chapin cole – Page 14 – Nonprofit Chapin

Keeping My Head Above Water

August 20, 2011nonprofitchapin

Not that anyone but me is keeping track, but it has officially been two weeks and six days since my last post. This past month has been a whirlwind – I moved, started my new job, and went to the kick off for my masters program (I’m doing the Master of Nonprofit Administration program at University of San Francisco). I have been stressed out to say the least! I’ve been working my butt off to impress my new colleagues and boss, continuing to unpack our apartment, and mentally preparing to start school. I’m not going to lie, the last few weeks have been really hard… but I’m happy to say that I’m finally starting to feel positive about things. Here are a few mantras that have helped me keep my head above water.

At the end of the day, I’m helping people. Being dedicated to the nonprofit field means that the work I do day in and day out changes the world. Even if I don’t get everything crossed off my to do list, or if I feel like I’m not making a good impression on my colleagues, I’m still helping people. And, isn’t that the most important thing in life?
I know what I’m doing. My skills and knowledge about development and the nonprofit sector have been verified in both my new job and in meeting my cohort for the masters program. Listening to the types of decisions that are being made and the thought process behind them has been enlightening – not necessarily because they are new to me, but because I agree and had the same thoughts. In regards to my masters cohort, I was surprised to learn that there are quite a few people who have not had as much exposure to the sector as I have. My confidence has definitely been boosted.
One day at a time. In times like this, when things are in chaos (and I hate chaos), each day can look a little bit different than the next. It helps me to remember that no matter how bad today is, tomorrow is a new day, and tomorrow could be great! Every day is a fresh start, which can help when I feel like I continually need one!

I don’t get stressed out easily, which is why I’ve been so surprised that this last month has been so hard on me. But I feel confident that things are turning around and I’m now in the right frame of mind. Just in time for classes to start on Tuesday!! Wish me luck!

-N.C.

My Top Three Fundraising Tips

July 31, 2011nonprofitchapin

Most people fill their days off with hours of reality television, shopping, and sleeping in. Not me (OK, I did sleep in a few days last week!). Last Thursday morning I ventured to San Francisco to Foundation Center to participate in the very informative Top Ten Fundraising Tips by Darian Rodriguez Heyman, the editor of Nonprofit Management 101 (which I was lucky enough to purchase an autographed copy of!). Darian gave a great talk reviewing some tips outlined in the book, a compilation of input from various experts in the field. He started with a very poignant anecdote about Bill Cosby’s grandmother’s view of whether a glass is half empty or half full – her response was, “it depends on if you’re pouring or drinking!”

Darian gave ten tips for fundraising, and I’d like to highlight my three favorite tips that he reviewed.

1. Stage a Thank-a-Thon. Fundraising isn’t all about asking for money. It includes everything from prospecting, to stewarding, to asking, to thanking. Darian posed this as a way to get your board engaged in the fundraising process – print out a simple script for board members (and I would add other volunteers who can speak eloquently about your organization), have some pizza, and schedule an hour after work one day where everyone can gather and make calls to say thanks – without asking for money. It’s a win-win situation for your board, your donors, and you.

2. Never Submit a Cold Grant. This point really can relate to anyone from whom you’re asking for money, not just grantors. Funding is all about relationships, and that includes grants. Just because the grantor doles out thousands of dollars each year doesn’t mean you have to be afraid to talk to them. Most of them prefer you talk to them. Get in touch with the Program Officer and ask for advice on your application. Darian went so far as to suggest asking them to review your application – I’ve never done that, but he’s had proven success doing it! Doing this causes them to mentally adopt your project, even if they never actually review it.

3. Utilize the Upcoming Volunteerism Revolution. OK, so I took liberty on changing one of his tip titles with this one, but this was a point he made. Volunteerism is moving toward people truly wanting to be part of the solution, and they don’t just want to stuff envelopes – they want to leverage their skills and expertise in helping you. Keep this in mind when engaging your volunteer force.

I’d like to end with one more point Darian made that really resonated with me – people don’t give to you, they give through you. People are giving to the impact you make. Fundraising isn’t personal to the fundraiser, it’s personal to the donor. They are connected to the change your nonprofit is making. You’re just the middle man.

-N.C.

P.S. I’m so excited that I can just pop over to events in San Francisco now! The city is full of nonprofit activity. Here’s a photo I took while stuck in traffic after the event!

What I Learned from My Move Across California

July 27, 2011nonprofitchapin

I moved from San Diego to the bay area this weekend. I grew up here, so it’s like coming back home… but not really, because I’m coming with a new perspective, new life, and new attitude (and a boyfriend!). As you can imagine, making such a huge move was not an easy process, but in the end, a success! Here are a few tips I learned along the way.

I get by with a little help from my friends. Wow. Absolutely, by far, the biggest thing that made an impression on me was the generosity of people around me. I cannot count the number of times I felt intense gratitude that so many people stepped up to help me. I will never forget those who pitched in – and I hope to pay it forward!
I underestimated everything. And I mean everything. I reserved a 10 foot truck when we really needed a 14 footer. I thought two days would be plenty of time to get my life in order between my last day at work and packing/loading day. I had no idea I’d have to spend Friday morning packing instead of loading. Whatever it was, I underestimated it. I think the lesson learned here is to be flexible – because no matter how off I was on something, we identified the problem (this truck is too small), brainstormed a solution (calling other moving truck companies), and took action (returned the truck and got something new).
Moving is a great time for a fresh start. I’m already starting to create new habits that I hope will catch on in this next chapter of my life. I truly will be starting a new routine – working full time and going to grad school – so I’ll need to learn to balance everything. It’s easier to create change when other things are already changing… so away we go!

I’m anxious and excited to see what happens next. Wish me luck as I embark on new challenges, with a new job, in a new masters program, in a new place!

-N.C.

I Need Help Asking for Help

July 14, 2011nonprofitchapin2 Comments

I hate asking for help. I despise it. It makes my skin crawl. It makes me nervous. If you’re friends with me on Facebook you saw my recent post asking for help with loading our moving truck next week… well, that post almost didn’t happen, many times. I seriously thought about it for a week. Should I post a message asking for help? Should I sound desperate? Should it be funny? What is everyone going to say? Are people going to be mad that I am asking for help?

That’s where I stopped myself. Why the heck would people be mad at me for putting it out there that I need help? I have this feeling that people will think less of me if I ask for favors, like they will resent me or something, the girl who always wants a handout. But really, we all need help sometimes. I can’t count the number of times I’ve done favors for friends, and of course, they have done them for me. That’s what friendship is all about. So, I asked myself one question.

What’s the worst that will happen?

It’s not like someone’s going to comment back, “Wow, Chapin, you’re pathetic for needing help, and I’m really mad at you for posting this status. I’m not going to be your friend anymore.” And even if that did happen – do I really want to be friends with someone like that anyway??

Really – the worst that would happen would be that no one would volunteer to help. And, that’s kind of what happened – no one volunteered to help on Friday, but I did get more help for Sunday! That wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t post that question – if I didn’t ask for help.

It took me so long to decide whether to post it. But when I had decided I was going to, that was it. I posted it this morning before work – I never do anything that early in the morning!! I nervously checked to see what comments I got back all day. When the internet was down when I got to work, I felt anxious. What if someone posted a response??

It made me nervous putting myself out there like that. I will always be the strong woman who has everything going for her. It’s hard to admit that sometimes I can’t figure it all out on my own. I need help.

And that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

-N.C.

Overwhelmed? Join the Club

July 6, 2011nonprofitchapin

I’m participating in this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival – time management tips. You can read more about it at Have Fun Do Good here (that’s a great blog, too, by the way). I really couldn’t ask for a better prompt. One piece of feedback from my review was that I am too productive – time management is something I’ve got in the bag. Even with this knack for productivity, I still get overwhelmed sometimes, as we all do. These are some of my favorite tips for time management.

Prioritize. I put this one first for a reason. This is the most important thing you can do to manage your time well! Take your task list and rank it in order. What is timely? What is important to your boss? What is a big hairy project that you need to spread out over several days? Take all of these things into account and put your tasks in order. After you’ve done that, only concentrate on the first 3-5. Monday morning you can re-evaluate your list, so don’t get worried you will miss a deadline for item #6.
Schedule consistent time. If there’s something that doesn’t make your priority list every week, but is still important and requires ongoing maintenance, put an appointment on your calendar weekly or monthly to work on it. When it’s on your calendar, there’s added accountability to do it. And you’ll get an Outlook reminder 15 minutes before! For example, I put database clean-up on my calendar every Monday from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. This way I’m slowly but surely working on something that feels like a huge project (and it feels smaller when I make some progress on it).
Use Outlook tasks. Emily Baime taught me how to use tasks back in the day, and my work life has been transformed. So many people still use a pad of paper, or worse, post its. Outlook tasks allows you to set deadlines for each task, mark priorities, and keep track of progress. Every week I update it according to priority (Monday of that week is high priority, Friday is projects on the backburner, etc) and even put in those 1-5 rankings we talked about. Don’t be shy, click on that little icon and give it a try!
Mix up your projects. Keep things interesting. Update event collateral, run database reports, and read an article in the same afternoon. Doing different things allows you to stay focused and energized and allows for better work.
Realize you’re not saving the world. I’m sure you’re doing important work, but remember, if you take a break, the world isn’t going to crumble. Take a few days off on a consistent basis. It will help you recharge your batteries and give you a fresh perspective on your projects when you return.

Remember – nothing is a crisis. Although it may seem like all of your tasks are important, keep breathing and remember that all will get accomplished in due time. And don’t forget to smile!!

-N.C.

What I Learned from the County Fair

June 30, 2011nonprofitchapin

Last night was the first time in the nine years I’ve lived here that I went to the San Diego County Fair. I have to say, it was incredible. I mean, it was unbelievable. It’s hard to put it into words… opulence, flashing lights, fried everything… ridiculous. I looked at it as a spectacle, and I had an amazing time.

The fair draws thousands of people every night from across the county. I know I drove half an hour to get there. It’s such a success, so, they must be doing something right! Here are a few lessons learned from my trip to the fair.

Extravagance will never go out of style. The fair reminded me so much of Las Vegas… everything is larger than life, from the food, to the shows, to the prices… everything is bigger at the fair. People love feeling like they’re on vacation and that they deserve to pamper themselves. That’s OK, if it’s once in a while… it’s those people who go to the fair twice a week that I’m concerned about!
People are scared to stand out, or they love to stand in lines. From the lines at food vendors to the parking lot lanes, I can’t tell you how many times my friend and I found a short (or even non-existent) line for the same thing. People are afraid to venture out and learn for themselves what to do. They like to be doing what everyone else is doing. When we stood in line for ice cream, we turned around and found twenty people in what was previously a four person line. I mean, I know I’m cool and all, but that’s a little much!
I’ll do anything once. I tried deep fried oreos, brownie, and ice cream dipped in chocolate and rolled in oreos. Are you kidding me?? Hearing about all the deep fried stuff before I went always confused me… but when I was there, it was a given that I had to at least give some deep fried food a try. I think it’s that way for most people. If something (like deep fried food) is normalized, everyone will give it a try. It’s getting over the hump of making something extraordinary ordinary that’s the challenge.

Although I’m pretty sure I will never go again, I had a great time at the fair and am so glad I went. It was unlike anything else I’ve ever done!

OK, I need to amend my last bullet. I’ll do almost anything once – I won’t do deep fried butter!!

-N.C.

The Importance of Customer Service

June 23, 2011nonprofitchapin

I’ve been reminded several times this week about the importance of customer service. Not only reminded, but been shocked to hear that my colleagues aren’t of the same mind. The voicemail system for the office has been broken for three days now, and our operations guy seems to be taking his sweet time to address it (I don’t like to judge other people’s workloads, but come on now. Shouldn’t that be a high priority issue?). The front counter staff is hardly ever told what’s going on, beyond occasionally being told that someone is out of the office for the day (but even that seems to only happen after they ask). When did the art of customer service die?

There have been numerous reports on the correlation between good customer service and loyalty. If I go into a store and the cashier is warm and friendly, I’m much more likely to return to that store. If she’s rude, I don’t want to put myself in that situation again. Why should I return somewhere that makes me unhappy?

The same concept applies to your nonprofit. The first person a donor or prospect speaks to is the person behind the front desk. Does that person know at least generally what is going on at your organization? Are they friendly and courteous? Most importantly, are they passionate about your cause?

Everyone the front counter staff speaks to is a potential donor. You don’t know someone’s capacity to give simply by looking at them. Therefore, everyone should be treated like a major donor. Everyone should be warmly welcomed, offered a glass of water, and given complete information about the organization. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a suit or jeans – everyone should be treated with great customer service.

Yelp perfectly highlights the importance of customer service. I know I didn’t choose my dentist without Yelping him first. My boyfriend didn’t return to his because he Yelped them after, and they had one star. We are becoming reliant on reviews, many of which are about customer service. While it might not be blatant, it’s affecting your customer base.

By the way, I received great customer service today from Ron’s Auto Clinic. I would definitely return to them if I weren’t moving! I recommend taking your car there!

-N.C.

How NOT To Get a Promotion

June 15, 2011nonprofitchapin6 Comments

I’m aware that I’ve been citing other blogs frequently lately. I’m also aware that this next one I’m referring to was written over a week ago. But I’m writing about it anyway, because it’s that good. This was one of those think-about-it-days-later blog posts. I’m talking about 7 Lies That Undercut Your Chances of Promotion at Everyday Bright. I absolutely encourage you to take a moment to read it – it will definitely give you a new perspective on some tried and true job skills.

I’d like to outline a few of my thoughts on some of the lies.

Lie #1: Work hard

I love this. We all know that one person in the office who comes in at 7:45 and leaves at 6:15. She likes to talk about how much work she has to do and how there isn’t enough time in the day. In fact, everyone in a nonprofit has more work than time to do it in. That doesn’t mean you should overwork yourself and sacrifice your personal life. After the workday is over, put your work down and go home to your family. You’ll be able to recharge your batteries and will be that much more efficient tomorrow.

Lie #2: Do your job well

This one might be the one that resonates with me the most, that I personally need to work on. This relates to what I mentioned earlier as my biggest weakness – I need to step up and do projects that are outside of the box that showcase my creativity and understanding of fundraising and the nonprofit sector. I need to do more than my job – I need to prove that I can do my future job.

Lie #5: Network with influencers

Jennifer is emphasizing the point that you shouldn’t just network with the high ups, you should network with everyone. You never know who will become what and who has pull where. I love this point. It’s critical to be friendly and open to everyone you meet, whether it’s the receptionist or the CEO. Everything has something to offer – you just need to give them the chance to show it.

Lie #7: Have a career plan

I disagree with her just slightly on this one. I would modify this point to say you should have a plan (or goal), but it should be loose and ever-changing. I think there is value to having an idea of where you’d like to be in the future, but mostly to notice the aspects of the goal that are attracting you and keep them at the heart of your actions.

Notice I didn’t address Lie #6: Go back to school, because clearly that’s exactly what I’m doing in two months! However, I don’t see going back to school as my ticket to promotion, instead simply something to pair with my work experience and knowledge of the sector as I navigate my way to my goal.

Thank you, Jennifer, for such a wonderful post. We all can learn a little something from these points!!

-N.C.

How Do You Give?

June 4, 2011nonprofitchapin

I read an interesting post yesterday called Direct Mail Still Rules the Day in Fundraising on Fundraising Success. It highlights some of the notable findings in Blackbaud’s 2011 donorCentrics Internet and Multichannel Giving Benchmarking Report. The article made me think about how I donate and why. Here are some points that jumped out at me and my personal response.

Even though direct mail remains the dominant channel for donor acquisition, it is increasingly common for new donors to give initially online. Very interesting. In order for me to give to a nonprofit organization, I need to already know about them and what they are doing. Yes, I may go to their website to research them a bit more, but I probably have interacted with them more than just online – maybe I volunteered for them, visited their facility, saw their services in action, etc. I need to engage more with nonprofits before I give to them, so online isn’t the way I’d choose to give. The only time this is true is when a friend asks me to give to something they are raising money for. Which is why the next point makes sense.
Online-acquired donors tend to have lower retention rates than mail-acquired donors. Exactly. If you acquired my donation online, you are probably one of those organizations my friend is fundraising for, and so my personal connection doesn’t bridge further than that (unless you engage me another way, which most nonprofits don’t). It’s too bad more of those nonprofits don’t do more to engage us friend folks, demonstrating their value and why giving to their general fund would be beneficial.
Large proportions of online-acquired donors switch from online giving to offline giving — primarily direct mail. However, very few mail-acquired donors switch to online giving. Like many people, I consider mail activity to mean more than online activity. You probably received several emails today, but when was the last time you received a letter? If you’ve convinced me to give again, and I gave online the first time, I probably think of you as more important than I did with the first gift, so I’m going to give through direct mail.
The presence of past multichannel giving is generally not a significant factor in predicting future retention or long-term donor value. Traditional RFM factors are far better indicators. Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Donating over multiple channels (online, direct mail, etc) doesn’t necessarily mean the donor is invested in the organization – but RFM factors (recency, frequency, monetary – when they gave last, how often they give, and how much they gave) will always be the best guide of where a donor is going with their giving.

I definitely encourage you to take a look at the Fundraising Success article and think about your own giving. I’d love to hear what you think!

-N.C.