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Sep 2011Why Your Board Needs Term Limits
Post by Gail Perry (reposted from Charity Channel) Do you have a board that is reluctant to enforce term limits for its members? Or do you have bylaws that don’t even mention term limits? Term limits are important to a smoothly functioning board. In fact, they can be a nonprofit CEO’s best friend. They keep a board from becoming stale and set in its ways. When that happens, your entire organization may be at risk—sooner than you think. With today’s wildly shifting environment, this is a very dangerous place to be. To illustrate just how term limits can make a…
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Sep 2011Probabilities
Post by James V. Toscano Almost forty years ago, I was just settling in to the position of Vice President for Resource Development and Public Affairs at the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, then parent to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the College of Art and Design and the Children’s Theatre Company. An intercom from my secretary told me of my first visitor, whom she ushered politely into an office not quite furnished. As we stood among the packing cases, this older gentleman beamed as he handed me a check for $2.2 million, told me how happy he was to do so, and…
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Aug 2011Why Does a Nonprofit Board Need Young People?
Post by Dania Toscano Miwa I do a lot of board recruiting. A LOT. One of the most common questions I get from those already on the board in question is “Why do I want a college student or young professional on the board? What value does he/she bring?” While it’s true that most young professionals cannot write a 5 digit check to an organization, is money really the only thing of value we gain from our Board of Directors? Assuming a nonprofit organization has the right young individual for board service, it can be a mutually beneficial experience. The…
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Aug 2011Constituency: They May be Sitting Right in Front of You
Post by James V. Toscano As part of a group organizing a development office for The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra years ago, I ran a number of mailing lists by the committee. Certainly all agreed that season ticket holders were clearly a prime constituency. When we got to the single ticket buyer list, derisive comments emanated from staff about a “dog list.” “If they can’t even afford season tickets, they’re nowhere near giving us money” went up the dismissive cry. “Wait a minute.” chimed in the volunteer fundraising consultant, “Who’s to say that not buying a season ticket disqualifies them?…
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Aug 2011Reposted from New Voices In Philanthropy
Time to Reap and a Time to Sow Post by Trista Harris The last 6 months have been a whirlwind. I have had the opportunity to meet amazing young professionals across the country as I have been touring for “How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar“, the book was nominated for a Terry McAdam Book Award, which has brought new visibility and years of relationship building on behalf of Headwaters has led to new collaborations and enhanced resources to do our work. I am really excited about all of this wonderful things that are happening but when I had a second to…
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Aug 2011The Golden Opportunity
Post by James V. Toscano As someone about to retire from his current position, I was intrigued to see the third Daring to Lead report and its significant findings, somewhat changed from the last two reports in this decade. As reported by my friends at MAP for Nonprofts, there were three key findings in the latest version: “Though slowed by the recession, projected rates of executive turnover remain high and many boards of directors are under-prepared to select and support new leaders.” “The recession has amplified the chronic financial instability of many organizations, causing heightened anxiety and increased frustration with unsustainable financial models.” “Despite the profound challenges of the role, nonprofit executives remain energized and resolved.”
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Aug 2011Give Something They CAN’T Throw Away
Post by James V. Toscano A number of years ago, we had a prospect interested in donating a significant piece of equipment to our healthcare organization. The prospect and his spouse had been long-time patients — grateful patients, who had established a solid history of generous giving. The husband was self-made, having risked all on a new business, which he built from scratch into a major player in his industry, then sold, with enough to make the couple secure and (not always the case with every such retired entrepreneur) very generous to the community. At the appointed hour at his…
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Aug 2011“Bah, Humbug!! — Ebenezer Scrooge May Have Been Right”
Post by James V. Toscano Just after he responded to those two proper gentlemen, asking for an end of year donation for the poor, with his classic, “Bah, Humbug !” Ebenezer Scrooge must have mumbled under his breath, “The only time I hear from them is when they need money.” How many of your donors might say the same thing? If the objective of our efforts is a long-term, productive relationship with our donors, then something more than the periodic appeal is required of us. We need to know and understand our constituents’ “visions,” their dreams. We need to reinforce…
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Aug 2011Transforming an Organization
Post by Jonathan Palmer, Executive Director, Halle Q. Brown Community Center One of my favorite quotes is by Indira Gandhi, who said her grandfather told her there were two kinds of people in this world: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told her to be in the first group because there was less competition. Words to live by in my opinion. When you run a nonprofit organization, the “do the work” part goes without saying. And if you love the work, if it is a mission and a calling rather than just a paycheck,…
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Jul 2011Social Media and Organizational Professionalism
Post by Dania Toscano Miwa Professionalism has been completely redefined as social media, and online networks have changed the way we interact with one another. What is professional and what is personal are now much harder to distinguish. Professional/personal lines are blurred online with both friends and colleagues on professional and personal sites. (See my description on Twin Cities Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Blog, here.)