Energized, enlightened, well-prepared - that's how we hope to leave our clients. If there are smiles and some fun in the process, so much the better! We have the same hopes for our e-newsletter, The Spark - to stimulate your thinking, charge you up with a new idea or two, and leave you smiling.
In this inaugural issue, Julie Iacobelli, Senior Consultant, shares a few tips about board effectiveness. We tell you some ways our team is working to make our community a better place. We ask for your input and hope you will share some of your more amusing fundraising experiences. Look for The Fun in Fundraising section because there will be a prize for the winning entry!
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We always want to hear from you. Let us know what is on your mind, how we can assist your organization, or what you suggest for future issues. Thanks - enjoy!
Richard Tollefson, President |
Board Boot Camp
by Julie Iacobelli, Senior Consultant
As summer approaches, many of us are recommitted to getting ourselves in shape. The fitness of an organization's Board of Directors is just as important. Kick your organization's health into gear by committing yourselves to the following workout:
Warm Up: Every good workout starts with a warm up. For your organization, this means taking a serious look at the knots and kinks in your Board's functioning. Conduct an annual Board experience survey. Is your meeting day and time convenient for most members? Do meetings consistently stay within the time allocated? Do Board members feel their time is well-spent by focusing on strategies to achieve their key responsibilities of setting strategic direction, fiscal oversight, and fundraising (yes...this is an opportunity to reinforce this critical job). Do not forget the care and feeding of Board members. Would members like something more creative than a cardboard box of pizza and a soda every month?
Cardio: Get your Board's heartbeat up! An excited Board is a productive Board. Use your committees to accomplish the tasks necessary to achieve strategic direction. If you are not using committees, you should be! Assign each Board committee a staff liaison. (Tip: the chief professional officer does not have to fill this role for each committee...let it go to the staff person most affected by that committee's work.)
Strength Training: The strength of the Board's engagement lies in a fundamental fundraising requirement - building relationships. Donors give because they feel attached to an organization. Your Board members are donors, too. In fact, they are the uber-donors. They not only give of their time, but they also give treasure and talent: hours of work on behalf of your organization...personal financial support...their expertise, when needed. The chief professional officer must develop relationships with every Board member. He/she must dedicate time both to getting to know members as individuals, but also seeing where they can be best used and most engaged to make their Board experience the best (and strongest) it can be.
Stretching Out: No question about it, Board work is hard. You know how wonderful it is when the trainer finally says the workout is over and it is time to stretch out. A Board of Directors needs that relief, too. Consider having one Board social event each year. If your Board is as diverse as it should be, the individuals sitting next to each other every month may not know each other outside the Board meetings. Social activities give members time to get to know each other and build relationships that will benefit them both personally and professionally. In the meantime, celebrate as often as you can! Celebrate organization successes, staff successes, and Board member personal and professional successes. Highlight successes verbally and in print. Like families, Board members and staff not only face the hard times together, but also celebrate the good times.
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A healthy organization starts with a healthy Board! Take yours on this boot camp circuit and enjoy the benefits - stronger engagement and greater productivity.
For more Board Boot Camp tips, contact Julie at iacobelli@phoenixphilanthropy.com |
Phoenix Philanthropy in the Community
 UMOM New Day Centers, the largest family homeless shelter in Arizona, celebrated their successful fundraising campaign with the "Extreme Moveover" shown here when 112 families, assisted by 450 volunteers, moved across the street from their old campus to their new home and full-service facility. We are honored to have been a small part of this success.
 Dr. Lattie Coor, Arizona State University President Emeritus and Chairman and CEO of the Center for the Future of Arizona, is shown here with Richard Tollefson at the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Greater Arizona Chapter April luncheon, sponsored by The Phoenix Philanthropy Group. Coor spoke about the Center's recent Gallup Poll: The Arizona We Want and the leadership needed for Arizona's future.
In March, TPPG principal Laurel Kimball spoke to Explorer Middle School students to assist them in planning their own nonprofit charitable organizations.
In April, Richard Tollefson participated in a panel discussion on The Value of Giving Back to the Community during the Maricopa Community Colleges and Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction's 2009/10 Honors Forum Lecture Series: The Paradox of Affluence: Choices, Challenges, and Consequences.
Richard also facilitated a panel discussion in May on Tips for Improving Success in an Unstable Economy at a Council for the Advancement and Support of Education's one-day workshop.
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In This Issue
Welcome
Board Boot Camp
Phoenix Philanthropy in the Community
The Fun in Fundraising
On the way to cultivating and soliciting gifts, some funny things have happened to us. There was the time we stopped at a supermarket to pick up an orchid as a hostess gift, only to discover when we arrived that the new prospect had a whole greenhouse devoted to raising rare orchids. And do not even ask about the time the president and development officer were unwittingly booked at the busiest hotel in the heart of what turned out to be a city's Red Light District!
How about you? What is the funniest thing that has happened to you as a fundraiser? Send us a short description to info@ phoenixphilanthropy.com by June 30, 2010. We cannot wait to hear your adventures and will select our favorite to receive a special prize, and we promise it's more than a TPPG t-shirt. Look for the announcement of the winner in our next issue.
About Us
The Phoenix Philanthropy Group partners with organizations to optimize their impact on our global society. We do so by serving their needs with strategic, innovative, accountable, and outcomes-driven fundraising, constituent relations, and organizational development programs.
Contact Us
EMAIL: info@phoenixphilanthropy.com
PHONE:
602.380.2478
TOLLFREE:
1.877.524.8774
FAX:
602.468.9547
Visit us at:
phoenixphilanthropy.com
Laurel Kimball
The Spark Editor-in-Chief
kimball@phoenixphilanthropy.com
The Spark Staff:
Dayna Gabler
Britt Kimball
The Phoenix Philanthropy Team:
Richard Tollefson
Laurel Kimball
Jan Halpin
Marc Kellenberger
Julie Iacobelli
Steve Zastrow
Kellie Teskey
Brandi Carter
Photos of R. Tollefson, J. Iacobelli:
Ken Easley Photography
Photo of UMOM:
courtesy of UMOM
Photo of Lattie Coor, R. Tollefson:
courtesy of frontdoors.biz
Photo of L. Kimball:
Pam Spicer, Spicer Photography
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