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With Revenue Up, Nonprofits Are Rehiring Tips Section:
Boards …
5 steps to getting members to fundraise Advocacy …
It’s okay to lobby -- really Human Resources …
You want talent but does it want you? Job Posting of the Week:
Project Specialist-CEO's Office- Washington D.C. With Revenue Up, Nonprofits Are Rehiring In the face of a persistently tough economy and rising demand for services, there are some encouraging signs surfacing in the nonprofit sector. A recent survey of nonprofit executive directors by the Bridgespan Group of found that half of the 102 organizations responding had seen their revenues begin to creep back up during the past year. Another noteworthy indicator: 60 percent responded they are actively looking for newly available talent, compared with only 31 percent last year. According to Alan Tuck, the Bridgespan partner heading up the survey work, “Nonprofits are working hard to try to stay afloat and meet the demand. 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. What is clear though, is that despite the challenges, some groups not only are surviving, but they are also experiencing growth and thriving.” Read Compelte Article Tips Section Boards …
5 steps to getting members to fundraise Many nonprofit managers will turn to their boards to help fundraise, but not all of them do so in an organized way. Speaking at the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ international conference, consultant Gail Perry said that getting optimum results from board involvement means having a specific action plan in place. The plan itself isn’t the be-all and end-all. It involves being prepared to lead the board by knowing the members and having organizational structure and support to make the plan happen. The plan itself involves five steps: • Firing up your board about the cause. Use mission moments, testimonials, field trips and a clear case about the organization’s impact with its mission or in the sector. • Crucial conversations to inspire new attitudes. Ask: What are we raising money for?; Why do you care about our cause?; and, Why are volunteers so powerful? Remember, most board members equate fundraising with begging and making cold calls. • The right tools and skills. Train them in friend-raising, the process of fundraising and relationship building. • Very specific jobs to do. Keep a narrow, narrow focus; keep it very simple; give them a chance to choose but don’t give too many choices. • Have a great reporting and support structure. Create ownership. Have task forces and team leaders. Give specific time frames with clearly identified projects and goals. Advocacy …
It’s okay to lobby -- really Nonprofits are often reluctant if not afraid to lobby, fearing that it could jeopardize their tax-exempt status. But nonprofits can engage in advocacy and lobbying, supporting or opposing specific legislation. In his book, “Hardball Lobbying for Nonprofits: Real advocacy for nonprofits in the new century,” Barry Hessenius offers a tutorial on building an effective nonprofit advocacy or lobbying effort, whether through 501(c)(3) lobbying, 501(c)(4) lobbying, political action committees or Section 527 organizations. “Until real reform is effected…nonprofits, if they want to have any chance of competing for access to decision makers and influence decision making, need to play the game by the same rules that the private sector special interests do,” according to Hessenius, a former director of the California Arts Council under now former Gov. Gray Davis. If nonprofits elect to be governed by the 1976 lobbying rules (amended in 1990), they must complete a 501(h) election form, in which the Internal Revenue Service distinguishes between direct and grassroots lobbying. Direct lobbying is when nonprofits state their position on specific legislation to legislators or others who participate in formulating legislation. Grassroots lobbying is when nonprofits state their position on specific legislation to the general public and ask them to contact legislators. Hessenius cites five activity categories excluded from the term “influencing legislation:”
* Self-defense;
* Technical advice;
* Nonpartisan analysis or research;
* Examinations and discussions of broad, social, economic and similar problems; and,
*Regulatory and administrative issues Human Resources …
You want talent but does it want you? Just think. If you try hard, you can hire the best people, sort of like the federal government, or America's investment banks, or BP. Or, maybe not. Getting the best people really is something to strive for, and in their book “Brand for Talent,” Mark Schumann and Libby Sartain emphasize the idea of branding for talent, developing a strategy to enable the organization’s brand to jump a series of hurdles to motivate a consumer, and that is what today’s worker increasingly is, to take action. Those hurdles are: *Hurdle 1: Be recognized. Until the workers you want to reach recognize your talent brand, they will not absorb any specific messages you send. You will only know what it will take for your talent brand to be recognized if you carefully compare it to the talent brands of the organizations competing with your for workers. * Hurdle 2: Be believed. Being recognized as a place to work isn’t much if your organization isn’t believed as a credible destination; workers must believe the messaging authentically reflects the organization. * Hurdle 3: Be personalized. The talent brand must be relevant to the specific workers you want to reach. * Hurdle 4: Be remembered. If the talent brand effectively motivates the worker to choose your organization, the talent brand must be remembered as a key part of that decision. Job Posting of the Week Project Specialist-CEO's Office, Washington D.C Provides management, operational, and technical support for the Office of the Chief Executive Officer. Determines work processes and methods for accomplishing assigned tasks. Incumbent(s) in this position may perform all or a significant combination of duties depending on project....
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