Strategy Girl

"It's been the same list for 40 years"

Recently StrategyGirl swooped in to pay a visit to a local nonprofit conference.  In one session facilitators asked the group to list out all the barriers to having an effective board of directors.  The list was long.  Almost as long as the list of StrategyGirl's adventures.  There was never a lull as participants quickly (almost eagerly??) shouted out all the issues with their boards.  "Don't show up" "Don't follow through" "Poor relationship with CEO" "Micromanage" "Not strategic" "Don't raise money" (more on that one later!).  The list grew and grew.  Finally, the facilitators had to cut it off - it was not complete - heaven's no!  But the session was only 90 minutes after all.  So, working from this extensive but not exhaustive list, the facilitators asked for reflections.  "Boards need more training" "We need better board members" "We need board job descriptions" "We need commitment letters"   

And then one brave Who from Whoville spoke up and said "This has been the same list of problems for 40 years".

Everyone laughed.  StrategyGirl did not.  She shed a tear - for this little Who had spoken Truth.  It HAS been the same list for 40 years.  The litany of malfunctions, complaints, whines, suggestions, lists, trainings, books . ......  

Does the sector thrive and do good work DESPITE the boards? Are the boards fine but the sector is just whiny? Or, if it's been the same list for 40 years, shall we stop making lists and try something different?

Good-bye, Dr. Seddon Bennington

We mourn the loss of a client, leader and friend.

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we say good-bye to Dr. Seddon Bennington, the CEO of Te Papa in New Zealand and former Director of the Carnegie Science Museum in Pittsburgh.  We had the great honor of working with Seddon and his team last year at Te Papa, and we hold dear our memories of his warmth, hospitality, diverse interests, broad friendships and quiet strength.  An incredible presence has been lost and we send our deepest condolences to Seddon's family, friends and community.

You can read more about Seddon at Te Papa's memorial blog:

http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2009/07/16/dr-seddon-bennington-memorial/#comment-4210

Shalom, friend Seddon, from Emily, Maria and the entire Olive Grove team.

Community Organizing Is Hot New Career

Our old buddy Rudy Giuliani is looking a bit silly now, isn't he??

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/fashion/12organizer.html?pagewanted=1&sq=nonprofit&st=nyt&scp=4

Silver Lining

Strategy Girl has decided to put the kabash on all the bad news and will only be publishing good news about the sector (at least, until something rankles my superpowers).  Here are some uplifting tidbits:

• California Academy: "With traffic 50 percent higher than projections, the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco has had its one millionth visitor, two months faster than expected." SF Business Times, March 13-19.  http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/03/02/daily72.html   

•   Affordable Housing: "New condo development may be dead in the water, but San Francisco's affordable housing builders just keep pouring foundations and putting up steel."  SF Business Times, February 20-26.  http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/02/16/daily10.html

•   "From Ranks of Jobless, A Flood of Volunteers"  NY Times, March 15. (and, in the spirit of this blog, stop grousing, nonprofits.  We should all be excited about the opportunity to engage these newly enthusiastic and committed citizens.   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/nyregion/16volunteers.html?_r=2

Economy as Scapegoat for Nonprofit Leaders Behaving Badly

The paragraphs below are excerpted from this NYTimes article about charities filing for bankruptcy due to the economy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/us/20bankrupt.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=nonprofit%20bankrupt&st=cse

Glass Youth and Family Services had been living off its credit cards for several months. “The Internet was down for two days last week because we couldn’t pay the bill, and a repo man showed up for one of the vans we use to transport the kids around,” Ms. DeCrescenzo said.
The reasons for Glass’s financial woes are similar to those causing other nonprofits to go bankrupt. Ms. DeCrescenzo said the state of California, which accounts for almost 70 percent of the organization’s revenues, had not raised the rates it pays for services in nine years, while expenses had increased.
Aggravating those problems was a decision Glass made some time ago to allow only six beds in its group homes.
“We have held out for more than a decade against moving to a group home model with 12 beds or more because we thought smaller homes create a family environment that was better for the kids,” Ms. DeCrescenzo said. “That was a mistake.”
American Express has been calling her repeatedly, she said, seeking payment of $100,000 that has been charged to the corporate credit card for hotel rooms for teenagers who had aged out of group homes; the company is also threatening to seek a lien against Ms. DeCrescenzo’s house.
The I.R.S. also wants her house because Glass has failed to pay its payroll taxes.
“The one thing I have is my home,” Ms. DeCrescenzo said, “and now I lay awake at night thinking someone is going to take it away from me.”

EXCUSE ME - THIS GROUP IS NOT BANKRUPT BECAUSE OF A BAD ECONOMY!  THEY ARE BANKRUPT BECAUSE THEY ARE EXCEPTIONALLY INEPT!

This article really put a crease in StrategyGirl's cape.  Let's review:

• This organization has been in a 9-year decline.  
• They fully recognized that their expenses were outpacing their income 
• They intentionally chose a business model that is not sustainable; nor, apparently, one they are capable of subsidizing by convincing donors their approach is more effective  
• They have racked up $100K in debt on credit cards 
• They have not paid their payroll taxes  

Hmmmm, seems to me that over the past 9 years when the economy was hopping along they were still in a (somewhat slower, but no less certain) death spiral.  The fact that they are blaming this failure on the economy is insulting and does a grave disservice to the sector and, most importantly, to their clients.  How does egregiously mismanaging this nonprofit into the ground help their clients?  And, WHERE WERE YOU, BOARD MEMBERS?  I hope the Attorney General has some very serious conversations with those charged with exercising "duty of care" of this organization.  Shame on you, NYTimes, for getting suckered into this sob story - please, check your crocodile tears at the door.  Let's focus our attention and energies on those organizations that are doing great work, in a responsible way, and who need a bit of assistance to get through a particularly rough time.

People care but don't take action

Be sure to check out this very brief but compelling survey: http://www.porternovelli.com/sites/default/files/casestudy-pdfs/PNSnapshots_Jan%2009_0.pdf

The survey quantifies the difference between Americans' strong commitment to causes, and their actual participation in the solutions.  70% said health research, the environment, and improving schools and education are "personally important to me;" but as few as 6% actually donated time toward those issues in the past 12 months.  What does this tell us?  As my mentor loves to say, "First of all, we don't have enough information."  Are they giving in other ways? Are they actually taking action toward the issues, but don't perceive it as "volunteering time?"  Maybe they have cut back on water usage, bought an energy efficient water heater, forwarded an email from a friend raising money for a walk-a-thon, etc.?

Regardless, Strategy Girl sees a world of opportunities here.  At least according to this study, people actually DO CARE about these issues.  How can we help them feel good about acting on them?  Groups like Kiva http://www.kiva.orghave made it easy, quick, and very cool to take action - what can your nonprofit do?  Try some of these:

• ASK!  It's amazing how many people would do something if simply asked - especially if you make it easy for them.  The other day a colleague invited me to an event he really cared about - he bought my ticket and told my why it was personally meaningful to him.  He also invited many others in our network and made it a group affair.  It worked - I attended, had fun, learned something new, wrote a check, visited the website, and registered for the nonprofit's email updates.
• Increase the "cool" factor - tap into existing membership groups, associations, social networks and challenge teams to volunteer together - be sure to recommend a local brew pub or the latest cafe for group refreshments afterwards.  Free beer for those teams with the most volunteer hours - who can resist?
• Get to the kids. Parents will do nearly anything if their kids apply pressure. Trust me.
• Work together with organizations from different mission areas.  Did you hear KQED's latest pitch during their appeal?  If you donate to this public radio station you get lots of thank-you gifts - or, forgo the swag and they'll donate what they would have spent on canvas bags and logo hats to the local food bank.
• Use guilt. It works wonders.  At your next dinner party, casually mention "You know, I saw this survey the other day . . . it said 73% of Americans care deeply about health research, but only 6% actually donate any time for it.  We humans are so pathetic!  I've decided to get off my duff and do the AIDS walk this year.  But I'm sure you are much better at actually doing something about the things you care about - what are you volunteering for these days?"  

You're no good to me if you're dead

Food for thought for all of us struggling with the desperation to do more with less (requires free registration):

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/87008cdc-c583-11dd-b516-000077b07658,dwp_uuid=d8e9ac2a-30dc-11da-ac1b-00000e2511c8.html?nclick_check=1

Even though the issues may be immediate, we still have to keep some high-altitude perspective.  What creative things are folks doing out there (along the "virtual office" lines in the article).  

Although, I think it would be pretty interesting if a few (not many) nonprofits said "this crisis is so immediate and so pervasive, that we are planning to spend every asset we have in the next 18 months to alleviate whatever suffering we can."  The fire-sale approach - sell the office desks, give a few more meals; donate the printers and technology to local schools with slashed budgets, give the employees severance, a few months to find other positions, and health insurance at same rate for a year . . .

Learning from the new Pres

Listening to all of the inauguration build-up - not to mention the highly consistent campaign messaging - I wonder what the sector might learn from our new intrepid leader.  Here are some thoughts:

• It will not be easy.  Times are tough, there is no silver bullet, and we will all have to slog through it to get to the other side.  Anyone out there read William Bridges on transitions (http://www.wmbridges.com/)?  We are officially in the tunnel.
• We need to work together.  No partisanship, money-hoarding, gossiping, bickering.  By pulling together we are greater than the sum of our parts.  Stone soup and all that.
• The smallest contributors can make the biggest impact.  Don't overlook those small but mighty voices and champions in your search for a quick fix.
• Crafting a good message, and sticking to it, does wonders.  'nuff said.
• Despite challenges, we actually ARE making progress in equality, social justice, the power of education, and the attainment of the American dream.  Keep fighting.
• Rudy Giuliani is no longer cracking jokes about community organizers. 

100,000 nonprofits out of business in two years?

If this doesn't force you to have an extra rum and eggnog, you are a stronger gal than Strategy Girl.  Assuming that fetal position is not an effective response (although strangely appealing), what's your plan?  Partner? Merge? Focus? Panic?  The third sector has always been amazingly resiliant - we want to hear your best ideas and creative approaches.  And, dare we mention, it might actually be OK if some of these did go out of business?  Be honest with yourself - think of 10 nonprofits - is there not one on that list that could disappear without much of cataclysm?  Perhaps this our our (painful, but) great opportunity to shape the sector for the next generation - a sector that is stronger, leaner, more focused, and more collaborative.

Listen to this - and share your insights:

http://www-tc.pbs.org/newshour/rss/media/2008/12/25/20081225_philanthropy.mp3

Tactics now - Strategy for 2010

As Strategy Girl has crossed the nation during these unprecedented times, I have to agree that sometimes strategy has to take a (short-lived) back seat to tactics.  With the economy the way it is, many groups are taking action to make immediate cuts.  Still, is that any reason to not be strategic about it?  One conversation overheard:  "We will be making cuts of 3% across the board."  Is that strategic?  Does this imply that somehow office supplies has the same weighted value as programs?  A clear guiding strategy in good times will also provide the lead in leaner times. What are our priorities? What is our core purpose? What are others doing?  Now is a GREAT time to eliminate any redundancies in programs in your community.

But - keep an eye out for the long-term.  While individual and corporate giving may be down now, foundaiton funding for the coming year will remain fairly steady.  Strategize NOW for a big dip in future years:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20081112_Charitable_foundations_feel_economic_pinch.html

Don't be caught with your spandex down in 2010!