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Volume
7, Issue 5 - September 2005 |
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"I
love your newsletter! It's refreshing, fun
and filled with helpful hints"
Toni Paglia,
Director of Development, The ARC
Syracuse, New York |
|
This article was contributed by Tod C. Novak,
the Novak Group.
The times are changing in the world of nonprofit organizations. It is common
knowledge that grant money and corporate giving is dramatically reduced and will
continue in the future. Nonprofit business development is becoming a popular
approach to generating revenue. I have my own nonprofit organization, and sit on
three nonprofit boards. My responsibility is to take my business experience, as
a CEO, professional speaker and national sales trainer and apply it to nonprofit
business development.
Most importantly, the mindset of nonprofits must adapt to the economic
changes in our country. The complexity of legal and financial challenges make it
necessary to become “Business Minded”. While holding true to the mission
statement of the organization, the nonprofit must realize it must operate like a
business. The organization must start thinking like a business, acting like a
business and selling like a business (Yes I used the “sell” word). Lets face it,
we are all in sales, whether we like it or not. We sell ourselves, our talents,
and abilities every day in our chosen profession. We are all salespeople for our
non profits, promoting the mission and values to our communities.
Sales are
the foundation of every business, and nonprofits. What if a traditional business
gave away all its services or products for free? How could they operate if they
had to chase funding money or go out begging for donations? How long would their
business exist? If chasing money doesn’t work in a traditional business what
makes us think that a nonprofit is any different? A non profit has expenses and
needs money to exist. This is where the “business mindset” can be applied in
nonprofit fundraising. The key is to follow a business plan and discontinue
giving away products or services. A board brainstorming session with a
professional facilitator would be an effective way to develop a business plan
and marketing plan to develop products or services that could be sold for
profit.
Selling in its purest form is being a great communicator. Fundraising is
selling, and selling is all about communication. Fundraising is communicating
the mission or story of your organization, and SELLING YOURSELF. There is
information available on how to tactfully ask for money....but should you have a
planned script and approach every potential donor the same way? We are all
different.
There are 4 basic personality types and you are one type. You will
communicate easily with 25% of the population that is your same personality
type. This explains why the average salesperson has a 25% successful sales rate.
What about the other 75% of the potential donors that may not receive
information from you because of your communication? Do you ever spend money with
someone you don’t like or who has rubbed you the wrong way? Have you ever wanted
to make a purchase or donate to an event and didn’t because a person offended
you by their communication? Quite simply, effectiveness in fundraising increases
with effectiveness in communication.
The great salespeople identify the personality type of the person they are
selling to (within the first 60 seconds) and communicate to that person the way
they best receive information. They learn how to communicate differently to each
personality type. The majority of my training and speaking engagements are
centered on identifying and understanding personality types. In 1928 Dr. William
Marston, a psychologist, determined that there are four basic personality types.
It became known as the DISC theory: D for Dominant, I for influencer, S for
steadiness and C for compliance. Many have been taught the DISC theory, but the
problem is that when you ask them about what they learned they don’t retain the
information.
My mentor and teacher was Dr. Gary Couture, and he further developed the
teaching by naming each personality as a type of bird (eagle, owl, peacock, and
dove). Why did he choose Birds? To make the teaching easy to remember, so it
would be used on a daily basis. We have 2 sides of the brain, the left side
which is your logical side which comprises 12% and your right brain, your
creative side which comprises 88%. That 88% creative side is visual, so the
birds are visual, easy to remember, and easy to apply as opposed to trying
remembering just words. It’s hard to visualize what a dominant or influencer
looks like (which are not visual words). Listed below is a brief description of
each bird:
| Eagle: |
Dominant, leader, controller,
direct, orientated toward productivity and goals, and bottom line
results (CEO, corporate VP).
|
| Owl: |
The wise owl, the intellectual,
analytical, systematic problem solvers, concerned with the facts,
process and perfection. Who What When Where Why, (accountant, CPA,
computer analyst).
|
| Dove: |
Diplomatic dove, security minded,
unassertive, warm, reliable softhearted, avoids risks, people
orientated (teacher, counselor).
|
| Peacock: |
Social butterfly, spontaneous, people
person, avoid facts and discipline, idea people, delightful and
persuasive (salesperson, entertainer).
|
Conflict between personality types can ruin potential donor relationships.
Part of being compatible with people is a willingness to communicate with them
the way THEY WANT TO BE COMMUNICATED TO, NOT HOW YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE
COMMUNICATING TO THEM. By recognizing personality types, including your own, you
can adapt your behavior for effective communication and effective fundraising.
For more information on personality types, or to talk to Mr. Novak about
speaking to your board, call 505-792-5820 or visit the website
www.TheNovakGroup.com.
I hope you enjoyed this article.
Thanks, Tod C. Novak
Back to Table of
Contents
Whether we like it or not, change is coming. The Legislative
Finance Committee, headed by Senator Charles Grassley, is getting serious about
legislation affecting nonprofits. While the Sarbanes-Oxley Act applies to
publicly held corporations, two parts apply to nonprofits: the whistle blower
and document retention and destruction policies.
A White Paper issued by the LFC on June 22, 2004, called for
major reforms and new regulations to be imposed on nonprofits. For example,
proposals included:
- IRS review of the tax exempt status of nonprofits every 5 years;
- Strong governance and best practices would be required for all
nonprofits, including federal liability for breach of duties by Boards of
Directors;
- More comprehensive and detailed disclosures required on the annual Form
990;
- Size and composition of Boards would be stipulated;
- IRS would be given authority to remove any Board members, officer or
employee of a nonprofit found to have violated self-dealing rules, conflicts
of interest, excess benefit transaction rules, private inurement rules or
charitable solicitation laws;
- Every nonprofit with more then $250,000 of gross receipts would be
required to have an annual audit.
While these are only proposals it should be obvious that some
sort of legislation and regulation is on the horizon for nonprofits. You must be
current.
Form 990 Issues
Here is an interesting note. According to Tauber & Balser CPAs in Atlanta,
these are the most common errors on Form 990: 36% missing or incomplete schedule
A; 18.1% missing or incomplete support schedule; 17.6% missing signature; 9.1%
missing attachments; 8.5% Incomplete Part IV, IV-A and IV-B; 8.5% Incorrect EIN,
tax period, group exemption number; 2.1% reason for exempt status per schedule A
inconsistent with determination letter.
Why is it important to have an accurate 990? It is the primary source of data
on your organization and is widely reviewed by potential donors and funders. It
can be used effectively as a marketing tool to show accountability...but only if
it is free of errors. Think about what your 990 says about your organization and
ensure its accuracy!
Back to Table of
Contents
|
Online Seminars Coming this
Month
|
There is still time to
register for the live Internet seminars that begin September 14.
Click here
to see the full schedule and registration details.
Seminars will last one hour. All you
need is a computer with speakers.
Special
Introductory cost is $125 per site per session for as many people as
you can manage in your space.
Track I
Fast Fundraising Facts for Fame & Fortune ©
Session 1: Fast
Fundraising Facts Overview; Marketing principles applied to fundraising, getting
to what donors and funders want.
Session 2: Jean’s 10 Rules
for Fundraising Success, Rules 1 - 5.
Session 3: Jean’s 10 Rules
for Fundraising Success, Rules 6 - 10.
Session 4: What Board
Members Can Do to Fundraise.
Session 5: Fundraising
Ideas that Cost Little and Work Big.
Track II
The ABCs of Building Better Boards ©
Best Practices of Best Boards
Session 1: Recruitment
Essentials - the nominating committee that works; job descriptions, etc.
Session 2: Managing the
Effective Board - planning; administrative issues, committees, etc.
Session 3: The Board’s
Role in Fundraising.
Session 4: The Invisible
Yellow Line - Board and Staff Roles and Responsibilities.
Session 5: Governance
Issues and Board Performance Evaluation.
Back to Table of
Contents
The
following sites are great resources for nonprofit governance and Board-related
issues.
Alliance for NonProfit Governance.
www.angonline.org.
Alliance for Nonprofit Management.
www.allianceonline.org.
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is a good resource for
accounting standards and procedures.
www.aicpa.org.
Check out www.NPAdvisors.com
for a weekly email newsletter on nonprofit online fundraising and lots of free
information and advice on the site itself.
And don’t forget BoardSource, Inc.
www.boardsource.org,
Council on Foundations at www.cof.org,
Foundation Center at www.fdncenter.org,
GuideStar at www.guidestar.org,
and
Independent Sector at
www.independentsector.org.
If you run across good sites for nonprofits, please let me know and I’ll
include them in an upcoming issue.
If you find a broken link on
the site, please send me an email () and let me know. Thanks!
Back to Table of
Contents
Now you can add two great books to your agency library.
The ABCs of Building Better Boards is just what you need to
improve your Board’s potential. It includes ideas for recruitment, retention and
recognition and has some great forms for you to copy and use.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals says of this book:
“Here is a book that every senior fundraiser
responsible for board recruitment and development should read once and then
review annually...takes up where books full of theory fall short...give it a
chance and you will discover a gem to be treasured.”
Learn how to deal with unproductive Board members and how to better define the
roles of staff and Board. There is a chapter on financial and fiduciary facts,
one on simple parliamentary procedure and much much more.
Discover how Board Job Descriptions and annual Commitment Letters will
dramatically improve your Board’s effectiveness. See how a truly effective
Nominating Committee will lead to a better Board.
Get good ideas for more efficient Board management and administration, including
how to set up and manage effective committees.
It’s only $24.95 plus shipping and handling. Take advantage of a volume
discount of up to 20% and give this book to all new Board members as part of
their orientation.
The 3rd Edition of
Fast Fundraising Facts for Fame & Fortune
is full of ideas to improve your fundraising, including how to ask effectively,
special events essentials and new ideas for fundraising.
Help volunteers get over the fear of asking for money and in-kind resources for
your organization. Learn how marketing principles will make fundraising easier.
Learn about Jean’s Ten Rules for Fundraising Success
and apply them to your organization immediately. This book puts the
FUN into
FUNDraising and gives good examples and ideas that really work, rather than
using hard to follow formulas and theories.
It’s only $24.95 plus shipping and handling. Take advantage of a volume
discount of up to 20% and give this book to all new Board members as part of
their orientation.
Or buy both books for only $45.00 plus shipping and handling. Order
your copies today!
Order Now So You Don't Forget
Go to the Order Form to order your copies of
The ABCs of Building Better Boards
and
Fast Fundraising Facts For Fame & Fortune ©
|
Back to Table of
Contents
In a perfect world, teachers would earn more than professional
athletes, things that are obvious to us would also be obvious to others, and
non-profits would always have enough money to do the marketing we all know they
need to do.
Well, the first two are a little beyond my control, but I might
be able to help with the third. If you’ve been reading my newsletter for the
past few years, you know that my webmaster and I opened a web site a few years
ago called nonevents.com (see below).
As we’ve been working at promoting and growing nonevents.com, an
interesting thing has happened - a bunch of people like you have asked us (well,
they’ve actually asked Shelly Liebman) to send email notices and newsletters to
their contact lists. It’s not exactly a nonevent, but it is very close.
So, a new service has been born called NPOMAIL.COM
(believe it or not, npomail.org was already taken).
You can use
NPOMAIL.COM as you need it to get a message to your electronic mailing list.
We’ll take your list in just about any reasonable format (text delimited, MS
Excel spreadsheet, MS Access database, MS Outlook address book) and then send
your text or HTML message to the list for a VERY reasonable price. It’s not
free, but it costs much less than printing, stuffing, labeling and mailing. And,
best of all, you don’t need a room full of volunteers to get it done.
You also don’t have to worry about whether or not your Internet
Service Provider has restrictions on how much mail you can send, as we’ll give
you a mailbox at npomail.com and the message will come from there. All “bounces”
will be returned to you so you can update your database.
How affordable is it? The minimum charge is only $100 and
that includes up to 1000 names. The next 1000 is $.07/name, the next 1000 is
$.04/name, then it’s only $.01/name after that. That’s only $230 for 5000
emails. Try sending printed mail at that price.
Call Shelly Liebman at 505-332-1281 or send an email to
to get started.
Back to Table of
Contents
Everyone who has ever organized a fundraising event raise your
hand. OK, you can put them down now.
Do you wish there was an easier way? Holding a “nonevent”
could be it. With a nonevent, you ask people to support your fundraising
efforts WITHOUT actually attending a function. Your “attendees” don’t have
to arrange for a baby sitter, worry about food allergies, or think about how
to get their oversized auction items home in their undersized sports cars.
You don’t need to worry about setting up the room, checking
people in and out, or hoping they'll mind their manners during the program.
And, you don’t have to give a food or beverage guarantee.
Does it sound good so far? It should.
With a nonevent, you can raise money on a tight budget.
We’ll help you design your online invitation, email it to your electronic
database, and give you a way to accept secure donations through your
nonevent web page. All at a fraction of the cost of putting on a traditional
fundraising event.
The cost begins at only $600 ($500 for design and $100 for the
first 1000 names in your database). Even if you have 30,000 names on your
electronic mailing list, the cost is under $1000.
Browse on over to
www.nonevents.com for more information or send an email to
or .
Back to Table of
Contents
HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
TAKE THIS QUICKIE QUIZ
|
Please give me a call if you want to turn any NO into a YES. I can help
with:
- turning your Board into a dynamic group of volunteers,
- facilitating a strategic planning session,
- analyzing your current fundraising and suggesting some new ideas, and
- training volunteers and staff in becoming more effective fundraisers.
Back to Table of
Contents
Here is what people have said about my training and facilitation:
“You certainly shifted my paradigm. After hearing you last
Friday, it is the first time in 11 years as an ED that I was excited abut
fund development. And you got my Board members to that point as well. “
Kay
Hopper
RDC for Children, Richardson, TX
“Your seminar in Dallas was the best I ever attended. You
are wise and hilarious.”
Mary Jo Dorn
Catholic Charities of Dallas
"Jean conducted an extremely well
organized and productive [Board] retreat, one that I can
say with confidence that our members count as the finest
ever conducted for us. Jean's follow-up report was
in-depth and meaty, and both Board and staff have
referred to it time and again. The knowledge of
boardsmanship the members took with them has made a
remarkable difference in their levels of commitment and
support."
Eileen Cook, Executive Director
Casa Esperanza
"Jean Block is a powerhouse in the
Non-Profit world. You don't move about these circles long before her name is
prominent in the conversation. Her commitment to training, fundraising,
motivating, and cultivation is unsurpassed. To say she is an influence is
to miss the point. She gives new meaning to the word enthusiasm! You don't
know Jean, you experience her! She is a force unlike any other I have every
met."
Randy Gleason
Randy
Gleason Consulting, Inc.
“Your training was invaluable to me. I dreaded doing this
because I couldn’t even sell someone a candy bar in the past but I was
inspired by your advice to try. I raised about $377,000!
Joan Shepack
Keystone Botanical Garden, El Paso,
TX
"I attended the Corporate Sponsorship Workshop - WOW! You
were amazing! What an OPPORTUNITY for me!
Your presentation style was EXCELLENT. By far the best
workshop I've been to in a long time (content and style both!)."
Vicki
Kopplin
Epilepsy
Foundation of Minnesota
"As a senior-level development officer, I have a hard time
finding useful workshops. Jean's programs should be required for even us old
CFREs."
Trisha Dunbar
Visiting Nurse Association,
Dallas, TX
Jean Block
Consulting, Inc.
7915 Cliff Road NW
Albuquerque NM 87120
(505) 899-1520
Fax (505) 890-5285
Email:
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"I
love your newsletter! It's refreshing, fun
and filled with helpful hints"
Toni Paglia,
Director of Development, The ARCRC
Syracuse, New York |
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