The Impact Gap

Starting to write our annual appeal letter again – Fall is in the air.

It’s always a time for me to wet my finger and stick it in the wind…

But it’s tricky – between when I write the draft, and when it arrives on people’s desks (yes we still do snail mail, it proves effective time and time again) – the world could have changed around.

I remember in 2000 I wrote two endings – that was the election that went on and on…(ouch).

In 2008 I held my breath and couldn’t even write until November 5th.

Occupy Wall Street is the obvious zinger this year. I could write about how so many Cause Effective clients have been working on those issues on the ground for years…and then what?

Will they still be there when the letter hits?

Will the political scene have shifted in some notable way?

Is there an impact I could point to –

Or could I spin a story about how Cause Effective has to be here to help the nonprofits on the ground slog through these issues day in and day out…year in and year out?

Too important too ignore, too volatile to pin down.

Stay tuned to see how I solve this one…..

Shifting Your Seat At The Table

I was sitting around the table with a couple of board members a few days ago. We were chatting about leadership issues from my viewpoint as an executive director – in fact, from my stance as a consultant who deals with executive directors and board members – but at a certain point I realized I’d begun weighing in from my perspective as a board member, in fact as a board chair.

The subject? The age-old “How to get board members to govern from an oversight perspective instead of getting stuck in giving their opinions on the day-to-day?”

Oh, that one.

What was interesting was not the fact that we were having that conversation – who isn’t? – but that we could each speak from our experience as board members and as staff (albeit for different nonprofits).

Each of us knowing what it was like to be a chief staff officer trying to partner with board members, to get them involved in some activities but keep them at bay in others…and knowing at the same time what it was like as a board officer to be working with an executive director whose boundaries were either too porous (asking board members to volunteer at the front desk) or a pure stone wall (distributing financials a half-hour into a board meeting, giving board members no chance for meaningful review).

It really helped to have that dual perspective – it gave me some humility, having struggled on both sides.

My conclusion? That it’s the role, even more than the particular person, that creates the tension. Sure, some people will be obstreperous no matter where they sit, but there are constraints and imperatives from each station that are germane to that outlook.

And that I’d do well to remember this whenever I start to get too pompous about what one ought to do…

In Defense of the Board Fundraising Committee

It might seem strange that I have to write something with this title, but I was at a meeting yesterday where a board member proudly explained: “We don’t have a fundraising committee – we don’t want to relegate that function to a committee. Fundraising is every board member’s job.”

Well yes – but…

It’s the old saw…If everyone takes it home, no-one takes it home. Who thinks about it in the shower?

It is certainly important for every board member to participate in fundraising. To search honestly and deeply for how, in their own lives, they can bring their nonprofit board service to the fore. To be a 360° advocate, raising friends and uncovering hidden fans at every turn.

But there’s something special about a group that is specifically committed to steering the board’s willingness into action, making sure that each piece is more than the sum of its parts. Whose job is not just to do, but to shepherd. And which has the responsibility for driving the big picture forward.

There’s a theory floating around that board fundraising committees – nay, all “standing” board committees – are dinosaurs. That instead of a board fundraising committee per se, what is needed is ad hoc activity-related task forces, like an event steering committee, annual appeal working group, capital campaign committee, etc.

We at Cause Effective have a big problem with this theory. And that is – that this reduces fundraising to isolated strategies, and directs the agency’s attention towards the what, not the who. In other words, the primary driver of board fundraising deliberations becomes What activities should we do for fundraising? instead of Who might care about us and how can we reach them successfully?

The board fundraising committee should be looking at the totality of prospects (friends, fans, volunteers, donors) within the universe in which the organization and its advocates move. That universe, and its interests, connections and possibilities, determines the activities the board should take to raise funds and friends. It’s the old cart and horse.

You may end up at the same place – a series of cultivation activities punctured by a couple of direct asks – but you’re starting from an understanding of the why and the who – which will ultimately result in deeper connections to an ever-expanding donor pool.

This…is what the board fundraising committee should have on its mind, and be mulling over in the shower. The stability, the sustainability, and the grow-ability, of the organization’s circle of supporters.

In Praise of Uninterrupted Time

I spent a half-hour on the phone with someone today.

We reorganized the entire board.

We crafted a vision, considered a few potential courses of action, decided on method and means and timing, and set up our next conversation.

All at 7:30 am.

Depending on your point of view, you may wince at that time frame, or contemplate the opportunity longingly.

But you can’t deny the power of full-throttled attention away from the clutter of everyday life.

The take-away wisdom? We got more out of that half-hour in our respective pajamas that we had for weeks trying to catch each other during the workday. And my mind, which had been racing, slowed down enough that I was actually able to enjoy the rest of my daily obligations.

Productivity comes in strange forms, doesn’t it?

The moral(s) of this tale?

That sometimes you need to embrace a strategy outside the ordinary……
      That it’s all too easy to get stuck trying to accomplish the form you think a task ought to take…
                 And, ruefully, that sometimes if you merge the personal and the professional, you’ll achieve a
                 more fluid execution…
                        And more, not less, peace of mind.