By Norman Olshansky
One of the most important activities a nonprofit needs to undertake prior to initiating a major gifts campaign is the identification and prioritization of prospects. Some organizations spend a lot of money, time and human resources on prospect mining and research. Others try to identify pockets of wealth in their community and then determine what is the best way to contact and solicit those individuals.
For many organizations, I recommend the following simple and inexpensive technique to identify and prioritize major gift prospects.
The Task Group
The first step is to put together a group of individuals who are already committed to the organization and who have good relationships in the community. When recruited they are told that they are being asked to attend a single meeting to identify names of individuals in the community who could be helpful to the nonprofit. The group can be composed of the organization’s board, donors, volunteers, members, or a combination of individuals from all of these groups. In addition, if a fundraising committee or major gifts committee has already been established, they should also be encouraged to participate. I prefer to have no less than 8 people or more than 30 participate in the focus group meeting, which typically takes about one to one in a half hours. It is helpful to have a diverse group from the various geographic areas served by the nonprofit. You should also try to include individuals who have good connections to high net worth individuals through their volunteer, business and/or social relationships.
Brainstorming
At the meeting, participants are asked to identify any individual they know who is charitable and is capable of making a major gift of $25,000 (or whatever level is established by the organization as a major gift) The goal of brainstorming is to identify major donors so the larger the threshold the better. If too low, you will end up with so many names that it will be hard to prioritize. The emphasis of this exercise is to identify individuals (not corporations) who have major gift potential and will be cultivated and solicited face to face. This includes individuals who utilize private foundations or donor advised funds for their charitable giving. This exercise should not be used for identification of prospects to be solicited by direct mail or for targeting donors who can be solicited by phone or contribute by attending events
The facilitator then encourages people to call out names which are written on flip charts or on a large white board that can easily be read by all.
Once everyone has shared names that came to mind during the brainstorming (hopefully, at least 50 names), the facilitator hands out paper and pencils to all participants.
The Nominal Group Technique
Next the facilitator gives the following instructions. “Take a few minutes to look at all of the names on the brainstorming list and write down on your paper the three to five names which best meet the following criteria.
A. They have a history of being philanthropic
B. They have a history of making gifts at our major gifts level
C. They are likely to have an interest in our mission
D. They are accessible. You or others you know in our organization can get a meeting with them or invite them to visit with us.
After adequate time is given for participants to write down their three names, the facilitator goes around the room and asks each person to say aloud the three names. The facilitator puts a hash mark next to those names on the master brainstorming list. When a name is mentioned by more than one participant, additional hash marks are made each time that name is mentioned. Once everyone has announced their three names, the facilitator counts the cumulative hash marks for each name on the master list and circles the top 10 names that were mentioned the most. If it is difficult to narrow it down to 10 names, circle more than ten and initiate another round where participants now write down two of the circled names which they feel best meet the priority characteristics. Then continue the process of narrowing down the names based upon number of times mentioned. Ultimately, the facilitator’s goal is to narrow it down to no more than ten names.
(The nominal group technique can also be used to help with prioritization of any other type of brainstorming activity. The beauty of the process is that it involves all of the participants and provides a way to quickly measure and prioritize responses.)
Fact Finding
The last stage of the process is to ask for input from participants on each of the top ten prospects identified. The facilitator or someone else should take copious notes from the comments shared by the group on each of the ten prospects in response to the following questions.
A. Who in our organization knows this person and could be our key contact to invite them to learn more about what we do?
B. What other organizations are they involved with and what are their major philanthropic interests?
C. Do you know how much they have given to other charities?
D. Do they make their philanthropic gifts directly, through a foundation, donor advised fund, etc.
E. Is there anything you know about them that could help our staff or fundraising committee to engage them with us?
F. Do you personally know, have a relationship with, and have access to anyone who knows the individual and has a close relationship to him/her?
G. Is there anything you know that might lower the priority level of this prospect?
Follow up
In addition to thanking participants, the information learned should be conveyed in detail to staff and volunteers involved in major gift fundraising. Hopefully, your fundraising leadership and staff participate as well and use the session to identify additional volunteers, who attended the session, who can assist the committee going forward with prospect research, cultivation, and solicitation. The top ten names should be among the first prospects targeted as part of the major gifts initiative. After the initial priority names have been assigned and solicited, other names on the brainstorming list should also be approached in the order of the priority established, taking into consideration your ability to access and engage each prospect.
A similar process can be used to identify and prioritize corporate prospects. However, the type of individuals you will want in the Task Group may be different from those you select to focus on individual donor prospects.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Tips on Volunteer Leadership Succession for Nonprofits
By Norman Olshansky
Leadership succession planning in nonprofit organizations is a critical and high stakes endeavor. Too often nonprofit organizations struggle to fill vacant top leadership positions. The consequences of poor succession planning can be devastating.
Every organization has a unique culture and history. When there is a lack of succession planning, organizations find it difficult to fill positions and often recruit individuals to serve in key roles who have minimal experience, few leadership skills or history with the organization. Problems often develop when new leaders are asked to take on major leadership roles without significant prior involvement within the organization. Relationships can become problematic between new leaders, key staff and past leaders.
This article focuses on the Volunteer President/Chair of the Board position. (Chair) Even the most extraordinary nonprofit President/CEO/Executive Director (ED) cannot achieve the organization’s fullest potential without a good board chair. All major leadership positions (Officers, Committee Chairs such as Development, Planning, Marketing, Finance, Program, etc.) are similarly impacted. The following are recommendations I often make as a consultant to nonprofit organizations related to succession planning:
1. Bylaws
The bylaws of the nonprofit should be clear regarding the organization’s leadership structure, process for nominations, elections, and responsibilities of leadership.
2. Job Descriptions
Nonprofits should have a clear and realistic job description for each leadership position that outlines the duties, responsibilities and expectations for each position.
3. Governance/Nominating Committee
A governance/nominating committee should be tasked with the responsibility to identify potential candidates for leadership positions, interview those candidates, review roles and responsibilities with the candidates and obtain their permission to submit their names for consideration for leadership positions within the nonprofit. This committee should obtain input from leadership and staff in order to determine the type of skills, experience and leadership that is most needed to address the current and future needs of the organization. Determining where the current gaps are and how to develop existing leadership in addition to determining who to recruit, should also be part of the charge of the governance/nominating committee. While being considered, the candidates should be provided with an opportunity to meet with existing leadership and key staff to learn more about the expectations of the position.
More on this process can be found at http://nfpconsulting.blogspot.com See article titled “How to Develop a Strong Fundraising Board”
4. Performance Tracking
The ability of the governance/nominating committee to be successful will be greatly enhanced if the nonprofit has a system in place to track the involvement, relationships and performance of volunteers and supporters. The more information made available to the committee, the better they can identify and recruit the best potential candidates.
5. Orientation
Once the positions are filled, there should be a formal orientation process and where possible, the assignment of a seasoned veteran leader to act as a mentor for each new leader.
6. Chair/ED Consultation Input
Both the current Board Chair and ED should be consulted for input throughout the process and play a major role in the orientation of new leadership.
7. Chair/ED Working Relationship
After the election and preferably before the new term begins, the new Chair and ED should meet privately and discuss how they can best work together. This is a time to review in more depth any special needs or suggestions either has related to their working relationship, style, frequency of meetings, best ways to communicate, immediate priorities, etc. This meeting is an important start to the development of the lay/professional partnership between the new Chair and ED.
8. V.P./President Elect
I often recommend when each new Board Chair is identified, that a V.P. be identified as the individual to be groomed to be the next Board Chair. Often the by-laws identify one position on the Executive Committee as President Elect which accomplishes the same goal. During the course of the Board Chair’s term of office, the individual being groomed (the President Elect), becomes a key player on the Exec Committee and Board, acts in the absence of the Board Chair and is encouraged to attend as many key meetings as possible related to planning, problem solving, community affairs, etc. The time they serve next to the Board Chair provides an opportunity for in-depth mentoring, education and hopefully, a smoother and easier transition upon moving up to the Chairmanship. During the time being mentored a determination can be made of the strengths of the next Chair and what areas of knowledge or leadership he/she will need to further develop prior to beginning their term as Chair.
9. Past Chair
The outgoing Board Chair is often overlooked as part of succession planning. Many organizations keep the outgoing chair on the Executive committee and board for one additional term in an official “Past Chair” position. Past Chairs who so desire, can be a tremendous asset to the organization following their time in the leadership position. However, there can be problems if the transition is not handled well. The extent of involvement of the past chair is usually determined by the new Chair. Often the new Chair wants to establish their own identity and will want the past chair to play more of a behind the scenes role. Other new Chairs seek out and encourage past chairs to play a more active role.
10. Past Chair Transition
The transition out of the Chair position can be a difficult time for the individual. In most cases they have been heavily involved with the organization for many years and it has become a major part of their lives. I have seen outgoing chairs struggle with the sudden loss of intimate involvement with the organization. They miss the frequent contact and counsel with the staff and other leadership. They miss being the “go to” person or visible leader for the organization. How an organization handles those leaving a key position is just as critical as how new leaders are handled. It’s an important aspect of an organization’s overall volunteer human resource and stewardship process. Often the ED is the person who has the closest relationship with the outgoing Chair and needs to be actively involved in the transition and stewardship process.
11. Recognition and Stewardship
All outgoing leaders need to be recognized for their contributions to the organization and be part of an ongoing stewardship program.
When a nonprofit utilizes a well planned and implemented leadership succession process it sets the course toward future success.
Norman Olshansky, President of NFP Consulting Resources, has over 30 years of professional and executive level leadership and consulting within both the not for profit and for profit sectors. He is a past board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Southwest Florida Chapter, is an AFP mentor, and presenter at AFP seminars. His clients have included both large and small service, health, cultural and faith based organizations ranging from local and national home health care companies, to hospitals and health care systems...from community centers to national membership organizations...from military and law enforcement agencies to botanical gardens...from public school systems to State Universities...from human relations organizations to faith based social service and religious entities throughout the U.S., Canada and Israel.
Mr. Olshansky has received national recognition for his articles on nonprofit leadership, fundraising and management as well as for his work in human service and executive leadership. He has been a frequent lecturer at several Universities, is a national book reviewer and instructor for CharityChannel.com, and is active as a volunteer in several civic, religious and professional organizations. Additional articles written by Mr. Olshansky can be found at http://nfpconsulting.blogspot.com .
Leadership succession planning in nonprofit organizations is a critical and high stakes endeavor. Too often nonprofit organizations struggle to fill vacant top leadership positions. The consequences of poor succession planning can be devastating.
Every organization has a unique culture and history. When there is a lack of succession planning, organizations find it difficult to fill positions and often recruit individuals to serve in key roles who have minimal experience, few leadership skills or history with the organization. Problems often develop when new leaders are asked to take on major leadership roles without significant prior involvement within the organization. Relationships can become problematic between new leaders, key staff and past leaders.
This article focuses on the Volunteer President/Chair of the Board position. (Chair) Even the most extraordinary nonprofit President/CEO/Executive Director (ED) cannot achieve the organization’s fullest potential without a good board chair. All major leadership positions (Officers, Committee Chairs such as Development, Planning, Marketing, Finance, Program, etc.) are similarly impacted. The following are recommendations I often make as a consultant to nonprofit organizations related to succession planning:
1. Bylaws
The bylaws of the nonprofit should be clear regarding the organization’s leadership structure, process for nominations, elections, and responsibilities of leadership.
2. Job Descriptions
Nonprofits should have a clear and realistic job description for each leadership position that outlines the duties, responsibilities and expectations for each position.
3. Governance/Nominating Committee
A governance/nominating committee should be tasked with the responsibility to identify potential candidates for leadership positions, interview those candidates, review roles and responsibilities with the candidates and obtain their permission to submit their names for consideration for leadership positions within the nonprofit. This committee should obtain input from leadership and staff in order to determine the type of skills, experience and leadership that is most needed to address the current and future needs of the organization. Determining where the current gaps are and how to develop existing leadership in addition to determining who to recruit, should also be part of the charge of the governance/nominating committee. While being considered, the candidates should be provided with an opportunity to meet with existing leadership and key staff to learn more about the expectations of the position.
More on this process can be found at http://nfpconsulting.blogspot.com See article titled “How to Develop a Strong Fundraising Board”
4. Performance Tracking
The ability of the governance/nominating committee to be successful will be greatly enhanced if the nonprofit has a system in place to track the involvement, relationships and performance of volunteers and supporters. The more information made available to the committee, the better they can identify and recruit the best potential candidates.
5. Orientation
Once the positions are filled, there should be a formal orientation process and where possible, the assignment of a seasoned veteran leader to act as a mentor for each new leader.
6. Chair/ED Consultation Input
Both the current Board Chair and ED should be consulted for input throughout the process and play a major role in the orientation of new leadership.
7. Chair/ED Working Relationship
After the election and preferably before the new term begins, the new Chair and ED should meet privately and discuss how they can best work together. This is a time to review in more depth any special needs or suggestions either has related to their working relationship, style, frequency of meetings, best ways to communicate, immediate priorities, etc. This meeting is an important start to the development of the lay/professional partnership between the new Chair and ED.
8. V.P./President Elect
I often recommend when each new Board Chair is identified, that a V.P. be identified as the individual to be groomed to be the next Board Chair. Often the by-laws identify one position on the Executive Committee as President Elect which accomplishes the same goal. During the course of the Board Chair’s term of office, the individual being groomed (the President Elect), becomes a key player on the Exec Committee and Board, acts in the absence of the Board Chair and is encouraged to attend as many key meetings as possible related to planning, problem solving, community affairs, etc. The time they serve next to the Board Chair provides an opportunity for in-depth mentoring, education and hopefully, a smoother and easier transition upon moving up to the Chairmanship. During the time being mentored a determination can be made of the strengths of the next Chair and what areas of knowledge or leadership he/she will need to further develop prior to beginning their term as Chair.
9. Past Chair
The outgoing Board Chair is often overlooked as part of succession planning. Many organizations keep the outgoing chair on the Executive committee and board for one additional term in an official “Past Chair” position. Past Chairs who so desire, can be a tremendous asset to the organization following their time in the leadership position. However, there can be problems if the transition is not handled well. The extent of involvement of the past chair is usually determined by the new Chair. Often the new Chair wants to establish their own identity and will want the past chair to play more of a behind the scenes role. Other new Chairs seek out and encourage past chairs to play a more active role.
10. Past Chair Transition
The transition out of the Chair position can be a difficult time for the individual. In most cases they have been heavily involved with the organization for many years and it has become a major part of their lives. I have seen outgoing chairs struggle with the sudden loss of intimate involvement with the organization. They miss the frequent contact and counsel with the staff and other leadership. They miss being the “go to” person or visible leader for the organization. How an organization handles those leaving a key position is just as critical as how new leaders are handled. It’s an important aspect of an organization’s overall volunteer human resource and stewardship process. Often the ED is the person who has the closest relationship with the outgoing Chair and needs to be actively involved in the transition and stewardship process.
11. Recognition and Stewardship
All outgoing leaders need to be recognized for their contributions to the organization and be part of an ongoing stewardship program.
When a nonprofit utilizes a well planned and implemented leadership succession process it sets the course toward future success.
Norman Olshansky, President of NFP Consulting Resources, has over 30 years of professional and executive level leadership and consulting within both the not for profit and for profit sectors. He is a past board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Southwest Florida Chapter, is an AFP mentor, and presenter at AFP seminars. His clients have included both large and small service, health, cultural and faith based organizations ranging from local and national home health care companies, to hospitals and health care systems...from community centers to national membership organizations...from military and law enforcement agencies to botanical gardens...from public school systems to State Universities...from human relations organizations to faith based social service and religious entities throughout the U.S., Canada and Israel.
Mr. Olshansky has received national recognition for his articles on nonprofit leadership, fundraising and management as well as for his work in human service and executive leadership. He has been a frequent lecturer at several Universities, is a national book reviewer and instructor for CharityChannel.com, and is active as a volunteer in several civic, religious and professional organizations. Additional articles written by Mr. Olshansky can be found at http://nfpconsulting.blogspot.com .
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