Nonprofit

If You Did Not Know

What would it look like if you were an Executive Director, Director of Development, or Board Member and did not know how much each donor had contributed to your organization? If you simply received the names of all the donors with no filters, how would you treat each one? Would it be different than how you steward them today? Who would you select to spend time with and who to communicate with? How many donors would tell you directly how much they gave? If you have one thousand donors for your enterprise, what would be important to making them feel all appreciated for their contributions?

I think many of us are seeing 80-90% of the stewardship being concentrated on the top 5-10% of donors. It is an understandable strategy since the top tier of donors usually give the vast majority of the money, some organizations getting 85-90% of their funding from the a small group of leadership donors. In many ways some versions of nonprofit philanthropy reminds me of the legacy airline business model. First Class and Business Class fares pay for the majority of the cost to operate a flight. First Class gets the most space, the lie-flat suite, finest food, and best ration of flight attendants to passengers. When you disembark from an international flight you have arrived at the same destination as everyone else on the aircraft, regardless of the class you traveled. For some the celebration is in the arrival. Others remember the in-flight. If you have had the joy of sitting in the middle seat of coach for an international red-eye and your final memory of the journey is walking past all the luxury suites it may leave you with a a different impression than the former occupants of those seats.

Would you consider your organization’s stewardship efforts to be inclusive? Do all your donors feel their contribution was put towards important priorities? Does your organization have fans who donate with passion or do you have members who donate out of obligation?

The Order of the Questions

Interview of Scott Huffmon and Julian Zelizer on Radio Times WHYY this morning talking about polling results and the mid-term political elections. One of the interesting comments was the reference to the order of the questions asked when you conduct a survey. Scott Huffmon explained the following historical experiment.

A 1948 survey conducted by Hyman and Sheatsley in 1948 asked two questions in a specific order and then reversed the order for the other half of those surveyed. The results of the survey found that 30% gave a postive response to the question, “should a Communist reporter should be admitted to the United States.” But when the first questions was,”should an American reporter should be admitted to Russia” and then was followed by “should a Communist reporter should be admitted to the United States.” The number of people who were favorable to the Communist reporter being admitted to the United States raised to over 70%. Clearly the order of the questions dramatically changes the results.

Are you asking the right questions for your organization/cause? Do you have them in the right order? Could you alter your case for support by amending the questions you ask your supporters?

Poll image: http://www.derrycityfc.net/cityweb/images/stories/survey.jpg

Veteran’s Day and a Gesture of Thanks


Have you been caught in the in a half-second freeze of wanting to say thank you a member of the Armed Forces in a public setting but then did not take immediate action and watched the opportunity pass. Traveling through airports I find myself taking advantage of moments standing in line for screening or ticketing to strike-up a conversation with members of the military when possible but other times the setting appears awkard or inappropriate. I just watched a news piece on the Gratitude Campaign. A simple but meaningful movement centered around a gesture that has gone viral in the social media. Take a look at their website and short video.

Wishing all veterans appreciation for their service and commitment on Veteran’s Day.

Strategy Screens and Basic Strategy for Blackjack

I have been trying to communicate the importance of developing a strategy screen to nonprofit organizations. The strategy screen is a series of statements or questions that an organization uses in real time to guide their decision-making. Some generic statements might read:

  • Is the opportunity consistent with our mission?
  • Do we have the resources to manage the initiative?
  • Is the opportunity within our geographic service area?
  • Does it benefit our customers?
The importance of having a viable strategy screen was tested in the 4th quarter of 2008 and early 2009 when many organizations were having multiple sessions dedicated to the survival of the economic down-turn. Still the idea of having these decision-making filters in place before challenges or opportunities arise are not always easy selling points. As I reclaimed my desk after a recent trip to NYC I stumbled across an old blackjack strategy card. Simply stated it provides conventional wisdom as to how to bet when you are the blackjack table. With money on the line this little card is a quick way to negotiate the decision-making process of each hand. Perfectly legal and sold at the casino. Finally this analogy seems to have built a bridge (of cards) across the divide and helped provide some perspective on the value of the strategy screen.

What would a strategy card look like for your organization? Do you have one in place?

It is About the Bike

Just started following World Bicycle Relief which is addressing mobility issues in rural Africa. 50,000 specially built bikes have been distributed since 2004. Programs have ranged from assisting with the recover from a Tsunami to micro-financing. A compelling metric on the website about the Power of Bicycles in Africa.

The Power of Bicycles

Distance

Over equal units of time, one can ride a bicycle 4 times the distance as one can travel on foot.

Capacity

Riding a bicycle increases one’s capacity to carry by 5 times.

Decision Making IQ

A collective belief on some of the organizations I partner with has been that people with high IQ’s are likely to be better decision-makers. You surround yourself with the best and brightest and then help them excel is the mantra of many leaders. It makes less sense if you think about the outliers- those gifted individuals who have put in 10,000 hours or more perfecting their craft. During a crisis you often see leadership turn to the retired veteran for counsel. Not out of deference but perhaps they have seen something similar during their lifetime and can offer perspective that comes with having been at the helm for a long enough period of time. Great decision-makers comprehend what they understand and readily ask for more information or input to clarify the voids. Regardless of IQ, this is a unique talent and does not come from a single metric.

What would it look like if we created a measure of decision-making abilities? Would there be a reasonable metric? Guy Kawasaki offered the following excerpt in his Alltop blog:

IQ isn’t everything

“A high IQ is like height in a basketball player,” says David Perkins, who studies thinking and reasoning skills at Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “It is very important, all other things being equal. But all other things aren’t equal. There’s a lot more to being a good basketball player than being tall, and there’s a lot more to being a good thinker than having a high IQ.”

A True Advocate

Do you have a true advocate who advances your organization’s message? Somebody who embodies the brand. That person when you see them in public you immediately think of the cause. This person is a walking bill board.

I have a friend who owns a pro-bike shop, Durance Cycleworks. Richard Feldman carries high-end road and mountain bikes. His services are customized to a specific clientele. His greatest advocate is not all the people riding all over the state and nation in his shop’s cycling kit (shorts, jersey, socks) but rather a local realtor who will tell anyone who listens to go to Durance. He tells then what they need to purchase or checkout while they are there. Every race, every ride, every moment Durance has an unpaid advocate who is preaching the great things happening at the store. He is a customer and a friend of Richard’s but most importantly he is genuine in his passion.

Another friend, Pete Vordenberg is currently the Head Coach for the US Nordic Team (cross-country skiing). He created a movement and web page that promotes the journey and dedication of these Olympic athletes. Due to limited coverage of the sport in the main-stream media and very limited coverage of streaming video since most of the races are held in international locations Pete has taken his photography abilities to the World Cup. He will post great images of everything from the scenery to the chaos happening behind the scenes on race day. His Team Today is a portal into the world of elite ski racing. Pete is more than a coach, he inspires, educates, shares, and champions the sport.

Who is the advocate for your organization? How do you support their efforts? Can you find more than one?

Presentation and Context

Went to my local Albertsons grocery store today. As I wandered the the aisles searching for items on my list I stopped at the end of the wine aisle. The “best” wines in the market were locked-up and displayed almost like tobacco, sold as if they were restricted to an over-the-counter transaction. A customer certainly has to be motivated to make the purchase in a situation that requires locating an employee, getting the case unlocked, and most likely having the bottle placed at the checkout counter for purchase when the customer is done shopping.

It reminds me of non-profit websites I visit that are missing a “Donate Now” button. The ability to complete a transaction for a motivated donor or customer is necessary. I received an Annual Report from an educational institution that I attended for Elementary School. The report was extremely well done and motivated me to make a small contribution. I was able to complete the process in two minutes. Had it gone on my ‘to do’ list the donation may not have happened.

Are you keeping the necessary products within reach of your donors and customers? Is it easy for them to buy/donate or are you hiding the valuables behind the counter?

A Sense of Place

I just received an invitation to meet a live wolf at an event hosted by a nature museum in the Hudson Valley in New York. A few minutes later I found a friend had posted photos of a wolf that had recently been shot in Idaho as part of a licensed hunting season. In one moment the wolf is a curiosity, a draw to an event, a chance to get closer to an animal that few if anyone encounters in the Hudson Valley. In Idaho the wolf has reached a population base that according the Department of Game & Fish the predator can sustain a season of Wolf Management plan to harvest 220. 81 have been harvested to date and a limit of 139 remains state wide. The season was authorized to thin the wolf population and reduce conflicts with wildlife (especially sheep and cattle) that graze on both private and public lands throughout the state.

This all seems an odd juxtaposition since the wolf as a captive creature is the center of a press release to draw visitors to the nature museum and yet a wolf pelt or even a wolf tag is the center of conversation in many communities in Idaho.

Do we fully understand the wolf? Are we reacting to a collective truth as Seth Godin’s blog pointed out his morning? Why is the presence of the wolf seen so differently in two different regions of the same nation? What would it look like if anyone going to see the live wolf had to witness it hunting and killing a band of sheep or vice versa if a hunter had to pet a wolf and stare into its eyes face-to-face before heading out on a hunt? How much does our sense of place define our actions?

Airline Competitive Advantage

When I was younger there were certain assumptions one could make when they traveled on an airplane. You needed to have the actual tickets in your hand. So called last minute bookings could only happened at the airport. A Skycap’s cart looked like a candy store with bag tags in assorted colors with three letter codes printed on them. You bags were checked and no questions were asked. I think our dogs even flew for free in their kennels. The airline tickets came in at least triplicate. There was a smoking and non-smoking sections on the plane. Hot meals and beverages were included. Certain flights had three classes of services. The headphones were goofy looking and the in-flight movies were hard to see on the single screen at the front of the coach cabin.

It struck me this morning as I booked a flight that I choose the airline based on the lack of ‘add-on’ fees. I wanted my bag and skis to travel free to a weekend ski race and United Airlines which I frequent most often does not fly directly to the city so I decided I am going Southwest. Their competitive advantage has become the “bags fly free” campaign. Who would have thought that baggage fees would be the great division upon which branding campaigns could be launched.

What would it look like if we revisited some of our organization’s assumptions? Have they changed? Have trends and customer demands altered?