Key attributes for charity success

On the heels of the recession, our sector is poised for changes. Some of it will be self-initiated and embraced; much will be imposed by realities of new times. Most probably these changes will be reluctantly accepted, if not outright resisted.

In light of shrinking budgets, how can community benefit organizations create difference-making initiatives without simply doling out more money? The answer is IDEAS. Increasingly, we need to look at changing existing practices, changing old habits, challenging persistent mindsets, and using existing budgets better. Continuously, we must ask ourselves: "how can we improve what we have without increasing the dollars we invest?"


The status quo is not sufficient (never was, of course, but it's especially inadequate now). In an ongoing way, we need to measure ourselves against a measuring stick of what success looks like. Well, what does success look like for non profits?
An interesting survey of people in the sector was just released by nfpSynergy, posing that question.

The chart at left shows that more than half of all respondents thought that quality of services, quality of leadership, and strengths of values and vision were important in creating a successful, high-impact charity.

Financial soundness, the ability to work in partnership and the capacity to innovate were also considered important to charity success, with each of these factors selected by more than one third of respondents.

Lowest on the list:

• Modern IT strategy/attitude to digital media


• Strong commitment to diversity


• Internal communications


• Management of brand, image and reputation


• Campaigning and media/PR skills

The perceived importance of working in partnership increased from 30% in a similar 2007 survey to 40% in 2009. This finding may point to the increased difficulty of accessing funding when working independently, in light of the global recession.

Funds, funding, and fundraising really matter. While I suggested above that we need to figure out how to do more with what we've got, the fact remains that making ends meet is still a top challenge for nonprofits, especially those largely dependent on government funds. The sector badly needs and wants to grow other sources of income to make up for government shortfalls. Thus, charities' need for fundraising skill is increasing. More charities need to raise more of their funds themselves; if you can't afford to hire a development capacity, then existing staff need to become more highly skilled to adapt their fundraising to the new environment.

The online survey was conducted by nfpSynergy (a research consultancy dedicated to the nonprofit sector) in November/December 2009. Opportunity to participate was widely promoted, especially through Third Sector Magazine. There were 710 respondents.

National Volunteer Week is April 18 - 24

It's that time of year again! A time when nonprofit organizations across the nation will be celebrating the volunteers who help them be great. National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate volunteers' accomplishments and honor their dedication to giving back.

Now would also be a great time to let the message of volunteerism spread by taking some time to get the people in your life involved. Whether you help them find a volunteer opportunity, or you invite them to join you, take a moment to help them connect with a cause that they're passionate about.

Facebook Beats Google as Most Popular Web Destination

Guess it had to happen, and it did, last week. Hitwise figures show Facebook's national domination as the most popular U.S. web destination. For the week ending March 13, Facebook grabbed 7.07 percent of all U.S. web traffic, barely beating Google's at 7.03 percent.

See the graph above; clearly Facebook has been steadily rising in traffic since last year. Traffic to Facebook increased 185 percent compared to the same week last year, whereas visits to Google increased only 9 percent.

Compared to the rise of social games on Facebook (like Farmville and Mafia Wars), there was little happening at Google to encourage traffic growth.

However, when measured by reach .... the percent of the U.S. population that visit ... Facebook still has a way to go. Comscore, another analytics firm, ranks Google as the top site by reach, with 81 percent of the U.S. population. According to Techcrunch, Facebook's reach ranking still has it behind Google (and Yahoo and Microsoft, for that matter) at 53 percent of the U.S. population.

Social Media Count: No Longer Possible to Ignore It

The rise of social media in the last few years has created exponential growth in web usage. Here's a "real time" app that shows just how dynamic and active the social side of the web is. It helps put the growth of social media in context:



Here are some of the key data points that the ‘Media Count’ is based on:

• 20 hours of video uploaded every minute onto YouTube (source YouTube blog Aug 09)
  Facebook 600k new members per day, and photos, videos per month, 700mill & 4 mill respectively (source Inside Facebook Feb 09)
• Twitter 18 million new users per year & 4 million tweets in April 2009 sent daily (source TechCrunch) ... now 50 million Tweets per day in February 2010 (source: eConsultancy)
• 900,000 blogs posts put up every day (source Technorati State of the Blogosphere 2008)
• YouTube daily, 1 Billion videos watched per day, $1mill bandwidth costs (source Comscore Jul 06; Dec 2009 SMH)
• Second Life 250,000 virtual goods made daily
• Text messages 1,250 per second (source Linden Lab release Sep 09)
• Money – $5.5 billion on virtual goods (casual & game worlds) even Facebooks gifts make $70 million annually (source Viximo Aug 09)
• Flickr has 73 million visitors a month who upload 700 million photos (source Yahoo Mar 09)
• Mobile social network subscribers – 92.5 million at the end of 2008, by end of 2013 rising to between 641.6-873.1 million or 132 million annually (source Informa PDF)
• SMS – Over 2.3 trillion messages will be sent across major markets worldwide in 2008 (source Everysingleoneofus sms statistics)

It's undeniable: social media are here to stay. Every non-profit, regardless of size, needs to think about their presence in this sphere.

The flash app above was designed by Gary Hayes; here's his Personalizemedia blog.

Great Planned Giving Story: Do you know who your donors are?

Grace Groner was exceptionally restrained with her money.

Her clothes came from rummage sales. She never owned a car. She lived in a one-bedroom house.

She was orphaned while quite young, and came of age during the Depression. Thus, her character was naturally frugal.

She had very fond memories of her college days. So she set up a small scholarship program for her alma mater, Lake Forest College. She told them she planned to contribute more upon her death. But no one guessed it would be such a huge gift from one living so modestly.

When she passed away in January, at the age of 100, her attorney informed the college president what that gift added up to. Groner's estate was worth $7 million.

Here's the college president's reaction:



I'm glad that the college was stewarding her lifetime gifts; clearly, they knew her and had the opportunity to thank her while she was alive. I can just imagine that Grace derived some pleasure out of knowing the secret surprise that they'd receive upon her death.

She worked as a secretary for Abbott Laboratories for 43 years. In 1935, she bought 3 shares of Abbott stock for $180. Those three shares are the asset that blossomed into $7 million.

The millions should generate more than $300,000 a year for the college. The money will help dozens of Lake Forest students pursue internships and study-abroad programs that they may not have had the chance to take advantage without Groner’s hefty donation.

Aside from the $7 million donation, she also left her small house to the college, which will house scholarship winners who benefitted from her donation.

But this story is one to add to the host of others told through the years: you never know which of your donors has the capacity to make a transformative gift to your institution. That's why it's incredibly important to be nice to ALL of your donors. Thanking the "little old lady" who sends in $5 twice a year is just as important as fussing over the six- and seven-figure donors. Fundraising basics 101, I know, but one of those fundamentals that is all-too-easily forgotten. Stories like this one provide a reminder.

A generous spirit; a life well-lived. Thank you, Grace Groner.