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How Technology Makes Pickups and Drop-Offs of Nonprofit Donations Easier

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nonprofit scheduling softwareIn Nashville, Tennessee, two families turn the key to enter their new homes, built by Habitat for Humanity. Thanks to the generosity of donors, families all over the world will be sleeping soundly tonight in homes built by the global charity.

Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 with a mission to build simple, decent, and affordable housing for families in need. For the work of building, they depend on the kindness of volunteers all over the world. For fundraising, a major part of the revenue that they generate comes from their ReStore locations, where they sell donated building materials, new and used.

Especially in larger city centers, these ReStore locations process a lot of volume—with donors requesting pick-ups and dropping off goods that can be resold. It’s a concept that a lot of nonprofits that operate retail locations will be familiar with. To help them process these donations and issue receipts, many ReStore locations have leveraged technology to save time and effort, both for donors and the teams in the stores. Here’s how.

Online Booking Gives Donors the Control They Want

Taking bookings for pickups over the phone takes time, and requires nonprofits to have dedicated team members focused on that task alone. The same is true of emailed booking requests—a time still has to be confirmed between both parties and the back-and-forth can take a non-trivial amount of time.

Online booking puts the control in the hands of the donor. The nonprofits can offer available pick-up windows in the booking tool, leaving it up to the donor to choose a convenient time. No more guesswork and no more back-and-forth. The LA chapter saw a saw a 300% increase in Habitat for Humanity donations by using online booking. “It’s really important for us to make it easy for people to donate,” says Karen Moore, ReStore Acquisition Manager for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles (Habitat LA). “(It’s) really very simple for our donors; a step-by-step program for people to schedule a pick-up of the items they want to donate.”

“We opened our second store location in September 2016,” says Robin Henrichsen, ReStore Donations Manager of Twin Cities Restore in Minnesota. “To support increased donation pick ups and sales, we expanded our truck fleet from one to two trucks. This change was easy to implement in the software system and got us up to speed quickly for increased donations pick ups. We increased donation pick ups 170% in the first year with two trucks.”

Nonprofits Save Time on Scheduling and Administration

Since the customer has made the booking themselves, the nonprofit’s scheduling software automatically adds the booking to the calendar. It can even suggest the most convenient route for pickups. This way, the teams working at the ReStores can focus on staging the materials in the stores and ringing up sales at the register.

“We’re more organized, and we are able to take less time to schedule a pick-up,” says Kyle Thornhill, ReStore Manager of Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley. “In the past, when someone would call to add an item to their pickup or to switch their date, we’d have to shuffle through papers and then rewrite their donation receipts. This took lots of time and also created a window for human error, which occurred often.” The switch to using nonprofit donation software worked. “We were doing approximately 40 pickups a week and (now) we’ve been doing approximately 64 pickups a week,” says Thornhill. That’s an increase of 60%. “We are currently having our best year-to-date and have beaten our sales records for each month since this past July.”

Donor Gifts“Since we implemented online donation scheduling, we’ve seen that over 50 percent of all donation pickups are now scheduled online. That’s a better use of time than having to schedule over the phone with a member of our Call Center staff,” says Ryan Smith, Chief Retail Officer of Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. “Our donations have gone up 25 percent, our sales 35%, and earnings 40%.”

 

No Need to Create Manual Receipts for Donors

Receipts are another way that technology can save time. When the donor processes the booking themselves, the system can issue a donation receipt digitally. This saves both paper and time, which makes the locations much more efficient over the long term.

Even Drop-Offs Can Be Made Easier with Technology

Habitat for Humanity of East Bay/Silicon Valley has take the use of tech at their ReStore to the next level. Donors have the option of entering their items into an online donation form before dropping them off. Or, when donors bring items to drop off, they can also use one of the location’s iPad “kiosks” to process the donation and get a receipt.

Online Donation Management Software

Donors used to have to wait for store staff to record their donations and issue receipts, but the new way saves much more time. “The online form saves our donors time and offers them the convenience of automatically receiving a professional-looking email receipt containing all the details they need for tax purposes,” says Matt Nelson, Project Specialist at Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley.

With so many conveniences it brings to nonprofit retail locations, and an increasingly savvy public who demand convenience, booking and scheduling software can be a major asset in helping nonprofits grow their donations and resulting revenue.

 

About Vonigo
Vonigo is a service business management platform that helps streamline operations and increase sales of mobile service companies and nonprofits. Vonigo offers a unified suite of configurable cloud-based modules including; CRM, scheduling, online booking, work order management, estimating, dispatch, routing, GPS, invoicing, payments, reporting, and more all accessible over the internet from any desktop or mobile device. Millions of jobs have been successfully booked and managed with Vonigo.

6 Essential Email Tips for Nonprofit Marketers

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nonprofit email marketing tipsNavigating the world of email marketing for a nonprofit can be tough, especially as inboxes become more and more crowded. To break through the noise and make a genuine, helpful connection with your donors, consider how automation, mobile design, calls to action, subject lines, list growth and segmentation come into play within your email marketing. The following piece will explore those topics in more depth.

 

  1. Automate to reach donors at the right time.

Some marketers are hesitant to embrace automation, but it’s an easy way to both save time and send more personalized messages. Nonprofits should consider it a win-win. Think of a thank you email: if someone makes a donation to your nonprofit, that should trigger an automated email thanking them for doing so. Or, if someone signs up for your email list, you should automate a welcome series that asks them to set their preferences, introduces some of your biggest projects, and asks them to get involved.

Email Nonprofit MarketingNot only will you be able to scale your work more efficiently, you will get great results in the process: Automated email messages average 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click-through rates than “business as usual” marketing messages, according to Epsilon Email Institute. These are some of the highest-performing emails you could ever send, so don’t miss this critical opportunity to build customer loyalty.

  1. Design with mobile in mind.

Your audience is likely checking their inbox on a phone, so now more than ever, emails should look beautiful whether they’re opened on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. When in doubt, design for a small screen first. Nonprofit marketers can create compelling mobile-friendly content by focusing on the following strategies: arranging content in a single-column format, Incorporating white space throughout and organizing content with sections clearly designated with headers and dividers. Effective mobile design helps boost click rates, helps engage your audience when they are on the go and increases credibility for your brand.

  1. Include a compelling call to action.

Speaking of mobile: be sure to use buttons over text links for your primary call to action, since buttons are much easier to see and tap on a small screen. An effective CTA button should tell you exactly what happens when you click through. That doesn’t mean every call-to-action button should say “donate now,” though. For instance, charity: water often gets creative with their call-to-action language, avoiding words like “donate” in favor of language like this: “Say it with water.”

email for nonprofits

  1. Test your subject lines.

Because it’s one of the primary criteria recipients will use to decide whether or not to open or delete your email, subject lines should be compelling and irresistible to open. Subject lines are competitive by nature, so marketers should take advantage of this behavior by split testing them against one another. Split testing is an easy way to boost open rates, and simple subject line changes can produce big results for nonprofits.

  1. Make list growth a priority.

Your email marketing can only be as successful as the quality of your subscriber list. Because the average list churns 25-30% year-over-year, you need to constantly be growing your audience with new subscribers.

Growing your list ultimately starts on your website, and knowing how and where to use the right tools on your site is important. For instance, Emma customer Thistle Farms set up their lightbox signup form to appear on a 7-second time delay. That way, people have enough time to get to their website, comprehend what they’re doing, and sign up for the Thistle Farms email list if they want to. If not, it’s easy for website visitors to exit the form and go about their business.Nonprofit Donor Marketing

  1. Segment for relevant messaging.

Once you’ve gathered subscribers and welcomed them to your list, you NEED to be segmenting whenever possible, even if it’s just by how they signed up or their engagement with that first welcome email. The best email marketing relies on relevant, personalized messaging, and segmentation is what will get you there. Some key things to segment by…

  • How they signed up
  • Location
  • Engagement (highly engaged, inactive, etc.)
  • Donation amount
  • By any action, really. If you have the data, use it!

 

Wrapping it up

Strategic email marketing is critical to nurturing current donors and converting prospective ones. Email is king for all organizations, but especially nonprofits. Take into account this stat: 47% of marketers report that email generates the most ROI for their organization, and 58% plan to increase spending on email marketing during the next year. Now’s the time for nonprofits to optimize their email marketing strategies, and the tips in this article should help set them up for success.

 

Protecting God’s Money: Tips to Prevent Church Embezzlement

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Embezzlement ChurchFraud makes most people think of Wall Street and shady investment figures like Bernie Madoff or Martin Shkreli.  Although many frauds are perpetrated at that level, fraudsters normally start closer to home.

Churches and nonprofit organizations are prime targets for fraudsters starting out, mostly because these types of organizations don’t want to prosecute someone, especially if they can be viewed as a person “in need.”  This mindset, though well-intentioned, can make these organizations vulnerable.

Professionals boil the broad array of possible frauds down to three main categories: Financial Statement Fraud, Misappropriation of Assets, and Corruption.  Of the three, misappropriation of church funds (or embezzlement) is of the most concern for churches and nonprofits.

What drives people to commit these types of crimes?  The “Fraud Triangle” helps illuminate how someone might be tempted.  There are three sides to the fraud triangle that create the perfect conditions for fraud to occur.

  • Perceived Pressure: An individual can feel pressure from themselves, from other people, or from situations. This could come in the form of financial instability in the family, questionable job outlook, or inner greed.
  • Rationalization: An individual finds a suitable reason for performing the fraudulent act.  For example, someone who volunteers with the parish could feel entitled to snagging a $10 bill for lunch “because he does so much for the parish” or someone who thinks “$10 won’t hurt the parish because it is so wealthy and it’ll only be once.”
  • Opportunity: This is where pastors can help prevent fraud.  Poor internal controls or a weak culture of accountability provide someone the opportunity to steal from the parish.

Of all of the processes a church conducts throughout the year, taking up the collection is one of the riskiest.  Volunteers and elders in the church are typically trusted to count and care for the funds.  Here are a few practical steps a pastor and finance committee can take to ensure the entire collection makes it into the church bank account:

  • Designate a secure counting room, with a security camera in plain sight, and review the tape periodically.
  • Utilize at least two, unrelated counters, and require them to fill out their own count sheet.  Require each counter to verify the other’s work.
  • Have the counters prepare two deposit slips: one for the bank, and one for the parish bookkeeper.  Have the bookkeeper reconcile all deposits weekly.
  • Church employees and their family members should not be counters.
  • Checks should be stamped “For deposit only” immediately upon receipt.
  • Rotate cash counters randomly.  Observe collection trends with the different counting teams to identify discrepancies.
  • Deposit collection into the parish bank account as soon as possible.  Utilize different routes and transportation times.
  • Perform background checks on anyone who handles money.
  • Encourage parishioners to use checks for collection.

Nothing can completely prevent theft from the collection.  There are a few pitfalls that even the best of controls can’t fully mitigate, including:

  • Collusion: Two or more individuals agree to work together to perpetrate and conceal a fraudulent activity.  This generally leads to greater losses.  Because frauds are inherently difficult to find because the fraudster attempts to conceal the effect of the missing or improper disclosure, when two people team up, they can double the original effect.  The ACFE 2018 Report to the Nations (the 2018 Report) found that the median loss for a single perpetrator was $74,000 and for two perpetrators was $150,000.
  • Management Override: Those in charge don’t take controls seriously, rendering them useless.  The best thing pastors can do is maintain a good “Tone at the Top,” emphasizing the importance of protecting parish assets.
  • Clean Criminal History: The 2018 Report found that 89% of perpetrators studied had never been charged or convicted of anything.

Everyone knows about red flags in different situations.  There are specific red flags that pastors should be mindful of when selecting counters and others that are to be trusted with parish funds.  Some of the top red flags that were prevalent in the cases studied in the 2018 Report include:

  • Living beyond one’s means
  • Financial difficulties
  • Unusual close association with vendors
  • Wheeler-dealer attitude
  • Control issues or unwillingness to share duties

Fraud prevention is an ongoing process; parishes of any size could become victims. The best things for a pastor to do is to pay attention to red flags, be mindful of the ebbs and flows of parish finances, and be ready to ask questions if things don’t add up.

5 Ways Nonprofits can Drive More Value from the Email Channel

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email for nonprofitsNonprofits are dependent on their ability to connect with donors, volunteers, and advocates—and drive them to action. Without this generous audience, most nonprofits simply couldn’t exist. And yet it’s well known that nonprofits are often strapped for time, budget, and resources—so reaching supporters in a cost-effective way can be challenging.

Today, many innovative and successful nonprofit organizations are turning to one solution to help with this task: email marketing. Email is truly a perfect fit for all of a nonprofit’s communication needs; it is a cost effective channel that’s easy to use, it can reach a vast audience quickly, and it’s proven to drive results.

Whether it’s being used to raise funds for a worthy cause, drive attendance at an upcoming rally, or otherwise mobilize supporters, email is a critical channel for nonprofits. In fact, a recent study of nonprofit marketing found that email raises an average of $36 for every 1,000 messages sent, and accounts for 26 percent of online revenue.

With numbers like those, it’s important for nonprofits to take full advantage of the email channel. And that means really digging into how email works, to understand the various factors that can influence the success of an email campaign. Following are five areas to consider as you build—or improve—your nonprofit’s email program.

  1. Understand the importance of reaching the inbox

Email provides a great opportunity to appeal to advocates and raise much-needed funds. But in order to be successful, your email campaigns first need to land in the inbox.

Not every email reaches its intended destination. Some are “bounced” due to bad email addresses and other factors. Others get caught in spam filters before they are delivered. Only those messages that actually land in the inbox have the potential to mobilize your audience, so maximizing inbox placement is critical.

As of 2017, the average inbox placement rate for nonprofits is 76 percent—which means that one out of every four messages cannot fulfill its intended purpose. Inbox placement is influenced by many factors—including sender reputation, list quality, and subscriber engagement—so there’s plenty that a nonprofit marketer can do to improve this critical metric.

  1. Get to know your sender reputation

As a nonprofit marketer, your main goal is to get supporters to take action. However, the mailbox providers that decide whether your email reaches the inbox (like Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL) have a very different agenda. Their primary objective is to provide the best possible inbox experience for their customers—email recipients. And that means delivering only the messages that consumers really want, and sending any unwanted mail to the spam folder.

Sender reputation is a significant factor in these filtering decisions. Much like a credit score helps a bank to determine a borrower’s creditworthiness, sender reputation provides a way for mailbox providers to distinguish between legitimate senders and spammers. Many factors contribute to your sender reputation, including spam complaints, sending practices, and list quality. A good reputation increases the chances that your email will be delivered to the inbox, while a poor reputation will land your messages in the spam folder.

Return Path offers a free tool for calculating your sender reputation, called Sender Score. Our research shows that nonprofit companies have relatively few reputation issues, but it’s always a good idea to monitor your sender reputation to prevent possible inbox placement concerns.

  1. Learn about list quality

Having a “clean” subscriber list is important for any email marketer, but it’s especially challenging for those in the nonprofit sector. Because nonprofits aren’t selling anything or offering subscribers any direct benefits (like sales or discounts), they often struggle to grow and maintain a high-quality list.

Some nonprofits resort to renting or purchasing a list, but this is generally not advisable. Although they can provide quick and easy access to a large number of subscribers, rented or purchased lists can be littered with spam traps, unknown users, and other undesirables. Sending to these bad addresses will damage your sender reputation and limit your ability to reach the inbox. The best way to acquire new subscribers is to do so organically.

Of course, building your list is only half the battle. It’s also critical to monitor your list and take action to ensure that it remains as clean as possible. This includes keeping an eye out for inactive subscribers, removing any address that produces a hard bounce, and taking advantage of the feedback loops that are offered by many mailbox providers.

  1. Make a real connection with your subscribers

Every nonprofit marketer knows the importance of loyal, engaged donors and volunteers. But engaged email subscribers serve another purpose, beyond ensuring that worthy causes are supported. They can also help to make sure your email messages reach their intended target.

As part of their ongoing efforts to combat spam and other threats, mailbox providers like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and AOL have begun using “engagement metrics” to understand what content their users truly value. These metrics go beyond sender reputation to look at how users interact with messages from a given sender—things like how many messages are read, replied to, forwarded, and deleted without reading.

By understanding how subscribers engage with a sender’s messages, mailbox providers are better able to determine whether those emails are wanted by subscribers. Our research shows that nonprofits tend to have some difficulty with subscriber engagement, as the average read rate for nonprofit emails is just 17 percent (compared to 22 percent for all commercial emails). Additional insights can be found in this report – The Nonprofit’s Guide to Email Marketing 

  1. Take advantage of whitelisting

Whitelists are the “secret weapon” of many successful nonprofit marketers. A whitelist is a record of senders who meet established standards for reputation, engagement, and sending practices, thus proving themselves to be legitimate and responsible. Email from whitelisted senders receives special treatment, including reduced filtering, resulting in higher inbox placement rates.

Individual mailbox providers offer whitelisting services, but these benefits are limited to email sent to their own users. Since most nonprofits have subscribers at a variety of email clients, most opt for a more universal whitelist that provides preferred handling with multiple mailbox providers.

Nonprofit Marketing : Challenges, Strategies and Best Practices

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Nonprofit MarketingNonprofit organizations are inherently unique. Spanning nearly ever sector and industry, nonprofits are driven more by a mission than simply the financial bottom line.

Most nonprofits promote a purpose that tugs at the heartstrings, giving people a reason to care—and still, many organizations struggle to use this as a foundation for their marketing efforts. While a number of the obstacles nonprofits face in their marketing efforts can be attributed to budget and staffing shortfalls, nonprofit marketing success is, by all means, possible.

By investing in tactics that provide the most value for your dollar, nonprofits of any size can create and nurture a marketing strategy that will further their organization’s purpose and build a strong community of supporters.

Use earned media to your advantage

Unlike traditional paid advertising campaigns that can quickly deplete any budget, investing in public relations and earned media is an effective way to deliver your organization’s message to your target audience without forking out loads of cash.

A major benefit to leveraging earned media is that it is an effective tool for nonprofits of all sizes. While it’s not always possible to attract national attention from the start, a regional nonprofit could pitch local media outlets for broadcast interviews during events to raise awareness of its programs and services. Once that media relationship is established, the initial coverage can be leveraged to bring in bigger media outlets.

Media coverage is a cost-effective tactic that allows your organization’s leaders to drive home the impact the organization is making through effective, personal storytelling.

Sage worked with Washington, D.C.-based Halcyon House to promote the personal stories of the fellows and the organization’s support of their work to establish several personalized stories in target media outlets.

Use email to directly engage with stakeholders

According to Campaign Monitor, personalized email marketing for nonprofits is 40 times more effective at engaging new supporters than social media. With that being said, an effective email marketing campaign allows nonprofits to build relationships with people who have already expressed interest in your cause.

For any email campaign, an organization should aim to execute the following tactics:

  • Tell the organization’s story and promote the brand
  • Show donors how their donations are making an impact
  • Initiate a call-to-action at the end of the email

Recently, Sage worked to create a three-month, two-tier email influencer campaign to give away unique experience through an online contest to raise funds and awareness for Halcyon House through the “I am Halcyon” campaign.

Use your website to tie your campaigns together

For any nonprofit, the website should serve as a focal point for your target audience to learn about and engage with the organization. A well-designed website can be instrumental in engaging new members, raising funds and communicating with decision-makers.

A nonprofit’s website should be optimized to drive traffic to the website, connect with other marketing campaigns and intertwine with social media content.

Sage has worked with a number of Washington, D.C.-based organizations to create a website that houses the information needed to inform and engage their target audiences, including Halycon House, DC Jazz Festival and Capitol Riverfront.

Use authentic, targeted content to reach your target audiences

Cause-driven organizations have to communicate with members of their audiences in a personal and genuine manner. And unlike other industries, this means that nonprofits must generate content that is authentic and hyper-targeted to each segment of the target audience in order for it to be effective.

For nonprofit organizations, content development can make a significant positive impact on achieving their mission. In order to develop and maintain a strong pipeline of content, organizations should do the following:

  • Develop a hierarchy for target audiences so that content tailored to primary stakeholders is prioritized
  • Create a content calendar on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis
  • Identify key themes to address throughout the year
  • Publish content on a central location and share through all available channels
  • Repurpose content to save time and make the most of what you’ve already created

Use social media to promote your message and engage with members of your audience

Social media marketing is a one-on-one, relationship-building tool for all organizations. By cutting through the barriers established between an organization and the average person, a nonprofit is able to reach a large audience and engage with them on an individual level.

Best practices when it comes to social media include:

  • Targeting your audience through tailored content and posting times
  • Prioritize certain platforms based on your organizational mission (Facebook may reach more of your target audience than Twitter)
  • Interact frequently with your followers
  • Leverage analytics to improve and reposition your overall strategy

In addition to what organizations are doing right, we’ve all seen the negative impact mistakes can have on organizations when it comes to social media. It is important, even for nonprofits, to avoid making common mistakes on their social media accounts, including using generic messaging, failing to post regularly and ignoring individual comments.

There are numerous opportunities for nonprofits when it comes to a marketing strategy. Despite budget, staffing and other restrictions that exist, today’s expansive communication landscape has made it possible for any organization to reach their target audience with their messaging.

Nonprofits already have the upper hand when it comes to marketing—their purpose. A well-planned and executed marketing strategy can turn any nonprofit’s purpose into a major phenomenon among individuals who identify with the cause.

How to Optimize Your Storytelling Skills for Marketing Success

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Marketing Nonprofit TipsTelling a good cause story: It can be the biggest difference between you and your competitors. Storytelling can help set you apart in a field of similar charities and nonprofits, and it all comes down to how strong your strategies are. It isn’t enough to simply have your mission laid out on your website – and with so many avenues and creative outlets online, why would you even want to stop there?

The truth is, adept storytelling can do a number of things: It can help position your nonprofit as being both sympathetic and dynamic; it can bring in new donors while retaining current ones; it can expand your reach and establish your brand digitally. It’s the foundation of cause marketing for good reason.

Here are five ways you can strengthen your storytelling skills to help your nonprofit’s marketing:

 

  1. Play to your audience’s emotions

One of the best ways to reaffirm your nonprofit’s vision is by creating a solid emotional connection between you and your potential donors. Appeal to the soft side of your audience by crafting a story that hinges around how donations can end suffering, provide help, or make the impossible possible – just think about how well those humanitarian aid commercials go right for your heart. For example, the Animal Humane Society put out a video designed to tug on the heartstrings of anyone watching – it’s easy to get caught up in the humanized voices of the animals and their pleas.

Also, don’t forget to keep up with those emotional appeals once you’ve got a solid donor base! Now that you have regular donors, keep them updated with stories of how their contributions are helping you help others. Check out the storytelling episode on the Asking For More podcast for more great ideas.

  1. Social media is key

Storytelling is vital in today’s attention economy. Social media values stories, and you, as a nonprofit, clearly have plenty of amazing stories to tell – whether they’re about the goals you’re striving towards, the projects you’ve completed, or the ongoing help you’re providing to the community. You’re making a significant impact on the lives of others, and there’s no better way to communicate this than through social media.

Social media tools are the perfect avenues to share these stories and to get instant feedback, validation and confirmation of the important work you’re doing. Set up accounts on the most popular social networks – Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are good places to start – and have a set schedule for posting fresh content. Nonprofits like Doctors Without Borders use Instagram to show photos of their on-the-ground relief efforts, and the American Heart Association on Twitter utilizes its own hashtags to start conversations.

  1. Try real-time communications

Your storytelling efforts don’t need to be static; in fact, if they’re happening in the moment, they’re more likely to engage more people. Think about the telethons of old – people would tune in to watch variety shows and celebrities work the phone lines as nonprofits and charities called for pledges. It’s about the in-the-moment participation with demonstrable results – and it’s easy to bring this type of strategy into modern-day marketing.

A fantastic example of this is the Keeping Up With The Kattarshians livestream video from Iceland. Broadcasting company Nutiminn capitalized on the Internet’s love for all things feline and set up a live webcam to continuously broadcast the antics of some very cute kittens (all available for adoption!). Not only are they jumping on the reality TV train for a good cause, they’re demonstrating a strong awareness of what can catch fire with online audiences.

  1. Involve your donors in problem solving

Storytelling tactics are often very effective at bringing out emotion. Why not try something as simple as laying out a problem and presenting the solution your donors can be a part of? You can use this outline as an exercise in an appeal letter, a social media post, or an email.

Your outline should look something like this:

  • Begin with a sharp introduction to get the reader involved, with a clear example to create a mental visual.
  • Keep sentences short to help develop a sense of urgency, and repeat pronouns like “we” to make the story more personal and help the reader feel directly involved.
  • State the problem and your goal in human and visual terms, making it very relatable, while referring directly to the reader, who feels like they are now a part of the story.
  • Last, be sure to offer your thanks and reinforce your message.

  1. Have a sense of humor

Last but certainly not least, don’t be afraid to present your story with a touch of humor. It’s possible that going too grim or dark could turn off potential donors, so consider your cause and how you might be able to lighten things up a bit. Take this commercial for Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelter – the Huffington Post called it a “low-budget masterpiece,” and it still holds up today. (Bonus: sometimes the funniest content is low on cost!)

It may seem like an extra use of resources, but trust us when we say that creative forms of storytelling can be the secret weapon you need to get even more attention for your nonprofit. Keep building on these strategies to spread the word about your cause – and before long, you might start seeing an organic increase in those who believe in you.

Four Areas of the New Tax Law that Affect Nonprofits

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Nonprofit TaxesNo one likes to talk about corporate taxes, especially those in the nonprofit industry who feel as though taxes are primarily a concern for the for-profit world.  However, the new tax law passed in December 2017, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (and also known as PL 115-97/HR 1), contains four provisions that directly impact nonprofits.  These four provisions are:

  1. Executive Compensation,
  2. University Endowments,
  3. Unrelated Business Income Tax, and
  4. Fringe Benefits.

Executive Compensation

With the passage of the new tax law, there is now an excise tax on excess executive compensation.  Essentially, Section 501(c) and 501(d) organizations will now have to pay an annual 21% excise tax on employee compensation in excess of $1M.  This rate of 21% is the top corporate income tax rate under the new law, and it’s assumed that large trade associations, universities, and hospitals will be most affected by this provision given that they are most likely to pay such high salaries.

The way the law is structured, the current top five (5) highest paid employees, irrespective of position or title, whose compensation is in excess of $1M will be subject to this 21% excise tax.  However, the taxes don’t stop there.  As these five employees fall out of the top five in future years, they are still part of the group of employees that are subject to this excise tax provided they are making over $1M, along with any new employees that may have joined the top five.  So, the group of employees subject to this tax isn’t limited to just five employees – it can grow as those in the top five change year-over-year.  The good news is that licensed professionals providing medical services, including doctors and veterinarians, are excluded and should not be counted in this employee group.

When calculating employee compensation, this will be the total of current compensation, deferred compensation, and excess parachute payments (an excess parachute payment relates to the present value of the parachute payment that is equal to or exceeds three times the base salary amount).  Also included in the compensation is remuneration for services as determined for income tax withholding purposes and amounts required to be included in gross income under IRC section 457(f) — but excluding designed Roth contributions.

This provision is also applicable to political organizations under 527(e)(1) and organizations whose income is excluded under IRC section 115(1), as well as related entities (such as parent organizations).

University Endowments

Under the new tax law, there is a 1.4% excise tax for endowment investment income.  This applies only to colleges and universities with endowments of at least $500K per student, and it is limited to institutions with at least 500 students and where more than 50% of the college/university’s student body is located in the US.  However, this provision does not apply to state colleges and universities.

Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT)

As was the case before the new tax law, all income generated from unrelated business activities will be subject to UBIT; however, now at a lower tax rate of 21%.  But there is a catch!  Starting January 1, 2018, all income generated from unrelated business activities have to be calculated separately and the new 21% tax rate will apply to the income on each of those individual activities.  Therefore, you will be unable to net the activities and pay the 21% on the whole amount as was the case before the new tax law.  Thus, if you have an operating loss on one unrelated business activity, that loss carries forward to the next year as opposed to being netted against the profit making activities for that year.

Fringe Benefits

Perhaps an area that will affect many nonprofits, certain fringe benefits are now subject to the 21% UBIT rate.  These fringe benefits include qualified transportation, parking, and on-premises athletic facilities.  The cost of these benefits, if provided by the employer, should be calculated and a 21% UBIT paid on them by the employer.

There are other concerns with the new tax law and its impact on nonprofits.  One such concern is that the increase in the standard deduction could cause less people to donate to nonprofits going forward since there would be no need or incentive for them to itemize their deductions.  In addition, the limit on the amount that a contribution can be deducted has increased from 50% of an individual’s adjusted gross income (AGI) to 60%, charitable deductions for amounts paid for college athletic event seating rights has gone from 80% to 0%, and the indexed Estate Tax exemption has doubled from $5.5M to $11M.

Needless to say, there is a lot of uncertainty in the tax community about how the IRS will apply some of these rules as the new law was put together rather quickly, left a lot of room for interpretation, and was issued without going through the proper questioning period.  Given that, it is always best to reach out to a tax accountant or your organization’s audit firm before making any assumptions.

The Five People You Need on Your Development Committee

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Board Development CommitteeDevelopment committees can be critical to the success of any non-profit’s fundraising efforts. A great development committee can drive an annual fund campaign to success, secure new sponsors for special events, and play an integral role in cultivating and stewarding donor relationships. In short—they can be every Development Director or CEO’s secret to fundraising success!

So, who belongs on a development committee? It’s true that any one passionate board member could be a productive, contributing member, but just like any strong board of directors, a development committee requires a certain set of skills and resources be combined for best results.

In my experience, here are the five people you’ll find on the most successful development committees:

  1. The Business Owner or Chief Executive

I once had a professor (who also happened to be a seasoned executive with years of experience at the helm of one of our nation’s non-profit giants) sum up board development in one sentence: “You want the number 1’s or the number 2’s,” she would say, referring to business owners and corporate leaders in top positions. She believed strongly that when you engage corporate leadership, they bring with them more than just their own resources and teams—they bring along their partners, their vendors and suppliers, and they open doors to resources you may never have imagined. In my experience, I have known this to be true.

For the smaller non-profit, this might be intimidating. However, look at the composition of your own board. Do you have top leaders of local businesses or corporations? Who has access to the strongest networks? These individuals need to be engaged on a development committee.

  1. The Marketing Professional

 Often times, marketing departments are a luxury only afforded to larger non-profits or those few that are willing to invest in them as a means to strengthen fundraising efforts. However, whether it’s a marketing professional from your board of directors or your internal team, your development committee needs their participation.

The right marketing professionals can aid in developing a cohesive communications strategy, help raise brand awareness, and can take your sponsorship materials and marketing collateral to the next level. At a time when so many non-profits are competing for event attendees and individual donors, delivering a polished professional image and engaging materials could be the key that helps you stand out to donors.

  1. The Salesman (or Woman)

 Let’s face it. Not everyone is comfortable soliciting donations, even when they love and care for the cause. What good is access to strong networks and awesome marketing materials if you can’t muster up the courage to ask for support? The key to a successful development committee is making sure it’s made up of individuals who aren’t afraid to make the ask! I refer to them here as salesmen and women; however, in reality, they are any members of your board with the passion and confidence needed to connect with prospective donors and ask them for support. When it comes to inviting members of your board to join the development committee, start with those you know fit this description and then utilize them at every stage of fundraising—cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.

  1. The Board Treasurer

Every development committee should have a good understanding of the financial position and needs of the organization. Having the board treasurer sit on the committee is a good way to ensure that the committee receives regular financial statements, and can closely monitor income and expenses. The board treasurer can provide valuable insight and answer questions relating to the budget and financial history of the organization. And, besides, everyone needs a good numbers guy!

  1. The Development Director or Executive Director

As a best practice, the development committee should be chaired by a board member. However, the chief development officer or executive director (or in some cases both) should be a key member of the development committee. Not only do they ensure the committee has access to necessary internal reports, but it is ultimately their responsibility to implement the development plan with support and guidance from the committee.

Best Practices for Partnerships Between Businesses and Nonprofits

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Partnership NonprofitsBusinesses frequently partner with nonprofits to raise money and awareness for important causes. Some of these relationships last years and generate thousands of dollars, while others seemingly fail after only a short time. Follow these best practices to ensure that your next for profit/nonprofit partnership is a success for everyone!

Types of Partnerships for Businesses and Nonprofits

There are a variety of common models of partnerships for businesses and nonprofits:

  • The business makes a one-time or recurring financial or material contribution to the nonprofit (think: donating money or gently used products)
  • The business pays employees their regular salary to do volunteer work for the nonprofit
  • The business donates a percentage of every sale to the nonprofit

Benefits of Business-Nonprofit Partnerships

Partnerships between businesses and nonprofits should benefit everyone!

 Benefits for the Business

Businesses have so much to gain from working with nonprofits. Working with nonprofits can be highly fulfilling to founders and employees, and working with a nonprofit that resonates with the values of customers can improve consumer perception and trust. It is also possible to directly drive revenue with programs such as donating a percentage of every sale for a particular promotional product.

Benefits for the Nonprofit

Partnering with companies helps nonprofits reach financial and publicity goals. Depending on the type of partnership, the nonprofit may receive financial or material donations, or extra volunteer hours. Beyond this, the business becomes a promotional channel for the nonprofit and provides free public relations exposure and marketing.

Best Practices for For-Profit Business/Nonprofit Relationships

When a business and a nonprofit create a partnership, both parties are responsible for working towards the success of the program.

Best Practices for Nonprofits

Nonprofits usually operate on limited financial and human resources, but there are easy ways that they can create a positive and successful experience working with businesses.

  1. Create an open line of communication – Nonprofits struggle with human capital, but providing an open line of communication to the business is vital to business relationships. In turn, this can lead to more contracts signed and long-term relationships. Provide access to someone specific within the organization rather than a general customer service line or customer care email address.
  2. Provide a style and branding guide – Most companies will want to publicize the partnership. Upon signing paperwork to formalize the partnership, provide high resolution logo files as well as basic branding guidelines. This will make it easier for the company to create graphics and messaging to promote the program.
  3. Share partner media on social media and website – It is common for businesses to publish a press release to announce the partnership. If possible, the nonprofit should create a section of their website to publish partner press releases. Businesses might also market the partnership on social media or by creating videos. Re-sharing high quality media with appropriate branding will help these partnership programs grow, and is a sign of goodwill towards the business.

Best Practices for Businesses

Businesses are also responsible for the success of nonprofit partnerships.

  1. Create an open line of communication – Communication is never one-way, so businesses must be highly communicative to have a successful partnership. Interestingly, the most successful businesses keep their communication simple. Make sure that a single person is accountable for the partnership, and have this person keep the nonprofit representative up to date with struggles and successes of the program.
  2. Strictly follow requested branding guidelines – If a nonprofit offers branding guidelines and logo files, follow their guidance! Do not modify their logos or graphic files without permission, and use the messaging that they provide.
  3. Be swift in delivering what was promised – If a business offers to donate 10% of sales to a nonprofit, it is a best practice to generate reports and deliver the donation as soon as possible after the promotion ends.

Partnerships between businesses and nonprofits should benefit everyone – most importantly, the community members that the nonprofit serves! Unfortunately, the ultimate mission can’t be served without a positive, open relationship between both parties. It is only when both parties take responsibility and carry their weight that a nonprofit promotion can be truly successful.

Founding A Nonprofit Organization: A Practical Guide, Including The Six Keys to Nonprofit Sustainability

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Founding a Nonprofit OrganizationNonprofit organizations are usually founded on a great platform, research, education, health care, homelessness, hunger, and/or poverty alleviation, just to name a few, and through the creation of resources and services, each are purposed to impact individuals and/or communities (defined as both a group people living in the same place and a group of people having particular characteristics in common) and create positive and sustainable change in the world. While, this grand platform focuses on a problem at hand, many times the purpose is too narrow and lacks the ability to create a long-term substantial effect on the community it serves or the organization as a whole. Failure to properly plan and account for both short- and long-term sustainability creates a deficit in the affects the nonprofit organization has within the community, and upon individuals, which are the purported recipients of the resources, services and programs offered by the nonprofit organization; for when the organization fails and or when there is a lack of funding, an even greater void is created within the community.

Founding a nonprofit organization is not for the faint at heart; unlike for-profit businesses/organizations the services, resources, and products are not for sell. The revenue stream is earned through being able to convince individuals, business and organizations (donors) to believe in your ability to make a difference (fundraising). Instead of a paying customer base, resources, programs, and services are given away (to clients) in the hopes that they will create a consumer who will impact their communities for the better. Founding a nonprofit organization is a labor of love, a ‘Higher Power call’ to create a vehicle which will provide for and sustain life while the storms and floods, designed to wash away life as it has been known, destroys the very thing which has kept one anchored. Few will answer this call because the task of creating a new organization, let alone one whose sole focus is on creating ‘something from nothing’ is a daunting and fearful task.

This paper is written to encourage, enlighten, and empower those who desire to be Founders of charitable, not-for-profit organizations. This paper is designed to take some of the fear out of the seemingly insurmountable lists of ‘things to do’ and to bring a renewal of energy and vision, and a fresh perspective by offering practical advice through the creation of this hands-on guide.

Why Nonprofits?

Known as SEOs (Social Entrepreneurial Organizations), TSOs (Third Sector Organizations), and NPOs (nonprofits organizations), nonprofit organizations operate in an increasingly turbulent context where building sustainable organizations has emerged as a critical need.  As a result, more nonprofit organizations are aligning themselves with sustainability efforts which will create the greatest good for the social economy. This change has led toward developing innovative practices and strategic responses. [1] Part of the third sector of economy or social economy, the range of organizations that are neither public sector nor private sector and includes voluntary and community organizations, key components of NPOs and the social economy are they generally: are independent of government, are ‘value-driven’ (motivated by the desire to achieve social goals rather than the desire to distribute profit) and reinvest any surpluses generated in the pursuit of their goals.[2] Nonprofit organizations provide goods and services that are not delivered by the businesses within public sectors, develop skills, create employment and foster pathways for social inclusion,[3] dependent upon the assistance of faithful volunteers and donors, concomitantly while alleviating many social ills that plague individuals, communities, and the world.

Sustainability

Through the concept of social responsibility and in tandem with the creation and provision of outreach products, programs, and services, which benefits individuals and communities, nonprofit organizations have the distinct honor of adopting practices and procedures which support an approach to sustainability. This sustainability is both organizational as well as individual and communal (community).  According to The National Council of Nonprofits, the phrase “sustainability” is commonly used to describe a nonprofit that is able to sustain itself over the long term, perpetuating its ability to fulfill its mission. Sustainability, is not usually a part of planning, especially among/within nonprofit organizations.[4]  Nonprofits are created to fill a societal void or need within a community, provide funds for research, and/or assist individuals and groups with financial, educational, medical, and social services, as such the vision, mission and objectives are formed around that void. Planning for the end from the beginning, strategic planning is paramount in creating sustainability. Hargraves and Fink’s (2003) report, The Seven Principles of Sustainable Leadership, lists the following for the results/purpose of sustainable leadership:

  • Sustainable leadership creates and preserves sustaining learning
  • Sustainable leadership secures success over time
  • Sustainable leadership sustains the leadership of others
  • Sustainable leadership addresses issues of social justice
  • Sustainable leadership develops rather than depletes human and material resources
  • Sustainable leadership develops environmental diversity and capacity
  • Sustainable leadership undertakes activist engagement with the environment.

Sustainable leadership within nonprofit organizations is built upon the platform of these principles: creating and preserving, securing, sustaining, addressing, developing, and activism. In addition to the aforementioned principles, nonprofit organizations must also be vision and results oriented, adaptable to changing conditions, have a broad base of community support, have strong internal systems and be key champions in change.

Number of Nonprofit Organizations Dictate Need for Sustainability

2016 statistics from The Center for Charitable Statistics, report shows that there are 1,571,056 tax-exempt nonprofit organizations in the USA, 1,097,689 public charities, 105,030 private foundations, 368,337 other types of nonprofit organizations, including chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations and civic leagues, only 2.39% (533,306) of the aforementioned nonprofit organizations account for 90% of total reported revenue over 1 million dollars.[5] Giving USA reported that $373.25 billion was donated to US charitable causes in 2015, with 71% of this total coming from individuals. Sustainability in the nonprofit context includes the concepts of financial sustainability, as well as leadership succession planning, adaptability, and strategic planning.[6]  Without nonprofit organizations, the individual and collective goals and needs of communities and causes would be impossible to fulfill. Many nonprofit organizations never reach the necessary scale to have the impact they desire, due in part to the nonprofit sector having too many small organizations that are just getting by, and too few big ones that can really solve problems.[7] In order to create sustainability in nonprofits, strategic planning and implementation from the beginning are vital. With this in mind, values as organizational culture, community resource mapping, VMOSA, organizational alignment, donors and donation allocations, and web presence are the six keys to nonprofit sustainability.

Six Keys to
Creating Nonprofit Sustainability

Leadership Values Equate to Culture

The first and most significant step in creating a nonprofit organization is to know the values that the organization will hold and become your standards of importance. Organizational values serve as criteria for making decisions and setting priorities and lie behind the explanations and justifications [leaders] give for [their] actions;[8] these values become organizational culture. Values are the first key in creating nonprofit sustainability because they are the foundation and when in place they provide viability and authenticity. In this vein, viability refers to being capable of working successfully in a business climate. Indicative of viable values, the values must allow people to use and develop their abilities and make a contribution within an atmosphere conducive to self-respect and acceptance,[9] and authenticity refers to the genuine manner in which values are expressed both verbally and behaviorally. Nonprofit values should articulate human values such as love, kindness, justice, peace, honesty, respect, openness, loyalty, trust, and equality (to name a few), as well as other preferable modes of behavior (instrumental values) and desirable end-states of existence (terminal values). Many times, those values held by the founder create the unique culture of the organization. As such, the values, beliefs, and norms which shape the leader will, in essence, shape the organization as well.  Building an organizational culture that is based on terminal and instrumental values in vital in nonprofit sustainability for it is the values that act as the fuel for the rocket!

Community Mapping

Equally important, when creating a nonprofit organization, strategic planning is an essential step with sustainable benefits.  As such, the second of the six keys of nonprofit sustainability is community resource mapping. Community resource mapping is a process by which data is collected in order to create a map of community assets and resources, such as people, physical structures, organizations and institutions, within a defined area, and it can be utilized to create a meaningful service project. As a nonprofit leader, knowing what businesses and/or organizations within a particular ‘service area’ offer similar or the same products, programs, and services is detrimental to the sustainability of nonprofit organizations.  Additionally, knowing what resources are available, what resources are needed, and what organizations are contributing to and/or providing those resources alleviates the pitfall of a saturation of services, products, and/or programs in a given community which can easily translate into a loss of potential volunteers, donors, funding and ultimately the demise of an organization.  Community resource mapping is a continuous process, leaders should conduct internet searches for nonprofits within their specific area as well as community (county) tours to ensure that the organization is providing needed resources within community. Both interval and continuous community resource mapping are vital to nonprofit sustainability.

VMOSA

The third of the six keys of nonprofit sustainability is the creation of the VMOSA (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans). VMOSA is a practical planning process utilized to help community groups define a vision and develop practical ways to enact change within the community; in essence creating an organizational culture.[10] VMOSA planning is vital because it becomes instrumental in helping nonprofit organizations set and achieve short-term goals while keeping sight of their long-term vision. VMOSA implemented into the planning process focuses the group’s efforts of creating an organizational culture by developing and supporting a clear mission, building consensus, and grounding the group’s dreams.[11] The vision statement is the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of an organization; what it will like to accomplish or achieve. As Peter Senge (1990) explains it in The Fifth Discipline, “Purpose is similar to a direction, a general heading. Vision is a specific destination, a picture in your head of a desired future. Purpose is abstract. Vision is concrete.”[12] The mission statement is the ‘how’ of an organization, it defines the company’s goals, ethics, culture, and norms for decision-making. The Objectives are the measurable outcomes that the nonprofit want to achieve; these are put into place primarily for management to gauge the effectiveness of the organization. Strategies and action plans, are self-explanatory and will vary based upon the outcomes that are put in place through the vision, mission and objectives. VMOSAs can be altered as milestones are reached or needs for resources, services and programs change. The ability to reframe VMOSAs to meet changing needs are vital to nonprofit sustainability.

Organizational Alignment

The fourth of the six keys of nonprofit sustainability is organizational alignment, hiring employees, selecting volunteers and board members who share the same mission, vision, and goals of the nonprofit organization. In addition to the founder, an important key in organizational alignment are individuals (employees, volunteers, and board members) who are self-actualizing (self-transcendent, self-aware) because these individuals know who they are and have accepted themselves as persons, resulting in freedom from the crippling need for approval and from the fear of expressing their true selves[13]. Consequently, these individuals are able to be authentic, reflecting on their core values, identity, emotions, motives, and goals and are aware of and trust their own feelings[14]. Organizational alignment is an ongoing process of building cohesion and connections which strengthen the organizational culture. The vitality of a nonprofit organization is dependent upon employee and volunteer commitment to the mission and vision of the organization because it is their efforts that will ultimately determine success or failure. Ken Hultman (2016) espouses that, organizational alignment, is achieved when organization’s mission and vision overlap with the purpose (personal mission), dreams (personal vision) and goals of the employees and volunteers[15]. Nonprofit sustainability can be anchored upon the volunteers, employees, board members, etc. who desire to become a part of something that they believe in and can be committed to.

Donors and Donation Allocation

The fifth of the six keys to nonprofit sustainability is to know and retain donors. According to Data and Analytics (2016), 95.4% of Americans give to charity. 82% of all charitable giving comes from 10% of donors. 75% of single gifts to nonprofits are made by cash or check, yet 79% of recurring gifts are made via credit card. Foundation giving, $58.46 billion, was 6.5 percent higher than 2014 (6.3 percent when inflation-adjusted). For the 2015 fiscal year, charitable donations increased 2.1 percent to $31.76 billion, corporate giving increased 3.9 percent to $18.45 billion. Similarly, Giving USA’s nonprofit organization research found that individual giving increased 3.8 percent (over 2015) to $264.58 billion. Additionally, Giving USA composed a breakdown of charitable giving into nine organization type, their research shows the total donation revenue received by organization including the increase in percentage from the previous year. According to their USA Giving’s 2016 their research shows:

  • Religion—at $119.30 billion, 2015 giving increased 2.7 percent in current dollars
  • Education—giving increased to $57.48 billion, 8.9 percent more in current dollars than the 2014 total
  • Human Services—its $45.21 billion total was 4.2 percent higher, in current dollars than in 2014
  • To Foundations—at an estimated $42.26 billion in 2015, giving declined 3.8 percent in current dollars
  • Health—the $29.81 billion estimated for 2015 giving to this category was 1.3 percent higher, in current dollars than the 2014 estimate.
  • Public-Society Benefit—the $26.95 billion estimate for 2015 increased 6.0 percent in current dollars over 2014.
  • Arts/Culture/Humanities—at an estimated $17.07 billion, growth in current dollars was 7.0 percent in 2015.
  • International Affairs—the $15.75 billion estimate for 2015 increased 17.5 percent, in current dollars, from 2014.
  • Environment/Animals—the $10.68 billion estimate for 2015 was up 6.2 percent in current dollars, over 2014 giving. [16]

These increases and totals are paramount to nonprofit organization planning and sustainability because it reveals what causes individuals are concerned with and how they donate their finances to support those causes. Although no current data, for fiscal years 2014, 2015, or 2016, could be found, in 2013, public charities reported over $1.74 trillion in total revenues.  Of this reported revenue:

  • 21% came from contributions, gifts and government grants.
  • 72% came from program service revenues, which include government fees and contracts.
  • 7% came from “other” sources including dues, rental income, special event

income, and gains or losses from goods sold[17]

Knowing the donor(s) and how donations are allocated assists greatly in creating and implementing a fundraising plan, both are vital to the sustainability of nonprofit organizations.

 Web Presence

By the same token, creating a web presence (organizational website) can make all the difference when it comes to donors, which is why this is the sixth of the six keys to nonprofit organization sustainability. The Charitable Giving Report reported a 9.2% increase in online fundraising in 2015 and shows that 7.1% of overall fundraising is the result of online giving. Having a web presence creates the ability to have potential donors and volunteers interact with the organization online. Many of the donors may never physically connect with the nonprofit organization, many volunteers conduct internet searches to find volunteer opportunities, and many businesses and organizations want to see the ‘fruits of labor’ before becoming involved with a nonprofit organization.  A professional organizational website can create the medium for these interactions and promote retention. The Online Fundraising Scorecard reports that 44% of nonprofits who receive information send emails within 90 days of website sign-up, yet 37% fail to send an email within 30 days are sign-up. From this information, it can be ascertained that a web presence can create additional avenues to reach the public. Web presence leads to retention as well. The median retention rate for online donors is 25% for the first-year and 62% for multi-year.[18]

Conclusion

In the long run, the strategic planning of a nonprofit organization from its creation supports sustainability. As Founders, those personal values will be foundational in creating an organizational culture that holds human values and trust as fundamental values. Although not a requirement, those who found a nonprofit organization need to have mastered self-actualizations (self-transcendence, self-awareness) as the call to the nonprofit sector is not for the faint of heart; it requires a dedication, commitment, and eagle-eye focus that can see the vision in the midst of seemingly nothingness. Holding fast to the six keys for sustainability: values as organizational culture, community resource mapping, VMOSA, organizational alignment, understanding donors and how the donations are allocated, and creating a web presence are paramount to the success or failure of nonprofit organizations. Strategic planning is an ongoing process (not a one-time event) and as such adjusting and realigning nonprofit organizations to reflect the changes in society, public and private sector is going to determine its sustainability. Additionally, web presence and retention are also paramount to nonprofit sustainability, as such nonprofit organizations will benefit from creating an organizational website, that is optimized for mobile viewing, one-click donation capability, and contains a place for potential donors and volunteers to sign-up for updates on all organization events.

Creating and founding a nonprofit organization need not be a fearful or burdensome task. On the contrary, it can be one of the most fulfilling endeavors one will undertake. The humility that comes from knowing that you have a vision that will impact this world for the better can not only impact and empower the individuals who will utilize your services, it can serve as inspiration for the founder, volunteers, and donors as well.

 

 

References

National Audit Office. (2017, April 4). NAO.org. Retrieved April 8, 2017, from National Audit Office: https://www.nao.org.uk/successful-commissioning/introduction/what-are-civil-society-organisations-and-their-benefits-for-commissioners/

Callahan, D. (2017, April 6). Inside Philanthropy. Who’s Funding What and Why. Retrieved from InsidePhilanthropy.com: https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/1/14/there-are-way-too-many-nonprofits-what-are-funders-going-to.html

Giving USA. (2017, April 8). Giving USA. Retrieved from GivingUSA.org: https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-2016/

Hultman, K. (2002). Balancing Individual and Organizational Values: Walking the Tightrope to Success. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

MacLaughlin, S., Longfield, C., & O’Shaughnessy, J. (2017, April 8). Blackbaud How Nonprofit Fundraising Performed in 2015 . Retrieved from Blackbaud.com: https://www.blackbaudhq.com/corpmar/cgr/how-nonprofit-fundraising-performed-in-2015.pdf

Nagy, J., & Fawcett, S. B. (2017, April 6). Community Tool Box. Retrieved from Community Tool Box: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/vmosa/main

National Council of Nonprofits. (2017, April 6). National Council of Nonprofits. Retrieved from councilofnonprofits.org: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/nonprofit-sustainability

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership Theory and Practice. Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership Fourth Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Senge, P. M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline. The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday.

The Foundation Center. (2017, April 8). NCS.urban.org. Retrieved from National Center for Charitable Statistics: http://nccs.urban.org/data-statistics/quick-facts-about-nonprofits

Weerawardena, J., McDonald, R. E., & Mort, G. S. (2010). Sustainability of Nonprofit Organizations: An Empirical Investigation. Journal of World Business Vol. 45, 346-356.

[1] Jay Weerawardena; Robert E. McDonald; Gillian Maree Sullivan Mort, “Sustainability of Nonprofit Organizations: An Empirical Investigation,” Journal of World Business 45(4): 346-356

[2] “National Audit Office. What are third sector organisations and their benefits for commissioners?”

https://www.nao.org.uk/successful-commissioning/introduction/what-are-civil-society-organisations-and-their-benefits-for-commissioners/ (April 4, 2017)

[3] Jay Weerawardena; Robert E. McDonald; Gillian Maree Sullivan Mort, “Sustainability of Nonprofit Organizations: An Empirical Investigation,” Journal of World Business 45(4): 346-356

 

[4] “Community Tool Box. Section 1. An Overview of Strategic Planning or “VMOSA” (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans),” https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/nonprofit (April 6, 2017)

[5] “National Center for Charitable Statistics: Quick Facts about Nonprofits,” http://nccs.urban.org/data-statistics/quick-facts-about-nonprofits (April 8, 2017)

[6] “Nonprofit Sustainability,” https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/nonprofit-sustainability, (April 3, 2017)

[7] David Callahan. (2015), “There are too Many Nonprofit. What are Funders Going to Do About that?” https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/1/14/there-are-way-too-many-nonprofits-what-are-funders-going-to.html (April 6, 2017)

[8] Ken Hultman. (2002) Balancing Individual and Organizational Values. Massachusetts: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

[9] Ken Hultman. (2002) Balancing Individual and Organizational Values. Massachusetts: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

[10] “Community Tool Box. Section 1. An Overview of Strategic Planning or “VMOSA” (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans),” http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/vmosa/main (April 6, 2017)

[11]“Community Tool Box. Section 1. An Overview of Strategic Planning or “VMOSA” (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans),” http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/vmosa/main (April 6, 2017)

[12] Peter Senge. (2006) The Fifth Dimension. The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday.

[13] Ken Hultman. (2002) Balancing Individual and Organizational Values. Massachusetts: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

[14] Peter Northouse. (2016) Leadership Theory and Practice 7th Edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

[15] Ken Hultman. (2002) Balancing Individual and Organizational Values. Massachusetts: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

[16] “Giving USA: 2015 Was America’s Most-Generous Year Ever,” https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-2016/ (April 8, 2017)

[17] “National Center for Charitable Statistics: Quick Facts about Nonprofits,”

http://nccs.urban.org/data-statistics/quick-facts-about-nonprofits (April 8, 2017)

[18] “CHARITABLE GIVING REPORT How Nonprofit Fundraising Performed in 2015,” https://www.blackbaudhq.com/corpmar/cgr/how-nonprofit-fundraising-performed-in-2015.pdf (April 8, 2017)

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