Program and Communications Staff: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

I’ve spent most of the nonprofit portion of my career as a communications professional supporting the programmatic core of organizations. But I have also worked directly in program departments, creating and growing grassroots initiatives in the field.

While both program and communications staff are passionate about their work – and the mission of the organization they serve – there are often times when the two groups seem to be operating in two different worlds. As a communications staffer, I used to think, Why don’t the program people get it.

Then I went to work as acting deputy director of programs. After a few months, when my former communications staffers came to me with excellent ideas for promoting program work, I thought to myself, Why don’t the communications staff members get it?

What Do You Want to Learn This Year?

We are busy drafting the curriculum now for next year’s training series. Help us craft the workshops that best fit your needs by filling out our survey. Also be entered into a raffle to win one free workshop slot for yourself or your nonprofit organization for the 2010-2011 Capacity Building Training Series. The survey will take you only 5 to 7 minutes to complete.

Please help us to help you. Let us know what topics would be most compelling for future trainings and events.

Using Facebook to Promote Events

We’ve been trying to leverage social networking sites to promote our various training opportunities, and are struggling to find the right way to utilize Facebook.

Facebook has a built-in event feature. The problem is that the event management is assumed to live on Facebook. TSNE hosts registration for most trainings on our own website (sometimes partner organizations host, as in last month’s Email Fundraising Bootcamp with Idealware), because we have a maximum capacity and some events cost money.

The challenge we’re running into is how to use Facebook to drive people to register on the TSNE site. For example, last year several people had been invited to a conference via Facebook, and just clicked the RSVP button on the Facebook event page without actually visiting the TSNE/NonProfit Center website. The conference charged a small fee. So none of these people were actually registered or had paid for the conference (because they didn’t realize they needed to), but thought they were registered — and the conference sold out through regular registration, so we had to juggle to make room for these people.

There are events where an exact count doesn’t matter – June’s NonProfit Center Ice Cream Social, for instance. We needed a rough headcount so that we could provide enough ice cream, but there wasn’t a hard limit in terms of capacity like there is in a conference room for a training. So some people RSVPed via email, and some via Facebook, and we had an idea of how many people to expect. The viral aspect of Facebook worked wonderfully, and everyone had a great time.

But looking forward to this next year’s trainings, we’re trying to brainstorm the best way to use Facebook for events that require pre-registration on the TSNE website. While a “group” (TSNE Events) can create an event but block the ability to RSVP on the event, that setting also prevents people from inviting others to the event – so the entire point of networking is lost.

We are currently experimenting with creating a group specific to each event, but are afraid that this method will quickly become tedious and inefficient. I personally receive a dozen group invites per week, and rarely pay much attention to them.

What methods have you used on Facebook to promote an event with registration that is hosted elsewhere? What worked? What didn’t?

Email Fundraising Bootcamp

At the Email Fundraising Bootcamp, you will learn everything from how to develop the appropriate strategy for your email campaign to avoiding spam filters and tracking your success.

A Conversation with… Dr. Michael Eric Dyson

As part of the new lecture series, Conversations with …, the Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of Third Sector New England hosted a presentation by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson for the region’s nonprofit community. The professor, CNN commentator, author and pundit spoke of the central role diversity and inclusion play in building cohesive and effective organizations - and strong communities.

He shared his insights on issues such as the politics of inclusion; the privilege of invisibility; institutional perpetuation of racism; challenging other “isms”; stereotypes and forms of bigotry; and rethinking the paradigm of race, bias, and class prejudice vs. concentrated poverty.

 
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

This video was originally shared on blip.tv by tsne with a No license (All rights reserved) license.

What Workshops Would You Like to See?

We are busy drafting the curriculum for next year’s training series. Help us to craft the workshops that best fit your needs by filling out our survey, and be entered into a raffle to win one free workshop slot for the 2009-2010 Capacity Building Training Series.

Nonprofit Collaboration: We’ve Got Options

A recent Boston Globe article suggested that the nonprofit merger rate has increased due to the economic downturn. In a letter to the editor, TSNE’s Hez Norton, who oversees our new Organizational Transitions program, suggests that there are many other — and often more effective – ways for nonprofits to share resources to better serve constituents.

In “More nonprofits engage in mergers for survival” (April 15, 2009), The Boston Globe examines one way that nonprofit organizations are collaborating - through mergers. While this may be a viable alternative for organizations with compatible missions, it is important to understand that merger is just one of many ways nonprofits are collaborating across the sector.

Third Sector New England was privileged to play a role in the two merger situations profiled in the article. Through our Executive Transitions Program, we placed the interim executive director at Dorchester CARES, who supported that merger process. We also placed the interim executive director and helped lead the transition process with Concilio Hispano that led to merger.

It is critical that nonprofit organizations explore an array of options as they look to meet their mission and best service constituents, especially during these difficult economic times. These options include joint ventures, shared services, merger, shared administration, shared programs and fiscal sponsorship.

The bottom line: Nonprofits need always to be creative in serving their constituents effectively – while keeping mission front and center. Looking at new models of collaboration and partnership has always been important. Now it is more important than ever.

Hez Norton, manager
Executive and Organizational Transitions

What’s the Optimum Length for a Webinar?

OR What If You Held a Three-Hour Webinar and Nobody Stayed?

Third Sector New England is offering a new training series to help nonprofits navigate the economic downturn — and use this time of change to decide if they need to retool and refocus their strategic direction. The trainings, which are three hours in length, are being offered for free to people anywhere in the country.

Therefore, we are offering these sessions as both an in-person opportunity and as a hybrid webinar or conference call. Obviously, webinars are rarely more than an hour in length. So we are grappling with how to:

• Make this venture affordable for us (as the minute plan could break the bank quickly).
• More important, make the webinar experience useful, educational and enjoyable for remote participants.
• Make sure the remote feature adds to and does not detract from the experience for in-person attendees.

Have any of you dealt with turning a long training workshop into a shorter webinar or call-in experience for remote participants? How have you structured these trainings, so that the remote folks could sign off in a place that gave them a fulfilling experience and caused the least disruption for the presenter and in-person participants?

Or have you found that people were willing to participate for a two- or three-hour training?
I look forward to your insights.

Capacity Building Fund Grantees Announced

The TSNE Capacity Building Fund has awarded Planning Grants to 16 networks for the 2008-2009 grant cycle. Projects will help the participating organizations and the network as a whole more effectively achieve a shared goal: collaborating to face a community challenge — while together learning new program management and administrative strategies.

Congratulations to the new grantees!

Bottom Line: Four Workshops That Will Help Your Nonprofit Survive the Economic Crisis

To help nonprofit managers navigate the choppy waters ahead, TSNE is offering a series of free workshops focused on quick – but essential – information that can help your organization sustain itself through the crisis.

We are putting the finishing touches on the series and will send an email notification as soon as registration opens. To receive details and registration information, sign up for the TSNe-Training Announcements list.

Registration now open for Capacity Building Training Series

Beginning this fall, we will offer nine (9) workshops designed to help you make a clearer connection between daily management functions and organizational mission — and develop systems that support this alignment.

The workshops will be held monthly from September to November 2008 and January to June 2009 at TSNE’s NonProfit Center. Workshop topics include fund development, financial literacy, marketing and communications, and governance.

You can enroll in one workshop or in multiple workshops. Each will provide you with field-tested tools and concepts to take back to the office to use and share.

The cost for each three-and-one-half-hour session is only $79 (the full-day Effective Supervision workshop is $99), and a discount of $40 will be offered for organizations that enroll in five or more different workshops at the time of registration. TSNE is also offering a discount of $10 off the workshop price for each additional person attending the same workshop from the same organization.

Register now! Space is limited, so register early to ensure availability.

TSNE Capacity Building Fund Grants

The Capacity Building Fund (CBF), a program of Third Sector New England, is announcing another round of grants for 2008. It is a two-part process, beginning with Letters of Intent to Plan that are due on Wednesday, September 10, 2008, by noon. We are holding information sessions later this month to provide an overview of the grants and the application process.

Full details on the guidelines and application process can be found on our website. Please review all information about the Capacity Building Fund, particularly the Letter of Intent to Plan guidelines. We encourage you to read the application in its entirety.

Information Sessions in July

The CBF will be hosting information sessions, and while not mandatory, interested parties should plan to attend one of the following meetings:

Patricia Brandes, leadership from a funder’s perspective

Patricia Brandes (Senior Advisor, Barr Foundation) presents on leadership from a funder’s perspective. She is a philanthropist shaping programs to support the nonprofit leaders of today and tomorrow. Among the many programs and initiatives that she has pioneered at the Barr Foundation, a family foundation focusing on Boston and the quality of life of its residents, Pat designed and oversees the Barr Fellowship, a cross-cultural executive network with global connections.

Prior to the Barr Foundation, she was the chief operating officer of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. She also oversaw Success by Six, a highly successful strategy to organize business leaders to advocate on behalf of the Commonwealth’s young children. Pat has served on the advisory boards of several black church efforts including The Black Church Capacity Building Project and The Black Ministerial Alliance’s after-school programs, as well as other nonprofit boards. She is a founding member of “My Sister’s Keeper,” a human rights initiative working in Southern Sudan to rebuild war-torn communities through the empowerment of women and girls. The initiative is now also engaged in organizing African-American, Sudanese and Muslim women in the United States to end the genocide in Darfur.

Recorded at the 2007 Nonprofit Workout Luncheon Plenary, “Leadership: A Shared Responsibility.” Introduction by Deb Linnell (Mission Effectiveness Program Director, Third Sector New England), session moderated by Karen Gaskins Jones (Principal, JLH Associates).

Listen to the interview (17:50):

or Download (17:50, MP3, 12.2MB)

Or read the transcript at http://www.tsne.org/articles/foundationsroleinleadership.

Elena Letona, leadership from the executive director’s view

Elena Letona (Executive Director, Centro Presente, Inc.) discusses leadership from the executive director’s view. With equal parts of dedication and savvy, Elena leads Centro Presente, Inc., a member-driven, statewide organization, in its efforts to achieve the self-determination of the Central and Latin American immigrant communities of Massachusetts. She is also a founding member of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, and executive committee member of the Salvadoran-American National Network. Elena has received numerous awards including the 2006 “Drylongso Award” that recognizes “outstanding individuals for their work challenging structural racism and working to build a just society” and a 2007 award from the Hispanic National Bar Association “for her outstanding contribution to New England’s Hispanic community.” She is a 2005 Barr fellow.

Recorded at the 2007 Nonprofit Workout Luncheon Plenary, “Leadership: A Shared Responsibility.” Introduction by Deb Linnell (Mission Effectiveness Program Director, Third Sector New England), session moderated by Karen Gaskins Jones (Principal, JLH Associates).

Listen to the interview (10:20):

or Download (10:20, MP3, 7.1MB)

Or read the transcript at http://www.tsne.org/articles/power_from_constituents.

Chrystal Kornegay, emerging leadership

Chrystal Kornegay (Deputy Director, Urban Edge) presents on emerging leadership. Chrystal has filled several roles at Urban Edge, one of New England’s premier community development corporations, including interim executive director and director of real estate. With 15 years of experience in the community development field, she is currently responsible for all of Urban Edge’s major program areas including affordable housing development, property management and community programs. She is a graduate of MIT, UMASS Boston’s Emerging Leaders and NCCJ’s LeadBoston.

Recorded at the 2007 Nonprofit Workout Luncheon Plenary, “Leadership: A Shared Responsibility.” Introduction by Deb Linnell (Mission Effectiveness Program Director, Third Sector New England), session moderated by Karen Gaskins Jones (Principal, JLH Associates).

Listen to the interview (10:00):

or Download (10:00, MP3, 6.9MB)

Or read the transcript at http://www.tsne.org/articles/new_nonprofit_leaders.

Simone Joyaux, Donor Centric Fundraising (2/2)

Denise Moorehead and David Tames continue their conversation with Simone Joyaux, begun in the previous episode.

Listen to the interview (8:56):

or Download (8:56, MP3, 6.9MB)

Or read the transcript at http://www.tsne.org/articles/donor_focus_2.

Simone Joyaux, Donor Centric Fundraising (1/2)

Denise Moorehead and David Tames talk with Simone Joyaux, an internationally renowned fundraiser who is among the presenters at the Nonprofit Capacity Building Training Series. The series covers fundraising, leadership development, strategic communications, program development, financial literacy and more.

Listen to the interview (12:24):

or Download (12:24, MP3, 11.4MB)

Or read the transcript at http://www.tsne.org/articles/donor_focus_1.

Onward to Part II

Lyn Freundlich, Supervision

Denise Moorehead talks with Lyn Freundlich, Director of Administration and Human Resources for Third Sector New England, about supervision, what makes a good supervisor, what are the things supervisors can do to help employees be more effective, and how we can bring supervision into the life of the organization.

Lyn Freundlich and Joanne Horgan will present a workshop on “Effective Supervision” as part of the Nonprofit Capacity Building Training Series, in Boston on Thursday, November 5, 2009 (repeated again on Tuesday, November 17).

Listen to the interview (9:24):

or Download (9:24, MP3, 4.3MB)

Or read the transcript at http://www.tsne.org/articles/better_supervision.