The good news is: Much of the technology you need to use is inexpensive or even free. The bad news is: You have to learn a whole new way of thinking and of marketing. You have to learn how to work with the Internet and social media.

nonprofit leaders, resource for nonprofits, nonprofit websites, nonprofit advocacy Both are rich resources for nonprofits. They allow instant communication with a broad base of people, easy ways to promote donations, and quick response when the need is greatest.

Don't be daunted: You can ease into online fundraising.

Joanne Fritz, writes the Guide to Nonprofits Charitable Orgs at About.com. She suggests a three-step approach to online fundraising. Get comfortable with one step before moving to the next.

1 ~ Make online donations possible on your website with a "donate here" button. You have to be able to accept a credit card and to manage a list of donors. The software needed can be provided by organizations, such as eGiving Online. Those organizations will charge a fee, of course. Check out several possible partners to be sure that proposed fees are not excessive and that the provider has a good reputation for service.
2 ~ Set up social media accounts. Social media give people another way to find you: through friends, co-workers, and causes they already support. Some social media sites offer extra services to nonprofits, such as Facebook's "Causes" links. Once you've gotten into social media, you can run an online fundraising campaign. And you can update an ever-increasing web of people about your activities and accomplishments. They, in turn, will pass the news onto others who might be interested: the ultimate in grassroots organizing.

You can also join in the corporate giving programs that use social media, such as Chase Community Giving, in which users of Facebook vote on which charities should receive grants from Chase. Twestival is a Twitter Festival, a means of using "social media for social good." You have to have a Twitter handle to join the party.
3 ~ Mobile phone texting is the latest, fastest, and apparently most lucrative step. Donors text a keyword and a code number. The cell phone carrier adds a set donation -- $5 or $10 -- to the customer's bill, puts all the donations together, and sends a check to the nonprofit. No one is entering their credit card number so security risks are minimized.

The downside right now is that mobile donations may take as long as 90 days to reach you. The other problem is that, under normal circumstances, setting up that code can cost $3,000 to $10,000. You have to publicize and appeal to a lot of people. In severe crises, such as the Haitian earthquake, many companies – including phone and credit card – waived their fees.

Fritz describes the astounding amount of money raised by the Red Cross for Haiti as the perfect storm: Almost everybody has a mobile phone and the 24-hour news cycle made everyone aware of the damage. I'd add that people have been trained in the last few years to use texting as a way to voice their opinions and take action. Think American Idol or the various ad campaigns that ask you to text a vote regarding some product or another.

Again, nonprofit leaders need outside help for this step. Companies, such as mGive, exist to provide this service. Of course, mGive charges fees but it also offers a wide-range of online giving support.

Fritz's most profound nugget of wisdom: "A good way to get started is to make sure you have young people on your staff or volunteers or call upon your own relatives." This is Millennium generation stuff. But they are the donors and volunteers of the future.

How have you used social media to raise money? Did it work? What did you learn from the effort?

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Outstanding Nonprofit Board Leaders Honored, And the Lessons You Can Learn From Them

by Geri Stengel on Mar 16, 2010 - 6:00am

Brooke W. Mahoney Award Nonprofit nonprofit board leaders nonprofit board leadership nonprofit board members nonprofit managment

The value of nonprofit board members – beyond money and name-recognition – was given much deserved recognition last week when the first Brooke W. Mahoney Award was presented to Harlem RBI by the Volunteer Consulting Group.

nonprofit board leadership, nonprofit board leaders, Brooke W. Mahoney Award, nonprofit managment, nonprofit board members The winning board had, indeed, done much to raise and maintain funding during the 2009 downturn, including upping their own donations, so programs could be maintained.

The other contenders were worth applauding as well: The Fortune Society, Cultivating Our Sisterhood International Association, Inc., The Brotherhood/Sister SOL, and Community Voices Heard. They pulled their organizations through the crunch by:

foresight and proactive planning;
creatively revamping but not diminishing employee benefits;
developing new community-based fundraising events;
adding board members who could provide needed expertise to keep projects going.

These boards, like those of thousands of nonprofits are the lynchpins of successful, sustained nonprofit service. The mix of board members, their understanding and enthusiastic acceptance of their roles, and continued support and training for board members are essential to the success of the nonprofit sector

There, I've done my soapbox bit! Now to the essence of board leadership and good nonprofit management as exemplified by these five boards:

Careful assessment of skills needed by the organization, then focused recruitment of new board members who have those skills;
Clear understanding between board member and the organization about what board members are expected to contribute financially, in time (attending meetings, etc.) and through in-kind work;
On-going evaluation of all board members by the Governance Committee;
Committee structure on the board that requires involvement of all board members;
A plan – whether a strategic plan, a contingency plan or an economic plan – that has board buy-in and that clearly maps out the mission and the means of achieving it over a given period of years;
A problem-solving, involved board that asks questions rather than just listening to staff reports and nodding its collective head;
Staff involvement and bottom-up input to crisis management;
Deep emotional involvement of the board with the organization such that board members are eager to help during crises;
Client representation on the board so the culture and real needs of clients is part of board discussions and decisions.

If you want the details about what these boards did to survive during 2009, you can register to attend the Governance Matters Roundtable on Thursday, March 18 at 8:30 a.m in New York City.

Happily, many nonprofit boards do all these things, although their efforts are too seldom recognized. For those who are foundering, confused or seeking to better themselves, resources abound. Governance Matters and BoardSource are just two of many.

How has your board risen to the challenges of 2009? How is it planning to deal with the trials of 2010? What have you learned about your board during the economic crisis?

Photo: Courtesy VCG, Theodore Samuels Photography

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Competency Doesn't Mean Heartlessness: Businesses Can Be Profitable and Compassionate

by Geri Stengel on Mar 11, 2010 - 9:45am

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I've said my piece about the competency of nonprofits – they are competent! – but now I have to speak up for businesses – they can be trustworthy, compassionate, and ethical.

That is not the perception of businesses in the survey recently published by Stanford University. The study indicated that nonprofits are viewed as trustworthy and incompetent. It found that corporations are viewed as competent but not trustworthy or "moral."

Take Up the Challenge: Show How Competent Nonprofits Are

by Geri Stengel on Mar 9, 2010 - 9:45am

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You’d think that after the Great Recession exposed so many incompetent corporations, opinions might be changing toward nonprofits, but a recent survey says, "no."

Madoff, AIG, Lehman Brothers, and General Motors have not dented the perception that for-profit corporations are more competent – although less warm and fuzzy – than nonprofits.

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Non-profit, For-profit Leaders Have Much in Common

by Geri Stengel on Mar 4, 2010 - 9:45am

for-profit sector non-profit leaders non-profit sector Nonprofit peer advisory group peer support Vistage

What's the difference between improving sales and drawing in more donors?

Not much, as it turns out. Both involve marketing, staff development, and having “A” players on board. The need to attract and retain good employees is common to both the for-profit and non-profit sectors as are the conundrums of mergers; how to do more with less; and how to fire or hire.

Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Social Enterprises Will Benefit From Ventureneer's Free eBook

by Geri Stengel on Mar 2, 2010 - 9:45am

business plan entrepreneur entrepreneurship small business small business owner tips Tips

As a teacher, consultant, nonprofit board member, and entrepreneur, I've learned a lot about starting and growing a business. I'm distilling the key points into a series of free ebooks for small businesses – that includes commercial businesses, nonprofits, and social enterprises.

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A Social Entrepreneur Puts the Fun Back Into Recess

by Geri Stengel on Feb 25, 2010 - 9:45am

New York City playgrounds nonprofits playgrounds public private partnership Social Enterprise social entrepreneur

Time was that "play ball" was not the cry you'd hear in low-income neighborhood. No matter that playgrounds offer children many benefits, from health (43% of kids are obese or overweight) to education to camaraderie. Many a low-income neighborhood just couldn't afford to build and maintain a playground.

Small Business Networks Help Each Other and Their Communities

by Geri Stengel on Feb 23, 2010 - 7:00am

Best Practice Motivated by Purpose Small Business small business network small business online community small business support social entrepreneurs triple bottom line

The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) is a great example of what you, through survey responses, and I have been saying for a long time: Peer support is a valuable asset to small business owners and social entrepreneurs.

We Did It: Non Profit Rating Agencies to Measure "Effectiveness," Not Just Overhead Ratios

by Geri Stengel on Feb 18, 2010 - 9:45am

non profit funding non profit leaders non profit rating Nonprofit

It's about time! In response, I think, to an outpouring of reports and and to many bloggers (including me, in Non Profit Funding Standards Undermine Non profits) who spoke up, the agencies that rate non profits are going to adopt more realistic standards, finally recognizing that non profits, like for-profits, have costs of doing business.

Harsh Advice Raises Hackles: Being a Bully Isn't Good for Business

by Geri Stengel on Feb 16, 2010 - 9:45am

Commentary / Opinion double bottom line small business triple bottom line

Fire your relatives? Scare your employees? Stop whining?

Well, your relative may not be the best person for the job so you might look at that, but much of the advice spouted by George Cloutier in the February 10 New York Times article certainly doesn't mesh with good business or good sense.

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