The Mission Paradox Blog

What does your organization do?

I have told you that I love Inc. magazine right?  Well here's another reason why.

In the July 2007 edition of the magazine, they have an story about how important it is for organizations to be able to simply and effectively answer this question . . .

What does your company do?

The article talks about a consulting firm that specializes in helping organization develop an "elevator speech".  A 30 second statement that helps people to understand exactly what their company does and why it is important.

Having an elevator speech is important in for-profit companies . . . it is VITAL in nonprofits.

Imagine this.  You are the Executive Director of a theatre company (note: this example applies to pretty much every nonprofit sector, but we will just use theatre here).

You are on your way to a meeting and you have bought along your Artistic Director, your Board president and one of the actors in your company.

You all step onto an elevator and you hear someone shout . . . "hold the door."

Onto the elevator steps Bill Gates.  And guess what?  The Gates Foundation just started an Arts and Culture division.

He's headed to the top of the building.  The elevator door closes.  You now have thirty seconds to get this man excited about your company.

As the ED of the company you start if off.  "Mr. Gates, I represent Theatre X, a nonprofit arts organization."

"Oh", he says . . . "and what does Theatre X do?"

The Artistic Director jumps in . . . "We do work that gives new life to old theatre classics."

The Company Actor speaks . . . "We provide opportunities for actors that are not normally given roles by other theatres."

The Board Prez . . . "We use art as a vehicle of discussion with the hope of creating social change."

The elevator hits Mr. Gates floor.  You give him a card.  He smiles politely and walks away.

Your theatre company just blew it.

How?  Because by giving that possible funder three different ideas of what your company does, all you managed to do was confuse him.

Confused people do not give money.

Let me say that again.

CONFUSED PEOPLE DO NOT GIVE MONEY.

If you can not state, with clarity and consistency what your nonprofit does, then you are making your fundraising efforts 100 times harder then it needs to be.

Need some help developing your elevator speech?  In addition to the Inc. article, read the book Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath

Nonprofits that change the world

Had lunch with a friend of mine today and in the midst of a fantastic discussion I had a bit of a revelation.

People often here me talk about issues relating to nonprofit management and wonder why I get so passionate and fired out about them.  Truth is, I often wonder about that myself.

But then it hit me.  The reason I believe so strongly in the need for well run nonprofit organizations is because I believe they are the solution to many of the challenges we face in the U.S.

Not exactly a new idea right?  Stay with me for a sec . . .

Look at it this way.  A strong, well funded nonprofit makes the world better in two ways:

1.  By addressing it's public mission (feeding the homeless, performing a play, etc.)

2.  By employing people who get to make a living serving the greater good.

I have always wondered why some people who observe the nonprofit sector, have such a problem when a nonprofit executive making a salary they consider to be "high." 

I think the reason is that some people simply can not accept the idea that a person should be able to both do work that is fulfilling and get paid well for it.

Why?  Because many people do work they hate.  Why do they do it?  Because they need the money.  Since they have to suffer, they figure you should as well.

So they create a false choice.

Do work you hate and get paid well.

Do work you love and get paid not much at all.

For many people that is how life is.  But that is not how it has to be.

So the reason I talk so loudly and proudly about the need for strong nonprofit management is that if a company makes it to that magic spot where they have employees who both love their work and love their pay, then they have made the world a better place on so many different levels.

Watching a train wreck

I admit, I have some vices.  Professional Wrestling.  A bit of online poker that sort of thing.  Last night, I found myself engaging in another bad habit, watching some trashy TV.

It was your typically "reality" show, meaning it was thirty minutes of watching fairly horrible things happen to people.  Relationship's get broken up.  Lies get told.  It is like that old "trainwreck" cliche.  You just can't look away from it sometimes.

Why can't we look away?  Because on some level, maybe on a level we don't like to admit, we find an ongoing disaster fascinating. 

That is the thought that crosses my mind every time I get a piece of direct mail from a nonprofit that talks about some organization crisis they are going through.  The letters have different words in them, but they have the same message . . . .

"Give us money ASAP, or we will have to close our doors."

It's a dramatic statement.  Sometimes, it  actually works.  But I always wonder if it works for the same reason that we love watching trainwrecks.  We see a crisis happen, we become fascinated, then we throw a few dollars at it just as way of saying . . . "thanks for the show"

The fundraising message that I have seen work in the long term is not a message of crisis . . . it's a message of supporting a huge, exciting, vision for the future.

People may give a little money to fix an organizational problem.  But they will give a whole helluva lot more to help someone accomplish a big dream.

So when you talk about your nonprofit what are you talking about . . . your crisis or your dreams?

Steal this fundraising idea

All of my best ideas are borrowed from people smarter then me, so here's a fantastic one shared with me  . . .feel free to use it.

A theatre company here in Chicago has started a Human Capital Fund.  A fund devoted solely to raising money for paying staff and other administrative costs.

What an awesome strategy.  Instead of constantly soliciting foundations for money to pay salaries, they have taken the case for salary support directly to the people they serve.

Is it working?  In terms of money raised, it is certainly a step in the right direction.  They have probably raised enough to afford an extra part time worker. 

But I think the strategy has an even greater long term benefit.  It educates your donors on the idea that administrative not only must be handled, but it is the donors that are supposed to handle them.

Will all the donors like and understand this idea?  Nope.

But some will and those donors could have tremendous long term benefit to your organization.

A love letter to a Board

I have the honor of serving on the Board of Directors of the League of Chicago Theatres (The League). 

A consultant working with The League called "one of the most engaged Board's he has ever seen".   

For the past few days I have been trying to figure how we got to the point of being a strong functioning body to see if there are lessons I could share with those of you who are trying to improve your Board of Directors.

The first point I will share is that Leadership Counts.

Like all organization's (for profit orgs, churches, government), the League Board is a reflection of its top leaders.  I can still remember my first meeting when I joined the Board.  I had a point I wanted to make on an issue, so I raised my hand and the Board President made it a point to allow me the floor for as long as I needed.

More importantly, he made it clear that he was listening to me and that my point mattered . . . even if I was new on the Board.

The respect we treat each other with on the Board, I think, comes directly from that type of leadership.

Tip:  My first piece of advice for those of you building a Board is to make sure that your best leader is your Board President.

Not your best fundraiser.

Not the nicest person on your Board.

Not the person that has been with the organization the longest.

Your best leader has to be the Board President.

Another thing that I think makes the League Board special is that all of us are (or in my case, was) an Executive Director or high ranking official in a nonprofit organization.

That means we all are intimately aware of what happens when a Board of Directors isn't supporting their company and I think that awareness makes us all more accountable.

Recently, I felt like my performance on a task I had been given wasn't up to par.  I called the League Executive Director to apologize for not "getting the job done" at a high enough level.

Now technically, I don't need to apologize to the ED for anything.  Technically, I'm his boss (or one of his bosses).

But I'm also a former ED myself and I know how it feels to have a Board member not accomplish something.  So my apology was my way of letting my ED know that I was aware that I had missed the mark and I would try even harder next time to be successful.

Tip:  When building your Board, don't just focuses on finding members with some previous Board experience.  Consider bringing on a person or two who has actually worked for a nonprofit organization.  That way you will have a person in the Board room who understands how life really easy for a nonprofit manager and can communicate that knowledge to your Board.

Building the type of engaged, resourceful Board, nonprofits dream of IS possible.  I know this because I have seen it with my own eyes.  The League Board isn't perfect of course.  We have made our mistakes (a whole bunch of them).  But I think we do demonstrate the idea that a group of people can come together and make an organization better.

The power of info demonstrated

A personal example . . .

I have owned my Chicago condo for about a year.  During my first year of ownership, the property taxes on my unit were payed  by my developer, making this the first year I would be personally responsible for the taxes.

This fact had pretty much slipped my mind until I read in a weekly Chicago newspaper that not only were property tax bills coming out in August, but that they would be three to four times higher then last years taxes!

Leaving aside for a moment my shock at the tax increase, let's consider a few other things. 

This highly relevant bit of information to all property owners in Chicago was on page 6 of a weekly newspaper.

Page 6.

Weekly paper.

Not the front page of one of Chicago's three or four daily newspapers.

But page 6 of a weekly.

So imagine the situation I would be setting myself up for if I had not been looking for information at that particular moment.  Even if I had somehow remembered that my tax bill was due this August, how on Earth would I have guessed the bill would be substantially higher?

Alright, what on Earth does any of this have to do with you? 

There is a reason you have to be as well informed about the nonprofit sector in general and your field in particular.

Because sometimes, the information that could really improve your nonprofit's performance will be slightly hidden from you.

It could be something you read in a blog post.

It might be a little snippet in the back page of a paper.

You never know where you might find information that could make your life as a nonprofit manager a little easier.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go handle a property tax bill . . .

The power of info . . .

For those of you reading this in the Chicago area, here is an excellent report measuring the economic impact of the arts in Chicago courtesy of the Illinois Arts Alliance.

For those of you NOT from Chicago, a quick thought on how important having information (like the impact report above) really is.

One of the great things about nonprofit organizations is that vital information such as finances, fundraising sources, Board of Directors list, etc. is a matter of public record.  You can find this sort of stuff on many organization's websites, or through one of my favorite websites, Guidestar.

Having information on your nonprofit competitors allows you to make accurate comparison's between organizations.

For example, let's say in a given year your nonprofit raises $100,000 from individual donors.  It's the most you have ever raised from individuals, which leads to much celebration and back slapping.

But what if you do a little research into your three closest competitors and you find out they raises over $300,000 from individual donors?

Is there still cause for celebration in your organization?  Certainly!

Now you also know that you have a long way to go before your individual fundraising efforts are equal or stronger then your rivals.

Look at it this way, the type of information most nonprofits have available is the type of info for-profit organizations would lie, cheat and steal to have access too!

So do a little research . . . it will pay huge dividends in the long run.

Don't act more like a business

Here's an excellent post from the Artful Manager blog about why nonprofits should NOT operate like a business