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Volume
7, Issue 6 - November 2005 |
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"I
love your newsletter! It's refreshing, fun
and filled with helpful hints"
Toni Paglia,
Director of Development, The ARC
Syracuse, New York |
|
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE:
Get On Board! |
Years ago when the IRS granted charities exemption from taxation, a new
mindset took hold. Voila! We were no longer charities—we were nonprofits!
What a shame. Nonprofit has become a mindset for agencies and it
shouldn’t be! If all nonprofits were truly nonprofit they wouldn’t
survive for long and thousands of missions would disappear.
Instead, the nonprofit designation should be considered merely as a tax
exemption and NOT as a state of mind or a way of doing business!
At the Social Enterprise Alliance Annual Gathering last March, a speaker
declared that the sector should lose the term “nonprofit” and replace it
with “social enterprise business.” What a terrific idea!
The marketplace for funding is changing all over the United States. More
and more traditional funders are changing to investors. Donors are
looking to invest in the solutions agencies provide to social,
environmental, animal welfare and other good causes.
If the funding marketplace is changing, then so must you!
Get on board now with the concepts behind social enterprise. Realize that
More Money = More Mission!
The National Center for Social Entrepreneurs teaches a program called
PathFinders © that applies sound
business principles to nonprofit enterprise, helping agencies and
organizations identify earned income opportunities based on mission, core
values, core competencies and current assets.
Here’s how it works. Agencies build an Enterprise Team of key staff and
Board volunteers. The Enterprise team embarks upon a journey that has the
potential to create systemic changes in the way the agency will operate in
the future, how it examines and evaluates funding, income-generating ideas
and even new programs and services!
The PathFinder © process combines
classroom sessions with homework typically over an eight-month period.
Teams begin by examining mission, vision and core values. They develop a
comprehensive matrix of competencies, technical assets, physical assets and
people assets. Based on this groundwork, teams brainstorm opportunities for
earned income.
Opportunities are then put through a screening based upon a set of
criteria established by the team.
Potential opportunities are then put through a rigorous feasibility study
that includes market analysis, buyer profiling, competitor identification
and research, costing and pricing, to list just a few of the criteria.
Finally, a mini-business plan is developed with costs and income
projections.
A recent graduate of the PathFinder ©
program, Daniel Abram, executive director of Talking Talons, said, “Before
PathFinders, we managed to our constraints. Now we manage to our potential.”
I am proud to announce that I have been trained to present the
PathFinder © program in 21 states and am
joined by two other consultants, Randy Gleason and Brian Kennedy.
To learn more about PathFinder © give
me a call at 505.899.1520 or send an email to .
Back to Table of
Contents
The Social Enterprise Alliance
is an incredible resource to all nonprofits who want to learn more about
sustainability, trade ideas, and learn from those who have entered the field of
social enterprise successfully.
From their web site: “The Social Enterprise Alliance is the
membership organization leading the creation of a social enterprise movement. We
mobilize communities of nonprofit organizations and funders to advance earned
income strategies. “
“What we are about is the business of changing the entire
paradigm by which for not-for-profits operate and generate the capital they need
to carry out their mission—a new paradigm based on sustainability and social
entrepreneurship,” says Charles King, founding Chairman of the Social Enterprise
Alliance.
What is social enterprise? Again, from the web site: [it is]
“Any earned income business or strategy undertaken by a nonprofit to generate
revenue in support of its charitable mission. Earned income consists of payments
received in direct exchange for a product, service or privilege.”
I strongly recommend membership in the Social Enterprise
Alliance. You’ll get access to consultants, information, discounts on
publications and registration at the Annual gathering and more. Memberships
begin at $75. Visit www.se-alliance.org
to learn more.
One of the greatest services the Alliance offers is the public
listserv operated in partnership with Rolfe Larson Associates. This active,
no-spam, moderated listserv focuses exclusively on social enterprise issues and
strategies. Almost 2,500 subscribers offer useful, practical advice to both
newbies and experienced social enterprisers. It features searchable archives.
You can request a daily digest to receive at most one email per day, or receive
a maximum of 5 messages per day. Subscribe at
www.npenterprise.net.
The 7th Gathering of the Social
Enterprise Alliance will be held March 7-10, 2006 in Atlanta. This
international conference will feature a market place of social entrepreneurs,
workshops and seminars, incredible featured speakers and opportunities to
network your brains out with other nonprofit social entrepreneurs who are
starting out or well on their path. I hope to see you there!
Back to Table of
Contents
While many examples of social enterprise exist (and you’ll
learn about many of them at www.npenterprise.net) I can share some specific
examples of how some nonprofits I have worked with in the PathFinder ©
program have embarked on the social enterprise journey.
One agency listed as a physical asset its respite home that is
currently used on weekends and overnights, but is not used during the day. Their
market research showed that the most needed hours for an adult drop-in program
was the midday hours. This agency is now developing an adult drop-in program to
take advantage of an unused resource.
Another agency examined all its existing programs and services
and fast-tracked them through an internal PathFinder program, realizing a gain
in earned income from $17,000 to $78,000 in the first year.
Another agency took advantage of the opportunity to completely
revamp their after-school program to deliver it to a new market that literally
dropped in their lap. The Executive Director reports that they would never have
had the skills to take advantage of the opportunity before the PathFinder ©
program.
A food bank has added a line of non-food items to its products
and services. They are also considering a private-label specialty food line.
A community theatre is developing an educational program for
children and adults.
An agency that provides apartments for low-income adults with
mental illness is developing a property management program.
All these agencies have examined who they are, what they know
and what they have and leveraged their assets into earned income ventures. You
can, too!
Back to Table of
Contents
If
you haven’t followed up on the web sites I mentioned above, then here they
are again. The Social Enterprise Alliance is an invaluable resource at
www.se-alliance.org.
Their Internet forum is found at
www.npenterprise.net. I cannot recommend these
resources enough!
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has implications for all nonprofit organizations. There
is valuable information available from www.BoardSource.org and the Independent
Sector www.independentsector.org. Both sites offer up to date news affecting the
nonprofit sector, articles of interest and archives.
The National Committee on Planned Giving is another great resource at
www.ncpg.org. The site will link you to local chapters across the country.
Of course, www.afpnet.org is the site for the Association of Fundraising
Professionals with links to local chapters, consultants, news, articles and much
more.
If you run across good sites for nonprofits, please let me know and I’ll
include them in an upcoming issue.
If you find a broken link on
the site, please send me an email () and let me know. Thanks!
Back to Table of
Contents
Now you can add two great books to your agency library.
The ABCs of Building Better Boards is just what you need to
improve your Board’s potential. It includes ideas for recruitment, retention and
recognition and has some great forms for you to copy and use.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals says of this book:
“Here is a book that every senior fundraiser
responsible for board recruitment and development should read once and then
review annually...takes up where books full of theory fall short...give it a
chance and you will discover a gem to be treasured.”
Learn how to deal with unproductive Board members and how to better define the
roles of staff and Board. There is a chapter on financial and fiduciary facts,
one on simple parliamentary procedure and much much more.
Discover how Board Job Descriptions and annual Commitment Letters will
dramatically improve your Board’s effectiveness. See how a truly effective
Nominating Committee will lead to a better Board.
Get good ideas for more efficient Board management and administration, including
how to set up and manage effective committees.
It’s only $24.95 plus shipping and handling. Take advantage of a volume
discount of up to 20% and give this book to all new Board members as part of
their orientation.
The 3rd Edition of
Fast Fundraising Facts for Fame & Fortune
is full of ideas to improve your fundraising, including how to ask effectively,
special events essentials and new ideas for fundraising.
Help volunteers get over the fear of asking for money and in-kind resources for
your organization. Learn how marketing principles will make fundraising easier.
Learn about Jean’s Ten Rules for Fundraising Success
and apply them to your organization immediately. This book puts the
FUN into
FUNDraising and gives good examples and ideas that really work, rather than
using hard to follow formulas and theories.
It’s only $24.95 plus shipping and handling. Take advantage of a volume
discount of up to 20% and give this book to all new Board members as part of
their orientation.
Or buy both books for only $45.00 plus shipping and handling. Order
your copies today!
Order Now So You Don't Forget
Go to the Order Form to order your copies of
The ABCs of Building Better Boards
and
Fast Fundraising Facts For Fame & Fortune ©
|
Back to Table of
Contents
HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
TAKE THIS QUICKIE QUIZ
|
Please give me a call if you want to turn any NO into a YES. I can help
with:
- turning your Board into a dynamic group of volunteers,
- facilitating a strategic planning session,
- analyzing your current fundraising and suggesting some new ideas, and
- training volunteers and staff in becoming more effective fundraisers.
Back to Table of
Contents
Here is what people have said about my training and facilitation:
“You certainly shifted my paradigm. After hearing you last
Friday, it is the first time in 11 years as an ED that I was excited abut
fund development. And you got my Board members to that point as well. “
Kay
Hopper
RDC for Children, Richardson, TX
“Your seminar in Dallas was the best I ever attended. You
are wise and hilarious.”
Mary Jo Dorn
Catholic Charities of Dallas
"Jean conducted an extremely well
organized and productive [Board] retreat, one that I can
say with confidence that our members count as the finest
ever conducted for us. Jean's follow-up report was
in-depth and meaty, and both Board and staff have
referred to it time and again. The knowledge of
boardsmanship the members took with them has made a
remarkable difference in their levels of commitment and
support."
Eileen Cook, Executive Director
Casa Esperanza
"Jean Block is a powerhouse in the
Non-Profit world. You don't move about these circles long before her name is
prominent in the conversation. Her commitment to training, fundraising,
motivating, and cultivation is unsurpassed. To say she is an influence is
to miss the point. She gives new meaning to the word enthusiasm! You don't
know Jean, you experience her! She is a force unlike any other I have every
met."
Randy Gleason
Randy
Gleason Consulting, Inc.
“Your training was invaluable to me. I dreaded doing this
because I couldn’t even sell someone a candy bar in the past but I was
inspired by your advice to try. I raised about $377,000!
Joan Shepack
Keystone Botanical Garden, El Paso,
TX
"I attended the Corporate Sponsorship Workshop - WOW! You
were amazing! What an OPPORTUNITY for me!
Your presentation style was EXCELLENT. By far the best
workshop I've been to in a long time (content and style both!)."
Vicki
Kopplin
Epilepsy
Foundation of Minnesota
"As a senior-level development officer, I have a hard time
finding useful workshops. Jean's programs should be required for even us old
CFREs."
Trisha Dunbar
Visiting Nurse Association,
Dallas, TX
Jean Block
Consulting, Inc.
7915 Cliff Road NW
Albuquerque NM 87120
(505) 899-1520
Fax (505) 890-5285
Email:
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"I
love your newsletter! It's refreshing, fun
and filled with helpful hints"
Toni Paglia,
Director of Development, The ARCRC
Syracuse, New York |
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