Are you sometimes waiting (and waiting!) to have research requests completed for you? Or getting completed research *after* the visit? Frustrating, isn’t it? Wish you had a way to get your research requests done first? It can’t work all the time, but there is a way…

I read a blog post by Rajesh Setty the other day called “Help is on the way.*” Setty’s an entrepreneur consultant and writes for the business market. It’s not long, and it’s worth a read if you have time. If you don’t have time now, here’s my interpretation of what he wrote with regard to prospect research in a typical mid-to-large size development office:

Generally speaking, good help is scarce because:
• People that are good at their jobs are busy becoming even better at their jobs.
• People gravitate toward people who are good at their jobs and ask them to help with their projects …
• …which makes people that are good at their jobs even busier…
• …which makes good help even more scarce.

So what do these good, busy people do to cope with the increased requests for help? Setty writes:

“1. They eliminate meaningless requests.

2. They eliminate requests that were made because the requester was lazy.

3. They eliminate requests that don’t deserve to be fulfilled.

4. They eliminate requests that are not meaningful to them.

They look at the remaining requests and choose the ones that will provide the highest ROI for their investment of time…[T]he odds change significantly depending on ‘who you are’ to them. If you are someone special to them, the terms and conditions section suddenly disappears.

The objective decision making walks out of the door replaced by subjective decision making in your favor.”

Prospect researchers don’t usually have the discretion to eliminate requests for reports.  Normally it’s first come, first served… unless your job title gives you the cachet to jump the queue.  Requests – both worthy and worthless – pile up.  One person’s request for a full profile on a donor prospect they are merely curious about means that another’s truly hot prospect briefing goes further down the list. 

Would a researcher prefer to work with a major gift officer that actively sought visits with prospects that that researcher identified for them?  Sure.  Might that MGO’s requests mysteriously move higher in the research queue from time to time?  Mayyybe.

Would a prospect researcher work harder for a front-line fundraiser that came by their desk and said “Let me tell you about the great meeting I just had with that prospect you researched for me!!”  Absolutely.  Might that person’s requests mysteriously gain helium in the research queue from time to time?  Mayyybe.

I know that I’ve done it.  I worked with a fundraiser who made a fill-in appointment based on a gut feeling I had about a prospect I’d found.  I knew the prospect had their own privately-held company and there were rumors the company was going IPO in the next six months, but that’s about all I had.  Still, the fundraiser honored my gut feeling and set up the discovery meeting.  That act of faith (and the subsequent major gift donation of stock – I’m not kidding – yay!) forged a great researcher/fundraiser team that communicated often from then on.  I will admit to moving that fundraiser’s requests slightly higher in the queue from time to time because we were a team that was making things happen.

Research – good research – is a time-consuming job, and we all only have so much time.  All of us want our work to be for something – to know that what we do has meaning.  If you don’t have a fancy title after your name, consider internal stewardship to jump the queue.  You’re a fundraiser, after all.  You know all about relationship building.

Discussion about Social Impact Bonds is really hot right now.  SIBs have the ability to reward nonprofits for being innovative and for achieving measurable and replicable success.  But will they remove funding that would have been philanthropically given?  And will smaller nonprofits be left out in the cold?

To find out more, I attended last week’s Social Innovation Forum hosted by Root Cause.  The featured speaker was Jeffrey Liebman, Malcolm Wiener Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.  After Liebman’s opening remarks, a panel of experts discussed SIBs and how they might affect nonprofits.

Liebman provided a very simple graph to illustrate the flow of money in a SIB, which looked something like this:

Here’s how it works in a nutshell:  A nonprofit (or more probably, a collaboration of nonprofits) works with a bond-issuing entity to raise funds to solve a social problem.  Investors are approached by the bond-issuing entity and the investors provide working capital to the bond-issuer.  Investors are guaranteed a rate of return if the project succeeds, and the return on investment is likely gauged to the project’s risk of success.  (If the project fails, investors lose their money).  When the project is completed and has met performance targets, the government pays the bond-issuing entity, which pays back the investors their initial investment plus interest.

It’s a win-win-win.

1. The problems solved are ones the government would have funded anyway (reduced recidivism, for example, or after-school reading programs).  But with SIBs, the government only pays when there is demonstrated success, lessening government waste.
2. Venture philanthropists and foundation leaders have a creative tool for their investment portfolio to both fund programs and reap a return on their philanthropic investments which they can then use to seed another venture.
3. Nonprofits with proven success in their field of expertise have another pool of potential support to draw from.

Jeffrey Liebman calls SIBs a “Pay-For-Success” program, and it’s easy to see why.  As he explained, SIBs improve nonprofit performance and lower cost to the government; they accelerate the adoption of new solutions that are broadly replicable; and there is more rapid learning of what works and what doesn’t.

So what are the problems with a Pay-For-Success program?

Well, there are a lot of nonprofits out there and competition for dollars is already fierce.  According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, over 1.6 million charities registered with the US IRS in 2011. Granted, about 100,000 are foundations and a little over 500,000 are professional associations, fraternal organizations, chambers of commerce, etc.  Still, that leaves about a million nonprofits vying for philanthropic support and not all of them will be candidates to participate.  Also, SIBs won’t work for every type of nonprofit.

The likely participants will be collaborations of nonprofits working together to creatively solve a specific social problem.  They will provide new solutions with the potential for high net benefits and will be able to provide measurable outcomes.  The populations they serve will be well-defined and there will be a reliable comparison group.

Won’t this mean dollars formerly allocated to philanthropy will be used for SIBs?

Panelist Tracy Palandjian of Social Finance Inc. commented that SIBs wouldn’t cannibalize philanthropic dollars because a foundation could invest in SIBs from the 95% of their investment corpus rather than from their 5% annual distribution.  SIBs become both another investment vehicle and a way to further a foundation’s vision and mission.

One forum participant, a representative of a foundation observed “isn’t it the point to cannibalize money from underperforming nonprofits to fund those that are producing results?”

What is clear is that all nonprofits – those struggling for money merely to survive as well as those that are well-established – will need to start measuring their impact on the communities they serve if they aren’t already.  Today’s donors already expect to see a nonprofit’s results clearly outlined but a social impact bond-holder will require it, and it will be the bond-issuer’s job to track the venture’s success.  Will there be a move within our industry to set standards for the metrics that are tracked?

As a professional in this field, the idea that we researchers will be helping our organizations create the most logical metrics and use that data to improve service delivery is exciting to me.  But as cool as that is, and even though there is already one test-tube SIB in place in the UK, I can’t get too excited yet.

The biggest roadblock?

The biggest problem could be politics.  Most projects that a SIB would cover would likely be funded over one or more election cycles.  What happens if the next person in office decides that they don’t want to honor the previous office-holder’s bond agreement?

In an era where Congress can’t seem to get it together over the simple task of running its daily business, what chance does a new initiative – however fiscally sound, however cost-saving – have?

Governor Deval Patrick of my home state of Massachusetts was the first to formally seek to explore SIBs in May of this year.  We’ll see if he leads us to create the first one in the US.

RootCause wisely videotaped some of the key segments of this fascinating forum.  Have a look to learn more!

Read more here about Social Impact Bonds and Impact Investing (which apparently goes back to the Civil War!) from the Harvard Business Review’s blog article written by Chris Meyer and Julie Kirby.

Here is a crazy-good story for you:

When Brown University began their “Boldly Brown” campaign in July 2003 they had 1,535 people identified as potential major donors.  That may sound like a lot, but they had over $1 billion to raise to support scholarships, attract and retain faculty and to upgrade their facilities and research capability.  The fundraisers, both paid and volunteer, had some serious work to do if they were going to reach that ambitious goal.

During the course of the seven years to follow, the Brown research team made sure that their alumni records were up-to-date and that the data was as free from error as possible.  They used sophisticated screening tools to find people with the means and interest in supporting Brown.  They segmented their data to identify new potential donors based on the characteristics of their current loyal supporters.  And they researched and fine-tuned the information they had to be sure not to bother people who weren’t likely to be interested in supporting Brown at a higher level.

Because in addition to using these methods to identify future supporters, the other thing we researchers are trying to do is eliminate (to the degree possible) annoying people with unnecessary mail, phone calls and visits when they don’t want them.  It’s good business to avoid irritating people, but it’s also a smart way to save money, trees, electricity, and peoples’ valuable time. To be good stewards of past donor dollars.

So what happened?

5,284 new major gift prospects were identified.

That’s more than a 500% increase in potential supporters!

Even more incredible, Brown University received $710 million in new gifts and pledges from those newly identified and upgraded prospects.  If you’re thinking “Hmmm, that number looks eerily like it’s nearly three-quarters of the total campaign goal”- you’re catching on.  That’s the impact of applied prospect research and analytics – it makes a huge difference.

What else?

Brown University reached their goal of $1.4 billion eighteen months early, and went on (during the worst recession of our lifetimes) to garner over $1.6 billion in total support by the time they stopped counting in December of 2010.

Can their success be yours?

Sure, Brown University is a huge organization.  And yes, they have a crack research and analytics team headed by Elizabeth Crabtree, a brilliant leader in our field.  But the techniques Brown used can be applied to your nonprofit and scaled to your needs.  What are the building blocks?

• A cause that provides measurable results and inspires loyal support;
• A multi-faceted prospect identification program that is funded to scale;
• Policies and metrics for prospect relationship management;
• Highly skilled prospect researchers/analysts who are both strategists and tacticians;
• Effective collaboration between the research team and frontline fundraisers;
• Inspired and engaging fundraisers and leadership;
• Inspired and engaged donors and volunteers;
• Stewardship that surprises (pleasantly, of course).

All of this takes time and money as well as a serious commitment of your heart to achieve the kind of success they had.  But the results are undeniable:

• Increased participation…
• Increased donations…
• And a solid foundation for future support.

Even if you’re a small organization with a staff of one, you can do this.  You’ll need help, obviously, but there’s no time like the present to get started.

What's over the horizon? Image ©2010 Julie Kahn

Because most of us spend our time in the trenches researching, cultivating, asking, stewarding and reporting, it’s nice to spend an afternoon with someone who surveys the landscape from higher terrain and focuses in on objects and trends that we need to know about.

Last week Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, spoke at a Women in Development of Greater Boston (WID) event.  Palmer gave her picks for the “Top Ten Trends in Philanthropy” and predicted what we’re going to see more of in the months ahead.

Some things that captured my attention and imagination were:

The changing relationship between government and nonprofits regarding taxation…

With the recent strain on the economy coupled with consumers’ growing concern over the efficacy of nonprofit organizations, it was just a matter of time before government officials started debating a larger fee structure for PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) programs (or changing tax codes to include nonprofits).  In Boston, where over half of the land is owned either by nonprofits or the government, PILOT payments are an important source of a struggling city’s tax revenue.  There’s a good overview of the discussion here at the Inside Higher Ed site, and Palmer predicted more developments to come on this issue in the months ahead.

… and government investment in programs via social impact bonds.

A recent import from the UK is the creation of social impact bonds (brief article here from the NYT).  Social impact bonds work like this:  Private investors give the seed funding for a nonprofit organization/venture.  If the nonprofit meets its stated goals, the investors get paid back with interest by the government at the end of a designated period.  It’s venture funding with a social benefit twist, and it’ll be interesting to see if the program ideas being floated in New York City and Massachusetts get picked up.  If you’re interested, there’s more information about social impact funds in a white paper written by Harvard economist Jeffrey Liebman.

The impact of technology in fundraising

From robot fundraisers on the streets like Don-8er and DONA to the use of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for interacting with our constituencies, there’s going to be a continuing explosion of new tools to engage and motivate donors, from small to large.  Think that online giving isn’t going to work for large donors?  Stacy Palmer told us that last year there were at least nine gifts of $100,000 made online, and that some high net worth donors she’s spoken with said that the only barrier they find to donating online like that is that most organizations’ websites aren’t equipped to accept large donations!  Even if you don’t think it’ll ever happen, doesn’t it make sense to act like it could?

Some of Palmer’s other top trends included:

• the consolidation/merging together of nonprofits to avoid closure or to gain access to collaborative funding
• the rise of giving by women and how the change in demographics is transforming our society
• the importance of continuing education, staff retention and morale for nonprofit success.

What trends in philanthropy do you see?  What do you think is in store for us?

Blogs and social media are critical communication tools for non-profits. In fact, according to research by the University of Massachusetts, a higher percentage of non-profits have active blogs than any other category. And it makes sense:  blogs are a cost-effective way to tell stories and build a consistent emotional connection with constituents.  But how are they doing? Which are the best in the world?

So I embarked on an ambitious project in partnership with Mark W. Schaefer, a well known blogger at {grow} and author of The Tao of Twitter. Mark really knows social media and blogs — in fact he teaches a course on the subject at Rutgers University.

Together we examined more than 250 blogs from some of the largest and most important charities in the world (and I mean that literally – we didn’t just look at blogs in the US). We looked for the blogs that were engaging an audience, offering superb content and aligning with the organization’s strategies. Last year, when Mark compiled a list of The Best Company Blogs in the World he noted that it was a depressing experience.  He found that most company blogs aren’t that great and I’m sad to say that we struggled similarly to find non-profits communicating and interacting with their constituencies.  In fact, we found a lot of  dreck.

But we did find some truly inspiring blogs out there.  Here, in no particular order, are the best non-profit blogs in the world:

Feeding America

This is simply one of the best blogs you will find anywhere, profit or non-profit.  It has it all:

• Superior content
• Non-intrusive yet effective calls to action
• Good use of multi-media such as photography and video
• Superb use of story-telling to align with objectives
• Attractive and functional design
• Convenient social sharing
• Features that involve key stakeholders

This blog is a role model for any organization.

The Salvation Army

This is a wonderful, interesting blog.  Of course it serves as the place to go in the event of a disaster, but it is also an entertaining read.  As a good example, read this post about the historical role of The Salvation Army in the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake.  Another post features a “fashionista” getting her clothes from a Salvation Army Thrift Shop. Not only is this type of post great story-telling, it connects readers with the history and rock-solid foundation of the organization in an entertaining way that cuts through the noise.

While a good-looking and well-organized blog, inexplicably, it seems to stand alone from the primary Salvation Army site. There is no easy way to connect directly to the organization or donate money right from the blog, which is a missed opportunity.

Holland Bloorview Childrens Rehabilitation Hospital

Mark said that this blog brought tears to his eyes.  (He acts all tough on the outside, but I suspect a moosh lies within).  Okay, I admit to some mistiness myself – but in a good way.  I’m guessing that it will probably have the same effect on you.

Bloom is about parenting special needs kids.  It isn’t fancy.  In fact it’s just on Blogger.  But what it lacks in sophistication it more than makes up in courage and heart. Writer Louise Kinross has something unique and personal going on here. She has nurtured an active, loyal community and with good reason … this is blogging at its best.

Operation Blessing

Check out this gutsy, effective blog.  With My Own Eyes is a firsthand, photo-journalism account offering users the opportunity to see some of the most devastated, disaster-ravaged and previously inaccessible places in the world, as well as a look at Operation Blessing’s efforts to help people that live there.

This multimedia site features video footage, photos and the personal diary entries of some of the team leaders from more than 25 countries including China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru and the U.S.  Each blog post provides concrete ideas on how to connect and help.

World Vision

This effort just began in 2011 so we’ll have to check in later to see if they can sustain what is starting out to be an excellent blog.  World Vision works with impoverished children and their families throughout the world and is also effectively using eyewitness accounts to connect to constituents.

Some of the hallmarks of this journal are fantastic, colorful articles that pull you in to the organization and its mission. This blog seems to have jumped out of the starter’s gate quickly — some of its daily posts are already getting more than 1,000 ‘shares’. While the design of the blog is quite busy, check out the beautiful and effective design of the main  website while you’re visiting.

Broad Institute

Simply put, The Broad Institute is creating methods, tools and massive data sets and makes them available to the general scientific community to rapidly accelerate biomedical advancement.

The charming thing about their blog — Broad Minded — is that it frames complicated subjects in accessible terms. I’m partial to science literature any way so this blog was a delight. I mean how can you miss with a blog post titled “Lifestyles of the Fungal and Famous” or another that explains unraveling mysteries of DNA as a Julia Child recipe?

This is a lively, straight-forward blog that is very well-aligned with the mission of the organization.

Refugees International

Refugees International advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises. This blog achieves story-telling excellence through extraordinary writing, compelling videos and dramatic photography. If you want an example, check out this video on how refugees struggle to find an education. The almost daily blog is unafraid of confronting difficult political issues and take a stand as it boldly raises awareness for its cause. A smart, superb blog.

MEMRI

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) explores the region’s media (both print and television), websites, religious sermons and school books. This blog stands out in a special way because essentially, the blog IS the organization.

This respected non-profit scans the Middle East for important news and trends and provides timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Pashtu, Dari, Hindi, and Turkish media in separate blogs. Other sections provide original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East. This series of blogs is the centerpiece of this important effort. Pretty cool.

American Red Cross

This blog provides consistently good content mixed with compelling multi-media.  It has several nice features like a list of all local Red Cross Chapter blogs, weekly round-ups of disaster relief efforts around the world, and connections to many disaster-response related resources.  It also has all-around helpful and targeted information to support the needs of its constituents. I don’t know why this blog is detached from the main Red Cross website – again, it’s a missed opportunity. Also, it is strange that the blog gets no comments when it is such a vital community-focused organization. And in the “maybe we’re picky” category — it seems like they could have come up with a better title for their showcase than “Blog.” : )

BONUS CONTENT!

If you’re interested in non-profit best practices, here is a list of some favorite blogs ABOUT charities and fund-raising (again, in no particular order):

Stanford Social Innovation Review Blog

The SSIR is part of the Stanford University Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS).  Highlighting thought leaders, practitioners and innovative funders and “striking a balance between the pragmatic and the intellectual,” this blog keeps you up-to-date on the issues at the forefront of the third sector.  Contributors include Sean Stannard-Stockton, Amy Sample Ward and Peter Sims.

Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Blogs

The Chronicle of Philanthropy site plays host to a number of blogs including those on prospecting, candid conversations about nonprofit boards, international philanthropy and social media for nonprofits.  Contributors include staff writers as well as experts and thought leaders on their given topic.

Queer Ideas; a bloody good fundraising blog

Sometimes irreverent, usually cutting-edge, always intelligent and interesting, this blog is written by Mark Phillips, founder and CEO of bluefrog, a fundraising consulting firm in the UK.  His observations and links to helpful research and resources make this a good one to expand your mind.

A Fine Blog

Written by the co-author (with Beth Kanter) of The Networked Nonprofit, Allison Fine’s blog is a combination of acute observation and commentary on articles, videos, campaigns and collateral on fundraising, networking and social media.  An extra bonus on her site is links to Allison’s monthly podcast interviews for the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Beth’s Blog

Written by Allison Fine’s co-author Beth Kanter, Beth’s blog is seen by many (us included) as the go-to blog for nonprofit fitness checks, great ideas, subtle nudges toward excellence and good advice on social media, networking and organizational management you’d do well to take.   Beth’s writing style is accessible and friendly, yet the blog is packed with resources, links to scholarly studies and other references that you need to know about.

Philanthropy 2173; The Business of Giving

Authored by Lucy Bernholz, founder and president of Blueprint Research & Design, Inc., Bernholz is to nonprofits what Rachel Maddow is to liberal politics – intelligent and incisive yet accessible, wonky, and (respectfully) pulling no punches.  The blog approaches nonprofits and their arena as a third business sector, and Bernholz isn’t sitting behind a desk; very often she’s interviewing some game-changing sector leader and sharing their conversations and her insights.

So there you have it! The best non-profit blogs you’ll find anywhere. Of course there are some good ones out there that we missed.  Do you have a favorite? Tell us – we’d love to hear about it!  What blogging ideas did you pick up from this list of great blogs?

…A money back guarantee for a donation if the organization doesn’t deliver.

I recently learned about SOFII, the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration from Pamela Grow, a pretty innovative fundraising consultant herself.

SOFII send out a weekly update and in today’s email I saw a fundraising tactic used by Habitat for Humanity Great Britain in 2006 that I’ve never seen before.  It’s pretty daring and it’s very risky unless, of course, you’re the kind of nonprofit that does what it says it’s going to do and doesn’t mind complete transparency with donors.

They offered a Money Back Guarantee on their acquisition mailing.

Habitat’s fundraisers wrote:

“We already know from helping 125,000 extremely poor families build homes that this is the best way to help them out of poverty.  But we want you to be sure, too.  So when you send your £15 gift we’ll make you a money-back guarantee.

If, after reading more about how we use your gift, you believe it hasn’t done what we’ve said, write to us within six months.  We’ll send it back to you – every penny.”

Wow.  Money-Where-Their-Mouth-Is Fundraising

It’s brilliant on a number of levels…

First and maybe most importantly, they’ve immediately established beyond a doubt to their prospects (and anyone who sees the appeal) that they are 100 percent confident in their ability to deliver.  We are worthy of your trust and we have nothing to hide. Also, we’re really good at this.

Think of the stewardship opportunities.  By creating a compact with the donor, Habitat has set up the expectation of an engaged relationship with an informed donor base.  We’re going to be sending you materials that you’ll need to read if you want to get your money back.

Think of the upgrade opportunities.  You’ve been a donor for six months now…if you think we’re good with £15, look at what we can do for £150!

For those donors who have greater philanthropic potential, this is an opportunity to begin a personal relationship with a discovery call from a fundraiser.  Hey, remember that promise we made when you signed up?  I’m calling to tell you how we’re holding up our end of the bargain. (How do you find out which ones have greater philanthropic potential?  Ask your friendly neighborhood prospect researcher!).

Of course, this percolates a few questions, including:

• Would it change how your nonprofit operates?
• Are you ready for the potential of increased donor engagement?
• Would this change or increase your educational events?
• What kinds of publications would you create if you wanted complete transparency about what you do?  Are they different from what you already produce?  Would your web and social media presence change?
• Could it cause more work for your finance team?

We’ve just been through the worst financial crisis in our lifetimes (or at least I sincerely hope so) and donors want a sensible return on investment from the charitable dollars they spend.  I know I do.

If your favorite charity offered this kind of deal, would you take them up on it?

Last month I had a great conversation with my friend Ellen Winiarczik about her strategic planning work with nonprofits.  Our two worlds run parallel to each other most of the time; while my team and I are usually helping an organization find funding sources, Ellen deals more with making sure that a nonprofit is structurally strong, that the organization is prepared to meet its mission and that its board has a firm grip on the rudder.  I asked Ellen to share a few words about her work and how our worlds collide (in a good way!) with each other.

Ellen and Helen

For 13 years I’ve run a firm that consults with nonprofits, foundations and government agencies, large and small, in strategic planning and implementation, resource investment, program evaluation, leadership and fund development as well as inclusive excellence.  I just returned from a 12 day exchange visit with leaders of US nonprofit organizations visiting their counterparts in charities of all flavors in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.  These visits that I lead every year are designed to create lasting relationships and learning opportunities amongst far-flung peers, and they’re always an enlightening and wonderful experience for all of us.

While our economy is showing small signs of recovery, it’s clear that an Irish banking collapse and an over-extended government calling for austerity measures means cut backs for everyone there, especially for nonprofits depending upon government programs and funding.

Every nonprofit organization no matter where you are needs to chart a steady course for their future.  Those that are the strongest, even in difficult times, find ways to strategically engage board members, staff, volunteers and stakeholders to guide the organization’s future by making concrete goal-driven plans to ensure success.

They do this in part by sharing mission and operational clarity that spans across the organization at all levels.  This phenomenon occurs when good communication exists, vertically and horizontally, and everyone is consulted about strategic plan creation and reasonable goal setting.

Strategic planning, according to BoardSource, the leading US information-sharing organization for nonprofit leadership, requires both thinkers and doers and must meet the needs of a wide variety of stakeholders.  If [any] are left out of the process, the final plan tends to serve the needs of a few who may not be fully aware of the actual impact of their decisions. The BoardSource website goes on to outline the different roles for each of the key players in this equation.

Board members govern the organization and set policy as well as outline strategic organizational direction.   Boards deal with multiple priorities including organizational governance, investment and spending policies, and programmatic direction.  Clearly board members need to have a keen eye on ensuring that financial resources are always available to support key programs that carry out the organization’s mission.

Executive leadership provides the data necessary to inform the board and works in tandem with the board to craft reasonable (or even lofty!) strategic plans.  Operational data includes specifics on all resources needed to run and sustain operations with enough in the bank for adverse situations (in a perfect world, 6-12 months).  This information is optimally sourced from all departments and outlines an organization’s current direction with solid operational data to inform and support key growth opportunities.

With data in hand executive leadership and board members feel confident that they have all the right information to make key strategic planning decisions that includes anticipating how much money, personnel, and facilities are needed to support existing operations, and grow, if desired.

But what if an organization has key roles such as development (fundraising) that are not invited to participate in the process?  In my experience, this happens all too often.  Here’s where effective communications including relationship building and strategic outreach as well as a healthy dose of data to support the development office’s real or potential impact on the bottom line come in handy.

Sometimes, though, it’s simply a case of the board and executive leadership not being aware of development’s expertise.  For example, I worked with a small organization on strategic planning a few years ago.  This organization was embedded in a larger, higher education institution, but hadn’t engaged in conversation with the fundraising staff of the parent institution during their 5 year existence.  While highly autonomous this small organization neglected to realize that they had larger institutional resources to leverage in securing future programmatic success.  Once they forged those relationships, key funders were quickly identified and became engaged as supporters.

Steering a clear course in these economic times can be unnerving. Boards, CEOs, and fundraising staff have the opportunity to create a strong team with which to weather the storm together.  As spring moves into summer it’s beginning to look like our economy may have some small squalls to navigate.  Nonprofits need to stay true to their course and communicate across the organization to accomplish their strategic outcomes for stability and growth.

Ellen Winiarczyk is President of Win-ar-zic & Associates in Denver, CO.  Her firm specializes in strategic planning, leadership development and evaluation for nonprofits and foundations.  She is on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenw.

My friend Chris Carnie at Factary in Bristol, England gave me a scoop that I am excited to share:  Factary is releasing a white paper today on venture philanthropy in the UK and Europe titled The Venture Philanthropists; A Review of Venture Philanthropy Funds in the UK and the People Behind Them.

What makes this study different is that it is written by someone on the inside: Chris is a member of the Finance and Fundraising Committee of the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) and works closely with members of the venture philanthropy (VP) community.  This fascinating white paper focuses on the specifics:  Who they are.  How much they give.  What they give to. And most importantly, the keys to involving them.  I asked Chris a few questions:

HELEN BROWN: Chris, how long have you been following this topic and what kind of access have you gotten to the real story?

CHRIS CARNIE: We’ve been tracking venture philanthropy in Europe since it started. I got interested when one of the founders of VP in Europe attended a training course I gave years ago; he came from a private equity background, and wanted to know more about how the nonprofit sector worked. I spent some time with him, and then got to attend the first conference on VP in Europe, in Amsterdam in 2004. Since then, I have stayed involved and now serve on the Finance and Fundraising Committee of the European Venture Philanthropy Association, EVPA.

I’m interested in VP for lots of reasons. First, it has attracted some of the cleverest people I have ever met. People who are happy to throw all of the old ideas out of the window and build something completely new, creating social change in ways that are truly inventive. Second, it reaches a section of the community that has, historically, been very hard to get to – the private equity, City of London [financial district] people. Traditional “charity” is not very attractive to these people, but VP fits perfectly with the way they think. Third, well, when you get invited to speak at a private conference in Venice or Luxembourg, it’s hard to resist…

HB:  So what makes this new white paper a must-read?

CC: It’s a 70-page report on venture philanthropy in the UK. We’ve focused on the 130 or so people in the UK who have led and supported the growth of VP in the UK. The typical venture philanthropist was born in 1960 – so the median age is 51 – and is in private equity.  Eight out of ten VP trustees are male, and the most common source of women on VP boards is from the nonprofit sector.

He’s likely to be wealthy, and in fact the VP community have attracted a high proportion of people of wealth – across just 11 VP funds, we’ve counted 24 who feature in the UK’s best known wealth listing, the Sunday Times Rich List.

There are currently 11 full VP funds in the UK. I’m saying “currently” because the growth rate of VP in Europe has been extraordinary. The EVPA has grown membership 25 times in the last 6 years. They are supporting a very wide range of causes – there’s a shared interest in youth and education, but they are backing health, clean energy, HIV/AIDS too, both in the UK and overseas.

HB: But there are only 11 of these funds?  Why are they so important?

CC: That’s one of the keys to understanding this community of philanthropists – their influence is enormous. What’s happening is that large-scale foundations in Europe are taking a strong interest in the VP model. A number of the heavyweights have started venture funds within the umbrella of the larger foundation: an example in England is Charities Aid Foundation which runs a VP fund called Venturesome.

HB: Is that the future of VP?

CC: In part, yes. The VP model is about scale – growing small, high-impact nonprofits into bigger ones. In the UK we’re just at the start of that process (the first VP fund was set up here in 2002, four years after the Silicon Valley Venture Fund became the first VP in the US).  But we’re going to see stronger growth as the large foundations get on board. We’re also going to see traditional foundations copying the impact measurement tools that the VP community has developed. There will be continued growth in this sector and much of that growth will be international – the VP community has been very good at building links across Europe and the United States. Their conferences and meetings are multi-lingual affairs.

HB:  Thanks Chris for this sneak peek into the white paper.  For more information or to purchase the report for £125 contact research@factary.com. Chris will be speaking on this topic for ShareTraining on April 12.

John Gillespie over at Social Edge took out the crystal ball for 2011 and provided these trends. I think this is a pretty good list. What do you think?

1. Demonstrate & Differentiate – With more social ventures and nonprofits vying for a slice of the ever-shrinking financial pie, organizations must work harder than ever to distinguish themselves by communicating clearly to potential donors and funders through a variety of tools – from donor packages and newsletters to social media (such as Twitter and Facebook) and websites. We’ve seen an increased emphasis on program results and performance metrics with 61% of nonprofits surveyed listing it as a top priority compared to 46% last year.
2. Cut Through the Red Tape – While government funding has been cut or depleted, there are grants and other sources of revenue that still exist. Mission-oriented organizations should take the time to learn more about the grants that are available as well as the application process—the time will be well spent.
3. Reward your Talent – Nearly 40% of nonprofits surveyed reduced staff and salaries in 2010, which means remaining teams are working harder than ever. Leaders need to recognize the efforts of their employees and spend more time with their stars—66% of those surveyed list retaining and motivating staff as a top priority and 53% plan to focus on improving organizational culture.
4. Assess your Team – Fifty percent of the organizations surveyed had less than 20 employees. With teams this size, there is no margin for error—every employee must possess the skills to execute their role. Taking the time to evaluate your staff will have a major impact on your organization in the long run.
5. Entrepreneurial Growth Strategies – Much of the growth in the mission-oriented sector will stem from innovative, entrepreneurial strategies. Seventy percent of organizations surveyed list new revenue generation as their top priority for 2011—up from 58% in 2010 – and 28% plan to pursue earned income ventures. We’re also seeing organizations start another 501(c)(3) under the parent organization and more social ventures starting B Corps and L3Cs (low-profit limited liability companies)—allowing them to pursue more innovative revenue generation strategies and differentiate from their peers.