From Chaos to Peace

In the moments before childbirth, there is anything but peace, as one body rids itself of what can no longer survive inside. On the other side is profound beauty and grace as the newborn enters the world. We experience joy at new life. The cycle of life and growth is continued in that birth. It's time for a celebration! An ending of one phase of life, pregnancy, has ended so that life in a new form may begin.

The business world and, indeed, our lives in every respect, are changing that much, too. As familiar systems continue to break down, and morph into new processes needing different strategies for success and longevity, we must hold the same expectant perspective as when a child is born.....see it with eyes of wonder and delight of the joy that is to come, determined to support it with all of our resources. Determined to see it thrive.

The following is adapted from Gloria Karpinski's Blessings for This Time of Gathering:

May the fragments of our vision be whole.
May we simplify, clarify, love, and heal.
May we find peace in interconnectedness.
May we be poised in the chaos of change.

Childbirth is our finest example of change. From one perspective, there is discomfort, pain, anxiety, uncertainty. And even amidst all of that, there is joy ready to burst forward so that life may be fulfilled.

What is your perspective on change? You get to choose. Will you experience change as chaos or joy? How will you show up? As a leader with quiet confidence and poise?

Choose poise.

A Thanksgiving Question

Who is behind your success? Rarely is any achievement the result of the efforts of one person. It just doesn't happen that way, although, our society seems to encourage that singular view.

In nonprofit development,it is common for credit for gifts to reflect in performance evaluations. I've even heard professionals argue over who had the most substantive conversations and interactions with a donor and why one or the other deserved more credit for the gift. This is a sign of poor management. It's not sustainable either for the organization's fundraising track record or for employee retention.

Who gives you moral support? Who keeps you focused on why you work in nonprofit at all? Who gives you good ideas? Who do you turn to for a joke or to break the monotony of a bad day?

Thanksgiving 2009 is marked by another question: What matters? This question will come up over and over again as our world continues to change in unexpected ways. You're going to find that you turn back to a simpler life. One driven by values. You're going to find that you de-clutter your desk, closets, even your mind, and that this helps you focus on what really matters.

This Thanksgiving, consider people who support your success.

Be Inspirational and Do Good

Doing good is a matter of the heart- it's not only done when times are bad or even when times are good. It's just done because it's the right thing to do and because it produces such a high to help someone else.

I hear about all the trouble nonprofits are having and what I see is different. I see people coming together - more volunteers, more commitments, more reporting in the media about how a creative idea saved the day for a nonprofit. These times are challenges not because of the economy, but because we are experiencing a lot of change. The biggest change is a change of heart.

I think communities are taking stock of what matters at the local level and trying to make the most of resources that are available. The economy pressures this....it is good, and it is time we took stock of what really mattered. We have everything we need to take care of each other....if we take stock of what really matters.

For nonprofits, this is a time of true leadership, of being the voice of light in the perceived darkness. Maybe nonprofits should move beyond being recipients of generosity and use the support they have to express a new, stronger voice - a voice of hope, strength, love, and creativity.

Each nonprofit has the opportunity to stand out as a beacon of love and light and when it does, the others of us know that that beacon represents a network of other compassionate people, a board, volunteers, staff, donors, vendors, etc. That's heartening.

It's time to choose optimism. Decide that whatever happens to the economy, or the weather, or even with public health, that you, you will take your fuel from the voices of wisdom around you that express joy, hope, and love for the challenges of life that bring us closer together. Choose your sources of inspiration so that you may lead more confidently.

I liked what consultant Alan Weiss said in his Monday Morning Message: There are people who profit from a prolonged downturn, so their interest is in spreading only bad news and in perpetuating fear. There are others who profit from an upturn and who want to find places to add value as people are able to recover. Find, listen to, and associate with the latter group. There is no contribution in perpetuating and profiting from others' misery. As George Merck noted, "Do good, and good will follow."

Let people follow you. Be the voice of wisdom and hope in your community.

Go Gentle Into That Merger

In the banking industry, merger means one big bad thing: the big one gobbles up the smaller one and jobs are lost. Now, as the nasty "m" word highlights the headlines about nonprofit organizations, the automatic assumption is that the bigger organizations are going to swallow the smaller ones which will lose their identities in the process. This is not how mergers need to happen. It certainly doesn't serve communities to have more giant-box nonprofits.

Communities are better served by a series, a network, of smaller, well-connected nonprofits working at the local level, managed by passionate citizens who care about the outcomes.

Consider this article in the Davidson News about three nonprofits that are sharing resources....a merger of sorts....to raise awareness of their work through social media. Each retains its own identity, mission, leadership, and fiscal responsibilities while helping each other. Check here.

“It’s innovative because we are asking the public to understand that our strength lies in cooperation and not just in the individual work we do as agencies.”
Kathryn Firmin-Sellers, United Family Services/Tell Two organizer.

A merger is not a case of "We win - you lose," although it feels like that if you're the smaller nonprofit. Again, this interpretation of merger is a hold-over of a by-gone era. A smaller organization is usually more nimble. They can adapt quicker. They may not have the debt that a larger organization with its own building carries.
The element of creativity of smaller nonprofits is a valued asset. It's intangible and easily overlooked, but in a rapidly changing and economically volatile environment, creativity is a key to problem solving.

To reach a new level of effective organization, a re-ordering comes when the value of all parties around the table is fully understood and when the re-ordering emerges from mutual discussions about how all parties are served, rather than from a mandated process with a bigger-is-better mentality.

This natural re-ordering perspective was explained another way in an email arriving this morning: "Pirate societies, in fact, provide evidence for Smith's theory that economies are the result of bottom-up spontaneous self-organized order that naturally arises from social interactions, as opposed to top-down bureaucratic design. Just as historians have demonstrated that the 'Wild West' of 19th-century America was a relatively ordered society in which ranchers, farmers and miners concocted their own rules and institutions for conflict resolution .....(delanceyplace.com 10/2/09 - pirates and anarchy)

An open and creative approach to merger may produce a new and unexpected outcome: nonprofit leaders must be open to the possibilities. This means releasing the outdated modes of thinking that declare A winner and A loser. We can all win if we choose it.

One way to challenge assumptions

The phrase, "challenging the assumptions" seems to be popping up everywhere these days. It sounds easy enough until I realize that some of the assumptions that need to be challenged are mine.

When the economy crashed in 2008, I challenged the assumption that someone else would have the answers. While watching financial and business experts point fingers of blame at each other, it became apparent that unlike in the past, no one had the answers. The problems are too big, they're too complex, and they're changing too rapidly to fix easily or quickly. The problems are of a global nature. They're on a scale that's hard to wrap your mind around. Until you look at the community level - where we see rising unemployment, cancelled programs for women and children, and services that enrich a quality of life we've come to expect.

Sitting and waiting for answers was not for me. These problems may be of a new breed, but I know that creativity, innovation, passion, determination, and hope are innate traits that are already organized around more than a million nonprofit organizations in the US. The nonprofit system is uniquely structured for adaptive planning and creative thinking. What assumptions need to be challenged there?

Are nonprofit leaders aware of the nature of change that is bearing down on communities? Are they prepared to lead with new skills? What new skills are needed? Are there other ways to mobilize the talent that is clustered on each nonprofit board? Are nonprofit leaders building resilience? Or, are they waiting for things to get better? Are they cooperating or competing?

For a new perspective, read this article about funding a new world: http://www.jeancraiglong.com/pdfs/COTFTHEUPSIDEDOWNOFFICUCIARYRESPONSIBILITY.pdf

If it raises more questions than it answers, then it served its purpose.

Creativity Connects the Dots in New Ways

"Creativity is having enough dots to connect." Steve Jobs CEO, Apple, Inc.

Sticking with the familiar seems like a safety zone. We think we are safe when we are on familiar ground. In reality, there is no guarantee of security that comes with familiarity at all, we just like to think it does.

We encourage children to experiment with the unknown all the time: try this new food, ride your bike without the training wheels now, walk into that new classroom - nothing to fear, it's easy.

As adults, we don 't like changing things. From daily routines, to our work schedules, to the processes we move through to complete our work, even including habits and opinions, it's easier to stick to the familiar than reach into the unknown. We're comfortable when the expectations and outcomes are familiar.

The problems facing us today in the world are massive, gaining in complexity and speed. Solving them with the same thinking that built them is not the answer. That will be more of the same. Everything is so tangled up and fragile and one slight movement over there affects something over here and then the entire thing is out of balance.

Each one of us was born with a creative side to our brain. Some access it easier than others. All of us have the capacity to access it. Thinking from the creative side of the mind enables us to see things in new ways. It enables us to connect the dots in new ways.

This is where each one of us can contribute to solving the massive problems we face today: Start with ourselves and develop our own creative capacity. Color. Sing. Make something. Imagine shapes in the stars and clouds. Sit so quietly in the woods that birds and squirrels approach. Play in water. Throw clay pots. Write stories. Take classes in things you think you might not be very good at. Explore and experiment.

This is how you begin to add more dots to the picture and then you can connect them in new ways. Get rid of what no longer fits. This is when new solutions form and a new thinking takes hold. You begin to see problems in new ways and connect to new ideas and solutions. Eventually, you will find solutions beyond where you accepted limits before.

This is the direction we're headed in as a mass of humanity and the Universe seems to be sending us clues about how to get there: the need for more networking and connectedness, the need for more creativity so that we stop trying to solve problems with the same thinking that we used to create them.

Definition of Fundraising Success

"Success is the measure of how manylittle things you do right." Jeffrey Eisenberg

In the world of nonprofit fundraising, success is often measured by the grand events like how much money was raised in the capital campaign or how many people attended the last event. I once worked in a development office where success was measured by whether or not the development staff met their "quota" of calls on prospective donors. "It's all about the numbers," the administrator would say with a giggle. To make matters worse, the administrator arbitrarily chose a quota each year and handed it to each of us in the form of a marching order.

The major donors I was responsible for liked to sink their teeth into discussions about the activities, reports, policies and decisions of the institution and these appointments were typically longer than what was allocated for donor cultivation time. These donors were subsequently labeled as "high maintenance" by the administrator. Even so, the tally at the end of the year more often than not showed larger and more frequent gifts by these same donors. I considered them stakeholders rather than quota-meeters because they were informed, invested, engaged.....and loyal. Ok, so they took more time, their investment proved it time well-spent and they invested for the long-haul.

The idea of meeting a quota was not motivating to the development team either, a point that was challenged by the administrator. Sharing, comparing, and brainstorming experiences, conversations, and challenges with donors was exciting and due to the administrator's harsh criticism for wasting time, we met outside the office. When one was stuck, someone else would suggest a strategy that might move things along. We laughed a lot at the suggestions and when something worked for one of us, the rest of us felt great about that.

Quotas don't measure development success. By doing the small things well, like knowing your donors, understanding and relating to their value and belief systems, shifting them from annual givers to investors in thought, word, and deed, supporting team players AND having fun.....now, that's success.

Transforming Your Mindset

Talking to nonprofit leaders during the week keeps me focused on their priorities, issues, and concerns. Lately, by the end of the week, I'm feeling all of their fears: the money is drying up, budgets are cut to the quick, donor's are dropping off and existing ones will probably leave, no one's giving or wants to talk about charitable gifts. How will services continue to be offered? How will staff be paid? What will happen to conservation, education, healthcare, animal sanctuaries, preservation, enrichment?

Today, I'm looking for another way to end my week and am sharing my approach with you.

First, I stop the relentless negative messages rolling around in my head that tell me to be alarmed and worried. How to stop them? I take a sheet of paper and divide it into 2 columns, one column is labeled: My limited way of thinking. The other column is labeled: What I want.

In the "limited" column, I list every fear and negative thought I have.

Example: Col 1: I must be on the wrong track with my ideas.

If you're a development professional or executive raising money, you might have the limited view that: There's not enough money out there and why would anyone give now anyway?

The next step is to question every statement in the limited column by asking: Is this really true? If it's not universally true, then the answer is No, this is not true. It's simply a negative that doesn't make me feel very good, and it's a limiting thought.

Example, Col 1: There's not enough money out there.
Question: Is this really true? Well, I read in the paper last week about an anonymous $45 million donor who gave to several colleges and universities. Also last week I learned about a $1 million donor who gave to medical research in local and promising new labs. Personally, I wrote a $100 check to a nonprofit. Are we the only 3 donors out there? Of course not.

My mind relaxes with the realization that there is definitely still money out there. So now, the question is: What thought is at least as true if not truer than that negative thought?

That's the list I make for column 2: "What I want". (It's basically the opposite of the thought listed in Col 1.) How about for Col 2: There is definitely money out there. That's true for me.

It feels better to have productive, optimistic, and results-oriented thoughts in my head than the negative ones. It gives me energy. Considering the old adage, "what you think about comes about," I'm in good shape.

This is the work of Byron Katie. I've used it for years. If you'd like to read more, check out her website: http://www.thework.com/index.asp

During the week, I take company with positive thinkers. I take company with people who are focused on making things better, who are determined to grow and change no matter what, and who are passionate about what they do. It's so much fun.

Are you like me? Working in the nonprofit system to make life better? Collaborating with others who seem to have good ideas and are resourceful? Sharing what you know and the connections you have that might support someone else as much as you?

Are you like me? Life is about manhandling our current social challenges so that when we break them down into smaller pieces, we can get rid of the dysfunction and re-assemble them into productive new methods that fully serve our missions?

Are you like me? It is fun and is your reason for being?

Try not to buy into the prevailing attitude that everything is falling apart. It's not so. It might be that the worn out, rotten, rusted systems, attitudes, and behaviors are ready to be cleaned out so that better ones can emerge.

As a development consultant, I know that the current economic challenges are scary and unpredictable. That's why I choose to stay focused on what works, surrounding myself with productive and creative thinkers, cultivating innovative processes and encouraging other people likewise.

Today is Thursday. My week is ending on a high note because I choose it. I allow it. I am smiling and excited already about the possibilities.

Are you like me?

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass....

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain. (author unknown.)

Financial advisors say to hold for now - an indefinite "now." My vet says he feels like he's "just waiting for the other shoe to drop." A nonprofit executive friend says she's unhappy in her job and would like to find another one but "there is nothing out there so I'll just hold on." Another friend who is a board member of a nonprofit says they have withdrawn from everything and are just sitting still trying not to spend money. A community foundation colleague says their travel and training budget is totally eliminated.

At the same time, I know 3 executive directors who have all established new nonprofits in the last 3 - 5 years. What a time for launching new concepts! The reality is that they are succeeding when the economy would indicate otherwise. They are in hot pursuit of missions that they each visualized, conceptualized, and wrestle with everyday. They do not consider themselves successful and are surprised when I call them leaders or visionaries.

How can they be so focused on growth - and be growing - when the economy says we're supposed to be contracting and withdrawing? What drives them so fiercely that they don't have time to pause in negativity? What keeps them going when others all around them want to curl up? Interestingly enough, they each talk about curling up...and they don't b/c they're too busy visualizing another opportunity. They each describe financial difficulties....with an attitude almost of humor that another hurdle has had the audacity to present itself in front of them....and then they proceed to skim over it seemingly oblivious that it's what they're doing.

They don't see themselves as leaders. They each talk about a vision. A vision that fills a huge gap in the quality of life we can have. The questions they bring to me are: "Why am I doing this? I'm crazy aren't I?" "How in the world am I going to get this done?" "Where am I going to find the energy, resources, answers to do this?" And the best one of all: "I've never done this before."

I'm baffled every time by their questions. I don't know where or how they're going to do what they do. All I know is that they get it done....and the economy says it shouldn't be happening. Because we're supposed to be in contraction mode, right?

I think the answer is passion. I think each one of them is inspired by a vision larger than life itself. And I think each one of them knows down inside that a force stronger than anything is driving them forward. I believe it's a spiritual journey for them.

They are innovative. Creative. Clear. Poised. Talk to any one of them and their intentions are so well defined that you can see through their eyes an achievable goal. They don't see this and I do. I want to expose it, and share it with others who may have lost their inspiration. Who may be focusing on loss, and dread, and the negative side of "what if". Who may be wondering what they should be doing other than working on a nonprofit mission.

Nonprofit people hear different music playing. It's why they work in the field. I've tried to get off this path several times and I'm always turned back to it. An executive recruiter friend says, "Most people don't come out of college with the goal of a career based on other people's benevolence. There's a reason they choose the nonprofit field."

So for all of the people who choose to listen to the different music.......now's your chance to dance.

What these 3 executive directors have to share is priceless...we'll just have to draw it out of them.

The future looks good...it's the present that concerns me.

One nonprofit executive director explains sleepless nights this way: "The future looks good. The present, however, looks impossible."

Year after year this is the concern of nonprofit leaders, even in strong economies. You can change the forecast by changing development priorities. If you do, you'll be the person someone in the future looks back and sees that changed the course of history for the organization.

It's not one thing, like planned giving, that is the answer. It's a blend of several things that mark change.

1. Vision - What is your intention? If you had more than enough resources, what could happen? Pause at some point today and just think about where your nonprofit - and you - are headed. What's the potential?

2. Impact - What difference is your nonprofit making? What would not get done if your group was not around to do it? What is it you do that matters? Remember web-thinking: Your work impacts more than board members, staff, donors, volunteers, and recipients of services. The impact is also felt by family members of all concerned and children (the next generation), and colleagues, and your vendors, and many more that you may not be aware of. They benefit.

3. Relationships - Who are your stakeholders? It may not be your biggest donors at all. Look at consistent givers and disregard amount of gift - what do you know about these people? Why do they give? Approach annual givers as stakeholders and you'll begin to notice a difference in that perspective. They are more than year-to-year givers - they understand what you're doing.

Vision, impact, relationships = sustainability.

Start with current donors

If growth means keeping what works and making it better, then nonprofits intent on growing should concentrate on current donors - the people who have already shown their support. As more people give thoughtful attention to the charities they support, give them more reasons to choose you. What do you know about your consistent givers? Is your marketing message clear about what your nonprofit does and where it is headed? How fast it gets there is really not the issue - that it gets there is entirely the point.

Increase the attention you give to your loyal donors and connect with those whose values align with those of your organization. They may be interested in a deeper level of support - a longer-term type of support.

Initiate action with consistent givers. Find out what they think. If you can build a bridge between their heart and a better world through your work, then you'll find all the resources you can handle!

All inquiries come from million dollar donors

I recently emailed a colleague at a community to ask if a donor who sets up a charitable gift annuity at the foundation can change their charitable beneficiary. Can they name more than one charity if the community foundation is managing the gift annuity asset? (This was in preparation for the teleclass I teach on the basics of gift annuities.)

Her response surprised me. Not the information itself, rather the way she answered my question - so that I would see myself as the donor. Her explanation began this way: “For example, you create a charitable gift annuity and name the Jean Craig Long Fund at the foundation as the charitable beneficiary….” She explained the mechanics of the process in a way that got my attention.

My thoughts instantly shifted from my original technical question to the rush of excitement I was feeling in the shoes of the donor. A fund in my own name that would support nonprofits....why not? ....which ones would I choose?

In less than the 10 seconds it took to read the email, my mind shifted from mechanics to the possibilities in front of me and I noticed that my energy soared!

My colleague answered me from a development perspective.....not as technician.

In personalizing her response to my question, she shifted my focus from the options for other donors to the possibilities in front of me and it became very real. I’ve used this approach with donors myself and now on the receiving end of it, I’m reminded of how relevant it really is.

Take a tip from my community foundation colleague: All inquiries come from million dollar donors. You can shift someone’s thinking in an instant.

What a powerful chain of positive energy it creates when we open to possibilities.
Re-reading that email, I still get a good feeling. I’m going to save it….

The next time you receive an inquiry about the mechanics of a planned gift, I hope you follow this example.

Sometimes the best development keeps things the same.

"You said something brilliant a minute ago when you said....." . This is the way my nonprofit client got my attention this morning. A flash through my mental rolodex came up with nothing that was brilliant. We had been talking about fund raising dilemmas facing conservation minded nonprofit development leaders and how important it is to talk with donors about the possibilities for change, about the difference their support makes, about the long-term vision for the environment and how they can change outcomes with big gifts. That's when I commented that when it comes to clean air and water, mountain vistas, and open spaces - we want them to remain as they are.

With all the changes swirling around us day in and day out, it is nice to go to sleep at night knowing that the moon will shine, the sun will come up, and the mountains will still be there. That's a stabilizing thought.

"Nature is telling us that in these years when we as a nation like to think how great we are, we would do well to remember that the process of life itself is only sustained by inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains every now and then." -Lindsay Pettus, founder, Katawba Valley Land Trust