Nonprofit World

Boost Your Leadership Quotient

Since today's nonprofit leaders must have entrepreneurial skills, it's useful to know the work of Michael Gerber, who says it's a myth that entrepreneurs are born, not made. Here are four steps to help you nurture that creative center, appreciate the inextricable connection between entrepreneurship and leadership, and guide your organization to success: 1, Write down everything you do each day. 2. Set aside certain times of each day to entrepreneurial, management, and technician work. 3. Pick...

Creative Fundraising Ideas

Event Planning Can Be Easier If You Follow These Steps

Historically, fundraising events have been an integral part of a nonprofit organization's outreach effort. But not all events accomplish what they set out to do. The key is to identify objectives, plan wisely, and budget effectively. Here are guidelines to help make your next event a winner: 1. Determine the five Ws. 2. Take care of the nuts and bolts. 3. Create a project blueprint. 4. Envision your event. 5. Make it special. 6. Finish with the unseen details. 7. Follow up. Producing a succes...

Executive Compensation Is Under Scrutiny

Recent economic woes have resulted in many changes by the federal government. One such area is executive compensation. Senator Grassley has proposed changes to requirements for nonprofit compensation. The IRS recently conducted studies of public charities and exempt hospitals and, in general, found very high salaries. The IRS may revoke the organization's tax exemption for excess compensation. A more likely result is for the IRS to impose intermediate sanctions. Intermediate sanctions are exc...

Four Things to Do Next Monday

Having Fun Yet?

How to Create a Motivating Environment

The higher employees' morale, the more they'll get done. Here are some low-cost ways to make the office more fun and less stressful for employees: 1. Start meetings with a fun opener, and add some humorous or inspirational touches. 2. Invite employees to bring dishes to a potluck for lunch, an office party, or a picnic, and suggest a theme to make things more festive. 3. Create a space in the office where people can put up comments, short poems, cartoon favorites, and the like. 4. Bring in a ...

How to Develop Six Crucial Aptitudes

Today's leader must understand six basic concepts -- design, empathy, story, play, symphony, and meaning. Here are some ideas to develop six crucial aptitudes: 1. Carry a notebook. 2. Begin an inspiration board. 3. Check out. 4. Measure your ability to empathize. 5. Find out how well you read people's emotions. 6. Practice laughter yoga. 7. Take the humor test. 8. Learn to read faces. 9. Read. 10. Visit a labyrinth. 11. Measure the spirit in your life. 12. List changes.

How to Transform Your Brand

Taking steps to solicit input from your board, members, donors, volunteers, and other critical stakeholders will help you design a brand that best represents your organization. The World Affairs Council of Jacksonville recently asked PR group Brunet-Garcia Multicultural Advertising & Public Relations to develop a new brand and positioning statement (tag line) for their organization. Using the Council as an example here are steps to ensure that your organization's identity reflects its goa...

I've Been Thinking About... Board Recruitment

Recently, the author was elected to a local nonprofit board. It was immediately clear that these board members didn't view filling a board vacancy as an after-thought. They placed a notice in their widely distributed newsletter asking interested individuals to come forward. If you're ready to strengthen your approach to board recruitment, first identify the board's current makeup on every dimension vital to realizing your mission: geographic representation, age, occupation, and areas of exper...

Improved Thrift Store Performance Means Better Mission Fulfillment

Many nonprofit organizations operate thrift stores or hope to open such stores to support their missions. Understanding the behavior of those who donate to and buy from these stores can enhance their effectiveness. To increase such understanding, students in the School of Business at the University of South Carolina Upstate worked with the author to conduct a survey. As this study makes clear, people have high expectations when selecting a thrift store to support, both with their donations an...

Into the Labyrinth

Leaders As Midwives Who Birth a New World

Midwife means "someone or something that helps to create or produce something new." In this context, true leaders are midwives. Whether you're in a leadership role per se or not, you can be a leader in changing the world. The concept of limited resources generally creates a fear of loss, which leads to the need to control. In such a conception of leadership, motivation is believed to come from external sources, giving managers another reason to control. More than anything, leadership is a sta...

Letters to the Editor

Looking for More Than Small Change

Tell Your Own Story (or Someone Else Will)

Ten Nonprofit Myths - and How to Debunk Them

Many nonprofits underperform because they act on assumptions that are really myths. Here are some of the myths and the realities that, if addressed, can help improve your organization's performance: 1. Quality management policies and practices don't apply to nonprofit organizations. 2. Nonprofits should maintain the operating tactics they've always used. 3. Boards should select and retain members they know and with whom they're comfortable. 4. Teams stifle the contributions, recognition, and ...

The Boomer-Millennial Workplace: How to Defuse the Tension

Executives say the darnedest things. Managers do, too. And that's how Joanne Sujansky, executive director of the Pittsburgh-based KEYGroup consulting firm, first noticed a common theme emerging in the offhand comments her clients sometimes offered after the formal interviews had ended. The topic was the millennial workers (also called Generation Y) who are challenging workplace norms and frustrating their supervisors. The speakers were the baby-boomer managers feeling the stress. More importa...

The Manager's Secret Weapon - Empathy

The Secrets and Science of Body Language

The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work, by Carol Kinsey Goman, is reviewed.

Want to Avoid Fraud? Look to Your Board

The board of the Association for Underprivileged Children is meeting in the aftermath of a dreadful situation. Over $50,000 designated for camping scholarships for the Association for Underprivileged Children has been stolen. One estimate, by Harvard University's Houser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, suggests that fraud losses among US nonprofits are approximately $40 billion a year. Here are some steps to avoid such traumatic situations: 1. Be sure your board has a finance committee and...

Web Conferencing: Technology You Can Use

Many nonprofits are turning to technology to meet their communication needs, and Web conferencing software is becoming a go-to tool. Web conferencing employs a myriad of functionality, such as document sharing and editing, support of multiple presenters, call recording, integrated chat (IM), polling of participants, and platform support. Here are a few things to consider when choosing Web conferencing software: 1. integration with other tools, 2. operating system and browser support, 3. flexi...

Why You Need Spirituality in Your Workplace - and How to Cultivate It

Here are some ways to add spirit to your workplace and satisfy people's demand for working conditions that offer meaning and a feeling of transcendence: 1. Create an aesthetically pleasing environment that's clean, ordered, harmonious, and peaceful. 2. Nurture a culture of helping one another and valuing differences. 3. Support subcultures such as clubs and organizational functions. 4. Prepare a code of ethics. 5. Encourage everyone to take regular breaks and go outdoors, if possible, or to a...

Working Effectively in Small Groups