Category Archives: WHATEVER

Being True to Our Mission

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Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal the other day -  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122963299671419401.html

This article jumped off the page for me. I raised the issue in a blog post awhile back in May of 2008 - 

 see…. http://oculusdirect.com/blog/2008/05/

To see this article raise this issue means a great deal to me and should to you as well. The nonprofit sector can no longer be complacent – especially, regarding how we are measured not just by ourselves but our donors and those pesky rating agencies like Charity Navigator.

We need to take a stand and develop a new and innovative method for measuring our effectiveness – not by dollars raised or a convoluted SOP 98-2 process that can be jury-rigged to fit the outcome we want. Why are we all sitting by and letting this happen? It’s kind of like the lazzi-fare attitude that Wall Street faced for so many years. Everyone seemed to be in on the little secret that there was a house of cards being built but no one really cared as long as everyone continued to prosper from the deceit.

Is the nonprofit sector much different? Really? We are perfectly content producing what we feel are legitimate numbers and percentages and do our best to “comply” with the rating systems and perhaps acquire the BBB seal of approval. But if you are like many in the industry there is something gnawing at you - yet you don’t know what to do because there is an ocean of movement going in one direction.

Well, one by one, we can take a new direction that someday might become the norm for measuring nonprofits. The paradigm shift that needs to happen involves completely rethinking how we measure success.

Lets begin taking a hard look at this and figure out a way, method, that will logically and effectively measure if we have accomplished our mission and goals or not. Whether its serving people in soup kitchen, or drilling bore holes, or funding a cure for diabetes,  or educating people, or building an art museum, or filling some other social or cultural need, we need to quantify what we have done in real terms not simply financial terms.

I don’t have the answer – perhaps you do – but the best thing we can do is to begin the conversation – NOW before its too late…. and we are another casualty like the investment community.

Let’s Re-calibrate Our Priorities

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I am sure you are just as appalled as I am with regard to the Madoff scandal, Ponzi Scheme, swindle or whatever you want to call it. But no matter what you call it there seems to be change in the wind – not just on Wall Street but also in how we live our lives and what we should consider important.

How can we see so much wealth, or presumed wealth, evaporate into thin air. Where did it go? Were we in a bad dream for the last several years and now wake up to face a different reality like NEO in The Matrix?

I am truly saddened to know that several charities have literally had to close their doors because of this one man – Madoff. Yet I keep thinking there is a bigger lesson to learn from all of this. None of us know if it will get worse or get better and perhaps we may even look back upon the last several years with abhorrence as to how we lived our life and the misguided values we embraced. Regardless of our perspective everything is different now.

See Chronicle article http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=6582 

Bottom-line is we were collectively mesmerized by money, success, the fast-lane and reaching new and greater financial heights and acquiring more and more things.

I hope that one of the outcomes of this Madoff debacle, along with the stock market cratering, the recession, bankruptcies and so forth – will be a resurgence of a renewed consideration for the “person” and not just “things”. We need to circle back and embrace the human condition and not materialism. This is simplistic I realize and possibly idealistic – but doesn’t all of this nonsense make you want to go home and spend some time with your family and hug your wife and kids and appreciate what you have? Doesn’t it now seem like material things are simply just that and consequently have no intrinsic value. There is nothing endearing about a fancy car or a fancy house – yes, its impressive but the aura of it doesn’t live forever. What lives forever is family and integrity and honesty and character and honor and memories.

Anyway, to the point I really want to make – I think this is the change we have been looking for in the nonprofit world. We have been chasing money for far too long. This is an unavoidable reality but we need to be chasing passion more than just money. The outcome of the last twelve months will be a re-calibration of priorities which will direct people to a renewed sense of community and a sense of duty with regard to those around them and for the greater good. People will realize that materialism was a sham and that there is much more to life. They will find a new passion in helping and doing things for others, their families, and the world. Nonporfits will be the beneficiary of this new perspective of the world.

A close friend of mine is a shining example of someone that is professionally very successful yet never turns down a chance to help people and support others way beyond the call of duty. He has a tremendous passion for life and those around him, especially his family. He is in the process of training (finding time in his busy schedule must be daunting) for a 24 hour 400 mile bike ride to raise money to find a cure for Lupus (his daughter suffers from the disease). http://lifewithoutlupus.org

This is the future of fundraising. Individuals making personal commitments because they believe in a cause and have the passion to help make a difference. Its going to be people like Chris Paradysz that help people in new and extraordinary ways.

How should a nonprofit deal with the economic downturn?

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The million dollar question on every nonprofit leaders mind is how to deal with the ongoing economic downturn. Are we pulling out of it? Is the worst yet to come? How long will it last? And what will be the short and long-term consequences to the business and its fundraising capacity? The uncertainty of it all is incredibly unsettling. I don’t think there is a nonprofit leader that can look at the current economic conditions and say to themselves and their staff – “oh, no problem, been there, done that – all we need to do is X, Y and Z.” it just isn’t going to happen that way because no one has been down this exact road before.

Why? Because the confluence of events and trends is simply unprecedented – that’s’ why. We are in unchartered territories and no one, and I mean no one, has the silver bullet.

Some of us will unwittingly take the right approach by gauging the trends, making adjustments, strategizing and being either aggressive or conservative to a more or lesser degree. Others may be very methodical and believe they are setting the right course only to find themselves in a tougher situation in a year or so. But most of us will simply be a deer in the headlights.

So, now that I have confirmed your worse fear – that there is no exact right or wrong answer to the challenges you face – I hope I have also presented the consoling fact that you are not alone and that you are not the only person out there staying up at night pondering the future of your organization and its success/failure.

But what now? We know it’s tough. We know it’s going to take a great deal of brain-power and will-power to stick with it and stay optimistic in order to get through these tough and uncertain times.

A few thoughts.

First, we need to keep calm and realize the forces at work are the reality of life at the present moment. We can’t think about the good old days nor can we think about the perfect future. And we definitely can’t bemoan the present. The present is where we live and it’s our job as a senior executive to roll up our sleeves and earn our keep. The solutions to the challenges are our responsibility – if not us who; if not now when? So, man-up, as they say, and keep your eye on the prize.

Second, double our strategic focus. Review every facet of our charity. The staffing, the processes, the way we fundraise, the general way we do business, but most importantly we need to review and modify or re-energize HOW we fundraise and HOW we conduct business and HOW we provide our services to those we serve. Are we as efficient as we can be? Are we getting the most bang for our buck? Are there new and better ways we could be approaching the day to day aspects of our work? Basically, like an Olympic coach working with her Gold Medal athlete we need to challenge the status quo and chase away any hint of mediocrity at any level of the organization.

DO NOT tolerate mediocrity for one second. It’s poison.

And thirdly, we need to be entrepreneurial and transformational in our approach to running the nonprofit business. We can no longer rely on the tried and true. We must try new things; reinvent ourselves if necessary; push the envelope and build a first class business model that is efficient, effective, and sustainable.

And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we need to focus all our energy on stewardship. We all know it’s harder to get a new donor then it is to hold on to a existing loyal supporter. Once you realize this fact you will want to put more energy into holding onto what you have rather than finding new supporters. What does this mean to the organization? A lot in a big way. It means acknowledging the gifts in a more meaningful and substantial way; it means focusing on customer service; it means developing a more comprehensive acknowledging process; it means making the donor feel like she is the most important person in the world to your organization and profusely thanking them over and over again while keeping them incredibly well informed about the successes of your organization.

By hanging on to the existing donors and focusing less on getting new ones you will save funds and become more efficient and effective while doing it. The once the economy and the cost of acquiring new donors is more favorable you can return to the tried and true methods of finding and retaining more great donors to add to your core constituency. At the end of the day, you will end up with a stronger support base that is less costly to maintain.

Read this article to learn more about the troubles nonprofits face during these troubling times: http://www.rrstar.com/businessrockford/x560343683/How-nonprofits-are-weathering-the-economic-downturn

Five factors that will shape your business in the future

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GLOBALIZATION: The world has shrunk. It is truly a small world after all. The barriers of time, geography, language and culture are breaking down at a break-neck pace. The new European Union and the fall of Communism are only two examples. But the Internet and other electronic and digital technologies will continue to break the barriers down even further. Corporations from all nations are looking for ways to reach other countries. Many companies that just a short time ago was very parochial are now considered multi-national in nature. The westernization of many cultures, especially parts of Europe, South America and the Far East are additional signs of the homogenizing of the global society. Travel is cheap, phones are cheap, and it is rare to meet someone that has not traveled to far away places and/or knows someone from a foreign country or was in fact born in a foreign country. The reason this globalization trend is so important to all companies is that what worked on a local level in the past will no longer work on a global level or across cultural barriers. The playing field has changed and broadened.

TECHNOLOGY: Technology is the driving force behind the homogenizing of society. The advent of the Internet and its subsequent proliferation has broken down barriers, including language, that a mere ten years ago were unheard of. Written word translation is already a reality and instant voice translation over phone lines is only a few years away, if not sooner. What does this rapid pace mean? People’s expectations have been raised; instant gratification is the norm. Technology will only continue to drive this fast pace of communication. Technology is also driving the marketing communication process to new heights. For instance, printed newspaper sales are down 25% globally since the advent of the Internet; a trend that no one in the media industry wanted to admit until it became too hard to ignore over the last six months.

ECONOMY: Although the global economy is still not putting a living wage in everyone’s pocket it certainly has brought a significant part of the world out of a poor mans status. Discretionary income has exploded, particularly among the under twenty crowd. Countries that were subjected to third and second world status a few years ago are viable and lucrative markets. One only needs to consider the Czech Republic and other eastern block countries that are now producing wealth and influence. The United States is in danger of becoming a country dependent on others rather then the relationship we have been accustomed to.

CULTURE: The society in the United States has shifted very rapidly. The U.S. population will be comprised of almost 50% Hispanic dissent within fifty years or so. Other nationalities such as Asia, Eastern Bloc countries, Africa and others are finding their way here. The make-up of the U.S. will never be the same. The challenge for everyone will be to adopt and evolve with the new demands and needs of these new groups. Many are of different faiths, many are more devotional then Americans, and many are of no faith at all and are here simply to make their dreams and raise a family and/or get away from a dismal further in their homeland. The big difference is that the original immigrants to this country “melted” into the society by adopting American customs, language and work ethics. The new groups are holding onto their heritage, language and customs creating a new marketing challenge to marketers.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: Companies need to adapt to the changing life styles of individuals. There are more two income homes and working mothers than ever before. The work force is highly trained and experienced but with so many domestic and global opportunities for excelling it is going to become harder to attract and retain the employees that have the best skill set and experience for the demands of the future. Companies will need to spend a lot of money to meet this demand. Training, compensation, employee development, and other motivational means will become a driving force in corporate America. Companies will need to adapt their organizational structure around the new set of challenges.