May 27, 2013

Today’s resources for you

Hi there. It’s Simone, your information curator. Have you seen / read these? You might find them reaffirming or informative. You might use them with your executive director or board.

  • New! I want something new. Read Tom Ahern’s e-news about “new” and other variations like (secret and insider and launch and…) But also read Seth Godin when he talks about “neophilia.” And check out Jeff Brooks’ reprise. The bottom line: What works matters more than what is new.
  • Now here’s an amusing little tale for your board members who “don’t like your fundraising.” It’s the story of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss…translated into fund development. It actually goes along with the opinion versus expertise issue.
  • I just received my copy of the Donor Retention Project. Action guides. 12 interviews on 6 CDs. 2 CDs with mp3 and pdf files. Advice from Adrian Sargeant, Marc Pitman, Lisa Sargent, Simone Joyaux… Good stuff.
  • I just finished this book by Dan Ariely: The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone – Especially Ourselves. I liked it. I learned. It’s part of professional development to learn about life and community and the economy (yes), etc.
  • Another by the way, based on Dianna’s blog: Subscribe to the Stanford Social Innovation Review. And, read Jen Shang‘s work about social proof. Jen is the world’s first PhD in philanthropy – and the world’s only philanthropic psychologist.
  • And finally: Check out Bloomerang if you need a donor database. Designed with Adrian Sargeant’s donor loyalty and lifetime value research. Coupled with Tom Ahern’s donor communications expertise. And the ease and intuitiveness of iPad and iPhones.

 

Filed under: Resources / Research

May 5, 2013

Loyalty is the holy grail of fundraising. Retain your donors!

Loyalty is the holy grail of fundraising. Thanks to The Agitator for that great statement.

For us fundraisers, loyalty means donor retention. Focus on donor retention! Now! Stop treating donors like ATM machines. Stop rushing around trying to acquire new donors. First, keep the ones you have.

Do you want to retain donors? Then learn from the experts. Check out Pamela Grow’s Donor Retention Project.

Experts like Adrian Sargeant and Gail Perry. Marc Pitman and Lisa Sargent. John Lepp and Jonathon Grapsas. Pamela Grow herself. And me, too.

Pamela’s Donor Retention Project gives you proven donor retention strategies and techniques. You can follow templates and step-by-step instructions. You’ll hear expert interviews.

Get your own copy! 12 action guides. 12 interviews on 6 CDs. And more.

Please please. Keep your donors. Focus on retention. Remember, loyalty is the holy grail of fundraising – and all businesses.

April 28, 2013

What makes fundraising great?

I’ve already told you to read the UnderDeveloped Report. And check out my 3-part blog response, now in my Free Download Library as an article.

Now there’s a new piece of research that partners well with UnderDeveloped. This new research is called Great Fundraising.

Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang, star researchers, conducted the research. And the wonderful Clayton Burnett firm, called Revolutionise now, in the U.K. commissioned the research. The new report answers the question, “What makes fundraising truly great?”

Follow this link to get your copy of the report. You might be surprised – but hopefully not. “Becoming great in fundraising was viewed as requiring the creation of a great fundraising team, a great fundraising structure and a great fundraising culture. All this…was held together with the ‘glue’ of great communication.”

And these factors are in relationship with each other. It’s the interrelationship, the system that matters.

So you know what the report talks about? Systems thinking and learning organization theories. Organizational culture. GroupThink. Silos. Effective communication. Managing conflict. And more.

I’ve been fascinated by all this stuff since the mid 1990s. I wrote about this stuff in the first edition (1997) of my book Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last. And I wrote more in the 3rd edition (2011). See Chapter 3 in my 3rd edition. And see Chapter 4, what fundraising professionals need to know. Because fundraisers need to know lots more than fundraising techniques.

Definitely read the Great Fundraising Report. And if you’ve read my book, you’ll see the similarities. If you haven’t read my report, try it now. Make sure you get the 3rd edition, published by John Wiley & Sons in 2011. More information. More appendices. And the appendices are online. You’ll find the URL in the book.

 

 

 

March 31, 2013

“I’ve never been so beat up in a workshop – and felt so great!”

People can learn – and must. Organizations can change – and must. Workshops can help. Reading the right books and bloggers can make a difference. Good conversations – with disagreement – can help. What are you doing to learn and change?

On March 29, 2013, I had the honor of serving as keynote presenter for the third annual East Bay Forum hosted by CompassPoint. The focus of the forum … UnderDeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising.

More than 100 nonprofit organizations, mostly in the East Bay, attended…including development officers, executive directors, and board members…mostly teams from the same organizations. That’s the way to build understanding, learn and change – bring a team from the organization. Make sure that the team talks and then helps design and facilitate change in the organization.

Within 24 hours, I received an email from a consultant attending the session with one of her clients. Here’s what she said: “I am working with a small non profit to do a development audit and create their fund development plan. They have a lot of development challenges.
“I emailed the ED the study (the UnderDeveloped Report) a few weeks ago and she read it but did not quite get the full understanding of all that was lacking with her organization for successful fund development .
“But then she went to the workshop on Friday and today I was at their board retreat and she could not stop talking about the workshop. She said ‘I have never been so beat up in a four hour workshop and felt so great!’
“Now she gets it and the board chair is starting to understand and they both see that the board needs to be involved in fund raising and the role of the DD and investing in long term donor cultivation etc.
“So I am so inspired that this study and the workshop can have an impact and that DD/ED and board can make changes with the right information and commitment!”

How wonderful. That ED heard the problems identified in the report. She recognized her organization’s challenges. She understands that the organization can learn and change. Ask yourself: Do you know your organization’s problems? Are you prepared to face the challenges and learn and make change? Can you enable your staff colleagues, board members, executive director (if you are the development officer) to see the challenges, follow the body of knowledge, and make change?

It was a great morning there in the east bay of California. It was, of course, tough love day. Most days are tough love day with me. I love and respect the nonprofit sector and its role in community and democracy. But there is lots to fix for the nonprofit sector to be stronger and produce greater impact. Changes in fund development. Changes in governance. Changes in executive leadership.

Now is the time for your executive director, develop director, and management team to read UnderDeveloped. Read my January 3-part blog in response. Your fund development committee needs to read the study. And your board, too. Talk about the implications. Figure out how to fix this!

For help with change, visit the Free Download Library on my website. Read Simone Uncensored, my blog, and subscribe to my e-news. You will receive regular tips and ideas about how to be stronger, raise more money, and engage a top-notch board in top-notch ways. Maybe you’ll need consulting help. So find a good consultant.

Just do it, as Nike says. A trite phrase these days. But nonetheless. Do it. Fix yourself. Be all that you can be. You know what I mean!

Filed under: Leadership

March 16, 2013

The power of vulnerability – for life and fundraising and…

This is an amazing video. For your personal and professional life and for my personal and professional life. I collected so many important tidbits… About the purpose of research. About the the concept of connection … which is, of course, relationship building … which is an essential part of fundraising and board development and nonprofit management and life.

Ms. Brené Brown describes herself as a research storyteller. She studies vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame. Her work has been featured on PBS, NPR, and CNN.

Her research and her stories can help us understand how and why people do or don’t connect. Her research and stories can help us as human beings – which helps us as professionals, which helps us as fundraisers… By the way, you’ll find a number of YouTube videos from Ms. Brown.

Filed under: Resources / Research

January 23, 2013

Big news but no surprise…vicious cycle, Part 3

Part 3 of a 3-part blog. I hope you read Parts 1 and 2, published on January 18 and January 21 in “Simone Uncensored.” And I will post all three parts as one document  in my Free Download Library on this website.

Part 3

I hope you’ve now read Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising. This study, released in January 2013 by CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, provides useful information to fundraisers, bosses, and boards.

Lots of people are talking, writing, and blogging about this report. For example, check out the articles in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, January 13, 2013, and in the Nonprofit Quarterly, January 19. Another example: Pam Grow’s well-titled blog, “If you’re not committed to funding your mission, you’re not committed to your mission.”

In summary, here’s the scoop: Development officers quit. Bosses fire development officers. Boards don’t play. Organizations don’t get it. This vicious cycle threatens financing of the sector. And, this has been going on for years and we aren’t really fixing it.

Here are my various and sundry thoughts about fundraisers who don’t know the body of knowledge. I’m always surprised and disappointed when I mention key names in the fundraising world – authors and experts and researchers – and fundraisers don’t know whom I am talking about. I’m disappointed that so many consultants and fundraisers aren’t reading research. The bottom line: I’m worried that professionals in fundraising aren’t continuing their professional development.

I think fund development is a difficult field. You have to know the body of knowledge about fundraising. You have to know the body of knowledge in management and governance and communications and… You have to know “why” not just “how.” You have to know strategy and tactics.

Hiring the right development officer. Read about executive director dissatisfaction on pages 8 and 9 in Underdeveloped. Yes, development officers should be able to conduct prospect research, solicit gifts, enable volunteers to successfully participate, etc. Executive directors should use the CFRE International role delineation (described in the Test Content Outline), to verify what fundraisers need to know.

So don’t hire an inexperienced development officer. Or, if you cannot afford a knowledgeable and experienced fundraiser, consider developing someone from within.

I have successfully helped development officers acquire the skills and expertise to perform better within their institutions. I have helped organizations find a high-performing current staff person who wants to become a development officer. Then through a consultancy and private coaching, that reliable employee becomes a good development officer.

Read Parts 1 and 2 of this 3-part blog…where I share my thoughts (and my pet peeves) about bosses and boards and fundraising. And you’ll find more of my thoughts about bosses and boards and fundraising in my NPQ web column and in my blog “Simone Uncensored.”

A few final thoughts about the Underdeveloped report…

Did you know that professions dominated by women are typically paid less than jobs held by men? Too often, professions dominated by women are disrespected.

I’m curious: How many female development officers are fighting male CEOs and boards often dominated by men? So maybe there is a bit of sexism playing out. I wonder, do bosses and boards listen better to male development officers?

Do you have the right policies and procedures and systems in place to support fundraising? For example, does your organization understand the Donor Bill of Rights and AFP Code of Ethical Principles and Standards of Professional Practice – and adhere to them? Visit AFP for these documents. Do you have a decent fundraising database with a relationship-building focus? For example, check out Bloomerang, the new fundraising database from Jay Love, the founder of e-Tapestry. Bloomerang is based on Adrian Sargeant’s research about donor loyalty. How cool is that?

In conclusion

See page 22 of Underdeveloped. Very nice diagram of the vicious cycle. Good summary of the conditions for success. And pages 23 to 27 list 10 calls to action to “spark conversation and provoke action.” Compare these 10 calls to action with the calls to action in Sargeant and Shang’s Growing Philanthropy in the U.S Report.

We can do this – all of us organizations and executive directors and fundraisers.

Yes, we can do this. More importantly, we have to do this. Otherwise, there won’t be sufficient loyal donors who give gifts. If we don’t do this, organizations will die. If we don’t do this, the nonprofit sector will flounder.

So that’s the end of my various and sundry thoughts about the report, Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising. This study, released in January 2013 by CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, provides useful information to fundraisers, bosses, and boards. For all three parts in one article, visit the Fund Development section of the Free Download Library on my website, www.simonejoyaux.com.

Come on. Let’s get it together. We can make change.

January 21, 2013

Big news but no surprise…vicious cycle, Part 2

Part 2 of a 3-part blog. I hope you read Part 1, published on January 18 in “Simone Uncensored.” And I will post all three parts as one document  in my Free Download Library on this website.

Part 2

In summary, here’s the scoop: Development officers quit. Bosses fire development officers. Boards don’t play. Organizations don’t get it. This vicious cycle threatens financing of the sector. And, this has been going on for years and we aren’t really fixing it.

I hope you are worried! I hope you’ve now read Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising. This study, released in January 2013 by CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, provides useful information to fundraisers, bosses, and boards. Check out the articles in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, January 13, 2013, and in the Nonprofit Quarterly, January 19.

So here are my various and sundry thoughts about why fundraisers leave their jobs.

First, review page 19 of Underdeveloped. Note that executive directors and development officers “often disagree about the fundraising culture in their organizations.” No surprise: chief executives think there is a stronger fundraising culture than fundraisers do. I’m thinking that the fundraisers may be more right.

Mostly, I’m thinking: Has the organization (staff and board members) articulated a shared vision of a culture of philanthropy and a fundraising culture? Does the organization operate in a donor-centered manner and monitor its performance in this arena? Does the organization (staff and board members) understand that loyalty is the holy grail of fundraising?

Then I’m thinking: Does the fundraiser understand all this stuff? Because the fundraiser has to explain all this to her boss, to his board, to staff colleagues. I’m not explaining all this stuff in this blog. But I’ve been explaining this for years in my own blogs, in my semi-monthly web column (“Unraveling Development) for the Nonprofit Quarterly, in my NPQ articles, and in my books. And I regularly recommend bloggers and books and e-newsletters that talk all about this stuff.

Then I’m wondering: How effective is the fundraiser (and the chief executive) at enabling others to understand. You can know something – but you have to make it real to others. You have to explain the “why” not just the “how” to others. You have to engage others to build their understanding and ownership and willingness to change.

You, the fundraiser and the executive director, have to facilitate others to participate. But far too many executives and fundraisers are not effective enablers. See the handout on enabling in my website’s Free Download Library. Read all about enabling in my book Strategic Fund Development. The 2011 3rd edition of this book includes more enabling functions and more explanation.

In my experience, far too many fundraisers (maybe most?) leave their jobs because the organization sees fundraising as a means to get money for mission. Too many organizations don’t understand philanthropy and fund development. Too many organizations – and the bosses and boards and other staff – devalue philanthropy, think of fund development as “dirty but necessary.”

Too many organizations don’t embrace systems thinking and learning organization business theories. Too many bosses, staff colleagues and boards don’t realize that everything in the organization affects fund development and donors. Too many organizations isolate fundraising and the fundraiser. I strongly urge you to read about systems thinking and learning organization theories. I describe these in my book Strategic Fund Development.

Too many organizations see fundraising as a “necessary somewhat dirty activity” to allow the organization to fulfill it’s so very important mission. Too many organizations don’t understand that donors give through your organization to fulfill their own aspirations.

Here are my various and sundry thoughts about bad bosses and boards and board members.

Board members think just because they know their own business that they know the fundraising business, too. But effective volunteer fundraisers are, most usually, effectively enabled by competent fundraisers.

Fundraisers get real tired of fighting about fundraising with their bosses and boards and staff colleagues. So many fundraisers (and consultants, by the way!) are tired of disrespect. So many fundraisers are tired of learning the body of knowledge, developing the expertise, and gaining the experience … only to be denigrated by bosses and boards that think their opinions trump expertise.

Bosses and board members don’t do what the fundraiser tells them to do. Instead, bosses and boards confuse their personal opinion (which is useless unless that personal opinion is based on the fundraising body of knowledge) with expertise. (And, board service does not mean knowledge or expertise!)

Too often, executive directors deny their fundraisers access to board members. And sometimes the development director isn’t allowed to attend board meetings. (If this non-contact and participation is because the executive director doesn’t trust the fundraiser… I understand. But then get rid of the fundraiser! Get someone you trust.)

About your board members: Every single one of them should be required to help identify those who might be interested in your cause, help nurture relationships, help carry out specific fundraising tasks. I’ve written a lot about this in my NPQ web column and in my years of blogging. (And by the way, I believe in negotiating which items on the fundraising menu of choices each board member will do each year.)

If you want successful fundraising, then you have to recruit board members who will adhere to such performance expectations. You have to screen candidates and secure their commitment to performance expectations prior to nominating them. The governance recruitment and training program has to be pretty darn good. The organization has to enforce consequences for non-performance, e.g., fire lousy board members.

If all this isn’t in place, you cannot expect your fundraising program (or your development officer) to be successful.

Here’s another one of my pet peeves: how you prepare your budget and how you define your charitable contributions goal. How many of you organizations set the charitable contribution goal based on how much money you need to do your great work? And then hand the goal (e.g., the gap!) to the fundraising department? Wrong! Setting the charitable contributions goal doesn’t depend on how much you want. See my NPQ columns and blogs about this topic. Don’t create unreasonable expectations for your fundraiser.

Read Underdeveloped to learn about executive director skills and interest in fund development. Hey, I get it that you might not have much experience in fundraising and you have so much else to do (all that agency management stuff), and, you don’t much like fundraising anyway. Too bad! Tough luck. The competent development officer will guide and train you and direct you to participate in fundraising activities. Yes, your development officer will be your boss when it comes to fundraising.

When I first read page 16 of Underdeveloped, I got so angry that I wrote “criminal and stupid!” in the margin. I’m talking about you, Mr. Executive Director. You don’t let your development director influence key organizational activities. And you set goals in the wrong way.

 That’s the end of Part 2 of this 3-part blog. Make sure you’ve read Part 1 so Part 2 makes sense. And I’ll post Part 3 in another day or two.

 

 

 

January 19, 2013

Big news but no surprise…vicious cycle that stops you from raising money, Part 1

Part 1 of a 3-part blog. I’ll be adding the next parts throughout this coming week. And I may even post all three parts as one document in my Free Download Library on this website.

Part 1

Here’s the scoop: Development officers quit. Bosses fire development officers. Boards don’t play. Organizations don’t get it. This vicious cycle threatens financing of the sector. And, this has been going on for years and we aren’t really fixing it.

Hmmm…. Anyone worried yet? Read Underdeveloped, a newly released study. And read the articles about the study in The Chronicle of Philanthropy and in the Nonprofit Quarterly on line.

Compare the research findings to your organization. Compare the research findings to the fundraising profession. Compare the research findings to you as a fundraiser. Step back and look at the nonprofit sector as a whole.

I hope you’re worried. The research in Underdeveloped isn’t a surprise to anyone that I’ve spoken with. The research isn’t a surprise to the trade publications, to fundraisers, to consultants. So why haven’t we fixed it yet? I’m not sure why. Seems too big a problem? Not really. Laziness? Maybe we’re focused too much on getting quick money for mission rather than making changes required to raise more money over time.

I think one big problem is because too many people – in particular bosses and boards – don’t believe there is a body of knowledge. Yet, there is. And being ignorant of it is a self-inflicted wound that slowly kills.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.

First. You. Read the report. Who is “you”? Everyone. Bosses and boards, read the report. Development committees, read the report. Professional associations, read the report and figure out how you can better develop professionals. Bosses, figure out what you are going to change in your organization to make fundraisers want to stay and work with you.

And fundraisers, read the report. Make sure you understand what the job is. Make sure you know what it takes to do the job. Learn the body of knowledge. Develop your fundraising skills. Develop the skills necessary to assess what is happening in the organization so you can lead the change process. Read my thinking in Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last, 3rd edition.

Hey, you fundraisers, decide if this is the work you want to do. For just a second, look in the mirror, and just be honest.

Read Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising. This study, released in January 2013 by CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, provides useful information to fundraisers, bosses, and boards. Check out the articles in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, January 13, 2013, and in the Nonprofit Quarterly, January 19.

Follow the comments from experts in the field. Lots of people will write about this report. I’m writing about this report. This will be my first blog on the report – with more to following in blogs to come.

By way of background, my comments are based on the following expertise and experience: Working as a professional in the sector since 1975. Served as an executive director with no development staff. Served as a chief development officer. Founded two nonprofits. Regularly serve on boards, often chairing the development committee, chairing the board, etc. Beginning my 26th year as a fulltime consultant specializing in fundraising, board development, and strategic planning. Working with all types and sizes of organizations. Presenting all over the world. Learn about me on my website.

So here goes, my thoughts about Underdeveloped. Maybe you want to use my thoughts along with the report to make change in your organization and in you.

First: Why does this report matter? Because nonprofits could raise more money if they had more engaged organizations, supportive bosses, board member participation, and adherence to the body of knowledge.

I believe that nonprofits deserve more money to do important work. But only if nonprofits do fundraising well. More and more I tell nonprofits, shut down! Close if you cannot do the basic fundamentals of fundraising well. Quit whining about how you don’t have enough time and the work is hard. Quit whining that you must focus on mission and clients and fundraising doesn’t warrant focus. Just stop it

I believe that the nonprofit sector is critical to a democracy. I believe that charitable support – through financial investment and volunteer time – is critical. But financial investment isn’t growing. Just read the 2011 Growing Philanthropy in the United States Report, by Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang. For the past 40+ years, annual U.S. giving is estimated to be only 2% of average household disposable giving. That percentage has not changed. Even in the economic boom years, that percentage doesn’t grow. Giving remains static.

That’s pretty sad. And we cannot blame our citizens. The nonprofit sector – its fundraisers and bosses and boards – just don’t do fundraising that well. This is our challenge and our opportunity. Read the Growing Philanthropy Report. Compare your performance as a fundraiser, as an organization. Read Underdeveloped in partnership with the Growing Philanthropy Report.

Revolving door: Instability in the Development Director Role

It’s bad enough to know that development directors often stay only briefly. It’s quite another thing to read the actual numbers about length of vacancy in filling the position: 6 to 12 months or more. It’s even more stunning to read that 50% of responding development directors plan to leave their jobs in two years or less. (Executive Directors plan to stick around longer!)

Why are development directors leaving? Some just don’t like the work. It’s just a job. So when you interview candidates, find this out. I recently helped an organization interview candidates for the chief development officer position. The organization used me to ask the right questions about fundraising body of knowledge and expertise and experience. But the organization knew the right questions to ask about commitment and leadership.

But I’m much more interested in the comments about how bad it is to work with some nonprofits. That’s what I observe as a consultant: the dysfunction and lack of readiness on the part of bosses and boards to create a culture of philanthropy and a culture of fund development. I get regular calls and emails from fundraisers who are tired of fighting and trying to make change within their organizations.

That’s the end of Part 1 of this 3-part blog. I’ll post Parts 2 and 3 during the week of January 21. The next two parts of this blog include the following topics: My various and sundry thoughts about why fundraisers leave their jobs. My various and sundry thoughts about bad bosses and boards and board members. My thoughts about fundraisers who don’t know the body of knowledge. And a few other thoughts, too.

So read Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising. And figure out how you are going to change and help others change, too.

December 17, 2012

Social media in fundraising (and life)

Periodically I rant about social media, one of my pet peeves. Yes, sure, I know… Social media can be useful. Social media can be fun. Social media can help nurture relationships with some people.

But professionals – whether in fundraising or any other sector – are fully aware of the excessive hype about social media. Professionals are balanced and measured. Professionals read the research! So check out this information about social media:

1. Read www.theagitator.net for 12-15-11, “Which Mailbox Delivers Emotion?” Surprising, perhaps. 50% of U.S. consumers said they pay more attention to postal mail than email. 60% of U.S. consumers said they enjoy checking the mailbox for their mail. That’s an emotional connection. And the research found that the least trustworthy communications channels are social media and blogs. Only 6% of U.S. consumers trusted those sources! Read the rest of the research at the agitator or visit Epsilon’s Consumer Channel Preference Study.

2. Jeff Brooks (www.futurefundraisingnow.com) reminds us to avoid excessive focus on social media. Read his blog of 12-14-11. Jeff remarks that “one of the cool things about email fundraising is how cheap it is.” So you just keep sending stuff cause there’s no postage or printing costs.

But watch out. “The longer an emailer goes without responding, the less likely they are to respond,” says Jeff. (And Jeff reminds us that the same holds true for direct mail.)

So why does this matter…you keep emailing and they don’t answer but it doesn’t cost you any real money. But what it will cost you is being labeled as a spammer. Here’s the bad news: Internet service providers are closely studying metrics. Internet service providers know which messages aren’t being opened. And when messages aren’t opened, the sender can get labeled as a spammer. Do you want that to happen to you? Because then your marketing messages won’t get there at all.

Read more at The Big Fat Marketing Blog, “Unscrubbed E-mail Files Pose Risks to Marketers: Study.”

 3. Read Seth Godin‘s blog of 12-11-12, “The trap of social media noise.” Being heard seems to equate with the number of listeners and readers and followers. How many follow you on Twitter? How many read your blog? How many subscribe to your e-news?

But who cares? Who is really listening? Who is really interested in what you’re saying? It isn’t the numbers, it’s the quality. It’s the alignment of like-minded people with similar interests.

Stop polluting the space with noise. As Seth says, “Relentlessly focus. Prune your message and your list and build a reputation that’s worth owning and an audience that cares.”

In conclusion: “Build a reputation that’s worth owning and an audience that cares.” That’s the truth for social media. And that’s the truth for fundraising, too. Measure the right numbers…like those who care, those who engage, those who are interested in your message…whether it’s social media listeners or donors. It isn’t the volume of numbers; it’s the type of numbers and what they represent!

December 6, 2012

Thinking about leadership

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a staff person or a board member. It doesn’t matter what position you might have on staff or within the board. No matter when or where, you often have the opportunity to lead. And leadership often requires risk.

I received a wonderful email after a workshop for the AFP Capital Area Chapter (Lansing, Michigan – hosted by Michigan State University, my alma mater and the community where I grew up). One of the attendees said: “Thank you for following your heart, speaking truth and being courageous enough to be a leader. Insecurity, complacency and dependence lead to a robotic society…more the norm these days.”

I very much appreciate those words…words to inspire me and challenge me.

What about you? Do you follow your heart? Do you speak truth to power? Do you step out in front, leading with the body of knowledge, challenging the assumptions of your boss and board and colleagues?

What level of risk are you willing and able to take? Sometimes that’s a hard question to answer – but I think we always need to ask it. Risk is hard. Risk is risky. And not everyone is privileged enough to take risk.

Here’s another thought about leadership, gleaned from Stephen King’s book 11/22/63. I very much enjoyed and appreciated it. It’s not one of his scary horror/thriller tales, which I don’t like. But 11/22/63 made me thing and also intrigued me.

At one point the hero tells himself, “Don’t look back, never look back.” He goes on to say, “How often do people tell themselves that after an experience that is exceptionally good (or exceptionally bad)? Often, I suppose. And the advice usually goes unheeded. Humans were built to look back; that’s why we have that swivel joint in our necks.”

I think it’s good to look back, if we learn from the past. But we don’t much seem to do that as humans — just consider Vietnam and then Iraq and Afghanistan. What did we learn?

But sometimes I annoy myself because I look back and agitate myself instead of looking back to learn and change. Sometimes I suspect that I don’t move on quickly enough, looking to the future. How about you?

Leadership means civic participation, too. Voting. Volunteering. Check out these good thoughts by Neil Steinberg, the President and CEO of my community foundation, The Rhode Island Foundation.

Neil reminds us that leading is a civic calling – and a duty for each and every one of us. He talks about information – both factual and inaccurate. (I am so tired of “personal opinion” trumping fact. I am so tired of giving “equal time” to inaccuracies.)

Our democracy needs us. Our democracy needs us to step up to the plate. Our communities need leadership, people working together. Then we can move forward. Then we can make change. Thanks, Neil.

Filed under: Leadership

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