Online Donations and Payments

I've been telling audiences for a long time that they need to have an online option for donations, and for selling other goods and services. Most ED's recoil, remembering the days when setting up a credit card payment stream was difficult and very, very expensive.

No more, and Wild Apricot, one of my favorite blogs, has broken down the great options, whether from Google, Amazon or other online payment processors. Here's a terrific post on online payment options, and then a second one on Amazon's new program for nonprofits.

Finally, a big shout out to the nonprofits who made the list of the Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100, particularly Goodwill Industries International, on whose board I sit. Goodwill came in at #5 on Cone's list, but being on the list at all is a big, big deal.

Good work!

Listening to your customers (and line staff) in a recession

Here's a GREAT article that, on the surface, has nothing to do with nonprofits, but in reality has everything to do with how your organization deals with the new economy.

It's from the New York Times and discusses how big retailers are shifting strategy in the recession.

I know, I know, who cares, right? OK, trust me, read the article. You'll see these organizations listening to line staff (something they should have been doing for years) making small changes that appeal to customers (the anecdote about dress demand in Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City), or reducing "seasons" since people are buying what they need now, and not buying ahead. Small changes that make a big difference.

The other issue from this article to remember is that the stores are making long put off changes since they assume that, even when the recession is over, the new normal will not be like the old normal.

Good thinking.

Building better websites

Regular readers know that I continue to push nonprofits on the fact that more and more people (and certainly EVERYONE under 35) will check your organization out (whether for donations, volunteer opportunities, job openings or actual service) online first and, perhaps, only.

Thus a key to nonprofit success is a great website. But where to start?

TechSoup (again) to the rescue. Here's a great article on Designing or Redesigning an Great Nonprofit Website.

Every nonprofit manager should read this, and then look at your own website!

Hidden in the new 990...

I had an interesting week, both professionally and in terms of travel. It started with a fun day in Hartford, sponsored by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. We began with a meeting in the morning with a large group of nonprofits, and followed that with an afternoon session for capacity builders. We talked about Mission-Based Management in Difficult Times at both sessions. Great questions and a large number of follow-up emails, which I always enjoy.

Oh, if you are the person who emailed me from the room in Hartford itself--my email crashed at the airport and I lost my inbox (actually two YEARS worth of inbox!). So, it's not that I'm ignoring you, it's that I don't have your email--shoot me another one and I'll get back to you.

Friday I was in Dallas, for a second go round with the American Dietetic Association's annual Leadership Development Conference, talking about Generations. Again, enthusiastic people and fun questions.

Speaking of follow-up questions, I got one yesterday that led me to something we all need to remember-that the new IRS 990 form is not just about the form. It also requires some updating of many nonprofits' management and governance practices. Here's a great article on that topic. If you wait to get at these issues until you are filling in the form at the last minute, you may have some problems.
Check soon.

Enterprise--social benefit-win-win-win

Now, THIS is a good idea for companies in slow times. Check it out and see if you can talk some companies in your town into picking this up. Perhaps feed it to the Chamber of Commerce?

http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/sanbernardinocounty/ci_12542852

Good day, good ideas

I had a terrific day Wednesday at Aldelphi University's Long Island Center for Nonprofit Leadership's Nonprofit Summit. Not only did I get to again hear Kim Klein (always a treat), I had fun in two different sessions with participants, and got to visit with some old friends as well as make some new ones.

One theme (starting with Kim's opening address titled, "The Best Of Times") that I completely agree with is that the current economic downturn is an incredible opportunity for nonprofit leadership to reshape our organizations to be stronger when the recession ends. This is so, so true, if we think strategically, and not simply about the day to day problems we have. I know that's easier said than done, but it's still true.

Many thanks to everyone at the Center, but particularly to Ann Marie, Peter, Cathy and Gina. You made my time there very easy and enjoyable.

Nonprofit Innovation

I'm involved with a very cool project on nonprofit innovation through the Kellogg Action Lab. I'll be posting in the coming months on what our work produces so that as many people as possible can share and benefit from it.

Our rules are pretty straightforward. First, we want to build a set of innovation engines that are replicable, scalable and usable in a variety of environments.

Second, none of the ideas (or innovation engines) that come through our project will need attribution--they will be open source and free to everyone.

Third, we're going to use the best in crowdsourcing to generate more innovation. This, to us, means at the local organization, community and national level.

Fourth, we don't care where the ideas come from: from the nonprofit world, the business community, students, private citizens. It doesn't matter.

The problems nonprofits face are hard ones to solve, so we need as many neurons as possible on the job to come up with new ideas and new approaches.

In related information, take a look at this article from on Lessons from Nonprofits on Innovation, then spend some time reading this article on crowdsourcing high end solutions from Wired. The first makes me happy to see someone acknowledge the innovation in our field, and has some good rules for all of us to follow. The second is flat awesome, with LOTS of lessons on the wisdom of crowds.

Expect more on innovation here soon, and often.

Lest we forget

It's a beautiful morning here at Smith Mountain Lake in rural Virginia, quiet, a bit cloudy and I'm watching the lake "wake up" as the fishermen give way to the jet skis and runabouts on a busy holiday weekend.

It's easy to just go on with our lives and forget those who do, and who have, served us so well. And we should never forget. So, two things.

First, today's highlighted nonprofit is the Wounded Warrior Project. A terrific program started a few years back to fill the (inexcusable) holes in care for our vets. Great, great stuff and worth your support.

Second, if you don't already, start doing this, and not just today: when you see someone in uniform, walk up and say thanks. They appreciate it more than you know.

If you only have time to read two books this summer...

Traditionally in May I see lots of lists of summer reading in Newsweek, Business Week, Wired, the New York Times, etc. It seems that many serial authors (as in authors who release one book a year) do it either for the summer or during the holiday shopping period in the fall. So, I'll browse through the lists, see if there's new stuff from authors I know, or highly lauded new authors that I might want to try.

This includes, for me, fiction and non-fiction, since I try to read both in about equal amounts. Regular readers know I ran a book club for CEO's and one for Emerging Leaders for years and recommend such clubs highly as methods of personal growth as well as organizational leadership development and improvement.

We all know that, of all the summers of the past few years, nonprofit staff have less time than ever to read; we've cut back employees and are scrambling to fill funding holes. But even in a financial crisis, we need to be thinking about new ways of doing things, of methods to improve employee morale, of how to grow our next generation of leaders.

So, of the more than 50 management/leadership books I've read in the past three years I want to give you a short summer reading list. One book is for you, and one for your organization. They are both from proven authors who have a long, long reading list if you like the book listed here.

For Your Organization: The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, by Pat Lencioni
This book is a business fable (like all of Lencioni's work) and thus an easy read, even for people on your team who don't like books, or are severely time limited. There is more organizational improvement wisdom here in than in most other books ten times the length. Actually, if you only read one book this summer, make this the one.

For You: If you are a Senior Leader (CEO/COO, VP): Developing the Leaders Around You
If you are an Emerging Leader: Developing the Leader Within You
both by John Maxwell. All of Maxwell's books are excellent, with good writing, well thought out examples and diagrams, and good solid leadership philosophy behind them.

Enjoy your reading, and if you have other books you'd like to share with nonprofit leaders here, post a comment.

Mission-Based Management 3.0

In early March, I sent the text for the third edition of Mission-Based Management to John Wiley & Sons. If all goes well, the new edition will be out in the fall. I'm really pleased about the new content. In addition to updated stories, examples, and bringing the book up to speed for 2009 and beyond, I made two major changes in the theory of the book.

The first change was to add a tenth criterion to my Characteristics of Successful Nonprofits. Readers of either of the first two editions will remember that these characteristics laid the foundation for the rest of the book. The new characteristic, listed second after "A Viable Mission" is "Ethical, Accountable and Transparent". In the chapter on this subject I talk about not only the expectation for transparency and high values, but also how ethics, accountability and transparency begin inside the organization, between staff, between volunteers and between staff and volunteers. Placing this second after Mission, and before characteristics dealing with board, staff, marketing, technology, controls, strategy or finance, is intended to emphasize the importance of these issues in today's nonprofits. As I say in the book,

"The mission is why you do what you do. Your values are how you do it."

The second change is to ramp up the chapter on technology, and not just the content to catch up to changes since the Second Edition. Rather, I try to convey my deeply held belief that the future of philanthropy is in the successful merging of technology and mission. Thus, instead of just getting better at tech, instead of accepting that tech is here to stay, I labeled this characteristic

"Embracing Technology for Mission." And, that's what its going to take.

More on both of these issues in future posts, and I'll be previewing the entire book in posts starting around Labor Day.

Speaking of holidays, if you are here in the US, enjoy yours and remember those who have, and do, serve us so well.

A great idea worth our support

It's been far, far too long since my last post, but I've been on the road, making up for 3 weeks in Australia and New Zealand. Since the end of March, I've been in Texas, Montana, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia doing presentations on Marketing, Generation change and, predictably, Mission-Based Management in Difficult Financial Times.

I read people's attitude about the recession and their nonprofit as very concerned but not terrified, as they were in January. I can't tell if this is because the talking heads on TV are working so hard to find a light at the end of the tunnel, or simply because the severe downward spiral seems to have slowed.

What nonprofit managers are in constant need of, however, is good people, for their boards, their staff and their volunteers. I'm going to start a series on finding and retaining good people here over the next few weeks, interspersed with other postings, as I get back on a more regular schedule.

Let's start with a biggie. Jobs for Change "seeks to spark a nationwide movement toward careers in the nonprofit, government, and social enterprise sectors." This is a project of Change.org, and no matter what your political affiliation, deserves a look and careful consideration. There are hundreds of job listings in the nonprofit sector, some good advice for people who are interested in working in our sector, and the cost of listing a job is currently free and will eventually be less than Monster.com.

The site is currently in beta, so check it out and post any ideas you might have on how to make it better. Having a place where the best and brightest can find a way to work for the common good is awesome, and I wish them huge success.

Great new information on what makes a good website for donations

Here's some great material from Jakob Nielson's Alertbox on
Donor Usability on your website. A must read for anyone who is seeking to increase online donations...and who isn't?

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/nonprofit-donations.html

Australian Nonprofits

Had two great days with small groups of nonprofit staff in both Melbourne and Sydney, under the auspices of the Not-For-Profit Network. Thanks to both Glen Ramos and Steve Bowman for all their help with the logistics.

The people were predictably great, and their stories fascinating. In general, Australia has not suffered as bad an economic spin as the US and Europe, although today it was announced that the AUS unemployment rate was at a 4 year high....still nothing like our 20 year high in the U.S.

One significant difference here is that nonprofits here hardly ever require their board members to do any significant fund raising (good for them). Other than that, their issues sound surprisingly familiar.

So, Chris and I are off tomorrow to Auckland to see our daughter for 10 days. Our sons will arrive Saturday. It will be good to be together.

Heading out....

My wife and I are off today to New Zealand to see our daughter who is doing a semester abroad in Auckland. I'll be mixing work and fun, doing two gigs in Australia and one in Auckland during our time in Oceania. My sessions are being sponsored by the Not-For-Profit Network, based in Australia.

I'm really looking forward (professionally) to meet nonprofit staff and board members from both countries and to hear their stories and challenges.

Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Caitlin, and to having her brothers down with us as well. It will be a fun time, just being together. And, I've never known anyone who traveled to NZ or AUS who didn't both love the people in both countries and have amazing stories to tell.

At least some of mine I'll share here.

What to do now, Part V

This is the final post in a five part series on What to do now? as our economic crisis deepens. You can see Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV if you need to catch up.

In this final post, we'll look at a list of leadership questions. As the leader of your organization in a crisis, you have to make sure you're doing the best possible job of leading, not just being there. Here's my leadership checklist.

1. Am I asking the hard questions?
You need to be asking questions such as these: "Am I looking at all possibilities, even those I don't want to contemplate, such as merger, closing a program, laying off staff? Am I questioning things that have been assumed for years, like our business model, or if there's another nonprofit that can do what we do better in this situation?" These are hard, hard questions, but in a crisis, everything is on the table to keep producing mission.

2. Do I have the information I need?
Probably not enough of it, or as much as you would like.....and here's the rub: you need to share information, ask everyone their opinion (see below) but then it's your job to decide--remember in the last posting I said you needed "drop dead dates" after which you act? Well, waiting for "just a little more information" is often the death of organizations in crisis. Get as much information and input as you can, but on deadline day--decide.

3. Am I sharing information widely?
John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco has this great line---"No one of us is as smart as all of us." While I cautioned you earlier to only share what you KNOW, not what you THINK, getting as much input into your key decisions as possible will only help. Don't take all the responsibility on yourself. Ask for others' ideas.

4. If staff take a pay cut, am I taking a bigger one?
In some cases, you may go to staff and ask for everyone to take a 5 or 10 or 15% pay cut to save jobs. If that happens (and it's really tricky) and you possibly can, take a bigger cut yourself. I know everyone is in a different place financially, but the leadership value of this is unbelievable. And here's the best part: Don't tell anyone. Why? In most organizations, they'll figure it out. And if they don't you'll know what you did, and it will help assuage the guilt most ED's feel when they ask people who are already probably underpaid to take even less. Think about this.

5. Am I putting mission first?
As I said when we started this series, surviving a financial crisis is not about having the least change, the lowest job loss, the smallest disruption...it's about providing the most high quality mission possible AND coming out of the other end of the crisis in the best shape possible to continue doing that. I often hear boards or ED's say---"No matter what, we don't want layoffs". Well, neither do I, but if 80% of your expenses are related to your staff......

Mission first. Use it as your beacon, your rallying cry, your ultimate metric.

6. Am I listening to everyone?
Remember John Chambers, and then remember this: There's a big difference between listening and waiting your turn to talk. Get out among your staff, let them have opportunities to talk, share, ask questions, and focus on them. Don't be checking your crackberry, or gazing off into space. Listen. They need that now, and guess what? You might hear a great idea!

7. Am I taking care of the leader?
It's really easy to stop exercising, or eating right, or sleeping at night. Although it may seem egotistical and self-centered in a crisis--you have to take care of you. That's a decision that can save your mission--so schedule you time, however it works the best. For me, in the two horrible financial upheavals I've gone through, what helped me was always one of two things-going for a run and being able to clear my head, or spending time with my kids, and having to focus on them. What works for you?

Use this checklist as you work your organization through the coming months. It will help you make sure you're doing the best you can in a tough, tough time.

Are you Visible and Transparent?

In tough times, more and more nonprofits are trying to raise funds from new sources, from old sources, from any sources. And, since so many people are in "wait and see" mode, your organization has to remain visible to them day in and day out. That way, when the do decide to get back into donation mode, you'll be top of mind.

Of course, when any donor looks at you, you want to have nothing to hide. You need to be as transparent as possible....letting people see you fully, and in the best possible light. It's kind of like having company--you want people over to your house, but you also want to straighten up a bit before they arrive.

This month's Mission-Based Management Newsletter is about Visibility and Transparency. Take a look for some ideas.

Tomorrow, we'll talk about the Leadership Checklist in the fifth installment of our series on What to do Now?"

What to do now, Part IV

In the last post of this series, (Part III) we looked at strategic responses to difficult financial times. In this posting, I'll go over some tactical actions you can take.

Most readers will say "FINALLY!" since we all want to start with tactics in a crisis. As managers, CEOs, Executive Directors or board members, we want to fix stuff and fix it now. But, as we noted in the first three parts of this series, you have to stop, breath, think through your strategy first.

That was then...and this is now, so let's talk tactics. Here are my things to consider doing once your strategy is in place.

1. Form a task force of board, staff, and even an outsider or two that is charged with thinking through the crisis. This group is formed now (not earlier) since the strategy evaluation should be done by the entire board.

2. Run cash flow projections every week. I'm assuming you're taking a (perhaps big) financial hit. Cash=Oxygen. Run a six month cash flow projection (Receipts versus disbursements) on a two week basis revised every week. So, if you do this on a spreadsheet, you'd have two columns for each month (May 15, May 31, June 15, June 30) and lines for every kind of receipt and every kind of disbursement. At the bottom, you'd have a running "cash on hand" total. I understand that the further out you get in time the less accurate the cash on hand will be, but what you're looking for here is trends and early warnings. In terms of tactics, this is the single most important tool you'll have. Do this.

3. Inform the staff, board and service recipients early and often. Communications is key in a crisis. Tell people as much as you can as early as you can, but only what you KNOW, not what you THINK, fear, or have heard through the grapevine. Facts, not conjecture. If you say "Well, we don't want to, but there's a small possibility that we may have to cut salaries or staff down the road" in an effort to be upfront with your employees, what staff will hear is "WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE FIRED TOMORROW!!!!"

The rumor curve is your worst enemy. Just the facts. ma'am.

4. Read your contracts. Actually, have the task force ALL read ALL your contracts. Find out what your lease says, your funding obligations are, etc. Know where you are flexible and where you aren't. Can you cut your lease or if you do is there a big penalty? What if you end one program that is city funded....does that impact funding for a second program?

5. Develop best-case, worst-case, middle-case scenarios. And be conservative.

If the best case shows you need to cut staff or programs now, do it. Now.

In bad situations you have to have deadlines (commonly called "drop-dead date"--a terrible term, but there it is) that are something like "If we don't have a check from funder x by this date, then ____ happens." As you develop these, you have to stick to them---and that's hard. We all want just a bit more time, a little more information. But waiting will only make things worse.

Trust me-I've been in this situation and waited far, far too long.

6. If layoffs are contemplated, check state labor laws. If you are like most nonprofits, with more than 80% of your costs related to staff, some cutbacks, either in FTE's or salaries, are probably inevitable. Thus, you want to know what your limitations are, and what's the best practice in the areas of layoffs, or salary cutbacks. Remember: while "white-collar" workers may be able to take a % cut, you can't cut a minimum wage (or living wage) worker's pay.

7. Communicate your plans with vendors and creditors. Once you have a plan, let the people you owe, and the people who sell you things (landlords, office supply firms, banks) know your plans. If you have to stretch payments, let them know, but....let them know. ANY creditor would rather hear that you are going to pay something every month (even if its much less) than not hear anything at all. Communicate. Let them know you have a plan.

8. Lead optimistically. I know you're concerned, scared, terrified, exhausted and probably all of those emotions at least ten times per hour. But you have to lead now. And, leading optimistically does not mean being a Pollyanna. Telling staff:

"I know this is scary. I'm scared too. But I believe in our team, I believe in our mission, I believe in all of you and we're going to get through this the best way possible." ,

is not Pollyanna. And, be around to talk to staff, out where they are. Don't hide behind your open door policy. Let them see you, talk to you. You're the icon now, so lead from the front.

Speaking of leaders, in our final post on this topic, I'll give you a leadership checklist.

Taking Credit cards online

Here's a copy of the most recent TechSoup email on Nonprofit New Year's Resolutions--the entire series is great. Regular readers, and anyone in my presentations know I tell everyone to get online for donations with credit cards and PayPal.

Here's the skivvy from Techsoup.

#4 in a series of 7: TechSoup's special series of Nonprofit New Year's Resolutions continues with another common challenge and a technology solution. Since many of you are making commitments to go green in 2009, we're including simple ways to be more environmentally-conscious without breaking your budget.

Share with a friend

Boost Donations by Accepting Credit Cards

When someone calls your nonprofit, signs up at your conference, or stops by your charity event, do you make it easy for them to donate?

Your nonprofit or public library might think it can't accept credit card payments because of the cost. Or, you might be confused by all of your options for credit card processing, especially for donations that happen in-person or over the phone. Thanks to a generous discount from NPC, however, credit card processing is now within your reach and TechSoup also has articles to help you.

When you place a request at TechSoup, your organization can access discounted rates on credit card processing hardware and services from NPC. There are no monthly minimum transaction fees and you can freeze and re-start your service from month to month, a great benefit for minimizing your service costs. Your organization can also rent (at reduced rates) or purchase (at wholesale costs) card readers for in-person transactions.

Combined with your other fundraising efforts, this discounted offering from NPC could be just what your organization needs to attract new donors and more contributions this year.

DISCOUNTED PRODUCT TO HELP YOU: For a $30 admin fee, eligible nonprofits and public libraries can access NPC's reduced rates -- on both processing services and equipment -- only available through TechSoup. (Eligibility details)

GREEN BENEFIT: Holding a large fundraising event, while fun, uses many natural resources: electricity to light the banquet hall, gas for everyone to get there, and water to wash all those dishes. Make fundraising easier for you and the environment by scaling back on big events and letting donations come to you in the form of credit card contributions. Find additional tools and tips for greening your nonprofit through TechSoup's GreenTech Initiative.

LEARN MORE AT TECHSOUP: Learn more about your options by reading TechSoup's articles A Few Good Methods for Processing Credit Cards and Getting the Best Prices for Processing Credit Cards.

What to do now, Part III

Last time, in What To Do Now Part II, we looked at strategic questions to financial (or other) crisis, and in this post, we'll look at some strategic responses. In Part IV, we'll deal with tactics.

To refresh our discussion--you have to start with strategy in any crisis. Stop, breath, think. Then, and only then, do. And in doing, start with the big issues, the big questions. I know you want to get down in the weeds and fix stuff....but strategy first. Here are some actions to begin with:

1. Review your mission and organizational values. What do these core guiding documents have to tell you about your path from here? Going back to mission, reminding everyone of what the point is, that's the place to start.

2. Review your strategic plan. What does it say about priorities, SWOT, etc.? Use the tools you've already developed. It will help you avoid knee-jerk responses.

3. Review your marketing plan. Who are your priority service recipients, your most important funders, your key donors? Again, this tool should tell you.

4. Talk to peer organizations. Are there group responses to your cuts that are appropriate or useful at this point? And, what are other groups doing to cope?

5. Talk to your state trade association or association of nonprofits if you have one. Again, what are other organizations trying to weather this storm.

6. Big question once those are answered: Given what you know, and what you predict, is there a need for long-term, strategic restructuring? This might mean casting off services (hopefully to another organization), or partnerships, or sub-contracting certain functions (payroll, HR) out, or even partial or full merger. Now is the time to start thinking about this, or to revisit it if you've considered it before. A crisis motivates boards and staff to do things that have been put on hold in the past.

Remember, mission, mission, mission. The point of any actions to take has to be to do as much high quality mission for as many people for as long as you can.

In Part IV, we'll talk tactics, and then in Part V look at a leadership checklist.

Hang in there.

Good website challenge

Here's a great idea that can be used locally everywhere if you can find a local tech funder for the challenge.

GREAT idea!

http://www.pitchengine.com/nonprofitconversation/can-nerds-help-nonprofits--sierra-bravo-shows-nonprofit-conversation-how/4196/