Photo courtesy of Nesta

Geoff Mulgan

By Hildy Gottlieb

The popular wisdom is that nonprofits must be large to make a real difference and that significant social change is usually spearheaded by a rare, brilliant leader.

But that thinking is misleading and counterproductive, says Geoff Mulgan, chief executive of NESTA, Britain’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts.

More often than not, real change is created thanks to the cumulative efforts of many.

Such collaboration has been vital to the success of Mr. Mulgan’s program, Studio Schools Trust, a network of U.K. schools that incorporate real-world work to keep teens from dropping out.

The program has relied heavily on partnerships with a number of small companies, national and local education agencies, and local communities, he says.

In this episode of Making Change, Mr. Mulgan discusses why organizations that want to bring about social change should stay small, ask the right questions, and seek partners in the communities directly affected by their cause.

Hildy Gottlieb is the co-founder of Creating the Future and author of “The Pollyanna Principles: Reinventing ‘Nonprofit Organizations’ to Create the Future of Our World.” In this podcast, Making Change, she interviews leaders to discuss how those who are working for the greater good can effect more social change. New episodes of Making Change appear once a month.

The Honorary Chair of NPD 2013 is Rob Reifsnyder, President of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati. The keynote speaker is Ron Hall, homeless advocate and author of “Same Kind of Different as Me” and “What Difference Do it Make”. Beginning in May, AFP will be pre-selling Ron Hall’s books at its monthly Networking & Knowledge Sessions, through the AFP website, and through The Bookshelf in Madeira, which is underwriting book sales to benefit AFP and the homeless community in Greater Cincinnati.

The following awards will be given at the lunch: Philanthropist of the Year; Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy; and Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. AFP invites nominations through May 31, 2013.

For more information about NPD 2013, including the keynote speaker, registration, sponsorships, the awards and to download the nomination form, please visit www.afpcincinnati.org.

Dear Sick with Worry: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, Obamacare, or the “Act”) has several provisions designed to help small businesses afford healthcare coverage for their employees. The Act does not mandate or require all companies to provide insurance, but certain companies with 50 or more employees will face penalties if they do not provide insurance.

The Act creates sweeping changes in health care law, too many to cover in one article. There are two key provisions which may help your organization:

1. Small Employer Health Credit. If you choose to start offering health insurance, your organization may be eligible for a payroll tax credit. Nonprofits with fewer than 25 employees that provide health insurance and pay average annual wages of less than $50,000 may be eligible for a tax credit of up to 25% for qualified health costs from 2013 through 2014. In 2014, that tax credit goes up to 35% (for-profit businesses are eligible for tax credits at a higher rate). The amount of the credit is phased depending on the size of the employer and the average annual wage. For example, the full credit is available to employers with 10 or fewer employees who earn, on average, less than $25,000 per year. As the size of the employer and the average annual wage increase, the credit phases out.

Read full article at: blueavocado.org

If you are a non-profit organization interested in working with one of our students this summer, the application window is now open!  There is no cost to you because their stipend will be covered by a grant from The Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

To learn more and access the short application, please visit This link Applications are due by Friday, April 26.

Share your thoughts on our blog.

A well-executed communications plan will look to annual cycles. Some things, like the annual report, are obvious and easily lend themselves to planning far enough in advance to leverage content, public relations, media relations and supporters to maximum effect for the message. Other nonprofit cycles can also benefit from a confluence of urgency and effort, but those cycles are often treated as if they are brand new every year. Does your nonprofit do advocacy work? There’s probably a pretty well known date for your legislature convening and your lobby day. Does your group do an annual gala? Plan the rest of your communications work cycle around supporting the themes of the event leading up to key deadlines, like tickets going on sale. Are you attending national conferences this year? Plan a new white paper to be timed with that event.

Not every nonprofit will nail the content calendar the first time out of the gate. Inevitably, there are things that should have been publicized and shared weeks in advance that just didn’t get on the radar until too late. That is why your support tools have to be living, adapting documents – so the moment someone in a staff meeting says, “We should have started this two weeks ago,” the content calendar for your next year gets an update. The master content calendar can be as simple as an Excel spreadsheet, as long as each of the objectives gets tied to any other workflow management tool the organization may be using to manage staff time and effort.

Read full article at: Philanthropy.com

Nonprofit collaborations are no better and no worse than those done by for-profits. They’re simply different.  For-profit collaborations and mergers are driven by financial motivations including cost savings, but charities are unlikely to reap any savings for years, if at all. For nonprofits, the primary driver to merge or collaborate should be to help them achieve their missions. Mergers and collaborations are strategic tools. They do not have to be a last resort.

The Great Recession and the protracted recovery have sparked renewed interest in nonprofit collaborations. But resources dedicated to helping them carry out their plans are scarce, so many groups don’t know where to begin.

For two years, the Nonprofit Finance Fund has worked with five major grant makers on the Catalyst Fund for Nonprofits, which provides guidance and technical assistance for Boston-area organizations that are exploring, planning, or implementing strategic collaborations and mergers. And in an effort to demystify the process for all nonprofits, the fund has produced two free publications—a case study and a report about the first two years of the Catalyst Fund’s work.

The case study tells the story of one nonprofit merger, and the report includes interviews with 40 people involved in various ways with mergers or collaborations: those who have provided financial support, executives and board members of groups that received support—and of some that were denied support—as well as consultants and others.

So what are we learning about successful collaboration? What does it take?

Read full article at: Philanthropy.com

The bill, called the Charitable Driving Tax Relief Act, also proposes to reduce paperwork for charities by eliminating the requirement that they report mileage reimbursements to the Internal Revenue Service.

The main thrust of the proposed legislation, introduced by Rep. Tom Petri, a Wisconsin Republican, is to change the tax code governing what volunteers can deduct for car costs related to charitable work.

Under current law, volunteers may deduct 14 cents per mile for car costs or be reimbursed by a charity at that rate without the payment being counted as federal taxable income. Any reimbursements above that rate are subject to federal income tax.

But for employees who drive for businesses, the rate is 56.5 cents.

“This is inconsistent and unfair,” said Mr. Petri in a statement. “If someone is delivering for Meals on Wheels or taking someone to the hospital or making any trip as part of a charity, they should be treated the same as they would if they were working for profit.”

The tax law “discourages volunteer activity,” the statement added.

In 2008, the House passed similar legislation, but the measure did not pass the Senate.

Read full article at: Philanthropy.com

And with good reason, it turns out. People using mobile devices accounted for 18 percent of the organization’s year-end online gifts—nearly one out of every five online contributions—compared with just 2 percent during the same time just a year earlier.

If the organization hadn’t made it simpler for those donors to give, the group might have lost out on some of the gifts, says Gail Bransteitter, who oversees communications at Mercy Housing, a Denver-based group. “It’s really important to have a mobile-friendly donation page to keep donors from bouncing off your page.”

The rise of mobile is no longer an event looming on a distant horizon. It’s here.

For the last two years, smartphones have outsold desktop computers. In 2012 Americans read e-mail on their phones more frequently than on their computers. Mobile devices account for almost a quarter of all Web traffic—and the share of traffic from smartphones and tablets is expected to overtake traffic from desktops sometime this year or next.

Option to Pledge

Meanwhile, many charities are devising a game plan to adjust their fundraising and communications to handle the explosion of small screens.

A growing number of nonprofit organizations are designing e-mail messages to be easy to read and respond to on a smartphone.

Some organizations have created streamlined mobile sites that deliver information supporters are likely to want when they’re on the go, while others are retooling their sites to adapt automatically to devices of any type or size.

Another sign of the growing importance nonprofits place on the new medium: A handful of organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States and World Vision, have hired mobile directors.

But Katya Andresen, chief operating officer at Network for Good, questions whether nonprofits have done enough.

Network for Good conducted a survey of the charities that use its online-fundraising services and found that the share of Web traffic to those organizations’ Web sites from smartphones and tablets ranged from 10 to 35 percent.

Read full article at: Philanthropy.com

1. Falling in love with the executive director and letting love diminish
critical thinking: Even if you have the world’s greatest CEO, that CEO will
benefit from your bringing your scrutiny and thinking to the organization’s
work and to his or her performance. Being in love is great, but bring up the
issue of getting the dishes done.
2. Neglecting the recruitment of strong replacement board members 3. Lacking
a personal vision for the organization and the cause 4. Limiting your
attention to your organization and not understanding the broader context 5.
Paying the executive either too much or little. In other words, not
attending to how CEO salary affects the organization’s future.
6. Getting seduced by perks of board membership

Okay, now: what are the biggest mistakes that executive directors make with
their boards?

A. Treading the line between ignoring the board and resenting it B. Telling
the board only about successes and not acknowledging problems and the
occasional failure C. Not taking responsibility for the performance of the
board: If the board is going great, that’s great. If it’s not going great,
who should do something about it?
D. Recruiting board members that work well with you, but would be a poor
committee for hiring your successor.

Read the full article at

TIME: 8:30a-1:30pm

PRICE: $79 includes breakfast, lunch and the book!

How is your organization using technology?

The nonprofit sector is often portrayed as slow to change and behind the times. The truth is, nonprofits are at the forefront of some of the most exciting innovations in how change is created and technology is used. Here from keynote speakers, Randal Moss, author of “The Future of Nonprofits” who will teach the audience how to capitalize on internal innovations and entrepreneurial employees and Amy Sample Ward, Membership Director of NTEN, whose mission is to build strategies and services that support the nonprofit technology community in using technologies to help change our world.

Register online at:  cincinnatichamber.com/securingthefuture

While the IRS annually collects financial information from about 1.5 million tax-exempt groups through the Form 990, it is not easy to obtain aggregated public data about nonprofits collected on these forms, notes a new report by the Aspen Institute.

The report, drafted by a former top Obama official in charge of pressing for open government records, offers a road map for how government, foundations, nonprofits, and private companies can build a public database from information on Form 990 returns. Those data would promote transparency, help detect fraud, and help track and compare trends on topics such as grant allocations, fundraising costs, compensation, and employment.

Until recently, the creation of such a database seemed like science fiction to many in the nonprofit world, largely because of government bureaucracy and gaps in technology.

But a number of large foundations and nonprofit research groups like GuideStar, the Foundation Center, and the Urban Institute say they are prepared to work together to build and maintain a Form 990 database.

Such a database “could help transform not simply the way that the Form 990 is digitized and distributed but the way that information about the activities and impact of charities, foundations, and the social sector more generally flows,” says Darin McKeever, deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided funding for the report.

Read the full article at

One in four nonprofit leaders is so disappointed in fundraising at his or her organization that the last person in the job was fired, according to a new national study to be released this week. And milder frustration is rampant: One in three executives is at best lukewarm about the person now holding the top development job.

But chief fundraisers have their own complaints about CEO’s, boards, and the support their organizations have given them. As a result, many of them are looking to leave their jobs—or possibly leave fundraising altogether, the survey found.

The study, one of the biggest national surveys of its kind, gathered data from more than 2,700 development directors and charity heads who work at organizations of different sizes and missions. Among the key findings:

• Half of the chief fundraisers plan to leave their jobs within two years or less. Forty percent are thinking about leaving fundraising entirely.

• More than half of the executive directors reported that they can’t find well-qualified people to run their fundraising staffs.

• At many nonprofits, the position of development director has been vacant for months—or even years.

Read the full article at

That’s why I was surprised when he advanced an argument I’ve heard many times from board members of other organizations. It goes like this:

“Our executive director is terrific but doesn’t have a background in fundraising or time to focus on it. Our board members want to help, but they don’t have friends with deep pockets and are not fundraising experts. What we really need is a topnotch fundraising professional on staff. But we can’t raise enough money to hire one, so we’re stuck. We’re never going to be really good at raising money until we can hire a development director.”

Some parts of this argument do ring true. UnderDeveloped, a new national study from CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, provides plenty of evidence that small nonprofits have a hard time finding and keeping skilled development directors, in part because they don’t have the money to pay competitive salaries.

But the report also illustrates why I take issue with the suggestion that, for many small organizations, hiring a development director is a magic bullet for solving fundraising woes.

Even among organizations fortunate enough to have development directors, large numbers of boards and executives continue to be unhappy with fundraising results and to blame the development director when things go poorly. Nearly a third of the executive directors in the CompassPoint/Haas Jr. Fund survey were at least somewhat dissatisfied with their development director’s performance, and a quarter said they had fired their previous development director.

Read more

Opinion is sharply divided about whether and how other staff should interact with board members. Executive directors often feel that independent board-staff contact undermines their authority and creates the potential for staff to give misleading and undermining information to the board. They can also worry that board members will give inappropriate information to staff, perhaps about a lawsuit settlement, a financial problem, or about what’s in the budget for staff raises (or cuts).

Board members want to respect the authority of their executive director, but they also often feel that it’s more efficient to meet separately with staff on some matters and that doing so spares the executive from too many meetings. Board members also value the independent viewpoint they develop when not all their information is filtered through the executive director. And when staff-board contact is prohibited, the board is often the last to know about serious problems such as financial troubles, lawsuits, and reputational issues.  Read the full article at Click Here

Overview: Building an effective partnership between the board and the staff leadership can be tricky and frustrating for both the board and staff.  Executive Directors may feel they are being micromanaged and board members may feel they are being left out of the loop.  A strong and productive relationship between the board and the chief executive maintains the retention of strong staff leadership and allows the board to achieve higher levels of success. 

In this workshop we will explore the roles of the board and staff, and factors that influence their relationship.  We will discuss how to support the development of an effective board-staff partnership and explore what shared leadership really means.  We will explore strategies for managing difficult situations and relationships.   Executive Directors, CEOs, Board Presidents and Board Members are encouraged to attend. 

The speaker, Jane Page-Steiner is the President of JPS Nonprofit Strategies. Jane Page-Steiner is a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer.  Jane joined this select group of expert trainers after completing a rigorous application and certification process and is now certified to deliver BoardSource’s signature nonprofit governance trainings. Jane is also the publisher of the Cincinnati Not-For-Profit News an e-newsletter that reaches over 2500 readers in the Greater Cincinnati region.  

 JPS Nonprofit Strategies provides customize services and assistance to nonprofits. JPS assists nonprofits with leadership development, governance issues, strategic planning and supports special projects and initiatives.   Jane is a respected speaker, she regularly presents at national, regional and local nonprofit conferences.

10. X
In its philanthropic context, X has come to mean “cool,” “community-oriented,” and “open,” as opposed to the meaning in math (where it means multiply or unknown) or in literature, as the spot where treasure lies. In philanthropy, just think of the X Prize, TEDx, or EdX. X can also mean eXchange-as in Impact Investment Exchange Asia, which is known as IIx or Nexii, an organization that also focuses on impact investing

9. MOOCs
The acronym for a massive open online course or the somewhat bovine sounding name for a class offered through the Internet, usually at no cost to the student. Classes developed and delivered by college professors are lighting up the airwaves, allowing people anywhere to take classes once open only to enrolled students. MOOCs have universities and colleges in a fever of disruption. As the Stanford University public-policy scholar Rob Reich notes, MOOCs may send universities down the same path as newspaper publishers. As the business models shake out and the questions of public purpose get real, MOOCs will force open an important discussion for all nonprofits about “how, for whom, and who pays?” After religion, education is the biggest area of interest for philanthropic donations-so the question for 2013 is: How will donors get involved in MOOCs?

8. Hackathon
Hackathons are brief and intense events, usually lasting a weekend, in which coders, designers, data geeks, and increasingly artists, nonprofit leaders, philanthropists, and others get together to try to create quick technological solutions to shared social problems. The geekier hackathons focus on deeply troublesome code problems. The more socially oriented hackathons produce apps and maps and mobile tools for guiding disaster response, job seekers, data seekers, pothole reporters, and others. Civic Commons, CrisisCommons, Code for America, DataKind, Github, Hacker Helper, Hurricane Hackers, Random Hacks of Kindness, and Tech4Engagement are among the hacking efforts focused on finding solutions to social problems.

7. Fiscal cliff

Read the full article.

Share your thoughts!

The 1.5 million additional volunteers boosted the national rate to 26.8 percent of the population, a half percentage point higher than 2010. But the dollar value dipped by $2-billion, as the average number of hours Americans volunteered in a year dropped to 32.7 from 33.9, the Corporation for National and Community Service reported.

What is sustainability?

Most of us in the nonprofit sector are familiar with setting programmatic goals. For instance, we might set a goal of reducing high school dropout rates by 10% in our community, or a goal of increasing the quality of the observations of one hundred amateur astronomy clubs. Nevertheless, we often aren’t sure what our financial goals are, or even what they should be. If the financial goal in a for-profit company is to maximize profit, should our goal as a nonprofit be to have $0 profit? Or should the goal be to grow an endowment of $10 million, or to have a surplus of 5%, or a deficit of no more than $50,000?

In classical economics, the answer to this question is that the financial goal of a nonprofit is to ensure that it has adequate working capital; that is, its financial goal is to have enough money to do its work over the long term. Today we often use the term sustainability for this goal.

But the term is used in different ways to suggest various things. Foundations and social entrepreneurs often describe a plan for sustainability as one that relies on earned income rather than on donations (although both earned income and donations can support long-term financial viability). When strategic plans are said to include goals for sustainability, what is often meant is that the plans include the goal of developing a more diversified income base. And environmentalists describe sustainability in terms of practices that are nonpolluting and that conserve energy and natural resources.

We like the United Nations’ definition of sustainability: doing what is required “to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” And we like the Wikipedia definition of sustainability: “the capacity to endure.”

Here are two ways of thinking about sustainability in a nonprofit context:

1. Sustainability encompasses both financial sustainability (the ability to generate resources to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future) and programmatic sustainability (the ability to develop, mature, and cycle out programs to be responsive to constituencies over time).

2. Sustainability is an orientation, not a destination. Sometimes the phrase “sustainable business model” sounds as if it refers to a place that, once reached, will allow the organization to generate financial resources on an ongoing basis while the board and staff sit back, relax, and watch it happen.

But what is sustainable today may be unsustainable tomorrow. Funding streams dry up or shift focus; programmatic practices evolve; client populations change. We never arrive at a mix of programs and revenue streams that can be described as permanently sustainable. But we can always be heading in the right direction.

In practice, achieving sustained financial stability and mission impact means having leaders make major decisions while holding both objectives — as well as those two objectives’ deep interconnectedness — front and center at all times.

What do we mean by the term interconnectedness? Consider the example of a community center that cannot simply discontinue its annual neighborhood festival because of skyrocketing city permit and security costs. It has to consider the degree to which the community depends on the festival to promote local business and improve trust among neighbors. It also has to consider how its funders in city government would react to the festival’s cancellation, given how much the funders use the festival as a venue for showing local responsiveness. There are simply no major decisions that do not have simultaneous, intertwined implications for mission and money.

We suggest these guidelines:

• Sustainability has financial sustainability at its core. Nonprofit emphasis on real-world impacts and on mission alignment is fundamental, but the separation of impact goals from financial goals and strategies has been a deep flaw in both business planning and strategic planning within the nonprofit sector. Financial sustainability is not only a legitimate goal; it is a necessary, intrinsic, core goal. 

• Recognize that today’s nonprofits have hybrid revenue strategies. Nearly all nonprofits now are hybrid organizations rather than traditionally funded charities: they combine donations, earned income, contracts, grants, and other income types. As a result, different financial goals must be set for different types of income streams, and they must be managed in significantly different ways. 

• Develop an explicit nonprofit business model statement. Every nonprofit has a business model, whether or not it has articulated its strategy as such. Each program and fundraising line must be managed individually, but this must be done in the context of an overall integrated business strategy. Leadership’s role is to develop and communicate that overall strategy as one that brings together all the activities — which will have different financial goals — into a viable business model.

• Affirm continuous decision making. Today’s nonprofits face constantly changing situations that require decision making and choice making at all levels of strategy. The global economic crisis has underscored the reality that the environment changes in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Internal changes — the departure of a key staff person, for example, or a program’s becoming stale — also demand decisions. In addition to detailed projections, leaders need a compass to support constant decision making.

Traditional strategic planning might be likened to looking at a road map, choosing and a destination, and setting out on the route. Today’s continuous strategic decision-making might be more like sailing into the unknown, tacking towards the pole star and changing course as winds and tides demand. Embrace the journey. The world is in our boats.

See also in Blue Avocado

By Raymund Flandez

A big thank you goes to National Philanthropy Day Honorary Chair, Heidi Jark who reminded us that Greater Cincinnati is one of the most philanthropic communities in America.   Cincinnatians are committed to giving back, and we should all be very proud of this. 

National Philanthropy Day would not be possible without the amazing support of our sponsors, and we thank them for believing in philanthropy and continuing to give back to the Greater Cincinnati community.  For the second year in a row, the Fifth Third Foundation was the Presenting Sponsor and The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./US Bank Foundation was the Keynote Speaker Sponsor.  National Philanthropy Day Gold and Silver sponsors were Photonics, Business Courier, Plan-It Now, MAC Productions, The Christ Hospital Foundation, Johnson Grossnickle & Associates, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation and March of Dimes. 

Philanthropy, the financial and volunteer support of people, builds stronger and healthier communities, and The Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Cincinnati Chapter thanks everyone who builds a stronger and healthier Cincinnati!  

Danielle Gentry-Barth, AFP President

Betsy Baugh, AFP President-Elect

A Grant Officer’s Pet Peeve

Dear Executive Director:

It is that time of year when you, your board, and staff are focusing on end of year appeals to your donors. Your grant officers are certainly pleased that you are working to tell the story of your organization’s work and impact, and to inspire support. This year, would you please take time to clean up your mailing list?  For example, I should not be receiving your annual appeal in my role as your grants officer.  There are days when we receive many copies of the same appeal, addressed to each and every staff member who has ever worked for the foundation – or so it seems.

I recently saw a Facebook post from a not-for-profit that was so happy to have a volunteer preparing their annual fund letters. This morning I got that organization’s annual letter here at the foundation. The mailing was sent with full first class postage and included a 2 page letter hand annotated with underlining, notes and exclamation points; an annual fund insert, and a return envelope. Your appeal to me represents time and money that are going straight to the recycling bin. 

Your grants officers want your organization to succeed in all aspects of your organization’s work—programming, community impact, funds development.  Please don’t undermine our confidence in the first two by failing to attend to the details of the third.

With every good wish for your success,

Your Grants Officer

By Holly Hall

In a new analysis of grants by more than 1,400 foundations, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy found that multiyear grants to charities dropped by $2.2-billion, or 32 percent, from 2008 to 2010.

Multiyear grants peaked in 2008 at a total of $6.9-billion. But in 2009, they declined by 21 percent, to $5.5-billion. They dropped again in 2010 to $4.7-billion.

When the nation’s largest grant maker, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is excluded from the analysis, the 2009 decrease is even bigger—33 percent. That year, the Gates foundation gave away $2.9-billion in multiyear grants—more than half of the overall total.

In multiyear grant making, Gates is unusual indeed: Over all, 90 percent of foundations in the study did not report or make any multiyear grants from 2004 to 2010.

“Clearly multiyear grants are difficult for nonprofits to find,” the researchers write. “Without intentional effort on the part of trustees and staff of grant-making institutions to begin providing significant multiyear funding, nonprofit sustainability and impact will continue to be stymied.”

The analysis follows a recent study that showed a sharp decline in large gifts from individuals.

But there was some encouragement for nonprofits in a companion study the researchers conducted of 906 foundations. They found that grant makers gave $3.4-billion more in highly coveted grants for general operating costs during 2008 to 2010 than during the period from 2004 to 2006. That’s a 34-percent increase.

But while that might seem like good news for charities, the researchers were quick to point out that as a percentage of all grants, general-operating-support awards were actually stagnant during the recession, averaging 16 percent of annual grant dollars from 2008 to 2010.

The new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy is the second version of the research to be released; the first was recalled due to a programming error, the committee said.

Should foundations make more multiyear and general-operating-support grants? If so, how can charities persuade them to do so?

This entry was posted in Giving. Bookmark the permalink.

The subsequent survey report they produce will paint a picture of regional/local trends and best practices, compare the responses to national data, and dissect the data to offer organizational insight. Their goal is to provide important, complimentary information to all not-for-profit organizations across our region.

If you are already familiar with Clark Schaefer Hackett, it’s likely you will receive an e-mail asking you to participate in the project. All the data will be collected electronically, and takes just a few minutes to complete. If you do not see an e-mail in your inbox by October 24, please visit here to take the survey.  Every participant will strengthen the results. CSH will reveal a report of the results at a series of events after the first of the year. The information and events are available to anyone who participates at no cost.

If someone in your organization has not already completed the survey consider taking this brief survey today.

Share your thoughts and comments on our blog.

Jane

How many Baby Boomer employees (those born between 1946 and 1964) will be leaving your organization in the next five years? When retiring employees clear out their desks and walk out the door for the last time, they often leave with fond memories — as well as vast amounts of intellectual property stored in their brains.

Unfortunately, few organizations take the time to “debrief” retiring employees before they exit. Increasingly, companies are rethinking their approach and deploying innovative work arrangements that provide for the transfer of invaluable intellectual capital before employees retire. This can include:

• Four-day work weeks;
• Work from home arrangements;
• Job sharing;
• Part time work; and
• Consulting and special project assignments.

Slowly easing retiring employees towards the exit sign can ensure that your company retains its intellectual property, as well as help employees smoothly transition into the next phase of their lives. With a proactive plan, important information and processes can be conveyed effectively from retiring employees to those remaining.

But that’s not all, read the full article: http://www.bizactions.com/n.cfm/page/e105/key/212573920G403J4057857P0P10220568T0/

By Raymund Flandez

By Cody Switzer

If your nonprofit hasn’t found a way to reach people on mobile devices such as iPads and smartphones, a new study suggests that it’s time to start.

More than 13 percent of all Web-page visits in August were made on a tablet or a mobile phone, according to the online measurement company comScore.

That figure is almost double the percentage of Web traffic that came from mobile devices a year ago, the company says.

Tablets accounted for 4.3 percent of all Web traffic and phones for about 9 percent. Even with the growth, desktop or laptop computers remain the most popular devices to view the Internet, providing 86.7 percent of all page views.

Dig deeper: Learn how nonprofits are redesigning their Web sites to appeal to supporters using phones and tablets in this recent Chronicle report.

This entry was posted in Mobile, Web Strategy. Bookmark the permalink.               

Jane Page-Steiner, President 
JPS Nonprofit Strategies, LLC
Publisher, Cincinnati Not-for-Profit News
jane@jpsnonprofit.com

By Holly Hall

Charities are more likely to meet fundraising success when their boards pursue at least seven types of fundraising activities, such as holding events and seeking gifts from friends, according to a new study.

The study—conducted by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative—assessed the use of 11  approaches to involving board members by examining the progress of 1,602 nonprofits in meeting their 2011 fundraising goals.

The techniques studied were:

* Sharing their contact lists.

* Seeking contributions from friends or associates.

* Securing sponsorships from companies.

* Making personal introductions to potential donors.

* Visiting prospective donors.

* Hosting a fundraising event.

* Allowing the use of the board member’s name in solicitations and other materials.

* Chairing fundraising events.

* Thanking donors.

* Rating prospective donors on their ability to give.

* Helping develop fundraising plans.

The study found that the power of board members to help nonprofits achieve their fundraising goals varied by the nonprofit’s size:

* Organizations with budgets under $3-million were more likely to succeed when their boards helped in a wide range of solicitations.

* For charities with budgets of $3-million to $10-million, the number of fundraising activities pursued by trustees didn’t matter as much. But those who met their fundraising goals were most likely to be successful when their trustees asked others to give, allowed their names to be used in solicitations, or rated potential donors on their ability to give.

* Among charities with budgets of $10-million or more, getting the board personally involved in reaching out to other supporters increased the chances of fundraising success.

The Nonprofit Research Collaborative is a coalition of nonprofits and companies that focus on fundraising and nonprofit research.

This entry was posted in Fundraising. Bookmark the permalink.

In addition to honoring the donors and volunteers of nonprofit organization, the following community awards will be presented: 

The Philanthropist of the Year Award: Roger F. Grein.

The Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award: The Student Task Force of Mount Notre Dame High School

The Outstanding Volunteers of the Year: Nancy Wagner and Patty Wagner.

The Keynote Speaker, Jimmy Wayne is a Singer, Songwriter and Philanthropist.   Jimmy Wayne knows the hopelessness and desperation foster kids often experience.  Born into a turbulent and abusive childhood, Jimmy was shuttled among multiple foster homes until he wound up a homeless teenager.  He was saved by a selfless elderly couple he barely knew who gave him a home, love, an education and a chance at life.  Jimmy was lucky and he knows it.  He also knows he is in a position to help.  So, with a grateful heart, Jimmy launched “Project Meet Me Halfway” and walked 1700 miles in seven months during 2010 from Nashville, TN, to Phoenix, AZ, to raise awareness about foster children, particularly those who age out at 18 with nowhere to go, no support, and a good chance of being homeless.  Through story, song and his own personal experiences, Jimmy gives a poignant voice to those foster kids who are in need.  Jimmy Wayne is sponsored by The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr./US Bank Foundation.

This year’s Honorary Chairperson is Heidi B. Jark, Managing Director of The Foundation Office at Fifth Third Bank.  The Presenting Sponsor is the Fifth Third Foundation. 

Tickets are available now for National Philanthropy Day! NPD is Thursday, November 15, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati.  Tables of 10 are $350 or individual tickets are $35.  For more information, visit www.afpcincinnati.afpnet.org or call 513.939.2652.

1. Your time is valuable and so is your donor’s. If you are going to take the time to cultivate donors, do it in the most personal manner possible.
2. Apply the “personal equals special” test. If the contact doesn’t make your donor feel special and unique, it’s not personal enough. Make every donor feel that you are speaking only to him or her, even though the donor will know that is not actually the case all the time.
3. Consider eliminating most of the time-consuming, impersonal “cultivation” you are now doing, such as the hard-mailed newsletter and the invitations to the entertainment events, and free up your time to work smarter.
4. Think about yourself as a donor. Notice which cultivation contacts get your attention—mail, phone, e-mail, or fax? Notice how you connect personally with people in your everyday life. Is that how you’re treating your donors?
5. Notice that you have preferences for how people contact you—via which medium and which phone calls and e-mails you return, versus which ones you delete. Notice how flattered you are when the right person calls you or even sends you a note, yet how offended you are when someone else shows up at your door unexpectedly.
6. Notice that you can discriminate between those “bulk” group e-mails and the smaller group ones that feel like a real person actually wrote them and meant them for you. Notice how you realize that some people are so busy, you’re willing to cut them a little slack if they send out an e-mail to a small group of people. Notice that sometimes you even hit “reply” to those e-mails and send them a note in return.
7. Notice how people who know you well get your attention these days. Blackberry, computer, phone, fax, or in person? (Granted, there will never be any substitute for an adorable child coming up to you and saying, “Hi, Daddy.”)
8. Notice that you get annoyed when people take too long to respond to you or, conversely, when they bombard you with several responses in a short period of time.
9. Notice how quickly you switch modes of communication. You may reply to an e-mail message with a phone call or reply to a phone call with an e-mail. You may talk with someone via voicemail back and forth for weeks and accomplish quite a bit before you ever speak to them in person. Notice that you have adapted to multi-media communications.
10. Notice that the people close to you know how to get your attention and how to use your time well when they need it. They know when they can find you on your cell phone in the car, when you check your e-mail late at night, when you shut down that hand-held computer before the flight takes off.

This is the level of personal you need to be at with your donors. You need to get to know them well enough (and in the process gain enough permission) to earn the right to communicate with them like a good friend would. And that is going to take a lot of contact!

• How useful did you find this article? Give us your feedback

Terry Axelrod, Benevon
© 2012, Benevon

Terry Axelrod is the founder and CEO of Benevon, www.benevon.com, a Seattle-based organization that has trained and coached more than 3,000 nonprofits to build sustainable funding from individual donors.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may or may not represent GuideStar’s opinions. GuideStar is committed to providing a range of topics and perspectives to our users. We make every effort to obtain articles from knowledgeable, trustworthy sources, but we make no warranties or representations with regard to articles written by persons outside GuideStar.

Jane Page-Steiner, President 
JPS Nonprofit Strategies, LLC

We often refer to the bedrock beneath Detroit as the foundation for what has been built here.  I suggest that in addition to the geological bedrock, Detroit is supported by a foundation of nonprofit cultural, business development and human service organizations that collectively are just as substantial — and maybe even more important to the structure and stability of our city.

As strong as this foundation has been historically, it is time to reinforce it, or we risk its instability at a time when there is still so much to be accomplished.

Like the minerals and compounds that make up the ground we stand on, the nonprofits of our community are also formed with key ingredients. The most important is the partnership between the professional and volunteer leaders — from entrepreneurs and philanthropists to executive officers of our region’s most important companies. Serving in a top position in any of these organizations has always been rewarding and sometimes challenging, especially so during this difficult economic period.

Read the full article at:
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120826/FREE/308269995/other-voices-ti
me-to-reinvest-in-nonprofit-leadership

Q: How do you keep the Executive Committee from becoming more powerful and/or more invested than the rest of the board?
 
Q: There seems to be a disconnect on our board between their enthusiasm to embark on a project or program and their sense of accountability in funding it. How can one effectively link these two for the Board so that they understand their fiscal responsibility? ­
 
Q: Can you go over some pros and cons to term limits?

Q: Do you have any recommended education or strategies for promoting fundraising skills among board members?
 
Q: Without term limits, how does one remove 1-2 board members gracefully?

Q: ­100% of our board are members of our community. This gives us great community trust and accountability but we struggle with fundraising. Do you recommend changing this structure?

Q: ­What (really) motivates truly busy people to be willing to join a board (other than the usual they care deeply about what you are doing, etc.)  I’m talking about the underlying agendas, motives that you should keep in mind in order to recruit?

 
Read all questions and answers at:  http://trust.guidestar.org/2012/08/03/building-best-boards-webinar-follow-up/                                    

Share your thoughts on our blog at: ….

Jane

(Another “must have” publication for nonprofit leaders – Subscribe at:  www.NonProfitQuarterly.org )
 
When Hull House, founded by legendary social activist Jane Addams, closed down early this year, the reverberations of the failure of the nation’s most famous settlement house were somewhat muted.  Was it that the modern era Hull House was so different from the Hull House Addams described in her meaning for the nonprofit sector?  Might there have been the presumption that the day of Hull House-and perhaps much of the settlement house movement that flourished around the turn of the century-had simply passed?

How did this organization move from huge volunteer effort to 500 paid staff?  How did this organization move from fighting government policies to being  fully dependent on government funds?  What happened to the culture of the organization after the founder was gone? What were the signs of trouble? What can we learn?

Read the extended article at:
http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/management/20758-death-of-the-hull-house-a nonprofit-coroners-inquest.html

By Michael Peregrine

Nonprofit leaders should bring some birthday cake to their next board meeting and use it as a way to celebrate and reflect on the changes in governance that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act brought about when it was enacted 10 years ago this week.

The law, named after its two legislative sponsors, was a response to Enron, WorldCom, and other corporate scandals that raised major accountability concerns in the for-profit world. It instituted new controls intended to prevent wrongdoing and enhance both the integrity of financial reporting and the quality of corporate governance.

But the law, and its spirit, continues to have widespread implications for nonprofits as well. It is thus worth encouraging board members to use this anniversary to reflect on these implications, especially at a time when so many nonprofit scandals have drawn headlines and attracted regulators’ scrutiny. Over the past 10 years, many nonprofits “got the Sarbanes message” and changed their practices. Those that didn’t became “outliers” when it comes to governance. But even for those nonprofits that did take action, leadership memories grow dim—10 years is a long time, so a Sarbanesrefresher course makes sense for both board members and senior managers.

Three provisions of the law directly apply to nonprofits: They must have a system for accepting and dealing with whistle-blower concerns; they must have policies that protect against the intentional destruction of key documents, and their employees must not impede or obstruct governmental investigations.

But those aren’t the only ways the law has affected nonprofits.

Sarbanes-Oxley also worked to make changes for nonprofits through practice rather than through requirement. The entire relationship between nonprofits and their auditors has changed, as have the independence and responsibilities of board audit committees. Few nonprofits allow the cozy relationships that once existed between board members and the accounting consultants who review and approve financial statements, tax returns, and other documents. Many nonprofits have also adopted Sarbanes-Oxley-style ethics guidelines for their financial officers.

More important, however, is the way Sarbanes-Oxley has led to tougher laws and regulations, new guidance for nonprofits on smart governance, and an overall greater emphasis and sensitivity to governance matters in boardrooms themselves.

The roots of the Internal Revenue Service’s focus on charity governance can be traced to the Sarbanes-Oxley law’s concern about whether boards are adequately overseeing their organizations. Sarbanes-Oxley was clearly the model for the California Nonprofit Integrity Act and similar state laws and regulations focused on the accuracy and transparency of financial statements and related reporting by nonprofit organizations. The enhanced attentiveness of state charity officials to nonprofit governance can be attributed in large part to the ideas contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley law.

The measure has also influenced the ethical obligations of lawyers who serve nonprofits. Some large organizations have begun to adopt Sarbanes-Oxley-based provisions that require executives to return portions of their compensation when financial statements prove inaccurate or misleading.

Sarbanes-Oxley also prompted national organizations that seek to promote nonprofit accountability to step up their efforts to help charities and foundation trustees improve self-governance. Two of the most notable compilations are those prepared by a group appointed by Independent Sector, known as the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, and by the American Bar Association.

Even the credit-rating agencies have adjusted the way they monitor nonprofits. Several of them—including Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s—now give ratings benefits to nonprofits that show they follow Sarbanes-Oxley practices on internal controls, auditor independence, and corporate governance.

But perhaps the more lasting impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on nonprofits has been the extent to which it has sharply increased awareness of the importance of corporate governance. It has done so by reorienting leadership focus on the boardroom, rather than solely on the executive suite. Nonprofits now clearly recognize the important contribution that effective, independent, and informed governance can make in achieving their missions.

The 10th anniversary of Sarbanes-Oxley arrives at a particularly opportune time. The nonprofit world has been buffeted over the past year by a series of particularly unfortunate scandals and controversies, many of them attributable to inadequate financial controls, inaccurate financial statements, and ineffective and inattentive governance.

These are precisely the types of failings that Sarbanes-Oxley, and the corporate responsibility movement that followed, were designed to prevent. It’s thus very important for nonprofit board and executive leadership to revisit the themes of the law and the reasons it became so broadly relevant to charities. It was—and is—all about preserving financial integrity and effective governance. That’s the best way to celebrate the anniversary.

Michael Peregrine is a lawyer at McDermott, Will, and Emery’s Chicago office. The views in this article do not necessarily reflect those of his firm or its clients.

Lee Carter, recognized in 2009 by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce as a Great Living Cincinnatian, is well-respected for his commitment to civic leadership and tireless efforts on behalf of dozens of the region’s leading organizations.  Over the past 40 years, he has served in leadership roles with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Fine Arts Fund (now ArtsWave), Cincinnati Parks Foundation, Cincinnati Art Museum, WCET, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, The Cincinnati Arts and Technology Center, and many others.

An Enquirer Woman of the Year, Shannon Carter was a member of the Leadership Cincinnati class that launched Crayons to Computers, which has distributed more the $100 million in new and used school supplies to more than 100,000 children in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana.  In addition to her role as CEO of Crayons to Computers, Shannon’s other volunteer efforts have supported the Taft Museum, Cincinnati Ballet, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. 

Date:  Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Time: 7:45 am (Registration)  8:00-9:00 am (Presentation)
Location:  Junior League Columbia Center 
Topic: “Lessons Learned in Fundraising”
Speakers:  Shannon and Lee Carter, Long Time Fundraisers
Cost:  Free for AFP Members, $15 – Non-Members
Registration:  afpcincinnati@aol.com
To register click on the above link, add your contact                        

By James E. Canales

The child-abuse scandal that unfolded at Penn State University over the past decade and half is a tragedy of epic proportions. Nobody can disagree with that after the report last week by the former FBI director Louis Freeh provided clear evidence that the crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky could have and should have been averted.

What is particularly distressing in reading the 267-page report is how the lessons nonprofit leaders should have learned from previous scandals continue to go unheeded.

Once again, we learn that the board was uninformed and disengaged; we read about a patent disdain for transparency; and we discover a culture that—in discouraging any dissent—created the preconditions for precisely these tragic events.

The key takeaway of the report for nonprofit leaders and boards is the patent lack of oversight—some of it perhaps intentional—by the leadership of the institution, from the board to the administration.

Or, as Kenneth C. Frazier, a Penn State trustee put it: “We, the Penn State Board of Trustees, failed in our obligation to provide proper oversight of the university’s operations. Our hearts remain heavy, and we are deeply ashamed.”

These events afford an opportunity for leaders of organizations dedicated to the common good to ensure that all nonprofit organizations have the policies, systems, and cultures in place so a tragedy of this magnitude never occurs again.

To do this, we must banish the culture of deference that is too often found in our boardrooms.

Too many nonprofit managers are unwilling or afraid to challenge the board. Or, as demonstrated in Mr. Freeh’s report, too many trustees are too willing to bow to a nonprofit’s president and most-respected staff member (in this case, to the university president and his colleagues-including a revered football coach).

At Penn State, questions from the board were discouraged, even viewed as meddlesome, and it suggests that the trustees’ allegiance was not to the institution, as the law requires, but to its leader.

To guard against this culture of deference, nonprofit leaders—both board members and executives—must actively shape a culture of partnership. Following are steps each side can take to do that. Boards must:

• Ensure that the identification, selection, and orientation of new trustees expands, rather than narrows, the experience and perspectives of the board.

Gender, ethnic, and racial diversity are all important, but diversity is also about getting people with different experiences and skills at the table.

Too often, we have seen the downsides of boards with many overlapping relationships on other boards or in other social settings, which can limit trustees’ willingness to ask tough questions and hold the CEO accountable. We must go beyond our circles of comfort in identifying new trustees.

• Conduct periodic performance reviews of the CEO and insist on a robust process for feedback and discussion.

While this is common sense, repeated throughout all the handbooks and advice about good governance, it is not as prevalent a practice as it should be. Let’s even assume that the board possesses immense confidence in and support for its CEO (as appears to have been the case at Penn State). I would argue that such a circumstance makes a formal review process even more important.

Reviews offer an opportunity for candid, open, and vigorous discussion about how the board and CEO can and should be working together more effectively, and to the extent there may be concerns about how powerful the CEO has become, a review helps to clarify roles (the CEO does report to the board, after all) and can create opportunities for dialogue.

• Ask informed, constructive questions and insist on answers.

The Freeh report makes clear that inquiries from trustees were not welcome as news about events uncovered in the grand-jury investigation become public. Trustees have every right—indeed, they have an obligation—to ask questions, to understand issues, and to be informed. And when information is not forthcoming, they must insist on answers.

If such questions are viewed as intrusive or inappropriate, then the board should have processes in place for the management to raise such concerns openly and forthrightly.

CEO’s should take the following steps

• Shape board agendas to foster open and candid discussion, encourage constructive input and questions, and help the board add value.

CEO’s should approach each board meeting with the question: What can the board do to help our institution at this time?

As CEO’s, we should articulate clearly what we need and want from the board and frame discussions in a way that helps us get what we need.

While educational sessions to inform the board are important, we need to be sure that board meetings are not so packed with presentations and reports that there isn’t time and space for open discussion of the critical issues facing the organization.

• Demonstrate respect for the board, and if you believe the board is not measuring up, work actively to do something about it.

Many CEO’s talk about “managing” their boards. Boards should not be managed; they should be engaged. And CEO’s have an obligation not just to find ways to get the board involved but to demonstrate respect for trustees in their interactions with other staff.

CEO’s who believe their boards do not deserve respect or are incapable of adding value should figure out how to fix that. Work with your board leaders to press them to conduct a self-assessment, expose your board to what are widely considered to be best practices, and help the board to identify new trustees that set the right standard.

• Encourage the board to meet in routine executive sessions without the CEO, and not only when CEO compensation is discussed. This practice has the advantage of not making executive sessions anomalous, and it provides the board regular opportunities for conversation about issues or questions that the chair might later bring to the CEO.

Of course, it requires that the chair manage and lead the discussion in a way that can be productive and useful and that the chair or someone else fills the CEO in on what was discussed soon after the session.

Routine executive sessions also have the benefit of providing yet another tangible sign of a constructive relationship between a board and a CEO.

When operating at their best, boards and CEO’s are partners, working in unison toward a shared vision for organizational success.

Neither sees the other as an impediment or obstacle; each views the other as a critical ingredient to success, and both understand who is responsible to whom. If this is not the case at your organization, now is the time, spurred by the events at Penn State, to understand why this is so and how to make it better.

This investment of time and effort today to ensure a strong, collaborative partnership between the board and CEO will bring enormous payoffs in the long term. More important, it may actually ensure we have indeed learned the lesson this time.

James E. Canales is chief executive of the James Irvine Foundation. 

While it will require some time to complete, we invite and encourage your participation in this important survey. It distinguishes itself from other surveys offered in that it canvases local Non Profit organizations only and provides highly relevant compensation and benefits comparisons, which has always been important for determining your agency’s competitiveness on salaries and benefits in our region.  What makes UWGC/LC survey unique:    

• The UWGC/LC survey is local and has been customized specifically for the local health and human services community.
• This will allow us to compare “apples to apples”- external influences that can skew survey results have been removed (such as government agencies and hospitals).
• Participants in this survey will be invited to attend a feedback session in late August where the results will be reviewed and other information disseminated – free of charge! 

We hope you do choose to participate in the UWGC/LC Compensation & Benefits survey. We are more than happy to answer any questions that anyone has.

If you are interested in participating, and you did NOT get an email, please let Jenny Berg, jennyberg@leadershipcouncil.us, know, and I will send one to you.  Surveys will be available at a later date (for $300) for those who did not participate.

Association of Fundraising Professionals is thrilled to announce Cincinnati Ballet as the first Nonprofit Organizational Member. This strategic decision to invest in company-wide membership shows their deep commitment to effective and ethical fundraising, which will help fulfill their mission of inspiring hope and joy in our community and beyond through the power and passion of dance.

This exclusive new membership level provides priceless benefits for Cincinnati Ballet development staff, such as networking and continuing education opportunities. “As we strive to set the standard regionally and nationally for artistic excellence, we also make every effort to be advocates of the arts through promoting philanthropy and charitable giving,” says Liz Taylor Borntrager, Cincinnati Ballet Institutional Giving Manager. “Our new AFP membership will help to advance our development initiatives by publicly recognizing our organization’s commitment to ethical standards and professionalism in fundraising.” 

In addition to the well-know individual membership for fundraising professionals, the AFP has created numerous new membership levels for both large and small organizations, as well as for young professionals. For a complete list of AFP Membership levels and the great benefits associated with each, please visit their website at: http://afpcincinnati.afpnet.org. 

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Our proprietary Consult, Implement and Operate (CIO) methodology, combined with our comprehensive services, enable clients to leverage one service provider across all technology requirements. Our consultants bring deep technology experience as we assess your business information technology needs in order to create technology strategies that deliver optimal returns.  Some of our non-profit clients include: Central Indiana Community Foundation, Children’s Bureau, Inc., Day Nursery and Indiana Grantmakers Alliance.  

http://www.appnuity.net/non-profit-solution.html or give them a call at 317-566-0203 or toll-free at: 877-850-2777

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As we approach mid-year, many nonprofits are hustling to recruit
the final candidates for the July 1 start of the fiscal year or beginning to
look at the long list of experienced board members who will be stepping down
in December 2012. We found this article that provides a comprehensive
look at finding the right board members for your organization.  Jane

A key ingredient to increasing a nonprofit organization’s impact in the
community it serves is having the right people on the team. Critical to this
team are an organization’s board members.

“Board composition is a key lever,” said Jeri Eckhart-Queenan, a partner at
the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit advisor to nonprofits and philanthropy.
“Having the right people with the right skills helps the organization
achieve its strategic goals.”

Therefore, the first question that nonprofits should consider as they start
to formulate their board recruiting plans is: What are our key strategic
priorities, and what new skills or expertise might we need on our board to
help us achieve those priorities?

Read the full article at:
http://www.bridgestar.org/Library/RecruitingBoardMembers.aspx

SALARY SURVEY REMINDER – We need 50 more responses to our Central Indiana
Salary Survey. EDs, CEOs, HR Directors – contact
Survey@CharitableAdvisors.com for your organizations survey link.

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Pinterest, the fast-growing social network that allows people to share information on virtual bulletin boards, has become a hot topic of conversation among nonprofits in recent months.

Many groups have hesitated to spend considerable time in the popular network until they can get a better understanding of how it can help them connect with potential supporters. But a new effort by Opportunity International, a nonprofit that provides small loans to poor women overseas, might offer a blueprint for how other nonprofits can use Pinterest.

For Mother’s Day, the group has started a fundraising campaign though Pinterest that invites donors to pin personalized squares to an online quilt honoring a mother or another loved one.

Ian Haisley, Opportunity International’s director of online strategy, says the organization is experimenting with Pinterest because it reaches an important demographic: women. Women make up more than 90 percent of the charity’s clients and more than 70 percent of people who use Pinterest.

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An important part of the chair’s role is the preparation of the board meeting agenda; this is typically is done in consultation with the executive director.  Developing the board agenda includes Identifying the issues that require a vote or discussion and creating or gathering information that keeps the board updated on the activities of the staff and committees.   

Boards tend to have limited time and short attention spans. With that in mind I recommend board materials be presented in simple and succinct language with key issues highlighted. If there is an issue that requires the board to consider various options- the options should be clearly identified and stated.  Thoughtful preparation will allow the board to effectively deliberate and make timely and informed decisions.    

If the board does not have the information they need for an important decision it will often delay the decision until the next board meeting.  Sometimes information can be sent and a vote taken by e-mail – while this can keep things moving forward it limits the open debate that enables the board to reach consensus and develop strategic decisions.      

As you prepare for board meetings consider:

• What are the issues that require a vote or direction from the board?

• What information needs to be gathered or prepared so the board can make informed decisions?  

• How much time is needed at the meeting to allow for real deliberation of an important issue?  

• Should any board members be asked to lead or assist with certain board discussions? 

• Do any of the agenda items impact existing policies or might lead to the development of a new policy?   

Contact Jane Page-Steiner jane@jpsnonprofit.com to set up a no cost no obligation consultation for planning and/or board development.

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The Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Cincinnati Chapter serves non-profit organizations in the tri-state.  This “Ten-Star Chapter” features enriched member benefits including many that are offered FREE of charge and appeal to all levels of fundraising professionals.  Notable benefits include a quality “Networking and Knowledge” monthly breakfast series, (professional speakers and audioconference free to membership); a quarterly newsletter and “Meet & Greet”, periodic Member Orientation, a CFRE review course, incredible resources, conference opportunities,  professional advocacy, National Philanthropy Day Event, and so much more.

As the leader in international fundraising professionalism, AFP advances philanthropy through its more than 31,000 members in 200 chapters throughout the world.  Please consider joining us in our commitment to ethical and effective fundraising in our community.

 AFP Membership: a big advantage for small nonprofits…

Small Nonprofit Organizational Membership Application

Other AFP Membership Types  

 “With my budget, there aren’t many things I’d spend $150 a year on. But AFP Membership pays for itself over and over again. They provide resources I couldn’t possibly afford on my own.”

—Robyn Raphael, CEO
Keaton Raphael Memorial

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1) You will be a better staff leader if you have worked with a good staff
team from the board member seat. You will gain a new appreciation for the
staff/board dynamics and better understand why certain things happen or
don’t happen in your own relationship with your board.

2) It can be tempting to serve on the board of a partner organization -
after all, you know the people and the subject. But you already have
influence with that organization and they have access to your skills – you
are taking the seat of someone who can bring an additional circle of
contacts and new skills.  Plus, they usually let you off the hook for raising
money, so you don’t have a true board experience.

3) Develop and practice your leadership skills in a setting separate enough
from your typical work that you are refreshed by the focus, the people, and
the work. Extend your network and try on a new approach. If you are the
usually the finance guy, take on a role that deals more with people. If you
are the marketing person, take on a program role, etc.

Read the article below, which takes a more self-serving approach, and then
share your insights on our blog at  http://www.jpsnonprofit.com/blog-2/

Jane
http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=168483

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Many faulty business decisions can be traced to “confirmation bias” that leads people to unwittingly seek information that bolsters what they want to believe, says Brigham Young University accounting professor Doug Prawitt. “We don’t realize it when we do that, but it’s a very, very powerful human bias”. Prawitt is co-author of “Enhancing Board Oversight: Avoiding Judgment Traps and Biases”, a white paper on business judgment released Wednesday by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

Their simple process seems obvious but is being well received and put into practice at both the board and leadership team levels:

Define the problem and identify fundamental objectives.
Consider alternatives.
Gather and evaluate information.
Reach a conclusion.
Articulate and document rationale.

Access to White Paper at: http://www.coso.org/documents/COSO-EnhancingBoardOversight_r8_Web-ready%20(2).pdf

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In order for the nonprofit sector to truly operate more like the business sector, Pallotta argues that the fundamental question of donors must shift from “What percentage of my donation goes to the cause?” to “What has the organization achieved, and what can it achieve with my donation?”  Pallotta outlines how the nonprofit sector has been restricted from using the tools of the business world, including marketing, venture capital and strong compensation to attract talent, and makes the case that it is only by utilizing these tools that nonprofits will be able to affect meaningful change and achieve their missions.

On Thursday, April 19^th, you can hear Pallotta make his case at Securing the Future Conference, and a panel of local experts give their take on his controversial message. Get a sneak peak at the World Choir Games with a lunchtime performance from the Calvary Church Sanctuary Choir and hear Northlich Executive Communications Director Jennifer Mooney share how your nonprofit can go viral with social media.  Click here for details and registration information.

Special thanks to Matt Fledge from the SFC planning committee for writing the article for this week’s issue.

Jane

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The future of your business is social.  Social media has revolutionized marketing and it is now having an incredible affect on human resource issues arising in the workplace.  In this free, one-hour presentation, you will get up-to-date advise on monitoring social media usage at work and its legal implications by focusing on three important areas: 

• Can an employer monitor social media usage at work?
• How is social media being used at the workplace?
• What all employers should know about social media policies and procedures.

Topic: Social Media & Personnel Issues  

Date: Tuesday, April 24th  

Location: Cincinnati Junior League Building  

8:00 - 8:30 - Registration ?(light food)  

8:30 - 9:30 - Seminar "Social Media & Personnel Issues"  

To Register for this FREE Seminar – go to:

http://cincynotforprofitnews.eventbrite.com/

Kathy Lasher’s practice includes labor and employment law, immigration law,?and appellate practice in both state and federal courts.? Prior to joining Graydon Head, Kathy was a judicial law clerk in the First District Court of Appeals of Ohio for the Honorable J. Howard Sundermann and for the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Administrative Law Judges. Kathy is a respected speakers, she presents on various business and HR issues.

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Your organization may have discovered that sending out questions for candidates to answer can assist in matching their experience to your needs, but it extends the search timeline and takes a lot of administrative effort. The Charitable Advisors applicant tracking system makes these questions part of the résumé submission process so that you receive the résumés and question responses simultaneously.

The fee for this service is only $99 in addition to the cost of the job ad. If you request this service, we will send a sample list of questions and request you to select or provide your own for a total of 4-6 questions to be included. Please allow adequate turnaround time to select questions and get your position posted in the next newsletter. Submit your ad or request the sample question list at ads@notforprofitnews.com or contact me with questions.

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By Cody Switzer

YouTube in recent weeks has turned its focus to helping nonprofits create more powerful, effective videos, with a new “playbook” guide and a chance to participate in a one-day video boot camp in San Francisco.

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By Caroline Preston

This entry was posted in Federal Government and tagged Dirty Dozen, Internal Revenue Service, non-cash donations. Bookmark the permalink.               

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How is your board performing?  Do your board members support fundraising efforts?  Are they actively participating on committees?  Are your board members too polite to ask the hard questions at board meetings?  Does it seem like just a few people do all the work? 

If your board is underperforming it will hinder the success of your organization.

I am pleased to be presenting a three-hour interactive workshop on March 14^th where we will explore strategies and techniques that will improve your board’s culture and performance.  We will discuss strategies for creating clear expectations for board members and review the role of the Board and the Executive Director in board development.  We will also discuss board culture, board recruitment, committees, board education, and board self-assessments. 

Executive Directors, Chief Executives, Board Officers and Governance Chairs are encouraged to attend this session. 

Join us for the ReSource’s Building Blocks for Non-Profits, Rev Up Your Board Development Workshop on March 14, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.  If you have questions concerning the seminar please call ReSource at 513.554.4944.  Cost is $25 for ReSource members and $35 for non-members.

REGISTER with ReSource by March 7: Download the registration form and directions to The Health Foundation at: 

http://www.resourceweb.org/pdf/0312-rev-up-your-board-seminar.pdf

Jane

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and Good to Great by Jim Collins

Read the entire article at: http://charitableadvisors.blogspot.com/

This discussion reminded me of article on Guidestar that may be of interest to our readers. The following list offers a simple and fun way to remind your board as we begin the year how they can support your organization. Consider forwarding this on to your all your board members.
Jane

10 New Year’s Resolutions for Board Members
1. Get more engaged.
2. Have a bias toward action
3. Think big
4. Be optimistic, no matter what
5. Go back to your vision over and over and over
6. Be the catalyst; be the provocateur
7. Make your own proud, personal gift to support your organization
8. Support the staff.
9. Introduce 10 of your friends to your cause
10. Be a sneezer and spread your organization’s viral news wherever you go.

Read the article at: http://www2.guidestar.org/rxa/news/articles/2010/new-years-resolutions-for-board-members.aspx

1. Impact Driven
2. Finance and Business Savvy
3. Continuous Learning
4. Shared Leadership
5. Wired for Policy Advocacy
6. Multicultural and Culturally Competent
7. Ambiguity of Work-Life Boundaries
8. Constituents as Thought Partners
9. Boards as Value Add

Read the full paper at: http://tinyurl.com/73skvgr

What traits would you add or subtract from their list? Share your thoughts on our blog at: http://tinyurl.com/7nfjv4y

Jane

Looking back at the past four years, we feel we have had good success at connecting and informing, modest success at creating the nonprofit jobs marketplace, and relied on a subsidy from the Indianapolis Not-for-Profit News to fund the effort. With the new year, we are bringing a new look and some new approaches. We ask your assistance in continuing to read this publication, sharing it with your peers and those interested in learning more about the nonprofit sector, and helping us increase the use of current and new services.

Specific changes that we believe will benefit our readers:

· More graphics and whitespace for easier reading

· Expanded Job Postings – paid ads placed through us at cincyads@notforprofitnews.com will be highlighted (still just $100) while we will also scan other employment ad sources and provide basic links on management level positions as we strive to be THE nonprofit jobs source.

· Vendor and Consultant Marketplace – There are lots of businesses and individuals providing great service to area nonprofits but it is hard for them to reach nonprofit leaders. For only $50/month, we will be providing banner space in our directory for consultants and businesses who want to reach nonprofits. Contact Nora@CharitableAdvisors.com for more information.

· Quality over quantity – content will be shorter and, we anticipate, more relevant to more readers. We still want your news, training, and non-fundraising events at cincynews@notforprofitnews.com

· Enhanced job posting capabilities – watch for more information. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could know more about your applicants than just their cover letter and resume?

To a great start for 2012!

Jane

Thousands of nonprofits throughout the state solve community problems, care for those in need, serve as partners with business and government; and enhance tourism and economic development to strengthen Ohio’s communities. Regrettably, however, the economic significance of the sector is often overlooked. “Our hope is Ohio nonprofits will be able to share this report with policymakers, business leaders, media, and funders to educate people about the collective economic force of the entire nonprofit sector,” said Jennifer Eschbach, OANO’s Interim Executive Director.
The Ohio Nonprofit Sector report provides concrete evidence of the size, scope and impact of Ohio’s vital nonprofit sector. Report data includes:
• The number of people employed by the nonprofit sector in Ohio compared to other industries & government
• Total wages earned
• Amount the nonprofit sector contributes towards income tax revenue
• The average charitable contribution of Ohioans
• Sources for nonprofit revenue including fees for service numbers
?To learn more, download a free copy of the report. Please visit OANO’s homepage at www.oano.org.

This report is made possible with support from Benesch, The Cleveland Foundation, The
Columbus Foundation, The Dayton Foundation, Grange Insurance; and The Hodge Group.

Share your thoughts and comments on our blog.
Jane

The North Carolina group hopes the money will draw attention to new approaches to social problems and help it expand.

Most E-Mailed
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Finding it hard to keep up with all that’s happening in the nonprofit world? The Chronicle keeps you up to date with award-winning reporting, analysis of trends in giving and fund raising. Philanthropy Today, our daily e-mail newsletter is available to you free of charge. Go to http://philanthropy.com/myaccount/newsletters to sign up.

When I talk to nonprofit leaders about strategic planning they often can’t remember the last time their plan was updated and/or share the frustration that the last plan was not effectively implemented.  Is your organization thinking about strategic planning in the coming year?  Do you need to develop a plan that clearly defines your organization’s priorities and creates accountability?  

JPS Nonprofit Strategies can partner with you on updating your current plan or on creating a new plan.  Our goal is to create a working relationship and process with you that will meet your organization’s needs and budget.   To explore working with JPS call 513.378.5526 or e-mail jane@jpsnonprofit.com.

Board member Buck Wilson recently reported after working with JPS – “I’ve participated in a lot of planning sessions during my working life and this was one of the best.  Not just because of the content, but, more importantly, because of the way you managed the participants.  There were a number of instances when things could have gotten a little “spirited”, but you had an uncanny ability to be able to discern when those were coming and calm the troubled waters.”

Today’s economic realities have prompted many nonprofits to consider new business models so they can better serve their constituents while ensuring their own financial solvency.

These adjustments are taking many forms. Some organizations are investing in new ways to deliver programs and services, while others are making their current activities more effective and efficient. Change can mean restructuring operations, collaborating more formally with similar nonprofits or, as now happens with greater frequency, trimming the size of the group’s staff as well as its programs and activities.

Regardless of what form it takes, change isn’t easy for many nonprofits. It’s time-intensive and expensive, and it involves risk.

What makes some organizations more likely than others to adopt change effectively? A history of surpluses? A board that is willing to step out of its comfort zone? An entrepreneurial management culture?

Those traits are important, but they are hardly all that matters.

Based on the Nonprofit Finance Fund’s work with hundreds of nonprofits, here are 10 characteristics we see again and again in organizations that succeed in making strategic changes:

• Leaders who see the whole of the organization and who understand that long-term success in carrying out a group’s mission is much more than just the sum of its programs or projects.

• An entrepreneurial mind-set: an openness to exploring and investing in new services, technologies, and ways to do business that have the potential to create meaningful new revenue.

• Top executives and board members who have a firm grasp on the link between financial performance and the ability of a group to carry out its mission effectively. They rely on data (quantitative and qualitative, programmatic and financial) to inform decision making.

• A commitment to planning and self-reflection, including a management team that knows how and when to seek the advice of outside advisers for strategic planning, producing financial models, and measuring results.

• Adaptive capacity: a culture that values nimbleness, a willingness to test new ideas and make course corrections in the face of errors, obstacles, and new information.

• Board members who understand that social returns require taking risks, risks often involve losses, and experimentation can be costly.

• A track record of strong financial performance, characterized by operating surpluses year after year, sufficient levels of working capital, and the gradual accumulation of one or more reserve funds.

• Access to sufficiently large amounts of flexible and “patient” capital in relation to the proposed plan for transformation and the size of the organization. Such capital, which must usually be available over a stretch of years, is meant to support the errors, risk-taking, and temporary deficits that may occur as the organization pursues a desired change. In that sense, what the organization spends the money on matters less than what it ultimately achieves. We call that kind of investment change capital; it is intended to cover costs until the business model can support itself with reliable revenue.

• A strategy for generating reliable and regular streams of revenue and a commitment to hiring talented people and making other operational adjustments that will be needed to make sure the organization can sustain new approaches to generating revenue over the long term.

• A continuous focus on results among board members, top leaders, middle managers, and all other staff members and a universal understanding of the changes the organization is making and how it will know if it is succeeding.

Since 1994, Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates (JGA) has taken an authentic, strategic approach to providing philanthropic consulting services to private colleges, seminaries, independent schools, and large cultural, community and health organizations. Our full-service firm assists with capital campaigns, development audits, feasibility studies and general fundraising counsel.

We focus on the concepts of mission, strategy, and accountability that underlie the philanthropic relationship and help organizations move beyond just raising money to focusing on the meaningful and enduring impact of their work.

The JGA team doesn’t work from a pattern or formula. Instead, we act as guides in philanthropy, helping nonprofit organizations reveal the right questions and find the best solutions for their unique situation. We seek to maximize the fundraising potential of our clients in a way that positions them for long-term success. We invite you to learn more about our services on our website at www.jgacounsel.com, and we look forward to partnering with you on your philanthropic journey.

Jane

National Philanthropy Day is a special day set aside to recognize and pay tribute to the great contributions that philanthropy – and those people active in the philanthropic community – have made to our lives, the Greater Cincinnati community and our world.

Philanthropy is powerful and inspiring precisely because it is voluntary. Through the goodness of our hearts, through our need to connect, through our desire to see a better world, we come together to improve the quality of life for all people. As you know, Greater Cincinnati is an extraordinarily philanthropic community. Through the generosity of Greater Cincinnatians, millions of dollars and volunteer hours are given each year to countless nonprofits and charities in the area ensuring that we have a great place to live, work and raise families.

This is our opportunity to recognize and celebrate those individuals who embrace your organization and contribute so much to the community. In addition, we will recognize one person in each of the following categories:

Individual Philanthropist of the Year
Outstanding Volunteer of the Year
Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy

I hope you will join me and the Greater Cincinnati philanthropic community for this special event.

Kathryn E. Merchant
President/CEO, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Honorary Chair, National Philanthropy Day

* For details about event click the AFP banner following the article.

More than half of study respondents said they spent 10 hours or less per month supporting their boards. That is just 6 percent of a full-time executive director’s time. Additionally executive directors who spend more time working with their boards reported higher levels of satisfaction with their board’s performance.

In smaller organizations that do have an executive director it can be frustrating for the already busy board president to crave out additional time for board interactions.
However, both executive directors and board presidents will find the extra time will pay off in the long run as see your board’s performance and engagement improve.

Consider the following tips:

• Explore ways you can delegate some of your current activities to others so you can dedicate more time for board interactions.
• Create a partnership between the board and staff leadership to regularly check in with board members – taking their pulse on their perceptions and activities.
• Schedule time for lunch meetings with individual of board members – giving you the opportunity to discuss and explore with each board member how they can best use their time, talent and connections to assist the organization.
• Discuss and clarify with your board members what type of support they would find helpful from the staff and the board leadership as they engage in committee work and/or other projects between board meetings.
• What do you expect from board members? Schedule a board retreat to discuss and clarify shared expectations for board members.

In effect, Mr. Obama’s plan means that a donation of $100,000 would save a donor $28,000 in taxes, $7,000 less than he or she would save today. The plan, which would take effect in 2013, would apply to married couples with an adjusted gross income of at least $250,000 ($200,000 for individuals) and would provide roughly $400-billion for the federal government over 10 years, the White House said. It would not affect the deduction taken by people who earn less.

Opposition From Charities
The president, who has proposed similar changes to the charitable deduction several times throughout his presidency, has faced stiff opposition from nonprofit leaders. They say that limiting the value of the tax break would cause wealthy people to reduce their giving.
Today’s announcement quickly drew a similar outcry among nonprofit leaders, many of whom said the idea would force job cuts at charities just as the president is seeking to increase employment.
“Limiting the itemized deduction would certainly lead to a significant decrease in charitable contributions. If charities have less resources, they’ll be forced to choose between laying off employees or cutting needed services,” said William C. Daroff, vice president for Public Policy at the Jewish Federations of North America. “Nonprofits employ almost 10 percent of the work force nationwide, and in many states nonprofits are the largest employers. In our view, cutting the deduction is like cutting your nose to spite your face.”

Hurting the Needy
Sandra Swirski, executive director of the Alliance for Charitable Reform, a coalition of grant makers and donors, said the president’s effort to limit tax deductions would harm his goal of creating more jobs.
“That’s exactly the wrong direction to go in,” said Ms. Swirski.

She also said that it goes against another goal Mr. Obama outlined when he spoke to Congress last week. He said that policy makers need to make sure the neediest are not neglected, she said. “And at the end of the day, limiting the charitable deduction is going to hurt those folks the most.” Proponents of the plan, however, say the White House’s proposal will help charities. “Charitable organizations need to look at both sides of the ledger,” said Paul Van de Water, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank in Washington. “Getting out of the recession would be a big benefit for charitable organizations of every sort. If the economy doesn’t recover, the effect of the weak economy on charitable giving is going to be much more severe than the modest effect of this particular proposal.”

Today’s proposal is the same plan that President Obama outlined in the spring as a way to cut the budget deficit and earlier in his presidency as a way to pay for the health-care bill.
Nonprofit groups said they are prepared for a similar fight in the face of the latest plan.
“We have seen this proposal before and we were able to defeat it,” Mr. Daroff said. “And while we don’t look forward to the fight ahead, we are up to the challenge.”
To download article go to Jobs Bill Would Limit Charity Tax Breaks

Based on your feedback, Charitable Advisor will continue to offer the “Welcome to the Board” booklet in hardcopy since many nonprofits use it as a handout when they meet with new board members, so they hope to have it back in stock by the end of September. To order the discounted Finance or Planning, please go to:http://www.charitableadvisors.com/ordercdbooklets.html and enter code “Promo7″ and then hit apply and it will show a 20% discount on everything you purchase on that page. With each order, they will also include a free Training CD but the system will not show it as a part of your order.

Dear Rita: We’ve never paid too much attention to our personnel files, but we’ve just entered a contract with the county and we think it’s time for us to get our act together on this. I know we need a personnel file for each employee –- but what should be in it? Signed, An Accidental HR Manager

Dear Accidental: It’s great that you are asking this question now! Good personnel files are important not just for your county contract but because documentation of various employment matters is required by many state and federal employment laws and most employee-specific documentation is best retained in a personnel file.
• For example, to comply with the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) when doing a background check, you’ve got to give specific written notices and get a written authorization if a third party conducts the records check. The proof that you’ve complied with FCRA should be kept in each individual’s personnel file.
• The file should also contain performance evaluations and any documentation that evidences the employee’s employment status (a signed offer letter, an Employee Change Form reflecting things such as job title, wage rate, promotions, benefit coverage, and leaves of absence). The personnel file should read like the rings of a tree, giving evidence of an employee’s history with your agency.

The rest of this article provides an overview of how to manage your organization’s personnel files and a checklist of documents to include in a personnel file. First, let’s talk about what should not be in a personnel file, which is just as important from a legal perspective.
What NOT to put in . . . to read the full article go to:
comments(9)> Read more

Share your thoughts and comments on our blog…

PS – Don’t forget you can post your job opening in Cincinnati Not-For-Profit News for two weeks for only $100! You may send your posting to ___

Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn represent a potentially powerful opportunity for many nonprofits, but few big groups are raising much money through them yet, a Chronicle survey has found.

Still, a growing number of the groups are investing in ways to use the networks for fund raising. Some 79 of about 150 big charities said they were raising money through social media. Only one reported raising a substantial sum: the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which raised more than $4-million. The next highest was just $400,000, raised by the Nature Conservancy, which brought in far more—$650-million—from private sources last year.

Far more groups—113—said they were using social networks primarily to spur interest among new supporters.

To subscribe to Philanthropy Today to view the full article go to: Big Charities Gear Up to Use Social Media to Raise Money .

Share your thoughts and ideas on fundraising using social networks on our blog….
Jane

Find or create a “learning community” or professional-development network. When I was an executive director, I participated in a monthly support group of other directors. We engaged a consultant to facilitate our dialogues, which included reading pertinent articles or books about leadership and management.

Establish “colleague conversations.” You can meet with one or two colleagues – someone in the same or similar field of work as yours, or in a similar position in their organization. Decide on what you’d like to read and discuss how it applies to your work.

Find someone who can be a sounding board or co-strategist for your ideas about your professional development or about issues you may be dealing with. Find a mentor who perhaps has “walked in your shoes” and can be a guide and resource for your learning.

Become a mentor. At first this may sound odd but, in my experience, being a mentor has enhanced my own professional development. I’ve found myself reflecting on things I’ve learned or done in a more intentional way that’s helped me continue to grow.

Don’t forget that solitary time for reading and reflection is also a core part of your ongoing professional development.In our hectic daily lives, we are so accustomed to doing the urgent that we neglect making time to refresh our brains with “bigger picture” thinking. Make the time to read “think pieces” on cutting-edge issues and topics in your field or the nonprofit sector. You don’t need to apologize of feel guilty about this. Professional development is an essential part of your work.

Finally, take time to stop the flow of new information.Our brains can get so overloaded with information that we’re at risk of overloading our circuits. We need time and space to allow ourselves unstructured openings for new ideas and creativity.

See the full article at: http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.phpoption=com_content&view=article& id=14321:doing-more-with-more-putting-shared-leadership-into-practice&catid= 150:from-the-archives&Itemid=351

We also encourage you to subscribe to the NP Quarterly.
Share your thoughts on our blog at: ..

After raising more than $250,000 for 144 charities in Indiana last year, Indianapolis businessman Mickey Maurer decided to bring his lifetime dream of “Mickey’s Camp” to Ohio. Mickey’s Camp for Men takes place September 7-9 at Camp Kern and offers compelling speakers, unique activities and gourmet food from the city’s leading restaurants. Registration is now open on a first-come, first served basis.

One distinctive aspect to Mickey’s Camp is its charity component. You will be introduced to four local charities and given the opportunity to choose your charity of choice to benefit from Camp. Charities include Anthony Munoz Foundation, Camp Kern/YMCA of Greater Dayton, Lighthouse Youth Services and Mayerson JCC.

This isn’t your traditional camp, this is an experience of a lifetime! Featured speaker is Colonel Tom Moe, former POW and Director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services. Activities range from fly fishing to adventure challenge, poker to billiards and high ropes to golf – all of which are led be experts and professionals. Camp is also a unique way to network with other businessmen around Ohio in a relaxed environment. Mickey’s Camp promises campers an amazing time! Please sign up today at www.mickeyscamp.com

Highlights or Lowlights:
· Sixty-seven percent of executives plan to leave their jobs within five years, down from 75 percent in in similar studies in 2006 and 2001.
· With one in six leaders age 60 or older, for example, 22 percent of that group said a loss in their retirement savings contributed to a transition delay.
· Forty-five percent of respondents said their boards had not reviewed their performance within the past year and only 18 percent said their performance review was useful.
· Thirty-three percent of current executives followed a leader who was fired or forced to resign, “indicating the frequency of mis-hires and unclear expectations between boards and executives across the sector,” the study says.
· Nonprofits are not prepared for executive transition.
· Satisfaction with board performance was lowest among leaders on the job between one and three years.
· Only 17 percent of organizations surveyed have a documented succession plan, and just 33 percent of executives were very confident their boards will hire the right successor when they leave.
· Eighty-four percent said the recession had had a negative impact on their organization. Forty-six percent said their organizations had operating reserves of less than three months of expenses.
· The study offers a series of recommendations to improve transition planning, understanding of financial sustainability, professional-development options and performance and composition of boards.

We are seeing fewer nonprofit executives targeting the traditional retirement age of 65 as their date. Even those who are ready to step out of full-time leadership roles in their late 60’s are looking for another paid role – some for the financial aspect and almost all because they value the work and the people in the nonprofit sector. If your organization doesn’t have a written Emergency Succession Plan, you should do a session with your Executive Committee or board to generate ideas and draft a plan.

Read the full article

Most classes do not accept direct applications for funding; rather, the students find nonprofits and invite applications. However, we are pioneering an alternative model this year and one class will accept and review applications during the fall semester and a second class will award the $2,000 during the spring semester. One grant of $2,000 or two of $1,000 each will be made.

This request form will put your nonprofit in the pool for consideration for funding. It, of course, does not assure funding.

If interested, return to completed form to Dr. Danielle McDonald, FH 443, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099. You can return the form electronically to mcdonaldd1@nku.edu.

You are free to use an additional sheet to respond to the questions.

Agency/Organization name: _________________________________
Physical Address: _________________________________________
Mailing Address: __________________________________________
Agency/Organization contact person: ________________________
Position: _________________________________________________
Phone: __________________________________________________
Email: ___________________________________________________
Web site:_______________________________________________
Mission of Agency/Organization: _____________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Individual programs/services offered:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Number of full-time paid employees: __________________________
Normal operating hours: ____________________________________
Annual budget/operating: $__________ Annual budget/other: $__________

Describe the key community need or needs your programming is addressing:
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe how you would use an investment of $1,000 or $2,000 at your agency, with an emphasis on the impact the investment would have:
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe how your work aligns with Vision 2015’s goals (www.vision2015.org):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Are you based in Northern Kentucky and if not do you provide services here?

___ Yes, based in Northern Kentucky
___ No, but provide services in Boone, Kenton and/or Campbell counties
___ No, and don’t provide services in Boone, Kenton and/or Campbell counties

If “no but providing services in Boone, Kenton and/or Campbell counties” please elaborate:
________________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Additional information about your nonprofit and your interest in this funding can be provided at your discretion. Just include that on a separate sheet.

· A leader’s job is… to do what has to be done, when it has to be done, in the way it should be done, whether you like it or not and whether others like it or not.
· Everyone is important – tell them that they are!
· Your role as a leader is to create an environment where employees want to come to work
· The right people, well-trained, require fewer managers
· Lee says leadership is a “contact sport”.
· Trust is the key
· Know what you stand for and what you won’t stand for.
· Bond early with new employees (and board members?)
· Be brave enough to have the hard conversations – employees build trust with managers who give them feedback on the good and bad and are willing to help them get better.
· Empower the front line with the financial and common sense authority to serve the customer
· If you can’t trust your people to do the right thing, YOU have hired and trained the wrong people in the wrong way
· Start the day by making rounds with your people

His top 3 priorities around getting the right people in the right roles:
1) Crisp systems to recruit and hire staff. Use on-line questionnaires and view videos before completing applications. You can’t train people to have good attitudes and be nice and happy.
2) Training and development of staff – train and test before you “turn them loose on customers”. Use staff managers as training resources in their areas of expertise.
3) Ensure that every employee knows they matter

Think about how you grow people in four areas of competency:
· Technical – skills needed to do their specific job
· Management – controlling, getting things done
· Technological – creating leverage and possibilities
· Leadership – Building trust, being a person people want to work for, challenging and holding accountable.

Leadership > Staff Environment > Customer Satisfaction > Business Results … The customer does not come first: Leadership comes first. This is the way that ensures excellent customer service which translateds to improved results.

The results of the 2010 Nonprofit Fundraising Survey, which compared fundraising results in fiscal year 2010 to those in FY 2009, are out, and they are good:
• Fewer nonprofits reported decreased contributions
Nonprofits reporting decreased contributions dropped from 46 percent in 2009 to 33 percent in 2010. The proportion of nonprofits that said contributions had increased or stayed the same grew from 54 percent in 2009 to 67 percent in 2010. Most of this growth occurred in the “stayed the same” category, which increased from 11 percent in 2009 to 24 percent in 2010.
• Online giving increased at more than half—58 percent—of the organizations.
Fully three-quarters of the participants reported that their organizations raised funds online.
• Major gift and events income increased for half of the nonprofits.
Results were mixed for telephone solicitations, payroll deduction, planned gifts, corporate gifts, mail (both snail mail and e-mail), foundation grants, board giving.
• Many organizations received contributions for general operating expenses
Some 51 percent of participants reported that 75 percent or more of the money they raised in 2010 went to operating costs, as opposed to capital, investments, or endowments.
• A little over half—52 percent—of the organizations received a significant portion of funds during the last quarter of the calendar year, i.e., the giving season.
The largest group, 36 percent, received 25-49 percent of contributions during the giving season. Another 16 percent receive 50 percent or more during the last quarter of the year.
• The majority of participants expect contribution levels to increase in 2011
Some 63 percent of nonprofits predicted increases in funds raised in 2011.

Download your free copy of the survey report
About the Survey
In February 2011, 1,845 charitable organizations participated in an online survey comparing fundraising results in 2010 to those in 2009. The survey was sponsored by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative, which comprises the Association of Fundraising Professionals; Blackbaud, Inc.; the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University; the Foundation Center; GuideStar USA, Inc.; and the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute.

Jane

Get the letter. Get the letter. That should be the mantra of taxpayers who make charitable gifts of $250 or more. “The letter” refers to the charity’s missive acknowledging your donation, and it must say certain things by a certain date for the gift to be deductible.

There isn’t any room for error here, as an Internal Revenue Service chief counsel memorandum from May demonstrates. In that case a donor who didn’t have a valid letter went to extreme lengths to correct the problem and still was denied. “If you don’t have the correct paperwork, there’s no way to fix the problem,” says Laura Peebles, a director at Deloitte Tax in Washington. She once saw a six-figure deduction for a gift to a university denied because of no valid letter.

The tax rules are clear: In order for charitable gifts of $250 and above to qualify for a deduction, there must be a letter detailing the amount of the donation and affirming that no goods or services were provided in connection with this gift—unless, of course, the taxpayer did receive something in return. If he or she received goods or services—a dinner, perhaps, or a tote bag with favors—then the letter should say what it was and how much it was worth, plus the net deduction allowed. The taxpayer also must have the letter in hand by the return’s filing date, although it may be sent by email. For cash donations under $250, a receipt or canceled check will often suffice.

Last week featured a local nonprofit survey – we provide an incorrect link to the survey. Please see below for how you can participate in the survey. We apologize for any inconvenience. The deadline for the survey is June 17th.
If you would like to participate in the 2011 Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky Non-Profit Benchmarking Study, which is conducted by Barnes Dennig and HORAN, please e-mail info@barnesdennig.com and provide your name, your organization and your e-mail address, and we will contact you with instructions and a link to the survey.
Participants will remain anonymous, and the final report will present the findings as averages. By participating, you will receive a complimentary copy of the report which will include the raw data, so you can compare your answers directly to other local, similarly sized participants. The results will help you chart a strategic course for the coming years, including understanding how your compensation and benefits structure can help you attract and retain talented employees.

They are requesting your CEO,CFO or Executive Director complete the survey as some of the questions are related to compensation. They encourage all Greater Cincinnati nonprofits to participate in the survey. Participants will remain anonymous, and the final report will present the findings as averages. By participating, you will receive a complimentary copy of the report which will include the raw data, so you can compare your answers directly to other local, similarly sized participants. The results will help you chart a strategic course for the coming years, including understanding how your compensation and benefits structure can help you attract and retain talented employees.

In order to participate, you may either:

1. Click on this link – https://research.zarca.com/survey.aspx?k=QsUYSUsQSRsQWYUXUXTSsP&lang=&ver=new&data

or

2. Copy-paste the entire following link between quote marks (NOT including the quote marks) in a web browser: ” https://research.zarca.com/k/QsUYSUsQSRsQWYUXUXTSsP ”

Once you complete our survey, please register for a results presentation on September 8 as they are revealed for the first time. The presentation will discuss ways to utilize the results in creative ways for developing and retaining staff, learning new trends in board governance, staying ahead of the curve on Health Care Reform and ultimately how to successfully fulfill your mission. Pre-register now at: http://www.barnesdennig.com/register.php?sid=190&nfp

The survey deadline is June 17. They suggest that you consider that multiple emails may have been sent to your organization, so please coordinate your response accordingly.

Jane

Occasionally, a board member needs to be removed from the board. In some cases, a conflict of interest or unethical behavior may be grounds to remove an individual from the board. In other cases, the behavior of a board member may become so obstructive that the board is prevented from functioning effectively.

The best boards often have strongly felt disagreements and heated arguments. Challenging groupthink and arguing for an unpopular viewpoint are not grounds for getting rid of a board member. But if a board member consistently disrupts meetings or is otherwise destructive and demoralizing, it may be appropriate to consider removing the individual from the board:

1. Personal intervention
One-to-one intervention by the board president or other board leadership is a less formal solution to managing problem board members. If a board member has failed to attend several meetings in a row, or has become an impediment to the board’s work, the board president can meet informally with the board member in question. The conversation can occur in person or on the telephone; the board president can specifically request a resignation. Examples:
• “I respect your strong opinion that we have made the wrong decision about moving the office. But we can’t continue debating the issue. If you don’t feel you can wholeheartedly help us try to make the decision a success, I’d like you to consider leaving the board.”
• “I suspect this is a time when it’s just not possible for you to get to the meetings and participate as fully as I’m sure you would like. I’m wondering if it would be better if we released you from your board obligations . . . what would you think about my sending you an email confirming your resignation due to lack of time?”
• “I’m having a hard time managing board meetings with your frequent interruptions and I am worried about losing board members due to the kinds of criticisms you make of them in meetings. I think it would be best if you would take a break from the board . . . you could resign now, and later, when there’s a different board president, talk with him or her about your re-joining the board.”

2. Leave of absence
Make it possible for individuals to take a leave of absence from the board if they have health, work, or other reasons why they cannot participate fully during the current term. A board member can take, for instance, a 6-month “disability leave,” or a 3-month “busy with new job” leave.
You can either keep the person on the board formally (but not expect them at meetings) or you can have them resign for purposes of determining a quorum. Either way the time on leave counts towards their board term; otherwise someone who takes a year’s leave can end up being on the board for much longer than is appropriate.
Suggesting a leave of absence to a board member who is, for example, failing to do tasks he or she agreed to do, offers a gracious exit and allows the board to assign tasks elsewhere.

3. Term limits
Most boards (62%) establish not only board terms but also term limits, such as two-year terms with a limit of three consecutive terms. In such a situation, a board member cannot serve more than six consecutive years without a “break” from the board. After a year off the board, an individual can once again be elected to the board.
Proponents feel that term limits provide a non-confrontational way to ease ineffective board members off the board. Opponents of term limits believe that, with proper board leadership, errant board members can be guided toward either improving their behavior or quietly resigning from the board. (The difficult part is ensuring “proper board leadership” over many years.)
Whether or not you have term limits, place a person’s term right next to their name on the board roster; otherwise it’s too easy for everyone to forget how long they’ve been on the board or when their term ends. Example:
• Jack Moon (Term 2 ends January 2012)

4. Impeachment
Your organizational by-laws should describe a process by which a board member can be removed by vote, if necessary. For example, in some organizations a board member can be removed by a two-thirds vote of the board at a regularly scheduled board meeting.
If you do not have a way to vote out board members, add this now to the bylaws, not when there’s “a problem with a first and last name.”

Top Financial Priorities for 2011
• Expand Fundraising & Development (90%)—up from 80% in 2010
• Diversify Funding & New Revenue Generation (87%)—up from 62% in 2010
• Improve Program Results & Metrics (55%)—up from 47% in 2010
• Improve Cash Flow (47%)
• Implement Operational Efficiencies (47%)—down from 67% in 2010
• Reduce Operational Costs (42%)—down from 55% in 2010
• Manage Reserves & Investments (21%)—down from 37% in 2010

Top Development Priorities for 2011
• Diversify Funding Sources (82%)
• New Revenue Generation Strategies (71%)
• Increase Online & Social Media Giving (58%)
• Pursue New Development Initiatives (50%)
• Pursue Earned Income Ventures (42%)
• Expand Development Team (24%)
• Improve Development Pipeline Forecasting (16%)
• Increase Program Results Transparency (16%)

Top Employment Priorities for 2011
• Retain & Motivate Top Talent (61%)
• Improve Accountability & Performance Metrics Use (61%)—up from 40% in 2010
• Improve Organizational Culture (58%)—up from 48% in 2010
• Access Talent Needs (42%)—up from 27% in 2010
• Recruiting Top Talent (24%)

Growth Outlook in 2011
• Planning to Grow (74%)—up from 58% in 2010
• Slow Growth (55%)—up from 39% in 2010
• Moderate Growth (16%)
• Rapid Growth (3%)
• Planning to Maintain (13%)—down from 32%
• Planning to Contract (13%)

Hiring Outlook in 2011
• Planning to Grow (29%)—down from 36% in 2010
• Hire 1-2 Staff (18%)—down from 22% in 2010
• Hire 3+ Staff (11%)—down from 14% in 2010
• Planning to Maintain (61%)
• Planning to Contract (13%)—up from 9% in 2010

Priorities for the Coming Year
• “Diversify funding sources… find new alternatives”
• “Distinguish ourselves from competition”
• “Clearly articulate program results to donors”
• “Collaborative partnerships… strategic ventures & mergers”
• “Consider corporate structure change to L3C”
• “Instill a culture of accountability… align donor priorities with our initiatives”
• “Reward our high performers”
• “Increase earned income”
• “Maintain adequate reserves with reserved funds constraints… access capital

Publication of the first Nonfiler Revocation List will be a historic event for the U.S. nonprofit sector. As many as 321,000 organizations may be included on this initial list. The revocations will affect not only the nonprofits that have lost their exemptions but also nonprofits whose exemptions remain intact and the donors and foundations that support the revoked organizations.

To bring this issue to the attention of these varied audiences and help them begin to prepare for this sector-changing event, the GuideStar report is available for free download from the GuideStar Web site. Written by GuideStar staff, the report:
• Outlines the forces driving the revocations
• Analyzes by organization type the nonprofits the IRS has identified as being at risk
• Defines the impact the revocations will have on different audiences
• Lists resources where readers can get more information

Those interested in downloading this free report can do so at http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/news/publications/revocations-april-2011-report.aspx

Let’s us know what you think about this article or issue on our blog…

Jane

http://www.independentsector.org/governance_ethics_resource_center?utm_conte

Including – the inability of the nonprofit organizations to figure out how to effectively use and engage boards of directors. He also discussed how when nonprofits ignore business cycles and don’t create strategies to address market changes it impacts their revenues and expenses. He also challenged the relationship between donors and nonprofits – suggesting that donors have become the clients and nonprofits have been demoted to being the contractors.

His second book More Than Just Money provides insight on these topics and other governance and financial management issues. Proctor has the ability to take the complicated, even arcane, and make it cogent, understandable and achievable. The book shows organizations and institutions of all sizes and scopes that by asking the right questions, understanding the roles that all departments play in the bigger financial picture, and knowing how to effectively rise above challenges, nonprofits will be governed well and yield successful financial and programmatic outcomes.

More Than Just Money gives readers dozens of concise, easy-to-read chapters on subjects ranging from board governance and endowment management to sustaining donor relationships, maintaining missions through financial crises, and much more.

Highlighted topics of the book include:
• Endowments
• Board selection
• Donor relationships to mission
• Community need
• Executive leadership
• And more

Endorsed by foundation and nonprofit leaders and on the reading lists at Harvard University and Ohio State University, you may purchase a copy at LinkingMissiontoMoney.com or on Amazon, where a Kindle version is available.

Share your thoughts and ideas on our blog –
Jane

Key findings include:

Nearly 90% of employees believe that their organization values diversity. However, more than 70% believe that their employer does not do enough to create a diverse and inclusive work environment.

More than half of employees of all races – and 71% of employees of color — attempt to evaluate a prospective employer’s commitment to diversity during the interview process.

More than 35% of people of color who indicated that they examine diversity during the hiring process report having previously withdrawn candidacy or declined a job offer due to a perceived lack of diversity and inclusiveness.

The report provides five strategies for organizations to shift from just valuing diversity to building and sustaining diversity. They include: (1) open conversations about race that include executive leadership, (2) effective communications about diversity commitments that include measured results, (3) building partnerships and networks that facilitate effective recruiting, (4) a hiring process free from subtle bias, and (5) taking the time to develop, mentor and promote a diverse staff.

“As the economy improves, nonprofits will compete more than ever before for top talent. Organizations that fail to address diversity issues will see a steep drop off in their ability to recruit and retain their talent, not just their employees of color,” said James Weinberg, Founder and CEO of Commongood Careers. “Nonprofits are at a unique moment in time to implement change. If they don’t, they may lose out to other employers who have made intentional efforts to increase and embrace staff diversity.”

To download the full report, please visit: www.cgcareers.org/diversityreport.pdf

We would appreciate your comments on our blog…

The popularity, or maybe necessity, of mergers in the nonprofit sector has been viewed from many angles. Some have worked well, others not so, and any can bring an array of benefits and drawbacks. In his book “Nonprofit Mergers & Alliances,” Thomas A. McLaughlin, a management consultant and long-time contributing editor to The NonProfit Times, offers advice about mergers, including financial red flags.

Some of those red flags are:
1. Balloon loan payments coming due. This is not necessarily a deal-breaker. McLaughlin offers two questions 1. Are you aware that you will owe an unusually large debt payment in the future?; and, 2. Do you have a plan for paying it back? If you can answer yes to both questions, it is possible to move ahead.
2. General records disarray.
3. Indispensible staff. If a partner organization seems to work mostly because of one or two people, remember that those people might be lost in a merger.
4. Lapsed insurances.
5. Loss of (pick one): license, accreditation, large donors, large payer.
6. Maxed-out line of credit.
7. Nonfinancial “liabilities.” A disgruntled officer, bad media story, for example.
8. Payroll taxes unpaid.
9. Qualified audit opinion.
10. Unacknowledged and serious CEO-staff conflict.
11. Unexamined accounts receivable.
12. Unreported litigation.
13. Low or negative net assets.

Add your comments or red flags on our blog.

A few of the interesting highlights include:
• The percentages of particular types of nonprofits are incredibly similar among all the metropolitan areas. For example, education nonprofits make up about 15 percent of total nonprofits in each city; human services nonprofits account for roughly 26 percent; and hospital nonprofits are somewhere around 1 percent.
• The study indicates that Cincinnati is comparable to the other Midwestern cities in terms of numbers and types of nonprofits, but differs from other communities when the revenues of the nonprofit groups are examined. The examination of revenues and subsets of the major groups in Cincinnati present new information in all areas, including the fact that over 70% of the nonprofits have no or very little revenues.
• Looking closely into each major group, the study recognizes that many unexpected organizations are classified under each grouping. For example, the “Arts” group includes historical societies and “Human Services” include soccer and other sports organizations.
• Other new valuable subsets emerged in this analysis, such as animal rescue, economic development and many others. These breakdowns provide a new clearer picture of the types and sizes of organizations serving our community.

To download a study examining nonprofits in our region go to: http://communityconnections.nku.edu/ext/index.php/nonprofits ?

Overhead expenses are a quick and common way to gauge the efficiency of a non-profit organization, and many people believe it is a necessary gauge, as well. But it is important to keep that statistic in the context of what an organization accomplishes with its overhead.

That was the key take-away from a recent LinkedIn poll commissioned by Barnes Dennig Senior Manager Jeff Schmitt, team leader of our Not-for-Profit Client Service Team. Overhead can be a sensitive subject for non-profits, particularly at times like this when the need for services is so high and the competition for donations is so great. Many donors look at overhead expenses as they decide how much money to give and to whom they will give it.

We asked LinkedIn users, “Do you feel charities should be judged by the amount of overhead/management expense they carry?” Seventy three percent of respondents answered “Yes,” and 68 percent answered, “Yes, it gauges organizational efficiency.” When given the chance to expand on their answer, many non-profit leaders were quick to point out that the most important metric is not how much an organization spends on overhead, but how much it accomplishes within the community.

“I am a strong advocate for financial accountability and transparency,” one non-profit executive wrote, “but at best those define what a charity did, and not the results and not the value.” Another non-profit executive expressed similar sentiments. “At the end of the day, I believe we owe it to our donors to measure this. It’s a way to differentiate and ensure a level of legitimacy,” he wrote. “All that being said, we also need to have other measures to ensure progress toward the stated mission is being made.”

Studies have shown a strong correlation between the funds spent on overhead and the productivity of an organization. As donors, government officials and charity watchdogs such as Guidestar, Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau continue to scrutinize an organization’s finances, it is increasingly important that non-profits are able to measure and communicate their impact in order to justify (and not simply cut) overhead.

To view the blog post go to:

http://blog.barnesdennig.com/2011/03/it-is-important-to-measure-overhead-and-impact

Barnes Dennig website:

http://www.barnesdennig.com/industries/not-for-profit.html

Rosette Thurman, author and nonprofit expert will speak about “Cultivating the Rockstars in Our Midst: How to Get the Best Out of All Four Generations in the Nonprofit Workplace”. In this interactive presentation, Rosetta will share provocative ideas to help nonprofit leaders work better across generations through shared power and intergenerational collaboration. The “new normal” of the economic landscape requires nonprofits to be savvy with technology, drive innovation and develop a skilled cadre of leaders to fulfill their missions. Participants will explore practical strategies for nonprofit success – simply by leveraging the hidden talent and social capital that already exists within their organizations.
Paul Carttar, Director of the Social Innovation Fund will present “The Role of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the New Economy”. In the New Economy, nonprofit organizations have been faced with shifting funding sources, tectonic economic upheaval, increased calls for accountability and impact, new technologies and modes of communication, and uncertainty about the future. Paul will discuss the role that social innovation is playing in setting higher standards of social and economic development at the federal, state, and local level. We will also hear how local groups are responding to this trend and making Cincinnati a leader in social innovation and entrepreneurship.

An expert panel will present “How to Engage Celebrities”
The panel will include; Chad Williamson, Director of Philanthropy, Dhani Jones
Chief Executive Officer, Bow Ties for a Cause, Charley Frank
Executive Director, Reds Community Fund, Liz Carter
Executive Director, St. Vincent De Paul and Betsy Ross
President and Founder, Game Day Communications will be the panel moderator. The panel will give their insights on what motivates the sports stars in Cincinnati to partner with local charities. Learn how your nonprofit can connect with sports stars, what types of partnerships work best and the key elements in maximizing the partnership for both the nonprofit and the celebrity.