September, 2009
This edition of The Nonprofit Partnership e-news is sponsored by Malin, Bergquist & Co.
Nonprofits: The View From Here of the Road Ahead
The Pennsylvania state budget stalemate has brought into focus a new view of the kind of road that lies ahead for nonprofits in the Keystone State and beyond. Here are some trends that will pave this road:
• State Governments Reset. The Pennsylvania problem is largely one of tax policy. Federal stimulus is boosting up state budgets this year and next, but more and more, nobody is looking to a rebound in state revenues: unemployment remains up, capital gains will be zero, consumer spending and property values will be down. States will have dramatically less money.
• The Feds will be reining it in. You can already sense that healthcare reform will be the last hurrah for spending.
• In Erie County, 90% of nonprofit revenues are from the government. The guess is that if government spends less, the next bout of stimulus will also come from taxing less. Inevitably, there will be more competition for the public’s consumer dollar. Consumption will increasingly be seen as including both goods and services. Child care, recreation, education, healthcare, and many other things we have often associated with our government paying for will increasingly be sold through user fees, sliding fee scales, and the like.
What does this mean? In the future, nonprofit will have to compete in the consumer marketplace for more of their revenue. We will have to market ourselves – to tell our stories and spread our compelling messages to a public that will be increasingly willing to buy what we have to offer.
But right now in Pennsylvania, there is a more urgent communication channel – that of you and your state legislators. Communicate clearly through your stories of impact exactly what the crisis means to you and your clients. It is up to the legislature and the governor to make it work. Use your best language to appeal – the word “you” – tell them “It is your responsibility to get this done.”
9th Annual Northwest PA Nonprofit Day is October 21
A full-day conference for nonprofits from throughout the region will take place at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie on Wednesday, October 21. Entitled “Finding Your Way in the Storm: A Compass for Today’s Nonprofits,” the day will feature 20 compelling workshops on a variety of in-demand topics in management, governance, communication, and fundraising. The keynote address will be given by Peter Brinckerhoff, award-winning author of Generations: The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit
. The day will also feature a vendor fair of goods and services for nonprofits and The Nonprofit Partnership’s awards for best annual reports and best governance practices.
A Pre-Conference Institute on e-Marketing will be held on October 20 from 1 to 5 pm. The conference is free to NPP members. Full details and registration information is available on The Nonprofit Partnership website.
Other Upcoming Opportunities from NPP
• Your opportunity to provide input into Erie’s County’s cultural plan for the upcoming years is here! Planning is ongoing, forums are occurring this week, and surveys for public input have been posted online. For details, go to www.culturesparkerie.org.
• Ann O’Neill Klemensic’s marketing class at Gannon is actively seeking nonprofit organizations to take on as marketing projects in the fall semester. If you are interested please contact the NPP office by e-mail reply or call (814) 454-8800.
• A comprehensive fundraising seminar offered by Jeffrey Byrne Associates and The Nonprofit Partnership is coming to Erie on November 3. Two hours will be devoted to best practices for your annual campaign and two hours will be devoted to mounting successful capital campaigns in this economic downturn. If you’re determined to raise money this year, this forum is for you – details are available on the NPP website.
Don’t Forget About the Power of Volunteerism
A recent study shows that volunteerism remains steady despite the recession. Over one-quarter of all Americans – about 62 million people – volunteered in 2008, up over a million from 2007. Half of all nonprofits are looking to increase their use of volunteers this year. Surveys also show an “Obama effect” among black American parents, 60% of whom said they would volunteer at their child’ school, as compared to only 23% last year.
The rise in the long-term unemployed makes it possible to think about tapping this market of skilled professionals who are collecting unemployment to fill your direct services, accounting, marketing, human resource management, and other positions with long-term volunteers. Post notices for these opportunities on the United Way of Erie County’s website, the NPP website, and volunteererie.com, and consider advertising your key needs in help wanted listings.
Volunteers are looking to be a bigger and more permanent part of your staff. To keep up with best practices in recruiting, managing, and supporting volunteers, go to www.energizeinc.com.
What’s Your Nonprofit’s Soundtrack?
From time to time, we have urged you in this space to galvanize your Board with fun icebreakers based around the dissection and re-assembly of your organization’s mission statement. Turn it into:
• A haiku (poetically stated three liner: 5-7-5 in syllables)
• A tweet (140 characters)
• A billboard (no more than seven words)
This forces everyone to grapple with the essence of your work and how to express it most concisely. It's a fun, team-building exercise as well.
Here’s something else you can do that gets to the heart of your work and builds community as well. Challenge your staff, Board, friends, stakeholders, and the like to collect suggestions for songs that most clearly express what the work and spirit of your organization is about, as suggested by title, lyrics, mood, connotation, or a combination of elements. Engage your Facebook communities through the contest and build enthusiasm for it by engaging folks in voting for the best entries. The resulting compilation – the soundtrack of your organization – can be featured in a CD you give away, an itunes playlist, a post on your website, and on talk or feature shows on your local airwaves.
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