Author: Marion Conway

Every 2 – 3 years Board Source conducts an in depth survey and publishes The Nonprofit Governance Index. This important report helps us understand how nonprofits govern, benchmark our organizations and Board to others, and provide updates in trends and recommendations by BoardSource. My articles about the Nonprofit Governance Index are always popular – and enduring long after they are published. As always I mix in my commentary along with the objective results – so please don’t blame BoardSource which has diligently reported the data objectively.

Today I am publishing two articles on Data Report #1 from BoardSource. This article covers:

• Organizational Characteristics
• CEO Characteristics
• Board Composition and Structure

The companion piece at my blog, MarionConway.com covers

• Board Policies and Practices
• Board Performance

1341 nonprofit CEOs from across the country completed a detailed questionnaire with multiple choice and open ended questions – 66 questions in total. Large, medium and small sized organizations are fairly represented across all nonprofit sectors. The median budget size was in the $1 – $5 Million range.

Organizational Characteristics

There is good news in many of the indicators that recovery from the downturn in the economy is underway. Here are some of the indicators:

Strategic Planning – When asked if they completed a strategic plan within the last two years, 52% said they did versus 45% in 2010.

Salaries – 23% reported freezing or cutting salaries versus 41% in 2010. This is the most striking data indicating recovery but it is still a concern that 23% of nonprofits are in this mode.

Operations – 19% reduced services or operations versus 26% in 2010. I think that some of this is the new normal as many of the reduced services are due to reduced government funding.

Endowment – In 2010 28% of nonprofits reported dipping into their endowments and in 2012 it is 25%. Many endowments are meant to be for a “rainy day” but too much endowment dipping can have permanent damage if overused. Be careful if you are balancing your budget by endowment dipping rather than making operational changes.

Profile of Today’s Nonprofit CEO:

Amazingly, the race profile of nonprofit CEOs went in the direction away from being more diverse in the last two years. In 2010 it was 88% white and in 2012 it is 93% white. Gender and age profiles remain fairly constant being 2/3 female and 80% in the 40-64 age bracket.

57% of the CEOs have been on the job for 2 – 10 years and 21% say they plan to leave their job within the next 2 years. An amazing 94% said they were very or somewhat satisfied with their job.

Board Composition and Structure

The average size Board remains at 16-17 Board members. Similar to the CEOs many Boards are overwhelmingly dominated by men and women who are white – 82%. Only 8% of board members are Black and 3% are Hispanic. In fact, an astonishing 30% of all nonprofit boards report that 100% of their members are white. Unfortunately, I am not surprised at these statistics. I have been a proponent of recruiting minority Board members and have seen it been done successfully when there is commitment to diversity and I do hope this changes in the future. There really are benefits to having diversity on Boards. And Board members from diverse populations introduce new people to the organization. When a Board is 100% white you have to make a deliberate effort to recruit non white Board members but it is definitely attainable – go for more than one new member. If there are more people of color at your board recruitment event there is a better chance of success in recruiting people of color.

71% of Board members are in the 40-64 age group and 15% are over 64 while only 12% are in their 30s and 2 % in the 20s. Folks – if your Board has this type of profile – you are missing out on having people in the most energetic and capable part of their lives on your Board. When recruiting – think younger!

Board Staff Relationship

BoardSource rec­ommends that the chief executive serve as an ex officio, non-voting member of the board. 40% percent of respondents are in this category and the CEO is not a member of the Board in 46% of the nonprofits responding to the survey.

There is quite a big range in how much time CEOs spend on Board work as shown in this chart:

Board Committees

The average number of board committees is 5.5 and I was surprised to see that 77% of CEOs reported that the committees have written charters. This chart shows what percent of boards have various kinds of committees:

BoardSource has questioned the need for an executive com­mittee for most boards and speculates that boards have one essentially because of tradition. However, as a Board President, I have found that having a small group to consult with informally very helpful. As a Board President, I sometimes email other officers for their opinion and copy them on communication so others can see that officers are involved and on board. The executive committee does not vote on anything independently but acts in an informal consultative role for the President.

I am surprised that only 26% of Boards have a standalone audit committee as this is a best practice and provides the check and balance for financial accountability.

Since fundraising is a basic responsibility of the Board I am surprised to see that only 56% of board have such a committee.

There is certainly room for growth on most Boards with having more and better organized committees.

Learn more about the 2012 Nonprofit Governance index:

My blog article at MarionConway.com on Board Policies, Practices and Performance

And

Download the 2012 Nonprofit Governance Index at BoardSource.org

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

Continue reading “Strategic Planning – Make Sure that It Is a Call to Action”

At my blog Marion Conway – Nonprofit Consultant I have just written about conducting a Nonprofit Lifecycle Analysis at a Board retreat. Frequently, I write complimentary articles at the two blogs, but this subject really lends itself to one article. So here is a summary and the link to my blog article.

I was working with an excellent, engaged Board and the lifecycle analysis was very helpful for them as a springboard to beginning their strategic planning process. The analysis brought into focus issues that should be in their plan that might not otherwise be there. It was important that the board was engaged because they were able to take an honest look at their strengths and which areas needed improvement to bring their organization to the next level. I used Nonprofit Lifecycles: Stage-Based Wisdom for Nonprofit Capacity by Susan Stevens (2002) as a foundation for the discussion and Building Nonprofit Capacity: A Guide to Managing Change Through Organizational Lifecycles by John Brothers and Anne Sherman (2011) to provide a more modern framework with an updated picture of priorities for the infrastructure stage with growth and sustainability as the focus.

See the whole article and view the slides here.

Marion

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

The third annual Millennial Impact Report has just been issued and it is full of important data. The report is issued by Achieve and Johnson Grossnickle Associate and funded by the Case Foundation. The data used to develop the report is quite extensive and drawn from over 6500 surveys completed and focus groups of “Millennial Professionals” aged 20 – 35. 95% of the participants were college graduates. The goal of the study is to develop a better understanding of successful strategies for nonprofits to engage millennials. Because it included both surveys and focus groups in Indianapolis, Seattle, and Washington D.C it has both breadth and depth. Each section features “Takeaways” and I am including those comments and tips in this article. The report is grouped into three categories –

• Connect
• Involve
• Give

Thanks to The Millennial Impact for sharing these great infographics.

This article covers the Involve aspect of the report. The companion article at Marion Conway – Nonprofit Consultant, Great Research for Nonprofits: Millennial Impact Report – Part 1 – Connect discusses the “Connect” aspect of the report. Check back for an article that will be published in both blogs on the “Give” results.

I like to write about research reports, butI always add my own commentary as I go along. So I warn you in advance – it isn’t just an article summarizing the report. You have to suffer through my remarks too. Sorry. There is a lot of meat in this study and if you are interested in extending your reach with Millennials you will find a lot of useful information here.

You can download the whole report here.

I have been writing about engaging Millennialsfor a long time. Too often, nonprofits consider this group to be of “low donor value” but they have a lot to offer and shouldn’t be written off. I have a 27 year old son and so I have a personal sample of one to add to the study. My assessment – This study is dead-on correct. And…. I think a lot of this applies to older folks too – not just Millennials. I bet you will identify with much of what is in the report. However, objective data always boosts my confidence level.

Here are some key overall findings and assessments from the report:

Millennials want to be taken seriously as donors, volunteers, and leaders for causes they care about. Young donors are fully immersed in technology, but they are also invested in timeless values. They want to give and to serve. They want involvements that engage their minds as well as their hands. Most important they are interested in building authentic, personal relationships with nonprofits. Millennialshave high expectations o for themselves and the nonprofits they support. My note: Corporate employers are learning the parallel or is same things and adapting to deal with their younger employees.

Study Findings on “Involving”

The 20-35 age span is a time of major transition. There is a lot of change in lifestyle, interests, available time and more. But as they transition from college to a career and eventually a family, the ways in which they are willing to be involved will vary. It is important for nonprofits to create a continuum of volunteer engagement from micro-volunteer projects that take little time, one-time volunteer projects, opportunities to volunteer with friends or family, and leadership roles that utilize their professional skills. Millennialsare interested in leadership roles in nonprofits, even if they can’t commit a lot financially right now.

Volunteer

63% of surveyed Millennials reported they volunteered for nonprofits in 2011. By a margin of more than two-to-one, Millennials who volunteer for nonprofits are more likely to make donations. So how do they find out about volunteer opportunities? Here’s how they answered this question:

HOW WOULD YOU PREFER TO LEARN ABOUT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?

• Friends and Family 81%
• Email 72%
• Website 67%
• Facebook 55%

My note – This makes it sound easier than it really is. It may be easy to contact a Millennial via these channels but you better have a clear, concise description which sounds like the work will have impact and you have your act together.

Takeaways

“I want to know exactly what I will be doing as a volunteer. Organizations need to be clear about what the organization is about and how the volun­teer job ties into it.”

Tips to increase volunteer involvement:

• Provide one-time and long-term options
• Explain how the volunteer services benefit the organization
• Utilize Millennials’ professional skills
• Be clear about time commitment and duties
• Provide group volunteer opportunities for families and friends

WHAT SPECIFIC TYPE OF VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES DO YOU PREFER?

• Use my professional skills 48%
• Interaction with services 47%
• Event Planning 45%
• Work with friends/Family 40%
• Board Committee 40%
• I’m not picky 20%

The best way to lose Millennial volunteers? According to focus group feedback, a bad experience or a situation in which volunteers’ time was used badly will turn Millennials off from future volun­teering. Be clear in your expectations and the time needed of volunteers before hand.

Board, Committee Positions and Professional Skills

The focus group feedback was clear – “Don’t stick us at the kiddie table” and don’t think that social media is my only skill. Participants said that they do not want to be the token “youth representatives” on a board. They want to engage in authentic leadership, with real tangible impact on the organization. When asked if they were in a leadership position either on a board, young professional group or committee or interested in joining one, 77% said they were either in a position or interested in joining.

My note – Millennials are an untapped resource of skills, energy and willingness to step up. Just as young professionals who are working in nonprofits are anxious to have more responsibility and independence to do things their way, young professionals are anxious to be full partners in leadership. This can be a win-win for the Millennial and the organization. Their work can provide them with valuable experience and networking opportunities and your organization can benefit from their hard work and skills. This can truly forge long term relationships.

I saw this with my son who was appointed to the search committee for a new pastor for our church. I think people thought it was nice to have a young representative. They soon found out that he was very skilled and considered himself a full partner with the older members of the group. Since then he has been elected to the church Board and chairs the property committee. People talk to him as a church leader – not as someone who represents young people. He has established himself as a respected leader. He is fully engaged and confident in his own skills. He has also been recruited to be a member of a nonprofit board but he has concerns about time commitments and his ability to give what he thinks a Board member should. Yes, I am a very proud mother talking, but I think there are lots of Millennials that can bring so much to nonprofits and are overlooked as prospects for leadership positions.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

Recently I wrote an article on my blog, Marion Conway – Consultant to Nonprofits entitled “Rethink…Energize…Action! Connect Your Strategic Plan and Fundraising.” I announced the post in the LinkedIn groups Strategic Planning for Nonprofits and Boardsource with the question, “If you lead a strategic planning process do you connect it with an organization’s fundraising process?” The question is still generating some thoughtful responses and this article shares the comments added by experts to my original article.

In the original article I talked about how when you develop a strategic plan, it should energize staff and board members to be more involved in fundraising. The plan and the planning process should enable you to communicate clearly with focus on your mission, your goals and your priorities. The strategic plan helps you find and organize the words that lead to action and results. This is an important output for any strategic plan.

A comment made by Dan Clark startled me at first. He said “Your post helps a nonprofit see the value of connecting their fund raising efforts to their mission.” My spotlight was on how doing a strategic plan could benefit your fundraising effort. But Dan reminds us that even if you aren’t doing a strategic plan make sure you are connecting your fund raising efforts with your mission.

Don’t all nonprofits know that they need to connect their fund raising efforts to their mission? The answer is pretty much yes to that question but more lukewarm if asked how well they do it. Many nonprofits just don’t communicate why they are worthy of a donor’s gift very well. Your strategic plan should help you identify your strengths and opportunities. The planning exercises will help you frame stronger key messages. Having fundraising be an issue to be addressed in your strategic planning will make sure that communications about your mission, goals and specific plans are a key output item from your plan.

Simone Joyaux and Marilyn Donnellan commented –each with their own framing – that the strategic plan should be holistic, encompassing all facets of the organization. I certainly agree but since my article had such a singular focus on fundraising I didn’t make that clear at all.

Finally Robert Hodge offered a fresh idea for a strategic plan. He recommends a two section approach – one for short term and one for long term. The short term plan addresses how limited resources are to be strategically allocated. The long term plan identifies the steps, priorities and additional resources needed to achieve them. The long range plan becomes the basis for fund raising apart from that of the annual fund. I was not familiar with this approach, but I can see how effective it can be in integrating your strategic plan and fundraising. Certainly, this is a good approach for an organization with very limited resources to come to terms with focusing on its priorities and having a plan that requires resource development for the next steps.

When I work with an organization with a strategic plan I am always conscious that we will fail if we produce a nice binder or report that is filed away never to be looked at again. You want to have a report that becomes dog eared with frequent use. Many nonprofits have done belt tightening due to the economy in the last few years. They are ready now, to take stock of where they are, define where they want to be and develop a plan for what they have to do to get to a healthier place. A lot is changing for nonprofits in the way we do business and expectations of us. Going through a strategic planning process, putting it all out on the table, deciding what your priorities are and recommitting to ACT on the priorities is a good first step to recovery. And yes, it is about a great deal more than fundraising.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

Since 2006, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch has been sponsoring surveys of High Net Worth Individuals to gain insight about their philantropy. I have reported on their findings in the past. This year the study, released in December 2011 and conducted by the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University, is focused on women’s philanthropy. At my blog, MarionConway.com I’ve posted a companion piece, Role of Community Engagement, Volunteering and Giving by High Net Worth Women versus Men which discusses the particular findings of these issues and women’s philanthropy. In this article I report on the overall findings as they pertain to both men and women.

There are some differences in what is important to men and women when it comes to philanthropy but there is also a great deal of similarity. Although this report focuses on women, it provides excellent insight into what is important to both of them. Here are some highlights. First the motivators with a statistically significant difference between men and women:

Women (%) Men (%)
Moved at How Gift Can Make a Difference 81.7 70.9
Giving to an organization that is efficient 80.5 69.2
Give Back to Community 78.2 63.3
Volunteer for the Organization 65.7 49.8
Support Same Orgs./Causes Annually 59.5 67.9
Set Example for Young People 43.6 25.1
Further Legacy of Others 33.1 16.4

The top two motivators for men and women are the same but there is a statistically significant difference in the importance between them. What comes next seems very important to me. Men are much more likely to continue to give to the same organization from year to year than women are. Women are more likely to continually be considering which organizations to support and are more likely to give to the organizations that they are engaged with. The data is clear about the need to keep women philanthropists actively involved in order to maintain their support. This should not be a surprise to us. Men are more likely to want to buy the same shirt in the same color from the same store year after year. A woman would never consider doing such a thing. Guess what – this same behavioral pattern holds true for philanthropy. I must admit I’ve never thought about that.

Here’s the list in descending order of importance of motivating factors that do not have a statistical difference between men and women:
Feel Financially Secure
Political/Philosophical Beliefs
Remedy Issues Affecting Me Personally
Give Spontaneously to Support a Need
Religious Beliefs
Being Asked
Business Interests

No surprises here.

Here are some other key findings that I found particularly noteworthy:

87% of high net worth women volunteered.

60% of gifts go to general operating funds (almost the same as for men)

Men are more likely to make a capital gift and women are more likely to support a particular program.

2/3 of both men and women report a family tradition of giving

So when it is a couple living together – married or not – who makes the decision about giving anyway? Here are the answers:

Percent Responding

Women (%) Men (%)

I decide 38.8 43.4
Joint Decisions 48.4 40.9
Separate decisions 10.6 14.6

So even if this data made you smile about how men and women view decision making, in the case of both men and women well over 80% of the people think they are involved in philanthropic giving decisions when there are couples involved. That’s important to keep in mind – and not to focus solely on the interests of either party.

I recommend that you read the whole report. Click here for the link to the full report.

Click here for the link to my companion piece.

Here’s the links to earlier articles that I have writter on related subjects:

2010 High Net Worth Philanthropy Study and What It Means for Small Nonprofits

The Wired Wealthy and Online Giving – A New Study Provides a Fresh Analysis

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

This is a companion piece to an article at my blog, Marion Conway – Nonprofit Consultant: Demonstrating Board Leadership with Facebook

I write and present about how small nonprofits should use social media. I am usually writing about it from the standpoint of what a nonprofit should do. This is about what Board Members should do. Almost every small nonprofit I work with has an underutilized web presence. Some have made an investment which is big for them in a new website and are disappointed that the website does not generate much in the way of online donations. I frequently wince when I see these websites and some of the fundamental mistakes that have been made.

But board members can do a great deal to boost the overall web presence of their nonprofit. Today, in addition to a website, having a vibrant social media presence is an important tool in any nonprofit’s toolbox. It is a key way to build relationships with existing supporters and to find new ones.

Having a website is not like “If we build it, they will come.” They won’t – that only happens in the movies. You have to DRIVE traffic to your website. And the best way to do that is with a vibrant social media presence.

First let’s look at what a nonprofit should ideally be doing with its overall web presence:

• Engage existing supporters
• Find potential new friends (donors, volunteers, etc)
• Find volunteers
• Find people who are interested in attending events – and maybe sell tickets
• Identify potential Board Members
• Build better relationships with all of the above people
• Get donations

The last one – get donations – comes later. First you have to do all the other things. Board members can help with some of or all of these goals by just incorporating their nonprofit into what they already do with social media. Different board members will use different aspects of social media and they can all contribute in their own way. I am not talking about asking your friends to give money online. If you feel comfortable doing that, by all means, go ahead. But that is not what I am suggesting here. I am talking about how you can be an ambassador online just by tweaking – a very little bit – what you already do. Let’s look at the possibilities.

Facebook

My article, Demonstrating Board Leadership with Facebook is getting record readership, and I am getting lots of feedback about sharing it with other Board members. I go into detail with these items in that article but here are the highlights for board members on Facebook:

1. Like the organization’s page
2. Like comments and comment on the page’s posts
3. Initiate posts on the organization’s wall.
4. Initiate posts on your own wall.
5. Post pictures

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has become an important resource for nonprofits. You can use LinkedIn to give positive exposure to you and to your nonprofit. Here are a few ways:

1. Update your profile

LinkedIn has a new category in its profile – Volunteer Experience & Causes. You can enhance your profile and gives some exposure to your organization by updating your profile to include your Board Service. You can see mine as an example.

Marion’s LinkedIn Profile

2. Donor and Board Member Prospecting

Use the search and advanced search to find people who have particular professions, went to your university and more to find people you know who may be a good match. This takes a little time but you can do it whenever you have free time and you just might find some good prospects to invite to be a Board member or to invite to an event.

3. Update your Status

You can update your status to show activities you are involved with at your nonprofit – always include a link to their website. Updating your status can serve to keep both your name and your nonprofit’s name in the sight of your business friends. It is a win-win situation. Short, but effective. And if you have linked your LinkedIn and twitter accounts, you can just click to have this update appear automatically in twitter also. Use this to promote events, seek new Board members, etc.

Twitter

I love twitter and I am active on it. I enjoy being part of an active nonprofit online community and learn about incredible opportunities, great resources and events all the time on twitter. It has been wonderful to finally meet people in person at conferences or at a workshop who I have only known on twitter. But I don’t see twitter as being very useful for the purpose of a Board Member using it to build relationships for a nonprofit. If you are on twitter, be sure to mention your nonprofit sometimes especially if they are on twitter too.

There are two exceptions to this is that twitter is wonderful for – advocacy and promoting events. If advocacy is a part of what your nonprofit does, Board Members who are on twitter should definitely be using their 140 characters for advocacy. Make sure you use relevant hastags (#) and you will see lots of new followers.

If your nonprofit is having an event and you have local followers promote the event and link to the nonprofit’s website – not the homepage but the event information page. Be thoughtful in using hashtags so that more people than just your followers may see the tweets.

Blogs

Do you read blogs related to the work of your nonprofit. Be sure to leave comments and mention your organization in the comments when appropriate.

Websites

Do you have a website – personal or small business. Include your board membership in your biography and have a link to it in the bio. If appropriate have a small “ad” for events that your nonprofit is having on your website.

Pinterest

Pinterest is new and you may not of heard of it, but it is very fast growing. It is a new social media site that is perfect for people who like visuals and it is very simple and easy to use. It is essentially a bunch of online bulletin boards. Once you have a pinterest account – which you can associate with your facebook account, you can easily “pin” visuals on a board. You can have lots of Boards and it is best to have all the visuals on that board be about a common topic. This is the link to one of my favorites – nonprofit infographics by Beth Kanter: http://pinterest.com/kanter/nonprofit-infographics/. If you have a pinterest account, create some Boards with visuals about your nonprofit. Cover an event or a program. Use a brief description. And then…post an invitation to see your Board on facebook, twitter LinkedIn, etc. You get the idea – have it go viral. I think that Pinterest may take off and become very popular so I am including it in this list of social media things to do.

I hope this article has given you something to think about. These are all easy things to do but they can have a big impact if enough people take just a few steps. And I promise it won’t seem like work at all, once you dive in, you’ll enjoy it.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

At my blog, Marion Conway – Nonprofit Consultant, I have just posted my annual list of resolutions for nonprofit leaders with recommendations from seven nonprofit experts. This is the fourth year that I have prepared such a post and it is interesting to see the tone being set at the beginning of each year. This year I’d say the tone is clearly “Be the best you can be.” It is upbeat and forward looking – very encouraging. Every year I am amazed by the breadth of the wisdom offered from the philosophical to the down to earth practical. And this year, the ideas seem to have a certain punch and bounce that makes you want to connect with them.

This blog post is a companion piece to the resolutions post which has been very popular. It is not intended to be a list of goals that you can cut and paste into your 2012 objectives. Rather, it provides some guiding principles and things to think about when you are forming your specific goals for 2012. At Marion Conway-Nonprofit Consultant you can see the exact words of wisdom offered by each contributor. The nonprofit expert contributors this year are Anne Ackerson, Susan Detweiler, Jay Frost, Pamela Grow, Linda Lysakowski, Marc Pitman and Terrie Temkin. You can visit their blog or website by clicking on their name. I’ve organized the ideas into categories:

Fundraising/Development

ASK! – in capital and bold letters – often, and lots of ways – both traditional and using Social Media. Don’t be shy about asking.

Get to know and connect with your donors in a personal way in all phases from cultivation through thank yous.

Get smarter – Try new approaches – Seek out training in marketing not just fundraising

Engage the CEO and Board in all phases

Think of the donor in terms of long term value and cultivate for the long term

Mission, Operations, Evaluation, Creativity, Boards

Understand and communicate your value proposition

Take evaluation seriously

Spend more time on “play” – it develops creativity – very much needed in the nonprofit sector

Center your policy, operations and decisions on your mission.

Have the Right State of Mind – From My Own 2012 Resolutions

I, of course, added my own two cents to the list which is simply to eliminate some of the “busyness” that takes so much time, and adds so little value to my life. This busyness has been cluttering my brain and keeping me from dealing with issues in depth. In 2012 I plan to fight back the sound bite life and give the “blue chips” more “in depth” attention.

I am moving into a new more spacious office space courtesy of my adult son moving into his own apartment. (Yeah!!!) I am getting rid of stuff and getting more organized in my new space. There is a place to continue to have candles lit when I am in a pensive mood or fresh flowers when I need to wake my spirits. My husband, Hugh, did a scale floor plan with pieces for the furniture and in the big empty space in the middle he had a piece that said “Zach’s play area.” Zach is my two and a half year old grandson and he does like to visit Grandma in her office. (You can also read about my escapades as a grandmother at The Grandma Chronicles). So I am looking forward to the type of year Anne talks about with “real meat on the value bones” and I plan to take Terrie’s advice and “add more play to my work.”

I hope you have found these ideas to be food for thought as you set your own goals for 2012. Please share in the comments any additional thoughts or feedback on these ideas.

Marion

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

For the last three years I have published a wish list of books for people in the nonprofit community at my blog – MarionConway.com. These lists have been developed by my requests for recommendations to members of my nonprofit network. They are always among my most read posts and even the old ones continue to be read frequently. We have a policy here at managementhelp.org to not just republish articles published elsewhere. I often write companion pieces at both blogs and some of you read the articles on a particular subject that I post in both places. Thank you.

This post is a Best of the Best. It has my favorite recommendations from lists of recommended books for “Nonprofit Folk” over the last three years. A thoughtful book can be the perfect holiday gift so ….. Enjoy – and at the end I’ll provide links to all of the prior lists.

Leadership, Management, Philosophy

The Future of Nonprofits: Innovate and Thrive in the Digital Age by David J. Neff and Randal C. Moss was recommended by Amy Sample Ward. This book is sure to give you a whole new outlook about how your organization can be successful in in a today’s environment where communication and community engagement rule.

Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability
by Jeanne Bell, Jan Masaoka, and Steve Zimmerman. Linda Czipo gives it a rave review with these comments: “It helps guide organization managers through crucial analyses (fund raising profiles, program and organizational viability, etc.) in a very accessible manner. Great blend of user-friendly prose, matrices, and diagrams to help organizations sift through the “tough questions.” Very useful.”

Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) by Leslie Crutchfield was recommended by Holly Ross, William Hull and Paul Cwynar. Paul said, “It is an innovative guide to how great nonprofits achieve extraordinary social impact.”

You and Your Nonprofit: Practical Advice and Tips from the Charity Channel Professional Community
I am proud to be a contributor to this book featuring over 40 contributors with articles on a wide range of topics important to nonprofit professionals. It features practical advice and tips from the Charity Channel Nonprofit Professional Community. This is an excellent on the shelf resource for new and experienced nonprofit leaders alike.

Fundraising

50 Asks in 50 Weeks
by Amy Eisenstein – I had the privilege of hearing Amy deliver a workshop on this subject at the Charity Channel Summit in Saint Petersburg last year. Amy gives great guidance for even a one person shop in choosing priorities and effectively completing 50 Asks in 50 Weeks. I walked away with a feeling that any development office could become more effective and focused by simply following Amy’s straightforward, no nonsense advice. Recommended by me.

Ask Without Fear!: A Simple Guide to Connecting Donors With What Matters to Them Most
by Marc A. Pitman. There are lots of books about fundraising but this one should top any list:

Nonprofit Technology, Social Media, Marketing

The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change
by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine – This book will for sure be on many wish lists. Nobody addresses this topic with such passion, knowledge and down to earth good advice as Beth and Allison. I had the pleasure of hearing Beth and Allison together at the NTC conference discuss this book. My review – WOW!.

The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause
by Kivi Leroux Miller – This is the definitive resource for nonprofit marketing. It is a must have resource if you are interested in this topic. No one covers this topic better than Kivi.

Favorites for Children

One Hen – How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes This beautifully illustrated book inspired by true events tells the story of Kojo a small boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm for many and is able to return to school. I learned about this book when Steve Jennings, @zyOzyfounder tweeted the link to his reading list of poverty books

Three Cups by Mark St. Germain and illustrated by April Willy tells of life lessons that come from learning how to save, spend and give our money. This inexpensive but richly illustrated book is an excellent place to start developing philanthropy values in children. My thanks to Tony Townsley for this recommendation.

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama
I reviewed this book featuring stories about American heroes and beautiful illustrations at my other blog – The Grandma Chronicles. This book is one of those that should be on every child’s bookshelf.

Read the full lists of reviews:

Need a Holiday Gift for Someone in the Nonprofit Community – A Curated List of Books

Nonprofit Books That Make Great Holiday Gifts

Books to Add to Your Reading List in 2010 – The Well Known and a Few Discoveries

You and Your Nonprofit – Just Published!

Of Thee I Sing – A Letter to my Daughters by Barack Obama

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

This is a companion piece to my article “Anticipation – Year End Fundraising – Let’s Look in the Crystal Ball and Beyond” published at my blog, MarionConway.com. That article takes a look at the fundraising results so far in 2011 as reported in three surveys. The results give us a look into the crystal ball to see what we might expect from fundraising for the remainder of 2011. The survey completed by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative is quite extensive and has lots of insight from nonprofits about what is working in their fundraising efforts. This article shares some of the highlights from that report about what nonprofits see is working for them. And, as always, it comes with my commentary. So where to look if you are in a Jerry Maguire mood for someone to “Show Me the Money.” Let’s see what 813 charities who participated in this survey had to say.

Individuals

In open-ended responses, people overwhelmingly listed fundraising from individuals as the best opportunity for growth in contributions. Frequent methods for increasing contributions mentioned were

20% major gifts

18% events

14% online/social media

Major gifts was said to be the most time efficient way to do fundraising. Hmmm…. That’s interesting…more small nonprofits should try this avenue.

Respondents noted that a big benefit of email is that when people can make a donation immediately some will do it right away. Nothing beats that. We all know what happens with snail mail…in the pile for future attention.

The big surprise for me was the enthusiastic response about events. Nearly half the nonprofits reported that they had increased income due to events. Many nonprofits seem to be experimenting with lower cost events than the traditional gala and attracting a wider base of attendees.

As income from government and foundations has decreased, there clearly is a stepped up effort to reach out to individuals – and it seems to pay off for nonprofits who invest in it.

Here is something to consider – 39% of charities with $250,000 to $1 million in expenditures were increasing the level of effort of volunteers organizing fundraising events. Activating volunteers – now that can be a very cost effective approach. But they usually need staff support so don’t plan on this being a freebie.

Nonprofits are taking a hard look at where is the best place to invest their limited or increased time in fundraising. Where are nonprofits choosing to increase their investment in fundraising?

Percentage of charities that said they were increasing their investment in a fundraising method:

46% Corporations

36% Foundations

31% Major Gifts

30% Email

30% Social Media

25% Direct Mail

24% Planned Giving

23% Special Events

12% Congregations

Interestingly, where nonprofits are increasing their investment and where they think there is the best opportunity to raise more funds this year don’t necessarily agree.

Percentage of charities mentioning a fundraising method as the best opportunity for raising more funds in 2011: (Responding charities could list any methods in this open-ended question)

20% Individual giving/annual giving

20% Major gifts

18% Special events

15% Foundation grants

14% Online donations/social media

12% Corporate giving

10% Face‐to‐face (personal asks)

8% Planned gifts

7% Direct mail campaigns

4% Board members

1% Government grants

This last piece of data is very telling and provides an honest assessment of the fundraising climate right now. Don’t waste your valuable and limited resources going after government funding.

Everyone thinks that Board members should step up more. It is commonly done generously in large organizations but it is a different story in small organizations. If your Board has retired people, stretched small business owners and people who are currently unemployed it is not reasonable to expect them to do too much “stepping up” in their giving. Direct mail is still the lifeblood of individual giving for many organizations but it is not the future. This isn’t a good investment for increasing resources either.

So what is? Individual giving provides the largest opportunity for growth. But be creative in seeking it. Lower cost events without a large lead time commitment, increasing awareness through social media, volunteer face to face fundraising and encouraging monthly giving seem to be attractive choices.

Although overall foundation giving is down, nonprofits are researching and finding smaller, more locally focused foundations and developing new footholds there. Worth a try.

I wish all nonprofits a successful fundraising season. Be thoughtful, be smart and don’t give up.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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