Beyond our day-to-day activities as consultants, we are huge fans of the voluntary sector and love to share great ideas and concepts we see happening in the non-profit world. One that we've recently become familiar with is Grow Movement, an organization that offers business consulting to entrepreneurs in developing areas.
From the basic idea of using the phone as a means of connecting clients with consultants and a channel for transferring knowledge, Grow Movement has evolved, allowing business consultants from around the world to donate their services to entrepreneurs in developing regions: a simple concept with fantastic potential impact. Take a minute to read through their site and if you have a background in business, what a great way to be active globally without even leaving your home or office. Check them out at http://growmovement.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=58.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
On-Boarding
Board development is a key area of interest and discussion at MindBridge. Over the life of our blog no doubt we’ll cover a lot of ground on board governance and management, but we’ll start by talking about new member orientation, one of the key components of board effectiveness.
Inevitably, new board members (even the most business and board savvy) will face a learning curve: some will be new to the unique operations and realities of the organization; some will need information about the process of board governance; and some will be new to the voluntary sector as a whole. By having even a basic orientation program in place, organizations can demonstrate a pro-active approach to board development and engage board members right out of the gate.
One of the most comprehensive resources we’ve found (and our personal recommendation as a “must have” in your board orientation materials) is Industry Canada’s “Primer for Directors of Not-For-Profit Corporations” which can be found at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cilp-pdci.nsf/eng/h_cl00688.html. This is an extensive reference document that covers director duties, liabilities, rights and powers, risk protection, and taxation. In addition to the primer, we also recommend that your new member orientation package include:
1. A brief organization backgrounder and key messaging document (it’s important that all people representing the organization use consistent messaging that accurately reinforces its mission and brand);
2. The organization’s constitution and by-laws (and Terms of Reference, if applicable);
3. The most recent annual budget and audited financial statements;
4. A summary of board liability insurance coverage;
5. The most recent strategic documents (including, but not limited to, current strategic plan, fundraising plan, communications/marketing plan, program development plans);
6. An outline of any board member expectations that are specific to your particular organization (e.g. board fundraising expectations, meeting attendance expectations, sub-committee participation expectations, etc.).
As soon as a candidate has been ratified as a board member, s/he assumes the responsibility and liability that comes with board governance and should, therefore, have fingertip access to at least this fundamental information. Of course, this can be supplemented with additional information (newsletters, annual reports, etc.), a tour of the organization’s facilities, and other activities that both engage new members and equip them to effectively contribute to the work of the organization. We’re big advocates of the idea that information and engagement are critical components of optimally-functioning boards, which is why new member orientation sets an important precedent and plays a fundamental role.
Inevitably, new board members (even the most business and board savvy) will face a learning curve: some will be new to the unique operations and realities of the organization; some will need information about the process of board governance; and some will be new to the voluntary sector as a whole. By having even a basic orientation program in place, organizations can demonstrate a pro-active approach to board development and engage board members right out of the gate.
One of the most comprehensive resources we’ve found (and our personal recommendation as a “must have” in your board orientation materials) is Industry Canada’s “Primer for Directors of Not-For-Profit Corporations” which can be found at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cilp-pdci.nsf/eng/h_cl00688.html. This is an extensive reference document that covers director duties, liabilities, rights and powers, risk protection, and taxation. In addition to the primer, we also recommend that your new member orientation package include:
1. A brief organization backgrounder and key messaging document (it’s important that all people representing the organization use consistent messaging that accurately reinforces its mission and brand);
2. The organization’s constitution and by-laws (and Terms of Reference, if applicable);
3. The most recent annual budget and audited financial statements;
4. A summary of board liability insurance coverage;
5. The most recent strategic documents (including, but not limited to, current strategic plan, fundraising plan, communications/marketing plan, program development plans);
6. An outline of any board member expectations that are specific to your particular organization (e.g. board fundraising expectations, meeting attendance expectations, sub-committee participation expectations, etc.).
As soon as a candidate has been ratified as a board member, s/he assumes the responsibility and liability that comes with board governance and should, therefore, have fingertip access to at least this fundamental information. Of course, this can be supplemented with additional information (newsletters, annual reports, etc.), a tour of the organization’s facilities, and other activities that both engage new members and equip them to effectively contribute to the work of the organization. We’re big advocates of the idea that information and engagement are critical components of optimally-functioning boards, which is why new member orientation sets an important precedent and plays a fundamental role.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Why MindBridge?
Over the past few months, our company has transitioned from its original business name and brand (Schneider McLaughlin) to MindBridge Strategies, a name and brand that we are excited to market and build in the days and years to come.
In re-branding, we had to take a look at who we are as a company and what we want our brand promise to be. MindBridge captures our principles and philosophies about business and our vision for contributing to the non-profit sector. It represents:
• A belief that idea development, business development, strategy, and change all benefit from engaging many and diverse thoughts and perspectives. And a broader world view that we all have a lot to learn from each other.
• That there are endless opportunities to build, strengthen, and develop more effective linkages that benefit the voluntary sector: between profit and non-profit organizations; between government and non-profit organizations; between funders and agencies; between boards and staff. MindBridge is in constant pursuit of ways to creatively develop the relationships between and among the voluntary sector’s stakeholders to the ultimate benefit of the people that the sector serves.
• That there is a wealth of research and academic theory that lends itself to the development of the voluntary sector (as of late, we’ve had a particular interest in systems thinking and have been greatly influenced by the book “Getting to Maybe”). One of our goals is to understand how theory can be applied to the sector in practical ways that help to address ongoing challenges and contribute to great achievements for our client organizations.
The non-profit sector is complex in its engagement of many and diverse stakeholders and the MindBridge brand is a commitment to always looking for ways to bring the thoughts, ideas (and passion!) of those involved together in ways that will lead to innovation, resilience, and sustainability in the great organizations we serve.
In re-branding, we had to take a look at who we are as a company and what we want our brand promise to be. MindBridge captures our principles and philosophies about business and our vision for contributing to the non-profit sector. It represents:
• A belief that idea development, business development, strategy, and change all benefit from engaging many and diverse thoughts and perspectives. And a broader world view that we all have a lot to learn from each other.
• That there are endless opportunities to build, strengthen, and develop more effective linkages that benefit the voluntary sector: between profit and non-profit organizations; between government and non-profit organizations; between funders and agencies; between boards and staff. MindBridge is in constant pursuit of ways to creatively develop the relationships between and among the voluntary sector’s stakeholders to the ultimate benefit of the people that the sector serves.
• That there is a wealth of research and academic theory that lends itself to the development of the voluntary sector (as of late, we’ve had a particular interest in systems thinking and have been greatly influenced by the book “Getting to Maybe”). One of our goals is to understand how theory can be applied to the sector in practical ways that help to address ongoing challenges and contribute to great achievements for our client organizations.
The non-profit sector is complex in its engagement of many and diverse stakeholders and the MindBridge brand is a commitment to always looking for ways to bring the thoughts, ideas (and passion!) of those involved together in ways that will lead to innovation, resilience, and sustainability in the great organizations we serve.
What Are You Fundraising For?
On January 12th, when a devastating earthquake shook Haiti, social media websites lit up with everyday people putting calls out for donations on behalf of the Red Cross and other aid organizations. Within hours of the news breaking, you had to wait in a call queue to talk to a customer service representative at the Red Cross in order to make a donation...and all before the organization had launched any major PR campaigns asking for help.
Why the phenomenal groundswell of (largely unsolicited) support? Primarily, we’d suggest, because there was such a great and urgent need that people felt compelled to help pro-actively, and not because a telemarketer applied the “overcome-3-objections-before-letting-the-person-off-the-phone” rule. People saw that their money would have immediate impact: it would clothe someone, feed someone, provide someone with water that would literally be life-saving.
In this way, the public response to the earthquake in Haiti is a strong illustration of the inextricable role that programming and service delivery play in fundraising. It calls into question the contention that a cracker-jack fundraiser or dynamic development team is the panacea for organizations that are struggling financially and, instead (or at least in addition), challenges organizations to assess their core activities and determine the urgency and relevance of current programming to their target audience.
We’ve witnessed first-hand the opposite of the Haiti experience where groups have had long-standing programs that have lost their relevance and timeliness and, if they are generating any revenue, are doing so based mostly on the history between the donor and the organization. Clearly, this is unsustainable...donor databases have to be replenished and, therefore, history with existing donors has its revenue-generating limits. In other words (to borrow an Oprah-ism) this is what we know for sure: relevant, effective, and efficiently-run programs that fill a gap in service delivery are critical to generating sustainable revenue. Even the most creative fundraising campaigns can’t overcome the challenges of tired or non-existent programming.
We’ll suggest a few starting points for assessing your current program or determining the potential appeal of new programming:
1. Does it meet a specific, identifiable, and important need?
2. Will this program or service have broad application or impact?
3. Can your organization effectively carry the program or service out with its available resources?
4. Is it an efficient use of resources? What will the program’s outputs be relative to the resources it will require (financial and human; in other words, what will be the return on investment)?
5. Does it avoid duplicating what other agencies are already doing?
6. Can the premise of the program or service you are delivering be easily communicated?
7. Is the issue you are addressing timely; are people (at least some people) reading/thinking/talking about it?
8. Is there the opportunity for multi-party or multi-sector collaboration?
9. Would you give your personal money to support this program or service?
If you answered “yes” to most of these questions, then your program or services are likely well-positioned to attract donor support. But, a one-time” yes” doesn’t mean resting on your laurels over time. There has to be ongoing evaluation of program/service relevance and persistent creativity and innovation that allow the program to evolve and change with the times and the needs of your clients. If you find that your answers to the questions above start to fall into some gray area, it’s time to re-think their relevance and applicability so that at any given moment you’ll have a clear, concise, and high-impact response when someone asks what you’re fundraising for.
Why the phenomenal groundswell of (largely unsolicited) support? Primarily, we’d suggest, because there was such a great and urgent need that people felt compelled to help pro-actively, and not because a telemarketer applied the “overcome-3-objections-before-letting-the-person-off-the-phone” rule. People saw that their money would have immediate impact: it would clothe someone, feed someone, provide someone with water that would literally be life-saving.
In this way, the public response to the earthquake in Haiti is a strong illustration of the inextricable role that programming and service delivery play in fundraising. It calls into question the contention that a cracker-jack fundraiser or dynamic development team is the panacea for organizations that are struggling financially and, instead (or at least in addition), challenges organizations to assess their core activities and determine the urgency and relevance of current programming to their target audience.
We’ve witnessed first-hand the opposite of the Haiti experience where groups have had long-standing programs that have lost their relevance and timeliness and, if they are generating any revenue, are doing so based mostly on the history between the donor and the organization. Clearly, this is unsustainable...donor databases have to be replenished and, therefore, history with existing donors has its revenue-generating limits. In other words (to borrow an Oprah-ism) this is what we know for sure: relevant, effective, and efficiently-run programs that fill a gap in service delivery are critical to generating sustainable revenue. Even the most creative fundraising campaigns can’t overcome the challenges of tired or non-existent programming.
We’ll suggest a few starting points for assessing your current program or determining the potential appeal of new programming:
1. Does it meet a specific, identifiable, and important need?
2. Will this program or service have broad application or impact?
3. Can your organization effectively carry the program or service out with its available resources?
4. Is it an efficient use of resources? What will the program’s outputs be relative to the resources it will require (financial and human; in other words, what will be the return on investment)?
5. Does it avoid duplicating what other agencies are already doing?
6. Can the premise of the program or service you are delivering be easily communicated?
7. Is the issue you are addressing timely; are people (at least some people) reading/thinking/talking about it?
8. Is there the opportunity for multi-party or multi-sector collaboration?
9. Would you give your personal money to support this program or service?
If you answered “yes” to most of these questions, then your program or services are likely well-positioned to attract donor support. But, a one-time” yes” doesn’t mean resting on your laurels over time. There has to be ongoing evaluation of program/service relevance and persistent creativity and innovation that allow the program to evolve and change with the times and the needs of your clients. If you find that your answers to the questions above start to fall into some gray area, it’s time to re-think their relevance and applicability so that at any given moment you’ll have a clear, concise, and high-impact response when someone asks what you’re fundraising for.
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