Welcome to the Nonprofit Partnership E-News

In this Issue

	April, 2009
	All Things Voluntary
	So How Are You Really Doing?
	Our Summer Education Series: Surviving the Downturn
	New Capacity-Building Grant Opportunities
	Communicating Through the Clutter

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Robert Wooler,
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April, 2009

This edition of The Nonprofit Partnership e-news is sponsored by Malin, Bergquist & Co.

All Things Voluntary

With April being the month of the volunteer, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on all the volunteer resources we can now look forward to for helping us to recruit, engage, and retain volunteers to advance our organizations. The natural helping spirit of people in our region has been supplemented in recent times by the many newly unemployed workers with time and skills to give. The Erie Ambassadors “Get Involved Erie” night was a sellout this year, and the newly passed federal legislation, the Serve America Act, will vastly increase the ranks of Americorps workers starting later this year.

Seems like an opportune time to start sharpening our volunteer recruitment and management skills. The best first step to take is to attend NPP’s full-day training on April 22, led by Susan Ellis, a seasoned practicioner and world leader in the volunteer movement:

Voluntary Action: A Day for Agency Executives and Volunteer Program Managers

Morning: Executive Seminar

“The Executive Role in Successful Volunteer Involvement”

As the top executive of a nonprofit organization, what are your attitudes and expectations about volunteer involvement? Are you doing your part in assuring that your agency benefits from the best possible time donors – and makes the connection between giving money and volunteering? What is your vision of volunteer engagement and are you keeping up with today’s trends in the field?

This seminar is not about the daily “how-to” tasks of managing volunteers. Rather, it will focus the executive role in laying the most effective foundation for volunteer program success. We will identify institutional barriers and bridges that are the responsibility of the top management level of an organization, including:

• Why organizations involve volunteers in the first place – the benefits of community participation.
• The connection between donating money and donating time.
• Policies, guidelines, and goal-setting to make sure volunteer engagement can flourish.
• Issues in volunteerism today: evolving vocabulary, pro bono and skilled volunteers, mandated service, student service-learning, virtual volunteering – and more.
• Anticipating and dealing with employee/volunteer relationships: tension to teamwork.
• Myths and truths about volunteer involvement, including risks, limitations, control, and measurable impact.
• Budgeting, staffing and other resource allocation.
• The role of top management in assuring agency support and what to expect from a volunteer resource manager.
• Setting and enforcing performance standards.
• The need for vision and creative volunteer work design.

Don't let volunteers be the invisible management subject! Discover how your actions make the difference, “from the top down.”

Afternoon: For Volunteer Program Managers

"The Nuts and Bolts of Volunteer Management”

This session will introduce newcomers (or refresh more experienced people) to the scope of what it takes to be a successful leader of volunteers. We’ll look at:

• Developing a philosophy of volunteerism and a vision for your organization’s volunteer effort.
• The twelve elements of a successful volunteer program.
• Planning and policy decisions necessary – before you recruit!
• The critical task of volunteer work design.
• Planning and conducting volunteer recruitment "mini-campaigns."
• Preparing employees to work with volunteers.
• An overview of orientation, training, supervision, evaluation, and recognition – or, making it all work.
• Resources to help you learn more about volunteer management.

Come prepared to ask questions and share concerns based on your real-life experiences in your agencies.

Can’t make it on the 22nd? Erie Yesterday is sponsoring a six hour training on Saturday, April 25 at Knowledge Park on volunteer recruitment and management for the small organization. Details are at 454-1813 x 0.

Still More Resources for Volunteers.....

WICU and WSEE are launching a joint website to spur volunteer efforts with Erie nonprofits. The new site, www.volunteererie.com, will offer broadcast promotion, a 2-3 minute agency informational video, a micro-site/landing page for each involved agency and a web-based information exchange to promote volunteer opportunities throughout Erie. Packages start at $300. More information can be obtained from John Christianson at john.christianson@wsee.tv
 

So How Are You Really Doing?

The Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Finance Fund report that nonprofits are taking the following actions during this recession. How does it compare with what your organization is doing?

Action                                                            Percentage Who Are

Developing worst-case scenario budgets                      65
Reducing staff size or salaries                                       41
Hiring freezes / salary freezes                                       48
Reduction of hours / furloughs                                       22
Reduction of employee benefits                                     21
Reduce or eliminate programs                                        39
Collaboration with another organization                        42
Administrative collaboration to reduce overhead           13
Merger with another organization                                   5
Reduce or refinance occupancy costs                             18
Sell assets                                                                       6
Tap into reserve funds                                                  43
Delay payments to vendors                                          23
Speed up the collection of receivables                          22
More frequent Board contact                                        59
Discuss situation with funders                                      48

Outlook

Concerned with meeting current expenses                  10
Concerned with meeting current annual budget          38
Should be OK this year but are worried about 2010    47
Should be OK throughout                                             18

To Help You Fundraise More Effectively in Tough Times...

Maintain Your Development Staff. We’re seeing it here and everywhere. Fundraising staff are among the first to go. Instead, you must consider the following:

Segment your lists and your appeals. Take extra time and care with your bigger donors and be attentive to them to they continue to feel connected. Understand their interests and motivations and appeal to them with those in mind.

Step Up Your Efforts Online. These efforts are key to attracting younger supporters, unifying your efforts through your website, and saving fundraising costs. When asking online, please remember the following:
• Make you donate button big, but don’t let it stand alone. Connect it to an impact thought: “Feed five people with a $50 donation now.”
• Show the potential donor an image of themselves. In your e-mail solicitation, include a testimonial from a client who was helped or another donor. Hold up the mirror and show the donor what a difference they can make.
• Give on-line donors options. In addition to the on-line gift, educate donors about how to set up recurring gifts, planned giving, stock donations, and more, including volunteer opportunities.
• Just do it. Frame your appeal in such a way that it answers donors’ immediate questions: Why me, why now, and what difference will it make?

Show Sympathy for Your Donors. Since everyone is affected by the economy, increase your capacity to connect by showing a little empathy:
• Don’t ask for contributions without acknowledging that the donor may be feeling the pinch. If you meet with a donor or see them on the street, ask how they’re doing – and listen!
• Be specific about how the downturn is affecting your clients. And not just through statistics. Tell a compelling story that humanizes the problem. People give for the one client whose story you tell, not the thousands who are just statistics.
• Personalize the approach. No mailing labels and no “Dear Friend....”
• If you’ve cut costs at the office, detail what you’ve done.
• Keep the donor in a pleasant loop. E-mail every few weeks with a pithy tidbit – a piece of knowledge that is a product of your own observation or insight.
• Show hope. Reassure everyone that we will come out of these difficult times.

Sources:

Rick Schwartz Straight Talk – www.schwartztalk.com
“The Science Behind Our Generosity” Newsweek, March 9, 2009
“Winning Ways to Fundraise In a Downturn” at www.guidestar.org
www.ssireview.org/site/printer/fundraising_in_tough_times/

One More Key Resource for Your Fundraising....

The Northwest PA Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals is offering a Fundraising Forum entitled Donor-Centered Fundraising  featuring professional fundraiser, author, and trainer Penelope Burk.  This session is designed to help decision-making staff and volunteers capitalize on new market trends in the quest for an answer to the age-old question, "What do donors want?"

The workshop will take place on Tuesday, April 28 from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm in the Pogue Student Center at Edinboro University.  For more information, or to register, please contact Dawn Johnson at (814) 734-3039 or admin@afpnwpa.org.

Our Summer Education Series: Surviving the Downturn

With the weakening economy and the outcomes it has for communities in the Lake Erie region, nonprofit organizations find themselves facing more demand with fewer resources. The Nonprofit Partnership offers a special summer series of capacity-building programs specifically designed to provide the area’s nonprofit sector with a greater understanding of how the economic environment will affect them as well as equipping them with the tools they need to survive. Please consider attending each session to gain the full set of skills needed to effectively navigate the challenges ahead.

May 12 - Sustainability: New Realities - New Approaches
May 26 - How Funders Think and How They Give
June 9 - Wanted---Individual Donors: Now More Than Ever
June 23 - Partnerships, Collaborations, and Mergers
July 7 - Marketing Maxims That Foster Corporate Sponsorships and Giving
July 21- How to Effectively Research Grant Opportunities
Aug 4 - Effective Grant Writing
Aug 18 - Understanding the Federal Economic Stimulus
Sep 1 - Grassroots Advocacy in Harrisburg and Washington DC

More information on the series, the presenters, and the locations and times of each workshop is available at the NPP website.

New Capacity-Building Grant Opportunities

2009 brings a few new and needed features with capacity-building grants:

• 50% of the resources from the mid-year round of capacity-building grants will be given to e-marketing initiatives. If your organization is improving your website, planning e-marketing campaigns, managing events online, doing social networking, building a base of online donors, or getting into blogs, podcasts, or online video, consider applying for this grant.

• To encourage best practices in reporting results and presenting your organization to all its stakeholders, The Nonprofit Partnership is awarding $2,500 to the best annual reports submitted by a small organization, and $2,500 for the best annual report subiteed by a large organization.

• To encourage area nonprofits to grace their buildings and entrances with nice new signage that updates your logo, program information, and includes your web address, we are subsidizing 50% of the cost of new signage.

For details on all these initiatives, please go to our website at www.thenonprofitpartnership.org
 

Communicating Through the Clutter

We all suffer from the bombardment of information on a daily basis, so how can you get your organization's message through the clutter to your intended audience?  According to Andy Goodman, it all hangs on four critical elements: THEME, WORDS, TRANSFER, and the ASK.  Guide your strategic communications with the following questions.

1. Theme

• Who is the target audience for this outreach?
• What is their highest core concern relevant to your issue?
• What do they believe that you can build on?
• What do they believe that you have to overcome?

2.  Words

• What are the key words in this message?
• Is there jargon included that can be simplified?
• Are there words or phrases that may require testing?
• Are the key words in the audience's language?

3.  Transfer

• Which information channels already reach the audience?
• What new channels might you have to create?
• Which spokespersons are they most likely to trust?
• How can you package your message to increase its appeal?

4.  Ask

• Is your ask clear, direct, and easy to do?
• Have you asked for action in a short time frame?
• How have you ensured that the audience will believe their action will make a difference?
• Is your ask measurable?

For more information, consult the resources at The Goodman Center.