Focus, people!

Image by Truthout.org via Flickr

Watching the nightly news recently, I saw a sweet story about a private school where the students were helping the homeless by contributing new sheets for a shelter. The reporter was interviewing adults about how important is was for children to learn about those in need and to contribute. I totally agree. But is it really about giving things that don’t really help?

I don’t mean to pick on just the sheets for the shelter campaign. Let’s talk about food banks. People rush to empty their cupboards of cans they haven’t used in years or go to the grocery store and snap up two for one items to contribute. Yes, the thought is appreciated but food banks would rather have the money. That’s because they have access to purchase lots more food with $1 then a contributor can buy at the local grocery.

Yes, cash is always king for a nonprofit but there are times when nonprofits could use help from the general public through advocacy. Emails, letters, tweets to elected officials about government funding or changing a law can be just as valuable as the dollars to create the campaign.

It may sound like I’m griping but it really is more about focus. People don’t take the time to really investigate an issue and find out what they can do that will really help. Nonprofits are not good at prioritizing what they need and making the case for it. And most nonprofits don’t want to offend anyone or turn away anything even if it doesn’t work well with their goals and/or mission.

As for the homeless, please advocate with your elected officials about concepts like daycare facilities and permanent affordable housing with services. There are many organizations that desperately need cash donations. As for the food banks, remember cash is king and they can stretch a dollar in more ways than you can.

Jocks For a Cause

This past weekend I saw a segment on an NFL pre-game show about Mark Sanchez, New York Jets quarterback, who is heavily involved in a number of nonprofits that help children. They focused on his work with Tuesday’s Children, an organization that helps children who lost a parent in the 9-11 attacks.

I think it’s great that Sanchez has taken some of his hefty salary and uses that along with his notoriety to support a nonprofit. I also thought it was generous when New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin founded The Jay Fund in 1996 (when he was coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars). The fund is named for Jay McGillis, his former player of his at Boston College who died of leukemia. Even though Tom no longer lives in Jacksonville, he is still active in the cause and fundraising efforts.

I do have some concerns about athletes that establish foundations and then expect the public to be the greater funder. Athletes have benefitted from their success both financially and with brand awareness. They have an obligation when they start a foundation to remain the face of the effort, be active in any fundraising, and put their money into the cause.

Too Much Pink?

I am a 22-year breast cancer survivor. I have had a supportive husband and family for my cancer journey but sometimes all of us feel that there’s too much “pink” in the month of October.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation should be commended for raising the awareness about breast cancer and leading the charge on getting cause-related marketing efforts to contribute to the cause. There are so many other worthy nonprofits such as the American Cancer Society that also raise funds for breast cancer. But does out focus on this disease crowd out other cancers and other causes that are just as worthy?

Not sure I know the answer to that. I do know that women have a primal fear of breast cancer and what the disease means to them both as far as appearance and longevity. I also know that marketers want to reach women because they are the primary decision-maker in so many purchases.

So while I revel in the awareness the cause has created, I hope that other programs get the much-needed attention that they deserve too.

Why the slow death of print journalism is bad for nonprofits

If you are involved with a nonprofit you might think ‘why do I care if local newspapers are slowly becoming extinct?’ I live in a major Florida city that has seen dramatic cuts to the daily newspaper staff this year. It has reached the point where it is seriously impacting the newspaper’s ability to cover local news and forget about investigative journalism.

So why should nonprofits care? Because coverage in the local newspaper is a great way to reach the typical nonprofit donor. Newspaper readers are older and they tend to have more time to volunteer and more money to donate. Also, not all older citizens participate in social networks so it may be difficult to reach them with those type of media marketing tools. Finally, local television news tends to follow that old adage ‘if it bleeds, it leads.” So, unless your nonprofit is in major trouble you can expect minimal television coverage.

In addition to the news coverage of your nonprofit, your organization should be concerned that there will be less and less coverage of the issues that have created the need for your organization. Therefore nonprofits will have to do more education with potential donors on why their organization is important to the quality of life in the community.

I guess I’m showing my age. I’m an old-time newspaper junkie. In college at Rutgers I used to read three newspapers on Sunday – (The New Brunswick Home News, The Newark Star-Ledger, and The New York Times). I still have to have a paper The New York Times on Sunday to complete my day. It’s sad that an industry that contributes to the general well-being of the community by serving as a non-biased review of the day’s issues is dying.

If nonprofits could run on coffee

Nonprofits have faced some strong challenges over the past several years. Donations have been down while requests for assistance have been up and recent articles point to a trend that shows many nonprofit executive directors will be retiring in the next few years.

What’s a nonprofit to do? The critical element to any situation is communication. So Cause to Communicate is having some fun by offering a giveaway of coffee (and delicious things to dunk in coffee!) through our Facebook page.

Bold Bean Coffee has roasted an organic Cause to Communicate blend to please your palate and get the conversation going.

Seriously, if nonprofits could run on coffee wouldn’t the world be a better place! So go to our Facebook page and “Like” us for a chance to make your nonprofit run on coffee.

 

But does it really help?

Recently I heard about a local business that wanted to help tsunami victims by donating shoes to an organization called Soles4Souls. Sounded like a great idea – helping people out by donating goods. Then soon after I read a story in USA Today about nonprofits such as Salvation Army and Soles4Souls that actually sell these goods to for-profit middlemen who then sell them to vendors in other countries. It creates money for the nonprofits and jobs through microenterprise they say. But does it really help?

I don’t mean to pick on the local business that wanted to help or any individual who comes up with an idea to donate goods for those in need but it does beg the question. Does the nonprofit actually need what you are going to give? Whose responsibility is it to explain what the need is and should nonprofits accept in-kind donations that don’t fit with the mission?

Every nonprofit should have an acceptance policy about gifts – whether they be time, treasure or talent. But every donor should know upfront where their gift is going.

I do find that nonprofits in today’s economy are so desperate for donations that they won’t turn anything down. I believe that they need to do a better job explaining the need and why they may need cash vs. in-kind. A recent campaign by a local homeless shelter explaining that the $5 you spend on a coffee can provide five meals is just the kind of communication nonprofits must do in order to generate much-needed funds.

 

Rethinking the charitable deduction

A recent New York Times business section article probably put fear into the heart of every nonprofit executive director. The headline in the Richard H. Thaler article was “It’s Time to Rethink The Charity Deduction.” This is certainly something to consider as it is the end of the calendar year when people might be thinking about how to reduce their taxes by making a charitable donation.

But is that really why people give – to lessen their tax burden?

The article goes on to explain why the current system of tax deductions isn’t fair because it amounts to a subsidy for the rich since many people who donate to charity don’t itemize their taxes and can’t take the deduction.

While I sympathize with the concerns of many nonprofits about funding, I don’t really believe that people give a significant amount of money because of the tax burden. They may give some but they really give because of the connection they have with the nonprofit’s people and the nonprofit’s cause.

Changes in the tax code will mean that nonprofits will have to revise some of their campaigns but it is an opportunity to look seriously at a marketing plan that achieves brand awareness and makes the all important emotional connection.

Warm vs. competent

I read an interesting research study done out of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business  about nonprofits being stereotyped as “warm” and for profits as “competent.”

That led me to the next question. Is that a bad thing for nonprofits? Do people want to give money to competent organizations or to warm and fuzzy ones? We do know that donors are motivated about the stories they hear. And while those stories usually are focused on how someone or something is helped (competent), the motivating factor for the “ask” is the emotional hook (warm).

Because of the pressure for nonprofits to operate on a shoestring – that all important administrative percentage – can nonprofits really make the case for competency like a for profit business can?

I don’t have the answers on this but would love to hear people’s comments.  I’m on Twitter at rankinc2c.  Let me know if where you net out in this discussion.

Who would get your half?

Recent news reports highlighted 40 billionaires who have pledged to give half their money to nonprofits.  That got me thinking. If I had a billion dollars how would I handle the donation. Yes, I have many nonprofits that I support but this kind of money would involve some serious strategy.

If you check the list of billionaires you will see a variety of interests. Some were giving a large percentage of their wealth to foundations that they had established. Others had special interests such as renewable energy sources or health care.

I have many causes that I support but in the end think my half a billion will go the farthest by being directed towards programs that help families step up out of poverty. Poverty affects everything from health to education to homelessness to crime.

How would you donate your half billion? C2C wants to hear from you. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

(Still More) Tardy for the party

GoooOOod Moooorning Vietnam C2C Followers!! So glad you dropped by for the fourth and final tip that will save your party attending career.

#4: If you can’t say something nice… don’t say anything at all.

All too often I hear, “that event stunk… that event was horrible” (usually phrased with other choice words). Here’s my suggestion; if you think something could be better, get involved—join the committee and offer constructive criticism or start your own committee to create your own super awesome event. But if you don’t have this drive inside you to make a difference then keep your ugly comments to yourself. Next time you want to scream “Ewe” or “OMG,” stop and try to find one nice thing about the event and announce it to everyone around you… positivity is contagious.

Remember, if you follow these simple tips, you will probably become the most popular Jacksonvillian and be invited to every event in town. People will envy your know-how and suave behavior and then you can tell them you learned everything you know from Heather Smith: Eventress Extraordinaire.