Follow Friday: What Has Haiti Shown Us About Nonprofits?
With the immediate impact of the earthquake fading from people’s memories, many are beginning to focus on the nonprofits providing services to Haiti. Below are some of the interesting conversations I have read regarding nonprofits and their involvement in helping Haiti. I definitely recommend you follow these folks for powerful insight.
Marketing: What has the millions of dollars raised shown us about public engagement in disaster relief?
Dan Pallotta (@danpallotta), social entrepreneur, author of Free the Nonprofits, and blogger at Harvard Business Review, states that there is a simple reason why donating to Haiti:
They are hearing about it. They are seeing and reading about the catastrophe over and over again…The media is creating a huge market for giving to Haiti. They are building demand for purchasing charity for Haiti on a massive scale. And, small wonder, massive purchasing is occurring. How much do we think would be given to Haiti if the story ended after one news broadcast on the day it happened?
He argues that this translates to a viable lesson of the importance of marketing for nonprofits to meet their mission, yet he wonders how many people will continue to look at marketing as an unnecessary expense:
But alas, we would never let humanitarian organizations spend that kind of money on advertising, despite the fact that it might bring in many times more dollars than it costs. We have been taught to view marketing as spending that steals from the cause. It’s a fundraising expense — an overhead expense — to be avoided at all costs.
At the same time, many wonder if some organizations have been able to raise more money than others because of the power of their brand not necessarily their track record of success. The New York Times addressed this issue recently by asking if disaster relief organizations should be funded through pooled money that is allocated during a disaster or if organizations should continue raising money on their own:
“ The push to consider a new approach is being driven in part by relief groups that feel eclipsed by the Red Cross and frustrated at being frozen out financially right when their expertise could be best put to use.
“So often after these major disasters, marketing alone — divorced from the quality or importance of the work an organization is doing — will drive support,” said Thomas Tighe, chief executive of Direct Relief International, a group that provides medical supplies and equipment, and often shares with other groups the money it raises after major disasters.”
The Red Cross, which has raised the most of any organization, has a checkered past when it comes to accountability. Yet it seems its brand and ability to mobilize compel people to donate more than any other organization could. Marketing gets a bad rap not just in terms of expenses but also in terms of how it can feel manipulative and hide facts. How can we recognize the need for marketing while keeping bad behavior in check?
Accountability: How can we make sure nonprofits in Haiti are doing what they say they are going to do?
Allison Fine (@afine), social-media-for-social-change-guru and author of Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, asked this question recently in her blog and I am sure it mirrors a sentiment many have (myself included). Almost $600 million has been given to relief organizations with no process for ensuring the funds get used properly. She states,
Some entity, somewhere needs to provide an outside accounting of how these private funds were used – otherwise, we won’t learn how to efficiently and effectively use an enormous amount of money to meet an enormous need in a timely way. And this effort needs to be as transparent as possible about the criteria for assessment and results. And it needs to start now.
The folks over at GiveWell (@givewell), a nonprofit evaluator that examines whether or not nonprofits are meeting their missions, have attempted to address this issue by developing four questions all disaster relief nonprofits should answer so that the public can hold them accountable:
- How much are you trying to raise?
- Roughly speaking, what activities are you seeking to fund?
- How much have you raised so far?
- If you raise more than your target, what will you do with the remaining funds?
And finally, new organizations are popping up to act as watchdogs of relief organizations in Haiti. Ian Wilhelm (@ianwilhelm), a reporter at the Chronicle of Philanthropy (@philanthropy), recently highlighted ReliefOversight.org, which “aims to use crowdsourcing to gather information on what charities are doing in Haiti, whether they’re qualified to do the work, and if concerns are being raised about their efforts.”
Fundraising: What new methods or different approaches have emerged?
Most of the money raised for Haiti has been through SMS/Text Messaging. Colleen Dilenschneider (@cdilly), a nonprofit employee and blogger, notes that this trend offers a viable option to be incorporated into fundraising plans because mobile giving makes it easy for people to donate, is a more fun and engaging way to give, small donations add up quickly and help build relationships.
Yet before nonprofits hop on this trend, Beth Kanter (@kanter), author of Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits cautions people not go for what is new and shiney:
The technology isn’t cheap to set up. In fact, according to the post it can be expensive, anywhere from $3,000-10,000. And, just like other technology tools, like online credit card transactions, nonprofits end up paying a transaction fee of 5-10% back to the vendor. So, deciding to incorporate a SMS campaign should include a traditional nonprofit technology ROI analysis that analyzes the benefits, value, and financial analysis. It may not make sense for your nonprofit to get mobile.
Fundraising, marketing, and accountability have forced nonprofits to rethink their approaches on these issues and have gotten people more interested how nonprofits operate. What other changes have you noticed?
Update: I forgot to include another gem I read this week from Reverend Eric Foley in his Transformational Giving blog. Many nonprofits, feeling as though their causes are not getting enough attention because of the crisis in Haiti are making problematic claims and comparisons. He offers five ways to fight this mentality while challenging the notion that there isnt enough money/attention to go around.
Reader Response: Inexpensive Professional Development Resources
Welcome to the fist edition of Reader Response! Do you have a question about developing a career in the nonprofit sector, navigating life in NYC, or working with social media? Send me an email! ajlovesya [at] gmail [dot] com. I might feature it here!
Today, I’d like to tackle a question I get regularly:
What free or low cost resources can a young person interested in a nonprofit career tap into for professional development?
Understandably, as a nonprofit newbie, you’re focused not only on finding your passion but also on developing important skills to make you competitive and excellent employee. Conferences can be expensive as can joining certain associations. But there are many ways to grow in the sector without breaking the bank.
- Young non-profit professionals groups: Many nonprofits have young professionals groups in order to get young adults more involved in the organization. These groups are generally free or have very low fees and are an excellent option for professional development. Through these groups you can: network with people in different fields and sectors who are committed to a cause; learn new and important skills like development and marketing through hands on work; give back to your community; add impressive work to your résumé. Look at larger nonprofits for this kind of resource, like the Red Cross, or if you have an organization you love, consider reaching out and starting your own! I’ve written about this before.
- Local colleges and universities: From conferences, to lectures, to fellowships, colleges and universities offer a variety of free or low cost activities aimed at connecting and developing local change makers. Look at the event listings at a school near you, check out public service programs within the schools to see if they offer fellowship opportunities, and look at continuing education programs for low cost workshops and certificate programs.
- Webinars: Many thought leaders share their expertise through social media. Blogging is a popular medium but more and more people are offering webinars—web based workshops where you participate via webcam and phone. These are great because you can watch from the comfort of your home and download for future watching. Kivi Miller at Nonprofit Marketing Guide offers useful webinars regularly and Kim Klein at Grassroots Fundraising offers webinars on practical fundraising steps. Also, look through Slide Share for uploaded presentations on a variety of topics.
- Your job: Not just in terms of getting money for professional development (which is not always easy to come by) but in terms of taking on new responsibilities and challenges. I got into fundraising after hanging out with a friend who worked in the development office of my first job after college. I learned her job, helped her with projects, and decided to pursue a full time position in fundraising. Additionally, your job is a great place to put the new skills and resources you acquire into practice.
- Blog: If you decide to blog for personal branding and career purposes, you’ll realize that you have to become a stronger writer, do a great deal of research, and engage others. Additionally, managing your reputation is crucial skill regardless of whatever field you’re in, and the mastery of various social media tools and understanding of social media that come along with it wont hurt. Michele Martin over at the Bamboo Project Blog, asked her readers to offer tips on blogging and they created an excellent guide to blogging.
What inexpensive resources have you all used for professional development?
Help Save Idealist.org
I was floored when I read this tweet by Ami Dar, founder and executive director of idealist.org. While we are all aware of the impact the weak economy is having on many nonprofits, some organizations seem invincible because of the sheer impact they have on the entire sector. Idealist.org has become such integral part in how we create, share, and search for opportunities for social change that I couldn’t fathom it enduring the level of distress indicated above.
In fact, my growth in the nonprofit sector has been fueled by idealist.org. Aside from finding my first job opportunity in NYC there, I’ve used idealist.org to find events for learning and networking and have volunteered with them. From pushing myself to understand social media from an organizational perspective to grappling with the myriad of graduate school opportunities, idealist.org has been there every step of the way.
Of course, we take the things we rely on the most for granted, assuming they will always be there. But now is the time to reflect on idealist.org’s role in strengthening the nonprofit sector and how we, in return, can help them.
Read this heartfelt letter from Ami. From there you can take action:
Donate: No matter how much, every amount counts.
Encourage others to donate by asking and sharing your story: A wonderful result of this is appeal is that people are sharing the role idealist.org has had in their nonprofit careers, in the sector as a whole, and are asking folks to help out:
Stop What You Are Doing Right Now and Donate to Idealist.org, Rosetta Thurman
Sexiness is Overrated, Elizabeth Clawson
How Much is Getting that Great Nonprofit Job Worth, by Kevin Gilnack
Feel free to share your experiences, ideas, and thoughts here.
When it Comes to Executive Pay, Numbers Arent Enough
While much of the conversation about nonprofit pay focuses on how we are not paid enough given the work we do, every now and then someone will attract the wrath of the public for having what is considered a salary that is too high. Honestly, I generally don’t share the indignation because there is never any context given to the numbers. There are a few questions I think we should answer when deciding whether or not pay is excessive:
- What percentage does this take of the organization’s budget? We accept that, as a rule, the larger the organization, the larger the salary but have we come up with a percentage that shows once executive pay reaches this point it can have negative consequences on the organization?
- What is the overall financial health of the organization? Connected to the first question, have we established processes to determine whether the pay makes sense given how well the organization is doing and that nothing is being done inappropriately?
- What is the treatment of other employees? The argument that high salaries and benefits should only be given to executives doesn’t sit well with me. Talent is needed at all levels, so in order to recruit and retain the best throughout the organization, everyone should be paid well.
- And of course, the biggest and kind of silly question that I like to ask: what’s the organization’s impact on the community it serves? If they are doing what they set out to do, what’s the concern?
Without context, we can’t develop methods to defining and providing a competitive yet fair salary. It becomes arbitrary and reveals more about how we expect nonprofiteers to only be in it for the love of social change without accepting that social change requires excellence, competence, and tenacity, not just warm feelings or sweet ideas.
We’ve done a great deal of comparing and measuring when it comes to classifying nonprofit pay as being too little. Why haven’t we done the same when determining whether it is too much (especially when, to be frank, it’s RARE. High salaries are the exception, not the norm).
The outrage concerns me because it extends beyond the executive in question. People begin to demand that the entire sector be checked and begin to doubt whether their donations are making a difference. Feelings of mistrust, however misguided, fester because an explanation of the pay and and more rigorous debate of our expectations of nonprofits do not occur.
How do you determine whether or not pay is excessive?
Let’s Connect
Allison Jones: Writer, Advocate, Entrepreneur
Where to Find Me
