Summer/Fall 2002 Newsletter

Table of Contents 

1. Events Work: Incorporating Special Events Into Your Plans by Alan Linklater and Lisa Pasin

2. Trends by Nadine Maillot

3. Manage Your Reputation and Gain a Competitive Advantage by Sheila Carruthers

4. Managing the E-mail Monster by Maggie Leithead

5. Directors and Officers Liability Insurance by Kevin Shaigec

6. Technology Toolkit for Not For Profit Organizations by Ian Kershaw

1. Events Work: Incorporating Special Events Into Your Plans by Alan Linklater and Lisa Pasin

Golf tournaments.  Fun runs. Fundraising dinners with auctions. It seems as though every organization out there is jumping on the event bandwagon.  And with good reason.  A well-presented event can be the cornerstone of fundraising efforts and can serve as a “signature” for the organization in the community.

Maybe you are thinking about creating your own event, or taking an existing one to a new level. Whatever the case, this article may be of assistance as you begin the process of planning.

One of the first things you should do is to evaluate your investment into the event versus the return it realizes.  Sounds like a job for a business analyst, but it’s really one of the most important phases in starting up a new event or in evaluating the viability of an existing event.  Simply put, long before you look for the right hotel ballroom or start searching for sponsors, you need to find out how much you are really investing in the event and weigh that investment against the event’s returns.

Investments

These come in many forms, some more obvious than others.  Here are a few of the more common ones.

Time. How much time ¾ really ¾ do your staff and volunteers (committee members, boards, etc.) really spend on planning and executing the event?  A hard question to answer, but the answer’s important.  Also consider where staff and volunteers’ energies are best spent: is your development officer spending more time organizing tee-off times and menus for a golf tournament than in securing sponsorships and prizes? Also ask if your staff is being asked to do things that are out of their expertise or job description?  Will the demands of planning an event put them behind in completing their “real” work?  Your organization may end up paying, either in overtime hours owed to staff or through staff burnout.

A second investment is the time and energy spent by your volunteers.  Do you have an adequate volunteer base from which to draw, and are they qualified to assist effectively? You can take steps to ensure that they are qualified by structuring volunteer positions in the same way you would a paid staff position. Develop a job description so that everyone’s expectations are clear from the outset and fill that position with a qualified person.  The roles of committees and chairpersons are no exception: have clear expectations for them.  Are they there to sell tickets to your event? Do they have a role in acquisitions of auction items?  Whatever the role, they need to be aware of where their job begins and ends.  And remember, these people are representing you – final decisions on all aspects of the event should be vetted by someone within the organization.

The most obvious event investment is money.  Most cash expenditures are obvious: facility rental, invitations, advertising, cost of meals, etc.  The investment may be substantial or minimal, but make sure you consider all your costs, including one that’s commonly skipped over: staff time and the corresponding portion of their salaries.

Other resources that you need to consider are varied.  If you are planning a new event, another important resource is your pool of potential sponsors – are any of them a “fit” with your event’s format and audience?  And consider if you are going to the “sponsorship well” too often.  And finally look at potential guests: how often are you asking your core supporters to attend events or make contributions to the organization? If the answer is “too often”, can you attract people outside this core to the event?

Returns

Once you’ve itemized the event’s investments, move on to returns. Sure, we’re talking about money, but other factors must be considered.  The following section outlines some of the returns you should consider.

Net profit. We’re often asked what is a realistic rate of return for a fundraising event?  Unfortunately, the answer’s not written in stone, but in our experience, it can range from a 1 to 1.5 (dollars invested to dollars earned) return to a 1 to 3 return.

But, sometimes getting a “hard return” on your investment is not the first priority for your event.  Not all events are designed to make money; their real returns may be less quantifiable.  For example, the profile you receive as a result of an event may be more valuable than dollars in the long run; it may bring in new donors or volunteers, or create visibility among your client base.  Consider things like publicity ¾ what would it have cost to purchase the features or articles you received for free as a result of the event?

And, while it’s not “measurable”, there’s a lot to be said for the value of “friendraising”.  If one of the primary objectives of your event is to thank existing supporters or to make them feel good about being associated with your organization, your only measuring stick might be anecdotal.

Next steps

So you’ve evaluated your event from the “investment/return” angle, and have found the results to be positive.  Your board’s on side and the event’s a “go”.  So what’s next? Set goals and measurable objectives for the event.  By doing this you’ll have a measuring stick by which you can gauge your success.  Is fundraising the focus? Is it to raise profile in the community?  Is it to mark a significant occasion?  Is it a combination of goals?  Whatever the case, once your goals and objectives are set, the planning process should evolve around them.  Continually ask yourself why you are putting on the event and focus your efforts on the answer.  For example, if the objective of the event is to thank your donors, is it wise to include a fundraising component?

Along with your goals and objectives, your budget should be your event “bible”.  We recommend that when planning or evaluating an event, you should develop both a worst-case and best-case budget – and be realistic on both!  Many things will be constant across both budgets, except for variables like ticket sales, sponsorships ¾ cash and in-kind ¾ and auction revenue.  So, if you don’t have a secured sponsorship, don’t include that amount in the revenue column of the worst-case budget.  A tip: for worst-case scenario budgeting for silent auction revenue, estimate half of the retail value of the item.

There’s nothing worse from both a budgetary and marketing/public relations point of view than having an event flop.  So, in your planning, set a date for ‘pulling the plug’, or canceling the event. Ideally, this date should fall before any invitations are sent or publicity hits the street, and before any hard expenses have been incurred.  What is the major indicator that you should pull the plug?  Your worst-case sponsorship scenario (cash and in-kind) has not been met.  

Many events sail along year after year and continue to raise the same amount of net profit.  But there may be indicators that you need to retool or retire your event: attendance slips for two years in a row (one year may just be an anomaly); cash and in-kind sponsors fall off and you can’t find replacements; the event’s profit margins decreases for more than one year in a row.

The signature event

We define a signature event as one that operates on an annual basis and continues on the same theme. We’re all familiar with these types of events in our communities: many of them are have been around a long time and have established a brand of their own.  Some have a more conventional format (dinners, auctions) while others have an unusual twist in things like format or venue.

When creating a signature event, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Look around to see what works for organizations in other marketplaces and adapt the ideas to your own situation.  Once you

have your idea, create a rolling three-year plan with targets, goals, objectives for revenues and attendance.  This plan will provide a framework, but should be flexible; after each year, you’ll change the things that didn’t work and add new things.  Keep the name of the event the same from year to year and, if possible, hold it at the same time of year. 

Making your event unique and memorable is important in ensuring its long-term success.  First, establish a tone and theme and follow through with every component – from the invitations to the décor and other special touches.  Make your theme come alive.  If you’ve chosen a sports theme, have a designer put together an invitation in the shape of a soccer ball or football.  Then use real sports equipment as décor (as table centrepieces, for example) and have service staff wear team jerseys.  If your event has a Roman theme, recruit some local bodybuilders to volunteer to pose on podiums!  You don’t have to go over the top, though, just try to think beyond the norm when it comes to details.

Sometimes it’s the way the event flows that makes it memorable.  Try to put internal agendas aside and think about the event from the guests’ perspective.  Make sure they know what they should be doing.  Make sure they are comfortable: as a general rule of thumb, if your speeches or program are going to last more than 15 to 20 minutes, guests should have the option of sitting down.  And while it might be a hard question to ask, do your guests really want to listen to an endless stream of talking heads, (especially if the event is more social in nature)?

Obviously, it’s impossible to give a comprehensive overview of event planning in this space, especially given the wide variety of combinations and permutations of special events.  One thing’s clear though ¾ with some careful planning and creative thought, you can make events work for your organization.

Allan Linklater and Lisa Pasin own Communication Links Event Management.  Together they plan large and small scale events for clients in the private and not-for-profit sectors.  They can be reached at (780) 448-5917 or at comlinks@birksbuilding.com .

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2. Trends by Nadine Maillot

Trends – so what do they mean to the volunteer manager?

In today’s Western world, where time is our most precious commodity, how does volunteerism continue to grow and flourish?  How do managers of volunteers keep volunteers walking through the front door?  How do they retain the volunteers they have?  To answer these questions, take a look at some of the latest trends in volunteerism and how managers of volunteers can manage the impact on their organizations and volunteer programs.

Lack of time is the most frequently stated reason for not volunteering by volunteers and non-volunteers alike.  To combat this, managers of volunteers need to pay attention to the fact that even current volunteers have time restraints.  When people are under a time crunch, it’s most often volunteer commitments that slide off their schedules.  Try to keep in touch with the volunteers and understand what’s going on in their lives.  This can allow you to be proactive and flexible before the volunteers have to give up their volunteer work.

Not everyone can make a year-long commitment to volunteering.  For organizations that require a long-term commitment, this becomes a real challenge.  Managers of volunteers need to be proactive now and examine the ways they are designing positions.  Can positions be adopted so they don’t  need a long-term commitment?  If not, what can be negotiated with volunteers to dispel fears of making a long-term commitment that they may not be able to follow through on?

Mandatory volunteerism is on the rise.  An oxymoron; nevertheless, a reality.  Are managers of volunteers thinking strategically about how to accept volunteers who are mandated to come to the organization?  How can those volunteers be moved into a longer-term commitment?

A focus on retention is key.  Step off the recruitment treadmill and focus on the volunteers the organization has rather than recruiting new ones.  Are these volunteers happy? How do you keep them that way?

People responsible for managing volunteers need to implement a system for managing volunteers while understanding that volunteers don’t want to feel like they are being managed.  A management structure in place to protect volunteers is extremely important.  Equally important, however, is ensuring volunteers never feel they are merely a cog in the wheel of a big bureaucracy.

Volunteers have (or seem to have) changed.  The days of describing the “typical” volunteer are gone.  Volunteers are now discussed in very specific demographics (i.e. youth, employee, retiree, etc.).  With each specific group come motivations managers of volunteers need to understand to be effective in engaging and maintaining them.  It means planning programs in a new way.

Managers of volunteers need to be taken more seriously within the cohort of paid professionals in the sector.  For managers of volunteers to effectively do their jobs, they need to be viewed as professionals managing a human resources component of the organization.  Before effective volunteer engagement can happen, the organization needs to demonstrate a commitment to this role and provide the necessary resources. 

Risk management needs to be consistent and supported by the organization.  Risk management relating to volunteers is a huge focus these days, yet can only be successful if an organization practices risk management with both staff and volunteers.

Employer-supported volunteer initiatives are on the rise.  More and more, companies are looking for ways to attract and retain employees. Being involved and giving back to the community is very important to many employees. Because of this, companies are finding ways to support volunteer involvement.  Managers of volunteers need to understand this concept and take some time to work with the corporate sector on this front.

Much comes from the few.  Need we say more.  The same volunteers volunteer over and over again.  Two key questions managers of volunteers can ask themselves – Am I burning my volunteers out? and How does using the same volunteer build a sustainable volunteer program?

Volunteer job design is critical to the success of a volunteer program.  It’s time to spend more time thinking about how volunteers add to the organization.  The practice of volunteer management has moved from being responsive to proactive.  Think about how volunteers are involved in the organization, who utilizes them, and how you can deliberately mobilize their efforts to make the volunteer experience meaningful.

Volunteerism by contract is becoming standard practice. Move away from the thinking that all volunteers can volunteer the same amount of time.  Try negotiating a commitment during the interview phase.  This can be a challenge but may help keep some volunteers around for the long haul.

With these trends in mind, then, what are volunteers looking for these days?

Managers of volunteers will likely find volunteers want:

• Short-term projects with a deadline

• Evidence of well-planned and well-organized programs

• An opportunity that provides them with a meaningful experience and time well spent

• A link back to the cause they are volunteering for to feel like they are making a difference

• A culture that allows volunteers to do so on their own terms at times convenient to them

• A manager of volunteers who listens to their needs and involves them in decision making.

Nadine Maillot is the Manager of Training and Program Development at Volunteer Calgary.  She can be reached at 403-231-1434 or maillot@VolunteerCalgary.ab.ca .

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3. Manage Your Reputation and Gain a Competitive Advantage by Sheila Carruthers

The recent scandals resulting from poor corporate accounting practices has highlighted the issue of building and managing a reputation from the inside out.  This is as relevant in a voluntary organization as it is in the corporate world.  Your reputation can make or break you and is well worth being carefully and strategically maintained.

Strategic Thinking

This is a great time to review your internal practices and to look beyond the numbers to what is behind them.  A good reputation is like having money in the bank.  If you continue to regularly deposit, your reputation may dip should a negative action or accusation arise, but you will not be bankrupt – at least not unless your scandal is greater than your deposit.  Your reputation can attract or put off funders, supporters, dedicated employees, willing volunteers and even new clients.

An organization has to be worthy of its license to operate.1  This is gained by having the confidence and trust of the community.  Consider the community to be your neighbours and you as their neighbour of choice.2

Perception is Reality

Your reputation is largely built on other’s perceptions.  Consider the impact of a negative rumour or announcement.  Of course, that is what your Communications or Fund Development Manager is responsible for, if you are lucky enough to have one.  But think about all your staff and volunteers.  These people are your organization’s ambassadors and they have their own personal networks.  Are you truly leveraging the value of your people and do they know how much you value them?  What do you think they are saying about you?  What would you like them to be saying about you and your organization?

Brand Leadership

Rather than simply managing your organization’s brand, a positive reputation builds increased brand value.  The brand itself is the communications packaging that embraces and enhances your reputation.  It requires clear communication channels and open two-way dialogue both internally and externally.

Partnerships

How well do you know your partners and their business operations?  When you developed the partnership, did you develop a written understanding of each partner’s role and responsibilities?  How are you leveraging the value of aligning your organization with theirs (and vice versa)?  Is it still the same?  Should there be any change in either organization, consider how this impacts the partnership (this may not be obvious at first glance).

Do you know if your partners are ethical, environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable?  Do their operations have a positive impact on your community?  If you have great partners, then talk about them – and ask them to do the same!

With all the bru-ha-ha going on right now around businesses 
that have not been acting in a responsible manner, businesses 
should now, more than ever before, be interested in building 
and managing their reputation and demonstrating their concern
and support for their communities.  The ripple effect is that if 
your organization is linked to a business whose reputation 
tumbles, think what this says about your group.  It works both 
ways.  So ...

Now is the time to review your organization’s reputation 
because if you are not managing your reputation, then who is?
__________________

1  Term first created by Edmund Burke, Executive Director of the Centre for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College.

2  source: The Centre for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College

After more than a decade managing two of Canada’s largest foundations, one private and one corporate, Sheila Carruthers recently started her own consulting business, CSR Strategies Inc.  For further information or to contact Sheila, you can visit her website at www.csrstrategies.ca or call her at (403) 225 4134 or (403) 589 5731.

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4. Managing the E-mail Monster by Maggie Leithead

There’s no doubt about it: e-mail is the handiest new communication tool to come along since the fax machine.  That is, until you get your 100th spam advertising message of the day or the latest “cute little story” forwarded from your Great Aunt Edith.

Let’s start again… There’s no doubt about it: e-mail is the best and most misused communications tool to come along in quite some time.  Here are some tips for managing the e-mail monster, garnered from seven years of dealing with 100+ messages a day at the CharityVillage.com keyboard.

Help! I’m drowning in messages!

A recent Ipsos-Reid poll (March 27, 2002) found that Canadians receive an average of 22 e-mail messages a day.  Many people receive that many messages before breakfast.  How can you deal with the flood?

Filter: Get to the important messages first

Most e-mail applications have a filtering feature.  Create filters on your in-box that will forward "known good" addresses to one inbox (Friends/Colleagues), and all the rest to another inbox (Strangers); that way you can quickly separate and segment the good from the unknown.

Set up separate mailboxes for individual colleagues or teams/committees, and filter their messages automatically to individual in-boxes (e.g. program committee, executive director, board etc.).

For dealing with spam – unsolicited marketing messages – set up filters for the most common words and phrases that spammers use (“Viagra”, “make money from home”, etc.) and send them directly to your trash.  Also remember:  never reply to the "unsubscribe" line in spam messages (the one "click here to be removed from our mailing list")  This link is put in place solely to validate your e-mail address.  By clicking it, your email address has just made more money for the marketer, and is now a "good, and verified" e-mail address that they will sell to other spammers.

Stationery: Common questions get quick responses

Use e-mail stationery to set up standard e-mail messages to reply to commonly asked questions, like directions to your office, how to volunteer, or an outline of your program schedule.   As a general rule, if you have answered the same question more than three times, try to create a stationery response for it.  It saves time typing out the same answer over and over and allows you to get back to the questioner more quickly.

Keep it personal.  Even if you do use stationery for the bulk of the answer, be sure to personalize some of the response (at least include the person’s name) and answer any additional questions that the stationery reply doesn’t cover.

Stationery items are different than auto-response messages.  Auto-response features are completely automatic -- no person ever sees the incoming e-mail.  They can be helpful in certain tasks: for subscribing to an e-letter or confirming an event ticket purchase.  As a general rule, however, it’s very hard to make auto-responders work effectively for content-based questions.  That’s when stationery and a bit of manual intervention comes in handy.

If you haven’t done so already, add answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) to your web site. Many people will still e-mail their questions to you anyway, but you can cut down on some of your in-box volume by helping people help themselves to the answers online.

Scold forwarders ruthlessly

I don’t get many e-mail jokes forwarded to me these days.  I politely tell anyone who sends me more than one or two “Things I learned from watching soap operas” messages or “Words for/from wise women” notes that I would much rather hear two sentences about how they are doing than receive a forwarded joke.  Of course, this means that I have to play by my rules too, so I can’t send them that great one I just heard about tendering my resignation as an adult…

Hello? Hellooooo? Is anyone home?

Set response times for replying to incoming messages

Set a timeframe goal for getting back to people.  A study last year by Jupiter Media Metrix found that people are expecting faster customer service via e-mail than ever before.  Response time expectations have dropped from 24 hours to 12 to six hours.  The study didn’t specifically look at expectations around nonprofit communications, but if people are becoming less forgiving of poor communication with for-profits, it won’t be long before they have similar expectations for your service levels.

I made a promise to myself this year that I will respond to all questions from CharityVillage.com team members the same day that I receive them, and all other incoming questions within 24 hours.  If I won’t be able to give a full answer within that time, I’m going to get back to them and let them know an estimated answer time.

Using filters and stationery messages is the first step in managing your e-mail more effectively. The next step involves getting the people around you to help out.

Redirect Messages Effectively

To help improve response times to external inquiries, define who exactly within your organization will respond to different types of inquiries.  Make sure that everyone knows where to redirect incoming messages.  Set up a quick table that everyone can refer to, and re-send it to everyone periodically as a reminder.

Do I really need to know about this?  Do Others?

Not all of the e-mail monsters come from outside your organization.  Many may lurk at the next desk or cubicle too.  They copy everyone in the office on everything “just to be safe” – and often flag all messages with the “Highest Priority” setting.  We all know, however, that widespread sharing of too much information is just as bad as not sharing enough.

The research on e-mail usage is starting to show that if you want something done by e-mail, ask an individual, not a group.

A recent study by researchers at Technion Technology Institute in Haifa, Israel found that the more people you copy an e-mail to, the more likely it is that each recipient will ignore it.  People are more likely to respond to e-mail messages where they are the only recipient than to mass mailings with many people in the “cc:” field.

The next time you are about to send a message internally, stop first and think about who really needs to receive it.  Sit down with colleagues and come to a consensus about what types of e-mails need wide circulation.  Try to keep that list as short as possible.  If you have to send messages to a group, highlight action items for individuals at the top of the message.  That way, they’ll see that the message should matter to them.

But wait, I need to keep copies of everything!

Archive strategically

If you need to keep copies of e-mail to track projects or for evaluation, use the filtering system to transfer outgoing messages to an archive mailbox.  Don’t just leave all of your messages in your out-box.  For instance, you might set up two boxes for your board of directors: “Board In” filters all incoming messages from board members to one mailbox, and “Board Sent” transfers all of the messages that you send to board members into one mailbox for archival purposes.  From there, you can copy individual mailboxes to external media (floppy, CD-ROM, external server) for long-term storage.

Some final thoughts

There’s no doubt about it: e-mail can be both great and gruesome. The difference, as always, is in how you manage it.  Use the tools included in your e-mail application to help streamline incoming and outgoing messages.  Put internal systems in place so that the right people are getting the right messages quickly.  Save what you need, but only what you really need.  Before you know it, you’ll be taming the e-mail monsters around you.

Maggie Leithead is president and CEO of CharityVillage.com, Canada’s supersite for the nonprofit sector. She loves hearing from people (and promises not to filter you immediately). Send your comments, questions, and e-mail monster managing hints to her at maggie@charityvillage.com .

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5. Directors and Officers Liability Insurance by Kevin Shaigec

In recent years, public awareness of the responsibilities of Directors and Officers has been ever increasing.  The emergence of Director and Officers liability insurance has evolved to provide a level of protection for the executives of Non-profit and for Profit entities.  In particular Directors and Officers of non-profit associations have had to consider exposure to liabilities for which they may be held personally responsible.

There are numerous circumstances that may give rise to the possibility of Claims being advanced against associations and their “governing” bodies.  Claims brought against Directors and Officers of non-profit associations are typically complex in the fact that they often involve numerous parties and several interests.  The burden of a lawsuit often carries with it the risk of loss of reputation, as well as substantial financial costs.

Some examples of liabilities that Directors and Officers of associations should be aware of are:

• Breach of duty of care

• Defamation

• Misrepresentation/non-disclosure

• Employee practices
  termination
  discrimination
  harassment

• Fiduciary responsibilities
  unpaid wages
  unremitted deductions at source

• GST, PST (where applicable)

Many organizations are exposed to the above-mentioned types of claims and these entities may include the following: community service groups, professional associations, social clubs, sports clubs/associations, public and private corporations.  The litigious nature of today’s society necessitates adequate insurance protection for the group’s decision makers, whether the association is a small non-profit entity or a large corporation.  Prudent organizations “Transfer the Risk” with the provision of Directors and Officers liability insurance.

Most Directors and Officers Liability Insurance policies provide the following benefits:

1. Personal protection is afforded to Directors and Officers, including the cost of defense and settlement.

2. The association can avoid financial crisis in the event of a successful claim against the Directors and Officers.

3. Expert legal advice is provided by lawyers experienced in the complexities of litigation attached to Directors and Officers liability claims. 

Directors and Officers Liability Insurance coverage provides “peace of mind” for both the entity and those individuals that serve as Directors and Officers.  While it is not uncommon for claims to be unjustified or unfounded; the costs associated to investigations and defense of the allegations are often substantial in nature.  This insurance covers both the defense costs and any amount for which a Director or Officer may be held liable (subject to the limit of insurance purchased).

All associations are susceptible to litigation.  Directors and Officers Liability insurance provides a vehicle to mitigate the potential loss of reputation of an organization and the “key” people, as well protecting the financial viability of the association.

Kevin Shaigec is Senior Vice President of insurance operations at Morgex Insurance Group Ltd.  He can be reached at 780-413-6690, ext. 341 or by e-mail at kevin.shaigec@morgex.com .

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6. Technology Toolkit for Not For Profit Organizations by Ian Kershaw

As we talked it seemed so obvious we wondered why no one had done it already. A little research confirmed that indeed no one had. So we got started, and the idea of “Taking Technology to Non-Profit Organizations in Alberta” came into being. The initiative was conceived while visiting Japan as a member of the Wild Rose Foundation delegation in August of last year.

This guide to computer technology is written in every day language to assist non-profit organizations gain an understanding of technology. Given that computers, printers, networks and other devices are merely tools, the title “Technology Toolkit” seemed appropriate. As with any good toolkit it contains a variety of “tools” with over 25 articles. These range from an introduction to data backup, developing a technology plan to hiring a consultant. On average each article is between two and three pages long, can be read in a few minutes and, more importantly is written in plain language with topics selected specifically for smaller non-profit organizations.

The toolkit was nurtured and enthusiastically taken forward from concept to completion by the Wild Rose Foundation. It can be downloaded via the Internet at http://www.focusitsolutions.com. Specifically designed to be very user friendly and each article is available by itself for easy downloading and printing.

If your organization needs a primer on anything from databases to digital cameras, or proposal writing to virus protection, the toolkit will provide you with an excellent introduction.

The content of the toolkit was developed by Ian Kershaw of Calgary who has over 30 years in the non-profit sector.  For more information on the toolkit, contact the Wild Rose Foundation or Ian Kershaw at Focus IT Solutions Inc., 403-615-3620, ian@focusitsolutions.com, www.focusitsolutions.com.

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