Product Description
This book brings to the management of nonprofit organizations and public sector organizations the kind of concepts that have long been applied to commercial firms. Management thinking has long been concentrated on the problems of managing commercial organizations. Authors Sandler and Hudson set out to study the best managed nonprofit and government organizations and to determine what they did to achieve their success. The authors found that there is a close similarity between the management thinking of these organizations and that of profit-making firms. Each type of firm defined who their customers were and how to best serve them. They looked for ways of selling their particular product. They formed partnerships with other organizations in pursuit of their ultimate goals. They encouraged innovation among their workers. They diffused power down through the organizations to the lowest level possible. They created an atmosphere that made their workers feel valued. And they had extensive systems for communicating within and outside the organizations.

The book develops these concepts in separate chapters and describes the organizations the authors study as examples. Sandler and Hudson are experienced writers who have produced a straightforward, non-technical work that analyzes the special problems and concerns that these organizations share and offers a set of effective organizing principles to improve their management.

Order from Amazon Today —>Beyond the Bottom Line: How to do More With Less in Nonprofit and Public Organizations

Product Description
The most helpful blAnd of theory and nuts-and-bolts practice I’ve seen.
?William E. Cameron, director, Philadelphia YMCA Management Resource Center

Brings together in one volume the best concepts and methods to attract and satisfy customers, communicate an organization’s message distinctly and effectively, and solve membership and program enrollment and retention problems. Focusing on how to get more customers, consumers, and volunteers, Herron shows how to evaluate the effectiveness of promotion efforts, and weighs the comparative advantages of various advertising and promotion media. A 15-point checklist for developing marketing strategy spells out the essential steps for finer marketing performance.

Order from Amazon Today —>Marketing Nonprofit Programs and Services: Proven and Practical Strategies to Get More Customers, Members, and Donors

Product Description
In order to make sure that a not-for-profit is able to best complete its mission, a manager of the organization must determine how to allocate the resources it has today, and ensure the financial future of the organization by managing the funds to work for them in the long-term. This second volume of the widely-respected Mission-Based Management(r) Series outlines a not-for-profit organization’s plan for financial success. It highlights the eight characteristics of financial empowerment, and provides the skills and concepts that a nonprofit organization and its managers will need to survive, including estimating cash needs, treating funders like valued customers, developing money-making businesses, determining the financial options that are available, and implementing an empowered budget process.

Other titles in the Mission-Based Management(r) Series

Mission-Based Management: Leading Your Not-for-Profit into the 21st Century

Named “Best New Nonprofit Management Book” by the Nonprofit Management Association. The Association said, “The Nonprofit Management Association is pleased to spotlight the extraordinary work of Peter Brinckerhoff in his newest publication, Mission-Based Management: Leading Your Not-for-Profit Into the 21st Century.” The book was cited by the Nonprofit Management Association as “a great overall manager’s and board member’s guide to non-profits—quite laudable in that it’s eminently readable and downright enjoyable.”

Mission-Based Marketing: How Your Not-for-Profit Can Succeed in a More Competitive World

A direct, practical guide that shows how you can lead your not-for-profit to success in a more competitive world. The book provides the knowledge and skills to build a market-driven organization that holds onto its core values, does more mission better, and successfully competes for funding, clients, referral sources, staff, and board members.

In this direct, practical guide, Peter Brinckerhoff shows how you can have more money to do more mission. You will learn:

• How to get more funds from current sources
• How to find and develop new sources of funds
• How to keep more of what you get
• How to use your funds to do more mission over the long term

In the book you will learn the eight characteristics of financial empowerment and then explore each one in depth. Peter gives you ideas and techniques you can begin to use tomorrow. The book shows you:

• How to estimate cash needs
• How to treat your funders like valued customers
• How to develop a money-making business
• How to make your financial reports into valuable tools
• What financing options are available—and what to avoid
• An empowering budget process
• How to price your services effectively
• When to set up a subsidiary corporation
• The role of the CEO in financial empowerment
• The role of the board in financial empowerment
• Specific steps you can begin now to achieve financial empowerment
• A sample empowerment plan
• How to keep what you earn so you can do more mission
• All of this and more presented in Peter’s own direct and helpful style, honed over hundreds of seminars and workshops

Peter is the author of two award-winning books, Mission-Based Management and Financial Empowerment, both published by Wiley. His newest book, Mission-Based Marketing, was released in September 1997. Peter’s books are used as the core texts in over 50 graduate and undergraduate university programs in nonprofit management. Peter’s articles have been published in Advancing Philanthropy, NonProfit World, Strategic Governance, The Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, Communications, and The Grantsmanship Center News.

Peter received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his Master’s of Public Health Administration from Tulane. He is a former VISTA Volunteer, and has served as a staff member, Executive Director, board member, and volunteer for numerous local, state, and national not-for-profits. Peter lives in Springfield, Illinois with his wife Chris and their three children, Ben, Adam, and Caitlin.

Order from Amazon Today —>Financial Empowerment: More Money for More Mission : An Essential Financial Guide for Not-For-Profit Organizations

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Workers More Confident About Retirement, EBRI Says (Update1)
The percentage of U.S. workers who said they were “very confident” about having enough money for retirement was 16 percent, up from 13 percent in 2009, which was a 20-year low, according to the survey released today by Washington-based EBRI.

Read more on Bloomberg

What does a typical cost reduction look like? Rather than assembling a full product, you may ship it in pieces for the customer to assemble. This means a smaller container and less shipping and assembly cost for you.

But consider the poor customers: They have to now assemble your offering and may not have the skills or tools to do it effectively. You may raise their costs by a lot more than you lower your own.

How can this be avoided?

Business model innovation is something that many for profit and nonprofit organizations struggle with accomplishing. In this article, I have broken out three of the elements and supplied three examples to make innovative business model thinking and analysis easier to do in a nonprofit example. The same concepts apply, however, to those who are for profit enterprises. This article’s material will be clearest to those who have already read about continuing business model innovation.

Do More of What You Do Now

Unless you are providing a very small percentage of the needs of each beneficiary or customer, growing by 21-fold requires adding beneficiaries or customers. Because so many organizations can expand to provide 21 times the number of beneficiaries or customers, that’s a great place to begin. You should start by considering who you will serve as these added beneficiaries or customers and where those benefits will be delivered to make the expansion more practical and affordable.

Who Will You Serve and Where Are They?

Let’s begin considering volume-expanding business models by looking at “who” is served. The lesson is to keep it simple. Change as little as possible while becoming more efficient and effective as an organization for your beneficiaries. The simplest way to do this is to put more volume through an existing organizational structure without adding fixed costs.

Let’s consider an organization that carries donated food by truck to distribution centers serving needy families. Most such distribution centers provide a small portion of a family’s total weekly needs — perhaps as little as one meal a week. The families may be visiting 10 to 30 different distribution centers weekly to fulfill all their needs. The trucks carrying the goods to a given distribution center are often owned and operated by that center, may be in use for only a few hours a week, and could be operated much more often without wearing out the equipment.

Let’s assume that more volunteers can be found to load the food, and drive and unload the trucks. Both the nonprofit organization and the needy families will benefit economically if 21 meals weekly are delivered and distributed at one time to a distribution center. Asset costs of having the truck will be spread over much more use, dropping cost per mile. Beneficiaries will make many fewer trips, cutting weekly costs of acquiring the food.

By contrast, if an organization picks people and organizations to serve who are located far away and desire less profitable offerings, this choice of who is served and where to serve them can increase costs to serve each beneficiary versus doing more with the same customers. If the nonprofit’s food distribution truck has to serve families all over a large country and recipients still receive only one meal per week, the cost to deliver the food will increase versus serving local people even though the same number of people are served in both cases. Look at Exhibit 1 to see details of why this cost increase can occur.

Exhibit 1: Adding Truck Trip Volume but Expanding Miles Driven per Trip by a Large Factor and Keeping Food Received per Family Pickup the Same

While driving more miles can reduce capital costs per year for a vehicle, there’s a limit to how far this efficiency goes. In this example, you drive such longer distances that you actually wear out your vehicles and have to buy new ones. In addition, your operating costs of fuel, oil, and maintenance would also be higher from taking longer delivery trips. As a result, increasing volume a lot doesn’t drop costs by nearly as much.

Truck Beginning Point — One Truck Trip per Week Annual truck capital costs $52,000 (5,200 miles per year)

Capital cost per trip $1,000

20 Times Truck Volume Increase with Tripling of Miles Driven per Trip Annual truck capital costs $327,600 (327,600 miles per year)

Additional truck operating costs $81,900

Capital cost and additional operating costs per trip $400

Automobile Beginning Point for Recipients — 21 Pick Ups per Week

Weekly gas, oil, and maintenance $21.00

Cost per pickup for a beneficiary $1.00

Since pickup frequency remains the same, recipients receive no benefit in reduced costs.

What Benefits Are Being Served?

Providing more of what you already offer to beneficiaries can be a big help in creating efficiencies. But sometimes you are serving virtually all of someone’s needs for given items.

When that happens, improved effectiveness occurs in food trucking by the nonprofit organization if you add items dense in nutrients and weight are shipped instead (e.g., old-fashioned oatmeal versus potato chips). See Exhibit 2 for a quantification of this factor.

Exhibit 2: Adding Helpful Nutrient Volume Through an Underutilized Truck and Increasing Food Available to Needy Families for Each Pickup

If we add the factor of what kind of food is delivered, we see that capital costs can be lowered greatly if we carry food that contains more helpful nutrients per cubic meter or foot of space. By shipping foods with 10 times as many nutrients in a given volume, we are able to lower the capital cost per trip/unit of helpful nutrients by another 90 percent.

Truck Beginning Point — 1 Truck Trip per Week Annual truck capital costs $52,000 (5,200 miles per year)

Capital cost per trip $1,000

Capital cost/unit of helpful nutrients $0.10

20 Times Truck Volume Increase with Denser Nutrients — 21 Truck Trips per Week Annual truck capital costs $109,200 (109,200 miles per year)

Capital cost per trip $100

Capital cost/unit of helpful nutrients 0.001

Note: Annual capital cost is higher because service life is reduced by driving more miles a year.

Increasing nutrient density has a similar effect on the costs of recipients picking up the food. The 96 percent cost-reduction gain from reducing frequency of trips is also improved by making the materials more nutrient dense by a factor of 10.

Automobile Operating Costs Beginning Point for Recipients — 21 Pick Ups per Week

Weekly gas, oil and maintenance $21.00

Weekly gas, oil and maintenance/ unit of helpful nutrients $0.21

Automobile Operating Cost — 1 Trip per Week for Denser Nutrients Weekly gas, oil and maintenance $1.00

Weekly gas, oil and maintenance/ Unit of helpful nutrients $0.00084

If you want to help your favorite charity, but are not sure how to do so, there are a number of creative donation options available through most major organizations. Whether it’s a donation of time, money or objects, most charities are in big need of any assistance they can get. Even old cars, boats and trailers can translate into cash in the charity’s hands, and a tax deduction for you.

The number of charities that accept donations of cars, boats and RVs are many and include such notables as the American Diabetes Association, Salvation Army and more. Here are a few things you need to know before donating cars or boats to nonprofits:

* Condition. Some agencies only accept vehicles in fully workable condition or close to it. Others will take push, pull or drag models. It all depends on the agency and what they intend the use for. Oftentimes, those agencies that accept push and pull models intend to rehab and sell them or just outright sell them to make money for their charitable operations.

* Transportation. Some agencies will arrange for pickups, others will not. If your donation isn’t operable, you’ll want to know this information.

* Tax deductions. Donations to certified nonprofits will, or should, result in tax deduction statements. It’s a good idea to have a basic understanding of the vehicle’s value and get the donation statement. This can result in a big tax deduction at the end of the year.

* Designated use. Some agencies will allow you to designate what program or programs you’d like to benefit from your gift. If this is the case with the agency you’re intending to donate to, explore their programs and make the choice.

So why do nonprofits need cars, trucks, boats and RVs? The answer to that depends on the agency. There are three main reasons why nonprofits accept these items as donations:

* Resale. Some agencies simply clean up and resell the donations to help them bankroll their charity efforts. At auction, cars, trucks, boats and more can bring them sizeable amounts that really assist in their efforts.

* Agency reuse. Depending on the quality of the vehicles donated, the agency itself might be able to use them for its own fleet. Nonprofits that help elderly people get to their medical appointments or deliver food, for example, can benefit from having solid, workable cars donated to assist them in this mission. It costs a lot for a nonprofit to buy cars, and when they’re donated, their operating funds can go on the things that really matter.

* Reuse for clients. Some agencies, especially those that help people get back on their feet, try to provide working vehicles for their clients. The outright donation of a workable car, for example, could end up in the hands of a single mother working to make ends meet. No strings attached, the car donation can help her get to work, take care of her kids and more.

Like most nonprofits, your organization likely produces several printed pieces a year to appeal to donors, attract new members, promote events, and report to funders. When designing this collateral, you want to create a piece that successfully represents your organization, fits within your budget, and generates positive change while advancing your cause, raising awareness, and furthering your mission.

But if your print vendor employs traditional methods to produce this — using virgin-fiber paper, petroleum-based inks, toxic solvents, and chlorine-bleached papers — your printed piece might be doing less to reach out to constituents and more to damage the environment.

Luckily, there are eco-friendly ways to make your print projects, the earth — and your organization — look good.

Damage to the Environment

It’s no secret that paper production taxes forests, water, and energy supplies. In fact, eco-advocacy group Environmental Defense  estimates that producing one ton of virgin uncoated paper — which accounts for 90 percent of the United States’ printing and writing paper — requires three tons of wood, 19,075 gallons of water, and generates 2,278 pounds of solid waste.

“The printing industry is the single largest air polluter and the third-largest consumer of fossil fuels in the world after automobiles and steel manufacturing,” said Renourish Founder and University of Illinois Design Professor Eric Benson. “On a typical day, [printers] use trillions of gallons of water that must be treated for its toxic chemical content and released back into our waterways.”

Meanwhile, adhesives, bindings, and foils used in printing and packaging can render the final product unrecyclable, virtually guaranteeing that it will end up in a landfill. There, petroleum-based inks can cause lasting damage to the environment, leaching volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — which can cause cancer and birth defects — into the ground, contaminating soil, groundwater, and, upon evaporation, the air.

The printing process itself is equally hazardous: Many of the solvents, shellacs, driers, and other solutions employed in producing film, printing plates, and cleaning the presses are toxic pollutants that can cause chronic health problems — including kidney and liver damage, and even death — among press operators, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Not exactly the message your nonprofit wants to convey.

It’s Easy Printing Green

For some nonprofits, the solution might be to eschew printing in favor of online marketing. Yet for nonprofits that rely on printed marketing campaigns for support and publicity, cutting out paper altogether might not be an option.

By printing green, you are sending a powerful reminder to your audience that you care about what’s to come. You’re also enhancing your brand image by making the statement that you care about the environment. Environmental degradation has a wide-reaching impact, from poverty and disease to war and famine. By pursuing green printing practices, you are in a sense embracing all good causes — not least of all, your own.

“Your donors, board members, and prospects will see that you care and this will resonate positively to them,” said Nilesh Patel, Owner and President of We Print, an environmentally friendly printer located in Orange, California. “Every point of contact with your constituency should reinforce the idea that you are not only saying the right things but doing the right things. Printing is a very visible part of that, particularly for a membership organization. Doing the right thing environmentally and then advertising it goes a long way [toward establishing] the integrity and sincerity of your organization. It’s a wonderful way to underscore your mission.”

Happily, eco-friendly options are on the rise — and there are many resources online that can help you locate them.

Among We Print’s recommendations:

1. Choose paper that is 100 percent post-consumer waste (PCW), processed chlorine free (PCF), uncoated, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, made by renewable energy sources like wind or solar power (Mohawk Paper is a leader in this area), or even treeless (hemp and kenaf are two options).

2. Use vegetable-based inks or soy inks instead of petroleum-based inks. These alternatives are both low in VOCs and competitively priced. When using Pantone colors — an industry standard — avoid colors (mostly metallics and warm reds) that contain barium, copper, and zinc, which can cause health problems in humans.

3. Try waterless printing, which eliminates the dampening systems used in conventional printing. Digital printing, which avoids the film and chemicals in traditional printing processes, is another good alternative.

4. Avoid using bindings, adhesives, or foil stamps in packaging.

5. Reduce the amount of inks you use by going with one- or two-color designs; you can also save paper by asking your designer to use standard press sheet sizes.

6. Familiarize yourself with industry standards. The Environmental Protection Agency mandates that federal agencies must use uncoated printing and writing papers containing at least 30 percent PCW content; coated papers must contain 10 percent, notes We Print.

Other Printing Considerations

Those nonprofits that print a lot of exhibit or signage materials should opt for a printing process called dye sublimation — rather than solvent-based inks, which use petroleum and other VOCs, according to a September 2005 article in Print magazine. Digital printing and appliqué (which works particularly well with banners) are also cleaner, more sustainable options; look for fabrics like Ecospun, which are made out of recycled materials.

Good Design Is Up to You

“Shouldn’t this be the designer’s responsibility?” you might ask. Fortunately for you — and the environment — the answer is no. Ultimately, as the client, the burden falls on you to make sure your project is as green as possible. And with the growing number of options out there, it isn’t difficult to locate eco-friendly paper vendors, designers, and printers that can help you do just that.

If you can’t locate a green design firm or printer in your area, don’t worry — easy-to-use technologies like PDF readers and compression utilities (see TechSoup’s Free Downloads section for good options) make file transmission quick (and often free) via email and FTP, allowing you to work with the vendor of your choice regardless of your location. Many print vendors will allow you or your designer to upload files directly to their sites and will then ship the printed materials to you.

Even if a design firm doesn’t promote itself as “green,” it may be willing to accommodate your request. If you have a long-standing relationship with a designer, discuss ways you can make your project as eco-friendly as possible.

A good designer should be able to meet your needs by locating the proper vendors and working within the requested perimeters. If a designer tries to talk you out of using a two-color design or dissuade you from choosing an alternative printing technique, get a second opinion.

Often, designers mark up paper and printing by as much as 30 percent, so be wary of those that insist you use expensive paper, printing, binding, coating, or foiling to make your piece look good — they may just be trying to increase their own profits and reduce the time and overhead involved in researching alternatives. A truly competent design firm can make your project beautiful regardless of the specifications.

Dispelling Green Myths

Green (Paper) Is Beautiful

One common misperception among nonprofit and for-profit organizations alike is that eco-friendly means lower quality.

We suggests that nonprofits talk to an eco-friendly printer to better understand their options. “The biggest deterrent to [printing green] is lack of information,” he said, noting that a printer can help you determine what types of papers, inks, and coatings can give you the quality you want and stay within your budget.

Offsetting Costs

Another common deterrent is the misconception that printing green is always more expensive than using traditional printing methods. However, this isn’t always the case. Vegetable-based inks are often competitively priced with petroleum-based; carbon-neutral printing is no more expensive than traditional methods; and many recycled, TCF, and ECF papers are in fact less expensive than virgin.

We would also notes that because there are many factors that contribute to a printed piece’s price — including the size of the project, the press you use, and even the time of year — it’s important to work with a printer that can find the best solution for your organization’s budget.

Keep in mind, too, that as more organizations like yours invest in eco-friendly options, the price will eventually decrease. “It is cost-efficient to make recycled paper as it requires less energy [than virgin],” said Benson. Yet, “there is often a slightly higher premium for recycled paper. That is largely based on supply and demand issues. The more we request recycled, PCW [paper], the more the paper industry will supply, and costs will even out. Printers pollute and pollute badly. Why should this be OK? Choosing to not support those practices is to vote with your dollar.”

Even if you discover that going green means paying more, there are still many ways you can offset the costs:

1.Consolidate

Instead of holding four mail campaigns a year, try sending out three eco-friendly ones. The positive publicity generated by going green may in fact improve response rates, and you’ll be more likely to make the most of what you do send out. Or, offset costs with creativity: “Design multifunctional projects — for example, self-mailer/program combos — to economize when using more expensive paper,” suggests Dynamic Graphics’ in its Printing Green article. “Also, combining projects whenever possible is wise; one idea is to print business cards and postcards from the same recycled paper.”

2.Bypass the Middle Man

Sourcing and managing a print project is not as complicated as it might sound, and will help you avoid high markups from graphic designers. Ask your designer to send you print-ready files, and then work with the printer on delivering and proofing them. Explain that you are a nonprofit and are trying to save money: many printers will be happy to help you through the process. Alternatively, some designers may even be willing to forego the markup when they know they’re supporting a good cause.

3.Share the Glory

Another way to offset costs is to ask a vendor to chip in. Some printers will reduce their price if they can put their logo on the piece, and many will do so unobtrusively. Likewise, you could ask one of your funders to help cover the costs in exchange for a small promotion on the piece.

4.Keep It Exclusive

Some printers will offer discounts if you bring all (or most) of your business to them. “Choosing a printer to print your literature exclusively can result in a contract that can reduce costs the more work you send them,” he said.

If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It

If you print your project on recycled paper using soy-based inks or wind-powered presses, by all means, let your constituents know about it. Add a simple line of text explaining how the piece was printed on the bottom of the postcard, or include a discreet Forest Stewardship Council, Soy Seal, or Processed Chlorine Free symbol if it applies.

Alternatively, you can tally up the piece’s impact for your readers: Neenah Paper’s eye-opening Environmental Savings Calculator can help you calculate the environmental savings — in trees, water, energy, solid waste, water-borne wastes, and atmospheric emissions — in selecting papers with higher levels of post-consumer fiber content.

Promoting green practices not only makes your nonprofit look good — it can motivate others to do the same. For when other organizations see how good your piece looks, they might be inspired to go green.

Thanks

Web :- http://www.weprint-oc.com

Email- hello@weprint-oc.com

Read more on San Diego Reader

MO license offices face more scrutiny over bids
A lawsuit contends Missouri’s system for awarding motor vehicle license offices has been changed to give an unfair advantage to nonprofit groups.

Read more on KSPR Springfield

Dear Jane,

Iâ??m the Executive Director of a large nonprofit and weâ??ve been stuck in a rut for a while. We rely on the same fundraisers, the same donors, and the same volunteers. How can we think â??outside the boxâ??

Whatâ??s the biggest problem facing your organization? Inadequate funding? Burnout of employees, volunteers, board members? Lack of vision? Overwhelming workload?

Many, many organizations face these issues. But if you think â??Well, thatâ??s just the nature of this kind of work,â? think again. These problems are often symptoms indicating that an organization has slipped into what I call a culture of endurance.

Please note that endurance is not the same as perseverance. When organizations persevere, everyone may work long hours and get by on a shoestring, but employees, volunteers, board members, and general membership all feel energized, enthusiastic, and united by a common goal/mission.

When companies or nonprofits are in endurance, however, they exhibit some typical symptoms:

*Gossip

*Complaints

*Attrition

*Ruts/Staleness of Ideas

*Victim Mentality

Endurance is insidious because, as I suggested earlier, it often passes for normal. It may be the norm but it is unnecessary and obviously does not help an organization grow and thrive. Instead, it leads to a wilting process, where spirits wither and idealism sinks.

The good news is that endurance, once it is diagnosed, is completely curable! Here are some suggestions for getting your organization back on track. Whether you are a manager, staff member, volunteer, or a board member, you can have a profound influence on your organization by implementing any one of these ideas:

*Revisit/Revise/Renew Your Mission Statement/Goals

Sometimes, organizations fall into a boring rut because their original mission no longer fits. Perhaps your team or company has already achieved its original goals and itâ??s time to set new ones. Or maybe technology has changed the way you need to do business to achieve your goals.

I know of a nonprofit magazine that was losing ground financially because it hadnâ??t entered into 21st century marketing and database practices. Its goal had been to increase its subscription rate by 50 percent yet it claimed that it couldnâ??t afford to implement new strategies to get to this goal. In the meantime, it was getting deeper into the red each month and its writers were losing the motivation to produce articles. Finally, the editor-in-chief could see that she couldnâ??t afford not to invest in marketing, public relations, and database management. Once the staff and board saw the connection between these investments and their primary goal of increasing subscriptions, they felt a renewed sense of mission. They were able to find new volunteers to help with the technical aspects and a PR firm â??showed up at their doorâ? willing to let the world know about their magazine.

*Connect the Dots

A lot of work done in an organization can seem trivial and menial, whether itâ??s licking stamps, calling donor lists, buying office supplies, or answering customer calls. Most people donâ??t join organizations with these tasks in mind. Therefore, it is crucial that workers be reminded how their efforts are directly contributing to the greater good of the organization and the customers or community being served. These reminders need to be frequent, if not daily.

They can come in the form of awards lunches (brown bag is fine), certificates of appreciation, small gifts, and, of course, verbal kudos. â??Every stamp you licked today brought us closer to our goal of reaching our target for the year. You probably brought in X dollars today. Thank you.â? People should be applauded especially for the drudgery that makes most organizations as successful as they are. These acknowledgments donâ??t necessarily need to come only from the top down. Create a climate where everyone acknowledges everyone else. Even managers need to hear from their staff that they are appreciated, right?

*Turn Complaints into Action

Every organization, whether for-profit or not, will experience surges of complaints. Consider them your early-warning detection system that something probably needs to change. So, as tempting as it is to roll your eyes and want to ignore or even oust complainers, pay attention. There may be something valid and even valuable in what they are saying. But instead of jumping in to fix the problem yourself, ask those who are complaining to become part of a task force to solve the problem. When people feel ownership of a problem, they are much more likely to be energized and creative about finding a solution.

*Encourage Balance

We all know how insidious burn out can be. You are likely to lose some of your best, most dedicated people if you donâ??t pay attention to the necessity of balance. I am reminded of one organization I worked with whose staff was dropping like flies. Everyone could identify with at least some of the symptoms of enduranceâ??depression, lethargy, to-do lists that were impossible to complete, and a â??woe is meâ? atmosphere.

We started by brainstorming some ideas about what would brighten their days, lift their spirits, and remind them that there is life after fundraising and budget shortfalls. The group listed things like socializing together at least once a month outside the office, inviting recipients to give testimonials about how the nonprofit had helped change their lives, starting an internal newsletter so that everyone felt more connected, going on field trips to sites that had been impacted by their work, playing music in the lunchroom, andâ??very importantlyâ??getting out from their cubicles at least once a day to talk to each other instead of communicating by email. After three months of following through on these ideas, I could see that the magic had taken hold. The staff and volunteers reported in with a much higher level of personal satisfaction and enjoyment. Balance is delicate and subtle but crucial to any organization getting out of endurance mode.

There is an ancient Buddhist saying that no enemy can harm us as much as our own thoughts. The corollary is that our own thoughts can also lead us and our organizations to new and extraordinary heights. Any one of these four ideas can unlock your organization from its prison of endurance. Choose one and put it into practice. A thriving organization is a worthy goal in and of itselfâ??beyond any mission statement.

Fundraising for your nonprofit or charitable organization should be a positive happy experience, right?

It’s about helping a great cause – sending kids to a national competition, improving a community, finding medical cures, saving animals, and more. These are important issues in our lives, to the tune of over $1 trillion dollars a year in donations!

But times have become more and more challenging for fundraisers.

Here Are Two Challenges Fundraisers Now Face When Planning Fundraising Events & Activities to Raise More Funds:

1. We deal with uncertain revenue streams, escalating overhead, and generating new interest from patrons and donors. Now as we’re experiencing one of the worst recessions in decades, you may not be sure how to plan your fundraising. What can you expect from donors? Will they be there for you? Even if they want to give, do they want what you’re offering?

2. Another big challenge is the way we’ve approached the job in the past. Usually the process is shared by parents, kids, and small business professionals. We “fan out” with our products and ask for the sale or set up sites for donations. Then, since most of us don’t like to actually “sell stuff,” we put it off. Ultimately, many people on the team end up buying “the stuff,” only to give it away or store it in the garage – again.

So How Can Nonprofit and Charitable Organizations Raise More Funds Now

One innovative alternative has evolved and is getting lots of attention. The concept is based on the rise and undeniable appeal of global e-commerce. According to independent business researchers at Forrester Research, online retail sales reached $175 billion in 2007 and are projected to grow to $335 billion by 2012 in the United States. E-commerce has consistently grown by double digits each year for many reasons like convenience, variety and savings. And, most importantly, online shoppers seem to be less sensitive to adverse economic conditions than the average U.S. consumer.

How Can Nonprofit Organizations Raise Money Online

Your organization can send donors to a professionally designed and managed website that displays your charity’s identity. People could shop for merchandise and services they want and need and you could be in a commissionable position without having to do anything! No recruits to find. No doorbells to ring. No inventory to manage. Just checks to cash.

With the growth of e-commerce, successful businesses are emerging that distribute merchandise to online customers. This opens the door for others like you to earn commissions by bringing consumers to the online stores and malls.

Here Are 4 Benefits of Raising Money for Nonprofits Online Using Auction Sites:

1. It’s a win-win fund raising option for you and your donors
2. You will start an excited buzz among patrons of your organization which means one customer can bring in many more
3. It’s a possible source for tremendous revenue for your nonprofit organization
4. It’s an inexpensive system with hands-off maintenance

Thousands of online shoppers are already searching for their own personal bargains every day. It makes sense that the world of fund raising should be a part of the fun – and the profits.

For example, one very enterprising fund raiser, a radio station in Germany, sold over $10,000,000 in e-commerce credits to 100,000 customers in 18 months on their privately branded site. The radio station was paid 30% of the sales, or over $3,000,000!

By creating a business-to-business partnership with an e-commerce company, you can experience the above results. And, with an insignificant capital investment and essentially no financial risk, you can participate in the parent company’s success and dynamic global presence.

Good luck exploring new possibilities for your next fundraising campaign!