 |
ADVERTISEMENT 
Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards
Offered by Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education, the program reconsiders the nature of governance in today's nonprofit organization.
www.hks.harvard.edu/ee/mn7 or call 617-496-0484 for more information.
|
Editor’s Note:
Do you ever think that your donors are getting wasted again in Margaritaville on dollars they could have been sending you? Well, I’m moderating a webinar during which charity executives and others will discuss how you can get a sip of that drink with the umbrella in it and it won’t cost you a dime. It’s all about incentives. As always, NPT webinars are free, so click on the link to sign-up. Click here
In This Edition: News Update: Tips of the Week: | Please forward NPT Weekly to your colleagues so that they can also subscribe.
 Tell-a-friend! | | Court Rejects Texas Solicitation MeasureChalk up another court victory for the National Federation of the Blin8d (NFB). A ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, declared unconstitutional a law requiring certain disclosures when soliciting charitable donations of goods by telephone, mail or receptacles. The NFB of Texas challenged state Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office regarding the law that made professional resellers disclose their identity, that items donated would be sold for profit, and what percentage of proceeds or fees would go to charity. In his four-page decision, Senior U.S. District Judge Royal Ferguson wrote the only part of the law that was constitutional was the requirement to identify who operates the donation receptacle and the charity that is to receive the proceeds. The judge’s 27-page order granting and denying in part motions for summary judgment by both sides cited the landmark Riley v. NFB U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1988. “The Riley court observed that the disclosure requirements would ‘almost certainly hamper legitimate’ fundraising by professionals on behalf of charitable organizations. Disclosure requirements would discriminate against small or unpopular charities that use professionals out of necessarily, while larger charitable organizations could absorb the costs internally to avoid the disclosure requirements.” To Read Complete Article Click Here...
| Management …
5 critical steps for success with alliancesYou merged your organization with ... who?! Grammar considerations aside, mergers and alliances of nonprofits must make sense to both organizations if they are to be any success at all. In addition, they must make sense to a wary public and even to regulators who are ever on the lookout for philanthropic success stories. Cass Wheeler, former president of the American Heart Association, suggests that forming alliances can be extremely helpful to organizations seeking to expand their financial bases, but he cautions that such alliances are not by any means foolproof. Further, once a partnership has been established, it is important to remember the critical factors necessary for success. They are: - Be candid about what your organization can and cannot deliver. Under-promise and then over-deliver on the promise.
- Address potential conflicts of interest up front.
- Approach the relationship with an attitude of abundance versus scarcity. When you think there is only so much to go around, you start focusing on the wrong things. Share information, ideas and resources.
- Do not keep score. Don't worry about who gets the credit or whether the work is evenly divided. The workload distribution will vary at times but will even out in the end.
- Maintain continuity of people. People build trust, and trust expedites decision-making.
| Boards …
6 responsibilities of policy governanceOnce you learn to fall off a bicycle, you never lose the knack. Or something like that. In her book “Policy Governance,” Caroline Oliver compares policy governance, a complete system through which boards can conceptualize, organize and fulfill their mandate, to riding a bicycle; it is a vehicle, not a destination. Oliver suggests creating a chain of responsibility that connects the power of owners’ bests interests through the board to the organization.
Then, the board needs to take the following actions: - Define the difference your owners want to make. The system starts from where owners start; that is, from an overall perspective in which the organization is merely a vehicle for delivering the benefit they seek.
- Assign responsibility for making that difference. The board must determine who is going to be made responsible for achieving its ends.
- Limit the authority that goes with the responsibility as much as you can. The CEO needs to be free to take the quickest route available, staying ethical and legal.
- Put everything in comprehensive yet concise written policy. Written format is a form of control.
- Delegate within “any reasonable interpretation.” Those to whom responsibility has been delegated must be able to prove they are operating within board policies.
- Be sure you are making the difference your owners want. Policy control is only real if your policies are used, and you can’t know that they are being used unless you monitor them.
| Fundraising …
14 rules of the fundraising road
Driving down that long, lonely highway of major gifts, you might feel as though there is one rule: Get the money. That’s the final destination, but speaking at the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy 43rd Annual International Conference, Jerry F. Smith of the JFSmith Group said that there are 14 rules of the road for soliciting major gifts. Adhering to these will make the drive smoother as well as making it a little more pleasant for the others on the road. The Rules of the Road for Major Gifts: - People still give in a down economy.
- All for one, one for all: successful campaigns are the result of a group effort.
- If you are there, be there: your job is to stay focused.
- Listen 80 percent and talk 20 percent.
- Cross the T’s and dot the I’s. Do not assume anything.
- Eliminate the fear factor. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
- Understand the life cycle of the continuous donor.
- Trust in a relationship is key to securing private support.
- All meetings should have an objective.
- Know your role in solicitation.
- Fundraising is a numbers game.
- Men and women are not alike in their giving.
- Your time is not your gift.
- Stewardship is not an option.
|
Don't Forget Us!
Changing positions? Or have you moved to another organization? Then, make sure you still get NPT's family of enewsletters by simply updating your profile. Copyright @ 2010 The NonProfit Times. To read our Privacy Policy click here. To forward NPT Weekly to your colleagues so they can also subscribe click here. 
|
|
|
The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management
