The Mission Paradox Blog

By any means necessary?

In this 1/29 Chicago Tribune article, they talk about The Roundabout Theatre and their aggressive approach to programming and raising funds for their nonprofit theatre.  The article focuses on their current production of "Twelve Angry Men."

Roundabout's Artistic Director Todd Haimes says this:

"I'd do anything within reason to generate money for our theatre.  And as long as it goes back to our nonprofit purposes, I sleep well at night."

I love the philosophy for two reasons.

1.  It comes from the Artistic Director and it is relatively rare to hear the Artistic head of an organization talk so candidly about doing whatever it takes to keep his company financially strong.

2.  The philosophy is AGGRESSIVE!  I love it when a nonprofit makes it clear that they are here to bring in some major money.  I love it even more when they are willing to take some unusual steps (such as Roundabout's willingness to individually fund a commercial theatre production) in order to raise money!

Maybe Roundabout's approach wouldn't work for everybody, but you have to respect their style of thinking.

The Grass Really Isn't Greener

One of the nicest parts of my work in the nonprofit field is that I get to interact with all sizes of organizations.  Some days I am talking to an ED with a multi-million dollar budget, the next I am working with someone who has less then $50,000 in a year.

The biggest lesson I take from these interactions is this one . . .

The challenges never change.

Both the large company and the small one is struggling with building an engaged board.  They both are trying to diversify their funding sources.  Of course the scope and scale of their problems are far different, but the challenges still remain.

The one thing that does often change, is the environment in which these challenges take place!

Look at it like this . . .

Let's say you are trying to walk three miles to work.

That walk, year after year, is the same.

But what changes (all the time in Chicago) is the environment you are walking in.  In this case, the environment is the weather.

Walking in 20 below weather is far different then walking when it is over 90 degrees outside.  You need to dress differently, plan your route differently, etc.

Often, we in the nonprofit field are very good at understanding the challenges we face.

Where we struggle is in our ability to understand and adapt to the environment we are in.

Some of us are walking around like it's sunny outside and it is actually FREEZING out there!

The reality is that the small, midsized or large nonprofits may be operating in entirely different environment.

So here are the questions . . .

How well do you understand the world are you in?

How often do you walk away from your desk and the people who are constantly reminding you how hard everything is?

How often do you interact with people who help you to change your perspective and see your problem differently?

The Beyonce Syndrome and Board Members

I have a disease, and I would wager many of you do as well.

Ask a typical nonprofit CEO what he or she is looking for in a Board Member and you always hear they need to be  . . .

Resourceful (a nice word for rich)

Committed to your mission

Access to wealth (meaning they need to be rich AND have rich friends)

Engaged (meaning they should come to meetings, special events and be involved with the company . . . without being too intrusive)

Smart

Able to easily adapt

You get the idea.

Here's the two questions nonprofit executives have to ask themselves when it comes to these ideal Board members .  . .

1.  Do these people even EXIST?

2.  And if they do . . . why on earth would they want to join your Board?

Here's where Beyonce comes in.  If someone asked me who my ideal woman is, she would end up looking a lot like Beyonce . . .

Beautiful

Wealthy

Talented

Intelligent

But here's the thing, there is only ONE Beyonce in the whole world!

And assuming she would even want a professor/lawyer/nonprofit consultant that makes in a year what she makes in a good week . . .

SHE IS ALREADY TAKEN by Shawn Carter (better known as rap star Jay-Z for those of you not informed).

What if it was possible to build a powerful nonprofit without a whole bunch of rich people on the Board?

You may think it isn't.

But what if it was?

How would that change how nonprofits are built?

Coming on Feb. 23rd, the Corporate Sponsorship Workshop

It's going to be a good event.  Three hours of engaging conversation about attracting all type of corporate support, from cash to Board members.  It's still almost four weeks away and some of the spots are already filled.  If you want to learn more, click here

www.squidoo.com/paradoxseminars

The Truth About Nonprofit Branding

I get a phone call from a friend that runs a non-profit.  She wants help creating a brand for her organization.

I remind her of what she already knows, that a brand is just a feeling people have when they hear about your company.  So really, every company already has a brand.

"But when people hear about my company they don't think of anything" she said.

Well then that is her brand.  Brand Nothing.

This only seems like bad news.

It is often easier to create awareness of a brand then to change the public perception of a brand.

Why Mission Paradox Exists

To prevent this from happening to you

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/51104

Welcome To The Mission Paradox Blog

Here's my technology Paradox. . .

I am not a big fan of technology (I was forced by a former Board of Directors to get a cell phone), but I have decided to start a blog.

Why?  Because it seems to be an effective way of having an interesting, exciting and (hopefully) useful conversation about how to build a powerful nonprofit organization.

So here's my promise, everytime you journey to this blog I will try to post something that gets your brain humming.  You may agree with you, you may passionately disagree, but either way you will be thinking.

If you enjoy the dialouge we have on this post, then spread the word.  If not, then this blog will fade away into nothing-ness, never to be seen again.

So let's get this thing going . . .