Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Take a Walk, Support a Cause, Support Me!
Walking for Dreams is a very exciting concept, a multi-organization fund raising walk created by the Sycamore Foundation about 5 years ago. By combining the efforts of 20+ nonprofits who each bring a dozen or two walkers, it creates the energy and raises the dollars of a 300-500 person walk that these organizations couldn't create on their own.
Over the past 5 years, our family has walked for a couple organizations and always have a great time. The Sunday, May 23 event begins and ends outside the restored Buggs Temple at the north end of the canal downtown. The walk route winds along the canal down to White River State Park and back again. It is over before you know it.
Subtle CALL TO ACTION:
Option 1) Go to https://www.walkingfordreams.org/register.aspx and register to walk for an organization you know about or want to know about and recruit your friends, family, and co-workers to donate to support you.
Option 2) Go to https://www.walkingfordreams.org/Donate.aspx and make a contribution to a walker/organization you know of or want to learn about.
Option 3) Go to https://www.walkingfordreams.org/Donate.aspx and make a donation to support ME (Bryan Orander) walking for Southeast Community Services - SECS is the community center and basic needs safety net agency on the near SE side. If you got your job through the NFP News or you appreciate the information you receive through our free publication, here is a way to return the favor.
Option 4) Feel guilty for not participating - feel better by writing a special check to a nonprofit you respect and let us know about it.
On May 23, show up at Buggs Temple between 1-2pm to check in and browse the information tables for all participating non-profits.
Bryan Orander, President
Charitable Advisors and Not-for-Profit News
http://www.CharitableAdvisors.com
http://www.NotforProfitNews.com
317-752-7153
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Need a Boost of Encouragement, Insight, and Energy?
A few seats are left for Friday, May 7’s Leadercast presented by Chick-fil-A and hosted by our friends at Choices, Inc., an Indiana nonprofit focused on systems of care for youth (www.choicesteam.org).
You can watch from Choices offices on North Keystone with meals provided and wi-fi access or save $15 and watch at a convenient southside location.
The Chick-fil-A Leadercast is a one-day leadership event featuring the world's best leaders speaking about the leadership principles that matter most. Broadcast LIVE by GiANT Impact from Atlanta to hundreds of locations around the world, the Chick-fil-A Leadercast is a catalyst for new ideas and better leadership practices. The focus for this year's event is to help you make a lasting impact in the lives of those you lead by living out the leadership principles that guide your decisions and your life.
See the full agenda at the registration link.
Here is a list of speakers.
Jim Collins - Author of Good to Great, How the Mighty Fall, and co-author of Built to Last
Tony Dungy (Pre-Recorded) - Retired head coach for the Indianapolis Colts
John C Maxwell - Leadership expert and best-selling author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Steve Uzzell - Award-winning corporate photographer and former staff member of National Geographic
Mark Sanborn - Best-selling author of The Fred Factor
Connie Podesta - Expert in the psychology of human behavior and leadership development
Jim Goodnight - CEO of SAS Institute, Inc.
Ed Bastian - President of Delta Air Lines
Ben Carson - Neurosurgeon and Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Chip Heath - Author of Made to Stick, Columnist for Fast Company, and Stanford Professor
FMI or to register visit . Registration ends Wednesday.
I will look forward to seeing you at the Choices site on Friday,
Bryan
You can watch from Choices offices on North Keystone with meals provided and wi-fi access or save $15 and watch at a convenient southside location.
The Chick-fil-A Leadercast is a one-day leadership event featuring the world's best leaders speaking about the leadership principles that matter most. Broadcast LIVE by GiANT Impact from Atlanta to hundreds of locations around the world, the Chick-fil-A Leadercast is a catalyst for new ideas and better leadership practices. The focus for this year's event is to help you make a lasting impact in the lives of those you lead by living out the leadership principles that guide your decisions and your life.
See the full agenda at the registration link.
Here is a list of speakers.
Jim Collins - Author of Good to Great, How the Mighty Fall, and co-author of Built to Last
Tony Dungy (Pre-Recorded) - Retired head coach for the Indianapolis Colts
John C Maxwell - Leadership expert and best-selling author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Steve Uzzell - Award-winning corporate photographer and former staff member of National Geographic
Mark Sanborn - Best-selling author of The Fred Factor
Connie Podesta - Expert in the psychology of human behavior and leadership development
Jim Goodnight - CEO of SAS Institute, Inc.
Ed Bastian - President of Delta Air Lines
Ben Carson - Neurosurgeon and Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Chip Heath - Author of Made to Stick, Columnist for Fast Company, and Stanford Professor
FMI or to register visit . Registration ends Wednesday.
I will look forward to seeing you at the Choices site on Friday,
Bryan
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
How Many Board Treasurer’s Do You Need?
I really appreciated a presentation by Aaron Hurst at last November’s BoardSource Conference. Aaron Hurst is the founder and CEO of an organization called Taproot Foundation. Taproot Foundation has re-invented pro bono services by creating ways for teams of selected professionals to volunteer together to complete high value projects for nonprofit client organizations.
I resonated with Aaron’s premise that the Board Treasurer and Finance Committee tend to be the most consistently functioning board members on many nonprofit boards. Aaron suggests the Treasurer role is best performed because it is the best understood, reporting requirements are clear-cut, and the position is very specifically recruited – we know we need a person with particular skill and expertise. The Treasurer is the steward of the organization’s Financial Capital or Assets. They can take hold of the role of ‘owning’, protecting, and maximizing those assets.
What if you applied this stewardship concept to the other key assets of the organization and recruited people who were highly qualified to leverage them?
Treasurer of Human Capital – How do we recruit, hire, and train the best people? How do we attract and retain the best volunteers? How do we best leverage the skills of our staff and volunteers? What are the metrics that define progress and performance in this area?
Treasurer of Social Capital – “The Boss of Buzz” – Establishing and protecting our ‘brand’. Identifying and building key relationships. Coordinating and integrating fund raising, marketing, PR, and communications. What are the metrics that define progress and performance in this area?
Treasurer of Information Capital or Treasurer of Impact – How do we get information and how do we use it? How do we manage and access the knowledge we have developed? How do we show we are making a difference? What are the metrics that define progress and performance in this area?
BEST APPLICATION
Aaron suggests this model is best applied in mid-sized nonprofits that have staff infrastructure in each functional area but are not large enough to have highly experienced senior executives in areas like HR, marketing, and finance.
Pro Bono versus Traditional Volunteer - With a Pro Bono volunteer, you respect their professional skills and engage with them almost like a client and consultant relationship. With a traditional volunteer, you treat all the same and assign to low skill roles where volunteers are essentially interchangeable. Mr. Hurst also asserts that these Treasurer roles are very high leverage - many of us may have experienced this through the financial downturn as we had board members step up to show us how we should be forecasting and managing cash or restructuring debt. An “A”-level, high-expertise and high-performing board member can have 10x the impact of a board member who brings less energy or expertise. Who will be your second treasurer and what will they be stewarding?
I resonated with Aaron’s premise that the Board Treasurer and Finance Committee tend to be the most consistently functioning board members on many nonprofit boards. Aaron suggests the Treasurer role is best performed because it is the best understood, reporting requirements are clear-cut, and the position is very specifically recruited – we know we need a person with particular skill and expertise. The Treasurer is the steward of the organization’s Financial Capital or Assets. They can take hold of the role of ‘owning’, protecting, and maximizing those assets.
What if you applied this stewardship concept to the other key assets of the organization and recruited people who were highly qualified to leverage them?
Treasurer of Human Capital – How do we recruit, hire, and train the best people? How do we attract and retain the best volunteers? How do we best leverage the skills of our staff and volunteers? What are the metrics that define progress and performance in this area?
Treasurer of Social Capital – “The Boss of Buzz” – Establishing and protecting our ‘brand’. Identifying and building key relationships. Coordinating and integrating fund raising, marketing, PR, and communications. What are the metrics that define progress and performance in this area?
Treasurer of Information Capital or Treasurer of Impact – How do we get information and how do we use it? How do we manage and access the knowledge we have developed? How do we show we are making a difference? What are the metrics that define progress and performance in this area?
BEST APPLICATION
Aaron suggests this model is best applied in mid-sized nonprofits that have staff infrastructure in each functional area but are not large enough to have highly experienced senior executives in areas like HR, marketing, and finance.
Pro Bono versus Traditional Volunteer - With a Pro Bono volunteer, you respect their professional skills and engage with them almost like a client and consultant relationship. With a traditional volunteer, you treat all the same and assign to low skill roles where volunteers are essentially interchangeable. Mr. Hurst also asserts that these Treasurer roles are very high leverage - many of us may have experienced this through the financial downturn as we had board members step up to show us how we should be forecasting and managing cash or restructuring debt. An “A”-level, high-expertise and high-performing board member can have 10x the impact of a board member who brings less energy or expertise. Who will be your second treasurer and what will they be stewarding?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Why is Board Self-Assessment So Important?
The past two years have been far from the norm and have required nonprofit boards to step up and take their roles even more seriously than they have in the past. As you begin this new year, it is the perfect opportunity to provide your board members with the opportunity to reflect on key roles, provide candid feedback on what is working, and offer ideas to further strengthen your work. Regular Board Self-Assessment is considered a “best practice” for increasing the engagement and effectiveness of your board.
Here are four good reasons to integrate an assessment debrief into an upcoming board meeting, working session, or retreat:
Education – It is critical for boards to regularly review and discuss their roles and responsibilities. An assessment creates an opportunity to move from textbook theory to application. It is easy to get caught up in one or two roles and lose perspective on the bigger picture.
Engagement – An assessment requests input from all board members and then engages the full board in discussing the results and defining actions to be taken.
Reflection, Evaluation, and Perception – Ah… the unexamined life. Do we all view our work the same way? How are we doing? Step back from the routine reports and activities to explore how we can work smarter and leverage our efforts in support of our mission.
Prioritization – What should we be focusing on? Beware of assessment tools that merely ask you to rate everything and then produce a long list of problem areas. You need to know where you are already strong, what areas are most important in the next few years, and which areas are worth investing your scarce time and resources.
CALL BRYAN TO LEARN MORE OR TO GET STARTED
(317-752-7153)
The Charitable Advisors on-line assessment is adapted from a framework developed and placed in the public domain by the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company that identifies nine critical roles of the board. It helps prioritize efforts and solicits input on committee work and board member commitment. The cost is only $325 for the on-line assessment and summary report in PowerPoint. In Central Indiana, Bryan can also provide a 1 ½ - 2 hour on-site board training and debrief, including the cost of the On-line Self-Assessment, for $750.
>>Learn More
Here are four good reasons to integrate an assessment debrief into an upcoming board meeting, working session, or retreat:
Education – It is critical for boards to regularly review and discuss their roles and responsibilities. An assessment creates an opportunity to move from textbook theory to application. It is easy to get caught up in one or two roles and lose perspective on the bigger picture.
Engagement – An assessment requests input from all board members and then engages the full board in discussing the results and defining actions to be taken.
Reflection, Evaluation, and Perception – Ah… the unexamined life. Do we all view our work the same way? How are we doing? Step back from the routine reports and activities to explore how we can work smarter and leverage our efforts in support of our mission.
Prioritization – What should we be focusing on? Beware of assessment tools that merely ask you to rate everything and then produce a long list of problem areas. You need to know where you are already strong, what areas are most important in the next few years, and which areas are worth investing your scarce time and resources.
CALL BRYAN TO LEARN MORE OR TO GET STARTED
(317-752-7153)
The Charitable Advisors on-line assessment is adapted from a framework developed and placed in the public domain by the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company that identifies nine critical roles of the board. It helps prioritize efforts and solicits input on committee work and board member commitment. The cost is only $325 for the on-line assessment and summary report in PowerPoint. In Central Indiana, Bryan can also provide a 1 ½ - 2 hour on-site board training and debrief, including the cost of the On-line Self-Assessment, for $750.
>>Learn More
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
What are the most recognizable Nonprofit Brands?
I often meet new people and share that I work with the leadership of nonprofits. I am amazed at how often people ask “What is a nonprofit, can you give me an example?”. Now I have a great list. Each year, Harris Interactive releases the 2010 results of EquiTrend®, its renowned annual brand equity study that measures over 1,000 brands across 42 categories. Harris Interactive has been tracking consumers' awareness and perception of brands for over 20 years. A portion of this study focuses on an array of charitable non-profit brands, defined as charitable, member-based organizations with tax-exempt status. Harris Interactive's 2010 EquiTrend® report includes an overall Brand Equity score which takes into account several different dimensions of each non-profit organization. These include elements such as familiarity, quality, and likelihood to donate. While all of the top-rated organizations are household names, they are not necessarily just the largest non-profit organizations.
The top most trusted nonprofits this year include:
>>Read Entire Article
The top most trusted nonprofits this year include:
>>Read Entire Article
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Writing PR Pitches with Punch
We all struggle to get our organizations noticed. Here are some tips from NYC PR pro, Sharon Fenster
A public-relations executive's greatest challenge is to help her organization stand out from the crowd, to get the editor's attention, to keep it and to translate it into ink. Believe it or not, if you follow a few simple strategies you are almost guaranteed success:
· Create a seasonal tie-in - Build around an annual event or related recognition like National Alcohol Awareness Month or.
· Select a spokesperson for your organization
· Locate a third-party source from a related organization - someone who also has expertise in the subject.
· Package your story. Make the reporter's job easy by providing an objective story line. Write a backgrounder that explains how to recognize the symptoms. Then provide your survival tips with quotes from your expert and your third-party source.
· Craft a fact sheet that can be used as a sidebar.
· Before you dial the editor's number, develop a compelling phone script.
· Use current events
· Conduct a survey - if possible, provide a case study or two that underscores the credibility of your findings.
Read the full article.
A public-relations executive's greatest challenge is to help her organization stand out from the crowd, to get the editor's attention, to keep it and to translate it into ink. Believe it or not, if you follow a few simple strategies you are almost guaranteed success:
· Create a seasonal tie-in - Build around an annual event or related recognition like National Alcohol Awareness Month or.
· Select a spokesperson for your organization
· Locate a third-party source from a related organization - someone who also has expertise in the subject.
· Package your story. Make the reporter's job easy by providing an objective story line. Write a backgrounder that explains how to recognize the symptoms. Then provide your survival tips with quotes from your expert and your third-party source.
· Craft a fact sheet that can be used as a sidebar.
· Before you dial the editor's number, develop a compelling phone script.
· Use current events
· Conduct a survey - if possible, provide a case study or two that underscores the credibility of your findings.
Read the full article.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Who’s Missing Out on the Not-for-Profit News?
In Cincinnati, we have almost 1600 weekly subscribers. In Indianapolis, where we have been publishing since 2001, we are past 9500 weekly subscribers. Over these years, we have sent millions of informative e-mails – to help fill thousands of nonprofit job openings, promote thousands of training events, and share successes and great ideas from local nonprofits and the nonprofit sector across the country.
Since subscribing is no charge, we are convinced that every nonprofit executive, manager, and board member could and should be benefiting.
The Indianapolis Not-For-Profit News
We think the biggest reason people are missing out is that they haven’t heard of us yet. Please let your nonprofit colleagues, fellow board members, and up and coming nonprofit leaders know about us and how this quick, weekly read can keep them in the know. Also share that we welcome news and updates from local nonprofits that we can share across the community. www.charitableadvisors.com/submitnews.html
Sign-Up Here
Indy signup
Cincy signup
I Used to Subscribe
We regularly hear from people who used to be subscribers but have stopped receiving the newsletter. Our e-mail service provider, ExactTarget, is programmed to stop sending e-mails to an address after it bounces back three times. We usually find that people who are no longer receiving the newsletter either find us in their spam folders or that security or filters in their systems have bounced the e-mails back. Please ask your system administrator to allow e-mails from Bryan@CharitableAdvisorsLLC.com through Exacttarget to reach you and alert us to turn your subscription back on at Bryan@NotforProfitNews.com . If your system security will not allow it through, you might consider subscribing on your home/personal e-mail address.
I Tried to Sign up and Got an Error Message
The most common reason for an error message is that you were subscribed at this e-mail address in the past and it stopped sending due to bounce backs. The system does not allow a second signup under the same address, even if it is not currently active. If you get an error message, please let us know at Bryan@NotforProfitNews.com and we will turn it back on. It will be up to you to work with your systems administrator to allow e-mails from Bryan@CharitableAdvisorsLLC.com to get through to you.
Bryan Orander, President
Charitable Advisors and Not-for-Profit News
Since subscribing is no charge, we are convinced that every nonprofit executive, manager, and board member could and should be benefiting.
The Indianapolis Not-For-Profit News
We think the biggest reason people are missing out is that they haven’t heard of us yet. Please let your nonprofit colleagues, fellow board members, and up and coming nonprofit leaders know about us and how this quick, weekly read can keep them in the know. Also share that we welcome news and updates from local nonprofits that we can share across the community. www.charitableadvisors.com/submitnews.html
Sign-Up Here
Indy signup
Cincy signup
I Used to Subscribe
We regularly hear from people who used to be subscribers but have stopped receiving the newsletter. Our e-mail service provider, ExactTarget, is programmed to stop sending e-mails to an address after it bounces back three times. We usually find that people who are no longer receiving the newsletter either find us in their spam folders or that security or filters in their systems have bounced the e-mails back. Please ask your system administrator to allow e-mails from Bryan@CharitableAdvisorsLLC.com through Exacttarget to reach you and alert us to turn your subscription back on at Bryan@NotforProfitNews.com . If your system security will not allow it through, you might consider subscribing on your home/personal e-mail address.
I Tried to Sign up and Got an Error Message
The most common reason for an error message is that you were subscribed at this e-mail address in the past and it stopped sending due to bounce backs. The system does not allow a second signup under the same address, even if it is not currently active. If you get an error message, please let us know at Bryan@NotforProfitNews.com and we will turn it back on. It will be up to you to work with your systems administrator to allow e-mails from Bryan@CharitableAdvisorsLLC.com to get through to you.
Bryan Orander, President
Charitable Advisors and Not-for-Profit News
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