Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

Well, yesterday it felt like summer, and today fall is definitely in the air here in MA.  Say good-bye to the lazy days of summer and back to business with this brisk weather.

1. Let’s start with the changes (again) to Facebook: At Long Last, Facebook Adds Twitter-Style Following, Calls It “Subscribe” from All Things Digital:

Users can choose to post a Subscribe button on their profile. Once they do, any visitor can choose to subscribe to receive one of three options in their Facebook news feeds: all updates, most updates (what you’d see normally) or important updates (like getting married or having a kid)….On the flip side, brands can’t have subscribers. The Subscribe button is only for people.

More:  What the Facebook Subscribe Feature Means to Nonprofit News Sharing (Frogloop)

2. Events Are a Means to an End: Collecting Data that Will Help You Raise More Money from NTen:

Chances are, your organization has one or more special events that are part of your fundraising portfolio. You know events are a great way to engage your constituents in an immersive and impactful way. But are you using your events as an opportunity to learn more about your advocates and better focus all of your fundraising efforts?

3. 11 Qualities of an Effective Social Media Manager from NonProfit Tech2.0

Despite all the buzz about social media, the reality is that your social media campaigns are only as good as the human being(s) behind them. Going “viral” on social media sites is extremely rare, and instantaneous success is a myth. Being an effective social media manager is both an art and a skill.

4. Give2Gether, Rally, Razoo, Fundly offer nonprofits a new way to support causes from Frogloop:

There’s a new breed of fundraising tools out there that can help organizations with “social fundraising.” These tools leverage the social networks of donors, supporters and organizations to substantially increase the revenue raised as well as the long-term benefits of becoming a part of the fabric of your donors’ social media networks. They focus not just on large donations but on the collective power of micro-donations, which are often repeated and shared with friends.

5. Using an Advisory Committee to Transform a Founding Nonprofit Board from Susan Hammond

A young executive director (ED) I’m advising is working to change the founding board by way of an advisory committee.  The three-year old organization has a board comprised of family members.  The organization is at the point where it needs a board made up of members more representative of the community served and with greater expertise and experience. The organization has only one employee, the ED.  So the board of directors will be a working board for the foreseeable future.

Have a great, productive week!

Image by Richard Elzey via Flickr

Whew, what a week for us, we were without power for 4 days, even though we did not have much rain, and winds were no worse than some of the N’or-easter’s that come through. It was interesting “camping out” at home. Our hearts go out to those with real damage, flooding and trauma.

Here are my picks for the week:

1. Hurricane Irene and the Nonprofit Social Media Storm from NTen:

We know our friends over at the Red Cross have been expertly using social media for disaster response for years now, but this weekend, with Hurricane Irene set to touch down all along the east coast, we saw many other organizations and government entities reaching out via social media, as well.

2. Get the Most Value from Your Audit from Blue Avacado and Denise Walsh, CPA:

Many nonprofits have annual CPA audits, but the executive director and/or the board’s finance or audit committee may be unsure whether they are getting the most out of the audit. A worthwhile question for the board to ask might be: “Are we getting the most out of this significant investment of money and time?”

3. Foursquare (a geo-locating site where you can find information & friends)  can help promote your location & NPO: Five Types of “Tips” Nonprofits Can Post on Foursquare Venue Pages from Nonprofit Tech 2.0

…five different types of “Tips” that your nonprofit can post on Foursquare Venue Pages using your nonprofit’s Foursquare Page (not your personal Foursquare account) to both gain new followers and inspire the Foursquare community. That said, some things to keep in mind when posting Tips:

4. 7 Things Nonprofits Can Talk About on Facebook Besides Themselves from Social Strand Media:

…there are other things besides press opportunities and fundraising or awareness events that your fans are interested in learning more about. As I’ve talked about before, social media is about being social, so when you talk only about yourself or your organization, it gets old quickly. Spice it up. Here’s a list of 7 things a nonprofit can talk about on Facebook besides themselves…

5. This is a fun one…which persona are you? The Six Personas Of Social Media Sharing from John Haydon:

The New York Times partnered with Latitude Research to conduct a study to understand why people share content.

By conducting in-person interviews, “sharing panels”, and surveying over 2500 participants, they were able to define sharing six personas

Have a safe Labor Day Weekend!!

Related articles

• Around the web Aug 26 for NPOs (thenon-profittoolbox.com)
• Around the Web Aug 19 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

Did your organization lose its tax-exempt status because it failed to file for three consecutive years?  The IRS YouTube channel has a video about How to Get Your Tax-Exempt Status Back today.

Here are some guidelines for Protecting Your Nonprofit Corporation’s Tax-Exempt Status.

Related articles

• Help The Local Out: Do You Know These Non-Profits? (fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com)
• What Is the Difference Between a Federal Tax Number & a Tax Exempt Number? (cash-bandit.com)

Hope everyone is enjoying summer!! Here are some things I found interesting “around the web”

1. From Susan C Hammond: How to Benchmark Executive Compensation

If you sit on any nonprofit boards then you are familiar with the recent changes in the Form 990.  Specifically Part VII: Compensation of Officers, Trustees, Key Employees, Highest Compensated Employees & Independent Contractors requires benchmarking the compensation of the CEO and other senior leaders.

2. Don’t Think Social Media Results in Online Donations? Think Again! from Nonprofit Tech 2.0

Is it just a coincidence that online giving skyrocketed in direct correlation with the rise of social media? I don’t think so. Not at all.

In fact, social media is finally helping Donate Now technology reach its full potential. All the hopes and buzz that we were writing, e-mailing and talking about in 2000 are now transforming into real dollars raised online.

3. From Frog Loop: Multi-Channel Fundraising Raises More Money

Care2 held a terrific webinar on Multi-Channel Fundraising. During the webinar Jocelyn Harmon, Director of Nonprofit Services for Care2 posed the question “is fundraising via multiple channels magic or myth?”

Listen to the webinar here or check out the slides.

4. What is a Power Tweet from John Haydon

Within Twylah, there’s a feature called a “Power Tweet”. Twylah creatorEric Kim says that Power Tweets are tweets that have their “own contextual landing page (with all your recent, related tweets)”.

5. Also from Frog Loop: Women Rule Social Networks

Women are valuable stakeholder to nonprofits. They make contributions to twice as many charitable organizations as men do, and they are more likely to take greater risks in organizations with a strong vision for change, according to Lisa Witter and Lisa Chen, co-authors of The She Spot: Why Women are the Market for Changing the World and How to Reach Them. “Women also volunteer much more than men do. Thirty-two percent of women, compared to just 25 percent of men, volunteer across every state, age group and education level,” said Jocelyn Harmon.

Image via Wikipedia

I have been thinking a lot about non-profit boards, and what  I have experienced with the organizations I have been involved with. The challenges and rewards.

I ran across an opinion article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Every Board’s Guide to Strong Organizational Leadership in 2011, by Michael W. Pergrine. He speaks about the challenges of growing competition for funds, government’s questioning of tax breaks as well as scandals such as embezzlement and high salaries and perks for NPO leaders, and because of that, directors and trustees need to be even more diligent in their oversight.

It is more important than ever that the leadership of an organization be knowledgeable on their fiduciary responsibilities and be attentive.

And while most board members are passionate about focusing on
the cause their organizations promote, they must recognize that
their aggressive role in oversight will help to preserve and expand
the ability of their nonprofits to serve the public interest.

If you are a board member of an organization, here are just a few of the areas you should be concerned about:

• Fundraising practices: is your organization following the wishes of the donors, are they aware of state and local solicitation laws?
• How much of a difference does your organization make: Make sure that everyone is following the same strategic goals, and keeps the mission in mind.
• Do you have an audit committee? and are they doing their job? Is your organization keeping abreast of new regulations and laws.
• Executive compensation
• Board structure and size and term limits:

Members should also challenge traditional assumptions about governance structure and consider alternatives that offer increased oversight, efficient processes, and diversity of perspective. Screening processes to nominate new members should concentrate on candidate qualifications, time commitment, independence, and fitness to serve.

• Avoid conflicts of interest, making adequate and timely disclosures of potential conflicts of interest, is not just for legal reasons, but also any appearance of partiality can harm an organizations reputation.

Leadership in an organization means many things, don’t just “show-up” at your next board meeting, if you really want to help your organization through these trying times.

What else do you think board members can do?

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Traditionally Tax Day, but this year we have Emancipation Day, so taxes will not be due until Monday April 18, and Mass taxes will not be due until April 19th because of Patriots day. Delaying the inevitable…

1. From Beth’s Blog: Social Media and Grantmaking Session at Council on Foundation’s Conference:

(Beth) started with an overview of the state of social media measurement and ROI in the nonprofit field, outlining some of the challenges and the needs:

* Social media measurement goes hand in hand with good practice

* Slightly more mature practice for measuring business results vs social impact

* Social media measurement is a discipline, not a task, and it needs to be part of the organization’s culture

* There’s a big need for more training/capacity for measurement discipline and improvement of practice and sharing the stories

2. From Nonprofit Tech 2.0: Five Must-Have Characteristics of Nonprofit Mobile Websites:

Regardless of the nonprofit sector’s slow adoption of mobile communications, the Mobile Web continues to soar. One out of four Americans now access the Mobile Web daily and that’s a trend that will continue to increase rapidly as smartphones become more affordable.

3. From Susan Hammond: How to Tell Your Board or Advisory Board What To Do.

As noted in a recent blog post not clearly spelling out the board  members’ roles & responsibilities is one reason boards under-perform. It’s imperative to be clear on what you want and need from advisors/board members and how to address changing needs.

4. From The Fundraising Coach: Rant in progress: You’re going to have to ask!

YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO ASK PEOPLE FOR MONEY!
The cheapest, most effective way to raise serious cash is to ask people for it. Directly. Face-to-face.

• It’s not having an auction.
• It’s not throwing a gala.
• It’s not purchasing a mailing list.

It’s as simple as

• Researching your cause and your prospects
• Engaging them
• Asking them for the gift
• and having a system to love them whatever the outcome of the ask.

5. From John Haydon: Four questions you need to answer before using Facebook Places for your nonprofit

Before you decide if a Facebook Place is right for your nonprofit, take a moment to think about how your supporters currently interact with you.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do my supporters physically visit my organization?
• Does affiliating with my nonprofit have a positive effect on how they appear to their friends?
• Do my supporters bring their friends and family to my nonprofit?
• Does offering partner discounts or other promotions increase the number of new or repeat donors?

Jane B. Ford

It is the responsibility of the Board President, working with the Executive Director, to provide board members the education they need to govern well. Do your board members really understand that new program your nonprofit has created?  Do they know how important risk management is for all nonprofits? Can they explain your monthly giving program to their friends and colleagues?  These are just a few topics that many boards need to understand better.

There are many ways you can educate your board: send members to workshops and classes, provide them with appropriate books, refer them to web sites and useful presentations on You Tube and Slide Share. Some board members may actually take the time to use these references, but most will not.  After all, they are volunteers and your organization is just one facet of their very busy lives.

In my experience, incorporating board education into your monthly board meetings is the most effective way to help your members learn what they need to know.  I suggest using the first fifteen minutes of every meeting for training. (You know if it’s last on the agenda, you will seldom, if ever, get to it.) Who does the training?  Often, you will have someone on the board that has the knowledge needed.  For example, a CPA could talk about the key points in the audit process.  Staff members could be brought in to address topics in their area of expertise, such as explaining that new program or how your monthly giving works.

If you don’t have the expertise needed, look to volunteers within your organization or other people who would be willing to donate their time to help your board govern better.  Of course, you can always pay a professional in a certain area but, in my experience, you often don’t need to for these brief training sessions. You just need to create a culture of learning to excite your board members about the best ways to support your nonprofit.

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As promised, more presentations from the March 22 Mini-Conference:

Susan C Hammond talked about getting the most from your Non-Profit Board: