Micromanagement: Board Style

One of the biggest complaints I hear from executive directors and board members alike is about board “micromanagement.” Executive directors are driven crazy by it and fellow board members feel their time is being wasted, in board meetings or retreats, when boards engage in the minute details of organizational operations.

Recently an executive director of a million dollar a year nonprofit revealed that he had a $500 limit on his signing authority. $500 doesn’t get you a lot and if you have to go to the executive committee or full board for every expense over $500 you’ll be spending a lot of your time asking for permission. A basic brochure print job can easily run over that limit. A copier contract will certainly top that limit. Heck, coast to coast airfare could force you to seek board permission.

Some boards want to approve every press release the executive issues, resulting in several edits, rewrites, etc. Other boards involve themselves in what kind of paper the organization uses, issuing edicts on “green” content percentages or which manufacturer the organization will purchase paper from.

The craziest thing I ever saw was a frustrated executive who had been asked by the board to account for every minute of his time and his plan for every minute of his time for the coming year. What should have been a broad work plan with achievable goals resulted in a day by day projection (for 365 days) of what projects he and his staff was going to work on. When I flipped through it all I could think of was how toxic the executive/board relationship had become.

One executive I knew could never take a real vacation; he was expected to be on committee and board conference calls even though he was supposed to be on vacation with his family. In another instance, a treasurer wanted to re-open an audited financial statement because he found a $10 discrepancy. Thank goodness the accountants convinced the treasurer that in order to remedy the $10 discrepancy it would cost the organization about $1,500 in accounting fees.

Then there are the boards who insist upon approving every hiring decision down to the receptionist at the front desk. Or the boards that want a presence at every meeting the executive has with other organizations. And the boards that want the executive to “clock in” and “clock out.”

Micromanagement is never good, whether it’s a board micromanaging an executive or the executive micromanaging staff. Micromanagement is literally saying “we don’t trust you to do the job right.”

I firmly believe that when an organization hires an executive they should hire the best talent they can find and once done, trust that person to be professional, competent and capable. And if that person proves to be none of those things, then it is the board’s prerogative to fire them. But to hire an executive and then treat them like an errant child who needs constant oversight is demoralizing to the executive and to the organization.

What is the job of the board? Two things: setting policy and fundraising. Unfortunately in the nonprofit sector most boards do both of those things badly.

Setting policy means determining goals for the organization and then leaving it up the executive how he or she will reach those goals. For example, a board may say that they want a 15% growth in membership over a twenty-four month period. Now it is up to the executive to figure out how to achieve that membership goal. Or a board may say it wants the organization to offer new services such as specific types of membership training, then it is up to the executive to determine how that training will be delivered.

On the second topic of board fundraising, this is probably the area I hear the most complaints about from executives, because most boards don’t do any fundraising. They talk about fundraising, they promise to raise money, they come up with grandiose schemes for bringing money through the door, but rarely to never do they actually execute the plan or deliver on their promises. Recently an executive told me of a special fundraising event in which only one of his board members actually bothered to show up, even though the event was the board’s idea.

If you are a board member I want you to take a long hard look at how the board manages the executive. Has the board hired the best and the brightest and is the board allowing that person to do his or her job? Or is the board way too involved in the day to day operations of the organization? Ask yourself at the next board meeting which things the board is micromanaging. If the board makes a decision, is that a policy decision or is it telling the executive how to do his or her job?

There is no doubt that when boards stop micromanaging, executives can shine and relationships can improve all the way around.

Nonprofit Executive Contracts: Don't Overlook These Key Issues

Many small nonprofits and even large nonprofits, often overlook the importance of an executive employment contract. And I can't imagine a nonprofit executive taking a position without a contract...but some do. Patrick Clancy and Jeff Tenenbaum, attorneys at Venable, offer point by point advice on what should be in an executive contract. Even if you think your organization is too small, you would be well served (and could avoid potential litigation) by making sure you have an executive employment contract in place. Bunnie

(Top, Jeff Tenenbaum. Bottom, Patrick Clancy)

Nonprofit Executive Employment Contracts: Don’t Overlook These Key Issues

by Patrick Clancy and Jeff Tenenbaum, Venable LLP

Hiring a new executive, especially a president or chief executive officer, is always a major undertaking for any nonprofit organization. A great deal of time and effort are invested in finding quality candidates, interviewing the most promising ones, and making a decision about to whom to extend an offer. Often, monetary resources are invested as well using search firms and similar services.

Throughout this process, both your organization and the prospective candidates strive to appear at their best and make themselves attractive to the other. Typically, the major terms of employment are discussed, including salary, bonuses and benefits. Other details are often left for later discussion following an acceptance of an offer and the preparation of a written employment agreement.

During the courtship process, neither party, understandably, wishes to think about, much less talk about, the divorce. Sooner or (hopefully) later, the relationship between the executive and the organization will end.

For the protection of the organization, as well as in fairness to each party, it is important that the when and how the relationship can end, and what happens when it does end, should be expressly and clearly expressed in the written agreement. It is surprising how often what might seem like basic terms are either overlooked or unclear even after the new executive has been presented with an employment agreement.

Moreover, it is important that the executive candidate be presented with the material terms and conditions of their newly-offered employment prior to their acceptance of the offer and, importantly, prior to the time they notify their existing employer that they are leaving (or prior to the time they decline other offers). Material terms include not only such items as compensation and benefits, the contract term, and under what circumstances employment can end, but also may include such things as post-employment restrictions (e.g., non-compete agreements) and restrictions on outside activities. Courts in some jurisdictions have held that an intentional or negligent failure to disclose a material term and condition of employment, when relied upon by the new executive in leaving their former employment (or potentially declining other employment), can result in liability for the new organization.

This article will discuss some key issues that should be addressed in an executive’s employment contract with a nonprofit organization. Those issues include, of course, the term of employment – How long does the employment last under the contract? While employment can be at-will (meaning that it can be ended at any time by either party without cause or notice), many candidates for president and high-level executive positions will not accept that sort of uncertainty when considering a position. Thus, most executive employment contracts include an express term of employment.

In addition, the agreement should address what happens at the end of the term – How does it expire? What notices, if any, must one or the other party provide? Will the term, or some variation of the term, automatically renew absent some action on the part of one or both parties?

The agreement also should address the ways in which the employment can end other than by expiration of the term. Most agreements include some provision for ending the agreement for “cause,” with varying degrees of detail as to what constitutes cause. However, agreements also can provide that one or both parties may end the employment prior to the expiration of the term upon certain notice, even without cause.

In addition, it is important that the agreement address what happens following termination. That is, are there any particular payments (such as severance) or benefits that will continue or be made to the executive or, as importantly, that no payments or other special benefits are due upon termination? The agreement needs to address this question for every way in which employment might end. These particular points are addressed in further detail below.

The Term of Agreement. As discussed above, most agreements for nonprofit organization chief executives include some fixed term of employment. Many agreements include both an initial term and a renewal term.

a. Initial Term. Often the initial term is two or three years. Many candidates will not consider less security than two years; organizations should be very careful when considering terms longer than three years. A key factor for organizations to consider when assessing the length of the term is the ways in which the term can end prior to expiration, which is discussed below.

b. Renewal Term. The agreement should specify clearly what happens at the end of the initial term. There are several options.

First, the agreement could simply expire upon the end of the term, with no obligation on either party to continue employment (remember that parties are always free to negotiate extensions if both parties desire to continue the relationship).

A common provision in executive agreements is an automatic renewal in the absence of some affirmative notice to the contrary. For example, if one party does NOT provide notice at least 180 days prior to the expiration of the initial term, the agreement might renew automatically for one year. The renewal period could be two years, if desired (although one is probably more typical); more than two years would be unusual, and in most instances, would not be recommended.

The automatic renewal provision could continue for each year of the extension as well (i.e., in the absence of notice during an extension year, the agreement automatically renews for another year). However, the automatic renewal need not continue; the agreement could contain a single renewal of one or two years. Whatever approach is adopted, the agreement should be very explicit as to what happens upon the end of the initial term or renewal term.

A cautionary note regarding automatic renewal provision – It is important that the organization's board remain aware of any approaching deadlines for notices and adhere carefully to the specified procedures for providing notice as set out in the agreement. This need is particularly acute when, as is typically the case in nonprofit organizations, there are significant changes in director and officer composition over time. Do not wait until the last month of the executive's term to consider the question of what happens at the end of the term; it may have already "renewed."

Termination of the Agreement. The agreement should specify how it can end other than by expiration of the term. There are several ways the agreement might end prior to the term expiration.

a. Notice by the executive (no cause or reason). Although by no means required, many agreements have provisions that allow the executive to terminate early – without the need for a reason or cause – by giving certain notice. If your organization agrees to such a provision, the notice period should take into consideration the hiring cycle and lead time required – that is, if the search process takes six months, the agreement might specify a notice period of six months. This lead time would give the organization time to conduct a search; it still might require an interim period before a new executive could come on board, but such time would be short.

b. Notice by the organization (no cause or reason). Organizations should carefully consider including in the agreement a provision that allows the organization to end the agreement early without cause. Establishing cause sufficient for terminating an agreement can be difficult and costly, and result in public embarrassment to the organization (and the executive). The organization may need the flexibility to end the relationship without cause. The executive, on the other hand, will negotiate for sufficient notice to enable her/him to enter the search market, and, thus, the same cycle and timing issues considered above will come into play. From the organization’s standpoint, the shorter the period, the better. If the executive has a notice provision as discussed above, it would be typical for the notice periods to be the same (i.e., perhaps 180 days). However, the organization typically will seek a provision that allows it to provide the executive with pay in lieu of the notice so that the relationship can be severed immediately if the organization deems it necessary.

Does such a "no cause" provision reduce the job security for the executive that might otherwise exist under an agreement for a term of, say, two years? Yes, however, the issue of security can be addressed through the length of notice and severance and/or other benefits.

c. Termination for cause. The agreement should contain a provision for termination for “cause.” Cause should be defined. Typically, it includes such things as malfeasance, breach of the agreement, fraud, embezzlement, dishonesty, gross negligence, etc. Not surprisingly, executives try to negotiate more objective, higher-threshold definitions of cause. The organization would prefer a definition giving it more discretion. For example, be careful of definitions of cause that require convictions of crimes; no organization wants to await the outcome of a criminal proceeding, with the potential negative publicity and other ramifications, before acting upon the employment issue (another reason for a "no cause" provision, as discussed above). It is strongly suggested that the organization consider a definition that includes, among other things, conduct that does or is reasonably determined could bring unfavorable publicity or disrepute to the organization.

What Happens when the Agreement Terminates? The agreement should specify what happens in each of the circumstances under which the agreement can end; in the examples outlined above, this includes four contingencies: (1) expiration of the term (and renewal terms, if any); (2) executive gives notice; (3) organization gives notice; and (4) termination for cause. The interests of the parties here are clearly distinct; the executive is looking for as much security as she/he can get, and the organization wants to have as little expense as possible tied up in a person who is no longer performing services for the organization. The negotiations should find the right balance between the needs of the parties.

If an agreement expires, typically the departing executive does not receive any compensation beyond that earned during the term. However, some agreements include severance as a means of providing some job security to the executive (thus lowering the risk to the executive of leaving her/his current position to join the organization). The shorter the term of the agreement, the more likely there is to be a severance payment upon expiration. For example, if the initial term of the agreement is one year, the agreement might include a six-month severance payment if the agreement is not renewed by the organization. This type of provision gives the executive at least eighteen months of security. As the term of the agreement increases, there generally is less need for this type of security.

If the agreement is ended early by the executive giving notice, typically there is no compensation due beyond that due during the time the executive works for the organization. There is typically no severance in such a situation.

If the organization gives notice (that is, notice prior to the end of the specified term, without cause), there are two alternative approaches that are often taken.

a. Under one approach, no compensation is due beyond the notice period. The theory underlying this approach is that the notice period itself provides the security the executive needs.

b. Another approach might include severance; perhaps a sliding scale of severance depending on how early in the term the notice is given. For example, the agreement might provide that if the organization gives notice during the first twelve months, the executive will receive the notice period plus severance necessary to bring the total of working compensation and severance to eighteen months (again, providing the executive with at least eighteen months’ security). Alternatively, the agreement could provide that if the organization gives notice after the first twelve months, the executive will receive the notice period plus some specified amount (perhaps three months) of severance. In one sense, this approach may be counterintuitive, as the longer the term of service, the less severance is paid. However, considered from the standpoint of how much income security it provides to the executive when viewed from the beginning of the relationship, it may serve the needs of both the organization and the executive.

If the executive is terminated for cause, the agreement typically provides that the executive receives nothing beyond what was due prior to termination.

* * * * * *

Protecting your nonprofit organization while attracting quality candidates for executive positions requires diligence and planning. The details of an agreement are very important, and may become critical to your organization in years to come. Failure to attend to those details prior to the signing of an agreement can lead to acrimonious (and costly) issues down the road.

Patrick Clancy is a partner in the Venable LLP law firm and focuses his practice on labor and employment law. He counsels may of the firm’s nonprofit clients on employment law matters and also represents them in the defense of litigation, arbitration and administrative proceedings. Mr. Tenenbaum is the chair of Venable’s nonprofit organizations practice. They can be reached at plclancy@venable.com, jstenenbaum@venable.com or at 202-344-4000.

A Value Menu for Your Non-Profit

More than anything else, when it comes to fundraising, you've got to think like your donors. Besides their charitable giving to causes they believe in, what is their "bottom line?" Adam Miller makes some interesting observations and brings up a point: how many nonprofit CEO's or board members really understand how tax laws work? That's a question for your next board meeting! Bunnie

A Value Menu for Your Non-Profit

Connecting with donors to improve their bottom line… and yours.

by Adam Miller

I love watching folks order from the value menu at fast food restaurants. Fast food chains are competing for business in a difficult economy. They are promoting the value of their food and calling hungry customers to action. I believe they are on to something; it seems like more and more folks are piecing together meals that can be paid for with spare change.

How are you adding value for your key donors? How are you calling them to action? Most key donors are already passionate about your organization. They are already giving and they don’t need a sales pitch. Instead, you may be able to sweeten the deal and build a relationship by presenting them with a menu of options that will add value.

You can do this by understanding how your donors are taxed and working with them to give more effectively. If you save them money by allowing them to give more to your organization, you have succeeded. Their finances are better because they did something they were passionate about.

Understand charitable donations. Folks give in different ways and from different sources. Here are a few basics on charitable giving:

Checkbook Philanthropy. When a donor writes a check, they are using after tax income to support your organization. If you are a tax-deductible organization they will receive a deduction at the end of the year which will reduce taxable income… maybe! In order for this to help, your donors must itemize on their tax return. According to the IRS, only about 36% of tax returns for individuals and families are itemized.

Appreciating appreciated assets. In this economy, it is difficult to discuss assets that have gained in value. This sort of conversation with donors at the end of 2008 may have gotten you laughed out of the room. Despite how things feel in this economy, many Americans still have securities and real estate that has appreciated. If they were to sell these assets they would owe capital gains on the appreciation. If your donor bought stock at $1 per share and sells at $10 per share, she owes capital gains tax on the $9 of taxable gains. However, if she were to gift that $10 stock to your organization, she gets a deduction for the entire $10. Remember, she only paid $1. As icing on the cake for your donor, she no longer owes the capital gains tax because she made the charitable contribution. Your donor supported your organization, got a full deduction, and did not have to pay the tax on capital gains. She has saved money.

Let them leave a legacy. What would happen if your largest, most consistent donor passed away tomorrow? How would it affect your budget? If your donors are passionate enough to offer support during life, perhaps they would be equally passionate about supporting your organization after they are gone.

There are many ways to go about this. It can be as simple as adding your organization as a beneficiary on an investment account. Some donors opt to create charitable trusts, donor advised funds, or participate in charitable foundations. These options offer flexibility and can allow donors to receive a deduction now, remove assets from their estate, and support your mission long term.

Don’t get overwhelmed, get help. You are probably a bit concerned at this point, feeling like your role in the organization just got bigger. There is good news: you don’t need to know everything about taxes, deductions and charitable giving to be effective. Instead, consider partnering with folks who are passionate about your organization, and who know their stuff when it comes to taxes. Seek out financial advisors, accountants, and attorneys, partnering with them to educate donors. You may find a few of these professionals are already a part of your donor base.

Tax laws are constantly changing but professionals in your community can keep you ‘in the know’. Ask these folks to look for tax changes that may benefit your organization and act as a call to action for donors. Use each opportunity to present a newsworthy new addition to a robust value menu.

You are beginning to look like a super-hero. You are connecting with folks that are passionate about your organization and you are adding value by saving them money. Congratulations!

Adam is a Candidate for CFP® certification, a trusted fiduciary and fee-only financial planner at Elderado Financial. He works passionately to help families pay less in taxes and give more to the people and organizations they care about.

Guerilla Tactics for Membership Renewal

by Bunnie Riedel, host of Nonprofit Conversation

When I was younger and had no money, I would buy things on “lay-away.” You’d put a little down and then make payments but not get the product until it was paid in full. I got my first set of dishes that way, a little bit at a time. For the last twenty years, lay-away hasn’t existed but now with the economy in a slump, lay-away is back at some of the large stores.

In thinking about membership, so many organizations have lost members and are trying desperately to get them back. However, I have also seen a rigidity among nonprofits when it comes to membership dues and structure. Some nonprofits aren’t really understanding that doing business as usual will only continue to cause their membership numbers and dollars to fall. In normal circumstances, even when the economy is fabulous, nonprofit membership churn (or turnover) is roughly 20%-25%. In shaky times that number goes up by quite a bit.

Here are some ideas I’ve been noodling on lately:

Assess your current membership demographics. Where have you lost members? Are there certain types of people that are not renewing? Is there a way to bring them back by tailoring membership to their needs? For instance, let’s pretend that your organization is the National Tennis Enthusiasts Association (NTEA--a completely fictional association). Do you really know who your members are? Have you done demographic surveys of your membership?

Let’s pretend you have done those demographic surveys and you find the following:

20% of your members are under eighteen.
25% of your members are nineteen to thirty-five.
25% of your members are thirty-six to fifty.
30% of your members are over fifty.

Approximately 40% of your members are female and 60% of your members are male.

75% of your members live in suburban communities and 25% of your members live in urban areas.

Now cross-reference: How many of your under eighteen year old members are female or male and how many live in suburban communities vs. urban areas.

And, what percentage of those sub-groups have you lost?

You see that you’ve lost 30% of your under eighteen year old female urban area members. What can you do to appeal to them? Could you create an online community directed at them, with the latest news about young urban female tennis champions? Secure discounts on equipment and clothing? Offer “buddy” membership where two can join for the price of one? Host a “Young Miss” event in their city? Have a tennis camp scholarship contest for members only?

Now you also see that you’ve lost 40% of your suburban male over fifty members. What strategies can you think of to reclaim that demographic? It certainly won’t be the same as you would use for the under eighteen year old urban females. The point is: if you lump all your members together in one big group without taking into consideration their unique qualities, you will continue to lose membership or at least be challenged to maintain members.

Assess your membership dues structure. What is the cost of membership? Has it remained constant over the last few years or gone up? I know of an organization that recently raised its membership dues, and I think that’s insane, given the economy. Now is the time to look at your membership dues and think about putting them “on-sale.”

But we’ll lose even more money!

I don’t believe you will. People are looking for bargains and looking to cut back on their expenses. You will gain more members if you discount your membership dues. Also, think how you can market the discount.

“We know that the economy is slow and we decided to lower our membership dues to make it easier for you. We don’t want you to miss having your member benefits.”

If you took 30% off your membership dues tomorrow what would that look like? How can you market that to members you’ve lost? Is there a “volume potential” for your organization?

For seriously lapsed members (say a year or more) think about providing them membership at half-price.

Find value-added partnerships. I just received notice from an association telling me that I can now buy at a significant discount at an office supply store because I am a member. What products do your members use all the time? Perhaps they need a discount on liability or theft insurance. Perhaps they need certain types of equipment. Maybe they need discounts on airfare. Once again, conduct a short survey. Ask your members what they need and then find a supplier or retail partner that will give them substantial discounts just because they belong to your association.

If I see that over the course of a year my membership will save me $300 through discounts, and that $300 more than pays the cost of my membership, then I have a strong incentive to become or remain a member.

Provide a payment plan. Just like lay-away, except your members get their product up front. My heating and cooling maintenance providers just sent me a notice saying we can pay for the service in “3 easy payments.” Could you offer your members “3 easy payments?” This could certainly affect your cash flow and how you budget, but isn’t that better than not getting the membership?

I heard an organization advertise that you can join them by making monthly payments. So instead of it costing $120 per year, it now costs $10 a month. That makes it much easier to swallow. Of course the best way to do this is to set it up as an automatic withdrawal from their bank account. That’s the way my gym does it.

Make sure you are providing value. If you are losing members right and left, maybe it’s time to think about your organization’s “value.” Not only are people spending less but they are also demanding high value in the things they buy. What is your value? How are you competing with other nonprofits of similar size or mission? Why should anyone join your organization? You can’t ask for membership dollars and then not deliver a product. If people don’t see any advantage in sending you money, they will stop sending you money.

I hope that this has given some of you food for thought. And I hope that all of you achieve and succeed in your membership goals!!!

Giving Members and Donors Value

by Bunnie Riedel, Host of Nonprofit Conversation

The latest news is that the economy has “bottomed out.” But as I recently said, nonprofit fiscal health will lag some twelve to eighteen months behind the for-profit sector. So even if tons of new jobs were created tomorrow and the economy had a complete turn-around in the next twelve months, nonprofits will still be feeling the pain for at least the next two years.

What does that mean for you? It means you have to be as sharp and entrepreneurial as you can be because you are in hot competition for membership and donor money. You must make sure that you provide value to your members and donors and if you’re already providing value, you must make sure you communicate that value.

Take a long, hard look at your organization. What are your members and donors getting out of giving you money?

Everywhere I look there are lots of sales. Business understands that shoppers are seeking the greatest value return on their purchases. What I might have spent $10 on a year ago, I now want that same product for $7 (or even less), I am seeking bargains. Is your organization a “bargain”? Will I, as a member or donor, feel like I am really getting my money’s worth?

Let’s look at overhead. What percentage of your budget is spent on creating products or services or programs that meet the needs of the members/donors? Have you looked at your rating on Charity Navigator recently? Is your organization listed on Guidestar or with the Better Business Bureau? And if so, what information is available on those websites? Is it good or is it less than stellar? If your organization is too top heavy, meaning too much of your income is being spent on non-programmatic expenses, it’s time to do some trimming.

People are very savvy these days and certainly electronically connected, and they are looking for value. I would even urge you to hire a consultant to assess your organization with fresh eyes. And if you haven’t Googled your organization lately, I urge you to do so; you should always see how your organization comes up and who is saying what about you and your organization. Googling every week or so can save you a lot of aggravation and certainly make sure your members/donors (and potential members/donors) have a good impression of the organization.

What do your members/donors want in exchange for their money? Networking? Training? Discounts? Good will? To help others? To build something? A cause they believe in? If you think of your members/donors as shoppers and your services as products you are selling, it will be easier to look at your services and assign value to them. And if you can’t, if there is no value, then perhaps it’s time to get rid of those valueless services. When is the last time you surveyed your members/donors and asked them what they want? It’s called “market research” when for- profits do it, maybe it’s time for you to do some market research. I recommend you consider conducting in-person focus groups with your members/donors so you can really get a feel for what they think is important.

So let’s say that your non-programmatic expenses are in line and you know exactly what your member/donors want and you have created the ultimate value and your services are really a bargain. Now what? It does no good to have fabulous services and programs if nobody knows about it. For-profits advertise constantly “We are the best! You have to shop here! You can’t miss out on this terrific product! You can’t get this kind of value anywhere else!” However, one of the line items most ignored by nonprofits is the marketing budget. These days you can do so much marketing for free on the internet, and you certainly can be constantly marketing how fabulous you are to members/donors. Here’s a few tips:

• Facebook (get your members/donors to become your fans)



• Twitter (get your members/donors to follow you)



• Blogs (yes, have a blog and spend some time getting others to blog about you)



• Digg (write articles and Digg them)



• Pitchengine (I love those guys! Free social media releases!)



• Ezine articles (put your blog out there as an expert article)



• Your story (write about your organization)



• Constant Contact (go green, save trees and deliver newsletters)



• Direct Mail



• Public Service Announcements and videos (spend a couple of bucks on a quick video to post on your website and Youtube, etc.)
  

Wait! Did she say “direct mail?” Yes. While it’s great to go green and do everything electronically, there’s still nothing like that direct mail appeal. As I said in a previous post on writing membership renewal letters, the beauty is that your members/donors can add your appeal to their bill box, so it gets paid just like every other obligation.

Everything in the above paragraphs is really dependent on your members/donors, their demographics and their technical savvy. If you have a constituency that is not “wired” you will still need to employ the old fashioned methods, which is perfectly fine although may cost you more.

At the next Board meeting have this discussion: How do we give value to our members/donors? By constantly striving to give value you can beat out your competition for dollars and make sure that when the economy does finally recover, your organization will still be standing.


Calling Nonprofit Executives, Board Members and Consultants! Want to write for Nonprofit Conversation? Email Bunnie at info at riedelcommunications dot com. Pitch your idea! I'm all ears!

Contact Bunnie at info at riedelcommunications dot com

Bylaws Checklist and Checkup

by Bunnie Riedel, Host of Nonprofit Conversation

There’s a great deal of organizational introspection going on right now. Yesterday, I had that conversation with a nonprofit executive who discussed the drop in revenue due to the economy. How many of those conversations have I had in the last few months?

While many organizations are examining their revenues, staffing and how the organization could run better, it might also be a good time to examine the Bylaws. Are your organization’s Bylaws good enough to really serve the organization? Or are you creating a new organization and you’re wondering what needs to be in the Bylaws?

I’ve created a sample checklist of components of Bylaws, things to consider when forming a new nonprofit or evaluating an existing one.

Size of Board

The size of your Board requires a great deal of consideration. Make it too large and nothing gets done, make it too small and you don’t have enough board members to get anything done. I know of a national organization that has 65 Board members! The largest for profit board of a Fortune 500 company has 33 Board members, so why would a nonprofit even think it needed 65 Board members?

My preference is somewhere between 9 to 11 Board members. Large enough to take on projects and small enough not to become unwieldy. Remember if you really feel you need more hands you can form committees of members, you don’t have to have Board members as sole staff of working committees.

Requirements of Board Members

Clearly state in your Bylaws what the requirements are for being a Board member. Is there an organizational membership requirement? Is there a residency requirement? Is there a professional requirement (must be practicing a certain trade or profession)? Is there an age requirement (must be at least 18 years old)?

What disqualifies someone from being on the Board? I had a nonprofit Board applicant send me his application. I called to tell him there was a residency requirement; that he had to live inside the city. The next day he re-sent his application with an in-city address and said that he had moved into the city in the last 24 hours. Mmmm.

Are there special requirements for recruiting Board members? Do you want to enshrine in your Bylaws certain types of people? For instance, do you want to designate certain seats for someone from the religious community, the legal community, the educational community, etc.? These “special talent” seats may help your organization ensure diversity in Board membership and ensure you have a variety of talent around the table.

How are Board members seated? Is it by majority vote or is it by two-thirds of the vote? What will be the Board members’ terms of service? Are the seats for two years with renewal up to a six year maximum? And do include term limits, there is nothing worse than perpetual Board members, like bread, they do go stale.

How will you remove “bad” or unethical Board members from the Board? What is the procedure? One of my favorite Bylaws is automatic removal if someone has missed two meetings in a row and requiring the absent Board member to be affirmatively voted back on the Board.

How are vacancies filled? How are meetings conducted? What is the process for calling an Executive Session and what kinds of things can be discussed during Executive Session? Typically, because of open meeting or “sunshine” laws in various states, Executive Sessions really can only be called to discuss a personnel matter.

Is the Executive Director or Chief Officer an ex-officio member of the Board? Will there be any compensation to Board members, such as a stipend or the reimbursement of travel expenses?

Who Are the Officers?

Typically most organizations have a President (or Chair); Vice-President (or Vice Chair); Secretary and Treasurer. Officers beyond those are up to the organization and should be based on need. Sometimes expanding the Executive Committee can be helpful. Remember an Executive Committee can be empowered to make decisions between Board meetings, so the makeup of the Executive Committee is important. Perhaps the Membership Chair should be part of the Executive Committee or the legal appointee should sit on the committee.

How are these Officers elected and how long is their term? How are they removed from office without removing them from the Board?

Is There a Membership Provision?

If you are starting or have a membership organization, what is your membership provision? What are the requirements for becoming a member and do you want a provision that revokes membership, and if so, what is the procedure for that? Do members have voting rights?

How Do You Make Bylaws Changes?

You want to make sure you can change the Bylaws if necessary. However, you want to make it difficult enough that the Bylaws aren’t constantly changing to suit Board member whims, yet doable enough that they can be changed when needed. Is there a notification requirement? Is it 30 or 60 days? What is the notification requirement? Must it be in person at the Board meeting or should it be by certified mail? Who can propose a Bylaws change and how do they propose one? Does it require a majority or two-thirds vote of the membership?

Some states or countries require that certain things be included in Bylaws in order to get or maintain nonprofit status, check with your state or country for its requirements.

The primary function of Bylaws is to serve the organization. If your Bylaws are interfering with that goal, it might be time to examine them and make necessary changes.

The Key to Motivating Board Members

Motivating Board Members or potential volunteers is not always an easy thing to do, as pointed out below by Angela Newman (Board Chair, Nashville RBI). We are all going a thousand miles a minute and keeping up with our work and personal obligations can be daunting. Angela mentions that communication is critical, I couldn't agree more. Communicate often to help keep your Board Members on track and engaged. Bunnie

The Key to Motivating Board Members

By Angela Newman
Board Chair, Nashville RBI

“There is so much to do and so few board members to help.” Sound familiar? All too often this does not reflect a lack of bodies. Many non-profit organizations have plenty of people that are willing to lend their name to the cause, but all too often many of them are simply “inactive.” They rarely attend meetings and when asked to help with connections or fundraising efforts, their lack of enthusiasm is demonstrated in both their communication and results. So how do you get board members to become more involved with the needs of the organization? This is a big challenge because board members of a non-profit are busy with their lives, kids, jobs, family events and household chores that take priority over the duties of a non-profit.

I’ve been involved as a board member with Nashville RBI (http://www.nashvillerbi.com/) for over four years and currently hold the position of Board Chair. Revenue from fundraisers held throughout the year help run the program; so having involved board members use their connections to raise money, secure sponsorships and open doors are key responsibilities of sitting on the board. I must say, it is very much appreciated when a board member not only attends the meeting but is also actively participating.

I believe the key to motivating board members is two-fold; the first is to lead by example, the second is to communicate with and involve the other board members.

Lead By Example

As a leader you are the axel of the wheel. It is your energy that gets the wheel turning and your enthusiasm that keeps it moving. There is no better way to motivate board members than for them to see you lead by example. Enthusiasm is infectious and if they see the time and energy you put into the tasks at hand they are more inclined to get involved when you ask them to assist. If, on the other hand, they were to see the leader only delegate, their response may be less than desirable and reflective of that attitude.

If you need board members to work on a project, list the high-level tasks to be done and note which one(s) you will be overseeing. Then ask the other members to volunteer for something they are interested in. If they don’t immediately volunteer, don’t hesitate to assign a task you would like their help with keeping in mind their specific skills and interests. If they simply cannot assist this time around due to other obligations, just let them know you understand and will approach them for the next fundraiser or project. Don’t be afraid to be a little “pushy” but be careful not to be annoying. Also let them know how important their involvement is to the cause and how much their help is appreciated. As long as you, the leader, are enthusiastic about the organization your “pushiness” will not be seen as nagging, but more as energy overflow.

Communicate and Involve Members

Once your energy and enthusiasm has started the wheel spinning, communication is what builds the momentum. If board members only find out what’s going on with the organization at quarterly board meetings, you risk having them “check out” mentally. Appropriate and timely communication is a means to share your energy and excitement. On the other hand communication that is too frequent or too lengthy can “check out” your members also.

I suggest you communicate monthly to the board on the highlights of the organization, to request their help where needed and share information about the future. Always share the successes of their efforts and show appreciation for the time and talent they contribute. Keep your emails brief and if appropriate in bullet format. Board members are busy people and being able to stay updated at a glance, will help keep them focused and engaged.

Angela Newman, CEO of Pink Ladders (www.pinkladders.com) currently holds a leadership position in the healthcare industry where she has over 20 years experience. She also volunteers for Nashville RBI as Board Chair. She is an avid baseball fan (NY Yankees) and makes her charitable organization a priority in her life. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

Angela can be contacted at angela@pinkladders.com

Creative Conference Planning

by Bunnie Riedel, Host of Nonprofit Conversation

I’m hearing it from everybody. Conference attendance is down. Conference sponsorship is down. Conference revenues are suffering. And if your organization relies on conference revenue as an income generator, these are scary times. Are there some things you can do to adjust how you create and budget for your conference so that at the end of the day you won’t be hit so hard?

Think about the barriers to conference attendance. Many organizations, businesses and most government agencies have scaled back travel budgets. What changes can you make in your conference to accommodate these reductions?

Location, location, location

Where do you normally hold your conferences? First tier cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami or Philadelphia? First tier cities pose a challenge because room rates are typically much higher. Could you hold your conference in a second tier city such as Sacramento or Reno or Richmond or Dayton? Will you find less competition in these cities and more cooperation from the convention and visitors bureaus? Is the city willing to “throw in” incentives for your bringing your conference to them? Perhaps free space at their convention center or special accommodations at city owned attractions such as the museum or the zoo or perhaps free bus transportation to special events?

The only caution I will provide in looking at second tier cities is sometimes (not always) airfare is more expensive and direct flights are harder to find. But other than that, I have always found that the smaller cities are very willing to go the extra mile to make sure they win conference contracts for their hotels.

Do you really need to have a national conference?

National conferences are wonderful because they bring your members together in one place. But, if your attendance has been waning, perhaps it’s time to think about smaller regional conferences. Perhaps it’s time to take the conference to the membership with conferences that could draw attendees within driving distance from surrounding regional areas. It’s like breaking up the conference into manageable bits. Let’s say rather than a four or five day conference, you create several two to three day conferences. You lower the actual conference registration rate, provide trade show vendors with the opportunity to show at one or several “regionalized” conferences (package deals) and increase overall attendance because more people can attend these regional events than the one large national conference.

Lower your overhead

Do you really need to serve all those cookies at the break or could you just serve coffee, water and sodas? Will people be offended? Not usually. Especially if they understand that your trimming back is part of the organizational trimming back. Members actually like when the organization is spending their membership dollars wisely. By the way, never-ever buy the “tea,” you will be paying $65-$85 per gallon of hot water with very few people actually using the tea bags. Or if you live in a country where you absolutely have to have tea as a beverage option, negotiate that you will only pay for tea bags that have actually been used.

Can you negotiate meals with the hotel? I once booked a cruise on the Potomac as our conference party and was able to afford it because I negotiated a lunch menu rather than a dinner menu. It dropped the cost per attendee from $75 per person to $35 per person. And guess what? Nobody noticed that the chicken entrée wasn’t a dinner entrée but instead the luncheon entrée.

Can you contact members with an online brochure? Do you really need to print the brochure? And if you really do need to print it, can you print it two color rather than four? One of my favorite tricks is to use lighter weight paper, it reduces mail cost.

Is it possible to replace staff with volunteers so you can reduce travel costs and staff hours (and potential overtime)?

Is it time to move from a cloth conference bag to a plastic one, can you use clip on badges rather than lanyards, do you really need to provide a notepad to every attendee?

Did you know that people really do like the “dinner on your own” night? That way they can have time with friends and catch up with one another.

Can you combine special events? Perhaps you can combine an awards ceremony with the keynote luncheon.

I’m not saying be cheap, I am saying be frugal. And right now, as we see all across the globe, “frugality” is in style.

Offer special registration incentives

Make sure your early bird registration is discounted enough from regular registration to make it attractive (and do have an early bird registration, it helps so much in conference planning). Offer a special discount to attendees coming from the same organization or business. Perhaps one at full price and the other 25% off; two at full price and two at 50% off, etc. Have a contest: those organizations or businesses sending the most attendees will receive a certain number of free conference registrations next year (and include hotel expenses). Offer a discount on membership with each registration, combine the package: membership = $100 and conference = $100, combine them for $135.

Make sure your trade show vendors also receive special perks

You can hang on to charging $2,000 for a booth or you can charge $1,200 and have more vendors. And while the cost of drayage will be more overall (more booths), at least you will have a trade show that will be worth attending and your vendors will be more likely to come.

Remember that trade show cotton candy is the attendees’ list. Don’t scrimp on that, these vendors have paid to be at your trade show give them the attendees list, with phone numbers included, and I prefer email addresses but some organizations have policy against that. Combine your trade show charges with advertising charges and provide a discount.

Start early

A previous post discussed negotiating with hotels and recommended you always be looking three or so years in advance. The same with conference publicity, let your members know where your conferences are going to be and when, well in advance. Having advance notice allows attendees to budget for the cost of attendance or make special arrangements with their organization or business.

I hope these tips help you in conference planning. Re-thinking how you “do” conference can save you quite a bit of money and increase attendance.

Contact Bunnie info at riedelcommunications dot com

The Challenges Grantmakers Face in This Economy

While nonprofits worldwide are experiencing declining revenues, very few consider that grantmakers are also facing tough times. Many foundations manage endowments that are often invested in the same stocks, bonds and mutual funds the rest of us are invested in. If you've seen your own personal portfolio take a significant decrease, so too have many grantmakers. Kristen Putnam-Walkerly takes us through the challenges faced by foundations and gives us a glimpse of what grantmakers are looking for and what you need to consider when approaching grantmakers for funds. Bunnie

The Challenges Grantmakers Face in This Economy

by Kris Putnam-Walkerly, President, Putnam Community Investment Consulting

No one is immune to the challenges of doing more with less in this economy. From my vantage point as a philanthropy consultant, I hope this blog post helps nonprofits understand how the economy is impacting foundations, and provides suggestions for what grantmakers are looking for from nonprofits.

Six challenges grantmakers face this economy

1. Significant cuts in foundation assets and grantmaking budgets – Foundations lost approximately 28% of their assets in 2008, a reduction in assets generally means fewer dollars available for grantmaking. Some, such as the Gates and MacArthur foundations, are making efforts to increase funding in 2009. However, 67% of foundations surveyed recently plan to decrease funding in 2009. The Foundation Center is tracking how the top 100 foundations are responding to the economy.

2. Reductions in staffing and spending - Most foundations we work with are carefully examining their budgets and cutting where they can. Travel to conferences and professional development spending has taken a big hit. Fewer are funding anything perceived as “new.” Some have laid off staff, such as the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland.

3. Decisions about how to allocate reduced resources in a changing environment –Resources are fewer and the needs are greater, so many foundations are grappling with whether to shift their grantmaking priorities toward meeting basic needs versus continue funding their priority areas, such as healthcare advocacy or workforce development. On one hand, basic health and human services are desperately needed. One the other hand, now is the time to leverage policy advocacy opportunities and stimulus funds to put people back to work.

4. Concerns about 2010 and 2011 – Some foundations calculate their 5% payout based upon a rolling average of the past 24 to 60 quarters (two to five years). As a result, these foundations anticipate their grantmaking budgets might actually take greater hits in 2010 and 2011 (as more “bad” economic quarters are averaged into earlier “good” quarters).

5. Lack of information & analysis – The economy is changing quickly and drastically, and it’s difficult to for funders to track the growing impact on the communities and issues they care about. This is especially true for smaller foundations with few or no staff. For example, it’s challenging for any of us – including foundations – to understand what stimulus dollars are coming into our communities and how we can leverage them.

6. Stress – It’s important to acknowledge that everyone is experiencing stress during this economy. As a recent New York Times article pointed out, even those of us who still have our jobs and homes can be feeling tremendous anxiety. Being in a position of “power,” as many grantmakers are, doesn’t make anyone immune to the fear of job loss, loss of savings, inability to pay for a child’s college education or a parent’s health care, and generalized fear about the future.

What Are Grantmakers Looking For?

Focus on results – Nonprofits must be able to demonstrate effectiveness through evaluation. With limited resources, funders want to know their dollars are making an impact. It’s no coincidence that three foundations have contacted my firm in the past week asking for assistance with evaluation.

Take steps to address the downturn – Nonprofits that are making adjustments in this new economic reality will be viewed more favorably by funders. One of our clients recently received several requests from grantees desperate for emergency funding to keep their doors open. While she wanted to help, she was disappointed that none were making any changes within their organization to address their funding shortfalls. They had no plans to reduce budgets or staff, re-organize, streamline services, or partner with others to increase efficiencies.

Communicate with your funders – Now is the time to step up communication with your donors. They can’t help you unless they understand what you need. Educate them about community priorities and how they can help you leverage stimulus dollars. A nonprofit recently requested a foundation grant to purchase solar panels, which would save them $80,000 a year on their electricity bill. It was an unusual request, and this foundation funded it anyway since it was an investment in this nonprofit’s sustainability.

Copyright © 2009 by Kristen Putnam-Walkerly. All rights reserved.

Contact Kristen at http://www.putnamcic.com/press.html

A Stronger Team in a Weak Economy

I can't say it enough, these are tough times for nonprofits. Recently a nonprofit executive told me how she had to lay off a couple of employees due to lower conference income and membership renewals. Those layoffs are straining her remaining staff. Re-examing every aspect of your organization is vital to survival. Here Brian Brandt discusses what steps you might take to make sure your organization can not just stay afloat but survive. Bunnie

A Stronger Team in a Weak Economy

By Brian Brandt, Summit Solution Group

Pick up any newspaper or watch any newscast and you’re certain to hear about layoffs, business shutdowns and dwindling stock portfolios. Unfortunately, the trickle down impact of these economic woes on most non-profits is an increase demand for services and a reduction in charitable gifts. Many non-profits are being forced to reduce their team resulting in an increase in work load and stress without a raise and perhaps even a pay cut. What are leaders to do?

The good news from all the bad news is that many non-profit leaders are rising to the occasion. Strong leadership that examines the organization with surgical precision, pours into the development of the current team, and optimistically leads the organization to fulfill its mission is demanded.

Examining the Organization

In the first half of this decade, there was a great addition of programs for many non-profits, despite their weak connection to the organizational mission. Now is the time for non-profit leaders, in conjunction with members of the board and staff, to take a step back and consider all of the programs and services that are offered.

Does each program really fit with the mission and vision?

Is there a duplication of services with other non-profits?

Are other needs more pressing considering the economic situation?

Are there more efficient ways to get our message?

Is now the time to make a drastic change to prepare you better for the future?

Do the board and staff have a clear vision for the future?

As I’ve taken groups through this process, inefficiencies are often found that free staff up to be more effective. This pruning process not only helps staff to be more fruitful, but also conveys that their time is valuable. Allowing them to be a part of the process is meaningful and also contributes to their professional development.

Pouring into Your Team

Developing your staff is integral to keeping up morale. Unfortunately, the training or conference budget is often the first thing to go when finances get tough. This is the time for non-profit leaders to get creative with their training and development.

Partner with other companies or non-profits to bring training in-house.

Give every member of your team a book and have weekly or monthly discussions. Have various team members lead the discussion.

Have various staff members conduct brief seminars on various subjects like public speaking, new media, and customer service.

Consider personal and family enrichment through family activities, personal finances training and one-on-one casual conversations.

Just have some fun. Take a break and bring in ice cream to make sundaes or take everyone to a local college baseball game and enjoy some spring time weather.

Lead from the Front

This is a time that demands that leaders truly lead through serving. While it is important that leaders stay focused on high level activities like vision casting, strategic planning and donor development, it is also important that staff see leaders willing to engage in the trenches.

Despite the current economic crisis, this can be a time where your people and your organization thrive instead of just survive. Take advantage of this season to reexamine every aspect of your organization and to reconsider how you are developing each person on your team. Then, you and your team will look back on this era and remember a time where all became stronger in the midst of turmoil…and your organizational story and mission will prosper for it.

Brian Brandt has over two decades of leadership experience and has served in numerous roles including C.E.O., Public Relations Director, National Sales Director, and College Tennis Coach. He is passionate about leadership development and regularly coaches executives on effectiveness, strategic thinking and leadership. Additionally, he speaks, writes and leads trainings on a variety of topics including: leadership, personnel issues, mentoring, behavioral styles (DiSC), team building, effective communications, delegation, parenting, media relations, marketing, community relations and bringing a vision to fruition.

Brian holds a Masters Degree in Global Leadership as well as a Bachelors Degree in Accounting. He lives in Tyler, TX with his wife and three children where he leads Summit Solution Group (www.SummitSolutionGroup.com) and serves on the board and volunteers with several non-profits. Contact Brian at Brian@SummitSolutionGroup.com.

How Do Nonprofits Change in Lean Times?

Is it possible to imagine an industry harder hit in this environment than the real estate industry? Hardly. So imagine now that you have a double challenge, you are a nonprofit trade association president that serves the real estate industry. I asked the question and Joe Cusumano gave this response. Things I really like: shorter Board meetings that focus on action rather than philosophy; dividing tasks into smaller working groups with an assigned staff person; using technology to reduce travel and paperwork. Bunnie

How Do Nonprofits Change in Lean Times?

by Joe Cusumano, President

Inland Valleys Association of REALTORS® Triple Play

We are three (3) REALTOR® associations in southern California who combine our resources and strategies to provide nearly 20,000 REALTOR® members professional support. We’re called, Triple Play.

The Pacific West Association of REALTORS® (PWR), Inland Valleys Association of REALTORS® (IVAR), and Tri- Counties Association of REALTORS® (TRICO), represent southern Los Angeles, northern Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. In a nutshell, the Triple Play REALTOR® Associations, make up the largest organized representation of REALTORS® in the state of California. And real estate trade associations, as with many others, must run to keep pace with and anticipate member needs in a market-driven profession.

Keeping our board members motivated is especially challenging when we know they are facing tough times in their own firms. It is difficult to ask that they take additional time from their businesses for Association business. So here’s the difficulty for trade associations:

-our volunteer leadership is facing the most difficult time in history in real estate

-they have less time and fewer resources to donate to the efforts of the Associations

-we are more dependent upon staff to provide service to our members

-we have had to dramatically reduce staff

-our members need the support of the Associations more than ever and that support comes from staff

On the surface, this dilemma seems like a cycle of impossibility and a no-win situation for board members, Association executives, staff and members. It’s not.

We have learned to involve our leadership in strategic goal-setting that is tightly focused on member business support. We also have learned that as we create tasks or action items, it is best to divide the tasks into smaller working groups that include a staff person. In this way, we are not creating huge tasks requiring large amounts of board or staff time.

Our Associations have learned to do more with less. We are using technology in place of paper, combined meetings in a location to reduce drive times and we are beginning to also build our capabilities in using technology to replace some in-person meetings to eliminate the use of gasoline and the need to navigate heavy traffic.

I am proud to say that we have also shortened meetings, keeping them tightly focused with attention to action items, and less philosophical discussion. They have become the meetings to attend rather than avoid.

We have become lean and creative during these tough times. As with other organizations, we have had to reduce staff by more than 50% in order to reduce our expenses. It has been tough, but we feel that we have been able to maintain the level of service our members expect.

We must maintain the ability to attract and retain members because REALTORS® in southern California do have a choice of where they hold their trade association memberships.

At the forefront of our strategic planning these days is the creation of increased value for the member dues dollar. We do this by maintaining strong call centers with live operators to help members with technical issues or any other membership-related questions. We also continue to create a large list of vendor/retail relationships in order to bring deep discounts to members’ business needs. We are revamping our education offerings so that their continuing education reflects the current trends in the profession. We communicate each success as we accumulate them. These success stories help us to keep our members aware of our service delivery and keep our board leadership inspired.

For better or for worse, the world of real estate remained constant for about one hundred years and then one day, seemingly without notice, we had to change the way we support members. And our members have had to change their entire business models to meet the needs of the highly internet-educated consumer.

The current market-shift colors everything we do and offer. Our struggle to stay current means we have to keep our eyes on the pulse of the economy, the consuming public and the REALTOR® member who needs our resources in education, political representation and strategic relationships in order to have the maximum opportunity for success. And it all requires an engaged board and professional staff.

contact Joe at http://www.ivaor.com/

How Can Smaller Non-profits Better Use Technology?

20 years ago I founded a small nonprofit. It wasn't easy. I used the computer at my church since I didn't own one. I enlisted my children to stuff envelopes. I created the newsletter on a Brother electronic typewriter. And I spent $80 of my own money to get a Post Office box. There was that incident where I accidentally erased the Wordperfect file that had all the members and donors information on it and I went home, sat at my kitchen table and cried. Luckily I had the hard copy record but it took me hours and hours to re-create the file. I certainly could have used something like ClubExpress back in the day. Dan Ehrmann, President of ClubExpress, saw the need of small nonprofits without sophisticated IT departments to manage their information, renew members and maintain their data and he figured out a way to meet it. Bunnie

How Can Smaller Non-profits Better Use Technology?

Dan Ehrmann
President, ClubExpress

In the US alone, there are more than 500,000 smaller membership-based organizations with fewer than 5000 members. Every one of us belongs to three or four such groups, whether it’s a running club, a mother’s playgroup, a local chamber of commerce, a fraternity or alumni club, your homeowner’s association, a professional or trade group, or your community Rotary club.

Most of these clubs and associations are run by volunteers who work within limited budgets, sometimes only a couple of thousand dollars per year. They face continual challenges managing memberships and renewals, organizing events, communicating with members and raising funds to support programming. Very few clubs spend time growing the organization because they spent all the available time running the organization. A small group of officers face problems attracting other volunteers to take time from a busy schedule to work on club activities which are often boring and mundane (for example, stuffing envelopes). Expertise is always a problem; not every group has an experienced web designer or accountant on the membership roster, and few have the resources to hire professionals.

The typical club has a membership database in Excel, mailing labels in Word, a static web site, and a printed newsletter. Few have an interactive web site although almost everybody wants one. They charge between $25 and $100 per year for membership, with few other sources of funds. When the group’s board members change, the new team often struggles to ensure continuity as data and files are transferred from one person/computer to another. And what happens when the membership director is on vacation and others need to get access to this data, or his computer dies and the club discovers that there is no current backup?

ClubExpress was designed to solve these problems. ClubExpress is an Internet-based platform for club and association management which was designed specifically for smaller clubs with a limited budget and where the people who run the club are not professional web designers.

ClubExpress starts with your club website and the tools to build and maintain the site. If you know how to use a word-processor, you can pick up ClubExpress very quickly; no programming experience is required. ClubExpress includes all of the tools needed to build web pages, upload photos and documents, and configure an event calendar, committees, interest groups, surveys, discussion forums and a storefront to sell club merchandise through the site.

Your association’s membership database is securely built into the website and every member has their own username and password to login and update their own information in the database. New members can sign up through the website and the system automatically handles renewals and expirations. The website includes areas for the public, for members-only and for adminstrators. ClubExpress supports family and business memberships with multiple people under one account, and the platform also supports chapters, districts and regions for larger clubs with multiple locations.

ClubExpress includes credit-card processing for memberships, event registrations (for both members and non-members), donations, and storefront purchases, with the funds deposited directly into your bank account. Or an administrator can record check or cash payments. ClubExpress includes multiple levels of security and we automatically handle backups, web hosting, email accounts and Internet access. So now your data is securely and reliably available at any time to any authorized user, which also really helps with continuity.

The platform includes a full suite of administration tools to run the organization. More than 120 reports and 20 data exports are built in, most with extensive filtering capabilities. Most importantly, there is no advertising and clubs own their data at all times.

ClubExpress charges a one-time setup fee and a low monthly fee based on the number of members in your organization. There is no long-term contract so you can cancel at any time. And this fee includes unlimited support for admins and members! If your members have a problem logging in, renewing their memberships, registering for an event, updating their profile or making a payment, they can call us.

ClubExpress has been in business for more than 5 years. Hundreds of clubs and associations use the system to manage their complete front-office and back-office, allowing the board to focus their energies on the three things that every membership-based non-profit cares about: 1) how to reduce the time you spend managing the group so you can spend more time focused on the mission; 2) how to create a richer experience for current members to increase retention; and 3) how to attract new people, building membership and strengthening the vitality of the association.

For more information, visit http://www.clubexpress.com/
Or call (866) 457-2582