During a recent reading session I was taken back down memory lane by an article in Fast Company entitled "The Evolution of Amazon". (One often goes down memory lane once past 50, but hang with me on this one if you can.)
The article speaks for itself regarding the total transformation of the book publishing industry by Amazon and the Kindle. Such massive changes are exciting for most and downright scary for those closest to the established industry. In this case, the metamorphosis of the book publishing industry with its many strange caveats may be good. Like most industry transformations the established few will fight it tooth and nail.
This made me ponder the many such transformations I have been part of in the technology world. My fascination with technology started early with taking old radios and televisions apart. You could see radical changes then based upon models 3-4 years apart. Now the changes come every 6 months.
My first job out of college allowed me to be the trendsetter in a more traditional business. I started my career in business forms. I was pretty good at selling them up and down the street to all sorts of businesses on the southwest side of Indianapolis. Because of that fact the owners offered me the chance to help introduce carbonless paper forms to our area. This was sort of like the fax story I related a few posts back.
If you can imagine, I had customers plead with me to keep their old carbon paper forms that were messy and literally added tons each week to waste in our environment. Thank goodness the new way caught on. More importantly I was hooked on being part of the catalyst for change in any business setting.
My next two examples allowed me to be on the buying rather than the selling side. Not long after our first child was born, my wife decided to call in the Encyclopedia Britannica salesperson. She reasoned that, for us to be a proper household for attainment of knowledge, such a set was needed. We listened patiently to the presentation. Just as the properly trained salesman was going for the close, I mentioned the rudimentary online information service at the university where I was taking MBA classes. I asked why we should buy such a large set of books when I could research any article online there. I even ventured as far as to predict that nearly every middle class home and up may someday have access to such research via this online interface. Neither the sales person nor my wife bought in and we purchased the entire set and the annual updates until the worldwide web became commonplace!
The second one was over lunch with my travel agent in the early 90's. I asked her what she was going to do when all of her customers could easily compare flights and buy them with a few clicks of a button. Her retort was that the airlines would never put her out of business and the paper printed ticket would keep her around. She closed up several years later after downsizing twice.
In both cases technology caused transformation to happen in real time. Numerous people benefited and only a few lost. However, those who were losing made a ton of noise.
I truly believe this will continue to happen in philanthropy. We have already seen the convenience and proliferation of web sites and online giving. That in my opinion is just the tip of the iceberg. Communications and the relationships they nurture are the key fulcrum of philanthropy. It is in this area of communication where the transformation of technology is happening quite rapidly.
Communications are now pervasive for all of us. We have the desire to share and to know what everyone else is doing that we care about, hence the lightening fast growth of social media such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Add in the RSS feeds, emails, texts and other real time communications and you have the makings of a revolution in relationship building for nonprofits.
Just imagine how easy it will be for all of us to be in the real time communication fray when we only need to carry one single device to use. Please click on this link to see Dan Mascai’s opinion on how that will all happen.
Here is a brief snapshot of the essence of the single page article. Online you can point to each device and see how they just might morph into one single device. Perhaps it will be as commonplace as a wristwatch is now!
How our diverse species of consumer electronics -- books, music, computers, and phones -- have evolved. Will a single device ever unite them all?
Since we create custom web sites here at eTapestry and we now have a tool for very low end web sites called BlackbaudNow you might guess that all of us at eTapestry look at a large number of NPO web sites each week. One of my favorite parts is checking out personal blogs within those sites. I am especially fond of any blogs being written by the top executive of the charity.
A personal blog written by the top executive provides keen insights into that person, their method of leadership and their vision for the NPO. It gives me a superb way to connect, especially just prior to pulling out my credit card to become a supporter of the vision and mission portrayed. I am guessing I am not alone.
What is a major surprise and even a mystery to me is why more executive directors do not start a blog. One of the main roles of any executive director in the charity world and for any CEO in the business world is to initiate and facilitate communications. If any person in the key role as a leader is writing a letter, creating an email, answering an email or delivering a speech then they are MORE than qualified to do a weekly or monthly blog post regarding the mission of the charity. Heck, if I can do it, anyone can...
Let’s use a simple chart to illustrate:
Blog = Communications = Relationship Building = Success!
I will add a few footnotes to my masterful chart at the end of this post. First, I wanted to share examples of NPO blogs and in particular those authored by executive directors. As always, I am a huge believer in a picture (actual blog) being worth so much more than my text.
Before I share some examples of those executive director blogs I wanted to point you to a truly informative article that appeared in Fundraising Success about NPO blogging. You can find the article here. This article is jammed packed with information and tips.
I will share a few of the insights below:
According to Leroux Miller, there are six key ways in which blogs are different from Web sites:
- Blogging software is easy and fast to use. Users can create and publish posts very quickly.
- Updates appear at the top of the page, whereas if you update your Web site, visitors don't necessarily know what content was updated when.
- Posts don't have to be long articles. You can add brief, frequent entries.
- Blogs take on a personal, friendly style. It's a conversational, not institutional, medium.
- Heavy use of links
- People can subscribe so updates are delivered to them, rather than them having to visit your site to search for updates on their own.
Further reading reveals Leroux Miller stating there are five main types of nonprofit blogs:
- News blog. If your organization wants to be known as the go-to source for the latest news on a topic.
- Advocacy blog. If you want to be known as the "voice" of your issue.
- Toolbox blog. If you want to be known as a resource, problem solver or technical assistance provider.
- Storytelling blog. If you want donors to better understand the need for and impact of your work. Has a more personal tone.
- CEO/executive director blog. If you want to build confidence in your leadership and approaches.
As you peruse the article you will also see how nimble the author is in answering the basic questions of why, who, when, where, what and how. It is well worth a read by any NPO considering adding a blog to the web site. Great stuff!
Please see how these various blogs add so much to understanding the mission and vision of the NPO's they represent below. Enjoy and please email me with any other examples I might be able to share a few weeks down the road.
Notice how the mission becomes real to the reader. Stories tell so much, often in emotional and meaningful ways. Think how easy it will be for the potential supporter to relate to the cause and yearn to be involved more. Is that not how philanthropy truly begins? Give it a try and I think you will soon see such relationships taking shape. Everyone reading this knows how to tell a good story. You may be a small step away from becoming a thought leader and a relationship building machine for your NPO!
The recent article in Non Profit Times titled "Youth Movement Critical for Boards" moved my interest to a higher level. This particular topic was being discussed by one the local Indiana NPO boards I serve on during a board recruitment session. Never shy, I posed the question on why we do not have anyone under 40 years of age on the board. I did not hear many answers worth sharing here...
A little research revealed they have even made it legal for individuals under 18 years of age to serve on NPO boards in New York. On the other hand, it was quite disturbing to find on the Urban Institute Web site the following fact:
Other groups underrepresented on nonprofit boards are those under age 35 or over age 65. On average, only 6 percent of board members are under 35 and only 13 percent are over 65.
The link is here.
The plain and simple fact is that ALL future board members will be coming from that 18-35 year old age grouping. If those of us who serve in leadership roles on NPO boards do not step up and change current recruitment policies, we cannot complain if we have most of an entire generation that does not seem as interested in serving on NPO boards.
In my opinion, we have a superb opportunity to inspire and instill philanthropy values for this younger generation. Just think of the energy and insights a couple of below 35 new members of any NPO board could bring. How many of you on such boards have had discussions on such topics as:
- Should we get involved with blogs or social networks
- Increasing volunteers
- Technology of any kind
- Impacting the world of education
- Impacting family life
- Special events that are athletically inclined
As you read those few items, (I am sure many of you can think of additional ones), do you not think any person in the younger generation would not have major ideas and thoughts to bring to the table?
How can we expect the under 35 generation to be ready to step up with involvement and more importantly charitable giving without early engagement?
Here is an idea to consider. Either reserve or add two board member slots for people under 35 only. They could serve one term now and then another term a few years down the road. Those two individuals would be there to learn, provide advice and most of all to add insights from the younger generation. When they return for the second term just think of how much more they will be able to bring to the table. In between, they just might become evangelists for your NPO via communication networks you are just hearing about!
Only 6% of board members being under 35 is just plain not smart in my humble opinion. Perhaps my explanation will make some sense and hopefully change a few minds sitting on board recruitment committees. Please let me know what you think by dropping me an email.
Here is a link to a fair number of past articles and resources which might be helpful in engaging youth in philanthropy I hope they will help if you need further evidence and ideas. If enough of us pitch in we can change the average age of quite a few boards and perhaps set the stage for growth in the future. It might actually make board meetings more fun. How about it, can we give it a try?
Each year about this time in June I am proud to say I am a part of the Giving Institute and the Giving USA Foundation. You see, through their efforts the entire world is able to view the details of the wonderful tradition we call PHILANTHROPY.
The Giving USA Report for 2008 does reflect the tougher economic conditions in a small manner. However, it is remarkable to see the resiliency the United States has with regard to our giving to charity traditions. The small drop is nowhere near the level many might have expected it to be. In fact, some sectors within the nonprofit world actually had increases. As you might guess, times of need truly bring out the best in so many people. What a neat and wonderful tradition so many of us deeply involved in the NPO world are able to witness daily. Hopefully, we can keep instilling such values in every upcoming generation. (More on that concept in my next blog post...)
In a broad overview manner here is what happened:
2008 Estimates Outlined
Giving USA reports that, adjusted for inflation, total giving was down 5.7 percent, the largest drop recorded since the group has been keeping track of America's charitable donations. However, the estimated giving total exceeded 300 billion for only the 2nd time ever!
Individual giving, which is always the largest component of charitable contributions, was an estimated $229.28 billion, or 75 percent of the total, in 2008. This is a decrease of 2.7 percent compared with 2007 estimates.
Charitable bequests are estimated to be $22.66 billion in 2008, a decrease of 2.8 percent. They make up 7 percent of total giving.
Corporate giving, which is closely tied to corporate profits, is projected to have decreased 4.5 percent, to $14.5 billion. It is estimated to equal 5 percent of all charitable giving.
Foundation grantmaking, according to data from the Foundation Center, was $41.21 billion, an estimated 3 percent increase in current dollars. It is 13 percent of total giving for 2008.
2008 Estimates of Giving by Type of Recipient
Religion: Religious congregations and other religious organizations received an estimated $106.89 billion, which is 35 percent of the total. This is the second year that giving to religion has exceeded $100 billion. Giving to religion increased an estimated 5.5 percent. Religious gifts account for an estimated one-half of all individual giving, not counting gifts made through bequests (5.6 percent) or family foundations (about 3 percent).
Education organizations received an estimated $40.94 billion, or 13 percent of the total. Gifts to this type of organization decreased 5.5 percent.
Foundations received an estimated $32.65 billion, according to calculations by the Foundation Center and Giving USA. The estimate for 2008 is a decrease of 19.2 percent.
Gifts to Health organizations are estimated to be $21.64 billion, or 7 percent of total estimated giving. The decrease in giving to this subsector for 2008 is estimated to be 6.5 percent.
Estimated giving to the Public-Society Benefit subsector was $23.88 billion in 2008, or 8 percent of total estimated giving. The increase is 5.4 percent.
Arts/Culture/Humanities organizations received an estimated $12.79 billion in 2007, or 4 percent of total estimated giving. The decrease is 6.4 percent.
International Affairs organizations, which include relief, direct aid, exchange, and other programs focused on international issues, received an estimated $13.3 billion, or 4 percent of total estimated giving. This is growth of 0.6 percent.
Giving to the Environment/Animals subsector is estimated to be $6.58 billion, or 2 percent of total estimated giving. This estimate reflects a decrease of 5.5 percent.
As always, a picture is worth a thousand words!
Last week an article from the local Charleston SC newspaper was for forwarded to me with a simple inquiry "Could we help?"
The essence of the story revolved around a stolen computer which was worth so much more than the price of an older PC. A children's home in South Carolina had the records and contact information for all 2,000 plus supporters of the charity on that computer. So when the burglar smashed the window and stole the computer in order to later try to sell on the street for $90, they were possibly hurting the ongoing funding for a fledgling NPO. All of us at Blackbaud/eTapestry knew we could help and more importantly insure such a calamity could never happen again!
The later articles outline the strange twist to this story when the Executive Director Danny Gilbert was tipped off that he could buy his very own computer back for $90.
Well as Paul Harvey used to say, "Now for the rest of the story..." I placed a call last week to Danny Gilbert. When the return call came I was in for a treat. Danny was one of the most refreshing conversations I have had in quite awhile. Chipper would hardly describe Danny. He believed in his mission of helping the children in need and was not bashful about explaining what they do for the kids daily. He was also quite frank about his lack of expertise regarding technology and how a good partner might be just what they needed.
Based upon that delightful conversation I introduced Mark Scott our Account Executive for South Carolina. He immediately worked with Danny and his small team to conduct our first step in helping any NPO, an in-depth analysis of their needs. That analysis revealed many needs for us to help address. Among them:
- Provide a secure, online database they can manage from any Internet connection that can grow with the organization over time. Even track multiple locations when they raise enough money for the boy's ranch.
- Eliminate duplicate data entry processes so they can easily track on-line donations, volunteers, event attendees, and sponsors from one centralized system.
- Enable personal fundraising pages so board, current donors, volunteers, motorcycle run and fishing tournament participants can raise money for the organization by leveraging the power of viral networking.
- Easily post items to an online Wish List page so constituents can become more aware and responsive to what they need to run the ranch.
Our story truly has a happy ending. We will be assisting Danny’s charity in ways he never dreamed of a few weeks ago. Part of that assistance will be provided via a gift in kind from our corporate foundation. The link to apply for such grants is here. More importantly, this type of situation where such critically vital information might be lost or stolen can never happen again. The Software as a Service (SaaS) nature of eTapestry's product will ensure the security of Danny’s computer, even if it is stolen or the building is broken into. The data will remain safe and the ability to use it from another location will prevail.
If any of you would like to also help Danny and the Eagle Harbor Boys Ranch please find more details at this link. Now you have "the rest of the story..."
I am delighted to have a special guest writer for the next post on my blog. After spending a few days with Charlie at the Giving Institute Summer Symposium, I realized just how passionate he was for the various NPOs he volunteered with. I mentioned it would be great if he would share a few thoughts the next time my blog topic was on volunteering. I am delighted that he did! I think everyone should experience the giving and sharing that stem from being a NPO board member...
Charlie Cumbaa, Senior Vice President, Blackbaud
Jay called me last week and asked if I would contribute to his blog on the topic of volunteering with nonprofit organizations, and I said "sure."
Let me say right up front that if you don't currently volunteer for a nonprofit organization in your community, you should! Volunteering is not only a chance to give back; it's a chance to learn about issues we face in our society.
I am on the board of East Cooper Habitat in Mt. Pleasant, SC, and I try to live up to what I consider to be the obligations of a board member. First, I make every effort to attend meetings, not something all of our board members do. Secondly, I follow the advice of Naomi Levine, an icon in fundraising who served at New York University for more than 20 years. During a speech at our Conference on Philanthropy, she described her expectations of a board member very clearly. She said that she made it clear to anyone who was invited to join NYU's Board that they should be prepared "to give, to get others to give, or to GET OFF the board!" So, I do contribute and work to get others involved who also contribute. Third, I make an effort to bring relevant experience I have to the organization. As an example, I have a background in corporate strategy and have worked both as a consultant and internally within organizations to drive strategic planning processes. So, when the Executive Director at Habitat asked me to organize and facilitate an offsite planning meeting for the affiliate, I agreed. While it was real work, it was also a lot of fun and rewarding to work with a very diverse group of people to chart the direction for Habitat in our community. It has also been immensely rewarding to attend house dedications and see the impact Habitat has on people's lives. You can read all you want to about the need for affordable housing, but attend a dedication in your community and it will really open your eyes to another dimension of the issue: deserving families that need and are willing to work to have a decent place to call home.
I have also done other rewarding volunteer work that exposed me to tough issues we face in our society. Try serving at a soup kitchen with Crisis Ministries to get a sense of the desperate lives led by many people who have experienced unfortunate turns in their lives or been impacted by drugs and alcohol. Volunteer to work as a "leader" in Junior Achievement. This was a great experience for me as it exposed me to the enthusiasm and capabilities of our youth, but also gave me some first-hand perspective on how poorly our educational system is preparing them for some of the realities of life. Help with a Special Olympics event to see how very talented people deal with challenges life has dealt them.
As an executive with Blackbaud, I have had an opportunity to get to know about a lot of the challenges facing nonprofits today. I would say, behind funding, attracting and effectively using volunteers is very high on the list at most places. I also know a lot of people who would gladly volunteer but don't know how to get connected with the right organization. It's not really that hard. Take a few minutes and think about where you would like to make a difference – education, healthcare, housing, conservation – and then ask around. Your local Community Foundation is often a good source of information about opportunities in your locale. There is also a wealth of information online.
Then make a connection. You can attend an event the organization hosts, check their website for volunteer opportunities, or call the Executive Director and ask to meet to learn more about the organization. Most are happy to spend time with people who display even a modest amount of interest in their mission.
When you find one you like, get involved. Also, don't be shy about giving them feedback on how they can better support your needs as a volunteer. Some organizations tend to overwork key volunteers. Others give no training or direction leaving it wide open for the volunteer to figure it out. Neither are formulas for success, but a lot of nonprofits haven't taken the time or made the investment to really be able to benefit from volunteer help.
One of Blackbaud's core values is "Service to others makes the world a better place". It is something we try to live by and something we encourage our employees to embrace. At the end of the day, I can say with some confidence that the experience you gain as a volunteer will be as rewarding to you as it will be to the organization you choose to support.
Just last week several of us at eTap were able to add something special to a nearby park for children in our community. It was part of our quarterly volunteer outreach within our company. Such volunteering is a key part of our mission and values at Blackbaud. Particularly, the last item which states "Service to others makes the world a better place".
We did just that with our morning of work. We made the McCordsville City Park a better place. The project was coordinated by the Hancock County United Way. Our project was to create a learning trail along the main sidewalk of the small park. Here is a description of such trails.
The morning began with several of us, who were in charge of setting posts, being delighted someone at the United Way knew the right person to call at a local utility company. They were kind enough to bring in the proper equipment to have most of them dug for us. The reason we loved having the large holes dug is that the park sits directly on the site of the old McCordsville High School. As we dug the remaining two holes, we found old bricks, concrete, parking lot paving and who knows what else. The small power digger in the picture below stopped dead a few inches down and we needed to go much further. Anyway, with some good old elbow grease we found a way to get the final two posts into the ground.
Next came the colorful and creative talents of some our team to add some special touches with paint for some of the stations.
They sure seem to be proud of their work...
Like so many volunteer activities in the non-profit world, our hours were both fun and rewarding. I am always amazed at what dedicated individuals can make happen in even a short time. If most are like me, I can easily remember each of the volunteer activities I have participated in over the last few years. It certainly makes that single day or portion of the day we give stand out in relation to a normal work day or weekend. A couple of my favorite quotes certainly explain it better than I can. They are:
"You have two hands. One to help you, the second is to help others."
-Anonymous
"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."
-William James
I know I speak for our small group below in saying we made a few of those thoughts come to life last week!
I am quite thankful to be part of the NPO sector in so many ways and to work for a company like
Blackbaud who believes in giving back.
I have often pondered this topic because it does seem to be so subjective. Most of us are so visually oriented I do not think we can help but let appearances change our perspective. I personally believe there is much more hindering our judgment than what our eyes lead us to think.
A few blog posts back, I outlined in detail the hiring process for a local NPO I originally served as the first board chairman, and on whose board I currently serve. Here is that link in case you did not catch it the first time. I mentioned the process detailed closely follows most of the hiring processes at eTapestry. I will explain some of the finer points in a minute below.
Yesterday, I was perusing my latest issue of Fast Company. Within the June issue I found an article which literally fortified my reasoning and beckoned me to add another post to my blog: "Made to Stick: Hold the Interview" by Dan Heath and Chip Heath. Please read the article, because you will soon see how many mistakes can be made in the hiring process and some wonderful remedies.
To offer up some reasoning for my thought process, I must turn to one of my early mentors. His name was Curt Milliman, who retired as a successful businessman, but returned (thankfully) as a business and hiring consultant. I still have pages of notes from the numerous seminars I sat in with Curt back in the 80's. To this day, I still turn to them. In fact, I recently scanned them so I could preserve them longer since the pages were getting harder to read each time I perused them.
Curt told us finding, hiring and retaining the right, top notch people were the biggest factors in the success of any business. In fact, for a small start-up business, they can literally be the difference between keeping the doors open or not!
Often, I would press Curt for more details with my never ending questions. He would teach me that the hiring process is a science just as pure as Astronomy or Physics or Biology. I remember like it was yesterday, Curt stating, as your business grew, the best examples of what to look for in new employees were already in front of you with your current best employees. The qualities, and more importantly the daily behaviors, which made those current employees outstanding were all you had to identify in new hires.
Finding those behaviors is not easy, especially for positions where performance standards and measurements are a daily part of life. In those roles, what might look good on a resume or in a face-to-face interview, may not hold up when the performance standards, measurements and comparisons are made.
Curt insisted we must find those people by more scientific standards. We had to create scenarios much more like a controlled scientific experiment so we could pull out objective results rather than subjective opinions. From these discussions, we created such instruments as the following:
- A set of 10-15 email questions for the candidate to answer (they are always the same for each candidate and we already know how our best employees answered them!).
- A set of 15-20 questions to be answered in a phone interview (again knowing what we are looking for in each role based upon how previous top notch folks answered).
- Behavioral and intelligence testing (perhaps the most objective of all! You can easily create an overlay of what your most successful employees have here). Make sure whatever you use is fully validated on a regular basis so that it is structurally and scientifically sound. Here is the company we use.
- A work plan exercise (the candidate must create, present and answer questions about an initial 90 day work plan for their new role. This truly brings the best to the top in an easily identified manner. It also showcases presentation skills and reasoning skills.
- A research assignment on a subject related to the new role (once again a chance to see work habits and actual results, not possible fake answers to often heard interview questions!).
I am happy to report these methods have served those of us attending Curt's sessions well over the years. Just as important, we have successful and contented key people in virtually every role at our businesses with very low turnover. Thanks, Curt!
It is the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is quite a milestone and actually makes it one of the oldest sporting venues in the country. A great little video history is here.
I was just six years old when I attended my first 500 race in 1960. I tagged along with my Uncle "Junior", a name he liked much more than Clyde. It was quite an event for me because my uncle owned a convertible and we drove all the way from Muncie to Indianapolis quite early on that May morning to his coveted seats in the first turn with the top down. I remember, to this day, Junior tipping the parking lot attendants so he could have a little extra space on either side of his flashy convertible. He worked in the boiler room section at the huge Borg Warner plant in Muncie, so he always had a new car every other year and kept them in perfect shape.
We walked briskly to our seats so he could start talking with all of his once a year friends in the surrounding seats. Many of them had had tickets there since World War II. They truly lived for Memorial Day weekend in Indy. Many traveled from the East Coast or from the far South to be there.
I had no idea what to expect, but Junior kept telling me it was far better than a baseball or football game and I would want to come back every year. I did make it back several more times with him and had to admit I grew to enjoy the stories that I heard from all of the folks around us. I also saw numerous great races and innovations like the turbine car.
I later moved to the infield during my college years at Butler. That was an entirely different experience and always made for some interesting, if not odd entertainment. The Speedway was so close to Butler that we actually journeyed a few times earlier in the month for qualifications and "Carb Day".
After college, my wife and I started attending with a dozen other couples. We had now moved to the main stretch of track with the start/finish line and all of the pits in full few. We had worked hard to garner that group of 25 or so tickets. Like so many regulars, the week after each year’s race we dutifully mailed in check for the next year’s race. Some of that same group still attends together 33 years later.
The Speedway has meant so much to our city of Indianapolis. For so many years it was the way people knew about Indy in other parts of the world. I recall speaking at Fundraising conferences in the Europe or in Australia and people asking me about the Indy 500 race. Nobody can really imagine that huge number of people assembled for one sporting event. Even the soccer crazy folks were stunned when I told them number of people who attend. In some years it has been nearly 500,000 who have attended.
So if you are at the race or will be watching/listening to it like so many millions do, think of that wide eyed six year old boy with the new 500 baseball cap soaking it all in when they sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" or if you would like to see and hear yourself.
The new NTEN guide is one of the most complete and certainly most up to date such reports to be released in the last year. I have seen, help create, edited and refuted more of these types of guides/comparisons over the last 25 years in the NPO world than I can even recount here. In fact, I was thoroughly chastised in one back in the 80's for suggesting one of the parameters should be the ability to view the screens in color. (Are you old enough to recall all of green on green computer terminals? Color was an unthinkable luxury that I thought might hit the big time in the future.) The author thought that was downright preposterous...
First, I will outline a few thoughts from my viewpoint. I loved the opening paragraph:
"Donors are the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations.
You need them to survive. But how do you manage all
the information about their giving along with all the
personal details that are key to maintaining successful
relationships, all for a price that won’t break your
bank?"
That has sort of been a mantra of mine for the last 25 years. It is great to see such importance being pointed out early. This report provides excellent background from some of the best experts in the country. In fact, the background information and explanation may be more vital than the report’s function matrix. You see, such background information does not become outdated in 30-60 days like the matrix will due to new releases. The SaaS or web based products are often updated monthly or quarterly. You can bet the vendors will scramble quickly to make sure any apparent deficiencies are corrected ASAP. Here is a link to the report so you can follow along with some of my thoughts.
Some of the key background areas I would like to point out are:
- Do you need a donor management system section - this contains an outstanding look at why spreadsheets can quickly fail!
- Tracking donors vs. all constituents - CRM is actually defined and explained...
- Hosted vs. installed vs. custom – good explanation as well as warnings vs. benefits
- What do these systems do – Should be required reading for an NPO executive director. In virtually every case where a system is deemed not working, I have found the executive director usually has no idea what all the system can and should do. Could you imagine a major league baseball coach who had never really played baseball?
- Within the "what do these systems do" section – pay particular attention to "payment and web site integration," there are major differences to be found in that key area. Yes, on-line donations, email sign-ups, and event registrations via the web site will keep growing rapidly!
- Support and training – Universally every vendor will say they are good> The best way to check is to use a trial version and try to set up a few basic via the help of the support. Especially try instant messaging support since it is immediate, provides a written record of the chain of communication and allows the support person to assist multiple people at the same time! (It is the future of support and will end long on-hold wait times, voice mail and return calls when you are not there!)
- How to choose – This is always a slippery slope. Keep in mind it has been my experience in implementing 20,000+ such systems over the years that the average NPO uses roughly 25% of the total functionality available. Therefore, it is sort of scary then to be analyzing the other 75% in some cases. Focus in on what the users will be doing and using 80-90% of the time. Those items must be intuitive, easy and yet very functional.
The matrix area is next in the report and certainly points out many fine functions that such systems can do. Please allow me to offer a question or two to ponder. How many of you have either an iPod or iPhone? It is hard to imagine parts of our life without those for many of us. What if Apple had used the matrix for CD players as a guide to planning and building the iPod? What if Apple used a cell phone matrix as a guide to planning and building the iPhone? (note the history sections in both links). My key point is such matrixes do not encourage or reward innovation and ease of use breakthroughs. They actually punish them. Can you imagine how early automobiles would have fared in a horse and buggy matrix?
In the early days of eTapestry such reports and product comparisons had no idea of where to place our product.
I fondly recall discussing where and how this new web based product would and could be placed. It was only after much lobbying that certain new areas were used such as accessible via a smart phone or web based training or defining whether having every single customer on the same exact version of software has any merit. (By the way, if you have ever taken support calls you will vote for the exact version of the product being a top rated matrix item!)
The end of the report provides a brief synopsis of each of the products outlined within the matrix section of the report. It also adroitly leads you to explore the companion report to this one. True marketing at its best...
By the way, if you are in to such product comparisons the latest issue of AFP’s Advancing Philanthropy has a full section on fundraising technology following the article "Are We There Yet?" Unfortunately there is not a link to the actual article..., maybe next year. In addition, if you would like to see what they think is important down under in Australia try here.
Are there any thoughts from the rest of you? Am I on target or off base with these thoughts? Please let me know with a quick email to jay.love@etapestry.com. I will try to share some of the viewpoints in future blog posts.
Pardon me while I boast just a minute about a truly special achievement by the team in Indy at eTapestry. Just earlier this week, four of our customer support employees were on hand for a large banquet in Indianapolis to watch the very best places to work in Indiana crowned.
As you can see below, it was quite the night, and we sent our very best to celebrate...
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
In earlier years, eTapestry was named the 19th best and the 17th best, so our goal was to crack the top twelve. Being in the top twelve is desired since those organizations are the ones most recognized and benefiting from a flood of resumes, as well as insurance salesmen coming to us...
You know you have to be careful when you set any goal because it just may have a better chance of coming to fruition. In this situation that is exactly what happened. eTapestry was named the 12th Best Place to Work in Indiana!
Below are actual non-touched up photos from the big night. Jason, Isaac, Kim and Geoff were on hand to accept the award and to hear about the practices which allow organizations to rise to the top.
I often reflect back on how eTapestry and now eTapestry/Blackbaud has grown into an organization that could be fortunate to rank so high. So many factors come into play. Through the years all of us kept watching and listening to what we saw and heard about great places to work. Key attributes or descriptions about the top organizations kept coming up. Among the words we heard and tried to emulate were:
Fun, rewarding, engaging, caring, friendships, fairness, respect, growth,
Quality, stability and excellence
We continually strive to achieve and then build upon those attributes via the core values our organization put into place the first year of our existence. In fact, those core values are on the back of every employee’s business card and are the first thing you see on the wall when you walk in our front door. They are:
eTapestry's Guiding Principles
Operate with the highest levels of honesty, quality and integrity
Treat all with fairness and respect
Be prudent in commitments and always keep them
Foster a fun and challenging environment
Demonstrate fiscal responsibility in all activities
Exhibit philanthropy to our community and marketplace
When you have a great team of employees who are motivated and commissioned to act with the values listed above in mind, it is quite a superb combination. Perhaps the Top Ten is within our reach for 2010!
During a couple of my short travels over the last few weeks the number of face masks keeps eerily increasing. As you look around, you feel a bit like you are in a hospital, combat zone or some foreign country. Obviously, this is due to the item most discussed in email, on the news and of course via Twitter - the Swine Flu outbreak.
Perhaps this manner of keeping viruses and germs from spreading may catch on. Boy, would it be nice to not have so many colds and the flu spread around in future years. Maybe it is an idea or concept whose time has come, or maybe not. Some folks think the masks actually increase your chances of contracting the flu! This action, plus much more active cleansing of the hands could make a huge difference in so many public places. Maybe the masks will become as common as the blue tooth cell phone devices on people's heads.
Just think... the masks might be in public restrooms right next to the paper towel dispensers!
I took a walk up and down the aisle of the plane I was on and counted about 20 such face masks. It was actually helping keep one older gentleman’s snoring to a slightly quieter dull roar... During my walk down the plane, I thought of all those years I flew in the enclosed tube of stale air they call a jet, where they allowed people to smoke. I would still love to know the real health issue effects of that lapse of judgment.
One of my memories is from the first month when they finally changed the rule and no longer allowed smoking on planes. The uproar was amazing. You would have thought the government was taking their 401K away. I was on a flight to Scranton, PA, to speak at a fundraising conference and was sandwiched between two obviously heavy smokers. The chewing gum and M&M's were being passed back and forth quite often. I have to hand it to the flight attendant, who deserved a medal of honor for taking their somewhat abusive questions on why she was actually enforcing the rule. Upon landing, the lady sitting in front of the three of us turned around and announced she was a lung cancer survivor with only part of each lung left, and urged them to rethink their habit. Both of the folks on either side of me looked like they would genuinely ponder the suggestion. I wondered if it made a difference.
Amazing how such memories stick in one’s mind for so many years. Back to more nonprofit stories next week...
Yes, earlier this week I was part of the WiFi/laptop festival known as NTC.
This annual event, usually in the SF Bay area, continues to grow and thrive. They have certainly found their niche with an ever increasing gathering of truly passionate folks focused on the common mission of putting technology to work for the missions of NPO's. This year the event sold out early and truly lived up to the anticipation of seeing packed rooms for every session.
I was often a speaker in the early years of NTC. However, this year I was able to function as a participant, networker and part of the anchor vendor sponsor's ground team. Each of those assignments had certain benefits in making my two days there more worthwhile.
I am going to focus in on the participant aspect with a few observations and perhaps an opinion or two. I am hoping that the opinions bring a few replies that I may share. Please let me know your thoughts by just clicking on jay.love@etapestry.com and shooting me an email.
First, it was neat to see many of the larger sessions being piped out live for people to view via the web. Facilitating such technology is what should be done by such an organization and they more than made it happen. A big :) for all of those involved!
Next, it was quite a site in the large ballroom for the keynote sessions where everyone attended. Literally every seat was taken plus virtually any floor space on the sides and at the far rear of the huge room. Even with advanced planning they ran out of IP addresses for the laptops firmly entrenched on everyone’s legs. I wonder how many real time updates were being posted during the sessions?
I attended several of the sessions, particular the ones focused upon case study results within actual non-profits. In some cases truly revolutionary breakthroughs were showcased reflecting the integration of various technologies. Unfortunately most of the breakthrough examples were not within the budget reach of most charities. Only those with budgets who could withstand six figure outlays or larger with consulting firms were the lucky recipients of such integrations. Hopefully, those can be packaged in some manner so the other 94% of the NPO’s in the sector can utilize. (Most of you know that leveling the playing field in technology for that other 94% has been my mantra for virtually all of my 25 years in the sector.)
A couple of the sessions showcased the use of integrated solutions based upon so called "free or open" solutions such as Salesforce.com or Plone or Vertical Response and various others. As I watched the consulting firms involved talk about how they had assisted in making the integration of these tools happen for mere $15,000 to $30,000 investments, I could not help but wonder if most of the audience had any idea that such integration of CRM/Database tools with web tools/e-commerce pages and powerful email engines are standard offerings for many solutions from vendors like Blackbaud/eTapestry. We even have a new partnership with PayPal that is providing web site creation/hosting plus e-commerce/on-line donations plus CRM/donor database plus mass email functions within a single product that has no upfront or subscription fees for the small non-profit called BlackbaudNow.
More importantly, such solutions from well known vendors carry a few advantages that I just have to post here in my blog. Yes, I know it is a bit self serving, but they are so vital that I must state them or I am not being true to my mantra! Below are a few of the key advantages of dealing with a known vendor for such integrated solutions. They are:
- You do not have to bear the development costs, which many times are NOT fixed fees
- The solutions are backed by top notch ONGOING support at a reasonable price
- The worry of new updates/versions to portion of the applications used breaking the integration and requiring more development costs goes away!
- The solutions are upgraded and enhanced annually by the vendor based upon combined suggestions of the end user community
- The vendor is obligated to fix any bugs that are found, usually for free
- Proper training in a wide variety of formats is provided
- Other NPO’s are using the solution and may be part of a user group community
- The solution is kept upgraded and thereby functioning on new versions of operating systems, web browsers, MS Office and other backbone related systems
- Many vendors scale the solutions and pricing so that the other 94% of market can actually afford to purchase and use on an ongoing basis
- Additional add-on functions will be made available over the life of the solution
There you go ten quite important advantages in my opinion. These have been formed from all sides of the issue over the last 25 years. Please let me know if you agree or disagree.
I look forward to next year as the nonprofit world, via the NTEN Conference, will again showcase technology and the people behind the technology making it happen for all of us involved in some manner for charities large and small. Long live the geeks, CTO's, DBA's, CIO's and IT staffs who truly care and support the missions that matter to so many of us!
High speed personal blogging is here and it is growing fast. In fact, a few folks already have a MILLION people following their every post. How long did it take radio or even television to develop a truly loyal following of one million or more? Years and years, I am betting. In case you did not see the recent race to be the first to have one million followers on Twitter here is the story; and here is viewpoint on this recent event.
Wow, perhaps we should back up a bit and just explain what Twitter is. As is my custom, let’s turn to Wikipedia for a decent answer. In case you do not have time for the full article here is the essence:
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers). Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow anybody to access them. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. The service is free to use over the Internet, but using SMS may incur phone service provider fees.
We are still early in the development of this new medium and its use for the nonprofit world. Is it an internal team building tool or can it be used by large constituent groups? One fact is clear. Twitter is a fast and easy way to communicate to as many followers who want to receive your 140 character news updates and opinions as possible. Any tool that is being used by growing masses must be explored by our sector in my opinion.
Here is another opinion on 5 ways to use Twitter for good.
I always recall a mentor of mine by the name of Terry Butler who helped us with our original business plan for eTapestry. We thought we had a good plan, even if it was fifty plus pages of our wit and wisdom. In one of our early meetings he asked us to shorten it to a one page summary. Then in our next meeting he had the audacity to ask us to reduce our idea to one paragraph! Just think, if we had been communicating via Twitter rather than email, we would have had it down to 140 characters or less...
I wonder how many future mission statements or NPO taglines will be the result of a tweet or two from some loyal Twitter follower. Time will tell...
Many of you have heard my infamous and now just plain old story of being the eager young salesman who was asked to introduce the fax machine to the legal community of Indiana more years back than I care to recall. Perhaps it will shed some light on what can happen with new and fast growing technologies. Once upon a time I began the process by diligently garnering an appointment with the largest law firm in the state. When the fateful day arrived it turned out to be quite a hot muggy summer afternoon. After passing out my shiny new business cards (boy was I still wet behind the ears!), I proudly announced that in the near future every business card in America would have a fax number on it. They actually started laughing!
Based on that reaction, it was time for the highlight of my presentation to begin or I ran the risk of being asked to leave immediately. I called my office and told them to fax me a legal contract. The machine beeped, then burped, then spit out a grainy, barely legible shiny sheet of paper with the large letters at the top, "A Contract to Buy 10 Fax Machines from Jay Love". I then made another claim that within a few years virtually every contract in America would be signed and delivered via a fax machine. One of the partners lit up a cigar, blew some smoke in my direction and proudly stated, "Not in my lifetime, kid!"
By the way, that particular law firm ended up with a room full of faxes a few years later. Guess who was smiling then? Do you think that law firm has formed an opinion on Twitter or Social Networking sites yet?
I for one think NPO’s should experiment with every popular form of communication. Such new media is often where deeply rooted passions for a cause can surface and rapidly spread. Having a million Twitter followers cannot be all bad...
Boy, it did not take long for April 15 to roll around. It seems like only yesterday we were electing a president and finding out just how poor of a situation many of our major banks and the big three car makers were in. We are bombarded with so much news that it is hard to separate and keep up with all of it. I thought I might share a couple of hints on how I personally peruse what is vital to me each morning.
Like so many people my printed newspaper has become electronic in nature. In fact, it has not only become electronic but very specialized in focus. I achieve this via the use of RSS feeds.
They allow me to be piped in with the current news and more importantly opinions that are personally important to me. Most of them I have directed to a gathering place called My Yahoo. In addition to the news, I can see the weather in the most common areas I visit, such as Charleston, SC, the scores for teams I follow, even the obscure ones and topics that affect the philanthropy world. My favorite as you might guess are the blog posts from folks whose opinion matters to me. Perhaps I am lucky enough to be piped into a few individual’s home pages with my blog...
For those of you who have not migrated to the home page format and are involved in this sector I highly suggest two web site portals to stay on top of news and opinion that directly relates to the non-profit world. They are philanthropy.com and nptimes.com. A quick perusal of these two, especially the daily news sections will keep you informed in numerous ways.
Anyway, today, if you have not heard, is tax day here in the United States, no matter what news source you are using!
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