information of all your employees. Curious or eager to help, you click on the link or open the attachment.
Unfortunately, you’ve just exposed your organization to Business Email Compromise and the potential loss of confidential information, as well as funds.
In recent months in Indiana, nonprofits, governmental entities and private corporations have all been targeted by cybercriminals who gained access to information, mostly through emails containing embedded links or attachments. Cybercriminals threaten to steal your data, encrypt or destroy it or make confidential records public. If you’re “lucky,” they may offer to give the data back…for a price.
This hijacking of data and demand for payment has created its own apt name: ransomware. Unfortunately, ransomware can be purchased for less than the cost of a smartphone or a designer handbag. It’s also a faster and less expensive way to steal than credit card identity theft. Nationwide in 2014, there were 783 cyberattacks and breaches, exposing 85.6 million records. In 2015, there were 781 attacks, but the number of records exposed soared to approximately 169 million. Cybercriminals then share the stolen data through social media outlets. Intel Security (McAfee) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated the likely annual cost to the global economy from cybercrime is between $375 billion and $575 billion.
There is no shame in being hacked; criminals are smart in appealing to your interests and making emails look legitimate. The loss of data, however, is a serious threat. Key is educating your employees when to be suspicious. Following are some questions to ask of your organization, and topics to discuss.
Recognizing fraudulent emails:
Even if you know the sender, verify that the message is legitimate. Pick up the phone and call or walk down the hall and ask the sender about his or her request.
If you receive a request via text message, don’t respond to the text. Instead, call the number you have on record for the sender and verify the request.
Although false emails can look professional, many do not. Notice misspellings or badly formatted content.
Be leery of third-party emails. Hover your cursor on links to see phony addresses. It’s best to search separately for the actual URL.
Never respond to a request for sensitive information through an unsecured email.
If your organization doesn’t already have a policy on internet usage, create one. Let your employees know that they shouldn’t be using their work emails for personal activities. If you use online banking services, consider dedicating a PC for this purpose only.
Suggestions for protecting your information.
Firewalls. Contact your local technology companies and consultants, who often have special rates for nonprofit organizations on firewall technologies, which are designed to prevent unauthorized access, and keep this product current. Heed all security software warnings on links and attachments and do not download if advised not to.
Back up, back up, back up! Viruses aren’t just about your health any more. Computer viruses, ransomware and malware (software that disables computer systems) are less threats if you back up your work daily. If your data is compromised, you can always go back and retrieve updated files with minimal loss of information. Cloud storage is recommended, but regardless, files should be stored in a separate location.
Saving data. Many nonprofit organizations cannot afford nor do they need a high-tech individual server. Consider, instead, free data storage cloud services that Google and Microsoft offer to nonprofit organizations.
As your bank’s fraud prevention software has become increasingly impenetrable, cybercriminals are focusing their attacks on you and your employees, instead. With information gleaned from a nonprofit’s website or from public domains, they use social engineering/phishing to gain access to your organization.
Cybercriminals believe employees are your weakest link. However, with some training, they can become your strongest asset in fraud prevention.
In her role as Senior Vice President and Chief Market Development Officer for The National Bank of Indianapolis, Ms. Merkel is responsible for cultivating and maintaining high profile corporate, individual and community relationships that strengthen the Bank’s brand and reputation.
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand.
We all need somebody to lean on.
— Bill Withers, “Lean on Me”
Betty Cockrum, the retiring president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, has had a lot on her plate during her 15-year tenure. She manages an organization with 19 locations in two states, 170 employees, and a $16 million budget.
She manages to keep a handle on everything, but every now and then it’s nice to get a little extra help. As the old song goes, it’s nice to have somebody to lean on when you need a hand.
It was just more than three years ago that Cockrum found her “somebody.” She was invited to join a small leadership group, not specific to her nonprofit sector, but a group that has provided invaluable guidance.
“I’m just really grateful that I got invited, and I place great value on it. I feel like everyone of them has become a person in my life that I can call on in the middle of the night,” said Cockrum.
This nonprofit leadership group, which has no official name, was launched by Cassie Stockamp, president of the Athenaeum Foundation, Jim Morris, CEO at Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity, and Kyle Lanham, vice president of community engagement and chief advancement officer at Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana.
The three had been members of similar for-profit groups. When Morris moved back to Indianapolis from Orlando, Fla., in 2008 and got re-involved in the community, he discovered there wasn’t a group for the nonprofit sector.
“I just started asking around, ‘would anybody want to do something like this?” said Morris.
Both Lanham and Stockamp had had longtime involvement with the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), which was founded in 1950 in Rochester, N.Y., and designed for young for-profit leaders. Both had small for-profit companies, before serving as nonprofit leaders, and Stockamp said for the first seven years, she was the only woman in her group.
After a year of contemplation, and asking questions about whether the size of nonprofits mattered and how dynamic to make the group, the three got serious. They adapted the YPO model and compiled a list of potential collegial candidates. Each reached out to individuals to gauge interest and commitment. But most importantly, they found solace in forming a group that could help shoulder the weight of a nonprofit leader to provide qualitative direction.
“So we literally just put a list together, and then went out and described what the group would be and asked, ‘Would you be interested?’” said Morris.
Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Executive Director Lindsey Mintz remembers having coffee with Cockrum, who had signed on to the group and was gauging Mintz’s interest. Before Cockrum had fully explained the concept, Mintz remembers being hooked.
“I wanted in. I had gotten all sorts of stuff that I could talk about and getting access to all of this expertise and support was the selling point,” said Mintz, the group’s youngest member.
Rounding out the group are ACLU’s Executive Director Jane Heneger, Second Presbyterian Church’s senior pastor Lewis Galloway and IU Health’s senior vice president and chief mission and values officer Kevin Armstrong. Lanham said that recently the group decided to remain under 10.
Stockamp stressed that members cannot be vulnerable, but must be willing to cry and laugh. By nature of their positions, executive directors must provide direction for the entire organization, allow it to thrive and adjust to fit the changing needs of the people or issues at the core of its mission. They must motivate a team of people — all of whom rely, in one way or another, on the direction of the executive to maintain the viability of the entire organization.
Not everyone heads a nonprofit, so technically the group is not just for CEOs. With no official name, several members write MBO (mission-based organization) on the calendar. Morris quipped that maybe a name and matching t-shirts are needed.
“I have staff members who say, ‘What is that thing on your calendar every month?’ And I say, ‘That’s top secret, I cannot talk about it,’” said Cockrum.
Regardless of the name, the group plays a significant role for each member, and confidentiality is paramount. There is no signed agreement, but everyone adheres to the policy, and all understand it includes spouses and partners.
“Kyle may know you, but Kyle won’t know your wife. He may be less inclined to share something, if he’s not sure that he can trust her. So that was an important lesson for me 21 years ago, and definitely one I shared,” said Lanham. “This is a place where I can go and have a conversation and I know it will be confidential. Getting the right mix of people is important.”
From its start three years ago, the focus has always been a de facto support group and gives each member a confidential sounding board. While most have someone on their individual staffs to turn to for advice, there is a limit of what can be shared, and sometimes a feeling of loneliness.
“Every industry and job has its source of stress, but there is something unique to organizations where ‘Yes, I have to balance my budget, and I have to go out and find money, but I am trying to improve society in some way.’ There’s an understanding that all of us feel passionate about our missions. Really being there for each other and what each other’s going through is part of the glue,” said Mintz.
Meeting guidelines are simple: keep the group small — between eight to 12 — and attendance is a priority. Monthly meetings start at 8 a.m., with a rotating location and host, and a precise agenda. There is a guaranteed finish of 10:30 a.m.
“I think because this group of eight jelled so well and because our purpose for being has become so meaningful. If I really needed to feel shored up, I have that Monday morning to look forward to with seven individuals, and be sure that when I walk out of there at 10:30 in the morning and start my week for real that I walk a little stronger and straighter than when I walked in the door,” said Cockrum.
Meetings begin with a three-minute check-in to share each person’s highs and lows — professional, personal or a combination – of the last month. After check-ins, the harder work begins. Using a coach-presenter format, an individual poses a topical challenge. Prior to the meeting, the coach helps the individual tease out the issue.
“At the core is a question that they’re bringing to the group. While the group has expertise, it’s not there to necessarily advise or sort of be a wisdom council. It is there primarily to stir up the question, maybe build on the question,” said Morris. “We are really trying to get the presenter to think more broadly about it, to see if there are deeper questions to ask.”
While everyone takes on the presenter role, Mintz admitted that she had to be coached a couple of times before she had the nerve to offer to coach somebody. “There’s a ton of trust that you have to build, too,” she said.
This 45-minute portion of the monthly meeting tends to be fairly interactive. The presenter’s situation might be how to manage a project or tackle a staffing issue or board problem, but topics tend not to focus on funding. No matter, it’s eye-opening for the group.
“Every major decision that I’ve made, I went to the group first. The coach helps to make sure that the question you are asking is the right one. I have learned with help from the coach that my original question is not really the question,” said Lanham.
Clearly, everyone has a stake in the game.
“Invariably it’s not just the person learning something and getting feedback from other people, but everybody around the table takes something away from it. It may be one person’s issue, but we all get to grow from it and learn from it,” said Mintz. “I don’t think I’ve ever missed a session. There is very little that I wouldn’t move to make one of these sessions happen.”
“For me, it is getting advice from a bunch of people who know me, know my situation and have good judgment. That’s why the group is important,” said Lanham.
At the end of the session, there is a pregunta degu – literally, “ask me” — a question of the day. One member takes responsibility for leading this. Recently it’s been Lanham, and it’s designed to dig a little deeper.
“I think that’s been a very valuable part. You can gloss over it, think, ‘Aw, it’s just a fun little way to get to know each other,’ but it allows you to listen to the seasonal pulse of somebody and where they are,” said Morris.
While the group doesn’t often talk about an issue again, Mintz said, everything builds on previous conversations and deeper relationships.
“But really the sense of understanding, that sense I can say just a couple of sentences and I know that they’ll all get it, even though we all have very different organizations. For me as a younger professional, to find my legs, and my own voice, that’s also something that I learn a lot from this group. It’s really, really huge to be able to have that conversation with people in totally different industries, and faith traditions,” said Mintz.
But it doesn’t stop with the monthly meeting. There is a constant ebb and flow of information, and someone is emailing an article.
“It is important to just be reminded, that it’s about the journey, but it’s also about the destination. Sometimes you get so caught up in your daily meanders and challenges and you sort of forget what the long game is. And this group helps keep that focus,” said Cockrum.
