Survive and Thrive. Surviving and Thriving Requires: Like people and plants, organizations have a life cycle

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1 Survive and Thrive Presented by The Center Advancement Committee Surviving and Thriving Requires: Assessing your organization Thoughtful planning/ Focusing on a manageable number of priorities Sustainable funding Leadership Like people and plants, organizations have a life cycle John W. Gardner The 5 Life Stages Where You Are, Where You re Going, and What to Expect When You Get There 1

2 Seven Arenas of Nonprofit Organizational Life Board/Governance Programs Staff Leadership Financing/Funding Administrative Systems Staffing PR/Marketing Let s add one: Facilities/Physical Plant Stage One: Imagine and Inspire Can this dream be realized? Characterized by: Enthusiasm Energy Creativity Stage Two: Found and Frame How are we going to pull this off??? 2

3 Stage Three: Ground and Grow How can we build this to be a viable business? Stage Four: Produce and Sustain How can the momentum be sustained? Stage Five: Review and Renew What do we need to redesign? 3

4 Decline and Dissolution OR.Sustainability The Nonprofit Life Stage Assessment No right or wrong place to be Important to know where you are; to know that you are NORMAL Can apply age appropriate behavior Key is what you do with the information 4

5 What needs to happen to move from one stage to the next? Transition ideas in your key arenas Need strategies/ decisions Thoughtful planning Strategic Planning Process Set priorities Get buy-in Stay focused 5

6 Strategic Planning Five Steps to Develop a Strategic Plan Step One: Get Organized Note why you are planning and any new concerns Select a steering group or person to keep planning on track Determine if outside help is needed Outline the planning process that fits your organization Get Commitment to proceed Step Two: Take Stock Pull together necessary background information Review your nonprofit s past, present and future SWOT Analysis Identify key issues or choices 6

7 Step Three: Get Direction Develop a vision of your organization s future Critical issues approach Scenario approach Goals Approach Alignment Approach Determine how to move your organization toward this future Develop first draft of the plan Critical Issues Approach Identify critical issues and put in a logical order with the most fundamental issues discussed first Address each issue, building a clearer vision of your organizations future Incorporate this vision into your plan Scenario Approach Develop several alternative visions or pictures of what your organization might look like in the future Evaluate the scenarios Select the preferred scenario Incorporate this into your strategic plan 7

8 Goals Approach Set strategic goals or guidelines Develop strategies and plans to achieve goals Incorporate these goals/strategies into your plan Alignment Approach Outline current plans- get parts of your organization working in sync to accomplish your mission Identify what s working well and what needs to be adjusted Determine how needed adjustments can be made Incorporate this into your plan Step Four: Refine and Adopt the Plan Review and refine the plan Adopt the plan 8

9 Step Five: Implement the Plan Implement the plan Monitor Progress Make Adjustments Periodically update the plan Focus on a manageable number of priorities It is important not to try and do too much as an organization Focus on your strong areas, get them selfsustaining and then expand Say no to growth or plan for careful growth Make careful choices; evaluate new ideas If you don t know what you re doing, don t do it all at once. Unknown 9

10 Identifying goals/strategies What are the most critical arenas that need to move to the next stage? What are your goals for these arenas? Programs: Inconsistent quality? Increase rider numbers? Volunteer retention 50% or lower? Financing: Funding coming from only one source? Cash flow a problem? Action Plan Worksheet What is your priority arena focus? List organizational strategies/goals List possible action steps Sustainable Funding Budgeting Resource Allocation Fundraising/resource building Building relationships Different types of fundraising for different needs 10

11 Budgeting How to get beyond cash flow Budget conservatively under-estimate income & over-estimate expenses Budget for contingency/reserves 3 months savings account Budget Projections Monthly review Resource Allocation Thoughtful assessment of the cost versus the benefit for any project or goal Not just dollars, in-kind resources and soft costs Stuff Staff Time Handout Fundraising/Resource Building It s about building relationships The critical nature of listening Identifying the WIIFM for the donor/volunteer/ board/rider families 11

12 Finding the right funding source for the identified need results from building relationships with: Staff Board Volunteers Rider families Donors Media The community Brainstorm Activity Get into groups Who do you have relationships with? Who is missing? Share stories of successful relationship building Who do you need to further your goals? What do they need? Sustainable fundraising Choose the right type of fundraising based on available resources and identified needs 12

13 Event Fundraising Pros Can reach wide audience friend maker Good way to build corporate support offer strong name visibility & attached to worthwhile cause Generate excitement & public awareness within community Strong volunteer involvement Event Fundraising Cons Expenses can be high Labor intensive Can take focus away from program Event donors are not necessarily mission driven Initial income can be difficult to budget Event Fundraising Meets needs of Primary General Operating Secondary Capital, Facility and Scholarship 13

14 Individual Fundraising Pros: Provides base for growth Most will have strong commitment to mission Provide networking opportunities to corporate and foundation support Good source for new Trustee identification & development Cost effective Individual Fundraising Cons: Cultivation can be slow before results are felt Heavy use of staff time Potential for personality driven conflicts Individual Fundraising Meets needs of: Primary - General Operating Secondary - Capital & Facility, Program, Endowment, Scholarship 14

15 Foundation Support Pros: Provides necessary diversification of funding support Good indicator of organization s health and clarity of mission Good source of funding for targeted needs Foundation Support Cons: More rejects than acceptances Cultivation can be slow before results are received Not long term, need to be rolled over on regular basis Few will support capital projects or endowment Foundation Support Meets needs of: Primary - Program & Scholarship Secondary - General Operating, Capital & Facility, Endowment 15

16 Corporate Support Pros: Primary source for event funding Provides necessary diversification in funding support Provides recognition of organization s value to community Outreach to executives can lead to individual donor cultivation Through employee programs and networking can be good source of list building Corporate Support Cons: Funding can be discontinued with little warning Not good for long term planning Corporate Support Meets needs of: Primary - General Operating & Scholarship Secondary - Program, Capital & Facility 16

17 US Giving Statistics 75% Individuals 12% Foundations 8% Bequests 5% Corporations Reference: Guidestar Defining Leadership True leadership exists only if people follow when they have the freedom not to. -Jim Collins, From Good to Great Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. - Warren Bennis So what skills are needed to be a strong leader?? Communication-receptive and expressive Coaching-builds a team Delegation-makes others powerful, responsible Empowers others Encourages passion, not fear 17

18 Leadership: An Art of Possibility Give people the possibility to live in to not the expectation to live up to. Radiate Possibilities -Ben and Rosamund Zander Communication It s OK not to have all the answers It s good to ask questions Ask open/probing questions that will give you deeper answers Engage people in finding the answers Listen Communication is the exchange of information between individuals by means of speaking, writing, or using a common system of signs or behavior. 18

19 Communication Climate The tone of communication is based on how comfortable members feel with one another and with the organization. Supportive communication - conveys assistance - arouses feelings that reduce defensiveness - determined by the degree that people see themselves valued Supportive versus Defensive Communication Descriptive vs. Evaluative Problem Oriented vs. Controlling Spontaneous vs. Strategic Empathetic vs. Neutral Equal vs. Superior Provisional vs. Certain Communication Internal communication keeps energy up and builds consensus Fundamental to teambuilding Clarifies roles Agreed upon on course and speed Accountability 19

20 Communication External Communication builds support, while recruiting and retaining: Volunteers Supporters Donor base Your sanity!!! Communication Don t forget to listen! Communication is a two way activity Accept compliments graciously; don t go fishing! When listening to complaints Keep your cool Listen with empathy Take action Bring to a polite close Coaching Define Project and Goals What is the impact on the Organization Team work with positive reinforcement Build on work to set next plan of action Support, Assess and Evaluate 20

21 Delegation is a form of leverage: Human resources Financial resources Time Delegation Ripple Effect You MUST Others COULD Others SHOULD Others MUST What needs to happen for Delegation to be successful? Set clear expectations and goals Trust and confidence in the skills of staff Communicate roles not only to responsible staff but to all staff/volunteers Set timelines, identify resources, training, etc. Expect and then Inspect -summarized from Pierce Management Development 21

22 Empowerment Empowerment is the collective effect of leadership People feel significant Learning and competence matter People are part of a community Work is exciting -from Warren Bennis, Jossey-Bass Why Leaders Can t Lead- The Unconscious Conspiracy Leadership vs. Management Management is easy. Leadership is motivating people, turning people on, getting 110% out of a personal relationship. - Colin Powell Jack of All Trades Syndrome Also known as How Many Hats Do You Wear? 22

23 Consider a time study of all the things the leader in your organization does Analyze if a leader needs to be doing all of these tasks Assign an hourly wage to these tasks, based not on who is doing them, but what is being done Note the variance between the rate of the person who is doing the tasks vs. the established hourly value HMMMM..How do we fix this problem???? Create new systems that streamline tasks Delegation to existing staff? Outsource the task? Hire new staff? Adapted from Dennis Duroff Monday Morning Business Gems Final Exercise Write down your highest priority and your goals for achieving it Write down one person outside of your organization that you will build a relationship with for outside support Put it in envelope provided and return to presenters 23

24 Contrary to popular opinion, leadership is not about deciding where other people should go. It's about finding out where they want to go and then helping them get there. --Unknown 24

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