As we close out 2013 and look forward to 2014, we’re especially grateful for the response we have received to our book Focus on Sustainability: A Nonprofit’s Journey, which was released during the Leadership Summit in April. Through the generosity of the Rasmuson Foundation we were able to provide everyone who attended the summit with a copy of the book. We hope by now you’ve all had a chance to read it and perhaps put some of the suggestions about sustainability into effect in your organization. We appreciate the many positive comments we’ve received about Focus on Sustainability. We are currently selling it on Amazon and have been getting orders from all over the country. People who have read the book are encouraging us to keep spreading the word that… Read more »

Here are the critical tools to determine whether or not you can successfully build and enhance key partnerships. A strategic plan – Outline where partnerships can strengthen mission. An operating plan – Outline where partnerships can strengthen annual goals and priorities. A business plan – Outline where partnerships can strengthen mission, complement human capacity, and allow the organization to increase and/or conserve funds. A fund development plan – Focus on partnerships that emphasize donor relationships as a core fundraising philosophy. A marketing and communications plan – Focus on the impact of the organization through stories, and outline tactics to engage stakeholders in telling their mission-connected stories. Current letters of agreement – Outline letters of agreement or memorandums that ensure an understanding with mission-connected stakeholders. What key steps can your board… Read more »

Perhaps the best way to show how partnerships trump competition is our own Foraker story. When The Foraker Group was founded, we were concerned that other professionals who supported nonprofits would perceive us as having an unfair competitive advantage because of our tax status or our relationships with funders. But the job of building capacity for nonprofits is a big job in Alaska and we knew from the start that we could not do this work alone. Early in our development, our board and staff looked for the right balance in relation to other providers. One of our values is collaboration, and we knew we had to walk the talk. We decided never to respond to a proposal for work where we intentionally would compete with our colleagues. Our approach… Read more »

Inevitably, when nonprofit leaders talk about partnerships, someone brings up the notion of competition. They may say that partnering is great, but even nonprofits have to look out for competitors if they want to be sustainable. Three of the four factors of nonprofit sustainability – focus, right people, and unrestricted funds – are arguably the same as those needed in the for-profit world. Yet while many “best practices” in that universe make sense in the nonprofit sector, one major difference exists – in the need to compete. In the for-profit realm, consumers can benefit from competition. In the nonprofit sector, competition, especially between organizations with a similar purpose, can have a negative impact on the consumer as well as on the nonprofit’s relationships with partners and funders. Conversely, partnerships can… Read more »

Collaboration requires that each organization engage with thought and intent, understanding the risks and increasing trust as it moves toward more formal partnerships and beyond. Leaders who engage in collaboration understand that the true objective is not to serve a community by combining two or more organizations. Instead, it is to truly redefine the conversation in an effort to achieve greater good. The form of partnership then simply is determined by the legal construct that best serves the good. Another way to view the options for partnerships is found in the 1997 study Beyond Collaboration: Strategic Restructuring of Nonprofit Organizations by David La Piana in cooperation with the James Irvine Foundation and the National Center for Nonprofit Boards. It outlines four options that nonprofits could consider when thinking about engaging… Read more »

The myth of the self-made person suggests that one who is competent can succeed alone. The fact is, we depend on each other to survive. Try to identify someone who became a success on his or her own. It’s not easy to do. Alaska Native people, for example, have survived in often unforgiving environments for more than ten thousand years. Their resiliency, in large part, can be attributed to their ability to depend on each other. With this awareness we know that working together, collaborating, having partners is not the nice thing to do – it is what must be done to survive. For an organization to become sustainable, it must form partnerships with other organizations and individuals. The nonprofit sector engages people who work together to improve their community…. Read more »

Collaborations in their most elementary form can be as simple as connecting and sharing with colleagues. Deeper partnerships develop when nonprofits share resources or enter into joint ventures. Examples are as varied as the nonprofit sector and can include sharing equipment and meeting facilities, or assisting in another’s project. These joint ventures have substance and rely primarily on aligned purpose, values, and outcomes. The Tides Center has become a leader in helping nonprofits look at ways to share resources. As collaborations become more complex, they also become more formal. When organizations work together under legal agreements, or decide to create a new organization to coordinate their efforts, partnerships can have an even more substantial and lasting impact. The key ingredient to partnerships at any level is to have staff and… Read more »

Here is a list of tools that can help you determine whether or not you are taking care of the people – both board and staff – in your organization. A board development standing committee that meets regularly and focuses on strategic recruitment and retention based on the core purpose, core values and goals of the organization. A board recruitment matrix that is specific to your organization and rooted in core values and strategic goals and that’s driving the organization into the future. This matrix should include more than just skills and demographics. An articulated values-based process for hiring, firing, and evaluating every staff member. Written job descriptions for board members, board officers, and existing committees that are used for both recruitment and retention. These documents are likely to be… Read more »

While board and staff balance is critical to sustainability, assessing this relationship is difficult. However, resources do exist. First, and most important, is the existence of a committee dedicated to increasing the board’s capacity. Such a committee – usually called the board development committee or governance committee – typically generates a job description for board members. The committee’s responsibility is to ensure that the right people are identified and recruited to be on the board. The board development committee should orient new board members to the organization, recommend periodic training on effective nonprofit governance, and ensure that all members are engaged at appropriate levels. The committee should also spearhead an annual board assessment to determine if the board is, in fact, committed to ongoing improvement. The ultimate value of a… Read more »

There are many resources about the roles and responsibilities of board chairs. In a study published in 2007, The Best and Worst of Board Chairs, researchers Yvonne Harrison and Vic Murray found that “trustworthiness, intelligence and good listening skills are the highest-rated qualities for board chairs, while being dictatorial, critical and motivated by self-interest are the lowest-rated qualities.” Harrison and Murray concluded that the best way to ensure effective board leadership is to develop a thorough job description, establish a clear system of succession to the chair, and conduct annual evaluations. Another study sponsored by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and the Meyer Foundation called Daring to Lead 2011: A National Study of Nonprofit Executive Leadership found that only 20 percent of the three thousand nonprofit executives surveyed were satisfied with their… Read more »