2008 Idea Exchange

A "Best Practices" Workshop

CHALLENGE #1: Financial Management

You have outgrown your organization’s current space as a result of rapid growth in demand for your organization’s services. What steps will you take to secure your expansion into new facilities? Consider potential partnerships, fundraising, community and government relations challenges you will need to overcome in order to secure required resources, development & zoning permits, and community goodwill. 

· Find philanthropist to help: “if you don’t ask, you won’t get”
· Do not follow the rule of purchase
· Offer what you have
· Engage your councilors one at a time, try to get political support where possible: “changes of venue”
· Know your community: proper zoning, neighbor goodwill
· Seek other (federal) program resources – organize MPs to the cause
· NIMBY (“not in my backyard”): put a face to the fear

CHALLENGE #2: Income Independence

A lack of continuing, multi-year funding is jeopardizing the ability of your organization to commit to long-term program delivery goals for your clients and other partner organizations. How do you overcome this challenge? Consider creative fundraising strategies, including the use of reserve funds and endowments. 

· Corporate donors / sponsors:
-         Introduce them to your organization – let them see what your organization is about
-         Show results & human face of your organization
· Allocation of funds:
-         Look at services & look how you spend money
-         Report to donors how resources are being spent
· Donor appreciation:
-         Thank your donors regularly
-         Make them feel important and that they matter
-         “Thank-a-thon”: call every donor (time with Thanksgiving?)
· Community partnerships:
-         Work with other charitable organizations
· Build volunteers – young & old:
-         Go into schools & introduce your programs to them
-         Also introduce your programs to retired people
· Participatory fundraising: develop self-sustaining programs that can generate their own revenue, i.e.:
-         Paintball tournament
-         Bowl-a-thon
-         Rock-a-thon / Rocking Chair: give money for time rocking (anyone can participate)
-         Have other companies do events for you
-         Carol-o-grams

CHALLENGE #3: Financial Management

Your organization is concerned that the major fundraising events that currently bring in the majority of your annual revenues are consuming too much time and resources. How would you go about shifting the reliance on fundraising events, to general donations and other sources of revenue?

· Develop simple transition plan:
-         Inform event guest list & current donor base of responsible change: case for support prior to announcement (business case from human case)
· Cultivate existing donors:
-         Don’t just ask for ‘3 names’ of additional donors – ask for ‘3 ideas’ for fundraising
-         Keep communication clear & consistent
-         Cultivate relationships, do homework about their interests, needs & desired involvement
-         Ask donors “build a book” for full contribution needed: peer-to-peer ask for funds
· Alternative revenue sources:
-         Investigate social enterprise opportunities (profit-sharing)
· Research new foundations: Canada Revenue Agency online database

CHALLENGE #4: Financial Management

After several years of fundraising success that has supported significant program expansion, your organization is hit hard by the current economic downturn. How do you deal with the sudden loss of 25% of budgeted donations expected in the final quarter of this year? With if the loss was as big as 50 % of expected donations? Consider the impact on your immediate, medium-term, and long-term strategic planning response.

· Immediate response:
-         Cost-cutting → brainstorming regarding admin costs
-         Opportunities for collaboration with similar organizations (cost-sharing, volunteers)
-         Examine sources of income – can they be diversified?
          o       In-kind gifts
          o       Involve staff & board (involve everyone!)
· Medium-term:
-         Community education
-         Partnerships with municipal leaders
-         Re-evaluate / negotiate contracts
-         Advocate to board level
-         Solicit in-kind donations
-         Strengthen bonds with existing donors
· Long-term:
-         Strategic initiative to continue services with safeguards in place
-         Apply for grants
-         Hire fundraiser if possible
          * constant, ongoing relationship-building

CHALLENGE #5: Human Resources

The changing face of volunteerism in Canada is making it increasingly difficult for your organization to provide your mostly volunteer-delivered services at existing levels. What steps can you take to reorganize your volunteer recruitment, training and retention program in the face of wide-spread public apathy?

· Reorganize volunteer recruitment, training & retention program with the public
· Partner with university / college schools → target schools that offer services (co-op programs?)
-         School credit for volunteering?
* start habit of volunteerism young
· Corporate initiatives: speak to companies to push / promote volunteerism
· Use media – create awareness
· Get current volunteers to go out & advocate for recruitment
· Offer in-kind tax receipt for services
· Website development / blogs / Facebook groups
-         Great email lists important
· Verify strengths of your existing volunteer team
-         Match strength / talent with task
-         Mentoring: identify champions

CHALLENGE #6: Human Resources

The backbone of your organization is its dedicated team full-time and part-time employees, many of whom have been with the organization since its establishment. Recently, however, you have seen a major spike in turnover, which has had a demoralizing effect on the rest of your team. What steps can you take, in both the short- and long-term, to improve job satisfaction and retention, and reduce staff burnout?

· Assess possible reasons for turnover: wages, benefits, workloads
· Establish job descriptions for volunteers (goals)
· Diversity of staff talent
· Conduct semi-annual reviews to see where gaps are
· Secession planning
· Recruit more volunteers to supplement full time staff
-         Match staff & volunteers: mentoring
· Staff loans

CHALLENGE #7: Program Delivery

Your organization has experienced several years of record growth which has resulted in a threefold expansion of your service delivery. How can your organization manage this rapid growth without losing the personalized quality of your service delivery and client supports?
 
· Increase staff / volunteers:
-         through partnerships & joining forces with other similar agencies
-         use practicums / co-op students: BUT challenge of space / training
-         advertise (media, etc.) needs of agency
-         integration of new technology: upgrades to keep up with growth
-         pool resources with other agencies to keep expenses down (primarily administrative expenses)
-         be more proactive in approaching prospective and existing donors for increases to donations
-         gather information: best practices from other agencies with similar mandates / programs

CHALLENGE #8: Outcome Measurement

Your largest funder has requested a major review of the impact of your core programs. What measurement and evaluation tools might you employ to demonstrate your outcomes or results (as opposed to outputs) over both the short- and long-term?

· Develop clear mission: build evaluation into strategic planning
· Database: need long-term, accessible data (quality of life)
-         Keep long-term records
· Survey: specific questions based on your intentions / goals (agency mission statement)
-         Intake survey  to clarify goals
-         Exit survey should correspond
-         Follow-up interviews
· Success: measured on an individual bases of each persons own growth
-         Realistic client goals / objectives / outcomes
· Community support letters: demonstrating client use of services – especially impact of services on client and community as a whole
· Cost measurement: can you calculate how much your agency’s services save for government (estimate)?
· Evaluation of program materials (information) → and delivery of the information → self-evaluation of direct impact on client
· Focus groups: constant evaluation / re-evaluation
· Consult other organizations: share survey tools
· Build in money for outside evaluation: external review can generate honest feedback from clients and employees alike