Posted by Gayle Gifford on December 24, 2008 in Upcoming Events, Speaking and Training
Our best wishes to you, your families and all of our colleagues during this time when we move from the waning of daylight back into the light.
May you take time to enjoy and reflect.
Posted by Gayle Gifford on November 5, 2008 in Upcoming Events, Speaking and Training
I frequently consult with and have occasionally served on the board of a lot of very small nonprofit organizations. By very small, I mean organizations that have no staff or just a tiny handful of staff, often part-time.
These tiny organizations often need to rely on their board members to serve staff functions. That’s clearly obvious for organizations that have no staff at all… but may not be so clear once you’ve hired an executive director or one or two more staff positions.
It takes a lot of human-power to make our organizations run. One or two people, while they can do a lot, can’t do everything that needs to be done to be a thriving nonprofit. It’s pretty near 
impossible for one person to run quality programs, raise all the revenues, reach out to the larger community, and manage the operations and finances.
Board members in small nonprofits usually need to wear two hats… the hat they wear to govern the organization and? the hat they wear to serve a staff function… that is, to take on one of the many jobs that fall under the “staff” side of the organization and get them done.? Other non-board members can also be recruited to get the work accomplished.
How do you do this? You can start by making a comprehensive list of all that you hope to achieve this year. Then break those objectives down into the tasks that are needed to get them accomplished. Think about what skills and knowledge are essential to get this work done.
Knowing what needs to happen, recruit board members (or other volunteers) with the expectation that they will produce one of those desired outcomes.
Here’s an example. My local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals runs a series of educational workshops, an annual conference on fundraising, and a huge celebration for National Philanthropy Day, among others. With just one part time administrator, the chapter relies on its board members and volunteer to get things done. When board members are recruited, they are asked at the time of recruitment to chair a committee that is charged with the responsibility of achieving one of these very large tasks. ? I myself have served as chair of the Annual Conference, the scholarship committee, and the mentoring committee (not at the same time!)
So, to make a working? board work, every board member should have a job and outcome that he or she is responsible for achieving.
Posted by Gayle Gifford on November 1, 2008 in Upcoming Events, Speaking and Training
Here’s a quote for Election Day, and all the days that follow.
“Things do not change, we change.” Henry David Thoreau
Posted by Gayle Gifford on October 30, 2008 in Upcoming Events, Speaking and Training
I had the pleasure of having dinner last night with my friend and colleague Janet Hedrick. 
Janet is a crackerjack fundraiser and fundraising consultant who is a senior associate for Bentz Whaley Flessner Consultants. Since she moved to Virginia from Massachusetts, we don’t get to see each other that often so it was a pleasure that she was in Hartford for business and I could meet her for dinner.
Of course, put two fundraisers in the room and shop talk has to come up. Janet flies around the US a lot, so I thought I’d get her take on what she was seeing out there.
Yes, people are anxious. Many large donors’ portfolios have taken a beating in the last few months and they aren’t feeling as wealthy as they once did. But Janet reminded me that many individuals who earned their wealth have gone through hard times before and risen again — that’s what makes them so successful.
Janet is telling her clients that campaigns may just take longer to reach their goals. During this time, it is absolutely essential that our organizations place a renewed focus on donor relationships – and I strong agree. Not that you should ignore building strong relationships with your supporters when economic times are good… but perhaps now organizations will finally act on this sound advice.
Janet used the word “Gratitude.” It’s a good one. It conveys appreciation, thankfulness which is so much more than just acknowledging and recognizing donors for their gifts. How many of you are truly grateful for the support your organizations receive? And how many of you express that gratitude to your donors in ways that are sincere and unexpected?
Try it. I think you’ll like it. If you look up “gratitude” on wikipedia, you’ll even find mentions of studies that show that businesses that express true thanks have customers who spend more, but even more important, in my book, is that feeling gratitude may be important to our own emotional well being.
Thanks, Janet, for a lovely evening and something to blog about.
Gayle
P.S. Janet’s new book from Wiley will be in the stores soon. It promises to be a great read. I know that I can’t wait to get my copy.
Posted by Gayle Gifford on October 14, 2008 in Upcoming Events, Speaking and Training
I’m on the planning committee for next year’s Fundraising Day in RI hosted by the RI Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. We were looking for a venue after our first choice became unavailable and wanted to pursue a few different campus options.
Looking to enlist an insider, an obvious choice was to contact someone on their fund development staff — which should be really easy to find in the giving section of their web site, right? Wrong!
This isn’t the first nonprofit web site that I’ve looked at that doesn’t list names and contact information for fund development staff. I’m not sure I completely understand the reasoning… maybe the staff changes so frequently that they couldn’t keep current with personnel changes? Or perhaps it is to keep unwanted parties — vendors? stalkers? — from calling.
It seems to me that not listing a name is such an effective impediment to calling that it might actually turn away a few donors who’d rather not have to explain themselves to a department receptionist who, absent another contact name, would be the the first person I’d expect to answer the phone.
I’ve seen web sites that don’t list any staff at all, not even the Executive Director.
Is the number of unwanted calls so disrupting that you need to make it really? difficult for the media or donors to find the person they are looking for?
I’m sure I’m missing some compelling reason to keep names, direct email and business numbers off your web site — but I, for one, much prefer to associate with organizations where I have some idea who I might want to connect with first.
Posted by Gayle Gifford on August 7, 2008 in Upcoming Events, Speaking and Training
Catch Jon next Tuesday, August 12 at 12:00 noon EDT online with the Chronicle of Philanthropy. 
Jon is one of three consultants who will respond to questions and comments about the switch from a paid job in the nonprofit sector to the life of the consultant.
Posted by Gayle Gifford on August 4, 2008 in Upcoming Events, Speaking and Training
October 22, 2008; Fundraising: Essentials for Success
Northeast Institute for Quality Community Action
Sturbridge, Massachusetts
December 11, 2008: Strategic and Succession Planning
Fidelity Investments Board Development Program
Co sponsor the Rhode Island Foundation
8-10:30 am
Smithfield, Massachusetts
Posted by Gayle Gifford on May 19, 2008 in Fundraising, Strategic Thinking, Upcoming Events, Speaking and Training
Just a note on some upcoming workshops that Gayle is presenting.
May 21: Fundraising Day 2008 – Rhode Island
“Should I? Shouldn’t I? Ethical Fundraising” from 11:30-12:30 at the annual conference of the Rhode Island Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The keynote speaker is Neil Steinberg, who was just announced as the next president of the Rhode Island Foundation.
June 2: Institute Development Network Conference, Sisters of Mercy
“Beyond Grant Writing” at the Providence Marriott Courtyard
June 12: Fidelity Investments Board Development Program
“Strategic and Succession Planning” 5-7:30 pm at Fidelity Investments’ campus at 500 Salem Street in Smithfield, RI 02917. This series is a collaboration between Fidelity and the Rhode Island Foundation’s Institute for Nonprofit Excellence. The workshop repeats on December 11. You can register online by clicking here.