Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Wendy Liscow, Program Officer

I have been attending the introductory workshops of the Dodge Foundation’s Board Leadership Series over the past several weeks, taking copious notes and itching to share tidbits of wisdom I am learning.  It would be impossible to capture everything covered in the six-hour workshops or to adequately describe the discoveries and paradigm shifts in thinking that can only come from participation.  Still, I am committed to sharing some of the basic “aha” moments.

Laura Otten, the Executive Director of the Nonprofit Center at La Salle University’s School of Business starts her Board Bootcamp workshop with a sobering statistic:  there are 43,697 nonprofit organizations in New Jersey.  At this point a hush descends over the group as they pause to take in the fact: “My organization is competing with 43,697 other nonprofits for funding, board members, clientele, and to have our message heard.”   That explains the reality nonprofits feel everyday and the constant push to find unique and effective ways to distinguish themselves amongst the crowd. The Board Leadership series is designed to help strengthen your greatest untapped asset in accomplishing this: your Board.

Laura Otten (and the Board training series) identifies a continuum of ways a Board can help differentiate the nonprofit organization it governs.  She began with the most basic thing that every single board member can do in their role as ambassador: she wants board members to go beyond the “elevator speech” and develop the “sideline speech.”  This is the speech board members need to have ready for parties, galas, and business functions or when they are on the sidelines of a soccer or football game and someone asks the inevitable question: “So what do you do?”

Ask yourself, “What percentage of your board answers that question with their employment history and then adds:  ‘AND I am a proud board member of a wonderful organization that does X, Y and Z and is important because of A, B and C.’?”   If you answered anything less than 100%, Laura contends, you are wasting a major asset.

But getting your board to talk about your organization is only half of the equation.  They also all need to be providing a consistent message.  Certainly each board member should and will have their personalized story of why they care about your organization, but at the end of the day, they all need to be telling the whole story of what makes your organization unique.

Board Presidents and Executive Directors: hear this clarion call and be sure that 100% of your board members are out in the world serving as your ambassador and have been given the proper tools to do it well.  It is a perfect use of board meeting time to work on this task, and it will not only yield a more engaged community, but a more invigorated and engaged board.

Also, consider attending one of the Dodge Foundation board leadership workshops that focus on other areas of governance:  Board Recruitment; Strategic Planning; Financial Management; Executive Director and Board relationship; Fundraising; and Succession Planning.  Then you will be the one bringing the learning back to your board  and colleagues.

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Wendy Liscow, Program Officer

I did it again.  I just spent an hour surfing the web.  My intention was to write a blog about some of my favorite technology and social media bloggers, and before I knew it, I was clicking from link, to link, to link, to link, to link, to link, to link. So beware: if you have any interest in learning about social media for non-profits you might find yourself on your own clicking spree.

Let’s start off with Beth Kanter who is one of the most popular bloggers on social media for non-profits. Her blog provides no nonsense information on everything from Facebook to Twitter to Flickr. She is curating the Nonprofit Technology Network’s (NTEN’s)  ”We Are Media: Nonprofit Social Media Starter Kit,” an online community of people from nonprofits who are interested in learning and teaching about how social media strategies and tools can enable nonprofit organizations to create, compile, and distribute their stories and change the world.

Check out Beth’s blog about Facebook’s New Fan Page, something that every nonprofit should investigate and decide if they want to implement.

Wild Apricot is a for-profit software company for small associations and non-profits. I haven’t checked out their software, but I have become a fan of their primary blogger Rebecca Leaman who writes on a wide range of technology topics. Check out these great posts:

Facebook Applications for Your Non-Profit
New Guide Helps Non-Profits Choose Donor Management System
What Makes a Successful Online Community
Social Media for Non-Profits:  26 Great Slideshare Presentations You Can Use

So, start clicking your way to understanding social media. But be forewarned, you are guaranteed to get “click happy.”

Photo: Vangelis Thanaidis

Michelle Knapik, Environment Program Director

Image title: Common Ground
Artists: Victor Raphael and Clayton Spada
This work is part of the Common Ground digital arts collection; all art in this series carries the theme of environmental stewardship.

It is not everyday that fifteen organizations representing housing, environmental, planning and transportation sectors within New Jersey come together to talk about intersecting values, let alone craft, and agree to a set of principles that seek to guide policy and project decision making. (more…)

Wendy Liscow, Program Officer

Imagine we are in a classroom together.  I am the teacher and I ask you to please raise your hand if you can explain what I mean by the following statement:  “The notes were sour because the seams were split.”

Silence reigns.  No hands wave in the air. Not even a timid hand halfway in the air. You start to feel sweat on your brow. (more…)

Wendy Liscow, Program Officer

We spend a great deal of time at Dodge thinking about ways, beyond sending a grant check, to build the administrative and board capacity of our grantees. When a large number of our grantees are struggling with a particular issue, we try to bring in some experts to provide some answers.

This past year we hosted an extended series of workshops to help our grantees strengthen their board governance. It has been an exhilarating ride, and we plan to use the Dodge Blog as a way to share some of the insights of our terrific workshop leaders as well as to share support materials we have gathered along the way. We kick off our conversation with a salute to today’s looming tax filing deadline!

If you have dreaded filling out the Form 990 for the IRS in the past, you might find yourself wanting to run for the hills when you learn what is required in the new and improved 990. The IRS is now asking a host of questions about your nonprofit board and governance practices.

(more…)