Nonprofit Management

The reminder: Remember that donor-centered means customer-centered means client-centered. Centered on the other, not you or your organization or your needs or whatever.

The story: Toronto Deborah sent me caramels. Special lovely caramels from “Good Karmal” (with a cute little Buddha on the wrapping), located in Bozeman, Montana. Deborah learned about these luscious caramels while in Minnesota last summer. Montana Emily gave me Bozeman caramels for my birthday there on campus at Saint Mary’s University. Apparently I offered some of the caramels to a few other students. That’s how Deborah learned about the Good Karmal caramels. Deborah was a first-year student, Cohort 25. Emily was a second-year student, Cohort 24. 

Did you follow that convoluted story? Because it get’s even more complicated.

Toronto Deborah was sending me a thank-you gift for something which didn’t require a thank-you gift. Not only didn’t require a thank-you gift, what I did was something I’m expected to do. But Deborah thought I’d done a special job. Furthermore, why would Toronto Deborah even remember that I liked caramels since we only spent about 10 days together and had only just met?

For that matter, why would Montana Emily bring caramels to Minnesota for my birthday? Emily and I had only met the year before. There was no reason for her to remember my birthday while we’re all working away on campus. But she did. I don’t remember talking about caramels that first year with Emily. But maybe we did. Or maybe Emily just knows that the Bozeman Good Karmal caramels are pretty extraordinary.

Memories from childhood and family: I don’t remember if I told Montana Emily my history with caramels. Whether I did or not, Emily’s caramel gift linked to wonderful childhood memories. On my family’s regular trips to France, we went to Normandie. We’d visit Bob Lebrec and his family at their dairy farm overlooking Omaha Beach. Bob came to MSU just like my dad did…from France after WWII. My dad stayed in the U.S. and Bob went home to France.

The dairy farm sold its milk to the Isigny cooperative. Isigny made butter, cream and milk, cheese and caramels. And we went to the caramel factory at Isigny and oh my oh wow. (I just learned something about Isigny on wikipedia: The Disney surname (Yes, that Disney) services from the little area called “Isigny.” D’Isigny … Of Isigny. And you don’t sound the “g.”)

Just think, Toronto Deborah, you connected with all that with your gift to me! And it all started with Montana Emily. Then I went down the rabbit chute to wikipedia and ended up in Disneyland.

Okay…. now back to extraordinary experiences.

My postscript: How often do we see this extraordinary behavior in our own personal lives? Within organizations where we’re donors? Within fundraising and fundraisers and…..

How often does any of us give someone else an extraordinary experience to enjoy?

All this thoughtfulness. All this extra care.

And genuine. Honest and truthful and kind and caring.

And unexpected. The whole convoluted story. Unexpected.

Merci beaucoup, Montana Emily and Toronto Deborah. Over and over. Unexpected and meaningful.

I’m sitting on a train. I’m very tired. The train is 1.5 hours late. I want to be in bed with a novel. I did a bunch of client and volunteer work.

Now I’m looking back in my own blog archives to see if there’s something that motivates me at this very tired moment.

AHA! YES!!!!!!!!!

The other day I was listening to some remarks about branding. Here is how I felt!

If I hear one more person say “we’ve created a stronger brand” – and then he shows me the new logo, I’ll scream.

Oh…I already scream. And rant and rave.

A logo is NOT your brand. A positioning statement is NOT your brand. A plan to introduce your new website and new logo and wonderful positioning statement is NOT a branding campaign.

You don’t brand yourselves. The audience brands you. (Just like those little calves that get branded on their fannies. Someone else did it!)

“Your brand is the promise you keep, not the one you make.” That’s from Kristin Zhivago in her book Rivers of Revenue: What to Do When the Money Stops Flowing.

Your brand is how a target audience feels about you.

“A brand,” says Marty Neumeier in his book The Brand Gap says, “[Brand] is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company.”

Your brand is how people feel about you. And that depends on their experiences with you. For example: How is your service? How satisfied am I with the quality of your product?

Hmmm… I feel giddy when I go into the Apple Store. Yes, just plain giddy. The energy in the store. The good service. The marvelous design. The Mac is so easy to use. So obvious. So transparent. And there are all those helpful people there who can solve my problems at no charge. I only buy Apple. I cannot imagine ever changing.

And I’m part of a group of Apple fanatics devoted to the company. Part of a group…

Neumeier goes on to say about that gut feeling: “We’re all emotional, intuitive beings, despite our best efforts to be rational. [And] in the end the brand is defined by individuals, not by [the company itself]…Each person creates his or her own version of [your brand]…When enough individuals arrive at the same gut feeling, a company can be said to have a brand.”

What’s your brand? It’s not what you’re promoting through your marketing plan or your print image or your newest ad. Your brand is not what you say it is. Your brand is what I say it is. Your brand is what your donors and clients and volunteers say about you.

You want a “good brand?” Then create a donor-centered and customer-centered organization. Develop a plan for that.

See the section on branding in Keep Your Donors. Read Neumeier’s book The Brand Gap. And check out Seth Godin‘s blogs about branding.

Here’s a selection of articles about budgeting and fundraising budgets. Check them out!

Crafting a Killer Campaign Budget by Charlie Deese

Fundraising on a Budget and Understanding the Fundraising Budget by me, Simone

A Little Working Capital, Please! by Ruth McCambridge

Why Funding Overhead is Not the Real Issue: The Case to Cover Full Costs by Claire Knowlton

I’m sitting on the floor in the corner of my London hotel room. Feels good on my back. It’s actually 8:40 a.m. on October 16. This afternoon is the meeting of the Advisory Board for the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy, Plymouth University. I’m the chair of the Centre’s Advisory Board.

Yes, I write some of my blogs in advance…for example this one. In fact, I intentionally post many of my resource blogs weeks after the origination of the resource. WHY? Because really good resources don’t go out of date. Really good resources last forever.

You may have read the resource back when it first came out – because I’m so often sharing from places like NPQ…The Agitator…Jeff Brooks…Bloomerang…The Hub…Hillborn…wherever and whatever and more. But I want to remind you of the resource a while later. Because I think the resource is worth remembering and keeping and applying.

So here goes, some resources I find very useful and applicable and and and ….

“Your donors are trashing your emails. Here’s what you can do about it.” Thank you, Jeff Brooks. So many emails…How many get opened?

Carl Sussman’s magnificent always useful read it now article: “Making Change: How to Build Adaptive Capacity.” This is a must-read for any fundraiser, all management staff, board members. This is a great article for management of your own life, too!

Check out the 101Fundraising Blog. International. Yippee! And here are their top 10 right now. And read this one about looking out the window, not in the mirror.

Resources? More resources? Damn. I am so far behind! Read Steven Shattuck’s post of the Top 40 Blogs to read in 2015. I’ve shared this with you before. I’m sharing it again. And kicking myself to read more of these, too!

Okay. That’s it. I’m getting up from the floor now. Nice for my back but too hard for that other part of me at the moment!

Share some of your favorite resources in the comments section of this blog. We can all learn more together.

I’m thinking this is a recipe for failure:

• Several cups of: Government that doesn’t analyze; and, eliminates any input from fundraisers.
• A couple cups of: Overly sweet NGOs with no tartness or saltiness at all.
• Add a big dose of fear.
• Add a pinch of arrogance.
• Mix well to ensure no discernible flavor.

And there you have it… Nonsensical government regulation…sour and rotten. Accompanied by very few dissident voices because fear overcomes clear thinking and the will to fight.

Damn it. This is a too-commonly baked recipe in the nonprofit sector. 

Are you wondering what I’m taking about? A current British recipe resulting from the suicide of Olive Cooke. Her death is attributed to the crass fundraising strategies of ignoble nonprofits. Yes, that’s the hue and outcry from British media, and some vocal leaders of the nonprofit sector, mostly unchecked by thoughtful leaders.

What a silly, sorry accusation for an apparently lovely woman who gave time and money to charities that she cared about. How unfortunate that the nonprofit sector isn’t more respected and valued. Too sad that condemnation and threats cause so many to stay too silent.

So now there will be new regulations in the U.K. Bad new regulations that will hurt those in most need.

[A momentary aside: Despite the absurdity of “suicide due to fundraising,” it’s certainly valid to ask how NGOs and their fundraisers raise money. How we treat donors…How often we contact donors…What kind of choice we give donors…How we justify our voracious fundraising strategies with so little care for our donors…And on and on and on. Perhaps this is the wake-up call our sector needs?]

Don’t think that this can only happen in the U.K. Oh my, no! I’ve seen similar recipes in the U.S. for decades and decades. I listen to worried colleagues around the world.

Surely this entire situation – including response from the media and the sector and donors – is a useful conversation to have in your organization. What to do? Try the following:

1. Assign your staff to read about Olive Cooke and the U.K. debacle. Then read Adrian Sargeant’s blog and The Agitator blog by guru Roger Craver. Now talk.
2. Spend some time at an upcoming board meeting talking about the British situation. Then identify similar situations in your country. Talk about your NGO’s role in speaking out for or against public policy. Talk about how you might respond to donors who might be curious or even worried.
3. Gather together some of your fundraising colleagues around your community – maybe your local fundraising association. Explore topics like: Position of the nonprofit sector, its value and respect for it… Speaking out as a sector, focusing on facts rather than hysteria and frenzy…

More recipes like this produce a weakened NGO sector. And a weakened NGO sector harms our communities, our societies, and – yes – the entire world.

So let’s get our act together. Please.

Let’s kick some butt!

Ah, the millennials. And the Ice Bucket Challenge. And that new contemporary look. Old donors versus young donors… Let’s talk some more! (Oh please don’t. READ THIS!!  Make sure you read the imbedded article, too. 

How’s that equity thing going in your organization? Do you talk about equity in your NGO? I don’t mean lobbying for equity in the outside world. I mean equity…inside your organization. Because that’s where we can all start. READ THIS!

Ted Hart and I are talking on his radio show on Tuesday, May 5. That’s 12 noon eastern U.S. time.

You can call in with questions or comments.

The Nonprofit Coach with Ted Hart

And you can listen to more than 150 podcasts, too!

“Let’s face it, many boards don’t fire their board members simply because that word ‘fire’ sounds too harsh for their delicate mission-driven ears!”

So said Susan Schaefer in our email exchange.

Delicate mission-driven ears… I love love love that phrase!

What else won’t the board and its members NOT do because of their delicate ears? Ask cage-rattling questions that should be asked? Actually disagree at a board meeting with each – and even argue!!

Dysfunctional politeness…Avoiding tough conversations…Fleeing from the true questions that should be asked and probed and answered… All because of delicate mission-driven ears?

Always remember: Delicate mission-driven ears kill organizations…mostly gradually. And those delicate mission-driven ears, coupled with delicate eyes and tongues don’t even notice that you’re slowly going out of business.

Thank you, Susan!

P.S. Check out Susan’s books at CharityChannel Press. And speaking of boards – as this blog is – check out Nonprofit Board Service for the GENIUS by Susan Schaefer and Bob Wittig. Just published!

CharityChannel Press is a great publisher with great books and great authors. If you’re working or volunteering in the nonprofit sector, check out the “In the Trenches” series focused on fundraising and boards and and! And check out the “For the Genius” series for regular people like all of us… about caregiving and wine and online poker and joining a board and more!

You absolutely must read this series of blogs from Wild Woman Fundraising, Mazarine Trez. And I’ve added a few other tidbits.

Then talk about these blogs (and all the marvelous links to other articles). Talk with your work colleagues (and not just in the development office!) Talk with your board and your board’s development committee. And get your professional association to talk about some of this stuff.

In no particular order intention order…

Insulting philanthropy. A continuing (and growing?) growing trend!

• Read “Strategic philanthropy? Yep, still insulting,” a marvelous blog from Mazarine, the wild woman.
• Also read part 1, “High impact philanthropy is insulting.”

But wait…there’s more! (Also, make sure you click through the links.)

• This whole thing about how running more like a business will solve all the problems of NGOs… So read “Are you attacked for not being corporate enough?” by this wild woman.
•  And YOU MUST READ Michael Edwards’ amazing book Small Change: Why Business Won’t Save the World.
• And, check out “Transforming philanthropy: It’s time to get serious.” From the OpenDemocracy website…. and its newsletter, “Transformation: Where love meets social justice.”

Unconscious gender bias (Just the unconscious type…which is worse, I think.)

• Read this blog from Mazarine: “Are you attacked for your fashion?“

And more….

• If you’d like to insult donors, read Eric Friedman’s Reinventing Philanthropy: A Framework for More Effective Giving.

So much good stuff out there. So many things we could share with our staff colleagues, donors, board members…And engage them in conversation.

For several years, I’ve wanted to write a series about what music lyrics can teach us. (About fundraising… leadership… management… etc.)

It’s a variation on all the novel quotes I use in my writing.

And every time I listen to music…. (Just was dancing to Joe Cocker “Up Where We Belong.” And now it’s “American Pie.”

I NEED YOUR REACTION. Does this sound just too stupid to do? Or might it actually be somewhat amusing? Somewhat curious?

Please let me know. Thanks.