Nonprofit Literature Blog

The Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards

BoardSource publishes the world’s largest, most comprehensive selection of material on nonprofit governance. Its six-part Governance Series (2009) is one of their more popular tools and discusses the board’s legal, financial, and fundraising responsibilities, as well as its role in mission, planning and evaluation. The first book in the series, Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards by Richard T. Engram, aims to “clarify and distinguish the board’s corporate responsibilities and leadership from those of management.” 

The latest addition to this series is Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards: The Companion Workbook (2012) which is intended to serve as a concordance to the original book. To give you an idea of how the two work together, I’ll look at “Chapter 6: Ensure Adequate Financial Resources” in each work.

In Ten Basics, chapter six discusses the two main dimensions of balancing your budget: finding dependable revenue streams and raising private support. Engram talks about how the board can help shape earned revenue as well as its role in fundraising, which can range from identifying potential donors to maintaining cordial relationships with them. It's a very short chapter (4 pages), although it does include a handful of questions the board should ask.

The Companion Workbook offers a variety of additional exercises and questions to amplify the chapter and help the board identify the rules, agreements, and traditions that govern its approach to fundraising. A “Board Culture Assessment” poses 15 yes/no questions such as “Does the board’s fundraising committee organize the board’s fundraising rather than actually doing the fundraising itself?” and “Is there a board-giving goal in the budget?” This is followed by open-ended questions and group activities, such as having board members list 10 people they know who would give $10-$100/$50-$500/$100-$1000 (new donors only) to the organization. The chapter concludes with three case studies posing dilemmas for the reader(s) to solve.

All chapters in the Workbook are handled in this fashion; questions, activities, and case studies that get the group reflecting about their roles and responsibilities. It really gives new life to the series, and being that there are five other titles, let’s hope BoardSource publishes companion workbooks for all of them. The entire Governance Series and the Companion Workbook discussed here are available at all Foundation Center libraries under call number 610 BOA GOV.

For further reading, the Center carries other similar workbook-style board materials: the National Minority AIDS Council’s Board Development (2003) under call number 610 NMA BOA and Hildy Gottlieb’s Board Recruitment & Orientation: a Step-by-Step, Common Sense Guide (2001) under call number 610 GOT. For online resources, take a look at the board-related Knowledge Base Articles in GrantSpace.

 

--Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center—New York

Five Good Ideas

Five Good Ideas, an initiative of the Toronto-based Maytree organization, is a popular lunch-and-learn program that brings together experts in the nonprofit sector to discuss ways to make charities run better. It's the brainchild of Alan Broadbent and Ratna Omidvar, who thought of the idea when returning from a conference that they felt lacked any worthwhile takeaways.

The formula behind Five Good Ideas is simple: a leader in a certain field is chosen to do a 20 minute presentation on a management-related topic (fundraising, governance, etc.) which is followed by a 20 minute discussion. The catch is that each presentation must adhere to the “five” rule: give attendees five ideas they can take back to the office, share with colleagues, and apply to their work.

This is where the book comes in. Five Good Ideas: Practical Strategies for Non-Profit Success (Coach House Books, 2011) distills a few dozen of the these lunch-and-learn programs on the topics of leadership and vision, organizational effectiveness, human resources, resource development, communications, advocacy and policy, and governance. 

Robin Cordozo’s “Approaching Grantmakers Successfully” is perhaps the most relevant section to users of the Foundation Center, so we’ll look at that one first. Cordozo leads one of Canada’s largest foundations and conveys these five takeaways: 1) show how you can help a grantmaker achieve its objectives 2) do your homework 3) be aware of the competition for funding 4) be open to change and 5) pay attention to details. Some bits of advice in this chapter include "avoid approaching a grantmaker 'cold'" and to "be open to the possibility that grantmakers may suggest changes or alternative approaches to your work." As with all chapters in the book, the author provides suggestions for further reading and investigation (aka "five good resources").

Rocco Rossi’s discussion of leadership, on the other hand, conveys zen-like pieces of advice on being an effective leader, such as “focus on the journey, not the destination” and “we need to let go of the excess baggage in our lives.” The resources he suggests for further enlightenment are not your typical nonprofit texts.  Instead, he recommends reading inspirational material such as The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho or listening to The Eagle’s album Desperado. The key is the takeaway: people will probably remember a piece of fiction or music better than a dry tome on leadership.

Five Good Ideas is not a handbook, nor is it intended to be one. It falls more along the lines of self-help books such as Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff that can be turned to when you need a quick dose of inspiration. It’s available in all Foundation Center libraries under call number 604 FIV. 

Other recently acquired titles that provide similar guidance include Nonprofit Management 101: a Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals (Jossey Bass, 2011) and You and Your Nonprofit: Practical Advice and Tips from the CharityChannel Professional Community (CharityChannel Press, 2011). Use the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature to see Foundation Center holdings.

--Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
Foundation Center--New York

In the Trenches: Capital Campaigns

CharityChannel’s In the Trenches series offers practical handbooks on fundraising, nonprofit management, and related topics. Foundation Center libraries make four of them available: 50 Asks in 50 Weeks, You and Your Nonprofit, Asking About Asking, and Confessions of a Successful Grantwriter. Our latest acquisition in the series, Capital Campaigns: Everything You Need to Know (2011), goes over the infrastructure, budgeting, and staffing of a typical capital campaign. It also includes a large amount of sample documents and suggestions for further reading.

In the introduction, author Linda Lysakowski tells us that her goals in writing the book are to “help organizations … learn how to assess readiness for a campaign, better prepare for a capital campaign, and how to organize [them] effectively.”

One of her contentions is that volunteers are the key to a campaign’s success. In Chapter Seven, “Recruiting and Organizing Campaign Volunteers” Lysakowski addresses questions such as “How many volunteers will I need to recruit?” and “Where can I find enough volunteers?” She discusses how to form your team, from recruiting the campaign chair to filling other cabinet positions such as co- and division chairs. She also provides sample position descriptions for all involved.

Throughout the book you’ll find practical tips, observations, and even warnings on bad practices. But perhaps the most useful part is the appendix. In it she provides two dozen campaign tools, including a 28-step plan of action spreadsheet, campaign assignment worksheets, sample case case statements, a full campaign timeline, and even a brainstorming form to identify new donors.

Capital Campaigns: Everything You Need to Know is one of many resources available on the topic, but its focus and practicality make it a worthwhile reference book for all fundraisers. It’s available in Foundation Center libraries under call number 713 LYS. To locate other In the Trenches titles mentioned at the beginning of this blog, search the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature.

--Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center--New York

Using Lifecycles to Manage Change

The cover of John Brothers and Anne Sherman’s Building Nonprofit Capacity: A Guide to Managing Change Through Organizational Lifecycles (Jossey-Bass, 2011) shows a battery being recharged. It’s the perfect image for a work that focuses on “recharging” declining or stagnant nonprofits by better understanding where they came from, where they are, and where they want to go. The authors (who together have over 25 years of consulting experience) use the concept of organizational lifecycles to “help nonprofits become stronger by approaching lifecycle advancement as a type of change management to help leaders … and effectively shepherd a change process in their organization.” 

What is an organizational lifecycle? Brothers and Sherman define it as “a predictable pattern that most nonprofits will follow over time.” The most basic timeline is start-up, growth, maturity, and decline.  But there are variations on the theme. Organizations that grow too quickly almost certainly will fall just as fast; on the contrary, organizations that are cautious and deliberate grow slowly, but decline at the same rate.

In Chapter Five, “Decline”, the authors provide advice on dealing with this poorly understood lifecycle. Perhaps the key section in this chapter is “The Arc During Crisis” which offers solutions to those hit especially hard in the current economic downturn. They discuss how to deal with revenue loss, staff and board readiness, and point out that an effective solution is to “allow partners and funders into the conversation about successfully pulling through [a] tough economic situation.” The chapter concludes with an interview of Thomas Wolf, author of And the Band Stopped Playing: The Rise and Fall of the San Jose Symphony (Wolf, Keens & Co., 2005). He answers questions about the characteristics of organizations that have successfully, and not so successfully, moved through decline. Wolf also talks about innovation in nonprofits in light of the current funding environment and the impending leadership gap caused by baby boomer retirements.

The book ends with a recap of overarching themes. “When it comes to growth, more often than not, slow and steady wins the race” is one. Other words of advice include “Reaching the top of the lifecycle does not mean your journey has ended” and “turnaround is about taking risks that are big but also well informed.”  The authors also remind us that the entire premise of the lifecycle is based on the assumption that to get where you need to go, you need first to know where you are.

Building Nonprofit Capacity includes numerous illustrations, a sample board report card that can be used to help members stay on task and develop their role, and extensive notes for further reading.  It is available in all Foundation Center Libraries under call number 608 BRO.

Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center--New York

Here is a Google Books preview:

Researching Celebrities

Back in September, the Foundation Center published the 3rd edition of the Celebrity Foundation Directory, which includes detailed descriptions of more than 1,600 foundations and public charities established by, or in the name of, people in the public eye. The directory profiles grantmakers affiliated with entertainment figures, but also provides information about the charities of well-known business leaders, athletes, and famous people in the fields of science and medicine. Celebrity foundations can also be located using Foundation Directory Online since profiles are tagged with an additional descriptor indicating this; just use the keyword phrase "celebrity foundation" when conducting searches in FDO to limit your results to these types of grantmakers.

You can use the Celebrity Foundation Directory in conjunction with the Celebrity Black Book published by Mega Niche Media out of Los Angeles. This reference work contains verified addresses for over 60,000 celebrities and public figures worldwide, focusing on those in the entertainment industry but also listing political, religious, and sports figures. Each profile provides a celebrity category (actor, musician, athlete, etc.) and representative name if available. The Black Book has received favorable reviews by Library Journal and Entrepreneur magazine, among others.

For more advice on researching celebrities and celebrity giving, be sure to read the Knowledge Base Article "Where can I find information on celebrity giving?" in GrantSpace, the Foundation Center's go-to spot for grantseekers.

The Celebrity Foundation Directory is available in PDF format at all Foundation Center locations; the  Celebrity Black Book can be found in the reference collection of the New York and Atlanta libraries under call number REF 045 MCA.

Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center

Shifting and Resetting in Today's Connected World

It seems like every week there is another book or article about social media and technology for nonprofits, with many of them falling into the "how to" category, or focusing on one particular application (like Twitter). However, if you want to step back and see the big picture Brian Reich’s Shift & Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society (Wiley, 2011) is worth a look. Reich waxes philosophical about how today’s hyperconnected society is affecting the way we behave and relate to each other, and how social media and other technologies are changing old paradigms of business and productivity.

Throughout the book, Reich offers principles, solutions, and must-read resources on how we can "shift and reset" our attitudes toward education, language, and mobilization efforts, as well as improve our overall game plan in supporting social issues important to us.

In the chapter "Shift Your Education" he cites a Sesame Street experiment that used cell phones to educate children; one reason Sesame Street has maintained its success is that it has kept a disciplined approach to childhood education in the face of significant changes in technology, occupying a state of perpetual "beta" in which they are always willing to experiment with new developments.  Reich also talks about Zappos (in "Shift Your Language") an online shoe/clothing retailer which is highly regarded because of its excellent customer service and relationships. The company has figured out what people expect and what they respond to, leading to a successful business strategy that focuses on the culture (i.e. language) of buying shoes and building loyalty rather than on blind metrics or efficiency standards.   

Reich also describes what the nonprofit sector should stop doing, namely the same old stale and “correct” things. He feels it would be wise if the sector stop creating new organizations and instead find groups that are operating successfully and help them instead; stop (over) using social media, since it alone is not enough for engagement and mobilization; and ignore those case studies, because by and large the success stories they convey aren’t transferable.

Many of the book's ideas and stories are designed to get you out of your comfort zone, which is often the best way to see new solutions. Shift & Reset is available at the Foundation Center’s New York, DC, San Francisco and Atlanta libraries under call no 676 REI.  

Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center--New York

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Arts Marketing in the 21st Century

In honor of Funding for Arts Month at the Foundation Center, I’m going to take a quick look at Eugene Carr and Michelle Paul's Breaking the Fifth Wall: Rethinking Arts Marketing for the 21^st Century (Patron Technology, 2011).  Carr has written extensively on the influence of technology on the arts (Wired for Culture, Sign-Up for Culture, and Web Sites for Culture) but this latest work is based on the premise that the arts now require an entirely new approach to audience development.

Carr argues that Internet technologies (especially social media sites) enable arts organizations to break through the “fifth wall” that “separates the cultural experience from the ongoing life of the audience member” (the “fourth wall” refers to the imaginary separation between stage action and the audience).  He calls it “patron relationship building.” In chapter one, he states that the hands-down winner for driving people to attend and participate in the all things culture has always been—and will continue to be—word of mouth. Social media is simply "word of mouth on steroids."  This idea introduces the book's main theme: how to use technology to amplify marketing efforts.

Arts Marketing explores a wide range of topics. Chapters discuss the online arts patron (who is she? what does she do?), e-mail marketing (the bedrock of digital marketing), web sites, what makes social media work in the arts, Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM) and how cloud computing makes them easily available and affordable. It concludes with predictions about the future of the field.

In the chapter “Social Media Success” Michelle Paul covers the basics of using Facebook and Twitter in an organized, coordinated way.  Some of her tips include not thinking like a marketer when using Facebook: since it was intended for one-on-one interactions, she recommends focusing on creating conversations and not just announcing deals/events.  For those with limited resources and time, “Social Media on a Tight Schedule” offers the bare minimum of what you should be doing on Facebook and Twitter. She also provides suggestions on what data to track to gauge your audience’s interest level and engagement, as well as to find out how far your reach is beyond social media.

Chapter 12, "The CRM Advantage," departs from social media to talk about back-office technology.  It starts by making the claim that "the adoption of Customer Relationship Management systems will create a revolutionary change for the arts and culture world."  How?  By consolidating all transactional and administrative functions onto one system.  Carr argues that while stand-alone systems (ticketing, fundraising, membership, etc.) may be efficient, they do nothing to optimize communication with a patron, since their information is scattered over many different computers. CRM allows you to aggregate data, which is remarkably helpful on fundraising appeals, renewal campaigns, and strategic planning.  Another added benefit is that CRMs are available via the "cloud" so a smaller organization does not need to maintain a server or worry about backups.

Carr ends with an overview of emerging technologies, and how they may influence the work of arts organizations. He talks about mobile phones, live streaming and broadcasting, geolocation, stored-value tickets (perhaps smart-card technology will replace the traditional ticket?) and open platforms such as the one used in Salesforce, a more popular CRM.

If you’re charged with bringing your arts organization up to speed on social media and with technology in general, Breaking the Fifth Wall is a good start.  Find it in our New York,  DC,  San Francisco and  Atlanta libraries under call number 680 CAR BRE.

 

Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center--New York

Managing Foundations and the Risky Business of Philanthropy

Technically a revised and expanded edition of their previous work Creating a Private Foundation (2003), the new publication Managing Foundations and Charitable Trusts by Roger Silk and James Lintott now takes into account recent challenges facing philanthropists in the current economic downturn.

Primarily written for those contemplating creating a new foundation or who already have a foundation, charitable trust, or other charitable entity, Managing Foundations covers the basics of charitable giving, the business of philanthropy, and provides descriptions of various planned giving vehicles. It also gets into the nuts and bolts of investing and asset allocation, donor-advised funds, and Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs).

There is much here for the general reader as well.  The Bernard Madoff scandal was for many the symbol of everything that went wrong financially in late 2008, and it had a large impact on foundations, jeopardizing the investments of at least 23 charities. In the chapter “Fraud, Inflation, and Market Risk” the origins of his Ponzi scheme are explained in detail, revealing that Madoff may have “strategically targeted private foundations because of the 5% payout rule.” Since many foundations adhere to the rule (spending at least 5% of assets every year) Madoff would only need a fraction of their assets on hand for withdrawals.  This helped sustain the Ponzi scheme even longer than otherwise possible. The authors state that the scheme served as a cruel reminder that investors “need to concern themselves not merely with issues of return on capital, but more fundamentally with the issue of return of capital.”

Another chapter covers unintended consequences of charity, or “The Road to Hell.” Starting with an explanation of how well-intention government programs (i.e. sustainable biofuels) can lead to adverse results (increased starvation of the world’s poorest people) the book lays out how the same can happen to private charitable giving. For instance, some felt that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's AIDS program in Africa had the unintended consequence of leaving gaps in the supply of services for non-AIDS medical issues.  How can this be avoided?  One suggestion is that philanthropists focus more on programs that alleviate poverty, instead of on the conditions/manifestations of poverty such as preventable disease.

So, while intended for donors and philanthropic advisors, Managing Foundations can also serve as guide for grantseekers who want to know more about the motivations, concerns, and challenges of grantmakers in times of financial instability.  It’s also hopeful. The authors are quick to point out in the preface that despite the stalling economy charitable giving is actually higher than it was ten years ago and thriving.

Managing Foundations and Charitable Trusts is available at the Foundation Center's New York, DC, San Francisco and Atlanta libraries under call number 514 SIL MAN.

 

Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center--New York

 

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Nonprofit Organizations Sharing Services

Shared Services: A Guide to Creating Collaborative Solutions for Nonprofits (San Francisco, CA: Nonprofit Centers Network) is the "first comprehensive guide for nonprofit leaders looking to create shared services programs." Chapters provide an overview of shared services, planning tips and tools, and offer case studies as examples. Here are some questions/answers culled from the guide:

"What are shared services? What benefits do shared services offer?"
Broadly defined, it's the "collaborative use of resources across traditional organizational boundaries."  These resources may include physical (office) space, equipment, staff, or program resources.  Benefits include more purchasing power, efficiency through the reduction of duplication of functions, employee retention, and stability through the creation of a long-term system.

"How are shared services structured and funded?"
There are four common structures: independent provider, joint venture, fiscal sponsorship, and networked support. The guide provides a matrix to help you choose the right structure.  Regarding funding, diverse streams are recommended; some of these include earned income, corporate support, and debt or investment funding from banks and foundations. While initial funding may be needed for start-up investments and expenses, the book provides an example of a shared Internet service that did not require start-up funding.

The guide also provides detailed advice on managing and staffing such programs, and devotes an entire chapter to planning tools.  The case studies look at 10 shared services programs around the U.S.; each profile includes key lessons learned, the mission, budget, structure, and contact person.

For more information on this topic, last year Jean Butzen, a blogger for the Stanford Social Innovation Review, wrote a series on nonprofit back-office integrations or what these organizations refer to as "shared service alliances."  Here are links to the four entries, which all focus on the Early Childhood Education (ECE) industry:

• Creatively Combining The Back Office: A Series on Shared Service Alliances
  Introductory blog to the series.
• Creatively Combining the Back Office: Shared Services Alliance Part 2
  Provides an example of what can be done to preserve small, community-based nonprofits through a unique business model.
• Shared Services Alliances, Part Three: Early Learning Ventures Alliances
  Addresses creative and productive partial integration models.
• Tipping Point for A National Movement for ECE Shared Services
  Describes the National Shared Services Technical Conference Butzen attended in Philadelphia, Sept. 20-21st, 2010. She also links to a shared services toolkit that can be used in the start-up of local early care and education alliances.

In addition, Tides (the creator of the Nonprofit Centers Network program) makes available Develop Shared Nonprofit Space & Services, which describes their work in shared services and points to helpful resources, such as a green workspaces brochure.

Shared Services: A Guide to Creating Collaborative Solutions for Nonprofits is available at the New York, DC, San Francisco, and Atlanta libraries under call number 609 CEF.

Rob Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center--New York

Full Giving USA Philanthropy Report Published

The full report of Giving USA was released last week, and it continues to provide valuable data on giving by individuals, foundations, estates (bequests) and corporations.  The latest findings of Giving USA 2011: the Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2010 published by the Giving USA Foundation include:

•    Total estimated charitable giving in the U.S. rose 3.8 percent in 2010, reflecting the modest economic recovery achieved that year

•    Giving by individuals rose an estimated 2.7 percent   

•    Foundation giving remained steady, falling 0.2 percent. Family foundations provided approximately 48 percent of all grants by independent, community, and operating foundations

•    Giving to international affairs rose an estimated 15.3 percent, the largest percentage increase of any subsector, in part due to various global political and humanitarian crises, specifically the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

The spike in aid to disaster relief is detailed in “Giving to International Affairs," which reveals that the change in charitable contributions to this subsector can be quite volatile, as it often fluctuates with crises such as natural disasters and famines. However, it does indicate that over the last 23 years, giving to this subsector has increased much faster than the average rate of inflation for this time period.

In 2010, aid to disaster relief was largely driven by donations immediately following the Haitian earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince and left approximately 230,000 people dead. The report cites Charity Navigator’s statistic that Americans donated over $1.4 billion to earthquake relief and recovery, significantly higher than giving to any other single disaster that year. It also breaks down how people gave (39 percent gave in person, while 14 percent gave by text message) and where the money went ($479 million to the American Red Cross). Concerns as to how this money is being spent are also examined, and the report cites that only 38 percent of the $1.4 billion has been spent towards immediate recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Giving USA 2011 provides similar detailed analyses on giving to nine subsectors overall, including religion, human services,  education, and the arts. It also provides references to all statistical assertions, and a detailed section on methodology that summarizes methods used and revises previous reports.

This useful and unique reference work is available at all Foundation Center libraries. We also keep older versions of the printed reports for historical research purposes; a librarian can assist you with these.

 

Robert Bruno
Catalog/Reference Librarian
The Foundation Center