DonorExpress NewsLine

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This newsletter is a publication from Bob Holder and the staff of DonorExpress Software. Our intention is to share with our DonorExpress users and other interested organizations valuable operational information. We hope that you will look forward to receiving this newsletter. Please feel free to respond back with suggestions for future issues. Comments

In This Issue
Interesting Thoughts To Ponder
When You Lose the Vision
Who's Doing What
Where Not to Pinch Pennies
Did You Know

Interesting Thought To Ponder

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances,
but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."

(Hugh Downs, American TV host)

When You Lose The Vision
Napoleon Hill, the creator of the book "Think and Grow Rich", once told a story about a man who discovered a rich vain of gold and purchased all the equipment he needed to extract the gold. After a short while the vain of gold abruptly ended and in frustration the man sold the mine for pennies on the dollar. The new owner had the vision to bring in a geologist who found a fault in the earth that had shifted the vain of gold and after an adjustment in the digging, picked up the vain again which turned out to be one of the richest gold mines ever. The original owner could have been a very rich man if he had not lost the vision and faith in what he was doing.

This is also true with the nonprofit community. Every nonprofit organization has a mission that they hope will have a positive effect on humanity as a whole. The challenge is not to allow the events of the day to day operations take away from the true purpose they are trying to achieve. Most nonprofit organizations got its start as a vision of someone or a group of people. The older the organization becomes the more diluted the original vision becomes until boards and employees see the mission more as a job and not as a means to making a difference.

When you talk to the founder of a nonprofit organization, you can feel the passion they have for what the organization is about. When you talk to the board members or employees of an established nonprofit about the purpose of the organization, you will get a generic description of what they do or a watered down version of a mission statement. Too many times the board members and office staff lose touch with the positive effect the organization is having. They have lost the vision or worse are operating off of independent personal visions.

• So, how do you re-kindle the vision and passion in your board members and staff?
• Open every staff and board meeting with a real life story about a positive impact the organization has recently had. Keep the purpose up front.
• Board Chairs should have an honest discussion of the vision each board member has about the purpose of the organization. Create a clear vision so everyone shares the same vision.
• Use your united vision in all of your staff and board member training session. Teach the vision so they can teach others.
• Require staff and board member to serve as volunteers so they can actively participate in making a difference with what your organization is doing in the community.

Nonprofit organizations have the power to create miracles in the lives of those they serve, but the first step in creation is having a clear vision. The organizations that are doing well usually have a clear vision and from that vision are able to create clear goals. The first step for any organization that is stagnate or struggling is to start with the image they have of their organization. Do not get so wrapped up in the day to day work that you forget the purpose of what you are doing. Board members and directors can not afford to allow the vision to be lost and suffer the fate of the original mine owner.

Bob Holder

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Who's Doing What
Sometimes you never can tell in fundraising what will work and sometimes small things can turn big. This was the case with Hospice of the Upstate in Anderson, South Carolina. This year they wanted to sponsor a Dove and Butterfly Release to remember lost loved ones and to honor special people. Since this was a first time event, no one had any idea what to expect. When the big day arrived, it was attended by over 400 local people who had all been touched by Hospice of the Upstate.

The idea of a Butterfly Release is not new to Hospice organizations. The event can be a very moving experience and the symbolism of releasing the butterfly can be helpful to those dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. The day of the event dawned cool and drizzly which was a concern to the organizers of an outdoor event. The program began inside with a performance of "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and the recitation of excerpts from the poem "New Beginnings, A Flight in the Sun." while the names of the honored and remembered were shown on a projection screen.

The drizzle stopped as everyone quietly went outside where the ceremony concluded with the release of the doves and the butterflies. The 100 doves are actually trained homing pigeons. On their release, they circled the crowd three times before flying away. Next was the release of the butterflies. Due to the cool conditions, the butterflies lingered a little longer than expected and many times would land on the person doing the release. The sight of their butterfly sitting on them had a truly unexpected and heart warming effect on those who participated. This made a wonderful ending to the event.

Butterflies sold for $25.00 each and had to be re-ordered several times as they sold out. The doves sold for $100.00 each and the limited supply went fast. In the end, all available doves and butterflies were sold. In fact, the event was so successful that in the weeks that followed the release, they began to receive donations toward the purchase of next years Butterfly Release.

Bob Holder

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Where Not to Pinch Pennies
As a nonprofit organization, it is your obligation to be a good steward of the financial resources entrusted to you by the people who support you. One of the wisest uses of your money is utilizing outside consultants for your special needs. I know that this may sound like a sales pitch since it is coming from a nonprofit consultant but when you look at the benefits, it makes good sense to take advantage of the skills of consultants.

One of the greatest benefits I have seen is the long term impact a short term consultant can have on an organization. I was called in to a nonprofit organization by a director who was wise enough to realize that they had grown and that the old way the office had run would not serve them going forward. She knew that the best way to re-organize the office was to have a new set of eyes look at their procedures. The first thing we did was to make a list of all the steps they were using to process their donations from the opening of the mail to the sending of the thank you letter. In the process we found several redundant areas where duplicate hard copies were being stored by different people and Excel spread sheets were being used to manage data already tracked in the donor software. Identifying and eliminating the wasted effort made their office much more efficient which converts to huge savings in time and money.

Why hire a consultant?

• It cost effective to hire a consultant because you are paying for that person only when you need them.
• A consultant can give you an objective analysis of different phases of your organization.
• Consultants can be invaluable with conflict resolution or as a catalyst for making changes in the organization.
• Consultants are excellent when used as a training tool for your staff training seminars.

One mistake I see nonprofits making is not utilizing consultants where needed. Many nonprofit offices can not afford to hire a full time computer hardware consultant, but do not hesitate to call the hardware repair guy if something brakes. The same organization may be less inclined to call in a grant writer if they think they have someone in house that can complete the application. Keep in mind that your grant application will be competing with other grants that may have been professionally created.

It is true that small to medium size nonprofit organizations can save a lot of money by not having to hire a full-time person for a position with part-time needs. The real advantage to hiring a consultant is that they will come in to you office on an "as needed" basics and give you the professional help when you need it. You may have to pay a higher hourly fee for the consultant but you are not paying insurance and benefits that you would have to pay a full time employee. The true false economy is trying to save pennies by having untrained staff doing the work of a trained professional consultant.

Bob Holder

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Did You Know
Many of the DonorExpress Software users know us for our outstanding software and great customer service. They understand that when they call for assistance, they will get a friendly answers to their questions and a chance to talk to people who know and care about the nonprofit community. More and more organizations are learning that our consulting services go far beyond our software and customer service.

Bob Holder and the staff of DonorExpress Software are serious students of philanthropy and building a stronger donor relationship. One of the things that set us apart from many nonprofit consultants is that we come from a business background and have a unique way of blending the operation of your nonprofit with the structure found in the business world. This common sense approach to running the nonprofit back office has helped many organizations to become more efficient with their office procedures.

Nonprofit organizations across the country are finding that the current economic shake-up is forcing them to re-think the way their office operates. Some organizations have experienced continued growth and the old way of doing business just will not work in their new environment. Now is a great time to look into the other great consulting services we offer at DonorExpress Software.

Bob Holder
DonorExpress Software
bob@donorexpress.com
www.donorexpress.com

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Thank you for your time and interest in DonorExpress Software.
Bob Holder
DonorExpress Software
PO Box 1126
Boone, NC 28607
828.264.2577
info@donorexpress.com
www.donorexpress.com