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Survive and Thrive

Presented by

The Center Advancement Committee

Surviving and Thriving Requires:

Assessing your organization

Thoughtful planning/ Focusing on a manageable number of priorities

Sustainable funding

Leadership

“Like people and plants, organizations have a life cycle”

John W. Gardner

The 5 Life Stages – Where You Are, Where You’re Going, and What to Expect When You Get There

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Seven Arenas of Nonprofit Organizational Life

Board/Governance

Programs

Staff Leadership

Financing/Funding

Administrative Systems

Staffing

PR/Marketing

Let’s add one: Facilities/Physical Plant

Stage One: Imagine and Inspire

Can this dream be realized?

Characterized by:

Enthusiasm

Energy

Creativity

Stage Two: Found and Frame

How are we going

to pull this off???

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Stage Three: Ground and GrowHow can we build this to be a viable business?

Stage Four: Produce and SustainHow can the momentum be sustained?

Stage Five: Review and RenewWhat do we need to redesign?

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Decline and Dissolution

OR….Sustainability

The Nonprofit Life Stage Assessment No right or wrong place to be

Important to know where you are; to know that you are NORMAL

Can apply age appropriate behavior

Key is what you do with the information

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What needs to happen to move from one stage to the next?

Transition ideas

– in your key arenas

Need strategies/

decisions

Thoughtful planning

Strategic Planning

Process

Set priorities

Get buy-in

Stay focused

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Strategic Planning Five Steps to Develop a Strategic Plan

Step One: Get Organized

Note why you are planning and any new concerns

Select a steering group or person to keep planning on track

Determine if outside help is needed

Outline the planning process that fits your organization

Get Commitment to proceed

Step Two: Take Stock

Pull together necessary background information

Review your nonprofit’s past, present and futureSWOT Analysis

Identify key issues or choices

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Step Three: Get Direction

Develop a vision of your organization’s future Critical issues approach

Scenario approach

Goals Approach

Alignment Approach

Determine how to move your organization toward this future

Develop first draft of the plan

Critical Issues Approach

Identify critical issues and put in a logical order with the most fundamental issues discussed first

Address each issue, building a clearer vision of your organizations’ future

Incorporate this vision into your plan

Scenario Approach

Develop several alternative visions or pictures of what your organization might look like in the future

Evaluate the scenarios

Select the preferred scenario

Incorporate this into your strategic plan

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Goals Approach

Set strategic goals or guidelines

Develop strategies and plans to achieve goals

Incorporate these goals/strategies into your plan

Alignment Approach

Outline current plans- get parts of your organization working in sync to accomplish your mission

Identify what’s working well and what needs to be adjusted

Determine how needed adjustments can be made

Incorporate this into your plan

Step Four: Refine and Adopt the Plan

Review and refine the plan

Adopt the plan

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Step Five: Implement the Plan

Implement the plan

Monitor Progress

Make Adjustments

Periodically update the plan

Focus on a manageable number of priorities

It is important not to try and do too much as an organization

Focus on your strong areas, get them self-sustaining and then expand

Say no to growth or plan for careful growth

Make careful choices; evaluate new ideas

“If you don’t know what you’re doing,

don’t do it all at once”.Unknown

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Identifying goals/strategies

What are the most critical arenas that need to move to the next stage?

What are your goals for these arenas? Programs: Inconsistent quality? Increase rider

numbers? Volunteer retention 50% or lower?

Financing: Funding coming from only one source? Cash flow a problem?

Action Plan Worksheet What is your priority arena focus?

List organizational strategies/goals

List possible action steps

Sustainable Funding

Budgeting

Resource Allocation

Fundraising/resource buildingBuilding relationships

Different types of fundraising for different needs

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Budgeting How to get beyond cash flow

Budget conservatively –

under-estimate income &

over-estimate expenses

Budget for contingency/reserves –

3 months savings account

Budget Projections – Monthly review

Resource Allocation

Thoughtful assessment of the cost versus the benefit for any project or goal

Not just dollars, in-kind resources and “soft”costs Stuff Staff Time

Handout

Fundraising/Resource Building It’s about building relationships

The critical nature of listening

Identifying the WIIFM for the donor/volunteer/ board/rider families

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Finding the right funding source for the identified need results from building relationships with:Staff

Board

Volunteers

Rider families

Donors

Media

The community

Brainstorm Activity

Get into groups Who do you have relationships with? Who is missing? Share stories of successful relationship

building Who do you need to further your goals? What do they need?

Sustainable fundraising Choose the right type of fundraising based

on available resources and identified needs

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Event Fundraising

ProsCan reach wide audience – friend makerGood way to build corporate support –offer

strong name visibility & attached to worthwhile cause

Generate excitement & public awareness within community

Strong volunteer involvement

Event Fundraising

Cons Expenses can be high

Labor intensive

Can take focus away from program

Event donors are not necessarily mission driven

Initial income can be difficult to budget

Event FundraisingMeets needs of Primary – General Operating

Secondary – Capital, Facility and Scholarship

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Individual FundraisingPros: Provides base for growth

Most will have strong commitment to mission

Provide networking opportunities to corporate and foundation support

Good source for new Trustee identification & development

Cost effective

Individual Fundraising

Cons: Cultivation can be slow before

results are felt

Heavy use of staff time

Potential for personality driven conflicts

Individual Fundraising

Meets needs of: Primary - General Operating

Secondary - Capital & Facility, Program, Endowment, Scholarship

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Foundation Support

Pros:Provides necessary diversification of funding

support

Good indicator of organization’s health and clarity of mission

Good source of funding for targeted needs

Foundation Support

Cons: More rejects than acceptances Cultivation can be slow before results are

received Not long term, need to be rolled over on

regular basis Few will support capital projects or

endowment

Foundation Support

Meets needs of: Primary - Program & Scholarship

Secondary - General Operating, Capital & Facility, Endowment

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Corporate Support

Pros: Primary source for event funding

Provides necessary diversification in funding support

Provides recognition of organization’s value to community

Outreach to executives can lead to individual donor cultivation

Through employee programs and networking can be good source of list building

Corporate Support

Cons: Funding can be discontinued with little

warning

Not good for long term planning

Corporate Support

Meets needs of:Primary - General Operating & Scholarship

Secondary - Program, Capital & Facility

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US Giving Statistics

75% Individuals

12% Foundations

8% Bequests

5% Corporations

Reference: Guidestar

Defining Leadership

“True leadership exists only if people follow when they have the freedom not to.”

-Jim Collins, “From Good to Great”

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”

- Warren Bennis

So what skills are needed to be a strong leader??

Communication-receptive and expressive

Coaching-builds a team

Delegation-makes others powerful, responsible

Empowers others

Encourages passion, not fear

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Leadership: An Art of Possibility

“Give people the possibility to live in to not the expectation to

live up to.”

“Radiate Possibilities”

-Ben and Rosamund Zander

Communication

It’s OK not to have all the answers

It’s good to ask questions Ask open/probing questions that will give you

deeper answers

Engage people in finding the answers

Listen

“Communication is the exchange of information between individuals by means of speaking, writing, or using a common system of signs or behavior.“

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Communication Climate

The tone of communication is based on how comfortable members feel with one another and with the organization.

Supportive communication

- conveys assistance

- arouses feelings that reduce defensiveness

- determined by the degree that people see themselves valued

Supportive versus Defensive Communication

Descriptive vs. EvaluativeProblem Oriented vs. ControllingSpontaneous vs. StrategicEmpathetic vs. NeutralEqual vs. SuperiorProvisional vs. Certain

Communication

Internal communication keeps energy up and builds consensusFundamental to teambuilding

Clarifies roles

Agreed upon on “course and speed”

Accountability

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Communication

External Communication builds support, while recruiting and retaining:

Volunteers

Supporters

Donor base

Your sanity!!!

Communication

Don’t forget to listen!

Communication is a two way activity

Accept compliments graciously; don’t go fishing!

When listening to complaints Keep your cool

Listen with empathy

Take action

Bring to a polite close

Coaching

Define Project and Goals

What is the impact on the Organization

Team work with positive reinforcement

Build on work to set next plan of action

Support, Assess and Evaluate

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Delegation is a form of leverage:

Human resources

Financial resources

Time

Delegation Ripple Effect

You MUST

Others COULD

Others SHOULD

Others MUST

What needs to happen for Delegation to be successful?

Set clear expectations and goals

Trust and confidence in the skills of staff

Communicate roles—not only to responsible staff but to all staff/volunteers

Set timelines, identify resources, training, etc.

“Expect and then Inspect”

-summarized from Pierce Management Development

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Empowerment

Empowerment is the collective effect of leadershipPeople feel significantLearning and competence matterPeople are part of a communityWork is exciting

-from Warren Bennis, Jossey-Bass“Why Leaders Can’t Lead-

The Unconscious Conspiracy”

Leadership vs. Management

“Management is easy. Leadership is motivating people, turning people on, getting 110% out of a personal relationship.”

- Colin Powell

“Jack of All Trades” Syndrome

Also known as “How Many Hats Do You Wear?”

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Consider a time study of all the things the leader in your organization does

Analyze if a leader needs to be doing all of these tasks

Assign an hourly wage to these tasks, based not on who is doing them, but what is being done

Note the variance between the rate of the person who is doing the tasks vs. the established hourly value

HMMMM…..How do we fix this problem????

Create new systems that streamline tasks

Delegation to existing staff?

Outsource the task?

Hire new staff?

Adapted from Dennis Duroff

Monday Morning Business Gems

www.dennisduroff.com

Final Exercise

Write down your highest priority and your goals for achieving it

Write down one person outside of your organization that you will build a relationship with for outside support

Put it in envelope provided and return to presenters

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“Contrary to popular opinion, leadership is not about decid-ing where other people should go. It's about finding out where they want to go and then helping them get there.”

--Unknown