Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

Back by Popular Demand! Turning Economic Crisis Into Opportunity: How Nonprofits Can Survive and Emerge Stronger

With more than one year of economic recession behind us, now is the time for your organization to take the necessary steps to strengthen its financial health and operate outside of "crisis mode." Our new, four-part webinar training series can help, Turning Economic Crisis into Opportunity: How Nonprofits Can Survive and Emerge Stronger.

By understanding and strengthening your current financial health, you'll be prepared to make the most of economic recovery and secure your long-term sustainability. In addition, you'll develop skills for adapting to any economic climate.

Click any title to get details and register.

Assessing Your Nonprofit's Financial Health, Tuesday, December 1

Survival Strategies for Your Nonprofit, Thursday, December 3

Strengthening Your Nonprofit's Income Portfolio, Tuesday, December 8

Beyond the Recession: Building Sustainability, Thursday, December 10

Registration fee: $45 for each session.

Special offer!
Register by November 30 for the complete four-part series for only $135.
YOU SAVE $45! Get four webinars for the price of three.

New Edition! The 21st Century Nonprofit

This November, the Foundation Center is offering free shipping on our new edition of The 21st Century Nonprofit when you order online.

The second edition of this popular title explores the increasing emphasis on nonprofit governance, including accountability, transparency, and responsibility.

Revised chapters contain updated information on strategic and operational issues, such as long-term planning, marketing, and earned income. The new edition also provides a special discussion of the strategic issues facing nonprofits during times of recession and severe economic downturn.

Visit the Marketplace section of our web site for more information on this essential title or to view the table of contents for the publication. The 21st Century Nonprofit is available for just $39.95 with free shipping online this month. Order your copy today! >>

Stimulus Dollars Awarded in Toledo to Help Nonprofits

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur announced (Oct. 20, 2009) more than $700,000 in federal funds coming to Toledo. Toledo Community Foundation (TCF) and United Way of Greater Toledo were awarded $500,000 and $202,762, respectively, to strengthen nonprofits in the community. These grants will be administered through the Center for Nonprofit Resources (The Center), a collaboration between Toledo Community Foundation, United Way of Greater Toledo, and the Community Partnership.

Although each grant will help nonprofits in Toledo develop stronger organizations as well as the ability to access federal dollars each organization will do it in slightly different ways.

More than $350,000 of TCF’s grant will be awarded to local nonprofits through a competitive application process. They will also offer trainings and workshops, while United Way will employ a consultant available to provide education and training to agencies on-site.

For example, last year the Frederick Douglass Community Association was in danger of closing. Through a consultant provided by The Center, they were able to conduct a search for a qualified director, revamp many of their policies and procedures, begin aligning their finances, and, more importantly, continue providing vital services in their local neighborhood.

Through these federal grants, Toledo Community Foundation and United Way expect more of these success stories to develop as small nonprofits and faith-based organizations get more and better help.

New Edition of The 21st Century Nonprofit

The Foundation Center has recently published the second edition of The 21st Century Nonprofit,  expanding and updating the original work and detailing the significant improvements in management practice that have taken place in recent years.

This new edition discusses the growing emphasis on governance reform, with a focus on three main concepts: accountability, transparency, and responsibility. New sections examine the increasingly pivotal role of board members in governance, as well as the implications for executive directors and other professional staff. Revised chapters contain updated information on strategic and operational issues, such as long-term planning, marketing, and earned income. The new edition also provides a special discussion of the strategic issues facing nonprofits during times of recession and severe economic downturn.

The 21st Century Nonprofit is available for purchase online at the Marketplace section of our web site or at any of our five library/learning centers across the U.S. Order your copy today! >>

About the Author
Paul Firstenberg has had extensive experience in the philanthropic sector as an executive, trustee, advisor, author, and teacher. He has held leadership positions with Tulane University, Princeton University, Children's Television Workshop, and the Ford Foundation. Mr. Firstenberg currently lectures at the Baruch College School of Public Affairs.

Visit the Marketplace section of our web site for more information on this and other Foundation Center publications.

Pulse Check 3: How Are Nonprofits Doing?

As a follow-up to our earlier Pulse Check posts in March and July, here is another round-up of the latest surveys and studies indicating how the nonprofit sector is handling the effects of the recent economic downturn.

Glass Half Full or Half Empty? Results of GuideStar's Latest Nonprofit Economic Survey (August 2009)
GuideStar’s most recent nonprofit economic survey takes a look at the financial health of charitable organizations from March-May 2009. They found that since the last update, covering October 2008-February 2009, the percentage of nonprofits reporting decreased contributions has remained steady at 52%. Other findings showed that:

• 18% of responding nonprofits saw their contributions increase, while 29% reported that their contributions had stayed about the same from the previous survey period.
• Nonprofits reported that the decrease in giving was the result of the following:
  • Fewer individuals gave (69%)
  • Gifts from individuals were smaller (68%)
  • Corporate gifts were smaller (38%)
  • Private foundation grants were smaller (37%)
  • Read more>>

Volunteering in America: Research Highlights (August 2009) [PDF]
The Corporation for National and Community Service collects information on the American volunteer landscape in an effort to track changes and developments that may be useful for civic leaders and nonprofit organizations. Some of the key findings showed that:

• In 2008, 61.8 million Americans or 26.4 percent of the adult population contributed 8 billion hours of volunteer service worth $162 billion, using Independent Sector’s 2008 estimate of the dollar value of a volunteer hour ($20.25).
• As the economy slows and nonprofit organizations struggle to provide services on smaller budgets, volunteers become even more vital to the health of our nation’s communities. Between September 2008 and March 2009, more than a third (37%) of nonprofit organizations report increasing the number of volunteers they use, and almost half (48%) foresee increasing their usage of volunteers in the coming year. Almost no nonprofit organizations are showing a decrease in their volunteer usage.
• Volunteers were much more likely than non-volunteers to donate to a charitable cause in 2008, with 78.2 percent contributing $25 or more compared to 38.5 percent of non-volunteers.
• Read More [PDF]>>

Nearly 30% of Nonprofit Leaders Took a Pay Cut This Year; Pay in 2008 Grew Quickly (Sept. 2009)
The Chronicle of Philanthropy conducted a survey of 325 organizations that raised the highest amounts of donations from private sources in 2008, as well as grantmakers holding the highest assets that year. The results of the survey revealed that:

• 57 charities and foundations—29 percent of the 195 groups that responded—reported that their top executive had taken a pay cut this year due to the recession, declined raises or bonuses, or had his or her pay frozen. The median pay cut was 10 percent.
• The median compensation for chief executives at the organizations surveyed was $361,538, based on information from 253 groups that provided data for both 2007 and 2008. In 2007 the median compensation was $330,395.
• Read more>>

Nonprofit Finance Fund's and Business Volunteers Unlimited's Nonprofit Survey - Northeast Ohio (August 2009)
Locally, the Nonprofit Finance Fund and Business Volunteers Unlimited recently conducted a survey of Northeast Ohio nonprofits and found that nonprofits are struggling to balance falling revenues and an increase in demand as they plan for 2010. Read a summary of the survey for more information about the findings.

Have you read other enlightening reports and survey findings? Tell us about them.

Listen! David La Piana Discusses How Nonprofits Should Approach Strategic Restructuring

David La Piana, author of Strategic Restructuring: Mergers, Integrations and Alliances, recently sat down with Janet Camarena, Director, Foundation Center-San Francisco, to talk about best practices in how nonprofits should approach collaborations, mergers, and other types of partnerships. Listen>>

Nonprofits in Northeast Ohio Brace for Challenges in 2010, Survey Finds

Nonprofits in Northeast Ohio are struggling to balance falling revenues and an increase in demand as they plan for 2010, a new survey released by Business Volunteers Unlimited and the Nonprofit Finance Fund finds.

Based on a survey of one hundred nonprofits, the report (results, 7 pages, PDF) found that organizations in the region expect to see declines in foundation funding (67 percent), government revenues (54 percent), and gifts from individual and corporate donors (40 percent), while experiencing an increase in demand for their services (80 percent). Only 17 percent of respondents expect to do better than break even for the current fiscal year, down from 35 percent a year ago.

Despite the grim outlook, nonprofits indicated they are stretching their resources, financial and human, to meet the needs of their constituents, with more than half saying they have either collaborated with another organization (59 percent), engaged more closely with their board (56 percent), planned to hold conversations with funders to discuss financial realities (55 percent), or developed a "worst-case scenario" contingency budget (51 percent). At the same time, fewer than half the respondents expecting an increase in demand for their services are planning to reduce programs.

The latest findings are markedly different from the results of a similar survey taken in March in which less than half the organizations surveyed planned to collaborate on programs and only 13 percent had or were planning to partner to reduce administrative costs.

"For many nonprofits, 2010 will be even more difficult than 2009 as economic uncertainty continues to buffet the sector and exacerbate long-standing problems," said Nonprofit Finance Fund vice president Dione Alexander. "The actions that Northeast Ohio nonprofits are taking to address systemic issues give hope that they will emerge from these tough times stronger and able to continue to meet the growing needs of the communities they serve."

Source: “Survey: Northeast Ohio Nonprofits Brace for Tough 2010.” Nonprofit Finance Fund Press Release 10/08/09.

This post originally appeared in Philanthropy News Digest (PND).

Strategic Planning in Uncertain Times: Program Summary from Rx (Roundtable Exchange)

In August, 2009, a small, engaged group of nonprofit leaders joined K.C. Henry, Principal, Transitions Unlimited, at the Foundation Center-Cleveland for Rx: Strategic Planning in Uncertain Times. Rx (Roundtable Exchange) is a free, peer support group for development professionals or leaders from any type of nonprofit organization. It is designed for those with at least five years of experience and is limited to 20 nonprofit representatives who come ready to participate and actively contribute questions, answers, and ideas to the group. It is presented in partnership with the Nonprofit Consultants Forum. Walter Duvall, the reporter for this session, provided these notes.

The roundtable began with an exercise to identify the most pressing questions participants had regarding strategic planning. Here's a summary of the discussion following a few selected questions:

1) Is there a right or wrong way to do strategic planning?
The right way to create a strategic plan for an organization in the way that produces the best result! The process will vary according to the organization's experiences, resources, culture, and needs. Working through the process of assessment (SWOT is a basic technique), goal setting, developing SMART (specific, measurable, realistic, and time-bound) objectives, and reviewing the organization's mission and vision is difficult if done in a piecemeal fashion. Kicking off the process with a planning retreat is generally a good idea and can be accomplished in as little as 6 - 8 hours.

The planning process can be initiated and led by either the board or the staff, and both groups should be involved. When board members lead, their focus should be on mission, core values, organizational objectives, and key strategies. Staff should always be involved in putting the plan into operation, implementation, and creating functional work plans, staffing and resource plans, and detailed budgets.

2) When do we know that the time is right to hire a consultant to lead our organization through a strategic planning process?
Before hiring a consultant, you need to know why the organization is undertaking a strategic planning process and what you hope the end result will be.  Knowing answers to those questions will help you to know exactly what you want a consultant to do. Another question to ask is if the organization will benefit from an outside, objective opinion? Do you need someone who can say things that perhaps an internal group would hesitate to bring up? Do you need a fresh perspective that a consultant can bring to the table? On a more practical level, would your organization's strategic planning effort benefit from some managerial assistance in gathering data, scheduling and facilitating meetings, convening volunteers and other key stakeholders for input, and other tasks that the organization is not resourced to perform?

Take a look at these resources to learn more about strategic planning:

Designing Your Future: Key Trends, Challenges, and Choices Facing Association and Nonprofit Leaders. Washington, DC: American Society of Association Executives, 2008.
Summary: This analysis begins with a listing of 50 key trends that will impact society over the next decade, and then delves into the challenges they pose for nonprofit leaders. Finally, the book concludes with a framework for decision-making, both in the short term and over several years.

"Tactical Mapping: How Nonprofits Can Identify the Levers of Change," Nonprofit Quarterly, Summer 2009.  Summary: Discusses tactical mapping as a method for nonprofits to survey the terrain of the issues their groups address; the article focuses specifically on the area of human rights. Through tactical mapping, which visualizes the relationships and institutions surrounding an issue, nonprofits can better assess how to confront the issue and create change. Includes several diagrams to illustrate how the mapping process works.

Jeri Eckhart-Queenan and Elizabeth Bibb. "Tapping Into the Board's Talents". Board Member, September-October 2008, p. 8-11.
Summary: The authors discuss how nonprofits can make use of their board members' expertise during the strategic planning process. Includes a list of questions that organizations should ask themselves while formulating a business plan.

Jay W. Vogt. "Grounded Visioning: A Quick Way To Create Shared Visions". Nonprofit World, July-August 2008, p. 12-4.
Summary: A consultant offers six steps for developing a shared vision among staff members of their organization's future. Emphasizes the need for a vision to be inspiring, yet practical.

These items are available at the Foundation Center-Cleveland. Check our events calendar for upcoming Rx sessions.

From the Answer Desk. Contingency and Scenario Planning: What's the Difference and How Do Nonprofits Get Started?

A: Both are structured ways for organizations to think about the future. In the context of planning, the terms "contingency" and "scenario" are sometimes used interchangeably. In simple terms, a contingency plan can be described as your organization’s “Plan B” or "worst case scenario" and is often tied to something specific, like a natural disaster. They are also sometimes called business continuity plans or disaster recovery plans. Scenario planning, on the other hand, is a “strategic planning method expressly developed to test the viability of alternative strategies," according to Mal Warwick in his book, Fundraising When Money is Tight. Warwick suggests six steps for creating an effective scenario plan, starting with exploring answers to the question, "What keeps you awake at night?," to draw out fundamental issues, and concluding with testing your strategic choices using “what-if” reasoning. Warwick describes scenario planning in detail and goes on to suggest Peter Schwartz’s classic 1991 book, The Art of the Long View, for further reading. (Listen to our February 2009 podcast with Mal Warwick here.)

In the July 2, 2009 Chronicle of Philanthropy article “Worst Case Scenarios,” author Ben Gose advocates that forming a contingency plan can help a nonprofit navigate the recession more successfully. Offering tips ranging from setting priorities and identifying "trip wires" (actions to take when revenues drop, for example), Gose cautions that organizations must come to terms with the fact that “painful decisions will still have to be made.” However, Mr. Gose goes on to note that during contingency planning “a charity may find that a program it considered cutting is in fact worth saving, and that finding can make a compelling story for donors.”

Additional resources:

Financial Scenario Planning for an Uncertain Future
Slides from a presentation made by Emil Angelica at the June 2009 annual conference of Dance USA.

Nonprofits Assistance Fund Scenario Planning Worksheet
A "step by step guide to nonprofit contingency planning."

ScenarioThinking.org
Open community on scenario thinking and scenario planning where you can publish scenarios, reflect on the planning processes and share online resources about scenario planning in a democratic and inclusive manner.

Do you have a question? Ask Us!

(This post is from Rob Bruno, Foundation Center librarian.)

Watch! October is Funding for Arts Month

Free Events:

Wednesday, October 7:
Grantseeking Basics for Individuals in the Arts at our Cooperating Collection at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, 10:00am-12:00pm.
For you if you are an individual involved in the arts and looking for funding to complete a project, mount an exhibition, put on a performance, conduct research, or anything else arts-related.

Resource Market for the Creative Community, 4:00-6:00pm.
Attend our “trade fair” and meet “vendors” that offer resources and services for artists, writers, and others in the creative community. Don't miss it!

"I Got Funded" Artist Panel, 6:15-7:30pm.
Meet and learn from several artists who have applied for and received grants, fellowships, awards, and prizes.

Friday, October 9:
Coffee and Conversation with a Grantmaker, 9:30-10:45am.
Meet Lillian Kuri, Program Director for Architecture, Urban Design and Sustainable Development, The Cleveland Foundation.

Wednesday, October 21:
Fundraising for Arts and Culture Organizations in a Challenging Economy, 1:00-2:15pm.
Gain a basic overview of what you can do to survive, thrive, and succeed in sustaining your nonprofit during the current economic recession.

Fund Development Pulse Check: How Are Arts and Culture Organizations Doing? 2:30-3:30pm.
Learn about seeking financial support in today's economic environment from the experiences of leading development professionals from arts and culture organizations in Northeast Ohio.

Friday, October, 23:
Community Arts Organizations of the Future, 10:00am-12:00pm.
Explore today's pressing issues affecting community-based arts and culture organizations: funding, leadership capacity, community, and sustainability.

October 30:
Webinar! Funding Trends in Arts and Culture, 3:00-4:15pm.
Join us from the comfort of your own office and learn about funding trends and the outlook for arts and culture from national experts in the field.