I have exciting news to share that I believe will be of interest to our Indiana readers as we continue our efforts to support the nonprofit community. I launched the Cincinnati Not-for-Profit News in March 2008 after the success of our e-newsletter here in central Indiana. A big key to our growth and success, here in central Indiana, has been my ability to really get to know the nonprofits, funders, and related entities that build a strong nonprofit sector. Though we have more than 1500 subscribers in Cincinnati, I have not been able to spend the time there that would allow us to really know and serve that community as I would like.
I have asked Jane Page-Steiner, a long-time Cincinnati resident, nonprofit professional, and capacity-building consultant to take on the role of publisher for the Greater Cincinnati edition so we will have a more personal presence in the Greater Cincinnati area. Jane’s extensive experience in the nonprofit arena will ensure that the Cincinnati Not-for-Profit News stays in close touch with the needs of that community in addition to enhancing our promotional efforts there.
Jane is a respected nonprofit consultant, public speaker, and has been a part of the Cincinnati not-for-profit community for more than 20 years. She served for many years as the Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Association in Cincinnati and has served on a national nonprofit board and worked for a national nonprofit. She is the President of JPS Nonprofit Strategies and will continue to offer her capacity-building consulting services. I am excited about partnering with Jane in this effort and am already enjoying the benefits of having another contributor on our team.
To learn more about Jane - www.JPSNonprofit.com
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Though we see so much need, we also know we have so much to be grateful for.
Bryan
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
How could 'Walking for Dreams 2010' benefit your Organization?
Last year, 17 non profits and 425 walkers raised over $60,000. Over the past 7 years, close to 100 organizations have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, in total. I have been involved since the 2nd or 3rd year walking for several different organizations. I think of 'Walking for Dreams' as the walk-a-thon event for organizations who: 1) aren't big enough to do their own event or 2) don't want to spend valuable volunteer or staff time on event organizing, or 3) want to gather a group of their supporters around fund raising for one particular program.
Here's how it works: There is a $250 upfront fee but then the Sycamore Foundation plans, manages, and runs the event. They even provide an on-line donation website where your walkers can form teams and receive donations. All your nonprofit does is solicit walkers to participate and raise funds for your organization. Whether you have 5 walkers or 50, it is a fun event and can raise a meaningful amount of money for the effort you invest.
Promoted as the 'Walking for Dreams Family and Pet 5k Walk', the event encompasses just a couple hours of a beautiful Sunday afternoon on the scenic Canal Walk downtown. The energy is terrific, the colors are bright, the faces are happy. Each organization is assigned a table to greet and gather their walkers plus promote their organization to others in attendance. Everyone steps out together and then winds their way through the walk route and back to food and festivities at their own pace.
A Walk-a-thon event is a great way to introduce people to your organization, a good strategy to give reluctant board members or staff a 'harmless' way to talk about your organization with friends and family, and a nice time for social connection between people who care about your organization.
To learn more or get signed up for the May 23, 2010 event, visit www.WalkingforDreams.org and call 317-260-0669.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Are Federal Poverty Guidelines for Income Meaningful?
The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Indiana 2009 released by the Indiana Institute for Working Families (Institute), a program of the Indiana Community Action Association (IN-CAA), shows that more Hoosiers are lacking the resources needed to meet their basic needs. The Self-Sufficiency Standard is a more meaningful measure of income adequacy compared to the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). According to the FPG, families are characterized as "poor" if their income is below the FPG and "not poor" if their incomes are above them.
For example, the FPG for a family of three in 2009 is $18,310 annually, the equivalent of earning $8.80 an hour for full-time employment. According to the 2009 Self-Sufficiency Standard, a family of three - consisting of one adult, one preschooler, and one school age child - is $42,117 annually - the equivalent of earning $19.94 an hour or approximately 230 percent of the FPG. This Standard Wage incorporates the cost of a two bedroom housing unit, the cost of full-time child care, food, health care, transportation, and taxes in Marion County. For this family type in Marion County, they must earn wages that are almost three times the current Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per hour.
Earlier this month the U.S. Census Bureau released 2008 American Community Survey data showing that Indiana's median household income has declined to $47,699 and is lower than it was in 2000. Additionally, the number of Hoosiers living in poverty has increased as reflected in the state's poverty rate of 13.1 percent – based on the FPG. "However, if a more accurate measure of the amount of income needed by families was used, as opposed to the FPG, we would find even more Hoosiers are not earning enough to meet their basic needs," said Lisa Travis, with the Institute. The Self-Sufficiency Standard shows family earnings can be well above the official FPG yet below what is needed for families to meet their basic needs. To view the full report, visit the News and Update section on IN-CAA's homepage at www.incap.org.
For example, the FPG for a family of three in 2009 is $18,310 annually, the equivalent of earning $8.80 an hour for full-time employment. According to the 2009 Self-Sufficiency Standard, a family of three - consisting of one adult, one preschooler, and one school age child - is $42,117 annually - the equivalent of earning $19.94 an hour or approximately 230 percent of the FPG. This Standard Wage incorporates the cost of a two bedroom housing unit, the cost of full-time child care, food, health care, transportation, and taxes in Marion County. For this family type in Marion County, they must earn wages that are almost three times the current Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per hour.
Earlier this month the U.S. Census Bureau released 2008 American Community Survey data showing that Indiana's median household income has declined to $47,699 and is lower than it was in 2000. Additionally, the number of Hoosiers living in poverty has increased as reflected in the state's poverty rate of 13.1 percent – based on the FPG. "However, if a more accurate measure of the amount of income needed by families was used, as opposed to the FPG, we would find even more Hoosiers are not earning enough to meet their basic needs," said Lisa Travis, with the Institute. The Self-Sufficiency Standard shows family earnings can be well above the official FPG yet below what is needed for families to meet their basic needs. To view the full report, visit the News and Update section on IN-CAA's homepage at www.incap.org.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Do You Know of a Great Local Program with National Potential?
Several nationally prominent nonprofit thought leaders have partnered with Duke University and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create the Social Impact Exchange. This will be a concerted effort to identify nonprofits and programs that are having real impact and connect them to resources to expand and replicate that impact. There is no cost to become a member and they will provide on-line resources and forums in addition to an annual conference, regular training/meeting events, and an annual competition to identify and financially support the best ideas. What do you like about this type of effort? Why will it work or how could it be better?
Read More.
Read More.
IRT Halloween Promotion for Nonprofits
I’m sure most families have Halloween plans for Saturday, but the IRT has a great family show going on right now - The Giver, based on the popular novel by Lois Lowry. The IRT is offering a special 2-for-1 ticket offer for either the 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. show on Saturday. I know it’s Halloween, but the show is only 80 minutes so families can still go trick-or-treating after the afternoon show or make it to a Halloween party after the evening show. It’s simple to get tickets, just call the ticket office at 317.635.5252 and mention the code “spread the word”. I hope some of your families, clients or friends can take advantage of the special offer. For more information about the show visit www.irtlive.com/shows_and_tickets/shows/giver.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Is Outsourcing or Sharing Back Office Operations the Answer?
A new study tackles the on-going conversation about whether nonprofits can save money and improve services by combining or outsourcing backoffice operations.
Small to mid-sized nonprofits have always struggled to meet their needs for the administrative and professional services that support their core program work. Often referred to as “back‐office” needs, these services have typically included:
· Finance and administration (e.g., routine book keeping and accounting, financial planning, budgeting and reporting, vendor management, etc).
· Human resources (e.g., benefits administration, payroll processing, policy development, recruiting, personnel management, etc).
· Information technology (e.g., computer hardware and software procurement and maintenance, database management and support, website development and updating, etc).
While less commonly understood to be “back‐office” functions, the Meyer grantee survey also identified “public relations, communications, and marketing” and “fundraising and development” as pressing needs for which better solutions are urgently needed. Experts interviewed for this study confirmed the Meyer grantee survey findings that:
· HR issues almost always poll highest in polls of most needed back‐office services.
· Finance and IT are the most in‐demand services for outsourcing by small nonprofits.
· Development and fundraising assistance by outside firms is in great (and increasing) demand.
The Phase I Survey revealed that a large percentage of small nonprofit executives are performing many of these back‐office functions themselves, and many or most of them are dissatisfied with their own performance. For some functions (financial planning, human resources, PR, communications, and IT), high levels of dissatisfaction are reported even when performed by in‐house paid staff, external consultants or pro bono professionals.
The impacts of not finding better solutions to these back‐office needs include: inefficiency and burnout; high staff turnover, cash flow crises, loss of funding, missed opportunities, diminished impact and threats to growth and sustainability. At best, these are enormous distractions for leaders of small nonprofits. At worst, the lack of adequate back‐office infrastructure is responsible for their ineffectiveness in achieving their mission (Non‐Profit Overhead Cost Study, Brief No. 3, August 2004) and incalculable human and financial waste.
The study provides great insight, but unfortunately finds few cost-saving solutions noting that an organization that currently spends little or nothing on HR, Acctg, or IT cannot save money by outsourcing or combining it.
Read the full study.
Small to mid-sized nonprofits have always struggled to meet their needs for the administrative and professional services that support their core program work. Often referred to as “back‐office” needs, these services have typically included:
· Finance and administration (e.g., routine book keeping and accounting, financial planning, budgeting and reporting, vendor management, etc).
· Human resources (e.g., benefits administration, payroll processing, policy development, recruiting, personnel management, etc).
· Information technology (e.g., computer hardware and software procurement and maintenance, database management and support, website development and updating, etc).
While less commonly understood to be “back‐office” functions, the Meyer grantee survey also identified “public relations, communications, and marketing” and “fundraising and development” as pressing needs for which better solutions are urgently needed. Experts interviewed for this study confirmed the Meyer grantee survey findings that:
· HR issues almost always poll highest in polls of most needed back‐office services.
· Finance and IT are the most in‐demand services for outsourcing by small nonprofits.
· Development and fundraising assistance by outside firms is in great (and increasing) demand.
The Phase I Survey revealed that a large percentage of small nonprofit executives are performing many of these back‐office functions themselves, and many or most of them are dissatisfied with their own performance. For some functions (financial planning, human resources, PR, communications, and IT), high levels of dissatisfaction are reported even when performed by in‐house paid staff, external consultants or pro bono professionals.
The impacts of not finding better solutions to these back‐office needs include: inefficiency and burnout; high staff turnover, cash flow crises, loss of funding, missed opportunities, diminished impact and threats to growth and sustainability. At best, these are enormous distractions for leaders of small nonprofits. At worst, the lack of adequate back‐office infrastructure is responsible for their ineffectiveness in achieving their mission (Non‐Profit Overhead Cost Study, Brief No. 3, August 2004) and incalculable human and financial waste.
The study provides great insight, but unfortunately finds few cost-saving solutions noting that an organization that currently spends little or nothing on HR, Acctg, or IT cannot save money by outsourcing or combining it.
Read the full study.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Can a Founder or Longtime Executive Director Step Down But Not Leave?
Conventional Wisdom Says: To not undermine a new leader's authority--and to allow the organization to develop in new ways--the founder must leave the organization completely when they step down from the top leadership position.
Table for Two's Findings Say: While not for most organizations, there are conditions under which a founder and successor can co-exist - maximizing the founder's assets for the overall good of the organization and reinforcing one another's success in their new roles.
Based on in-depth analysis of six cases in which the founder or long term founder-like leader successfully remains after stepping down from the top post, Table for Two provides:
- A new model for leadership transitions.
- A broader range of options for the founder's continuing role and contributions.
- Insights into the personal and organizational factors needed for success in such transitions.
- An integrated approach to weighing and managing the risks and benefits involved.
- Challenges, coping strategies, and recommendations for founders, successors, boards of directors, and staff.
- Recommendations for funders who wish to support their grantees' executive transitions.
Download the Summary or Full Report.
Table for Two's Findings Say: While not for most organizations, there are conditions under which a founder and successor can co-exist - maximizing the founder's assets for the overall good of the organization and reinforcing one another's success in their new roles.
Based on in-depth analysis of six cases in which the founder or long term founder-like leader successfully remains after stepping down from the top post, Table for Two provides:
- A new model for leadership transitions.
- A broader range of options for the founder's continuing role and contributions.
- Insights into the personal and organizational factors needed for success in such transitions.
- An integrated approach to weighing and managing the risks and benefits involved.
- Challenges, coping strategies, and recommendations for founders, successors, boards of directors, and staff.
- Recommendations for funders who wish to support their grantees' executive transitions.
Download the Summary or Full Report.
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