Archive for February, 2011

Fundraisers Contemplate Ethical Issues



Making sure that nonprofits use funds in a manner that is consistent with their mission and the motivations of their donors ranks as one of the most common and difficult challenges faced by fundraisers. This is according to a new website poll conducted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Participants in the poll were asked what kind of ethical challenge they were most likely to face in their fundraising efforts, and they were presented with 7 choices.

Nearly a third of all respondents reported that the use of donated funds was the greatest area of concern. Sixteen percent selected challenges related to privacy and confidentiality, and fifteen percent highlighted the issue of donor control over gifts. Other options included percentage-based compensation/commission and conflicts of interest. According to Paulette Maehara, CEO of AFP, the use of donated funds is one of the key aspects of ethical fundraising practices, particularly as charitable gifts increase in size. Maehara has stated that it’s crucial that fundraisers and donors collaborate and develop sound documentation to ensure that disagreements are avoided. The results of the survey are based on the input of 569 people who participated on January 20th.

Source: The Nonprofit Times

How to Hire Your First Development Director




Blue Avocado
The only thing worse than not having fundraising staff is having bad fundraising staff. To help you avoid the mistakes many others have made in hiring development staff, we’ve stolen a script of a scene with consultant Leyna Bernstein as she talks with an executive director contemplating hiring fundraising staff for the first time.

Olivia, in a tired voice: As you know, I’m the executive director of a nonprofit, and we’ve decided we need to hire a development director. We don’t have any dedicated fundraising staff right now, and I spend too much of my time raising money. I just can’t keep this up.

Leyna, eyebrows raised: So your goal in hiring a development director is to free your time from fundraising?

Olivia:Yes, of course. But even more than that, we need to raise more money.

Leyna, with a sympathetic look: Well, actually the goal of hiring fundraising staff is not to free up the ED from fundraising; it’s to maximize the use of the executive director’s time in fundraising. You will probably spend the same amount (or even more) of your time fundraising, but you’ll raise more money doing it.

Olivia: Wait a minute! I’m going to spend the same amount of time fundraising? (She almost drops her bagel, but catches it.)

Leyna: Yes, but your time will be spent more productively. With your new staff on board, you’ll have someone to get the thank you notes out on time, the e-blasts written, the fundraising letters out. Also, this person can track grants, keep on top of deadlines for grant reports, fill out the CFC forms, make sure everything happens on time.

Olivia: But if this person is doing all those things, won’t I have more time I can devote to strengthening program quality and managing the budget? (Olivia notices cream has curdled in her coffee and she waves at waitress for new coffee and cream.)

Leyna: Umm, probably not. You’ll need to spend the freed-up time on relationships with foundations, with donors, with government agencies, with board members, and on writing grants and letters. (Leyna grimaces as she accidentally bites her tongue.)

Olivia: But wait a minute! The work you’re talking about — tracking deadlines and sending out fundraising letters — that’s not for someone as highly paid or skilled as a development director, right?

Leyna: Right! If your organization doesn’t have dedicated fundraising staff, the first position to hire is not a development director. It’s a development coordinator or associate. I like the title “development coordinator” because it reminds everyone that this person is coordinating activities, not doing fundraising on their own.Fundraising cartoon

Olivia: Actually, hiring a development coordinator feels right. But how about helping us with fundraising strategy and getting into major donors, which we really haven’t done before? (Nods to self in satisfaction with fresh coffee.)

Leyna: Right now you don’t have any staff dedicated to fundraising. You need both high-level help with strategy and lower-level help with the details. So first, remember a lot of fundraising is in doing the details right. And instead of paying someone at a development director salary to do support work, hire a development coordinator and then a fundraising consultant for strategy.

Olivia: So what qualifications do I look for in a development coordinator?

Leyna (trying to pick poppy seed out of teeth unobtrusively): Someone who knows the nonprofit world and is above entry level, and who is interested in fundraising. This person must know their way around the web and be able to string together coherent sentences. They won’t be writing the spring appeal, but they’ll be working with a lot of written material. Someone who sees this as an opportunity to build a career in fundraising or in the field you work in. It’s probably going to be their first job in fundraising.

Olivia (hands Leyna a toothpick): What about someone in sales?

Leyna: Not unless they have the other things I’ve mentioned. Retail sales is all about people. This is more about systems and details and supporting others. Someone who’s worked in a sales environment supporting the salespeople might be good.

Olivia: Okay, now how do I find such a person?

Leyna: Well, you can put it out there on Craigslist, etc., but you’re better off networking with board members, volunteers–especially younger volunteers, someone on staff who has good all-around administrative skills and who also volunteers for another nonprofit. Who are your great support staff? Great interns? Great volunteers?

Olivia, ruefully: I bet you see a lot of nonprofits acting stupid around hiring development staff.

Leyna: Well, here are the three stupidest things I see nonprofits do. First, they think they should hire a development director when what they need is a development coordinator. Second, they forget to budget for the costs beyond salary, like software, computer upgrades, the cost of more mailings and collateral, association dues, professional development, and cultivation events. Third, they want to make a big leap with major gifts, so they decide they want someone with a lot of experience with major donors. But they forget that Major Gifts Officers and Development Directors are seldom a department of one. Fundraisers with experience and well-honed skills need support staff and systems in place to enable them to function well.

Olivia: I have to confess I don’t like the idea of having to train someone completely new to fundraising.

Leyna: You won’t have to do it all. Get them into fundraising circles like DER (Development Executives Roundtable), AFP, or other groups of people who are doing fundraising, not consulting in fundraising. Ask your experienced board members to coach or mentor them. Send them to grantwriting classes and fundraising workshops so they meet others and get new skills and confidence.

Olivia, sotto voce: Don’t look now, but I think George Clooney just came into the restaurant behind you.

Leyna (rapidly swiveling around and standing up): Where?!

Blue Avocado
This article was reprinted with permission from Blue Avocado, an online magazine for nonprofits with practical, timely and fun information. Subscribe free by sending an email to editor@blueavocado.org

Past Opportunity Knocks Career Conferences





Opportunity Knocks Career Conference - Empower and Act was held on June 16, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference was a huge success with Career Coaches on site to conduct one on one resume consulting to job seekers and workshops on the nonprofit sector.
Resume Critique

Resume Critique




Workshop

Consulting Tables

Consulting Tables





Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Washington, DC





Opportunity Knocks partners with YNPNdc for an October 2009 event that was a great hit!











Young Nonprofit Professionals Network San Francisco Bay Area Events Sponsored By Opportunity Knocks




Opportunity Knocks partners with Young Nonprofit Professionals Network San Francisco Bay Area (YNPNsfba) for an August 2010 Career Development event that was a great hit!









The Job Search and Tax Season




By Judi Adams

This is the perfect time to gather up information about your last year’s job search expenses and get them ready for the tax season.

Did you know that federal income taxes are not due until April 18 this year? Yes, Emancipation Day, a holiday also celebrated in Washington, DC falls on Friday April 15 this year, which means IRS offices will be closed that day. Therefore, tax returns will be due the next business day which is Monday April 18.

Even with all of that extra time (3 whole days) to complete your taxes, this is the perfect time to gather up information about your job search expenses.

Job search expenses can qualify as a tax deduction (see the IRS web site or your tax accountant for complete details). For example, the money you spent to attend the OK Career Conference or other networking meetings, the mileage you incurred going to and from the conference and meetings, and the fees you paid a job search coach or resume writer can be submitted for inclusion as deductions on your taxes. This is a great time to start getting that information together.

If you have not been keeping a detailed list of the events or mileage, you can rebuild some of that information.

  • A good place to check for information is your e-mail systems Sent folder. For example you can find the e-mails when you RSVP’d to meeting invitations.
  • If you paid by PayPal, there will be a record within PayPal of that transaction.
  • Most on-line banking systems have search capabilities and you can print out canceled checks you made out for services or meeting fees.
  • Look at your 2010 calendar and create a record of the events you attended.
  • Use MapQuest or other on-line mapping systems to get the mileage to places. Don’t forget to multiple the one way mileage by two to account for the round trip and include tolls and cost of parking if applicable.
  • Contact other people you know who attended the same event to ask if they have a record of the expenses so you know the amount to include.
  • Add in the cost of books you bought, training you took, business cards you ordered, and the cost of duplicating your resume.

    Print out the information that you find so you have some way to substantiate these expenses; if you think the job search isn’t fun, try a tax audit.

    You paid good money toward your job search and should not pay taxes unnecessarily on that amount. This is a great time to start getting the information together and consulting the IRS web site or your tax accountant for complete details on taxable job search expenses.


    About the Author
    Judi Adams is the owner and president of RightChanges.biz, the affordable and successful job search and career direction coaching company. A 20+ year veteran of Information Technology, Judi began coaching job seekers in 2002 following an eight month job transition of her own. During that job transition she discovered how much the job market had changed and the successful approach to landing that next job.
    Ms. Adams founded RightChanges in February of 2009 and her clients have had phenomenal success. 100% of RightChanges’ clients who completed the personal coaching series are now employed in jobs they wanted. In addition to coaching job seekers, Judi publishes job search articles that are read worldwide and is a frequent keynote speaker. Judi is also in the process of publishing two books regarding the job market.

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    Worried because You’re Not a College Graduate



    By: Mauri Schwartz



    When nearly all job postings are asking for a college degree, and even some for a master’s, what do you do if you don’t have one? The one thing that you do NOT want to do is to lie on your resume, about a degree or anything else. If you do, you will ultimately pay dearly for your dishonesty. But there is a way to lower your frustration level.

    Believe it or not, there are a lot of positions that don’t require a college degree. Here’s how you can find them. In previous columns I’ve mentioned that my favorite job search site is Indeed.com. It isn’t an employment bulletin board, but rather a search engine for jobs that allows seekers to find positions posted on thousands of company career sites and job boards.

    The simple search on Indeed.com’s home page lets you enter a job title or keywords plus a geographic location. However, using its advanced job search feature you can refine your search in several ways. Look for the phrase “Advanced Job search” in tiny letters just below the “Find Jobs” button on the right side of the screen and click on this link. On the subsequent page you’ll be given an array of options, such as job type – full-time, part-time, temporary; commute tolerance – distance between home and employer; salary; and age – how long the job has been posted (not your age!).

    There are also options that allow you to get specific with your keyword search. You can specify an exact phrase, or look for certain words in the title. The choice you want is the one that allows you to exclude job descriptions with stated words in them. It’s called,”With none of these words.” Type these words into that box: degree ba bs. When you complete the search, the result will be a list of positions that don’t have these words in their requirements section. A few jobs may slip in for which the employer requires a degree but failed to include it in the job description. In general, however, you should be able to apply for these positions without getting screened out for not having a degree, as long as you’re otherwise qualified.

    About the Author
    Mauri Schwartz, President of Career Insiders, is a leading figure in the San Francisco Bay Area career management community. Career Insiders consults with companies and nonprofit organizations in the form of outplacement and hiring assistance, as well as with individual job seekers. In addition to her outstanding success rate in helping clients achieve their career goals, Mauri is a frequent speaker at conferences, job fairs, and career panels. She serves as Adjunct Advisor of Career Services at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Mauri’s motivational style uses techniques that combine old fashioned interpersonal relationship building skills with the latest technological tools.

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    New Federal Budget Would Freeze Crucial Human Services Funding



    OMB Director Jacob Lew summarized President Obama’s plan for the federal budget in 2012 as including “$1.1 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade by freezing many domestic programs for five years.” Lew said that it would be impossible to “do this painlessly.”

    No kidding. The details should concern all nonprofits, because within the discretionary spending total will be some subjects that get more funding, such as education and public works, and others that will get less. One of the parts of the budget proposal is the revival of Obama’s plan from last year to limit itemized deductions for the wealthy, including limiting deductions for charitable gifts and for mortgage interest. This will revive the debate that raged in 2009 when the administration looked at limiting itemized deductions for the super-wealthy as one component of paying the bill for national health care reform.

    The budget will also hack s$300 million from the Community Development Block Grant program, the $4.4-billion federal program that helps seniors, low-income residents and rundown neighborhoods. The proposed budget would also cut close to a half billion from the Community Services Block Grants, and cut as much as $2.5 billion from a program to help low-income people pay their heating bills. The full FY2012 proposals, along with FY2011 rescissions, will be announced today.

    Source: The Nonprofit Quarterly

    Hint of Nonprofit Recovery Seen



    The nonprofit sector is starting to show a glimmer of growth in the face of the tough economy and growing demand for services, a new survey says.

    Nonprofit executive directors of half of 102 organizations surveyed by the Bridgespan Group said their revenues had begun to creep back in the past year.

    And 60 percent say they actively are recruiting newly available talent, compared to only 31 percent last year.

    “Nonprofits are working hard to stay afloat and meet the demand,” Alan Tuck, a Bridgespan partner, says in a statement.

    Among organizations surveyed, 84 percent have seen an increase in demand for their services since the start of the recession, compared to 58 percent in November 2009 and just 30 percent in November 2008.

    Among nonprofits that provide direct services, 73 percent served more people, while 70 percent increased their level of service.

    Only 32 percent of respondents received funding cuts in 2010, compared to 80 percent in 2009, and of those that received cuts, only half experienced cuts of more than 10 compared, compared to 2009, when 77 percent of funding cuts were more than 10 percent.

    Among nonprofits that have seen their revenue increase, growth has been distributed unevenly, the survey says, with smaller nonprofits having a tougher time.

    Sixty-three percent of nonprofits that experienced growth saw revenue increase by 10 percent or more, while 29 percent saw growth of 20 percent or more.

    Among nonprofits that experienced growth, 36 percent were more likely to create a communication plan to address issues related to the recession; 23 percent were more likely to increase their efforts to accurately measure outcomes; 23 percent were more likely to develop a contingency plan; and 22 percent were more likely to collaborate on programs of other organizations.

    “Whether the improvements we have witnessed in the sector constitute the beginning of a rebound or merely show a temporary reprieve from the economic storm remains to be seen,” says Tuck. “What is clear, though, is that despite the challenges, some groups not only are surviving, but they are also experiencing growth and thriving.”

    Source: Philanthropy Journal

    A common-sense approach to adopting technology



    Technology dominates today’s headlines - whether it’s the latest trend in consumer electronics, the explosion of mobile applications or the evolution of “next generation” platforms.

    Regardless of your next technology project, here are a few thoughts to consider when evaluating whether a technology trend is one your organization should adopt, and if so, how you might go about doing so.

    Review your mission statement

    Forget about technology for a moment and think about your organization’s purpose: What do you do, why do you do it, and what are you trying to achieve?

    Aligning the implementation of new technology to support your organization’s mission - say, by helping others understand how an obscure data project will streamline the delivery of your programs - will provide a solid foundation for keeping focus on a project when things are difficult or when other priorities pop up.

    Consider your key constituencies

    Who are you trying to impact and who are your true audiences and stakeholder groups? If you can’t connect the dots between mission, audience and a particular technology initiative, consider either handing the project off to someone else in the organization who may have a better sense of how the three can best align, or focusing on another project.

    Look at peer organizations

    Whatever you’re trying to do, chances are you’re not the first. Identify peers - both similar organizations and those outside of your normal peer group - who have implemented similar strategies.

    How did they leverage technology? What worked well, and perhaps just as important, what did not?

    Social technologies make it easier than ever to engage and share practices among an expanded community.

    Define your metrics, priorities and strategy

    The most important (and often overlooked) step of collaborative projects is clearly defining and setting expectations, both about the desired results of the project and the responsibilities of those involved.

    Extra work effort early in a project to define a comprehensive program for evaluating progress can have the added benefit of providing a baseline for justifying investments made on behalf of the project after its completion - the ever-elusive return-on-investment, or ROI.

    Put your technology plan into action

    Take an approach appropriate to both technology and your organization - one that factors in the culture and emotion of change as well as the goals of the project.

    Ultimately, the success of new technology is based in large part on human variables, such as the perception of its value, ease-of-use and adoption by peers, meaning that even the latest trends in technology are based on the fundamentals of human interaction.

    Source: Philanthropy Journal

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