Mark Hougardy's Portfolio
Recently, a friend approached and asked if I had any suggestions for KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that could be used at their international language school’s nonprofit. They were uncertain as to what key data should be reported on during their Board meetings. This is by no means a complete list, but this was a proposed ‘starting point’ for them. Below are 15 proposed KPIs. I hope you might this useful in your organization.
It is said that around 80% of your nonprofit’s revenue comes from just 20% of donors. Locating these major donors, and securing their gifts is often an easier task to say than doing. A major gift is large in comparison to the majority of gifts your organization receives. Before you begin, you need a complete picture of the current donors in your database and then research who can help you with your mission. For that research, here are some resources to help with the process of soliciting a major donor, their characteristics, and motives.
Too often at nonprofits, the person in charge of Development and Fundraising gets charged with doing everything from processing donations, to managing bank accounts, to reporting. This is a problem waiting for an opportunity. One individual should never be allowed to complete a financial transaction by themselves. Having others verify transactions is good for the staff, is ethical for your organization, and it gives donors the peace of mind that processes are in place so their gift is being used effectively.
Start by identifying the stakeholders in the financial process, and then their primary roles. Everyone should have some insight into what the other is doing. Also, make sure there is a touch-base event where the stakeholders can meet to reconcile any paperwork or actions.
In every nonprofit where I have volunteered with or worked, the same question arises at board meetings: What documentation does a new board member need? The result is often haphazard and the board member rarely receives what they need to feel valued or be successful.
I propose a Welcome Letter that contains links to the key organizational documents. The letter should be “owned” by the Governance Committee (if there is one), even if a staff member is the one who sends it.
The letter should contain links to the following:
Administrative Documents (to Read, Sign, and Return)
Core Documents to Review:
Additional:
A Board Skills Matrix provides an easy-to-use structure to guide decisions in crafting your board’s composition to fit the nonprofit’s needs. This is an essential tool to help build succession plans for recruiting new board members.
Below is an example of a wildlife conservation organization that works internationally with different governments, NGOs, and international donors. The board scored highest in the Natural Sciences (Biology) and Nonprofit Management, while it falls short in knowledge related to Marketing, Legal matters, and HR.
To create a Board Skills Matrix:
A). Identify the skills and knowledge domains needed to succeed.
B). List the experience of the board members qualitatively as Strong, Low, and No experience.
C). Assign a quantitative value to the qualitative descriptive data, such as 2=Strong, 1-Low experience, and 0=No experience.
D. Sort the scores to identify areas where your board needs to focus its resources in recruiting new members. In this case, a score under 10 reveals a scarcity of knowledge in your organization. A score of 5 and below shows an absence of knowledge.
New Board Members are excited to contribute to a mission they are passionate about!
Too often though, they join a Board and then wonder how best to contribute. An Onboarding Plan will help new board members better understand their roles and responsibilities, and give them valuable insight into how the organization is structured. In short, they will have all the resources they need to be successful.
Here is a simple plan that can be created to fit onto one page and cover knowledge areas from coming on board to 90 days out. This was created from a nonprofit management course I attended at Oregon State University.
Sharing the story of your nonprofit is critical work.
Storefronts are often the front line of this work as they blend: revenue generation, outreach, and interpretation.
These stores can be critical funding sources for friends-of-the-park groups, zoos, museums, education travel organizations, nature centers, aquaria, botanical gardens, conservation organizations, cultural museums, and historical sites. The products sold must be meaningful and relevant to support the mission, support fundraising goals, and allow for emotional and intellectual connections. This is done by strengthening park store products through interpretation.
Here are six principles of interpretation developed by Freeman Tilden and re-stated by Larry Beck and Ted Cable in their book, “The Gift of Interpretation.” I’ve mapped their principles to questions for you to ask if a product is appropriate for your audience/store.
To learn more about Interpretation visit the National Association for Interpretation online, www.interpnet.com.
Article originally published June 2014; updated November 2020.
Prospective employees are a nonprofit’s most important potential donors. Why? This group is not just enthusiastic about the organization’s mission – they want to see that mission succeed by wanting to commit to their future to your mission. Dismiss them –or treat them as commodities– at your peril. Applicants to a job understand they might not be selected, but they do want their time and efforts acknowledged positively and respectfully.
Here are 2 simple steps that can help –
Respect the Applicant’s Time on the Front End of the Hiring Process
Set expectations that you respect an applicant’s time upfront. Provide information about how long the effort might take and when you plan on making a hiring decision. If the hiring manager, or hiring team, is unable to respond to each applicant, say that. Doing so shows professionalism and allows the job seeker to move on after a specific date. Here’s some suggested text to use on your website or in the job description:
“We anticipate a high number of applicants for this position, and we will not be able to respond to each application. We will be contacting first-round applicants the week of [date] to conduct initial phone/zoom interviews. We understand that your time is important, and we thank everyone for their hard work in applying.”
If the position will be open for an extended time, say that too. If the hiring process will take 6 months, also say that. A little information goes a long way for all involved.
Respect Their Effort on the Back End of the Hiring Process
Not everyone who applies for a job gets the position, and communicating bad news to several people can be very awkward. How can this be handled well? Here is a classy response to a ‘you’re not hired’ situation; it respects the job seeker’s effort while being empathetic. Responding to applicants with an email might cost your organization 1 hour, but what might you get from these people in the long term? I came across this classy response several years ago; edit it as needed for your organization
Good afternoon.
I greatly appreciate your interest in private lands conservation and the [Name of Organization] in particular. Including yours, we received [# of applications] very strong applications for the [Name of Position]. Unfortunately, our hiring team has not included your application in the next round of consideration.
I apologize for the anonymity of the response; in the past, I have always tried to contact each applicant with this news directly, but the good fortune of having many applicants makes that logistically difficult for me this time around.
Hopefully, the quick turnaround on the outcome is at least some consolation. From experience I know that it is very trying to be left hanging about a position, wondering for a long time about the hiring process.
I hope you will continue to pursue career opportunities that further the protection of clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, and special lands; no shortage of work to be done along those lines.
Thanks again for your time, the effort you put into your application, and your interest in the work of the [Name of Organization].
Best wishes,
[First Name of Executive Director]
This empathetic response leaves the door open for a future relationship by acknowledging the applicant’s time and efforts. It also shows that your organization is run by professional humans who care about the nonprofit mission and potential future donor relationships (hint: that’s one reason why it’s called Development)
Job seekers want to work for your organization and help your mission succeed. What better group of potential donors is there? Don’t undervalue this great audience. Always communicate effectively, if possible, always show empathy and appreciate their time.
When I ask wildlife conservation organizations how they measure the success of their events, I want to hear the numbers. I generally hear that the events were “OK,” or “well attended.” I find this frightening because the organization is spending both time and money, which they cannot justify.
How do they know if their outreach and advocacy had any impact?
For a start, buy a low-cost crowd-clicker (aka a tally counter).
As an example, last year, I volunteered at an annual festival for an arboretum. Attending were 4,000 people who were ecologically minded and happy to be outside. This was a target-rich audience for the sponsor and the other conservation nonprofits that were onsite. Of the 12 nonprofits, I asked about how many people had stopped by their booths; 11 booths had no clue, though some of those groups did have an email sign-up form.
One booth gave me a great answer:
“284 visited the booth,
63 signed-up for the email,
Great conversations with 24 who wanted to come to future events; half of those half wanted information about next month’s meeting,
8 wanted more information about volunteering.”
The organization can use the data as a baseline for next year’s event. The secret for knowing the 284 count was that the staff used a crowd-clicker, and diligently documented the rest. At the end of the day had reached out to a total of 400 people; that is 10% of the event’s attendance!
Do your organization a favor, and get a crowd clicker. Start measuring your events.
Nonprofit organizations often encounter a “drifting” with their messaging over time. Their imagery, colors, and fonts can appear differently across different media as new people come to start and leave, volunteer, change, etc. This “drift” confuses your supporters and donors who want your organization to stay on message.
To avoid this, use Identity Guidelines (also known as a “Style Guide”) to stay on message. Identity Guidelines are the design elements that serve as your organization’s visual signature, this can include: graphics, colors, and typography.
Creating such a document is often a time-consuming endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. Use my free example to help your organization stay on target with your visual signature.
Thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity to introduce the turkeys of nonprofit development. These are ideas frequently held by small organizations about raising money that could be considered “bird-brained.”
When I started helping nonprofits with their development work, I was surprised at how many on the Board and the staff became uncomfortable when “the ask” was mentioned.
I understood the frustration but needed to know more about the source of their angst. When I inquired about why the subject of fundraising was viewed as a negative, these same three reasons appeared:
I understood the angst, but these reasons were turkeys: ideas incongruous with the mission of the organization. Here are 3 non-turkey interpretations of these 3 concerns:
One final thought: we have all heard that donations do not grow on trees. True. Donations are not easy to come by, donors must understand (with an emotional connection) and realize that your organization’s work has meaning – to think otherwise would be a turkey. Happy Thanksgiving
Halloween is a great time to write about the bogeymen of nonprofit development. At first, these gremlins might appear harmless annoyances, but if allowed to become bogeymen, they can scare away donors and kill your nonprofit. What are these three bogeymen, and how can they be exorcized?
Bogeyman #1: Stopping New Leads
The first bogeyman thrives when you stop developing new leads.
New leads must flow into your nonprofit to grow support, expand your donor base, and replace former members who did not renew. This flow of leads must be continual for your organization to remain vibrant. When an organization diminishes lead generation activities, it allows this bogeyman to reside at your nonprofit; without new leads, programs will atrophy, community involvement will atrophy, and the mission will starve. Exorcize this fury before it makes a home! Always have a development and marketing plan that is forward-facing, engaging, and will bring in high-quality leads.
Bogeyman #2: Trivializing Your Donors
The second bogeyman reveals itself when donors (and potential donors) are trivialized by development staff.
Recently, the Development Director of an environmental nonprofit mentioned her organization was not attending a celebrated annual community event because “it always had the same people, and they would just be preaching to the choir.” I was momentarily stunned because she was missing a superb low-hanging fruit moment for engaging with donors and nurturing future members. This nonprofit had a bogeyman!
The occasion was a community favorite that had an attendance of over 3,500 people each year. It had a well-attended history dating back over three decades. The audience was passionate about environmental issues and in line with the nonprofit’s mission. The event cost nothing for the nonprofit and offered direct contact with individuals from ages 1 to 100, with attendance weighted toward retired folks. The only investment for this organization was setting up a tabletop display, 8 hours from a staff member or volunteers, and any communications they chose to send. This was a low-investment, high-engagement opportunity to interact with a receptive audience and nurture future donors/members.
At the end of the day, the nonprofit had passed up an opportunity to shake hands with 350 individuals, with half being new leads who signed up for an e-newsletter Plus, there were two dozen new volunteer signups. (As reported by the nonprofit who was able to use their space).
When your donors are “cheapened” they open the door to a bogeyman that will create havoc and confusion within your organization. Exorcize this nightmare by not just working for your mission; but working toward your mission, being involved in what your supporters are interested in, and being a part of their life experiences.
Bogeyman #3: Being Unresponsive
A third bogeyman appears when nonprofits are unresponsive.
If a prospective donor inquires about participating in your nonprofit, you should answer, right? Sadly, many organizations do not respond. Just from my own experiences, I have been frequently disappointed by unresponsive nonprofits. I “get it” that people are overworked, which is why I encourage fundraisers to create an FAQ page that answers the most common questions that prospective donors have
When an organization is unresponsive, it communicates to the donor (or prospective donor) that they are not crucial to the organization’s mission. What is frightening is that the bogeyman does not just move into your office – it moves into the individual’s mind and affects the perception of your nonprofit. When that person wants to write a check to help a good cause, they think of your non-responsive nonprofit, then they’ll write a check to your competitor.
Exorcize these phantasms by keeping the flow of leads open, being engaged with your audience, and always being responsive to people who are interested in your mission.
Your organization’s outreach and communications should be treated like gold.
Everything that your organization produces: brochures, fliers, fact sheets, signage, trade show booth layouts, newsletters, volunteer materials, signage, web content, graphics, emails, and even social media messaging has the ability to:
All of your outreach and communications are valuable assets that need to be protected and organized. Sadly, many good organizations do not manage their assets proactively.
Let me say, “I get it.” I completely understand; when the office is busy, the phone is ringing, and there are multiple interruptions the various revisions, edits, changes, and updates to the project you are working on can get the better of you. It is easy for well-intentioned work to become a chaotic mess.
There is an easier way…
Below is the structure I use for keeping design projects organized.
First, structure all of the brochures, factsheets, fliers etc. into Collateral folders. This makes organizing all of the various projects easier to manage. Collateral is a catchall term for items the public will see.
Then list by Project, in this case, let’s look at the “Flier 2014 Big Event.”
The highest within the “Flier 2014 Big Event” directory is the _Inputs folder; this includes all of the requirements for the project. Note the “_” underscore, to have this folder automatically appear at the top of your alphabetized folder tree add an underscore before the name. This helps a great deal in keeping folders organized into a logical flow.
Next is the Assets folder. This holds all of the images and any related design elements.
The Business folder is all of the proposals, pricing info, quotes, and schedules that you might need to reference quickly.
The Design folder is where I house the graphics files and their revisions. In the example are 3 Adobe Illustrator (AI) files, after the name is the date 140528 (2014, May 28) and there were 3 versions, with #3 being the most recent. I display the date with the year first, a numeric month, then a numeric day because after several months/years of collecting files, this is an easy way to view what is most current. The notes.txt file is one of the most powerful files in your design arsenal because you can document important changes, and include notes about why something was done, or who might have requested a big change.
The Production folder contains the final, print-ready files of your work. Label the final version with the completion date and the word “final”. If the project is going to a professional printer I also include a readme.txt file that includes information the printer will find helpful.
NOTE: You do not need to display the date as I have, include hyphens, or keep the file names in the lower text; this is my personal style – do what works best for you. What is important is that you are consistent with how you name and organize your work so that it can be an asset for your organization. I hope this helps.
Imagine that you are in the desert. You are visiting this hot and dry place to spend some time in nature, let your mind center, and hopefully obtain some clarity about improving your effectiveness as a development officer in your mission-based organization.
On the horizon, an apparition forms in the mid-day heat. As the shimmering merges and flows into itself, it begins to step out, then walks. The form now confidently strides in your direction. You see that this is a rough-looking guy. He stops about ten feet away, lowers his head, and slowly lights the end of a stubby cigar. He regards you from under the hat’s brim, his steely eyes flash. You know him from the movies, he is the Spirit of the West!
He spits on the ground.
It must be the heat or lack of water, for you know this is not a real person but a caricature of an actor. A shiver runs down your spine. A gnawing sensation in your gut wants you to run like a deer, while another part of you wants his autograph.
You put on your development officer’s hat and stand your ground before this phantom. You quickly size up the Spirit of the West, making a mental list of his tangible and intangible qualities:
| Tangibles | Intangibles |
|
|
The Spirit of the West speaks in a dusty voice: “How I connect with donors isn’t about finding tangibles; it’s about the intangibles! That’s my true face. Everyone tries to look tangible-badass out here in the Wild West, but badass is a commodity; the intangibles of what I do, that’s how I connect with donors.”
That gets you thinking. Too often, development officers and fundraisers only focus on the tangibles (the physical aspects) of their mission: the logo, design, layout, images, signage, content, website, the location of where an office will be located, etc.
Once again, the Spirit of the West speaks, “Donors connect with what’s authentic.”
A rattlesnake slides up to his boot. He spits, it lands inches from the snake’s head, and the snake retreats. He inhales, then exhales in a plume of smoke as he says, “So, got anything to say?”
You think about what he said, then reply, “Development often overlooks the intangibles, which is a donor’s need – authentic and meaningful experiences.”
The Spirit of the West chews on the stub of his cigar. He says one dusty word, “…Yeah,” then turns away. The wind swirls around his worn-looking poncho as it waves erratically in the wind. He walks towards the horizon and soon becomes an unrecognizable form, a shimmer, and then he is gone.
Sometimes development staff focuses only on their tangible assets: a logo, colors, typefaces, business cards, website, or flyers; but development is not just physical (the tangible) things. Development must include a passion for the mission, a positive attitude, enthusiasm, products that are authentic, engaging programs, and a belief in the mission. All of these things reinforce development.
It is time to leave the desert. As you return to your good cause, you think about how to weave together the tangible and intangible elements so your messaging will be meaningful. That is how a development officer survives –and thrives– within a harsh world.