A couple of months ago I wrote my first posting on fundraising ethics. In that posting I posed three questions — three situations that required ethical resolutions. And, although there have been a few emails from readers that related to ethical questions, the situations that I posed have not been addressed.
So, in the context of the rights of the donor, the public’s right to know, the appearance/reality of conflict-of-interest and how those issues impact the people served by a nonprofit organization, I’ll try to address those questions … without giving direct answers.
1. Is it ethical for an NPO to hire a firm to run a “fundraiser” where the NPO realizes $10,000 it wouldn’t
have had, while the vendor actually retains 90% of the generated income ??
Would your donors feel comfortable giving to you if they knew that only
10% of their giving would actually go to help the people you serve?
Would you inform the people paying to attend your fundraisers that
only 10% of their giving would actually go to help the people you serve?
If you wouldn’t so inform the attendees, why not?
Would you want to see that information on the front page of your local
newspaper? If not, why not?
Where the cost of most fundraising doesn’t exceed 20%, is it reasonable
to use a fundraising method that costs 90% of the gross?
2. Is it ethical for a major donor to a hospital to get his/her child moved to the top of the “treatment” list ??
How would the parents of children already on the waiting list react
to having someone jump to the head of the line?
How would the public react to an article on the front page on the
local newspaper that children in need of treatment were delayed
in getting that treatment because a major donor got “special
treatment?”
What would happen to an institution’s reputation of being fair and
caring? …or don’t people care?
3. Is it ethical for the CEO of a nonprofit to recruit family members to serve on the organization’s board ??
How would current and potential donors react to learning that the
CEO’s family has a vote on what the CEO is paid?
Assuming that the CEO and his/her family members are in
agreement on the issues that the CEO must decide, would the
public see the decision-making process as one designed to
benefit the community? …or the CEO and his/her family?
A good rule of thumb (but not the only rule) to use in judging whether something is or isn’t ethical is whether it feels right. If you’d rather not see it on the front page on your local newspaper, then it probably doesn’t pass the smell test.
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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? Contact Hank@Major-Capital-Giving.com With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, he’ll be pleased to answer your questions.
You’ve heard that LinkedIn is a great place for professionals and small businesses to network. Some folks (myself included) receive real business referrals through LinkedIn.
If you want a short video – an overview – of LinkedIn and how it can help you:
Use your long tail keywords in your profile, because search engines love them.
LinkedIn “Answers” and “Groups” are a great way to find experts to help you.
They think of their service as a “revolving rolodex” – stay in touch with people who move or change jobs.
It’s a great way to easily connect with sales leads, even jobs.
Zero in on your business niche by joining or following Groups. Find groups that speak your language here: http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory The best way to get started is to find groups that interest you, then just ‘listen’ for awhile. Then, when you’re comfortable, post an answer to a question. Make sure it’s:
relevant
valuable
rich with your keywords, and
has your link in it.
Find Top Influencers
Who seems to be the most knowledgeable and most involved in discussion? If you find the most engaged experts in your community, you can ask to meet them at a coffee shop. Most LinkedIn participants, especially those that post a lot, hope that they’ll make new contacts, and welcome the networking efforts.
Check LinkedIn’s Top Influencer Board. They have an algorithm to choose those Top Influencers, and they’re on target. Once you’ve identified them, follow their discussions, and make occasional comments.
Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
Is there anything worse than a joke that bombs? Or a punch line that misses? Or humor that the speaker gets, but the audience doesn’t? Whew! The rewards are great, but the stakes are high when it comes to using humor successfully in presentations.
We have already looked at why to use humor, and when to use humor in your presentations, now let’s take a look at how you can use humor successfully.
What not to do:
Don’t force it. If you try too hard, or work too hard at putting humor into your presentation, you may appear frivolous or desperate. Humor is always best when it seems spontaneous.
Don’t tell jokes. In almost every joke, there is a butt of the joke. No one wants to be the butt of the joke, and many people find it uncomfortable to be in the situation of laughing when there is a chance that someone is going to look bad. Think of all the “dumb blond” jokes. Even if you happen to be blond, there is always a victim in those jokes. (How do the other blonds in the room feel about it?)
Don’t laugh at anyone. Funny things happen all around us. But I always worry that if I tell a story about how dumb that other driver was, someone is going to be offended. My worst nightmare: you were the other driver and I just told a story at your expense. Not funny!
Don’t use any humor you wouldn’t tell your grandmother. If it contains innuendo or language that wouldn’t be appropriate in church, think twice. Better yet, just don’t go there. This is a business presentation, not a comedy club.
Don’t build it up too much.“Oh, I have the funniest joke – you are going to love this one…” is to me a set-up for disaster. Much better to slip it in unannounced and unanticipated. That is part of the fun of humor.
Don’t laugh at your own joke. OK, maybe you can smile, but don’t crack yourself up. Especially if you audience isn’t finding it all that funny anyway. Keep the presentation moving, and if the audience gets a chuckle, pause and let the moment unfold naturally.
What to do:
Find the natural humor. Funny things do happen. Words get twisted in funny ways. Unexpected outcomes make us laugh. As long as you aren’t laughing at anyone or any group, these natural expressions of surprise and humor are more likely to work.
Soft pedal the humor. Don’t force it, but let it float to your audience. If they find it humorous, great. If they don’t, you have already moved on. You’re not waiting for the big laugh; you are happy with a chuckle or a smile.
Find your own humor style. Your humor style might be that of a natural storyteller, or that of a physically humorous person (think Lucille Ball and her faces or Robin Williams with his whole-body humor) or a witty word-twister. You might find that unexpected gem of humor no one else can see. Or maybe you have just the right words to make people laugh and relax in a tense situation. You might even be the person who brings the best cartoons to share. Look for your own natural, comfortable style, and try it out in appropriate ways.
Laugh together. The best laughter is when we all “get it” and we share a laugh together. No one gets hurt. No one works too hard at it. This kind of humor bonds us, and is priceless. Have a light attitude, be open to humor, and be sure no one gets hurt. Laughter happens.
How do you use humor in presentations? Does it have a place in your organization? In your presentations? How do you make sure it is appropriate and adds value in business presentations?
Experience with previous jobs influence our perceptions of how work life should be.
Work may be black and white in nature, but it’s not life. I’ve been working a long time for other people so I have a lot of experience as the employee. In time, I became a trainer and a supervisor–and now a communicator and coach. It’s different in the military in some ways, but that’s another story. You can imagine that with over 40 years of working, and not in the same jobs or same types of jobs, that I arrived at my present perception of reality. That perception evolved over the years; my job situations changed and so did I. It is also how all others who worked before, arrive where they do in their perceptions of working life.
Most people’s perceptions of work life or reality is pretty basic, but most can’t compare in the diversity of life’s experiences through which they arrived at those perceptions. Some peoples lives are easy and simple; some difficult and complex; some lucky, some not; some functional, some dysfunctional; but all of these lives co-exist in our classroom. Granted, we all have our problems we had to deal with in life; they all seem large to us then, and we found solutions. Our life experiences and our dreams define us today.
Education itself is a whole other matter; it helps form our attitudes as well. Forget about education at the moment, this is just about the work experiences.
Education itself is a whole other matter; it helps form our attitudes as well.
Before you take a look at the typical training classroom, understand, the make-up of your classroom is hardly typical. A simple example: I teach a class in a center city urban environment and another in the suburbs. In some ways my students are the same but different. Most of you would agree without question.
But let’s go deeper. It is with a certain amount of pride that I tell you part of my story. As trainers, training developers and managers, we need to motivate our employees, make them feel part of a team, the company family. We need to inspire them to make their own greatness in doing so to make the company great. We want them to achieve all manner of success.
You can argue a company can only do so much or should only focus on the business–that there’s not room for sentimentality. Tell that to someone who needs a job desperately. Bet they’d work their butts off for a chance to succeed. “These kinds of employees have too many problems.” It’s infuriating just writing those words. However, unless the company has to take them per government regulations in some cases…
Business can be cold and that’s part of the problem, and government tells them when they are being unfair or prejudicial. Remember those companies that take care of their employees tend to even profit more because the general public is made up of those same people.
As a trainer or trainee, or as a manager, I can’t help but bring my personal experience with me to the classroom; it is part of who I am and came to be. There are others in the classroom like me, and I know there are others who have had a harder life, but we are all survivors. We have dreams to not only achieve a certain amount of normalcy but to make a better life. So, I know my job. I know what I need to do. Address the dreams.
I was always late for school and always sent to detention where I did most of my homework.
At 15 I had left home for reasons we don’t need to address now and was on my own. I still wanted to go to school, but I needed to support myself, too. After lying about my age to get a job, I worked eight-hour shifts in food service then, when for minimum wage most supervisors have preconceived notions of your work performance without even looking. They want the least amount of interaction with you and the most amount of interaction with the accounting books. I learned work could be a ruthless place and few people were given opportunities to move ahead unless the boss liked you without knowing you. It mattered what high school you went to. Work performance is not at issue; there are other workers by the dozen. I survived.
My last job while in high school was the hardest, working in a restaurant as a fry cook until 2:00 a.m and still having to get up to go to school by 7:45 a.m. I was always late for school and always sent to detention where I did most of my homework. Parents were unavailable for consultation, but my grades were okay, so the school didn’t really care. Quite frankly, I think the school knew I was on my own, but I was stable enough and in no real trouble at school so it wasn’t the school’s problem. It’s a little different now.
At work, which started shortly after school, I used my dinner break to eat as much as I could hold because it may be my only meal of the day, and to finish any homework I hadn’t finished in school. Down times didn’t exist at work and my employer wouldn’t have said, “Why don’t you take some time to work on some school work until we get busy.” There was always busy work. Work is work. No complaints. My first experiences are the ones I start with, knowing how they could have been made better.
It’s the old rule of teaching students or training employees, not subjects.
Training always seems cut and dry, boring and examples company-centered. Seems that’s the way it has to be. Trainers can crank up the entertainment factor a notch, depending on the trainer. Perhaps, the important part of training is to remember a basic rule of teaching (and training), you are teaching students or training employees (people) and not subjects.
Help make those subjects fit in the lives of those you instruct.
Help them see how it is important to them.
Help them see how it all fits into their dreams–even if this job is a stepping-stone to another.
Acknowledging experience and another’s dreams will win you fans–champions of your causes even, and listeners who will apply that knowledge to the jobs at hand. Important training mission accomplished.
I started to write an article on training assessments, before, during and after training. There seems to be a lot of interest in that topic, but I found myself focusing on one of the most important aspects of training, and that is who is receiving it and how we make the best impression. Hence: this article. Next time I promise an article on training assessments. Now that we’ve looked at the employees, we’ll look at the company and what it needs. It just may very well be people with dreams to get the job done.
As always my views are my own and influenced by who I am (who I became) and I am hoping to help you shape your dreams in the days ahead. Check out my website for more information on my philosophy and dreams as well as my words. For a look at the human side of training from my Cave Man perspective, please check out my book, The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development. Happy training.
Having a board recruitment event gives Boards and Executive Directors a chance to work together on this important responsibility. Every Board needs to be active in bringing in new members. It is an essential part of their leadership.There are whole books written on recruitment. The focus for this article is a sample process for planning and hosting a successful board recruitment event.
What Are You Looking For? Determine what skills you need to develop on the Board. This is an analysis specific to your organization. If you have three lawyers you don’t need another one. Does your Board need someone with financial management, marketing, building management, human resources or other skills? Did I forget fundraising? No I didn’t forget it.People with fundraising skills are either already on a Board that they are very committed too or they are burnt out. If you know someone who isn’t in one of these categories and is a skilled fundraiser, roll out the red carpet. Otherwise plan on developing fundraising skill for all of your Board members.
Governance Committee Chair’s Presentation
The presentation should include:
-Roles and Responsibilities of the Board
-Expectations of Individual Board Members
-Qualities of Board Members
Interactive Activity
Pass out large sheets of construction paper. Ask each person to draw a picture that represents their associationwith the mission of the organization or what they could envision it being if they are a guest. Have everyone share their picture with people at their table. The facilitator can ask volunteers at each table to share with the whole group. This activity helps wind the evening down on a positive tone still focused on the mission of your organization.
Wrap Up and Next Steps Ask each guest to fill out an “Interest Form” or an application. If you are seeking committee members who may not also be Board members then you need to talor your form that that you give to attendees. Explain that the ED and a Board Member will follow-up with a tour of your facilities or invitation to one of the organization’s events.
Closing the Deal Once you have completed the post recruitment visit, it is time for the close. Either the ED or Governance Committee member should now ask the invitee to join the Board and feel comfortable about making a sales pitch. If the person has stayed with you up to this point you should be able to close the deal.
Summary This is only one suggestion for a recruitment plan. There really is no one size fits all that works for all organizations. Each organization has a different set of parameters to deal with when recruiting board members. It is worth it to make the investment of upfront analysis and planned recruiting to attract the type of board members you need.
If you haven’t heard about it yet, check out the Social Enterprise Summit, put on by Social Enterprise Alliance. For those interested in social enterprise, there’s no better way to learn, network and get inspired by the incredible people who organize and put on these conferences. I’ve been to ten of them, and gained something valuable every time I attended. (Disclosure: I used to be on the SEA board.) Here’s some information from SEA:
Regardless of whether your organization is a hospital, school, police station, church, or something entirely different, if you serve your community then you can expect them to turn to you for information and guidance in the event of a disaster.
A bit of preparation can make you one of the greatest resources they have, and, quite literally, save lives. In a recent post on his iamreedsmith blog, social media expert Reed Smith offered this advice that, while aimed at hospitals, applies to nearly every community pillar:
Make sure someone is designated to monitor social as part of your disaster plan. In these cases the most up to date and credible information is coming from those on the ground. Think CNN iReport. People are tweeting, taking pictures/video, and posting on Facebook in realtime. Ask on your social channels for people to submit content to you though an email address or social platform.
Make sure someone at your disaster control post is providing information though the social channels. Many follow your organization online. Make sure you don’t go dark during this time.
Identify and follow official social accounts of news, disaster, and local agencies. This will allow you to repost relevant resources to your online community.
Assisting your community during difficult times is not only a good thing to do, but a smart business move. The more helpful you are, the more reputation brownie points you gather, but in order to be an effective aid during a crisis you’ve got to have your networking done and the communication channels already established, so get to it!
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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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When I was young, there was a rule about thank-you notes. If I got $5 from a distant aunt, I wasn’t allowed to spend it until after I had written and mailed her a thank you note. When you were young, you probably had a rule at your house that was similar.
It’s a great rule for fundraising professionals too, yet we often do a lousy job of it online.
After you’ve struggled to improve your online donation process [See: Audit Your Own Website (Part 1) & Audit Your Own Website (Part 2)] you need to appreciate that a first-time online donor is on a trial relationship with you. The way you communicate with that donor sets the stage for whether you will broaden and deepen that relationship, or whether it will be a “drive-by” donation.
Thank-you Page: Immediately after the gift is processed, the donor should see a page that promptly proclaims “Thank you for your gift!” If you are able to access the information on the gift when you display this page, thank them by name, e.g. “Hank Lewis, Thank you for your gift!”
Then, immediately, invite them to take more action.
• Invite them to watch a video on your website showing how their gift is being put to good use.
• Give them a button they can click to proclaim to their FaceBook friends that “I support [Your Organization here].”
• Invite them to complete a short survey, so they can express their interest in your mutual cause (open-ended survey questions are great because you can learn more about the vocabulary that the donor uses – this is great for follow-up appeal copywriting)
Thank-you Email: Most donation processing systems send an email immediately after the gift is completed (though one out of six organizations to whom we gave recently sent us nothing). Make sure this is a welcoming email. As my colleague, Heather Fignar, puts it: “This should not be a receipt, but a receptionist.” She means that the email should be welcoming and gracious, not merely a recitation of the details of the gift. Again, offer them options for learning more about your organization and proclaiming their shared passion for your cause.
If your donation process merely spits out a receipt, and you can’t change it, then you need to regularly import your new donors into your email system and send them the email message you want to send them. Two email messages are better than one.
Thank-you Letter: It is common, but not required, to send online donors a printed thank-you letter in the mail. This is a great way to introduce them to the direct mail appeal cycle. Here are some important things to consider:
• This does not replace the need for an immediate online thank-you page and email.
• Get them into your direct mail system quickly – within four weeks – or you will lose the connection you established with the gift
• Some people will not want a mail relationship with you. Honor that. Make it easy for them to opt out. It will not only save you money on wasted mail costs, but it might help maintain the relationship with the new donor.
Questions about the online giving thank-you process? Or about how to improve your results? Ask Me.
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Rick Christ has been helping nonprofit organizations use the internet for fundraising, communications and advocacy since 2009, and has been a frequent writer on the subject. He delights in your questions and arguments. Please contact him at: RChrist@Amergent.com or at his LinkedIn Page
Learning crisis patterns can help you prepare for the future
Crisis communications is marked by increased stakeholder expectations of accountability mixed with a whole lot of uncertainty. We see three distinct phases in every crisis; the breaking phase, the maintenance phase and the resolution phase. The challenges of the breaking phase are to focus on speed while maintaining information accuracy, as well as demonstrating organizational accountability in controlling the hazards. In the maintenance phase the organization must contextualize risks, acknowledge and respond to feedback, and dispel rumours in a timely manner. The resolution phase requires an organization to honestly examine mishaps and commit openly to changes in policy or procedures.
This quote, from a Corpen Group blog post by Greg Vanier, helps to explain the distinct phases that every crisis goes through. Breaking it down to this very basic explanation is helpful because it allows one to see that, while the virtual maze of communication that makes up each stage can be confusing to an outsider, the actual steps involved are relatively simple.
This predictable pattern is what allows you to prepare for the unpredictable as well. The fact that you know, for example, that you will need to rapidly disperse information at the beginning of any crisis, means that, regardless of what the crisis may be, you should be prepared and have communications channels in place with employees trained to man them.
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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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To make it easier for some users to remember and/or to have access to pertinent information quickly, Ready Reference Sheets are created. Ready Reference Sheets are a useful collection of convenient and relevant information on a sheet of paper, a single page of a document, or on a card. They can contain anything from a brief overview of a program, a brief description of various functions, to just quick ways to accomplish a task. There is a gamut of uses for them.
Ready Reference Sheets can contain a list of items or functions that a program can perform, or a list of necessary instructions to accomplice a task. Each sheet can contain:
a chart of function keys and their purpose,
a quick set of instructions to perform a particular task,
a list of required definitions or reserved names,
a list of codes/embedded commands necessary to initiate a process, or
a list of functions that shouldn’t be used for a program.
For the developers, it can list:
the type of packages, procedures, and functions that can be used,
unacceptable codes/references,
codes used for certain projects,
where certain project codes should be backed up and stored,
system backup requirements,
authorizations, or
trouble-shooting tasks.
There is an abundance of examples:
For reports, the reference sheet can list the commands to initiate a report, what errors might indicate, whom to notify, and how to correct certain problems.
For a department, it might be a listing of available programs, their usage, gaining access, and even an index of cross-reference sheets.
For a communications package, the quick reference card may contain step-by-step instructions for performing a quick installation.
For customer service, the reference sheet might contain scenarios that are encountered and how to respond or where to refer the customer to next.
For a quick style guide reference, the sheet can contain universal formatting styles, information required for each document, storage information, accessibility, and privileges.
The creation of Ready Reference Sheets depends on the need, demand, and usefulness for them. No matter what a Reference Sheet is created for, be sure it’s pertinent to the users. Ready Reference sheets are generally one page in length front and back and in some cases 2 pages (front and back) but really no more than 2 sheets of paper. If using cards, limit information as much as possible per card.
If you have used Ready Reference Sheets or cards for presenting information, and would like to share some ideas for them, please leave a comment.
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