Leadership

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota…. Masters Degree in Philanthropy and Development….

Why? The STUDENTS!!! All ages and life experiences and types of nonprofits and different countries and… All committed to challenging assumptions, and exploring, and lifelong learning.

Faculty like Audrey and Gary and now Tom Ahern has joined the faculty!! And we have other new faculty members, too.

Constantly modifying and strengthening the curriculum. (For example: I’m going to spend more time on social justice in the first course students have.)

• Fundraising of course… planning and major gifts and a really marvelous real life solicitation with a real person!!!
• Fundraising communications
• Strategic planning
• Leadership: Legal and ethical issues in nonprofit organizations
• Governance (That’s me!)
• Philanthropy and development: frameworks for thinking and learning. (That’s me, too!)

Part of the program is online. A masters degree in ONE YEAR only. Just 4 semesters. WOW!!!. Students begin with summer 1 residency…Fall and spring online. And then you return to campus once more for summer 2 residency. AND YOU’RE DONE!!

AND THEN!!!!!!!! THE RESIDENCY. Those weeks on campus each summer. Oh wow. I LOVE the residency. Face-to-face. Talking and arguing and applying learnings and experience. Intense. Fun. And building relationships that stick with you on and on.

Contact Cheryl Pray (cpray@smumn.edu) our marvelous Executive Director. Contact me and I’ll tell you all about the program.

Join us! We learn and have fun and create enduring relationships.

Every summer I head to Saint Mary’s university of Minnesota. I’m on faculty in the Masters Program in Philanthropy and Development. One of the greatest experiences of my life!

And I’m working on new stuff for summer 2018. Are you going to enroll? Check it out! Marvelous and rigorous program for those who want to focus on leadership and scholarship to build stronger organizations, stronger communities, and a stronger world.

This summer we will welcome Cohort 28.

Here’s a blog I wrote back in summer 2010. When I was on campus with Cohort 20. Our great conversation produced some cage-rattling questions for professionals, the profession, charitable organizations, and society itself. Questions like:

1. What does trust mean? Why does it matter?

2. Who is the nonprofit accountable to?

3. How comfortable are you being lost?

4. What makes someone part of a community? What does being part of a community entitle us to, obligate us for?

5. Why does society seem to feel that nonprofits should operate in “poverty-like” ways?

6. Why does a willingness to accept lower wages (than for-profits) seem to be an indicator or qualification for working in the nonprofit sector?

And here’s more from Cohort 20…bumper stickers!

1. Is lost actually found?

2. Don’t mistake leadership for strong talking.

3. Perhaps it’s called development because we find the answer – only questions that lead to more questions.

4. Rise up!

5. Mutiny!

Neuroscience tells us so. So does psychology. Yes, indeed. Rationalization is pretty much crap.

Charles Green inspired me today, as I write this blog.

I keep recommending Green’s newsletter, TrustedAdvice. Check out the issue “Smarts, Selfies, Shuttles – and Trust.” Read about the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. Read about all the mistakes in decision-making.

YES! MISTAKES! You and I and our organizations make those same kinds of mistakes. Unfortunately, we keep talking about how wise we are and how smart we are and how rational we are. As Green notes, “our over-estimation of our rational behavior” and our “confirmation bias” can cause disasters big and small.

Green’s newsletter inspired me to  go to the original sources — and share with you. The original sources like Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. These two – along with others – established the cognitive bias for our human errors. Biases. Heuristics.

Kahneman won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his seminal work in psychology, challenging the rational model of judgment and decision-making. (And he said it was a joint prize with his partner of so many years, Tversky, who had died previously.)

I have Kahneman’s book Thinking Fast and Slow on my business book shelf. I need to get off my butt and read it!!!!!

Or maybe I should read Michael Lewis’ book The Undoing Project, all about Kahneman and Tversky and their years of research and discovery. Lewis is the author of Moneyball, The Blind Side, and more.

I’m wandering. I get to do that in my own blog!!!!

Back to my beginning. Rationalization is pretty much crap. We aren’t rational. But we justify our decision-making by saying we’re rational. 

Imagine talking about neuroscience and psychology — and NON-rationalization — at a board meeting. Just enough to get everyone on board that we have to be very very very very careful. Imagine talking about NON-rationalization with staff … and carefully figuring out how we avoid the human error that lives in us all.

Maybe by confronting the crap, we’ll reduce the mess. Just maybe.

My March newsyletter introduced the Savvy Fundraiser’s Quiz Show. As promised in the newsyletter, here are the answers!!

Question #1: What’s the most important thing a board member does?

• Attend board meetings.  X
• Give an annual financial contribution.
• Help raise money.

Answer: To be a board member, you must participate in the process of governance. Corporate governance only happens at board meetings because governance is a group activity. Yes, the other two choices are obligations of board members, too. But the single most important thing is attending and participating in board meetings because that’s where/when governance happens. Visit the Free Download Library on my website and read all the materials about governance/boards/board members.

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Question #2: What’s the one thing a board chair should NOT do?

• Serve as spokesperson for the organization   X
• Get to know the various staff people.   X
• Provide regular advice and counsel to the CEO/ED.   X

Answer: This is a trick question. The board chair should NOT do any of these!

• The CEO/ED serves as the spokesperson for the organization. The CEO/ED can assign someone else to serve as chief spokesperson for a particular issue or moment in time. That could be the board chair or the fundraiser or or and and and and. It’s the CEO/ED’s decision.
• Of course, the board chair may meet any number of the staff – same holds true for other board members. However, the board chair does not “get to know” staff. Like about families and friends and life and the job and… That can jeopardize the separation of management and governance.
• So what does “regularly” mean? Of course, the CEO/ED and Board Chair prepare board meeting agendas together. Talk with each other about issues that come before the board. And the CEO/ED can certainly ask the board chair for advice and counsel, or vice versa. But be very very careful. Regularly? Ok. Once/month if the board meets monthly. Periodically an email about something . But if the board chair and CEO/ED talk/meet weekly? On no! Biweekly updates or something? Be careful!!! Sounds like the board chair is acting as CEO/ED. And the actual CEO/ED is just the chief operating officer. Be very very very very careful!!!!!!

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Question #3: Who needs to be the governance expert in your organization?

• Board Chair
• Executive Committee
• Chief executive (CEO/ED or whatever title your organization uses)   X

Answer: The one person we can count on is the CEO/ED. Hired. Paid. Professional! S/he is obligated to learn this stuff and lots of other stuff, too. Read! Workshops! Experience. Etc. And just because a board member has served on many boards does NOT NOT NOT mean s/he knows the governance body of knowledge, etc. etc. In my experience, most boards are mediocre at best. And far too many are dysfunctional. I hold the CEO/ED accountable for both mediocrity and dysfunction. By virtue of position, the CEO/ED is required to be highly knowledge about governance – and also be a darn good enabler to help the board chair facilitate good governance. (And if your board doesn’t listen and allow you to enable — then work diligently to change the board members. Or find another job. You deserve better.)

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The Savvy Fundraiser’s Quiz Show has many more questions and answers. If you want me to publish more in my newsyletter, just let me know.

SUCH A GREAT IDEA from Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Greater Rochester (NY)

TREAT…. Like for a dog or kitty or horse or ….

But in this case, it’s a TREAT for one of your colleagues. Together Recognizing Exceptional Actions Today….

You want to commend a colleague for something great today. Just take a look!     (By the way, check out Lollypop. Great photography. Wonderful writing. Interesting programs.)

Driving in the car…Tom and I talk a lot. (And when hiking, too! We have to carry pad and pen.)

The other day we were talking about inventing new stuff – for clients and for speaking and books and articles and…

We presented in Tucson in January. Our AFP Southern AZ pals are so supportive when we invent new stuff. We test new ideas there.

• Our joint plenary: Savvy Fundraisers’ Quiz Show…This is soooooo cool and fun and everyone talks and there’s laughing and!!
• Then Tom did a whole new writing workshop thing.
• And I did a drawing workshop.

YES! Drawing. Mapping. Diagramming. How and why it can work. Participants posted their drawings. We took pictures. Hey Tusconians…I hope some of you are trying this at work!!

Sometimes when you’re well known, people think you only can do or present about the stuff you’re already known for. I suppose some people are like that. Actually, I do know people like that.

But how boring. Tom and I are always inventing and changing and reinventing and…

I like it best when an organization or conference or host comes to me and says: “We have this tiny kernel of an idea. We think maybe you could develop this.” Oh my gosh. Wow. How cool. Yes yes yes. (Of course I do know what I really don’t know and can’t or won’t learn enough about to provide a good experience. Honestly, I will say…”Digital? Nope not me!” Or “techonology including robotics – hey, I’ll fall over laughing…”)

Someday I suppose I’ll choose no longer to read and learn and initiate and invent and… But I’m planning on that not happening for a long time. I’m having too much fun still learning and changing and inventing and….

Hmmm….. Now what do I want to do? I did that whole power thing at IFC 2016. But there’s so much more and different to do about power. More about social justice. Maybe how to hire the best fundraiser, interview questions and all. I want to deeply explore measures for nonprofits and how to do it and teach it and tools and… Maybe the process of founding an organization (oh that is done sooooo poorly so often!) How about managing or getting rid of founders… More and more people talk to me about how to start and grow their own businesses. Maybe that? Or really really how to effectively enable your boss and board members and the board itself to do well what they’re supposed to do and stay away from the other stuff. Too many people (EDs and FRers) just don’t know how to do this.

So much to do. Why don’t you ask?

If not the car, what is BMW? Bitch. Moan. Whine. ! ! ! ! ! ! !

YES! I so believe in BMW…NOT the car kind!

I just love this KICK from Marc, the Fundraising Coach.

Several excerpts to entice you to read the whole darn Kicker blog…

For the next 10 minutes, all you’re allowed to do is bitch, moan, and whine. (Imagine, permission to do that. Hey, Tom Ahern, give me permission. Oh, that’s right…I just take permission and he rolls his eyes…albeit graciously!)

I set the timer and started yelling at God….I went on and on. It felt kind of risky. Was a BMW session a legitimate form of prayer? Was I allowed to talk this way?

But at the same time it felt really good. I went on as long as I could and then a bit longer. When I strated repeating myself, I looked at the timer. I still had four minutes left.

The crazy thinig? If I hadn’t done a BMW session, I would’ve spent my entire car 45-minute drive stewing in negativity.

For more, check out Marc’s “Fundrdaising Kick: A weekly coaching email for nonprofit fundraising.”

Thanks to all the cool people who send me cool stuff. Cause there’s lots of cool stuff out there!

So check these cool-nesses…

“3 incredibly important emerging issues. For me, these are next level issues that don’t get discussed enough, if at all,” says Canadian collegue Deborah Coult. And Deborah says  watch this “amazing video.”

• Spend down vs. perpetuity
• Justice versus need
• Tax implications

And from Connecticut colleague Maxine Bleiweis: Skipp Richard, Leadership Insights.

Have you read Seth’s marvelous blog “No way Out?” 

Sometimes it’s easier to just leave or quit… or not engage in the first place. For the military, “no way out” refers to something that’s a huge gamble. Because big gambles mean there’s no way out. So we burn the boats and stay till we fail or succeed. But failure is, I suspect,  more likely.

On the other hand, risk isn’t as bad as gamble. And calculated risks are actually usually pretty smart. In fact, sometimes the bigger risk – the ultimate dumb gamble – is not taking any risk.

Seth comments that the best approach could be learning something, toughing it out, engaging with the challenge. Because if you actually get through, “…you’ll be different. Better.”

Seth reminds us that “we always have a choice, but often, it’s a good idea to act as if we don’t.” Burn the boats. Take the gamble. Go for it.

And in my document “Planning for any future that could come along,” here’s what I write: Differentiating between risk and gamble…

• How do you create a shared understanding of risk and gamble within your nonprofit?
• What criteria can your nonprofit use to differentiate between risk and gamble?
• What is a good process to effectively manage risk and avoid a gamble?
• How does an organization identify the stop-loss moment?

NOT A fundraising request. NOT an emergency.

BUT… You doing this could help our profession and you and others and and…..

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PARTICIPATE IN THIS SURVEY about ETHICS!!! ………….. How do YOU make ethical decisions? …………………

A doctoral student at the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy (U.K.) is conducting this research. The Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy is led by Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang. This center leads academic research in FUNDRAISING. Fundraising…the work that you and I damn well better do better at doing!!!

Bad news: Will take approximately 30 minutes of your time. I know that’s lots of time. But maybe drink a glass of wine while you do the survey? Or eat caramels,  like I do.

PLEASE PLEASE… Your participation makes a difference. YOU can help advance the profession. (And by the way…. exclusive offer…. You’ll get your own scores to learn more about how and why you make decisions.)

DIRECTIONS DIRECTIONS DIRECTIONS FOR THE SURVEY

• The survey must be completed at a computer with a keyboard (i.e. desktop, laptop). There is a section of the survey which is not compatible with mobile devices. Your participation will be anonymous, and to appreciate your time, you will have the option to receive your personal scores and enter a draw (for an iPad mini or £100 of gift vouchers).
• If you would like to participate, please follow this link when you have 30 minutes to dedicate to the survey (or copy and paste this text into your browser:https://plymouthbusiness.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_beFvHemJrOaoPkh

Please consider forwarding this invitation to your fellow fundraising colleagues as well. The results will help answer relevant questions and strengthen fundraising for years to come.