Successful Nonprofits Podcast

As an executive search and transition consultant specializing in C-level nonprofit executives, Kevin Chase gives us a unique view of the search process. When I first booked Kevin for the podcast, I thought the conversation would be a great resource for nonprofits that might be seeking an executive director or development director. Once our conversation unfolded, however, I realized that this conversation was essential listening for those seeking executive level positions and those who aspire to be an executive director one day. For the prospective candidate, Kevin shares incredible advice on interviewing, providing references, and being authentic throughout the process.

* * * This episode contains explicit content * * * From a very young age, we are taught to fear failure. We might watch the disappointment in our parents’ faces when bringing home a low grade on a test in elementary school; experience the scorn of our peers when missing a shot in a big game during high school; and feel a dire sense of dread when our first boss tells us about something we did wrong. As a result, we learn to hide our failures in hopes that the world will never know that we messed up. But loss and failure – those moments we “fuckup” – teach us so much more than success ever does. As the late Pat Conroy said in his book My Losing Season “Loss is a fiercer, more uncompromising teacher, coldhearted, but clear-eyed in its understand that life is more dilemma than game, and more trial than free pass. . . . Though I learned some things from the games we won that year, I learned much, much more from loss.” In this featured conversation, we discussed: • The origin of FuckUp Nights • Why they brought it to Atlanta • The importance of an environment supportive of failure • Why high-profile speakers choose to publicly share their mistakes and what benefit they get from it • Future FuckUp Nights planned for Atlanta

Featured Conversation with Harry A. Freedman Harry Freedman has an extraordinary 40+ year career of producing and evaluating successful special events. During this time, Freedman was the driving force behind raising an estimated $20 million in the more than 250 big events he produced. There are few people on this planet with as much special event experience and expertise. Freedman, who is the author of the special events resource guide Black Tie Optional and the founder of Strategic Fundraising Initiatives, shared his insights for creating profitable and fun events. Our conversation included Tips for small organizations who want to produce a large events The three most important considerations for planning an event Common mistakes that organizations make with regard to budget, staffing/volunteers, and sponsors/underwriters Alternatives to doing a traditional special event. Links: Strategic Fundraising Initiatives: www.therightevent.org Black Tie Optional (book by Harry A. Freedman): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471703338/ref=s9_asin_image_1/102-0304323-8977743?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0G4VH3ERFQFHZGCJNXPT&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=288448501&pf_rd_i=507846 Harry A. Freedman’s Contact Information Email: haf4biz@aol.com Phone: 215-837-3007 Event Checklist: http://www.therightevent.org/ChronicleEventChecklist-07-16-2015.pdf Slide Presentation by Harry A. Freedman, Special Events During These Difficult Times: https://www.dropbox.com/s/j5ompyjui0fdl06/Harry%20Freedman%20Fundraising%20Summit%202015%20PowerPoint%20-HAF.pptx?dl=0 Article of the Week Denise Spivak For profit executive compensation can be controversial, but it’s significantly more controversial in the nonprofit sector. For this reason, we discussed Joan Garry’s article “Is It Okay for Nonprofit Leaders to Make Big Salaries”. We discussed “salary angst”, executive director contracts, compensation, and the “culture of can’t”, as well as ways that small nonprofits can address each of these. Links: Is It Okay For Nonprofit Leaders to Make Big Salaries by Joan Garry www.joangarry.com/nonprofit-salaries/?utm_source=JG+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1471d1f1f9-leader-salaries-20160713&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_40a7094ef4-1471d1f1f9-68655561

The Power of a Good Banker with Ashley Carson (Episode 9) Featured Conversation with Ashley Carson A strong and productive banking relationship is as important to your nonprofit organization as its relationships with funders and community leaders. Your bank can help smooth cash-flow with a line of credit; open doors for you to prospective major donors, partners; provide forecasting tools; serve as a business advisor; and even so much more. This week’s Featured Conversation with Ashley Carson will help us learn how to build a strong banking relationship. Specifically, we discussed: The difference between having a bank and having a banker Signs that you have a strong relationship with your banker How to tap into your banker’s network Benefits of banking with local banks When you know it’s time to talk to other bankers Links: Atlantic Capital Bank: http://atlanticcapitalbank.com/ Ashley Carson’s Contact Information: 404-995-6214 ashley.carson@atlcapbank.com Article of the Week Denise Spivak Denise Spivak of CenterLink joins us again for The Article of the Week. She’s sharing a great article by Pamela Barden titled Making It “All About Me” from the NonprofitPro website. The article is about being donor focused instead of treating our donors like human ATMs. Denise and I discuss the broader implications of being more donor focused. Links: Making It “All About Me” by Pamela Barden: http://www.nonprofitpro.com/post/making-it-all-about-me/#utm_source=nonprofit-pro-today&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2016-07-07&utm_content=making+it+%27all+about+me%27-2

Featured Conversation with Chris Haley We had an amazing conversation with extraordinary development professional Chris Haley! Chris’ impressive fundraising bio includes significant major donor cultivation and solicitation in several large U.S. cities. In the 40-minute interview, Chris guides us through the major gift process of Identification Qualification Cultivation Solicitation Stewardship In explaining each of these steps of the major gift process, he also offers helpful hints and tips such as, The “Three A’s” of qualifying a prospective major donor The number of prospects you need for every major gift you receive The impact that Dunbar’s Number has on building relationships with donors Substitutional ways a major donor can give Want to know more? You’ll have to listen to our Featured Conversation with Chris Haley. Article of the Week Denise Spivak In her role as its Senior Director of Programs and Outreach with CenterLink, Denise Spivak is constantly on the lookout for ideas and resources for the more than 150 LGBT centers across the country that CenterLink serves. We were fortunate to have her share one of these articles with us: The Seven Tips to Create an Amazing Donor Cultivation Tour. Denise shared some of the ways their member organizations have used donor cultivation tours, and Dolph talked about an incredible donor cultivation tour he participated in while in Dehli, India (at an organization called Salaam Balaak Trust). Links: Gail Perry Article: The Seven Tips to Create an Amazing Donor Cultivation Tour: http://www.gailperry.com/7-tips-createl-donor-cultivation-tour/?inf_contact_key=52c444b419d696963d8b5276b8e72feedd124bb1a107a77050d2d7483243ab2f Information on the Salaam Baalak Trust tour: http://www.salaambaalaktrust.com/city-walks.html

Many people would rather be doused by a bucket of ice water than talk about HR regulations, but there’s an upcoming change to the overtime rules that will impact many nonprofit organizations. This Episode Includes a Featured Conversation with Gary Wheeler, a nationally renowned HR expert. Gary shares information about upcoming changes to overtime rules and how they may impact nonprofits across the country. Links: • Virtual HR Director: o Web: http://www.thevirtualhrdirector.com/ • Gary Wheeler’s Contact Information: o Email: gary@thevirtualhrdirector.com o Phone: 678-997-0017 Article of the Week The New Yorker magazine opinion piece titled “Philanthropic Fads” by James Surowiecki does a great job of assessing the long-term impact of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Do you remember when the ice bucket challenge went viral back in 2014? According to the ALS Association, over 17 million people uploaded their ice bucket challenge videos. You probably recall seeing new videos appear in your facebook feed every day. From your old high school friends, your organization’s CEO, and Hollywood’s biggest stars. You may have even taken the challenge yourself. In just a six-week period, that first challenge unexpectedly flooded the ALS Association with over $115 million in donations. At the time the organization’s annual budget was only about $20 million, so this was a huge boost. When the challenge went viral, many nonprofit leaders found fault with it. This great article addresses many of the criticisms by describing what actually happened in the two years since the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral. Links: • Philanthropic Fads in The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/als-and-the-ice-bucket-challenge • ALS Ice Bucket Challenge infographic: http://www.alsa.org/assets/images/ibc/ibc-steward-graphic.pdf • Dolph’s favorite ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with Patrick Stewart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty6-Ug1wk-0

Nonprofit Mergers: A more perfect union For decades, the nonprofit sector has sought cost savings and a better continuum of care through the strategic merge of two or more organizations. Some well known mergers have been phenomenally successful, while others feel like Absolute blunders. Our featured conversation this week is with Erik Speakman, a partnership and merge specialist who has successfully led facilitated many successful mergers. In our conversation we discuss: • How to know whether two organizations might be good partners • What are the costs associated with merging (and who funds them) • Why mergers driven entirely by funders are often less successful • The importance of due diligence that goes beyond just programs and financials to include organizational values and culture • The danger of merging without first developing a true partnership • The importance of relationships throughout the process • Consolidating two CEOs, boards, staff, and locations • Other pitfalls that sabotage organizations with an interest in merging Links: • Speakman Consulting: o Web: http://www.speakmanconsulting.com/ o Phone: 404-936-1211 • Nonprofit Mergers by David La Piana: https://www.amazon.com/Nonprofit-Mergers-Part-Considering-Negotiating/dp/0940069725/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470066873&sr=1-2&keywords=la+piana Article of the Week Denise Spivak, the Senior Director of Programs and Outreach with CenterLink, introduced us to the NonprofitPro website with this week’s Article of the Week: 6 Steps to Volunteer Happiness by Katrina VanHuss. Happy volunteers make great ambassadors and supporters for an organization, and this article helps us understand how to recruit, engage, and retain truly happy volunteers. Links: • 6 Steps to Volunteer Happiness: http://www.nonprofitpro.com/post/6-steps-volunteer-happiness-low-price • Volunteer Management Practices and Retention by the Urban Institute: http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/Management_Brief.pdf • CenterLInk: www.lgbtcenters.org

Revoked! Protect Your Tax-Exempt Status Atlanta area accountant Anthony Sampson joins us for today’s podcast to talk about automatic revocation of tax-exempt status. Earlier this year, I met with the board of a small nonprofit organization, and a board member indicated that they were “too small to have to file an IRS form 990 of any sort”. My warning antenna shot up, and I suggested they were probably required to file one. Of course, I was clear that I am not a CPA or qualified to provide tax advice, so I offered to connect them with a a local accounting firm that works with a number of nonprofits. After making the introduction, I did a little bit of research and was shocked at what I found out. In calendar year 2015, the IRS revoked the federal tax-exempt status of more than 41,500 nonprofit organizations that failed to file a Form 990 for three consecutive years. That’s just the tip of the iceberg: the IRS has revoked the tax-exempt status of over 635,000 nonprofit organizations since implementing this rule in 2010. With only about 1.8 million nonprofits in the nation, about a third of all nonprofits have been subject to revocation. Scanning the names and locations of those with revoked tax exempt status, the list represents a diverse group of nonprofits, including ministries, associations, fraternities, volunteer fire departments, sports clubs, social service providers, arts organizations, PTA’s, and more. After learning these jarring statistics, I knew it was essential that accountant Anthony Sampson join us for the featured conversation. Links: • IRS: www.irs.gov • Anthony Sampson’s Contact Information: sampson.anthony2012@gmail.com 770-900-0410 Article of the Week: Get Intersectional Leanne Rubenstein, Executive Director of Compassionate Atlanta, joined us for the Article of the Week by Kristin Moe: Get Intersectional: Why you can’t go it alone in Yes Magazine. This article on intersectionality applies to nearly every organization. Whether an art museum, a homeless shelter, an educational institution, or a civil rights organization, we can all get a little more intersectional. Links: • Yes Magazine: Get intersectional Why you can’t go it alone http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/get-intersectional-why-your-movement-can-t-go-it-alone • Compassionate Atlanta: http://www.compassionateatl.com/

Getting More Grants with Laurie Nichols The featured conversation today is with Laurie Grant Nichols. As her middle name would suggest, she is indeed an expert on grants and shares insights into the foundation cultivation and grant writing process. Whether you are a newer nonprofit trying to get grant ready, or a larger organization that could fine tune its foundation cultivation, this may be the most valuable conversation you hear all week. You will learn about: • Getting your organization grant ready • Using online foundation directories • Cultivating foundations to get more grant proposals funded • Outsourcing your grant writing (pros and cons) • Following up after a foundation declines your request Links: • Capitol Results, LLC: https://www.facebook.com/CapitalResultsLLC • Grant Station: www.grantstation.com • The State of Grantseeking Report: http://grantstation-trendtrack.com/state-of-grantseeking/spring-2016-state-grantseeking-0 Article of the Week Marvin Webb shared the article of the week: How to be Your Own Executive Assistant in Three Easy Steps from the Zen Habits website. The article is no longer available at that website, but channel a bit of Zen and check them out: www.zenhabits.net Once upon a simpler time, you received mail once a day delivered inside little paper envelopes, you had only one work phone, a receptionist took messages and made excuses for you, and, if you were a senior manager, you had an assistant. If you rely on a watch to tell you the time, you remember that simpler era. Today, however, we get e-mail throughout the day, have multiple phone numbers, text and messenger apps, and, bizarre as it seems, we are surrounded by more paper than ever before. Isn’t it ironic that our work lives are more complicated than ever before but we don’t have a dedicated person to help us sort through the clutter. Links: • Bamboo HR: www.bamboohr.com • Survey Monkey: www.surveymonkey.com • Doodle scheduling app: www.doodle.com • Expensify app (Expense tracking): www.expensify.com • Genius Scan (PDF Scanner for your phone): http://thegrizzlylabs.com/

Measuring Outcomes with Khurram Hassan Big data. Small data. Sometimes no data. For something so important, we often don’t know enough about how to collect and analyze our organization’s most important outcome measures. For this reason, I sat down with data guru Khurram Hassan who provides strategic planning, evaluation, and program design consulting to nonprofits, foundations, and governments. During this conversation we discussed: • Reasons for collecting and analyzing evaluation data • Determining the right information to collect • Collecting data without burdening staff • Logic models • Resources for nonprofits interested in evaluation design Links: Khurram Hassan’s consulting website: http://www.advantageconsultingllc.com/ Kellogg Evaluation Handbook: https://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2010/w-k-kellogg-foundation-evaluation-handbook University of Wisconsin publication “Enhancing Program Performance with Logic Models”: https://fyi.uwex.edu/programdevelopment/files/2016/03/lmcourseall.pdf University of Wisconsin publication “Developing a Logic Model: Teaching and training guide”: https://fyi.uwex.edu/programdevelopment/files/2016/03/lmguidecomplete.pdf Article of the Week I flew solo for the article of the week: Putting Your Major Donors to Work Can Help You Raise More Money by author Joe Garecth of The Fundraising Authority blog. With almost two decades of fundraising experience, I have learned first hand the importance of getting donors meaningfully involved. Garecht offers some excellent ideas for engaging major donors as volunteers, and I suggested using Story Corps as an additional opportunity to recognize and highlight your donors. Article of the week: http://www.thefundraisingauthority.com/donor-cultivation/major-donors-work/ https://storycorps.org/

Featured Conversation with Clarence Patton Many nonprofits are seeking opportunities to create more inclusive and diverse boards and staff, and Clarence Patton is an expert in this area. He serves as the Director of the LGBT Pipeline Project and its Pipeline Consulting affiliate program. We discussed: The difference between being diverse and being inclusive. Signs that an organization is ready to begin the work of becoming more inclusive. Tools that organizations can use to begin a self-assessment. The process Pipeline Consulting and Pipeline Project use to help organizations become more welcoming and inclusive. Whether board give/get requirements are an impediment to creating diverse boards. ​​ You can find more information about Clarence Patton & LGBT Pipeline Project: http://lgbtpipeline.org/ http://pipelineconsulting.org/ ​ Article of the Week With Leanne Rubenstein Leanne Rubenstein, Executive Director of Compassionate Atlanta and a Consultant with The Goldenburg Group, presents the article of the week: A Day in the Life of an Executive Director by Joan Garry. We discussed how this article accurately depicted life as an executive director: starting your day early, ending it late, having lots of meetings, and experiencing both emotional highs and lows. The article also drives home the importance of self-care for executive directors, as well as a commitment to continued growth and change.

Featured Conversation With Gary Hines It seems many workers in the for profit sector spend their days dreaming about being a social worker, running a homeless shelter, or being the artistic director at a nonprofit theater. During my nearly 25 years in the nonprofit sector, hundreds of people have wistfully told me they would love to transition from the for profit sector to the nonprofit sector. Since so many people have shared this dream with me, this first episode includes a featured conversation with career coach Gary Hines. Gary will share deep insights for anyone thinking about a major career shift (even for those already working in the nonprofit sector). Gary discusses: Recognizing skill sets that transfer between sectors Managing common speed bumps in the transition Understanding the benefits of coaching for people in career transitions ​​ Gary Hines' contact information is below: www.garyhinesconsulting.com gary@garyhinesconsulting.com 215-264-6847 Article of the Week With Marvin Webb Marvin Webb, Chief Operating Officer at Funders for LGBTQ Issues, presents the article of the week: An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization. We discuss how strengthening employees also strengthens your organization. We also learn about an innovative staff development practice at Marvin's organization that provides each employee with a self-directed personal development fund. Staff have used it to attend workshops, take up yoga, and even participate in a metal working class. Be sure to listen to this segment to find out how self-directed personal development works at his organization.