Pathway to Excellence

Nonprofit Strategic Planning Workshop

https://web.evangel.edu/apps/eventregistration/index.asp?Event=Pathway-to-Excellence

Are you a leader in a nonprofit such as health care, faith-based, education, charitable, the public sector, or another type of organization?

If so, you understand the need to have a clearly defined plan for success.

The Pathway to Excellence workshop will enable nonprofit leaders to guide his or her organization through a strategic planning process that is anchored in the concepts of nonprofit strategic management.

Learn key concepts from industry experts while while utilizing a workbook and engaging in activities designed to provide the techniques and confidence to lead others in the planning activities.

Program Content:

• Team Meeting Skills: Learn how to effectively lead a group planning session

• Developing Vision, Mission, and Values: Assess your effectiveness in defining and communicating your purpose to internal and external stakeholders

• External and Internal Environment: Identify capabilities and external factors that affect your mission and vision

• Core Strategies and Objectives: Identify key performance indicators, set meaningful objectives, and explore innovative approaches in achieving your mission

• Action Plans, Policies and Reward Systems: Learn how to align your policies and reward systems to support key changes and establish accountability

• Evaluate, Control, and Continuous Improvement: Develop systematic approaches to review, adjust to changes, and continuously improve the plan and organizational performance

At the end of the workshop, a panel of experienced professionals will answer your questions and will dialogue about key “lessons learned” that may impact your effectiveness in engaging others in the planning and execution of a nonprofit strategic plan.

36 workshop participants (maximum of two per organization) will progress together through a series of six sessions to create the opportunity to learn from each other and develop an ongoing support network. Participants will receive a certificate of completion.

June 6th, 2013
8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Lunch Included)
Cost $49
Evangel University Campus, Springfield, MO

Limited Seating!

Last summer while speaking at a conference in Chicago, I stayed at a hotel along Michigan Avenue. Each day I walked past the John Hancock Center—a magnificent structure soaring more than 1,100 feet high into the city’s skyline.

Though I’m not what you would call a construction-type guy, I can appreciate what it must take to build such a structure. Even with my limited knowledge, I know that erecting skyscrapers such as the John Hancock or the Willis Tower requires a tremendous amount of expertise, research, and organization.

 As I walked by the tower on my last day there, it occurred to me that skyscrapers and  nonprofit organizations have several things in common.

1. Building them requires careful planning.

Architects and engineers spend years planning and designing a building before construction begins. The Twin Towers in New York City took five years to plan, then another six years to complete the construction. The John Hancock Center had a 36-month construction period, requiring more than five million man-hours.

Good nonprofit organizations are not started overnight; they require careful research and planning.

This process includes establishing market needs, gaining community support, complying with legal responsibilities, collaborating with existing organizations, and securing leadership and financial support. Skipping any one of these could jeopardize the organization’s ability to function properly.

2. They need deep, solid foundations.

A deep, solid foundation provides stability for the entire building. The depth of a skyscraper’s foundation depends on the type of soil on which it sits. A lot of skyscrapers have foundations that reach down to solid rock. The Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) in Chicago has a foundation more than 100 feet deep. The foundation of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia is almost 400 feet deep.

A strong nonprofit organization is built upon the foundation of solid leadership and community support.

Board members and executive directors are the pillars of an organization. No matter how slick the website and printed materials look, and no matter how many years it has been in operation, an organization cannot be stable without an active board of directors and a strong leader who is qualified and committed to the cause.

No organization can be stable without the financial and emotional support of the community. Since nonprofits are “owned” by the general public, they must have the ongoing support of local leaders, organizations, and individuals in order to stand strong.

Organizations without solid foundations are easy to spot. They don’t have a clearly-articulated mission or vision, they have high employee turnover and an uninvolved board, they chase money rather than focusing on their mission, they don’t have a strategic plan with clear goals and objectives, and they are resistant to self-assessment and accountability.

In the end, not having a firm foundation results in the same outcome for both skyscrapers and organizations. Piece by piece, they fall apart. It starts with a crack here and there, then evolves into larger splits until finally the entire thing collapses.

3. They must be able to withstand external forces.

Skyscrapers have to deal with the horizontal force of wind as well as the vertical force of gravity. Engineers purposefully design high-rise buildings to sway back and forth in order to alleviate the pressure caused by these strong wind flows. This means that on the top, skyscrapers move, but not to the extent to cause permanent deformation of the materials. If they couldn’t move at the top, they would be too rigid, and fracturing of the metal could have devastating results.

Nonprofit organizations must be able to withstand turbulence, or they may be destroyed when a major storm hits.

The recession that began around 2007 was a destructive force many nonprofits could not withstand. Some of these groups might have sustained the storm had they been better prepared. Operating month-to-month with no savings or relying too heavily on one source of revenue left many organizations unable to continue their operation.

Other forces that have destroyed ill-prepared nonprofits include a sudden, unexpected change in leadership, a highly-publicized legal or moral failure, the loss of a major donor, financial mismanagement, a client being hurt or killed while in the agency’s care, a breach of confidentiality, a weather-related disaster, or any other situation that threatens the stability of the organization.

Just like one strong storm with 100-mile-an-hour winds can destroy a building, one powerful force can cripple a vulnerable organization.

4. They should be an asset to their community

America’s greatest skyscrapers house a great diversity of occupants and activities. Many have businesses, condos and apartments, restaurants, retail, parking garages, and many other tenants. These complexes generate a lot of revenue for their communities and are often a vital part of the local economy.

Good nonprofits are an asset to their community.

People are attracted to a region that has outstanding hospitals, colleges and universities, and faith-based groups. And people generally like to live in a community that has a strong spirit of civic engagement, where residents are eager to help those in need by volunteering their time and resources.

5. They should be prominent in their community.

There’s something captivating about gargantuan buildings that reach into the clouds. Every year more than 45 million tourists go to Chicago. Although not everyone is enthralled with the buildings, several million visit the city’s infamous skyscrapers (Hancock, Willis, Trump). The Burj Khalifa in Dubai (tallest building in the world) draws millions of spectators, as does New York’s Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. Each of these structures is a well-known landmark that helps identify the city.

Nonprofit organizations (and their leaders) should be highly visible in their community.

Larger nonprofits such as hospitals and colleges are usually some of the largest employers in every community. Beyond that, the services provided by all nonprofits—large or small—give them prominence.

In addition, the leaders of nonprofit organizations should be well known, experts in their respective fields. They should be prominent men and women, considered by most to be an essential part of the community.

Maybe your nonprofit is housed in a closet-sized room in a basement somewhere, and you find it difficult to think of it as a skyscraper. In fact, you may feel it is nearly invisible, out of sight to most. But if you are well-grounded organization with a clear focus on accomplishing your mission, you are indeed a skyscraper to those you serve and to the community where you operate.

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

When Mercy Housing set out to make its Web site easy to navigate on smartphones and tablets, its top priority was to remake the donation page before the critical holiday fundraising season opened.

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

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

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

Option to Pledge

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

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

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

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

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

“You may say, ‘Oh, we’re not doing mobile yet,’ but unfortunately you may be, in that people are coming and trying to do things from their mobile device,” Ms. Andresen says. “The train has sort of left the station, and we need to figure out what to do.”

This month Network for Good plans to provide mobile donation pages to each of its charity clients. People who click “donate now” from a smartphone will see a simple page asking whether they want to contribute today or pledge.

Those who give now can enter their donation and credit-card information in a format that works easily on a small screen.

People who choose to pledge will be asked to do just two things: say how much they want to give and provide an e-mail address. Network for Good will then send an e-mail with a link they can use to complete their donation later on a computer or tablet.

Giving supporters the option to pledge is important because of the way people use smartphones, says Ms. Andresen.

Often, she says, people use their phones for short periods of time when they’re “out and about,” maybe waiting for someone at a restaurant or standing in line at the bank.

“We’re easily interrupted,” she says. “So offering some kind of intermediate step that doesn’t involve doing a whole transaction is a good idea.”

Smartphone Giving

Nonprofits will need to try a lot of approaches to figure out the best way to raise money from people using mobile devices, says Craig Oldham, vice president for digital engagement at the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross has a mobile Web site with a carefully designed donation page, but the percentage of people who start but fail to complete the donation process is still significantly higher for people using smartphones than for those using desktop computers.

He attributes the difference to the inherent awkwardness of the transaction: “You’re trying to pull out your wallet and type in the credit-card numbers and then flip the card over—and you have your phone in your hand.”

Mr. Oldham and others in the nonprofit world are watching with interest as companies like PayPal, Google, and Visa invest millions to develop mobile-payment systems.

“At some point in the future, that combination of mobile-friendly Web sites and donation forms, plus making it easy to actually give, will benefit the sector,” says Steve MacLaughlin, director of the Idea Lab at Blackbaud, a fundraising-software company.

Read the rest of the article here.

This decision was made due to weather-related concerns. The new Drury University location is in an area with limited parking. This would require some to park along the street. Due to the recent snow, the lanes surrounding the building are snow-covered.  And since they are not through streets, it is unlikely the road crews will clear them. We do not want to create a liability for anyone attempting to park/walk through the snow to get into the building. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The event has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Our desire is that everyone who is currently registered will be able to attend the workshop. However, if you will not be able to attend on the new date, please notify us immediately. We have a waiting list of individuals/organizations who want to attend. If you are currently registered and plan to attend the event on our new date, you do not have to take any action. If we do not hear fromyou, we will assume you are going to attend and will keep your name on our list. Once again, we apologize and hope to see you March 14.

If you have any questions or need more information, feel free to email us or call.

Organizations (for-profit and nonprofit) today are spending more than they ever have on promotion using social networking solutions. While you don’t have to spend a lot, if you want your nonprofit to succeed, now is the time to jump on the social media bandwagon.

In the “old days” of the internet, it used to be sufficient to promote your organization by having an e-mail address and maybe having a static website.  These days, it’s not so simple. In order to optimize your organization and your organizations related interactions, you must establish a social service community.  This platform needs to outline:

• clear goals
• expectations
• ground rules
• mutual purposes

If there are to be  mutually beneficial outcomes to all parties involved, expectations must be clearly defined.  There are so many social technologies on one website, that unless you have established a concise plan to manage the multiple platforms of interaction, growth within your nonprofit will be difficult.

Another important aspect of utilizing the tools of  social media to promote your organization is understanding how important integration is.  Social Media will not be useful unless it it properly integrated into your website.  Christopher Musico’s article You’re Not (Social Enough) (www.destinationCRM.com; Customer Relationship Management, June 2009) suggests establishing a social media committee within your organization so that everyone is “on the same page” when it comes to developments and implementations of various social media programs.

CNC staff member: Kunti Bentley

I have that same conversation with a lot of people who come into my office, telling me about their ideas. In fact, hardly a week goes by without someone asking, “How do I start a nonprofit organization?” Many of the well-intended people who ask this question lack a thorough understanding of the complexities and regulations involved in starting a nonprofit organization.

In this article, I offer five important questions to consider before forming a new nonprofit organization:

1. Are you sure a need exists?

From your perspective, the need may be real and urgent. But do others in the community share your view? Can it be proven beyond just your opinion? Is there truly an unmet need? In order to garner support from individuals, business, and other organizations, it will be necessary to gather credible data. Talk to experts in the community and research available information/studies on the topic. Find out what local leaders and nonprofit groups have to say. You don’t have to be an expert, but you should take time to become well versed on the issue before you start an organization. After all, as the
founder of an organization you should have a clear understanding of the issue and its many facets so you can explain it with clarity to potential supporters and donors. In addition to understanding the need, it is important to determine if your organization has the expertise to address it. Does the work you are proposing provide a solution to those in need? Do you have the ability and resources to fix the problem or improve the situation?

2. Is another local group already addressing the need?

This may be one of the most important considerations in starting a new nonprofit organization. Too often, people want to start an organization to do something that is already being done. If such a group does exist—even if they don’t do the job quite like you would—resist the urge to launch a competing organization. Instead, consider how you might collaborate, putting your passion and energy to work into their cause, rather than on creating a new nonprofit organization. Having multiple nonprofit organizations in a community with similar missions and doing nearly the same thing creates many dilemmas:

• Donors who care about the cause are forced to choose which organization to support and can become disillusioned at the duplication of   services.
• Those who need the services of the organization have to figure out which group does what and which one best meets their needs.
• Other local nonprofit organizations may lose support. With limited grant money and corporate sponsorships, adding one more organization to the list cuts into the precious few resources.

3. Do you understand the legal requirements?

The federal government, as well as each state, has its own requirements for starting a nonprofit. Here are the common steps:

• File articles of incorporation with the Missouri Secretary of State.
• Apply for exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
• Apply for a federal employer identification number. Regardless of whether or not you have employees, nonprofits are required to obtain a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), which is also referred to as the federal ID number.

As a registered 501(c)(3), the organization must not be operated for someone’s private benefit,must not support or oppose a political party or candidates for office or have as the mission of the organization the achievement of something only possible by the passage of legislation. Once registered, you most likely will be required to file annual reports known as form 990. Failing to complete these can cause you to lose
your tax-exempt status.

4. Can you sustain the organization?

Going from nothing to a strong, sustainable organization is no small task. Start-up money from friends and family often helps nonprofits get
started. But beyond the initial costs, it takes a lot of money to sustain an organization. Typical expenses, such as salaries, facilities, supplies,
insurance and program services, add up quickly. Funding can be unpredictable, sporadic or—in worst cases—a dry well. About five years ago, a lady in southwest Missouri started an organization to work in the area of child abuse. She spoke with passion to members of the public and was able to acquire funding and in-kind donations for the work. But within 18 months, she had lost her focus and abandoned the idea.
Those who had made donations to her organization felt betrayed by the failure. Her board members, volunteers, and community leaders who had pledged their support were disheartened that the work ended so abruptly. It is better never to start a nonprofit organization than to start one and fail within a couple years. Failure has broad implications for those who need the services as well as for donors who invested in the work. The end result is bad for all, including other nonprofit organizations that may be viewed negatively due to the mismanagement of one.

5. Do you have a plan?

Quite simply, passion is not enough. While you may feel passionate about helping people in need and making the world a better place to live, you cannot succeed without proper planning. Starting a nonprofit organization requires just as much planning as launching a for-profit business enterprise.
You’ll need to determine who will do the work, how they will be paid, where the work will be done and who will serve on the board. You’ll need to set up a budget and identify funding sources. Last, but not least, you’ll need to determine what success looks like and how you will measure it to know if you are reaching your goals. Truth is,most of the people who ask me if they should start a new nonprofit are told, “No, please don’t do it.” But if you can answer these questions positively, and if you do give each one careful consideration, you may be able to develop a strong and effective nonprofit organization.

by Dan Prater
The Center for Nonprofit
Communication
at Drury University
*protected email*

In a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy,  Allison Fine cautions nonprofit organizations not to overdo it when it comes to social media.

In today’s media rich world, it can be easy to think that you should take advantage of every social media tool and site that exists.  But the truth is, bombarding your clientele, potential donors, etc. with too much social media can harm rather than help you organization.

As Fine points out in her Chronicle of Philanthropy article, overdosing on social media may lead many organizations to mistakenly promote too much information.  That may not be  conducive to productivity. If you are delivering too many messages, you may risk delivering messages that can be inconsistent to your true goals.  While it is important to share messages, ideas, and goals in social media platforms, organizations should be  careful when attempting to put out a lot of information.

It’s important to show a little discipline and restraint when trying to decide what to post or share on your sight. But it’s also important to keep in mind that you can talk about the same core message in a myriad of ways that will appeal to different individuals, groups, and organizations.

That being said, it is important to make sure you customize your messages to different audiences, but this can be done without an overload of information on your website.  You can still deliver messages that are:

1. Simple

2. Clear

3. Easily understood

4. Concise

Don’t underestimate the power of a simple statement or phrase and don’t be afraid to exercise restraint.

–CNC staff member Kunti Bentley

Free Training for NW Arkansas Nonprofit Organizations

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., — The Center for Nonprofit Communication at Drury University will conduct a free, four-hour training on Thursday, February 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the university’s new site, located at 1404 SE Eagle Way, Ste. 8 in Bentonville, AR.

The “Speak Up” training is designed for those associated with nonprofit organizations (including health care, education, charitable, faith-based, civic, and public sector/government). Executives, staff, volunteers, and board members of organizations from northwest Arkansas and surrounding communities are invited to the session to gain valuable information on these topics:
Forming Clear, Concise Key Messages; Developing a Message Platform; Collaborations through Community Connections; and Media Management.

The training series is facilitated by Drury University communications instructor, Dan Prater. Dan is the executive director of the Center for Nonprofit Communications. His years of experience in the media and with nonprofits will help your organization succeed in achieving its goals.

 ”This is four hours well spent, learning how to use the right words and tools to connect with the community,” said Prater. “Every organization should give careful thought to how they tell others of their important work.”

In light of the economic crisis, it is critical that nonprofit organizations sharpen their communications. A failed message could mean a missed opportunity to connect with potential donors, foundations, board members and volunteers. It could also mean the very men and women who need the organization’s services are unaware of the available resource.

RSVP required. Register at www.npcomm.org/the-2013-nonprofit-communication-workshop
or email request with name and organization to *protected email*

The event includes free refreshments provided by Panera Bread and a free light lunch.

For more information, contact Dan Prater at Drury University at 873-7443 or at *protected email*

###

The Center for Nonprofit Communication at Drury University will conduct a free, four-hour training on Thursday, February 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the university’s new site, located at 1404 SE Eagle Way, Ste. 8 in Bentonville, AR.

The “Speak Up” training is designed for those associated with nonprofit organizations (including health care, education, charitable, faith-based, civic, and public sector/government). Executives, staff, volunteers, and board members of organizations from northwest Arkansas and surrounding communities are invited to the session to gain valuable information on these topics:

• Forming Clear
• Concise Key Messages
• Developing a Message Platform
• Collaborations through Community Connections
•  Media Management

The training series is facilitated by Drury University communications instructor, Dan Prater. Dan is the executive director of the Center for Nonprofit Communications. His years of experience in the media and with nonprofits will help your organization succeed in achieving its goals. “This is four hours well spent, learning how to use the right words and tools to connect with the community,” said Prater. “Every organization should give careful thought to how they tell others of their important work.”

Nonprofit Communication Workshop, Bentonville, Ark

Click here to register.

Stick to Your Group’s Key Message

Less is more as Allison Fine reports in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  She talks about how to maximize the tools of social media in order to improve outreach and communications within your nonprofit organization.

If your nonprofit wants to get more of its social networks, it should consider doing less.

Such advice might seem counterintuitive, but Kivi Leroux Miller, a nonprofit marketing consultant, says many organizations clutter their social networks with unnecessary information. As a result, they are often broadcasting messages that are inconsistent with what they want to accomplish.

Ms. Miller suggests that nonprofits that want to expand their presence should become more focused in sending messages. Instead of trying to say too much, groups that want to be known for a certain idea should be disciplined and post only messages that relate to that issue.

Read more about it.