By Karen Kegg

My husband and I renewed our wedding vows this summer with family and a few friends attending.  For a gift, my sister-in-law gave us a decorative gratefulness jar to remind us how grateful we should be for each other and our family.  It’s a decorative jar that you place notes of gratefulness in when you aren’t feeling encouraged about life.  In other words, it reminds you to stop and acknowledge what you are truly thankful for and to actually write it down and save.

All of us are thankful for different things.  I believe individuals who give of themselves to causes that are important are truly expressing gratefulness for what they have been given.  Genuine gratefulness comes when you realize you do not deserve it.   Nonprofits appreciate the support given to them but are they not always good expressing genuine gratefulness.  Knowing  a donor’s specific  motivation for giving can be a guide to appropriate expressions of gratefulness.

I often hear from donors that they feel the nonprofits they support treat them like “ATM machines,” only hearing from them when the organizations need something.  Many past donors tell us they gave a gift and have never received a personal thank you note.  Sad, but true!  Taking donors for granted is not what we ever intend to do, but it happens.

As nonprofit professionals, what is our best course of action?  Start by articulating to your donors how much you appreciate their gifts, telling why  their gifts are so important to the mission they believe in.  Then, add a story telling how their gifts were specifically used to benefit those you serve.  This act of gratitude pays immediate dividends and will set the stage to provide your organization additional gifts in the future.  Donors want to feel that they have made a difference in the lives of others and they want to be acknowledged.

So, think about placing a gratefulness jar in your organization’s office.  Encourage each other to acknowledge what they are thankful for by writing it down.  When things get tough, pull those notes out and remember gratefulness leads to true happiness!

By Marion Lee, CFRE

Most of us have been here before. Throughout our careers, earthquakes, hurricanes, fire and terrorism have dealt our communities and our country blows that resonate with us long after the actual disaster. No one nonprofit is truly exempt from these disasters, and the closer they are to the epicenter of the tragic event, the greater the impact on their mission.

Messages have come in from across the state that focus on very real issues facing our nonprofit community as we begin the traditional funding cycle of our year. I asked the Lee+ Associates team to share their thoughts as they relate to capital campaigns, events, messaging and inevitably: Is there one solution to a great big problem?

Capital Campaigns: Do we hold or launch?

Joyce Penland: Despite Hurricane Harvey, your organization’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations have not changed.  Yes, your donors may be temporarily unable to help you with a large gift at this time.  But they are understandably moved to help victims of the tragedy.  So, you as a development professional, along with your board, will have to decide if your case is so compelling that you’re willing to launch your campaign now.  After those deliberations, many would advise waiting a few months, if not a year, before undertaking a major campaign at this time.

Amy Phipps: Keep working quietly.  Hurricane Harvey’s effect on your donors will be influenced by their location and their focus.  Your cause is still important and your donors know that.  Be sensitive to the needs of those affected and, if your mission aligns with those needs at all, see if you have a part to play. But don’t stop your campaign work.

Karen Kegg: Consider holding until Spring of 2018. People here need time to assess their situations and figure out their plans. Don’t stop the planning, do what you can to prepare by revising materials and messages.

Covita Moroney: Campaign mode helps focus messaging and can add discipline to the schedule of fundraising moves/solicitation. Keep the key parts of your plan moving forward.

Special Events. Is the timing right?

Joyce: Organizations that focus on disaster relief are well-positioned to continue special events and fundraisers, as donors’ hearts are attuned to their cause at present.  For other organizations–the arts, education, and others–special events that are already in the works could be tailored to include a disaster relief component.  Social media is full of organizations (SA Zoo, The Witte Museum for example) who are opening their doors to hurricane evacuees at no charge…leaving donors and the general public with glad hearts for their efforts.

Amy: Special events and fundraisers (tons of offers-what do we do) – if this is about other folks offering to put on events for you, I hope you have a policy about that.  (If not, after things settle down a bit, look at crafting one).  Be true to your mission and your values and be realistic about your capacity to staff outside events.  Not everything needs to happen at once. Push the pause button with some of these donors and call on them later, if the timing would be better for you.  You may not be able to say yes to everybody right now, but use this opportunity to build and cultivate relationships.

Karen: Continue as planned.  All nonprofits have needs that have to be fulfilled.  I would acknowledge the great relief efforts from Hurricane Harvey, but continue on as planned. Prepare for a possible slight downturn in ticket sales and auction proceeds.

Robin Bradford: Yes, on fundraisers – but with clear limits. The nonprofit’s role is to appear/speak (if possible) and accept checks. My recommendation is to create a form with info about event, fundraising goal, and expectations.

Covita: In all types of campaigns or events, pinpoint the exact positive impact that your nonprofit will have on people served. This applies to LOIs and grant applications also.

What is our Message?

Joyce: Honesty is always the best policy. Nonprofits need to be upfront about the current situation and tell donors that they’re aware that their cause may not be “top of mind” right now due to the pressing needs of neighbors up and down the Texas, Florida and other impacted areas.  It’s still important to remind donors that your cause is still worthy and still merits their generosity when the time is right.

Amy: Needs are great, plans are nebulous, many offers of help exist, but always stay true to your mission.  I think funders appreciate knowing anything you are doing at this time to help those in need- even if you aren’t directly connected, perhaps your staff is doing a food drive or spending a weekend at a shelter.  Make sure that’s communicated as it builds a lot of goodwill.

Robin: At a former organization, we did weekly newsletters telling families’ stories (to show evolving needs, partnerships, etc.) – some successes & some challenges. We showed that we were having a daily impact. At the same time, internally, we were working with FEMA and other international aid funding opportunities – it’s all a whirling mess for some time. But it’s key to communicate your local ongoing impact to your donors – this builds tremendous power for future efforts. Also, watch for mission creep and communicate about how work you’re doing relates to the mission/work you’ve always had/done, etc.

Have confidentiality/permissions policy/form for vulnerable populations (don’t re-traumatize). Post-disaster work is nebulous and ever-changing – start a “fund’ or “campaign” and start asking even if the specifics on how dollars will be spent is not yet clear. If unexpected funding comes in and needs to be reprogrammed for non-Hurricane Harvey work, make sure wording on donations is not restricting. We were able to get FEMA reimbursement for an organization that provided housing for evacuees – but that wasn’t clear for months and continued to change every sixmonths when it was renewed. Communicate impact, internally be flexible.

Covita: Sharpen your messaging particularly in campaign mode. Drive all message into the same focused points that specify who will be helped and how. Include special outcomes in your message byusing graphs and charts to raise your efforts above the fray.
What are the Foundations going to do?

Joyce: Foundation resources are finite, so they will not be the answer.  Savvy organizations will stay focused on their mission, their clients’ needs and will continue to appeal to foundations, corporations and individuals who have supported them in the past.

Amy: Will the foundations save us?  Nope, they can’t.  Not enough money, even if it were all pooled.  But talk to them and let them know what/how you are doing. If they can’t help, they are sure to know of others who might be able to.

Karen: I believe Foundations will take the same attitude they always have in times of emergency: no, they do not have the resources to save you but they will do what they can to cover as much ground as possible as quickly as possible.

Can we reach out for emergency funding?  

Joyce: Nonprofits faced with budget shortfalls can always approach their loyal base of donors, particularly those at the top, to ask for stretch gifts.  Long-time donors are savvy about how disasters have a wide impact across the nonprofit spectrum.  We are seeing philanthropy at its finest as a result of Hurricane Harvey. From “rich and famous” starts of sports, music, film and television to neighborhood children running a lemonade stand for charity, seeing the suffering of our neighbors has spurred an amazing response of generosity unlike anything we have witnessed since Hurricane Katrina.  We seem to be at our very finest when things are at their very worst.

Amy: Make sure you know where it is (SAAF, for one) and if you qualify.  Go for it if you do.  If you have specific immediate needs, contact past donors to see if support might be there.

Marion: After hearing from my colleagues on these topics, here’s my own perspective:

Depending on your mission and proximity to Texas, Florida and other impacted areas, gather your Board and develop a plan that identifies the three most vital priorities your organization needs to address in the next six months and the next 12 months.

If you are standing on the edge of a capital endeavor, assess carefully what you really need. Is it funds for temporary housing and programs, or is this the time to step out with a capital endeavor possibly smaller than planned? This is the proving time. If you know your donors, how they have been affected, and where their hearts are, this may be the time to go to some of your consistently loyal supporters and ask for their help with a major gift. If you have not cultivated or stewarded these relationships, and you don’t know your donors, this probably is not a good time to approach them for a significant gift.

Once that plan is in place, speak it to your staff, your donors, your community, region and your state. Don’t back down on what you need and don’t be embarrassed. Be clear, thoughtful and explain why, who, how and when. Timing on your message is critical and, again, the better you know your donors, the easier it will be to determine when to reach out.

Everybody wants to give you a concert, party, or in some way lend a hand. It is generous loving hearts that want to reach out to help you. Be thankful, wise and cautious. Special events are time consuming and can drain the already stressed energy of a staff and volunteer corp. They also are not free or rarely are they free.

Give the foundations room to breathe. They are as stunned as the rest of us and some of their staffs have sustained personal loss as well as loss to professional environments. They are in the process of meeting with their trustees, formulating their plans and determining where best they can help. They will be there, but it will take time.

Above all, please remember, this country, most particularly this state, steps up when asked. It’s hard to wait, but help is coming.

Thanks to everyone at Lee+ Associates for their help in writing this article. Our thoughts, time, and energy are with all of our friends and colleagues in the nonprofit world. We are here. Even if you don’t know us, reach out. We will do what we can to advise, help, and lift your spirits.

By Alexis De Sela

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.”   — Friedrich Nietzsche

We at Lee+ Associates realize that meeting each organization where it is, whether it’s crawling, standing, walking, running, or flying, is essential. We believe in a holistic approach to our work that includes partnering with organizations of all sizes—from micro to large and complex nonprofits to examine and strengthen their Governance, Fundraising, Organizational Development, and Human Capital Management efforts.

Nietzsche’s quote can well be defining the different life cycles of a nonprofit. Each life cycle is manifested differently in a nonprofit and our team has practical experience to help explore and understand the cause and effect of those cycles. We listen and develop individual and specific approaches rather than try to fit your organization into a canned program. This is how we hold true to our promise to Add Value to Vision.

Having a strong and engaged Board of Directors who understands and lives their promise of effective Governance sets the tone for any nonprofit. Whether our role is helping Boards understand their roles and responsibilities, or preparing them and walking them through an important ask or a capital campaign, we can help.

For the past 17 years, we have helped nonprofits in their Fundraising efforts. From assessing development departments and providing best practice structure ideas, to analyzing fundraising strategies and helping create realistic goals, our team of fundraising experts, led by Marion Lee, has guided many organizations throughout the state to achieve significant fundraising milestones and success. With Lee+ Associates’ guidance, many nonprofits have secured the largest gifts in their organizations’ histories and have completed challenging capital campaigns where others have failed.

The discipline of Organizational Development focuses on increasing organizational effectiveness and health, and this is achieved by making sure there is an alignment of strategy, structure, systems, programs, processes, and people. We offer organizational assessments, a unique and comprehensive approach to strategic planning and plan implementation, data management, metrics, and analytics system development to help guide the nonprofit towards understanding and managing to achieve optimal impact. We also offer process improvement, Quality Management, and strategies to increase safety-net clinic efficiencies. This is the discipline where the building blocks of effective capacity building take place and we have experts at Lee+ Associates that have led organizations to success.

At the core of any successful organization are its people. You can have the most compelling mission but if you don’t have an engaged team of people carrying out their work, your organization will struggle. We believe people are indeed the single most important asset of any nonprofit. Our Human Capital Management program helps Leadership understand the reasons behind staff and board engagement and what makes a high-performing team. We then work with staff and leadership in implementing necessary changes to increase board and staff retention, satisfaction, and effectiveness.

Effective capacity building encompasses the four pillars for organizational health we’ve just explored.  At Lee+ Associates, we work diligently to serve nonprofits and support you in bringing your visions to reality, empowering your mission to serve more effectively and ultimately to help expand your capacity “wings” to help you reach new heights.

By Shannon Kingman

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” said the Cat.

Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat of Alice in Wonderland said it best – knowing how to progress as an organization begins with determining precisely where it is you want to go. The strategic direction of any organization begins first with a vision. Consider Herb Kelleher, who in 1967 envisioned the possibility that air travel could compete on price with car travel. Thus, he created Southwest Airlines as “The Low Cost Airline,” and all of the company’s plans were founded in this underlying vision. (1)

The same principle holds true in the nonprofit sector. A vision of betterment in some particular area is typically the driving force behind nonprofit institutions. Strategy, then, is the consideration of choices that seek to deliver the best return on scarce resources. And most every nonprofit knows two things: Resources – finances, time, staffing, etc. – can be scarce; and
Deploying these resources to their highest and best use directly impacts the lives of the individuals and communities you serve.

So how do you create and deliver on the best strategy for your organization? Hint: the answer is a strategic plan. A strategic planning process considers all of the forces at work within your environment – economic, political, technological, as well as internal structures, systems, and processes – to create a comprehensive strategic plan ranging anywhere from three to five years into the future. The use of data and analytics to drive decision making is also becoming increasingly valuable in the nonprofit sector. It’s a topic worthy of further exploration at a later date.

The benefits of operating along the path set forth by a strategic plan are numerous. Allow me to highlight three such benefits. In addition to enabling a targeted and efficient use of resources, a plan also helps to align the people within an organization along a shared course. Every individual, no matter their place in the organizational hierarchy, should understand the part they play in contributing to your strategic plan. Knowing how one’s role and daily tasks affect a greater plan can go a long way in building positive culture and reducing staff turnover. Finally, a well-defined strategic plan helps to engage donors. While many people may feel drawn to your mission and area of impact, they will be more likely to give when they can see a thoughtful plan designed to move the organization toward its stated goals.

Strategic plans, and sometimes even visions, have a shelf life. A strategic plan is just that – a plan – that must be periodically examined and adjusted to reflect current and future realities as new information emerges.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go” said the Cat – “…so long as I get somewhere.” – added Alice. Unlike Alice, we don’t have the luxury of living in a fairytale. Instead, in our reality of meaningful missions but finite resources, a strategic plan ensures that you arrive at your “somewhere” more efficiently than did Alice.

Lee+ Associates offers strategic planning services conducted by experts in Organizational Development who have lead and implemented strategic planning so they understand the process in all its permutations. We don’t lead from theory. We lead from experience. Our strategic plans are tailored to your organization’s needs, and budget.

(1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/09/14/the-evolution-of-strategy/#65ed2b591a75

The Lee+ Associates team recently completed a fun (but surprisingly challenging) poll of some of our favorite things. The resulting responses will give you a snapshot of each of us, including a quirk or two. We hope you will enjoy getting to know us a bit better!

Priscilla Cortez, Associate

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?
While working at UT Austin, a student in the College of Natural Sciences passed away -too young – from brain cancer.  I worked with her family to establish a scholarship in her name that would benefit students just like her with a passion for the arts and sciences.  It was a beautiful way for her family to honor the memory of their daughter/sister.

• Who were/are your professional mentors?
Marion Lee, Principal at Lee+ Associates;  Jim Noffke, Associate Vice Chancellor for the Center for Enhancing Philanthropy at The University of Texas System; and Cookie Ruiz, Executive Director of Ballet Austin.

• What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat)?
A restaurant my husband and I stumbled upon in Siena, Italy, while on our honeymoon 10 years ago.  I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but our meal of peposo (akin to beef stew) and chickpeas was unforgettable!

• What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Steel Magnolias:  “I’m not crazy, M’Lynn, I’ve just been in a very bad mood for 40 years!”

• What’s your favorite book?
To Kill a Mockingbird

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about?  
As a former ballet/tap/jazz dancer, I choreograph most everything I do in my head.

Alexis De Sela, COO

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?
Since my background is in Organizational Development and Human Capital Management, my most memorable professional experience has been related to these: turning a deeply fractured, siloed, and ineffective division into the organization’s most profitable and effective division within a 12-month period. Our efforts saved the organization over $1.5 million in turnover reduction alone! Seeing this division flourish and developing a strong cadre of future leaders was one of the most rewarding professional experiences I’ve ever had.

• Who were/are your professional mentors?
I have had three outstanding professional mentors: Jackie Gordon, Steven Flanagan, and Victor Azios. I learned important lessons that helped transform my approach to dealing with issues, motivating others, and helped me become a more effective leader.

Jackie taught me about being true to yourself, acting with integrity, and being kind. She always did what she said she was going to do and treated everyone respectfully and fairly. Steve taught me to be strategic and patient. He had a remarkable ability to plan and wait for the right moment to make an important ask or move a project forward.
Victor taught me to be present and to lean into the “messiness” of a situation. I learned to enjoy organic situations and found the creativity that percolated as a result was worth throwing a “set agenda” out the window.

The one quality they all had in common was their ability to clearly articulate their expectations of my performance, trust that I would perform, and hold me accountable. I felt their trust and did everything I could to deliver on my promise.

• What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat?)
I love to eat and have eaten some pretty spectacular meals at some of the best restaurants in the world. One of the fondest memories is eating mojarritas (Tilapia) on the beach in Acapulco. My dad would fish for and cook the mojarritas on a grill, season with lime and salt, and we would devour them. Nothing has ever come close to this culinary experience: it had flavor, ambiance, and tons of love!

• What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Godfather I and II

• What’s your favorite book?
Try as I may, naming ONE favorite book is impossible! Here are five of the most meaningful books I’ve read: 20 poemas de Amor y Una Cancion Desesperada, Pablo Neruda; The Poet, Kahlil Gibran; The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint Exupery; The Art of War, Sun Tzu; and A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about?
I have to enter an airplane in a certain way always.

Karen Kegg, Senior Associate

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?
While working in Maine, President George H.W. Bush called me personally at my hotel.  He left a message with the front desk with a number. I called it back and he answered!

• Who were/are your professional mentors? 
Mary Kathryn Cooper, my supervisor at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and my colleagues at Lee+ Associates.

• What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat)? 
Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Houston.  The best steak I’ve ever had!  As well as the sides…

• What’s your favorite movie of all time? 
It’s a tie between Steel Magnolias and When Harry met Sally.

• What’s your favorite book?  
Beach Music by Pat Conroy.

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about? 
I start talking the minute I get up in the morning!

Shannon Kingman, Associate

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?
In college, I participated in Dance Marathon, a benefit for the Children’s Miracle Network at UVA Children’s Hospital.  It was a very “active” fundraising tactic; participants raised money by dancing for 10+ consecutive hours.

• Who were/are your professional mentors?
I’ve had several over the years, but I worked in strategy at a hospital system directly out of graduate school; my boss during that time served as a wonderful mentor for me.

• What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat)? 
Bodo’s Bagels in Charlottesville, Va.  It’s nothing fancy, but they make the most delicious bagels and it will forever remind me of my college days.

• What’s your favorite movie of all time?
That’s hard to say….Lion was the best movie I’ve seen recently, but My Best Friend’s Wedding was a favorite for years.

• What’s your favorite book? 
To read with my kids at night – The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin.  Another favorite is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom; it was first recommended to me by a woman I greatly respect, and her recommendation did not disappoint.

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about?  
Juggling!  I tried to teach my three year old recently…you can imagine how that went.

Marion Lee, CEO

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?  
An elderly woman reached out to me at the San Antonio Area Foundation, and over the course of a year, we spent time together. A staff member or I regularly picked her up and took her home after our events, and we even took her to the grocery store when needed, although she rarely asked for this kind of help.  So, I was very surprised when her attorney called me to say that she had passed away and had left the Foundation $6.8 million to establish a fund.  The circumstances under which she lived did not demonstrate that she had this kind of wealth.  We knew she had some wealth, but not like that, and what we did for her, we did out of respect and just general kindness to an elderly person.  The staff enjoyed her so much.

• Who were/are your professional mentors?  
Maria Eugenia Cossio Ameduri is hands down the best strategist and best fundraiser I ever met.  She was my former boss, known as “Boss” at the San Antonio Public Library Foundation, and, to this day, she is a mentor and is an inspiration to me.

•What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat)?
The very first time, probably 1973, at the Quarterdeck in San Antonio, it was a meal of   King crab legs with sautéed mushrooms.  I was a college student, working two jobs and eating rice and beans and scavenging through the mall on Saturdays to eat samples at Dunderbacks.  To this day, this meal stands out as the best meal I have ever had, and it started me on my life-long love of Tanqueray and Tonic.

• What’s your favorite movie of all time? 
Rear Window, Big Jake or Fried Green Tomatoes

• What’s your favorite book?  
The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It was the coming of age book.

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about? 
When I am alone, I have a book or my kindle in my hand and I read while I cook, clean, bathe, watch TV, sit on the porch, and if I could, I would read while walking the dog. But with my three dogs, I would end up in the hospital!

Covita Moroney, Associate

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?
In the 1990s, while at the Symphony, a group of office volunteers came every Thursday morning. The group included Laura Richmond, who was the ring leader. The group included wives of corporate CEOs and had organized themselves to assist my department. Every Wednesday the team fell into a panic, scrambling to prepare enough meaningful work for as many as six very capable women who would arrive the next morning. I had a saying back then: “Hell hath no fury like a group of volunteers with no work.”

• Who were/are your professional mentors?
Early on I learned everything from scratch from my executive directors— including my first nonprofit boss, the Symphony’s Executive Director Rick Lester. Later Jo Long (Carver Center) informed me that foundations don’t award grants based on the word count. Margaret King Stanley has been a wonderful mentor, and we stay in touch. More recently I’d say that Rebecca Brune opened my eyes to numerous key organizational strategies and best practices when I was at Methodist Healthcare Ministries. Our own Alexis De Sela worked over a period of time as a professional coach and was very impactful. Nowadays Marion (Lee) and Alexis are my “go-to” resources since between the two of them everything is revealed.

• What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat)?
Kohinoor on Fredericksburg has absolutely the most authentic, delicious, to-die-for Pakistani / Indian cuisine. It’s such complicated food to prepare with a jillion steps and spices. The Butter Chicken and the aloo palak are amazing and the naan is ridiculously good. Best cooked cuisine I’ve ever enjoyed.

• What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

• What’s your favorite book?
If I had to choose one for the desert island, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabonka Rinpoche is a vast survey of traditional Tibetan Buddhism and culture. It’s so much fun to read and re-read this dive into the old Tibetan world view.

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about?
In the late 1970s I played and sang pop music in cocktail lounges with my (now) husband, in and around Boston and Cape Cod.

Joyce Penland, Senior Associate

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?
As Development Director at Trinity University, our team introduced various giving levels between $100 and $1000. It seems simple, but we didn’t have that essential “pathway” at the time to influence donors to upgrade their gifts. So, we created the $250 and $500 giving “clubs” as well as the higher $2500, $5000 and $10,000 giving levels. As the saying goes, “If you build it, he will come” and donors readily began contributing at the new giving levels.

• Who were/are your professional mentors?
Margie Kintz hired me at Trinity University and gave me the tools and training to become successful in the world of philanthropy. For most of my 22 years at Trinity Marc Raney was my boss and provided all of us the freedom to create programs and initiate new fundraising ideas. In addition, especially in the early years, I learned so much from other fundraising colleagues through the Association of Fundraising Professionals…Mike Davis, Frank Elston, Barbara Anne Stephens, and many others, and I never hesitate to recommend AFP to newcomers.

• What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat)?
I had never had breakfast tacos before arriving in San Antonio in 1984 and now it’s my favorite food. I’m a big fan of the migas taco (with a strip of crisp bacon) at Panchito’s on McCullough Avenue here in San Antonio.

• What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Dave – I could watch this again and again–an intelligent and funny movie.

• What’s your favorite book?
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows & Mary Ann Shaffer.

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about?
I can play the saxophone, but rarely get called upon to do so!

Amy Phipps, Associate

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?
Being on the incredible team of volunteers and staff that raised $14.1 million for The Children’s Shelter’s new campus on West Woodlawn during the first campaign in the organization’s 100-year history.

• Who were/are your professional mentors?
Being surrounded by other AFP Presidents in the “early days”, including Kathy MacNaughton, Larry Tuttle, Joyce Penland, Ellen Lueck, Connie Munn…and others…you know who you are! …we all mentored each other and cemented lifetime friendships.

• What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat)?  
Knowing that hunger is the best sauce, one of my most memorable meals was a fried-fish lunch at Canyon Lake after spending three hours wrestling a disabled sailboat back to shore.  We fell on that food — fish, fries and cole slaw — as if we hadn’t eaten for days.  It was restorative and brought us back to life.

• What’s your favorite movie of all time?  
O Brother Where Art Thou

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about?  
This one has me stumped.  It would be like picking a favorite child.

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about?  
I can say the alphabet backwards in less than 6 seconds.  Also I can whistle with a blade of grass.  And recite the opening of the old “Superman” TV show.  This is what hours of childhood idleness spawns!

Rhonda Serna, Senior Executive Assistant

• What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience?
When I worked at the corporate office of HEB, in Public Affairs, our department was responsible for coordinating hundreds of HEB sponsored events each year, the largest of which occurs during the holiday season, The Feast of Sharing. The Feast of Sharing serves communities across Texas in fighting hunger. Along with the delicious holiday meal, guests enjoy music, health screenings, children’s activities and Santa even joins in the festivities. It truly takes a “village of volunteers” who gladly give of their time to make this event successful. One year an elderly woman approached me at the event to ask if she could give me a hug as a “thank you”. She said that she had no family and the Feast of Sharing was her only holiday event to attend. I was pleased to play a part in giving so many people a sense of belonging and joy during a season that otherwise can be very lonely.

• Who were/are your professional mentors?
Marion Lee and Alexis De Sela, here at Lee+ Associates, and Debbie Sutton, Manager of Occupancy Planning Services at USAA.

• What’s the best place you ever ate (and what did you eat)?  
Restaurant Paradis, Rosemary Beach, Florida. Truly a religious experience!

• What’s your favorite movie of all time?  
Steel Magnolias (Laugh, cry, laugh, cry some more…) and On Golden Pond (Who doesn’t love Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda?)

• What’s your favorite book?  
To Kill a Mockingbird

• What is a quirky trait you possess that no one knows about?
I cannot drink something hot when I am eating something hot!

By Covita Moroney

In working with our clients, particularly in the context of organizational assessments, Lee+ Associates team members consistently encounter nonprofit leaders who fully embrace the importance of demonstrating their program’s impact. My work with a current client (and past experiences as a nonprofit manager) quickly surfaced this core fact: most nonprofit staffs are completely occupied with the planning and delivery of their programs, and have little time to design and implement data systems for program evaluation and/or need increased expertise and analytical capacity to operate robust evaluation efforts.

President and COO of the San Antonio Area Foundation Rebecca (Becca) Brune recently shared her thoughts about data and nonprofit sustainability for this article. I was fortunate to work for Becca at Methodist Healthcare Ministries, and learned to listen attentively when she shared her insights and reflections on community, nonprofit program evaluation, and sustainability.

Prior to our meeting, I emailed Becca a question that nonprofit managers would want answered by a foundation leader with her depth of national and local experience: ‘Regarding nonprofit financial sustainability, what one area of information (data) has the most potential to strengthen a nonprofit, if collected and analyzed properly? Why is that factor so pivotal?’

In our meeting, Brune zeroed in on this point: “For nonprofits, your efficiencies, sustainability, and scale come from the strength of their program. How do you strengthen programming? Through Evaluation.” She shared that analytics is not just about funders being able to quantify return on investment and impact in a community. “Analytics and tracking outcomes is about agencies improving the services they offer. And there’s not a single nonprofit out there who doesn’t want to do that. Nonprofits represent a critical mass of data – a gold mine of information to better optimize interventions and impact”

Brune noted that only the strongest nonprofits with financial reserves and technological sophistication can direct resources to sustain the data infrastructure required for evaluation—the skills, tools, and knowledge to implement best practices. “The strong get stronger while others continue to struggle.” Drawing a Venn diagram, Becca addressed a possible path forward: “We’ve got three spheres — nonprofits, funders, and the community. There needs to be dialog between funders and nonprofits about analytics. And it may primarily be a conversation that funders need to have among themselves.”

Funders like the Area Foundation have begun exploring how best to support the development of technical skill sets and tools for evaluation—to empower agencies to truly demonstrate progress on a community issue. For example, San Antonio agencies who partner with SA2020 may receive new support to improve their evaluation practices for program metrics that align with SA2020’s shared outcome indicators. A two-year grant from the Kresge Foundation was awarded to SA2020 in support of its mission to track the city’s progress in key areas.

We at Lee+ Associates hope this commitment to program evaluation continues as we work with clients to achieve sustainability through Campaign Management, Human Resource Development, and Operational Capacity Building, including data systems and management. Our team has worked on both sides of the nonprofit/funder table, including qualified individuals helping agencies increase their capacity to collect and analyze data—creating evaluation frameworks that align with best practices, funder requirements, and SA2020 outcome indicators.

“Summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” –Henry James For most nonprofit staff members, summer typically brings a slight slow-down in program activity, although for some it can be the busiest time of the year particularly if you’re running a summer camp or enrichment program. But for those who do enjoy this slower time of year, the Lee+ Associates team recommends these five tips to help you rejuvenate and recharge this summer. 1. Change your routine. If your supervisor will permit it, consider going into work early and leaving early to maximize time at the end of the day for your favorite pursuits…an evening stroll, a swim, a 9-hole round of golf, cooking, trying a new restaurant or reading. 2. Take a mini-vacation. Even if you don’t have much time accrued, taking a Friday or Monday off to extend the weekend is essential in helping you decompress. Use the time to explore the great state of Texas, or just stay home with a good read. 3. Try a new exercise regimen. If you’re typically a walker, try swimming. If you’re into weight-lifting, try a morning jog. The point is to try something out of the ordinary to help boost your endorphins and help revitalize your exercise routine this summer. 4. Volunteer at a nonprofit other than your own. Nothing delivers a deep sense of satisfaction more than doing good for others. Volunteering at an agency outside your own arena will expand your knowledge of and compassion for other nonprofit spheres. 5. Reconnect with family and friends. Summertime signals reunion time. Take the time this summer to connect with college roommates, high school buddies, and extended family members. Facebook is alive with photos of these reconnections for friends and families alike. Enjoying shared memories is one of the highlights of each summer season.

By Alexis De Sela

Your Development Director just handed you her resignation. It takes you completely off-guard. You thought this was “the one” who would stay because she was 14 months into her tenure. You had no idea she was looking at other opportunities or that she was unhappy in any way, and this will be the third Director of Development to leave in the past five years. This revolving door potentially costs the organization $360,000*

It has been my experience that many organizations don’t realize what it costs them to lose staff, especially key staff in Development. After all, these are the professionals primarily responsible for bringing in the funding needed to advance your mission, and to help it become and remain sustainable. While costs associated with turnover and replacement are high, indirect costs can be even more expensive, damaging, and lasting to your organization’s reputation.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates turnover costs to be between 100% to 300% of base salary. The Center for American Progress estimates the following costs for turnover:

•16% of base salary for high-turnover, low paying jobs (earnings less than $30,000)

•20% of base salary for mid-range positions making under $75,000

•Up to 213% for highly educated, executive positions, and those with special skills

According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Penelope Burk’s research estimates direct and indirect costs to find a replacement fundraiser is $127,650.

According to Deloitte and SHRM, turnover costs include:

•Replacement Costs (recruitment, selection and hiring) – If you recruit in-house, you will bear the full cost of recruitment, including time and cost for placing ads, receipting and scanning résumés, initial screenings, in-person interviews, reference and background checks, relocation costs, etc. If you decide to use a firm, the cost can range from $8,000 to 25% of the position’s salary. There may also be costs associated with hiring a temporary employee or consultant to fill the gap.

•Onboarding costs – These include training time and cost for the new employee, and management time to ensure the new employee is assimilating successfully into the organization.

•Loss of productivity – It may take 1-2 years for someone to reach full productivity. This involves learning the database, policies and procedures, navigating organizational culture, and developing relationships with key stakeholders (within and without the organization). The loss of productivity can be insidious if the employee disengages before they decide to leave, and certainly while they are actively seeking employment elsewhere.

•Loss of engagement – Turnover affects the rest of the workforce; when others see high turnover, they tend to disengage and lose productivity.

•Increase in errors and decrease in customer service – When employees have to cope with the additional workload after a colleague leaves, quality suffers and, ultimately, mission delivery suffers, affecting the clients we serve.

•Training costs – Over the course of 2 to 3 years, an organization invests in employee training and development, at a cost that hovers between 20% to 30% of salary.

•Loss of institutional knowledge – This is especially difficult when longer tenured employees leave. In the absence of well-crafted documentation or procedures, many organizations scramble to understand why things were done a certain way. In the Development Office, institutional knowledge as well as understanding of your organization’s donors and funders may be hard to replace.

•Cultural impact – High turnover may cause funders, stakeholders, and community leaders to wonder what is happening at the organization.

Analyzing and understanding the impact of turnover will help organizations adopt retention strategies to minimize voluntary turnover. These retention strategies should be discussed regularly at the Executive staff and Board levels because they directly affect an organization’s sustainability.

Over the course of my 27-year career in Human Capital Management, I have gained a deep understanding of what causes employees to leave, and I have implemented successful strategies to increase retention. These strategies saved an organization where I worked more than $1 million in a single year. Here are some of these successful strategies to increase retention in your organization in general and within your Development department specifically:

+Ensure an optimal organizational fit when hiring a new employee, especially a Director of Development or CDO. The Executive Director and Board will be spending a great deal of time together and it will be essential to have a good working relationship; fit is critical.

+Provide a phased onboarding process. Allow new employees to learn and feel comfortable in their new environment.

+Provide an updated job description that describes the job accurately.

+Set realistic goals and achieve mutual agreement on those goals. If you don’t set goals or they are unrealistic, disengagement will begin quickly.

+Hold regular 1:1 meetings to discuss goal achievement progress and any issues that may be impeding progress.

+Conduct a 90-day performance review and always do a yearly review. Allow the employee to review your performance as a leader.

+Praise in public and address issues in private.

+Give staff the tools they need to be successful.

+Over communicate.

+Provide flexibility when possible. Sometimes working remotely can be a win-win situation.

Development professionals should think about the reasons you have sought new job opportunities. I suspect your boss had almost everything to do with your decision, and that many or all of the components of optimal fit listed above were absent.

If you have the privilege of leading people, do what you can to avoid making the same mistakes that lead to your decision to leave. Turnover is costly and, as tight as resources are in the nonprofit community, it is incumbent on us as managers, executives, and board chairs, to understand these costs and to embrace employee retention as a key organizational sustainability strategy.

Lee+ Associates provides consultation in Human Capital Management and can help your organization with Leadership Coaching, retention strategies, improving employee morale and productivity, and building top-performing teams.

* $80,000 per year X 150% of base salary = $120,000 X 3 staff = $360,000

By Shannon Kingman

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” said the Cat.

Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat of Alice in Wonderland said it best – knowing how to progress as an organization begins with determining precisely where it is you want to go. The strategic direction of any organization begins first with a vision. Consider Herb Kelleher, who in 1967 envisioned the possibility that air travel could compete on price with car travel. Thus, he created Southwest Airlines as “The Low Cost Airline,” and all of the company’s plans were founded in this underlying vision. (1)

The same principle holds true in the nonprofit sector. A vision of betterment in some particular area is typically the driving force behind nonprofit institutions. Strategy, then, is the consideration of choices that seek to deliver the best return on scarce resources. And most every nonprofit knows two things: Resources – finances, time, staffing, etc. – can be scarce; and
Deploying these resources to their highest and best use directly impacts the lives of the individuals and communities you serve.

So how do you create and deliver on the best strategy for your organization? Hint: the answer is a strategic plan. A strategic planning process considers all of the forces at work within your environment – economic, political, technological, as well as internal structures, systems, and processes – to create a comprehensive strategic plan ranging anywhere from three to five years into the future. The use of data and analytics to drive decision making is also becoming increasingly valuable in the nonprofit sector. It’s a topic worthy of further exploration at a later date.

The benefits of operating along the path set forth by a strategic plan are numerous. Allow me to highlight three such benefits. In addition to enabling a targeted and efficient use of resources, a plan also helps to align the people within an organization along a shared course. Every individual, no matter their place in the organizational hierarchy, should understand the part they play in contributing to your strategic plan. Knowing how one’s role and daily tasks affect a greater plan can go a long way in building positive culture and reducing staff turnover. Finally, a well-defined strategic plan helps to engage donors. While many people may feel drawn to your mission and area of impact, they will be more likely to give when they can see a thoughtful plan designed to move the organization toward its stated goals.

Strategic plans, and sometimes even visions, have a shelf life. A strategic plan is just that – a plan – that must be periodically examined and adjusted to reflect current and future realities as new information emerges.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go” said the Cat – “…so long as I get somewhere.” – added Alice. Unlike Alice, we don’t have the luxury of living in a fairytale. Instead, in our reality of meaningful missions but finite resources, a strategic plan ensures that you arrive at your “somewhere” more efficiently than did Alice.

Lee+ Associates offers strategic planning services conducted by experts in Organizational Development who have lead and implemented strategic planning so they understand the process in all its permutations. We don’t lead from theory. We lead from experience. Our strategic plans are tailored to your organization’s needs, and budget.

(1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/09/14/the-evolution-of-strategy/#65ed2b591a75

By Amy Phipps

If you need a doctor, you wouldn’t choose someone who hadn’t been to medical school. Why then does it seem that nonprofit board members don’t receive the training they need?

In a perfect world, board members would be well-educated and informed, leading to deeper engagement and greater effectiveness. But the reality is a little different.

According to Leading with Intent, a national index of nonprofit board practices published by BoardSource in 2015, only 19% of CEOs strongly agree that the majority of board members are engaged. But, despite their efforts, only 21% of board chairs agree that board orientations are effective.

So what can you do to bridge this gap? First, think about the different skillsets that bring board members to you, and the different areas of your business model. Assess how the two overlap and identify the gaps. The following needs will probably emerge:

A general orientation, both at initial onboarding and as an annual refresher is essential. This includes an overview of the nonprofit sector, the structure of your agency, and specific written expectations of board members. Other elements of orientation could include a tour of the agency, meetings with other board members, and a packet (paper or electronic) with previous agendas, minutes, bylaws, budgets, board policies (including conflict of interest), committee structure, board and staff contact info, a calendar with important dates, board member job description and board member agreement.

The board member agreement can be confined to one page, should be clear and concise, and specify all expectations for meeting and committee participation, giving, and fundraising, along with a place for board member signature. Financial education is always appropriate. Many of your board members may not be entirely familiar with nonprofit accounting, but it’s just human nature to avoid admitting ignorance. Empower them with knowledge, and they’ll be better advocates for your organization.

Program education can include current developments in the nonprofit sector you occupy, and an in-depth dive into your programs.

Governance, including Board roles and responsibilities and meeting management, can enhance a Board member’s skillset, even beyond your organization.

Messaging – ensuring all board members can articulate your mission – can be an energizing addition to a regular board meeting. And finally, fundraising – is an ever-present need. In the opinion of board chairs and CEOs surveyed by BoardSource strengthening the board’s fundraising efforts was the most important area of performance. You can hold these trainings at a retreat, but you don’t have to wait. Your coverage may be greater if you can find ways to integrate a bit of training into your regular meetings, either with staff or outside experts.

A yearly board evaluation process (individually and as a group) will unearth topics that need more attention.

When your board members are prepared and empowered with knowledge about your organization, they’ll be more confident in taking on the tasks you ask of them, and more engaged with and enthusiastic about your work. In the end, the question is not really why would you do board training, but why would you not?