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charitableadvisors

Mar 08

A trending fundraising tool: a junior board

By Feature, Governance

By CJ Orr, associate director, Orr Associates |

Six years ago, the phrase “junior board” was understood by only a few. Now, I hear it all the time. I work at a nonprofit consulting firm, Orr Associates, Inc (OAI). OAI works exclusively with nonprofits to help them with their fundraising and development needs. Our nonprofit partners consistently tell us they struggle to engage with millennials. Many of them have been building junior boards to serve as a solution.

Over the past year, I took the time to study the complexities and fundraising interests of the millennial generation. In my research, I identified over 400 nonprofits that have a junior board and spoke with over 70 of them about their junior board. I also serve as a board member on four different junior boards.

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Mar 08

Boarding call for next-gen leaders

By Feature, Governance

By Anna Pikovsky Auerbach, Moonridge Group COO, Stanford Social Innovation Review |

The millennial generation cares about the state of the world and wants to get involved—so why do so few boards have young members?

A quick search of “millennials on nonprofit boards” yields more than 67,000 search results on Google. Most of the articles that turn up emphasize the value of millennial leadership, and include calls to engage and involve them in the social sector. But reality lags far behind interest and intentions.

One large, national survey in 2012 showed that only 2 percent of board members were under 30, while 43 percent were between 50 and 64. Meanwhile, 70 percent of millennials spent at least an hour volunteering last year, and 84 percent made a charitable donation. More than other living generations, the millennial generation is focused on making a difference, being hands-on, and pursuing what it loves. Data like this makes it clear that millennials care about the state of the world and want to get involved — so why do so few boards have young members?

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Mar 07

IUPUI Nonprofit Expo: Bringing students and employers together

By Sponsor Insight

By IUPUI School of Public and Environmental Affairs staff |

Now in its sixth year, the IUPUI Nonprofit Expo brings together nonprofit, government and community partners that offer internship, volunteer and job opportunities for IUPUI students and alumni.

This year’s event will take place March 22 from noon to 4 p.m. at the IUPUI Campus Center.

“The Nonprofit Expo at IUPUI is a great way to connect with emerging nonprofit practitioners,” said Alyssa Starr Newerth, the deputy director of Indy Reads. “The students are always very interested in our work and we have made many connections over the years at the expo. We have hired interns and met future and current community partners at this event.”

The expo is a collaborative effort among six IUPUI’s schools. Annually, it is coordinated by the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, IU School of Social Work, the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUI Center for Service and Learning and the IU School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences.

Since the first expo in 2011, the number of exhibiting employers has more than doubled. Last year, more than 70 organizations took part in the expo, and nearly 450 students and alumni attended the event.

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To learn more about the 2016 IUPUI Nonprofit Expo, click here. Employers can still register for the event for only $85. Interested nonprofit organizations can register for event by contacting Kathleen Hursh, assistant director of Career Services at SPEA, at hurshk@iupui.edu or 317-278-3651 or e-mail Meredith Wade at npexpo@iupui.edu

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“The potential volunteer-turnout-per-minute is really high,” said Susan Norman, regional volunteer services officer for the Indiana Region American Red Cross. “We can go to other exhibits in other places and talk to maybe three people the whole time because of the nature of the event. These folks are there because they want to be involved with organizations like ours. It helps us do targeted marketing and is a great venue for discovering where students’ interests and our needs overlap.”

Norman called the Nonprofit Expo one of the top three events that the organization attends. She says the skills that students and young alumni bring with them to the job allows the Red Cross to use them in a variety of positions. The fact they’re eager to learn and try different things is an added bonus.

“I know the quality of volunteer I’m going to walk away with,” she said. “I know they’re going to be people who are really interested in our mission, and I know they’re going to be fully engaged and active during the time they’re with us.”

In 2013-2014, the IUPUI Center for Service and Learning survey found an estimated 8,570 students, slightly fewer than previous year, contributed 303,061 hours of service to the community.

“We have so many students on this campus who are connected to the mission of nonprofits,” Hursh said. “This is really just a fabulous opportunity for everyone – employers, students and alumni – who are committed to community engagement.”

Added Newerth, “As a (SPEA) alumna, the Nonprofit Expo makes me hopeful and excited about the future of my profession.”

Feb 29

Do you know your full costs and recover them?

By Sponsor Insight

By Jim Simpson, CPA and director, Financial Technologies & Management |

Last year, the Nonprofit Finance Fund in its State of the Nonprofit Sector reported that only seven percent of nonprofits received full project costs from foundations.

Let’s make sure we have the same definition for defining full costs because it is not just expenses. Using the following formula helps to define what denotes full costs: day-to-day operating expenses + reserves + fixed asset additions + debt reduction.

Nonprofits that recover full costs prevent financial crises and interrupted services and enable leaders to stay focused on mission and related outcomes.

Many nonprofit organizations don’t know their full costs and settle for less recovery than full costs.

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Feb 29

Nonprofits and lobbying: Yes, they can!

By Feature, Legislation

By Nayantara Mehta, counsel, Alliance for Justice |

When many people think about nonprofits and lobbying, they might think of a relationship like oil and water: they don’t mix. There is a widespread perception that nonprofits cannot lobby, or if they do lobby, they are exploiting some kind of legal loophole. The fact is that nonprofits, even 501(c)(3) organizations, which are the most restricted type of nonprofits, may legally lobby. Getting involved in the legislative process and having a say in policy discussions is not just an appropriate role for nonprofits; it is vital. If nonprofits are not speaking on behalf of their often-vulnerable communities, chances are nobody else is either.

Organizations with a focus on the environment may be the most visible nonprofits engaging in the policy process, but lobbying is no less important for nonprofits working on every issue area, from the arts to wildlife preservation.

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Feb 29

Two nonprofits face more than $47,000 in fines over L.A. lobbying forms

By Feature, Legislation

By Emily Alpert Reyes, reporter, Los Angeles Times |

Two nonprofits could face fines totaling more than $47,000 from the city Ethics Commission for failing to accurately report how much they had spent on lobbying at City Hall.

Ethics Commission staffers have proposed a fine of $30,000 for the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, an influential organization that has successfully pushed to raise wages for hotel and airport workers, and $17,500 for the Hospital Assn. of Southern California, a regional trade group for hospitals.

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Feb 29

Nonprofits can lobby

By Feature, Legislation

By Center for Nonprofits |

Given the many crucial issues facing nonprofit organizations and the people they serve, it is more important than ever that charities become involved in the public policy debate. Yet too many people mistakenly assume that it is illegal for nonprofits to lobby.

To the contrary, federal laws actually exist to encourage charities to lobby within certain specified limits. Knowing what constitutes lobbying under the law, and what the limits are, is the key to being able to lobby legally and safely. This article represents a vastly simplified summary of some of the laws and regulations governing charitable lobbying. The complete laws are much more complex, so consult your attorney or accountant for professional advice.

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Feb 23

The gap

By Feature, Leadership

By Christine H. O’Toole, freelance writer, Heinz Endowment |

When Patricia Arquette used her Oscar acceptance speech to demand fair pay for women, it wasn’t just Hollywood stars who gave her a rousing ovation.

Television viewers saw actresses Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez cheering as Ms. Arquette declared, “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” Some 2,400 miles away, women in Pittsburgh’s nonprofit sector applauded, too.

Recent analyses of the region’s nonprofits have revealed a significant pay gap between men and women executives. The studies include a report that Bob Orser and Rita Haronian of the Nonprofit Compensation Associates prepared for the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University. It shows that although 64 percent of executive directors at nonprofit agencies in the Pittsburgh region are women, their average pay was just 75 percent of the average salary for men — $101,475 compared to men’s $135,170. Overall, women’s nonprofit pay has stalled at 74 cents for every dollar earned by men, even as women comprise 74 percent of all employees in the sector.

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Feb 23

Gender pay gap hurts women in retirement

By Feature, Leadership

By Mark Miller, Reuters reporter, Minneapolis Star Tribune |

Women who work full-time, year-round, made just 79 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts in 2014, U.S. Census Bureau data show.

But the injustice of the gender pay gap also impacts retirement security.

A woman who works full-time over a 40-year period loses $435,480 in lifetime income (today’s dollars) due to the wage gap, according to the National Women’s Law Center, a nonprofit legal and advocacy group.

The income gap translates directly to lower income from Social Security and pensions — since those benefits are determined by wage history — and it hampers the capacity of women to save for retirement.

And since women typically live longer than men, savings often must be stretched across more years of retirement.

Paying women less than men for the same work has been illegal since 1963. Seven years ago, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for workers to challenge pay inequality. He announced last month that employers with more than 100 workers will be required to start reporting compensation data by gender to the federal government.

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Feb 22

Mindfully managing millennials

By Sponsor Insight

By Jeremy York, HR field representative, Synergy |

As an HR professional, managers often ask for advice on how to best manage their millennial staff. Many of them express frustration that the traditional management methods used in the past are no longer effective.

Why? It’s because millennials are unlike any other generation currently in the workforce. They work differently, think differently, and have different expectations from employees we have managed for years.

First of all, who are millennials? Millennials were born from 1981-2000 and are often referred to as “Generation Next.” They are fiercely independent and value achievement, diversity, work/life balance and open communication. Millennials grew up with technology at their fingertips, had a best friend named Google, and received recognition not just for winning, but for participating.

As for the workplace, they have very high expectations of company culture and see no value in negativity or conformity. Millennials do not just want to come to work, do their jobs and go home. They want involvement, a sense of purpose and belonging and personal development. They believe it is important that they mold themselves into socially responsible and compassionate people, working to make a difference in whatever they do. Millennials see the workplace as a venue to achieve their own individual goals. It is this millennial point of view that makes them so vastly different from the generations who precede them.

So how do we manage them if they’re so different? The key to managing millennials is the ability to adapt management approach to motivate and engage this group in order to meet their needs.

This means:

  • Creating informal, team-oriented workplaces that allow for creativity and collaboration.
  • Understanding that individual goals come first, followed by work goals.
  • Creating engaging experiences with a variety of activities, fostering strong team relations.
  • Providing regular feedback and identifying how work relates to the “big picture.”
  • Understanding that you have to earn respect no matter what your title —“Respect me to be respected.”

As of 2015, millennials are the largest generation in the workforce according to the Pew Research Center and learning how to manage and engage them is critical to a business’ future success.

While changing how we’ve always done something isn’t easy, a new paradigm is essential to attract and retain the best talent. Millennials have grown up with choices and this is no different for them when determining a place of employment.

To learn more about millennial traits, I recommend the article “10 Millennial Personality Traits That HR Managers Can’t Ignore.” This provides a great overview of what managers must understand about millennials in order to ensure an effective management approach.

JeremyYork Jeremy York, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a Human Resources Field Representative for Synergy PEO Services. With over 15 years experience, he provides strategic and generalist HR support to local nonprofit organization leaders and their staffs. Jeremy has a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in Organizational Leadership and Supervision and a master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University in Management. He is the current director of certification for the Indiana State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and serves on the IndySHRM board of directors as the past president.