Winter 1998 Newsletter

Table of Contents

1. The Internet: What's In It For You? by Shawn Gramiak

2. Shakedown around the corner for nonprofits online

3. Standardized Financial Reporting Requirements For Not-for-Profit Organizations by Betty Thompson 

4. Helping volunteers write a successful fundraising letter by John Ouellette, Major Gifts Officer, University of Ottawa 

5. Demystifying Your Role as a Nonprofit Board Member by Mike Brunetti 

6. Steps to Becoming a Multicultural Organization 

7. Pointers on Inviting People to Volunteer 

1. The Internet: What's In It For You? by Shawn Gramiak

The decision whether to purchase an Internet connection for a not-for-profit organization should be based on the same criteria as any computer related purchase.

What are you going to use it for? 

Get connected to the world-wide web for one of three possible reasons: 

• Advertising 

• Information 

• Communication 

Does the advertising, communications, marketing and/or publicity plan for your organization address the role of computer technology in your organization?

If you are a newcomer on the communications scene, the Internet should fall in line behind print, radio and television in your communications strategy. A well thought-out communications plan should address the who, what, why, when and where of your organization. It should also map out who you plan to communicate with. There's no use in designing a splashy web page trumpeting your services if most of your clientele do not have access to a computer. 

If you do have a plan, are you using print, radio or television to their maximum benefit? Are there other methods of publicizing your efforts? Would the monthly cost of an Internet connection be put to better use buying paper and envelopes for the monthly newsletter? 

Don't get me wrong, I am rabidly pro-technology. Yet, simply put, your organization still needs the biggest bang for its buck when it comes to publicity. If an Internet service connection costs you $25.00 a month, and $300.00 annually could be used to design an information package in a format people are accustomed to, perhaps that is where your cash should go. 

Ask yourself does your organization need international recognition?

The very strength of communications systems, such as the Internet and world-wide web, is that once your organization has a web page, anyone in the world with a computer and access to the web can find that page. Someone interested in food banks in Australia can find out about a foodbank in Alberta. The question is, will that person in Australia make a contribution to, or publicize the virtues of the Alberta foodbank? If not, was that form of advertising effective? 

On the other hand, a web page can be an affordable ground-floor advertising opportunity, especially if your organization has a wide-reaching clientele or if there are many organizations like yours throughout the world. The web page can be a multimedia marriage of sound, video and print. Someone with a good sense of design can attract the eye to your page, and well presented content can keep them there. A web page can have the flash of a visual presentation, with the stability of the written word. When you consider that most of the print material your organization puts together for public consumption probably is entered or created on a computer, with a little more effort it could be adapted for use on your web page. Web pages also provide a means of getting viewer feedback. This interactivity can be used to create beneficial networks, and at very least, good public relations. 

An Internet connection can be helpful in researching issues and locating information.

Simply put, the answers are out there. Many educational institutions, foundations, and libraries are on the Net. Not-for-profit associations and umbrella groups, as well as various levels of government also have web pages. Chances are that if your organization is facing a challenge, someone else on the web has already faced that challenge. The job is to search them out and make contact. 

It may not be the easiest task, however, just as you learned methods to find that rare volume on Byzantine astronomy in the library, there are also ways to find information quickly and efficiently on the web through Internet search engines. As with everything, practice makes you proficient. 

Many nonprofit organizations utilize the Internet to research funding sources, to learn more about educational opportunities, or to access articles and discussions specific to the sector. 

Your organization may also be part of the solution. Your learnings and successes can be helpful to others. There will likely be a place on the web for your story. You don't need a web page of your own. There would probably be a site that would be more than willing to take and post your story. Providing your story of a challenge overcome, will hopefully prevent someone from having to endure the same struggle. 

One of the most popular uses for an Internet service is electronic mail (e-mail). 

E-mail blends the comprehensive- ness of correspondence with the speed of a phone call. Let's say you are working with a colleague in another city on a project. You can type out all of the project details in an e-mail, and send it off over the Internet to your colleague. They can review it and make changes if required. If they hit a reply command in their e-mail program, the message that comes back to you not only includes the changes, but the original message, including when it was sent. You can bounce a message back and forth numerous times via e-mail leaving an electronic paper trail of the whole project. 

Most e-mail programs also allow a person to attach electronic files to the message. If your organization already does most of its word processing on computers, and your board members have access to a computer with an e-mail account, this makes distributing minutes or pre-meeting reading material a snap. 

Attaching files to e-mail is also very useful when it comes to print production. Many projects that are designed on a computer (brochures, reports, manuals) can be attached to an e-mail and sent directly to a print shop for printing. This is a convenience when you don't have enough time in the day to get that brochure done and over to the printers. 

E-mail can be a useful link between home and work. I have found e-mail to be the digital equivalent to the notepad on the night table. There are times when I'm at home, and figure out a solution to a problem at work. I sit down at the computer, type that solution out, mail it to my work address and have it waiting there for me in the morning.

The above scenario also shows the danger of e-mail, or any new technology that connects home and office too easily. Any technology can be either a source of freedom and independence, or a shackle that will chain you to your work. Be sure to use any new technology ONLY to your benefit. 

Yet another use for e-mail is in research. Almost every business card nowadays has an e-mail address on it. If you can find an e-mail address with an organization like your own, there is nothing stopping you from striking up a mutually beneficial penpalship.

Finally, e-mail can also be used for newsletter distribution. A fine example of this is Andrew Swanson, the author of the newsletter, "Board Sense." All you have to do to join his mailing list is to drop him an e-mail message from your computer to his address at andrew@azstarnet. com. He will put you on his mailing list, and you'll receive his newsletter regularly. He also entertains board-related questions from his readership, so there is a potential opportunity to get some solutions to nagging problems. He would probably be interested in hearing of innovative success stories as well. 

In Andrew's case, the newsletter is an e-mail message. If you want the electronic version of your newsletter to retain all the pictures and formatting you worked so hard to develop, it is better to send that as an e-mail attachment. This procedure is a little more complicated, and involves a good deal of trial and error. 

Will the Internet make your organization's work easier?

Hopefully so. It will not single-handedly make your organization more effective. It is not something that can be learned about overnight, no matter what the commercials about computers or software may say. It takes hard work and time, but the benefits should make it worth your while. 

Shawn Gramiak is a Freelance Writer. Phone: (403) 466-9324 Email care of: dashwood@planet.eon.net

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2. Shakedown around the corner for nonprofits online

"Nonprofits are committing some grievous sins in cyberspace," says Doug Jamieson, Webmaster of Charity Village and author of the Internet handbook NPO Webmaster. Jamieson spoke recently at a meeting of the London Regional Fund Raising Executives and outlined the promise and the perils of creating an online presence for your organization. 

"I predict there is about to be a big wave of disenchantment among organizations who have ventured online, not because the Internet doesn't hold enormous potential, but because so many people are jumping in without a strategy or an understanding of this very different medium," says Jamieson. 

Too many charities have created a web site for the sake of having one, and not because they are concerned about advancing their charitable objectives or offering better services to clients and donors. "In fact," he says, "the majority of nonprofit organizations' sites are a waste of time and resources." 

Give them a reason to come back

Most failing sites fall into one of two categories: the static billboard or the over-produced mega site. Both of these creations can be frustrating for the charities that create them and the supporters and strangers who access them. 

The static billboard site offers basic information about an organization, its mission and services. Rarely updated, it is not uncommon to find that the "what's new" section of the site was last updated in February, 1996. According to Jamieson, these sites are doomed to fail. "Once you've been there and seen everything once, there's no need to return." Effective sites are updated regularly and contain useful information that makes visitors want to return. Whether in the form of contests, service extensions, or links to related organizations, effective sites must give people a reason to come back.

Ten big web site mistakes 

1. Launching with too little content 

2. Launching with a design that demands too much content creation 

3. Failing to provide value to the visitor 

4. Becoming entranced by the technology 

5. Seeing it as an "advertising medium" 

6. Letting the techies run it 

7. Trying to bottle up the visitor within your site 

8. Losing confidence in it prematurely 

9. Failing to integrate it into the overall communications program. 

10. Failing to share it with your constituency. (Whose site is it anyway?)

Ten big up-front questions to ask before starting a web site 

1. Is there strong senior-level commitment? 

2. Is there a strong champion? 

3. Are expectations realistic? 

4. Who are your Audience? 

5. What response do you want? 

6. What content will produce this response? 

7. What will make your site different? 

8. How will you source/create content? 

9. Why will visitors return? 

10. Do you have the people to maintain and grow it? 

Glamour isn't always good 

Equally dangerous are sites that are over-produced and designed with heavy graphics. "I was doing some research from home with an old version of Netscape," says Jamieson. "I went to the site of a major national association and was greeted with the message 'Your browser does not support frames.' There were no links to text-only pages and no way to communicate with the organization at all. This is not the way to build relationships online." 

The average user accesses the Internet with a 14,400 baud modem and an old version of a common browser program like Netscape, Mosaic or Internet Explorer. "You must design your site with visitors' resources in mind," explains Jamieson. "If you use heavy graphics or frames, you should create parallel pages for those people with slow connections or old browsers." Put the communication needs of your visitors ahead of your desire to experiment with the latest cyber-toys. 

Don't give up just yet though... 

Before you pack in your service provider and hang up your net browser, Jamieson reminds us that some organizations are adapting themselves to the online world and leading the pack by extending services and offering information that is genuinely useful. "The initial wave of disappointment will be followed by the second generation sites of those organizations that have figured it out, and those sites will be very effective communications tools," says Jamieson. 

He points to sites like Kids Help Phone Online (http://www.kidshelpphone.ca/en/), which has developed a series of interactive forums where young people gather to discuss issues and offer advice on topics like sexuality, relationships, and families. In addition to the online forums, the site promotes the number of its telephone service. 

"They've looked at their audience, assessed their needs, and extended their online service to meet those needs," says Jamieson. "Not every organization is going to have such an obvious fit, but every single organization does need to sit down and think seriously before they go online. Otherwise, they're just wasting their resources." 

Reprinted with permission from May 7, 1997 issue of Canadian FundRaiser. For more information, call (416) 696-8146. 

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3. Standardized Financial Reporting Requirements For Not-for-Profit Organizations by Betty Thompson 

Standardized reporting requirements for not-for-profit organizations have arrived in a big way with the inclusion of guidelines for this sector in generally accepted accounting principles that form the parameters around which accountants prepare financial statements. 

The complexity of the sector with all types of organizations carrying on all types of programs, and reporting to a variety of funders required a flexibility in reporting that has also made the application of the new requirements a challenge to a lot of organizations. 

The reasons for some form of standardized reporting relate to both external and internal users of the financial information. The external users, in most part the funders, will be able to reasonably compare one organization's abilities to provide efficient and effective services to another's in order to make funding decisions. The new standardized method of reporting requires full disclosure of the organization's activities and, thereby, provides a high level of accountability. 

Internal users, board members and senior staff, will receive better information for decision-making in planning. They will have more complete financial data to use to decide on whether to provide a particular service or carry out a particular event. They are also better able to assess whether the organization is able to continue to provide services in its present form or whether change is required. Board and management can self-assess whether they are carrying out the programs and services that are directed towards the mandate of the organization and whether they are achieving their objectives and meeting their financial obligations. 

The new standards do require an accounting system that will capture the data that is required for reporting, but usually does not require any major changes. These requirements are effective for all fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 1997. The major areas covered are capital assets, contributions, controlled and related entities, and financial statement presentation. 

Current trends in the not-for-profit sector include increased accountability to all funders, more long-range planning, and more self-assessment of results of operations. All these trends point to the need for standardized reporting of financial information. 

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4. Helping volunteers write a successful fundraising letter by John Ouellette, Major Gifts Officer, University of Ottawa 

As Advancement staff, we are often lucky enough to have dedicated volunteers assist with the development process. They help identify prospects, open doors to corporations and foundations, link us with influential people and lend their name to our cause. They are usually very busy people with high expectations. We need to meet that challenge with results. 

Three different volunteers wanting to raise funds for projects at the University of Ottawa recently asked me for assistance in writing a solicitation letter, so I provided samples we had used in the past and the following summary. They wrote the first drafts and then we revised them together. The third case was a collaboration where I prepared a rough draft first for the volunteer. 

This guide is drawn from several sources, including Henry T. Gayley's How to Write for Development, Don Fey's The Complete Book of Fund-Raising Writing and Ron Marshak's Sixty-Direct Marketing Tips in Sixty Minutes. You will certainly want to add and delete elements depending on your experience and institutional culture. One final piece of advice-talk to your annual campaign officers and direct marketing specialists as they are THE professionals who know all about segmenting, renewing, testing and upgrading. 

• First things first... Most people look at their name upon opening a letter. Be accurate.

The second thing is usually the signature. Who signs the letter does make a difference. Add a personal note if you know the prospect, avoiding the "canned" feeling.

• The body of the copy must get Attention, create Interest, motivate Desire and inspire the reader to Action. 

• The CASE and its five W's 
  Tell the reader WHO you are and give them brief information about the organization. Be yourself. Tell the reader WHAT you want them to support. Make it worthwhile and important. To emphasize key elements, use bold, underline, and double indentations. This makes it easier to read and helps you highlight the call to action and the opportunity. Tell the reader WHEN you need the gift. A deadline adds a sense of urgency. Tell the reader WHY he or she should support you and the case. The storyline is what is most important. Are you making a difference in the lives of students, or your community? Together, will you solve a problem? You can add a one or two-sentence testimonial to add weight to your story. Tell the reader about how important this project is, and therefore how important he/she is. Tell the reader WHERE to send the money. Add a reply card (personalized if possible) and a return envelope (a stamp is not necessary but can speed up the reply-you may wish to test it). 

• As important... the two H's 
  Tell them HOW much to give. People need a guide and often don't know if $50 or $500 is expected. Tell HOW they will benefit, make them feel good and tell them how terrific they are. (Try to use "you" rather than "I") and to address the reader's/donor's interests. 

• Don't forget the THANK YOU! It adds warmth and honesty to the letter. 

• People always read the P.S. Use this for a special message and the call to action. Finish with a bang. 

Reprinted with permission from "ENSEMBLE" published by the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education. 

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5. Demystifying Your Role as a Nonprofit Board Member by Mike Brunetti 

These tips will help clarify your role, improve communication, and remind everyone why your organization exists. You've been asked to become a member of the board of directors for a nonprofit in your community. It's a position that can be very rewarding, but the rewards don't come automatically. First, you need a clear understanding of your role. Here are tips to help make your board experience a positive one. 

TIP #1 

Give yourself permission to ask for help. It is the only way to guarantee you will know what is expected of you. Learn about the many tools available to help you. When asked what their role is, untrained board members are most likely to respond, "to oversee the executive director." Nothing could be further from the truth or more detrimental to the organization. Those who have received training, learned from books and other resources, and worked hard to become productive board members have a very different answer. They are more likely to say that their role is "to insure a positive image within the community while serving clients' needs and to raise funds for the organization to meet those needs." What an attitude and performance difference! 

TIP #2 

The organization is not the board of directors. The organization belongs to the clients it serves, the community which supports its efforts, its sponsors and funders, and the people who deliver services. As a board member, put away any false sense of organizational ownership. You are there to serve, support, mentor, and make a financial contribution to the organization. 

TIP #3

The organization will survive only as long as money continues to come in. As a board member, you must be active in all fundraising events. If you are inexperienced in raising money, learn how by taking a class or hiring a consultant to teach your team. Board members who think they can delegate fundraising tasks to others are not in touch with the needs of nonprofits today. Every board member is needed to raise funds in some way. All board members must be ready to call upon their contacts to achieve successful fundraising results, even if someone else-more comfortable with asking for money-completes the communication. Those who have successfully raised money know how rewarding it is to obtain the financial support to keep services operating. 

TIP #4 

The organization cannot wait until the next board meeting for decisions. Most boards meet only once a month. You should, however, keep in touch with other board members and with the executive director between those meetings. By using sub-committees and assigning tasks to individual board members and teams, you can keep moving forward with the organization's goals. Just as business owners would not wait four weeks to make important decisions, a nonprofit cannot wait until the next board meeting to conduct its business. Remaining involved with tasks from month to month builds a feeling of achievement for the organization, its causes, the community, and ultimately clients. 

TIP #5

Concentrate on the big picture. As a board member, it's not your job to manage the details of running the organization. Instead, it is your responsibility to keep the big picture in mind. You are responsible when questions arise about the organization's ability to provide services and about how the necessary money will be raised. Continuing to improve your fundraising skills will help you meet those obligations. Being on a nonprofit board is a unique challenge, filled with personal growth. When you are clear about your role as a board member, there is no more rewarding way to help meet the needs of your community. 

Tips for the Executor Director: How to Assure a Successful Board 

• Whether you are recruiting board members, conducting an orientation, or planning a retreat, share and discuss the points in this article with your board members. The resulting dialogue will demystify and clarify the board members' role, improve communication, and remind everyone of the reason the organization exists-to serve its clients. 

• Let board members know about upcoming workshops teaching fundraising or other board skills. Make certain that there is money in the budget to sponsor board participation in such workshops. Give board members opportunities to practice newly learned skills. 

• Concentrate board activities on those tasks which keep services alive and which have the potential to expand services. 

• Create a brief orientation for all new board members. Be clear about your expectations. 

• Create a safe place for board members to be honest about their skills. Accept lack of skill in any area as an opportunity for them to grow. Let them know what skills they will need, but also make it clear that they will be free to learn over time. Encouraging board members to ask for the help they need is an essential part of building a trusting relationship. 

Reprinted with permission from Nonprofit World, Volume 13, No. 6. Published by the Society for Nonprofit Organizations, 1-800-424-7367. 

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6. Steps to Becoming a Multicultural Organization 

By the year 2000, one of every three workers was non-white. No organization can afford to ignore the challenges created by this increasingly diverse population. To meet the challenge of diversity, follow these steps: 

1. Gain Commitment 
   Start by gaining the support and commitment of top leaders. Make sure they see the need for diversity training programs within the organization. 
    

2. Offer Training 
   Develop training programs to help people in your organization develop the skills needed to manage diversity. These programs should help participants do the following: 

• come to terms with their own biases and stereo- typical assumptions about others.

• develop listening and problem-solving skills geared to people from other cultures. 

• improve team-building and networking skills. 

• learn about the different cultural groups in the community-their history and issues. 

• become adept at cross-cultural communication. 

• understand stereotyping, prejudice, and racism. 

3. Compile Demographic Data 
   Determine whether you are serving the whole spectrum of your community by collecting demographic data on your community's ethnic, age, gender, race, and religious composition. You can find demographic data on your community in some if not all of the following places: 

• local college or university in the departments of sociology, economics, geography, and political science 

• planning departments of local cities or counties 

• municipal libraries (ask for DIALOG program, Access Donnelley Demographics) 

• United Way or other large nonprofit social-service agencies political parties or other political organizations 

• real estate companies 

• census data, available from Stats Canada 

• your local Chamber of Commerce 

4. Clarify your Vision 
   Create a vision for a multicultural organization, and establish goals to attain that dream. Set a tone and develop an inclusive organizational environment that will support your vision. Evaluate your progress frequently to see if you are meeting your goals. Don't expect a "quick fix." Maintain ongoing commitment. 

Reprinted with permission from Nonprofit World, Volume 10, No. 4. Published by the Society for Nonprofit Organizations. 

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7. Pointers on Inviting People to Volunteer 

• Be motivated yourself. Sincerity wins out over technique every time. 

• Be clear on what you want people to do. Use written volunteer job descriptions whenever possible. 

• Use titles. The word "volunteer" is a pay category, not a function! 

• Be honest. Tell prospective volunteers what the work entails, even if you think it may sound like a lot. 

• Avoid minimizing the work. 

• Share deadlines up front. When does the work have to be finished? 

• Remember that it is better to live with a vacancy a little while longer than to convince the wrong person to become a volunteer. 

• Define the training and supervision or support the volunteer will have. This isn't sink or swim. 

• Identify and express the benefits to the volunteer from accomplishing the task. The best volunteering is when the giver benefits as well as the recipient.

• Explain why you decided to ask this particular person to help-what skills or personality traits make him or her a good candidate for the position. 

• It may be just as important to discover what a prospective volunteer wants to learn or try as a volunteer as it is to know his or her official credentials. 

• Keep in mind that you can never insult people by asking them to volunteer. In fact, you are usually flattering them by implying that they have the talent to do the job. 

• Paint an upbeat picture of the work. Volunteering should be fun. 

• Hold the perspective that you are giving people the marvelous opportunity to participate in an important project. You don't want them to be left out! 

• The best way to recruit volunteers is to ask people to help. 

Reprinted with permission from The Volunteer Recruitment Book by Susan Ellis, Energize Inc., 5450 Wissahickon Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144. Phone 1-800-395-9800.

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