Welcome to the Nonprofit Partnership E-News

In this Issue

	June, 2008
	How Are Our Boards of Directors Doing?
	To Help Your Board Do Its Best Work...
	And To Help You Raise More Money...
	And to Furnish Your Office...
	Rules for Keeping Your Donors
	Planning to Mine for Corporate Riches Next Year?
	Winning the Talent Competition with the Nonprofit Career Guide

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Robert Wooler,
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June, 2008

How Are Our Boards of Directors Doing?

A newly released study by the Urban Institute casts new light on the performance of nonprofit Boards with organizations with revenues of between $500,000 and $5 million. Not surprisingly, nearly two of three CEOs rate their Boards as doing a fair or poor job of fundraising. Other areas where the Board comes up short include community relations, educating the public and monitoring their own performance. This study also confirmed the dismal way in which nonprofits across the board are championing diversity – 83% of Board members are white, and at over one-third of the organizations surveyed, the entire Board is white. Only 6% of Board members are under the age of 35.

On the bright side, Boards are thought to be most successful at respecting the line between governance and management and not meddling in the executive role.

To address some of these issues, author Francine Ostrower recommends the following:

1. Institutionalize a procedure for the Board to regularly monitor its own performance.
2. Don’t recruit members for their names more than their active support. Active Board members help the Board do better in all areas of performance.
3. Encourage all Board members to contribute to setting the agenda. Don’t just concentrate this power in the hands of a few.
4. To maintain the distinction between the governance and management roles, do not have the CEO as a voting Board member.

Full copies of the report can be obtained at http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411659.

To Help Your Board Do Its Best Work...

Please join us for The Nonprofit Partnership’s next education and training event:
“Your Best Board Meeting Ever – Ingredients from Time-Tested Practice.” Michael Kumer, Director of the Nonprofit Leadership Institute at Duquesne University will join us to offer an entertaining, interactive, and informative program on creating high levels of Board engagement through quality meetings using: consent agendas, creative alternatives to Robert’s Rules, linking Board meetings to the strategic plan, less reports and more meaningful discussion, meeting in the three modes, ongoing self-assessment practices, and more....

This session will be held on Tuesday, July 22 from 9:00 to 11:00 am at the Bayfront Sheraton Hotel, 55 West Bay Drive on the Erie Bayfront.

RSVP to Amy Eisenberg at 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org.
 

And To Help You Raise More Money...

The world-renowned Grantsmanship Center Training Program is coming to Erie the week of August 11-15, 2008. This intensive 40 hour training program will sharpen your grantwriting and grantseeking skills so that your organization will be competitive in the financial pressure-cooker the nonprofit sector will be experiencing in the next few years. Register now, as only 10 slots remain. For more information or a registration form, please contact Bob Wooler at The Nonprofit Partnership by calling 454-8800 or e-mailing at rwooler@thenonprofitpartnership.org.

And to Furnish Your Office...

Northwestern Legal Services is moving and wants to donate its current office furniture to another Erie nonprofit. The items include four desks, chairs, tables, and filing cabinets – all the office basics. Condition ranges from good to fair to poor depending on the item. Items need to be picked up and moved by June 25, so if you’re interested, please contact Reeka Gould at Northwestern Legal Services to establish a time to see the furniture – 452-6949 x 113.

And for the top of your new desk, the Arts Council of Erie has used computers to donate, at least one complete set with CPU, monitor, and keyboard.  More details are available by calling Erin Tubbs, Office Administrator, at 452-3427 or info@artserie.org.

Rules for Keeping Your Donors

Keep Your Donors, the recent book by Simone Joyaux and Tom Ahern, contains sage advice for fundraisers – things you must keep in mind to be successful in building and keeping committed donors:

• It’s about the relationship – not the money.
• We waste the potential of donors when they are not promptly thanked.
• Small gifts are just as important as large gifts.
• You have to work harder for the second gift than you did for the first.
• Donors want to make a difference in the world- our missions are a vehicle to that end.
• We earn the donor’s trust by reporting on our accomplishments, results, and efficiency.
• Fundraising serves the donor’s emotional needs as much as the organization’s financial needs.
• A prime goal of fundraising communications is to satisfy basic human needs such as the donor’s need to feel important and worthwhile.

Their book is published by Wiley and is available at www.wiley.com

Planning to Mine for Corporate Riches Next Year?

Here are a few tips to guide you as you unfurl your more aggressive corporate solicitation program for 2008-09:

• Concentrate on the exposure the company will receive. Know how many “impressions” or exposures of the company’s name your sponsorship or partnership will yield. For an even better response, work with the company’s advertising department and create paid ads for a co-marketing venture. Their pro-social profile is enhanced through the partnership with your organization.
• Establish relationships with similar nonprofits in other states where the company operates for possible collaborative projects and joint funding.
• Customize and personalize your request by adding a hand-written stickie than humanizes the request and builds the relationship.
• Circulate your corporate prospects among your Board members, volunteers, or members to enlist them in the quest for funds.
• If you’re pursuing a renewal of funding, lead with the results you achieved because of their support. Whenever possible, include press clippings, testimonials, and the like.
• Identify a niche in your programs where company participation can make a real difference and try to cultivate a long-term fit in this niche.
• If a company has moved or downsized in your area, stress that this relationship is an opportunity for them to maintain community goodwill.
• Consider a request for services instead of cash. This is the biggest area of growth currently in corporate gifts, and it cashes in on the cachet of corporate volunteer programs – fast becoming an essential corporate business and human resource strategy.

Source: Grant research / corporate fundraising at www.grantstation.com.

Winning the Talent Competition with the Nonprofit Career Guide

A new book and companion website offers valuable guidance to nonprofits on hiring the best individuals available in the marketplace. Even in a down economy with many jobseekers, there is no excuse for not doing the important things that can bring you the best talent:

• Become an ambassador for the nonprofit community by keeping up with its importance in the overall economy. This makes the sector attractive to talented folks that may not be otherwise considering it.
• Get out and compete with the private sector in college and community job fairs.
• Tackle head on the issues of student debt and perceived low salaries that have sometimes prevented young people from considering nonprofit jobs. Forgiveness is often available while in the nonprofit sector, and even if the salaries are a bit lower than the private sector (and that’s not necessarily the case), emphasize your other critical advantages: flexible work hours, telecommuting, training, a commitment to diversity, and, of course, mission-driven work.

For more, see www.nonprofitcareerguide.org.