Spotlight: Mercy Medical Airlift

There are so many people in the nonprofit world that are doing great work. One such organization is Mercy Medical Airlift. Mercy Medical Airlift and its various components arrange for people with serious, and often life threatening, illnesses to be transported by air to much needed medical care. They do this through direct flights piloted by volunteer pilots or by arranging for transport on commercial carriers using donated frequent flier miles.

I am working on an upcoming blog on mission statements and found Suzanne Rhodes (Director of Public Affairs) article regarding "mission" to be interesting. Those nonprofits with a clearly defined sense of mission are more likely to succeed through good times and bad.

Acquaint yourself with the work of Mercy Medical Airlift, go to their website, read the various stories of the people they have helped and then make a donation of cash or frequent flier miles. And tell your friends. Someone you know may very well benefit from the services they provide. Bunnie

Keeping the Mission Torch Burning

by Suzanne Rhodes, Director of Public Affairs

Our business at Mercy Medical Airlift puts us in touch with hurting humanity 24 hours a day but also brings hope when we offer the gift of flight to patients who need to travel to distant, specialized medical facilities. I’m reminded of a phrase used by Jesus as He offered relief for people’s grinding weariness, saying, “My burden is light.”

This is what we do here—we help make burdens light. And while, like any organization, we have to tend to the business side of things—finances and efficiencies, technologies and marketing, forecasting, staffing, and trends as sudden and diverse as newly-spotted stars—keeping faith with the mission is what matters most. In our case, the mission is to make sure no patient in need is denied access to specialized, medical care because of inability to pay for air transportation.

We offer charitable flights in small, private planes through our volunteer pilot program. We offer donated commercial airline tickets through our special lift program. We offer discounted air ambulance flights through a program called Air Compassion America. We match patient needs with appropriate travel resources through our National Patient Travel Center Helpline that is operational day and night. In fact, the numbers just came in from 2009 showing we served 21,003 clients. That’s a lot of veterans and children, cancer patients, burn victims, the elderly, and patients with rare disorders whose lives have been improved or saved because, as we often hear from those we serve, “I was able to get the best medical care in the world.”

We keep the torch of mission burning in many ways. Staff members rotate pager duty so they can answer after-hour calls from patients. The mission statement is displayed in all our offices. Our CEO inspires us at special luncheons and events when he shares from the heart. Many of us post pictures of our patients on bulletin boards and share their stories with each other and through our electronic and print newsletters. Compassion is our core.

When a sense of a higher cause infuses the workplace—especially when the place is a nonprofit charity like Mercy Medical Airlift—the details of daily operation—from running the overhead to sharpening a pencil—become significant as elements of a purposeful whole.

Suzanne Rhodes is the director of public affairs at Mercy Medical Airlift in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the author of Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic, Sacred Glances and several books of poetry. She assisted in the creation of an award-winning documentary, Compassion Takes Flight.

Links to Mercy Medical Airlift websites:

www.MercyMedical.org
www.AngelFlightMidAtlantic.org
www.AirCompassionAmerica.org
www.PatientTravel.org
www.AirCompassionforVeterans.org
www.CrossandFlagProductions.com

General Principles of Nonprofit Fundraising

I kept looking at this article and everytime I would go back over it and read it again, I'd find a tidbit that I thought was spot on. For instance, how many nonprofit board members really don't understand the IRS designations and what they mean for the organization? And the information about organizations that form a 501 (c)(3) arm, like the American Pharmaceutical Association, to make contributions more attractive to donors is excellent. Being in the DC area, there are a lot of nonprofits that are formed as 501 (c)(4), so they can conduct lobbying, but many of those organizations fail to understand the benefits of forming an additional 501 (c)(3). This is another one of those good articles to print off and pass out at your next board meeting. Enjoy. Bunnie

General Principles of Nonprofit Fundraising
by Terry Scott Boykie, CSO, ABS, Inc.

Charitable Nonprofit Organizations

All charities are nonprofits, but not all nonprofits are charities. The Internal Revenue Code defines more than twenty categories of nonprofit organizations under Section 501(c). Examples include labor organizations [501(c)(5)], fraternal societies [501(c)(10)], cemeteries [501(c)(13)], pension trusts [501(c)(18)], veteran's organizations [501(c)(23)], and charities [501(c)(3)].

Colloquially, the terms "nonprofit" and "charity" are often used interchangeably. Technically, a 501(c)(3) organization is a charitable nonprofit organization as opposed to a labor nonprofit, a fraternal nonprofit, a business league nonprofit, etc. To avoid confusion, many charitable nonprofits say, "We are a 501(c)(3)."

Those nonprofit groups that want to raise tax deductible contributions seek classification by the IRS as charities under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. They also register with their respective state governments, and most do not pay sales, real estate, income or capital gains taxes on their investments. Because the tax deduction for a charitable contribution is so attractive to potential donors, nonprofit groups that are classified by the IRS as other than 501(c)(3), often establish ancillary 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organizations as a base from which to raise funds. Example: The American Pharmaceutical Association established The American Pharmaceutical Association Foundation.

The vast majority of charitable nonprofits form a corporation in order to limit their board members' liability in case of litigation. In reality, 501(c)(3) organizations are special business corporations that operate for the benefit of the general public; they have special tax dispensations under the assumption that their work can not be accomplished at a profit by a commercial business corporation.

There are direct parallels between charitable nonprofits and commercial businesses: each has incorporation papers, a board of directors, a vision of what is to be accomplished, products or programs/services, budgets, staff, a physical plant, a public image, and a need to plan long range for programs, personnel, and funding. They are more similar than dissimilar, and their operations are about 80% parallel. (That is not surprising when one realizes that Benjamin Franklin borrowed the business corporation model and modified it for charitable nonprofit use when he established the first charity after the Revolutionary War.)

When a business corporation wants to raise money by obtaining a bank loan or selling more stock, it produces a business plan to prove its management ability to potential investors. Charitable nonprofits generally call their business plan a long range strategic plan; it demonstrates to key donors that the organization can manage well and convinces them that a gift to that particular organization is an "investment" in the betterment of society.

Boards of Directors

A charitable nonprofit's directors are volunteers who govern the organization in the name of the general public. The board approves the work (programs) and the budget of the group, and it is responsible for seeing that the funding is there to achieve that work. Therefore, a key component in successful fundraising is the selection of board members who are willing and able to raise money. During long range planning, a strategy is drawn up to recruit people for the board who have direct connections to funders identified as likely to give support. While some charitable nonprofits hire staff to assist in raising money, the principle underlying charitable fundraising is that it is done by volunteers who first have made their own donations to the group and now are requesting similar contributions from others. A skilled development (fundraising) staff can greatly facilitate board fundraising.

Non-Board Volunteers

Volunteers appear in a variety of places in charitable nonprofit fundraising. Organizing volunteers requires a decision by the board to commit a board or staff member and a budget line to recruiting and training volunteers for fundraising. Well trained volunteers equipped with high quality material about your work can make effective solicitation calls or produce a variety of events. The key to keeping volunteers involved is offering a permanent liaison to the volunteer corps who is knowledgeable about fundraising goals and about the organization and who is available to volunteers when needed. Volunteer fundraisers respond best when they have job descriptions, specific goals and timetables, and know how the money they raise will be spent.

Competition for Funding

Many charitable nonprofits collaborate in program work, public education activities, and legislative liaison. Some even coalesce in united fundraising drives. However, the majority of philanthropic organizations raise money for themselves alone. Competition between charitable nonprofits for financial resources is an integral part of the philanthropic field and will not disappear in the foreseeable future. Only a group which has an endowment large enough to fully generate its annual budget can be classified as a non-competitor for funds.

The Energy Behind Fundraising
Long Range Market Plan

Unless an organization has a "golden goose" to whom it can turn for short range donations or an asset against which it can borrow, there are no "quick fixes" in the charitable nonprofit world. Traditional funders (foundations, corporations, etc.) usually avoid an organization in crisis because, to them, the need for fast cash means that the group has not planned well for its needs and has not developed alternate sources of funding over time to backstop emergencies. Cold as this may seem, it is a reality of the contributions marketplace.

Successful fundraising is based on the fundamental marketing principle that a contribution is part of a satisfying mutual exchange which takes place between the donor and the organization. The charitable nonprofit facilitates that exchange by carefully analyzing the contributions marketplace and planning to build bridges directly to the funding that seems ideal for their programs. Most of those bridges are board members, senior staff, advisors, and special friends of the organization. Their efforts are augmented by clear, logical material that describes the needs of the group's constituents, the organization's work, its cost, and its projected results. When the exchange happens, the philanthropy receives the funds, and the donor receives the satisfaction of knowing that he/she has helped to provide a service or program for the group's primary constituents.

The strategic organizational market plan comprehensively re-defines the organization for a specific term...usually three to five years...and it acts as an operational blueprint. It analyzes the needs of constituents, offers programs to suit those needs, projects costs and reliable income, provides a specific fundraising plan for each program, and provides sub-plans to recruit human resources, communicate effectively to the world about the group, implement itself over time, and continue to evaluate constituents' needs and responses to the organization's current work.

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.

Nerdy Meets Needy

Happy New Year to all! Here's hoping you were able to have time with family and friends and are now refreshed to take on the challenges of a new year. Before the holidays, I made a brief mention of the Nerdery Overnight Website Challenge. The folks at Sierra Bravo are tops on my list for their creativity, their good humor and their service to nonprofits. Mark Malmberg, Communication Manager, explains the challenge and what it brings to nonprofits in Minnesota. And, I've already heard that there are others out there doing similar work. As I get that information I will share it, meanwhile, enjoy this article and the useful links. Bunnie

Nerdy Meets Needy

by Mark Malmberg, Communication Manager

Nerdery Interactive Labs, a division of Sierra Bravo Corporation

Have there been tougher times for nonprofits? The services these organizations provide are arguably in greater need than ever, yet many are struggling just to make ends meet – and too few can afford to invest in websites capable of building online community.

In the first two years of The Nerdery Overnight Website Challenge, volunteer web pros have donated more than half-a-million dollars worth of professional services to 23 Minnesota nonprofits. Here at Nerdery Interactive Labs, a division of Sierra Bravo, we consider this a good start for our annual 24-hour nerdathon, but we also know that there are plenty more good nonprofits with not-so-good websites.

Nonprofits in Minnesota have until January 8 to register for the next Nerdery Overnight Website Challenge, which returns to the Twin Cities for the third time March 20-21 (one nonprofit is already in, with a Golden Ticket). Volunteer interactive pros come not only from our staff at The Nerdery, but from ad agencies we partner with, as well as freelancers, friends, and peers from the Minneapolis-St. Paul interactive community at large. Looking for ways to use their time and talent to give back, these passionate teams of volunteers band together and compete for little more than bragging rights.

In our day jobs here at The Nerdery – when we’re not just giving it away in the wee hours – we spend our normal waking hours serving as the web development partners (OK, nerds) of more than a hundred ad, design and marketing agencies nationwide.

It takes more than a bunch of well-meaning insomniacs to pull off an event like ours, and we’re blessed with sponsors who are incredibly committed to doing what they can to help. Nonprofits this year will receive complimentary education in design and web applications, business analysis or project management from event sponsor New Horizons of Minnesota, which will become Benchmark Learning on January 1. They also get one-year complimentary web-hosting subscription on event sponsor VISI’s ReliaCloud service. In-kind sponsors include Arthouse, Chipotle, Peace Coffee, Pizza Luce’ and Red Bull.

We’ve heard from others around the country who’ve asked our advice on how to go about gathering a small army of web nerds to help nonprofits in their community. This makes our day. Finding worthy and needy nonprofits is the easy part. Finding enough nerds to make a difference is the greater pre-Challenge challenge – and one not as easily resolved overnight. But whether or not anyone else carries this forward elsewhere, let us make our intentions clear:

We’re coming.

Here are a few stories about the nerdy helping the needy:

http://blog.nerdery.com/2009/04/yea-corps-gets-pie-in-the-sky-from-overnight-website-challenge/

http://blog.nerdery.com/2009/04/students-today-leaders-forever-like-jet-fuel-at-overnight-website-challenge/

http://blog.nerdery.com/2009/07/district-202-renewed/

http://blog.nerdery.com/2009/05/overnight-website-challenge-gives-people-faith-hope-that-theres-still-good-in-society/

http://blog.nerdery.com/2009/03/webchallenge-pictures-posts-and-videos-roundup/

Calling Minnesota Web Developers and Nonprofits

Mark Malmberg and the folks at Sierra Bravo are at it again! They are seeking Minnesota nonprofits and web developers for their third annual Nerdery Overnight Website Challenge. That's where they match web developers and deserving Minnesota nonprofits for a 24 hour complete overhaul of the nonprofits website--FREE of course.

See Using Nerdy Powers for Good from last February: http://nonprofitconversation.blogspot.com/2009/02/using-nerdy-powers-for-good.html

Go to http://www.overnightwebsitechallenge.com

Mark is preparing an article for Nonprofit Conversation that I will post as soon as I receive it.

Now, how can we make this idea go global?

Happy Holidays! Bunnie

Leadership

I’ve been collecting “bad nonprofit management” stories lately. They’ve come to me in various forms such as: word of mouth, direct telling and emails. I’ve let them rattle around in my brain hoping to divine a pattern and I think now that I’ve found the similarity. But first, let me tell you the stories.

Story #1: An office manager receives a call from her Executive Director. The Executive Director is away from the office at a board meeting. The E.D. informs her and another staff person that they will have to submit their resumes via fax to the E.D. (away from the office at the board meeting) in order to apply for a new position being created. It seems there are two positions being melded into one and both employees will now be in competition for the one position. But wait! It gets better. Not only will the office manager have to compete against her office mate, but the job will be posted to the general public and the office manager will be competing to save her job against any newcomers.

Fine, in this economy there are lots of tough decisions being made, people are being laid off, jobs are being combined, and that’s reality. However, did the E.D. have to inform the staff via a phone call? Additionally, what is with the exercise of having the office manager submit her resume or having the two employees compete against one another?

Story #2: I get an email from a young man asking for my opinion. It seems he sent an email to a vendor asking the vendor why a certain price was a bit high. He suggested that perhaps the vendor’s supervisor might be able to help bring the price down. Two weeks later the vendor called his supervisor complaining wildly about the email and swearing he would never work with this young man again. Next thing you know, the young man’s supervisor calls him on the carpet, giving him a reprimand and talking about termination.

The young man wrote me and asked if I thought his email was out of line. I read it several times and it seemed innocuous enough, however, I reminded him that email has a funny way of being open to interpretation; it is the recipient of the email that may load it with meaning beyond the sender’s intent. I suggested that he do what he can to sooth ruffled feathers, but be sure to have his resume up to date and make sure he had what I call “go to hell money.” (If you don’t know, that is money you have saved that allows you to step out of a bad situation; whether that situation is a relationship, a job or a landlord).

Story #3: Employees at a certain nonprofit have not had raises for two years. There’s nothing unusual about that in the current economy, many people are not receiving the raises or bonuses they received during the boom times and most employees are very understanding because they recognize that money is tight. However, in this scenario, the Executive Director decides it’s a great time to remodel the office. Walls are knocked down, walls are constructed. New carpet is laid, new furniture is purchased. Things are really spruced up to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Everything looks fresh and new and fabulous, but the employees are left feeling a bit pinched. None of them have received a raise in over two years, but money gets spent on an elaborate renovation. What is wrong with this picture?

Story #4: A very prestigious scientific organization holds a board members’ and funders’ reception, all the key employees are present, except the Executive Director. As time goes by, Board members are questioning staff, asking where the Executive Director could be. No one seems to know. Over an hour late, the Executive Director makes an entrance and it’s a dramatic one to say the least. She is not wearing a professional suit or even a tasteful dress, but instead, she is wearing a very mini-skirt, fish-net stockings and four inch spiked boots. There is a complete disconnect between her fashion decision and the staid organization she is representing. Needless to say, board members are not happy, the funders are a bit embarrassed and the staff is whispering and giggling. One might ask, given her generous six-figure salary, might the E.D. have hired a style advisor?

What do these stories have in common besides illustrating human foibles?

I say it’s lack of leadership. Leadership qualities, leadership traits, leadership training and maybe even leadership DNA. We all know people who are in leadership or management positions who shouldn’t be there. You’re thinking of them right now aren’t you? And I think there are an abundance of them in nonprofit management because nonprofits are often so personality driven versus performance driven. Further adding to nonprofit vulnerability is the culture of the volunteer nonprofit board.

What kind of leader would call an employee to inform them that their job was being eliminated and they needed to re-submit their resume in order to compete for a new position? That is a conversation you have in person and you certainly don’t need to require the submission of a resume, the employee has been working for you and if you don’t know their capabilities, then what are you doing at the helm? I think the tactic was an attempt to avoid an unpleasant in-person conversation and I certainly understand that impulse. However, that is what leaders do; they stiffen their spines and have unpleasant conversations, in person.

Story #2 reminds me that often people think leadership is akin to parenting. Step out of line and not only will I “punish” you but I will threaten you with even more punishment. I also found a certain lack of loyalty in that story. One of the most important things a leader can do is be loyal to the people who work for him or her. If you aren’t willing to listen to your employee’s side of the story, consider what your employee was trying to do or accomplish (even if it was misguided), calmly counsel your employee on your expectations for behavior and external interaction, you shouldn’t be in management. Sure, sometimes people deserve to be fired for egregious behavior or lack of performance, but you can’t go into a knee-jerk reaction every time someone makes a complaint.

In the third instance there is a complete disconnect between the management and the employees’ health and welfare. There is also a lack of understanding of what builds loyalty from employees to the leadership. Going without raises or bonuses is something that employees will understand when times are lean. It is their loyalty to the organization that makes the situation less painful. However asking your employees to sacrifice for the good of the whole and then turning around and spending a great deal of money on something the employees view as frivolous, destroys loyalty and weakens morale.

The fourth example just shows bad judgment.

We lead by example. We use the tools of empathy, honesty, forthrightness and self-sacrifice in order to develop those traits in others. We do things to encourage the personal and professional growth of those around us. We exhibit loyalty to those who work for us and we carry ourselves with a modicum of decency. And while it is true that some people are born leaders, I believe that people can learn to be leaders and often that learning begins with introspection.

Ask yourself. “What kind of leader am I?”

Freebie Corner!

A few weeks ago I announced a couple of great seminars being conducted free. Today the Freebie Corner special is a fabulous report on nonprofit "taglines," the "2009 Getting Attention Tagline Report." Nancy Schwartz at Getting Attention, has developed this fascinating report. What taglines work? What taglines lessen your impact? Is it time to change your tagline?

It is a shame that for most nonprofits marketing becomes an afterthought. Worse still, in slow economic times, the marketing budget is often the first to suffer. Nonprofits must think of themselves as a business, nonprofits are "selling" something. Whether that something is services, legislative representation, peer professional networking, continuing education, etc., there is a product to be sold and there are "customers" to be acquired.

This report is worth the download and it's worth sharing with your nonprofit management and board of directors. Bunnie

The 2009 Getting Attention Tagline Report

by Nancy Schwartz, Getting Attention

Nonprofits have a major branding problem in weak taglines. Taglines are the best way to succinctly convey nonprofits' value, but 7 in 10 nonprofits rate their taglines as poor or don't have one at all.

The just-released 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Report, based on 1,700 2009 tagline award entries and recent survey responses from 1,900 nonprofit communicators, shows that most nonprofits don’t have an organizational tagline that works to make their organizations’ value clear, and easy to remember and repeat.

A highly-effective nonprofit tagline model (and one of the 13 winners of the 2009 tagline awards) is "Because the earth needs a good lawyer" from Earthjustice. Earthjustice capitalizes on what people do understand–-that a lawyer protects rights–-and uses that framework to dramatically position its role and impact in the environmental movement. And it does so with humor. If your tagline makes people smile or light up, without stepping on your message, then you’ve made an emotional connection…Bravo.

A strong tagline complements your org's name to convey its unique value or impact with personality, passion and commitment. If you fail to make the most of your tagline, you throw that opportunity away.

Dig into this free updated guide to learn:

Why a Nonprofit’s Name Isn’t Enough

How a Strong Tagline Benefits Your Organization – Useful for developing support among colleagues and leadership

The 10 Have-Tos for Successful Taglines

Using Words that Work

The 7 Deadly Sins, 9 Snores and 5 Best Ways to Antagonize Your Audience – What not to do

Research, Create, Revise, Test, Repeat – The right steps to take to craft a potent tagline

Over 2,500 Nonprofit Tagline Examples to put to work for message brainstorming.

Download the 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report here

You can contact Nancy at http://www.gettingattention.org/nonprofit_tagline_report.html