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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thank people. Personally.
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.
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.
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.
By John T. Keith, J.D., consultant, Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates
Fundraising success is increasingly a vital component of an organization’s ability to fulfill its mission. Campaigns have increased in prevalence and frequency and often are dependent upon 90 percent of the dollars being contributed by 10 percent of the donors. (In higher education, this can reach 95 percent of the dollars from 5 percent of the donors, a threshold nearly unheard of 15 years ago.)
This leads many organizations to rely upon major gift fundraising at all times, rather than merely for special projects of need.
At the same time, it has become more common for board members to have backgrounds in businesses that foster a sales culture and therefore look for data-driven accountability from the nonprofits they support. How can we modernize our approach to goal-setting and accountability without sacrificing what makes philanthropy so different from sales transactions?
The art of fundraising focuses on fostering support for your mission by developing relationships with donors and aligning their philanthropic goals with organizational needs. Yet, in philanthropy it is important that we focus on both the art and science of fundraising by tracking the metrics behind those relationships.
Here are a few things to consider as you explore incorporating metrics into your major gift program.
This is unfortunately a very common response by leaders when they have a great performer within their company. He’s been with the company “long enough,” and now the leaders find themselves wondering what they’re going to do so he doesn’t leave the company.
What are some signs that making the person a manager might be a bad idea?
He’s not good at managing. Sure he’s great at what he’s doing right now, but does that mean he’ll rock at managing other people?
Your company is just too young or too small. Within flat organizations, you’ll find limited available management and leadership roles. At larger firms, you’ll find more opportunities for advancement, but it could take years for the person to get there.
The person just doesn’t want to manage. Recent research is finding fewer people who have leadership aspirations.
So what can a company do to recognize the work the employee is doing, without handing out a promotion?
Most of us have frequent career conversations. These might take the shape of a friend seeking advice, contemplating our own future, or hiring a new person to join our team. As the employment marketplace tightens, people are becoming more comfortable changing jobs and considering options and alternatives.
In the career marketplace, there are employers, job seekers, and intermediary functions like job advertising, community networking, and job seeker support groups. One of our primary roles at Charitable Advisors is to help that nonprofit career marketplace function better.
Every week, thousands of individuals explore the Charitable Advisors’ Nonprofit Job board in search of career opportunities and every week, area nonprofits post 15-20 new job ads with Charitable Advisors and over 10,000 applicants for positions last year.
Over the years, Charitable Advisors has written articles about nonprofit careers and developed short handouts for presentations. Last spring, we concluded that it was time to develop a brief, yet comprehensive, resource to support both job seekers and the community leaders whom they often reach out to for guidance.
“Considering a career in the nonprofit sector” is a four-page publication designed to provide information and stimulate the thinking of anyone exploring a nonprofit career. It can support recent graduates, career changers or current nonprofit professionals to determine the next steps.
How to use “Considering a career in the nonprofit sector.
As a resource for job referral partners, mentors, nonprofit employers– We receive positive comments from many of you who recommend the Not-for-profit News and the Charitable Advisors Nonprofit Job Board to job seekers.
In advance of meeting with a job seeker, you might direct the individual to Charitable Advisor’s new publication, “Considering a career in the nonprofit sector.” It is designed to respond to frequently asked questions by job seekers, provide valuable information and resources, and offer potential directions. We hope this resource will guide the job seeker to narrow his or her search and refine his or her questions before meeting with you.
This is our first resource of this nature and is born out of conversation with many of you who wished you had a readily-available resource to support a job seeker. Let us know how we can continue to enhance it and support you.
A resource for job seekers– We frequently hear from job seekers that our community is fortunate to have nonprofit leaders who are generous with their time and their willingness to meet with them and career changers.
Charitable Advisors has created a resource that we hope will help you on this job-search journey and prime your thinking. It is intended as a starting place to make the best of your conversations as you pursue your next opportunity.
As a job seeker, networking contacts expect you to do your homework so they can be helpful to you. One suggestion is for you to be as specific as you can about your target position and the type of organization that you want to work.
JOB SEEKER ADS – Beginning late in October, we will launch a new online job-seeker connection opportunity. Watch for more information or alert Julie@CharitableAdvisors.com if you would like to be contacted when details are finalized.
Bryan Orander is founder and president of Charitable Advisors. After 18 years of for-profit leadership in the Fortune 50 business world and a disability-related nonprofit, Bryan joined a large regional accounting and consulting firm. In 2000, he founded Charitable Advisors with the vision of going beyond traditional consulting to become a connector, advocate and problem solver for the nonprofit sector.
By Jenny Banner, director of strategic initiatives, SmallBox
Since SmallBox has been introducing nonprofits to a creative problem-solving methodology called Design Thinking, we often find that people think the creative framework is intimidating. But as we work with people and they learn about the Design Thinking process, they want to apply it to all their problems.
We are here to tell you it’s okay to be intimidated, and it’s okay to be excited. What you need to know is that Design Thinking shouldn’t be studied and put on the shelf, it requires that you take action and apply it. Even if it’s using one simple tool that you think can get to better insights for your team or outcomes for those you serve. We say commit to Design Doing (not just thinking)!
Let’s put the theory into practice and show you how you can apply a design thinking method to an ongoing nonprofit challenge: new board member on-boarding [aka orientation].
Tool: Journey mapping
In this exercise, the bigger your map, the better. Map the current new board member on-boarding process in a linear fashion on a big piece of butcher paper or a large white board. Flatten the process by mapping it in an order that makes sense, chronological typically works well. This means you need to create a beginning and an end of the on-boarding process.
As you are gathering insights about the current process in this exercise, it’s worth including as many informed stakeholders as possible. This may include new and former board members, staff, and anyone who has prepped, planned or experienced the current on-boarding process. What’s key to remember is that you are working to improve the process for the new board member, not for your nonprofit. Always keep the board member’s experience the focus.
Use colored Post-It notes to capture steps of the process. Post-Its create a visual aspect to the work that accesses the right brain, and allows you to change or add elements to the order of the process when needed. When completed you will have a visual diagram of all the touch points your new board members have during on-boarding.
Once you have mapped the current process, determine which parts of it delight new board members and which parts need improvement or confuse new board members. Ideally, you will ask board members who went through the process what their experience was. Where did they experience high points and low points? Highs and lows in the journey map can be identified using plus and minus symbols or any other creative way your team comes up with.
Once you have assembled all of your touch points and on-boarding highs and lows, you can start to assemble a list of what to capitalize on and what to improve.
Tool: oil change
This tool can be used in various settings, and we suggest applying it to the items on your journey map. This is a simple and quick tool aimed at creating efficient and participative communicate for a group about what people see in the journey map. It involves a group leader or facilitator asking a series of questions. Here are the ones we like to use:
Based on what you see on the journey map, what’s working?
Based on what you see on the journey map, what’s not working?
What’s missing from our board on-boarding journey?
What else?
The last two are purposely open-ended to encourage team members to bring new ideas to the group. We find that often when people start looking at on-boarding (or any journey) differently, it ignites creative ideas that deserve to be captured.
Once you have these questions answered, you can choose any number of voting methods to prioritize your areas of action and focus.
As Design Thinking gains more attention, we will continue to share our process so you can apply it to the work you lead.
Jenny Banner has been practicing amateur psychology since middle school. This interest in what makes people tick, led Jenny to careers sales, HR, and consulting as well as a graduate education in I/O Psychology (the psychology of the workplace). In her 15+ years of HR and consulting experience, Banner has worked with companies from Fortune 500 to start-ups, and observed similarities. As a consultant and coach her focus has been on leadership development, career transition, and training. She recently joined Smallbox as director of strategic initiatives and is applying her unique skill set to help organizations align their internal and external brand perceptions, and is working to refine educational offerings around problem solving using Design Thinking. jennybanner@smallbox.com
By Robert Ramsay, CPA, CISA, CITP, CCSFP, Barnes Dennig
Working with nonprofit leaders on a regular basis, the questions I get from the executive directors and C-suite personnel typically revolve around, “How deep in the details do I need to be for my organization?”
While the answer to this question varies greatly, there are a few tips I provide to help leaders sort this out. The following is a brief overview of current key topics, and offers guidelines for steering technology dealing with security, staffing, outsourcing, strategic planning, cloud computing, online banking and finding board members from the technology sector.
[content_box box_type=”normal”]
Barnes Dennig is offering a free educational seminar covering these topics and more on Sept.13th.
Ford Salon at Robertson Hall, Butler University (4600 Sunset Ave.). Registration and breakfast at 7:30 a.m. , presentation and discussion at 8 to 10 a.m.
Data security may be the most difficult and fastest changing element of technology to keep up with today (There are many interesting discussions about the “singularity,” and when robots will take over, but practically speaking, data security is the issue of the day). The most common data security risk is Ransomware, the malware that encrypts your information and demands a ransom to return your data.
By the end of 2017, ransomware is projected to exceed $1 billion per year according the FBI. Executives must make sure that everything (and I mean everything of significance) is backed up and easily retrieved. They also must ensure that all employees are trained to “think before they click.” As backup and retrieval improves and employees reduce the number of times they accidentally click on malware, Ransomware as we know it will diminish in volume and severity.
Online banking:
Online banking is a convenient way to move money. Unfortunately, this applies to the nefarious as well as the well-intentioned. Executives should challenge their finance teams and their bankers to demonstrate that segregation of duties exist to such an extent, that if one person’s account were hacked, this would still not allow the hacker to misdirect (and steal) electronic funds.
Network penetration testing:
Also called “white-hat hacking,” network penetration testing can help you know “What do we look like to a hacker?” This is becoming more and more routine, especially for entities that accept credit cards. Almost like an annual financial statement audit, having an annual data security audit can help make sure your controls are evolving as fast as the threats.
HIPAA compliance:
One set of standards that is growing rapidly in the nonprofit sector is HIPAA security requirements. These are a result of U.S. Federal laws that govern personal healthcare information (PHI). Originally just for healthcare providers, these laws have expanded to include all parties in the healthcare system that touch PHI. Because nonprofits want to improve client outcomes, tracking health information is becoming more ubiquitous. Many organizations are choosing to comply with HIPAA as a risk management decision, even if they may not be legally obligated to do so. This is often wise for marketing, as well as security purposes.
PCI compliance:
Similar to HIPAA, PCI is another set of data security standards becoming generally accepted in the nonprofit sector. These Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards are more widely required and more precisely defined than the HIPAA requirements. They also offer a clear tier of difficulty that corresponds with the agency’s volume and complexity of processing. Leaders should insist that their finance and information systems teams are coordinating to meet and exceed these requirements on an ongoing basis.
Staffing /outsourcing:
Outsourcing is a fact of life in technology, but very few internal technology teams know enough to provide 100 percent of the security knowledge needed to keep you safe. However, every nonprofit needs to have someone in-house that fully understands your mission, your strategic plan and your current use of technology. If that person is good, then you can task them with deciding activities that are best performed in-house, and those best outsourced.
Strategic technology planning:
Starting at the board level, almost all nonprofits are familiar with strategic planning. These efforts provide guidance to management, and ensure priorities are clearly communicated. Similarly, strategic technology planning helps steer the technology team. When properly aligned, technology is most efficiently assisting the entire organization to meet its goals. The board should provide clear objectives, and allow management to decide how to meet them.
The cloud:
Internet-provided computing can save costs and provide flexibility to IT operations. It presents opportunities, and risks that must continuously be weighed against the opportunities and risks of NOT using the cloud. Because the environment changes rapidly and risk management can be very difficult, having a board member (or committee) from the technology sector can be very important. Ongoing communications between the board and management are a great way to navigate these challenges.
Finding board members from the technology sector:
This is typically not an easy task for the board chair or the personnel committee. When the benefits of diversity are mentioned, technology experience should be included on the list of needed skills. Fortunately, several organizations are earnestly working to assist boards wishing to connect with technology leaders. In your community, you may have any number of networking groups. The following are some of the largest with a national footprint: United Way’s BoardBank, VolunteerMatch.org, NTEN, and the NPower network. Regionally, there is a large variety of organizations that offer board member training and matching. They can range from your local YWCA to an arts consortium. The bottom line for these efforts is to be intentional about recruiting to fill this niche requirement on the board.
Robert J. Ramsay, CPA, CISA, CITP, CCSFP has performed consulting services for more than 20 years, helping organizations make more mission and strengthen their processes, with a particular focus on data security. He is a member of the firm’s nonprofit client service team and has worked with organizations across the sector. Prior to joining Barnes Dennig, he worked for PwC and TechBridge, a 501c3 consulting firm in Atlanta.
Barnes Dennig’s website provides additional information on these topics. Click here to learn more about our technology practice and the services for nonprofits like yours.
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017
Ford Salon at Robertson Hall, Butler University
4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208
7:30 am – Registration and Breakfast
8:00 -10:00 am – Presentation & Discussion
You don’t have to look far to see the news stories: technology threats, security breaches and fraud are on the rise. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about the current situation not-for-profit organizations are facing as we discuss the big picture on technology, cybersecurity and risks that impact not-for-profits every day.
Join Barnes Dennig Director and technology expert, Robert Ramsay, CPA, CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor), CITP (Certified Information Technology Professional), as he leads an interactive discussion on what nonprofit leaders need to know about technology and cybersecurity. Attendees will gain useful knowledge on the following topics, and more:
How to protect your operations while doing business online, and where to look for risks
Cybersecurity threats that not-for-profits commonly face and what to do about them
How to fight technology fraud with HIPAA/PCI compliance
Email vulnerabilities and how they can impact online banking
Best practices for online treasury management
This event is presented free-of-charge, and attendees will be awarded 1.5 hours of CPE credit. Register Here>>
