Board Issues April 25, 2007 By Steve Fafel

I'm on 4 nonprofit boards. I've seen a lot of issues over the past 7 years of involvement with various nonprofits, and the role of the board and advisory board is usually dysfunctional; in fact, only one of the nonprofit boards I'm involved with currently is in decent shape.

One of the nonprofits I'm involved with is having some board issues. In response, I wrote a bit of a missive, including the following. I'd like to hear what you think about this.

The board exists to advise, direct the ED as a group, and raise money. The Executive Director takes guidance from the Board as a whole and reports to the Board. Board members in this role have no direct oversight of the Executive Director. The Chair opens meetings, moderates meetings, and closes meetings, and has no direct interaction with the Executive Director in that role.

When Board members volunteer to carry out a task or run a program, they do so as Volunteers, not as Board members, and report to the Executive Director. They do not have authority over the Executive Director in any way, and no Board member can or should direct the Executive Director outside the context of a unified Board action.

If we adopt these roles and rules, I think we'll all be happier, more productive and more satisfied. If you are burned out, take a break. Step back. Keep supporting, keep believing, but step back.

I'm not on this particular board. But I started the overall thing and hate to see internal conflict when we have so much external work to do. Or any time, really.

What has your experience been?

Road Trip: New England April 25, 2007 By Steve Fafel

I've been on the road since Sunday, meeting with customers and partners. I'll post in detail in a day or so, but the meetings have been great! Mary Evslin works for the American Red Cross in Burlington. Today we met for lunch and talked about a wide variety of things, including her Internet for All project she's pushing with her husband Tom, who has a great blog.

Tonight I'm staying in North Conway, NH. And they're about to shut down the wi-fi! rough. So I have to type fast...anyway, Mary is working on getting internet and cell access for eveyrone in Vermont. I'm working on getting everyone free wireless access in Lancaster, so we had a bunch to chat about. Bridging the digital divide is crucial in addressing imbalances and injustices in our country. The vast wealth of information and applications that those of us lucky enough to have the resources to afford to access must be extended to everyone so we're all playing on the same field, and that should be a level playing field.

Mary and Tom's work is important, and I hope it takes off. I think it's a great idea. Learn more here.

Free Update Really Rocks April 23, 2007 By RussBurke

Software updates happen all the time...some you know about and some come in on cat's feet through your computer's automatic update feature. But this latest GiftWorks Free Update, rolling out April 23, 2007, is something that rates a drumroll, in my opinion. Hyperbole, you say. Hardly, I respond...I love it when a company listens to its users, works to make the product better and then gives it away free.

What's the big deal?  Here's what I like about about the update and why:  (Drumroll, please....)

QuickBooks Integration. It's simpler than ever and the GiftWorks integration process brings over your accounts, classes and subclasses with ease. This classes and subclasses inclusion corrects what was formerly a showstopper for some shops. And it's all wrapped up in a smoother processing routine.

Batch Update. Being able to mark donations as Acknowledged by a SmartList means you can create acknowledgments specific to a campaign, solicitation or solicitor very easily. Being able to add donors to a group or multiple groups by a SmartList means you can take all the people who "paid" for the 2006 Golf Classic and add them to a Golf Classic Participant group and a Golf Classic 2006 Participant group, creating opportunities to connect to former players as a whole or targeted as needed. Great flexibility! Finally, being able to change donor status by SmartList is a real winner. Now, if you want to use the status field to track active vs. inactive donors or membership classes, you have a tool that makes the job go very quickly...and because it is not "hardwired" you can decide when that status gets applied and to whom.

Pledge Management Enhancements. The addition of specific pledge fields for Pledge SmartLists and the Unfulfilled Pledge Report (Total Pledged, Amount Received, Outstanding Amount, Outstanding Payments, Next Payment Due Date and Next Payment Due Amount) means you can develop those critical campaign reporting tools that help you gather information on amounts received in gifts and pledge payments...and what is, as yet, outstanding.  Pledge History and Unfulfilled Pledges Reports will now be accessible from any Pledge SmartList. And the Letter Library received attention too with the addition of more pledge letter insert fields and a new Pledge Reminder letter template. Sweet.

Our developers added some additional fields that folks asked for, including Check Number, Payment Description (this covers In-Kind Gift Details), Job Title. These fields may appear in SmartLists, Mailings, Reports  and Exports. You can now create SmartLists from Mailing Lists, for example, opening the door to see if people receiving that expensive annual report are actually donating and to what degree. The Country field is now available for donation and pledge SmartLists. More specifics about what apears where is available in our Help Center's Knowledge Base, just search for "Free Update". 

These enhancements can make your work easier, your efforts more effective...(end drumroll, add cymbal splash) and will open the doors to even more creative uses of GiftWorks.  What a great tool!

Pittsburgh Post Gazette Publishes My Opinion on Healthcare... April 19, 2007 By Steve Fafel

As the CEO of Mission Research, I don't get involved in political issues on behalf of the company very often. I have a ton of opinions on a wide variety of issues, but some of the only issues I feel it's appropriate for me to speak out on in my capacity as CEO are healthcare and sustainability.

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette published my opinion on single-payer healthcare, something I've actively advocated for since 2003. I truly believe it's in the best interest of Mission Research and our customers, it's best for business, it's best for nonprofits, it's best for families, and best for the economy.

And it's a moral imperative.

EXCERPT

"As a businessperson in the state's technology sector, I encourage other businesses to look seriously at SB 300 and to condemn the governor's costly, inadequate approach. You can either continue with ever-escalating health-care costs; inadequate insurance coverage; high insurance-company sales, marketing and executive spending; costly ER visits by the uninsured, and businesses relocating to states with better systems, or you can demand change."

Go to www.helpfundpa.org and donate to fuel the advocacy effort, and read the bill itself. The work they are doing there is really great, and the bill will be introduced soon. This can be a greta model for the rest of the country, and is to date the best plan in the country (I've read them all, and yes, it's not fun reading this stuff!).

Thanks for listening and tolerating the occasional opinion. So do you have health insurance?

Board Building April 9, 2007 By RussBurke

I love sharing GiftWorks with prospective and new customers.  Genuinely enthused with what this product can do makes that sharing a delight for me.  I always show how groups function in GiftWorks.  One example is always described because--duh--it sits near the top of my alphabetized groups list.

That example is Board Member.  Yep, I track current Board Members, Former Board Members and Potential Board Members.  Having these groups in GiftWorks, of course, makes each cohort easy to track, report on and cultivate.

Tracking current and former board members seems a no-brainer.  But I am constantly surprised to hear how many nonprofits have no plan, no intentionality, no effort given to the cultivation of former board members.   People who have been intimately engaged and truly care about your mission are a deep resource.   Normally, they just don't stop suddenly caring when terms end.  Cultivation can range from informal Board breakfasts to special recognition at any public event to the occasional one-on-one get-togethers to share perspectives.  It doesn't have to be complicated or expensive, just genuine.  Inside every former board member is a planned giving prospect and they should be cultivated like one. 

Likewise, it is just as important to track, report on and cultivate prospective board members.  This, for any organization, should be an ongoing function of leadership and Board.  It takes some planning and vision but the results are well worth the investment.  I once worked for an organization that did a great job of cultivating prospective board members.  The planning was conducted at the highest levels with significant staff input.  The cultivation timeline was a minimum of three years!

The benefits of such attention to prospective board members played out at every stage.  New board members were prepared, informed, engaged and empowered.  Those three years were given to building a common ground of understanding of the mission, the environment, "corporate culture" and the expectations of commitment.  No surprises benefit everyone involved.

Planning for the cultivation of prospective board members is a great investment.  Just ask one.

A New Tool for You April 2, 2007 By RussBurke

Recently our updated website went live, sprucing up our presentation.  It looks great! 

One of the changes added was our new Knowledge Base.  The format is still evolving.  Our commitment is to keep growing and refining the content so that it becomes an ever better resource for you.

Traditionally, software knowledge bases answer questions about basic how-to's, installation set-up, error conditions, features use and so on.  We certainly encourage you to think of it as your primary "go-to" for answers to your GiftWorks user questions.  But we want to do more.

We want the GiftWorks Knowledge Base to be filled with value-added.  It should and can be more than just answers.  We want you to have a place to go to get good ideas about setting up your GiftWorks to manage projects, activities and processes in ways that further your mission and honor your culture.  So already there are several Knowledge Base articles that speak to GiftWorks customization and integrating processes, like managing fundraising teams, major prospect management, and scholarship and sponsorship tracking.

Sure, we can do more...and we will.  Just let me know the kinds of subject matters that will help you.  In the meantime, take a look at what we got so far.  Just click Knowledge Base.