We completed our fifth day of the Community Driven Institute immersion class. We have worked through the three phases of community impact planning, starting with the vision, followed by the conditions that need to be present to achieve the vision, the values that will guide actions, and finally how to create organizational wellness for “thrivability.” We have discussed in depth how we can do a better job as consultants to facilitate our clients’ reaching their greatest potential.
As a reward for all our hard work, over lunch on this final day of class we celebrated all we have learned from our extraordinary teachers Hildy and Dimitri and then we celebrated what we learned from and about each other. We ended our day, and this week that has enriched our lives so very much, at the Sonora Desert together watching the sun set behind the mountains. As we drove away from the beautiful red/orange sky, we knew this was not an end but the beginning of our work “off campus,” with our own clients, our partners in making the world a better place.
Showing posts with label Gail Meltzer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gail Meltzer. Show all posts
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
More news from Tucson
As Terrie wrote in her blog yesterday, we are taking part in an incredible five-day immersion class taught by the brilliant Hildy Gottlieb and Dimitri Petropolis of the Community Driven Institute. Today was day three. Each day is building so naturally upon the one before, it is easy to lose track of the huge amount of information we are packing into our little brains. Until, that is, we take a few minutes to reflect at the end of the day about what has stood out for us. Then, we begin to understand the depth of the concepts we are processing and the changes we are seeing in ourselves.
Today, we took the vision and values exercises we did yesterday and applied them. We learned how to better help organizations use these vision/value discussions to anchor them as they move toward creating their best potential, their dream community. Among the many things I learned today is the "means" to better guide these discussions to the highest "ends," and in so doing to always Trust the Process, and Trust the [people in the] Room.
It continues to astound all of us how Hildy has distilled a lifetime of work into this amazing Community Driven Institute. This immersion course is taking us as consultants to the next level so we can better do our part to create the healthy, compassionate, vibrant world we seek. I for one am thrilled to be on the journey and can't wait to see what I will be packing into my head tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Today, we took the vision and values exercises we did yesterday and applied them. We learned how to better help organizations use these vision/value discussions to anchor them as they move toward creating their best potential, their dream community. Among the many things I learned today is the "means" to better guide these discussions to the highest "ends," and in so doing to always Trust the Process, and Trust the [people in the] Room.
It continues to astound all of us how Hildy has distilled a lifetime of work into this amazing Community Driven Institute. This immersion course is taking us as consultants to the next level so we can better do our part to create the healthy, compassionate, vibrant world we seek. I for one am thrilled to be on the journey and can't wait to see what I will be packing into my head tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Your Annual Report Should Rock!
If you are not yet creating an annual report that shares with donors and other supporters what you have achieved in the past year through their generosity and commitment to your important work....WHY NOT? If you are already producing an annual report but are not using it to help raise awareness and funds, WHY NOT? Your annual report gives you a unique opportunity to do so much more than disclose your financials for the year. It can also be a compelling marketing piece to be used all year long. Here are 10 things to think about to take your annual report to the next level.
1. Select a theme for the report, something that runs through your organization's past 12 months. Have you had unprecedented growth in challenging times? Have your exhibits drawn huge crowds? Have you begun to attract a whole new demographic/age group/type of student? You may even want to have the whole report written from the point of view of one of your clients, students, visitors.
2. Tell stories that illustrate how you have changed someone's life or made a dramatic difference in your community. Focus on people. Even if your organization is an animal or environmental protection group, talk about how people are affected by what you do.
3. Use dramatic photos. Make them big, perhaps even an entire page. Avoid small, group photos that are ordinary and boring. If you have some in your file that are appropriate, all the better, but if you have to take new ones, don't pinch pennies in this regard. Have them professionally done. You may also want to think about what "cut lines" you want to have BEFORE you decide what photos to use. Then you can take the photo you need.
4. Write for the reader. Use a conversational tone. Picture your typical reader as you are writing. Avoid jargon, long sentences and paragraphs, boring statistics. This isn't about YOU, this is about your donors and supporters. Think about what they want to hear, not just about what you want to say.
5. Use simplified financials, a pie chart, a brief financial statement. While this is vital to the report, it is only a part of your story and should not dominate the piece.
6. List your donors and meticulously check for accuracy and typos. Celebrate them and acknolwedge their critical role in what you were able to accomplish in the last year.
7. Have the report professionally designed and printed. Don't prepare it in-house and run it off on your copy machine. Because you are going to use it all year long (see number 8), spend the money to make it look crisp, clean and graphically beautiful.
8. Print enough copies to be able to do the following:
1. Select a theme for the report, something that runs through your organization's past 12 months. Have you had unprecedented growth in challenging times? Have your exhibits drawn huge crowds? Have you begun to attract a whole new demographic/age group/type of student? You may even want to have the whole report written from the point of view of one of your clients, students, visitors.
2. Tell stories that illustrate how you have changed someone's life or made a dramatic difference in your community. Focus on people. Even if your organization is an animal or environmental protection group, talk about how people are affected by what you do.
3. Use dramatic photos. Make them big, perhaps even an entire page. Avoid small, group photos that are ordinary and boring. If you have some in your file that are appropriate, all the better, but if you have to take new ones, don't pinch pennies in this regard. Have them professionally done. You may also want to think about what "cut lines" you want to have BEFORE you decide what photos to use. Then you can take the photo you need.
4. Write for the reader. Use a conversational tone. Picture your typical reader as you are writing. Avoid jargon, long sentences and paragraphs, boring statistics. This isn't about YOU, this is about your donors and supporters. Think about what they want to hear, not just about what you want to say.
5. Use simplified financials, a pie chart, a brief financial statement. While this is vital to the report, it is only a part of your story and should not dominate the piece.
6. List your donors and meticulously check for accuracy and typos. Celebrate them and acknolwedge their critical role in what you were able to accomplish in the last year.
7. Have the report professionally designed and printed. Don't prepare it in-house and run it off on your copy machine. Because you are going to use it all year long (see number 8), spend the money to make it look crisp, clean and graphically beautiful.
8. Print enough copies to be able to do the following:
- mail to all your donors, supporters, key stakeholders
- provide copies to your vendors and board members to put in their waiting rooms as appropriate
- include in your media kit
- send to new donors
- send/give to prospects and those who visit your facilities
- provide at your events
- send to your collaborative partners
9. Have it translated into another language if that is appropriate for your organization. You may not need to print hard copies in a second or even a third language; it may be sufficient to have them available for download from your website. And of course you will have the English version available on the website also.
10. Begin now and continue all year long to make notes about what to consider including in next year's annual report to make it even better.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Why is Cumulative Giving So Neglected?
I've been contributing annually to not one, not two, but at least a half dozen environmental groups for over 35 years. Granted, my gifts have not been huge -- mostly in the $25-50 range -- but they have been consistent. I don't believe I have ever missed a year in all this time. I'm sorry to report that NONE of these organizations has acknowledged my cumulative giving over so many years, or contacted me outside of direct mail. What a shame.
It seems I am invisible to them, just another of the tens of thousands of donors who cycle through their organizations, usually introduced through a direct mail appeal. The difference about me is that I have never stopped giving, while I'm sure many tens of thousands of others have moved on to other charities. After all these years, they know absolutely nothing about me. Here's just a small sampling of what they don't know or what they have ignored:
1. I've moved dozens of times over these years, and every time I made sure to give them my change of address.
2. I'm incredibly loyal. Even after all these years of being treated like someone they've never heard of every time I give, I still keep giving.
3. I'm older now! I'm a member of the cohort of excellent planned giving prospects. I'm low hanging fruit!
4. I live in a major metropolitan area where I'm sure many other donors to these organizations live. They could get us together and bring us much closer to the organization. They are probably ignoring all those donors too.
5. I've been giving unrestricted gifts all these years. Maybe I could be persuaded to support specific projects at a higher level if I were made aware of those opportunities.
I'm re-evaluating my giving to these groups this year for the first time. Frankly, if I wanted to be ignored and under-valued for 35 years I could have stayed married to my first husband!
I deserve better, and this is the year I make my move. I've been giving to a few other groups that show appreciation, keep me informed and make me feel like my gifts matter. I'm going to reward them for knowing how to treat a gal right.
It seems I am invisible to them, just another of the tens of thousands of donors who cycle through their organizations, usually introduced through a direct mail appeal. The difference about me is that I have never stopped giving, while I'm sure many tens of thousands of others have moved on to other charities. After all these years, they know absolutely nothing about me. Here's just a small sampling of what they don't know or what they have ignored:
1. I've moved dozens of times over these years, and every time I made sure to give them my change of address.
2. I'm incredibly loyal. Even after all these years of being treated like someone they've never heard of every time I give, I still keep giving.
3. I'm older now! I'm a member of the cohort of excellent planned giving prospects. I'm low hanging fruit!
4. I live in a major metropolitan area where I'm sure many other donors to these organizations live. They could get us together and bring us much closer to the organization. They are probably ignoring all those donors too.
5. I've been giving unrestricted gifts all these years. Maybe I could be persuaded to support specific projects at a higher level if I were made aware of those opportunities.
I'm re-evaluating my giving to these groups this year for the first time. Frankly, if I wanted to be ignored and under-valued for 35 years I could have stayed married to my first husband!
I deserve better, and this is the year I make my move. I've been giving to a few other groups that show appreciation, keep me informed and make me feel like my gifts matter. I'm going to reward them for knowing how to treat a gal right.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thinking like your Donor
I'm closing in on a big birthday. While I look forward to celebrating this milestone, the last thing I want is gifts (more stuff!), so I have been alerting people who know me who might be tempted to give me something to make a donation instead. Because I am a consultant who has been working with nonprofit organizations for decades, there are many worthy nonprofits that I could suggest to them. My challenge was to choose the handful I wanted to offer to friends and family so as not to overwhelm them with options. Let me tell you what it came down to:
1. Which mission(s) I was the most passionate about
2. Which had websites I wouldn't be embarrassed to refer them to
Frankly, as I began visiting the websites of my "favorite charities," I was really dismayed at what I saw. Here are the reasons I rejected suggesting some of the websites to my friends and family:
1. Many were visually unappealing and some were downright annoying, both from a graphic standpoint and the copy itself.
2. In many cases, I had to search around to find a purpose or mission statement that clearly indicated what the organization was all about.
3. Figuring out how to make a donation was too time-consuming, and, in some cases, you couldn't even make a donation online!
4. There was no clear information about how the organization would notify someone that a gift had been made in their honor. I knew this would be important to the prospective donors I would send to the website.
5. Too much information......it required too much effort to slog through the narratives to see how lives were being changed through the gifts of donors. I wanted my friends and family to be as inspired by the work as I am.
6. Overall, the websites that didn't make the cut were all about the organization and not about the donor or the visitor.
I think you get the picture. You may want to take a look at your website through the eyes of a donor like me who would like nothing better than to refer potential givers to your organization through your site. Would your donors be proud to offer this option to a friend? Would you?
1. Which mission(s) I was the most passionate about
2. Which had websites I wouldn't be embarrassed to refer them to
Frankly, as I began visiting the websites of my "favorite charities," I was really dismayed at what I saw. Here are the reasons I rejected suggesting some of the websites to my friends and family:
1. Many were visually unappealing and some were downright annoying, both from a graphic standpoint and the copy itself.
2. In many cases, I had to search around to find a purpose or mission statement that clearly indicated what the organization was all about.
3. Figuring out how to make a donation was too time-consuming, and, in some cases, you couldn't even make a donation online!
4. There was no clear information about how the organization would notify someone that a gift had been made in their honor. I knew this would be important to the prospective donors I would send to the website.
5. Too much information......it required too much effort to slog through the narratives to see how lives were being changed through the gifts of donors. I wanted my friends and family to be as inspired by the work as I am.
6. Overall, the websites that didn't make the cut were all about the organization and not about the donor or the visitor.
I think you get the picture. You may want to take a look at your website through the eyes of a donor like me who would like nothing better than to refer potential givers to your organization through your site. Would your donors be proud to offer this option to a friend? Would you?
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