Each year Arizona State University’s Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA) prepares students to attend a national institute designed to bring partnering nonprofit organizations and Alliance campus partners together to share ideas, best practices and forward the mission of “strengthening the nonprofit sector with a talented and prepared workforce.” Student seeking the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential from over 40 campuses across the country attend workshops, hear from national leaders and provide the host community with opportunities to learn from student case studies.

It is not easy to pull this together for the national organization or the local campus. ASU’s program conducts an annual face-to-face scholarship campaign for financial support to attend the Institute fondly called AMI. This year, the Alliance Management Institute was held in Chicago during the coldest storm on record with -12 to -45 degree weather. ASU made it there and back with no trouble at all when many campuses did not. This was a teachable environment relying on flexibility, trust and the professional qualities needed during changing times.

With help from so many donors again this year, 14 ASU students attended and soaked up all the experience had to offer. Along with overcoming their fear of asking for money, students learned valuable lessons in fundraising, speaking about their career goals and networking. Each has a story to tell about their experience…

A philanthropist recently asked me, knowing that I’d be looking for new Board Members soon, what types of people I was in need of. He mentioned business CEOs, lawyers, university presidents, HR professionals, marketing gurus, etc. etc. As I sat there and thought for a moment, waiting for one/all of those to jump out at me, I realized that none did. There is something I am looking for in a perfect Board Member that no one can buy (with any financial amount), it’s not something that is needed in a certain type of position nor is it a certain skillset. I am seeking a Board Member who has passion.

Some Board Members can give lots of money, whether it be their own or that from their company, and come with tremendous financial support. Other Board Members feel that their knowledge base or background is sufficient because they are bringing new skills to the organization. The best Board Members, in my opinion, are the ones who bring passion about the nonprofit’s mission and are willing to share this with others.

Sharing passion is something that you can not equate to any financial amount. These Board Members can make introductions to companies, open doors to new sponsors and recruit top-notch volunteers. They do this by sharing their connection to the organization with others and once their passion oozes, it’s hard to stop this contagious feeling. People want to be around others doing great things, right? Well then send these Board Members out in the…

Question: We would like to increase our donations.  Is the upcoming Arizona Gives Day a good opportunity to do this?

In the days leading up to December 10, my email and Face book page lit up with information and requests to participate in 2013’s Colorado Gives Day (coloradogives.org).  The requests came from organizations with which I have a connection as a former staffer, or in one case, by my son who works for the organization. His appeal was my favorite – he asked all his family members across the country to donate to his environmental advocacy group in lieu of a birthday gift to him.  Does this represent a new level of maturity on his part?

I made my modest gifts, despite living in Arizona, and these, combined with over 88,000 other gifts raised over $20 million in one 24 hour period to support Colorado nonprofit organizations.  Wow! The organizations I supported raised $55,000, $35,000 and $25,000.  

Arizona nonprofit organizations can participate in our own Arizona Gives Day on April 9, 2014.  Presented by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits (arizonanonprofits.org), and Arizona Grantmakers Forum (www.arizonagrantmakersforum.org) , and sponsored by FirstBank, Arizona Gives Day…

We all know the old adage “what gets measured gets done,” but knowing what to measure is easier said than done.  In most professions certain tasks are closely correlated to success, and resource development is no different.  Many frontline fundraisers – especially those more junior – often find themselves defaulting to the easier “busy work” tasks that can make one feel as though they are being productive, when in fact they ignoring their most vital responsibilities.  Frankly, we all fall victim to this from time to time.

Fundraising outcomes (i.e. dollars raised) are the most commonly used metric for evaluating fundraising staff, but they are not the only metrics that we as managers should track.  While the amount of money coming in the door is obviously an important measure, there are several inputs that should also be considered, which I would argue are as essential.  First and foremost, fundraising is about one thing – relationships.  Donors give to organizations they feel connected to.  Yes, people occasionally give to organizations after a one-time catastrophic event, because a friend asked them to, or they received a particularly compelling card in the mail, and so on.  But when it comes to recurring gifts that grow in size over time – and into very large major gifts – those donors have been carefully engaged and cultivated.  This level of relationship building does not happen by sitting in an office…

It’s easy to spend time making flyers and posters to advertise your organization. Word of mouth is one of the greatest ways to get people talking about it. But have you considered doing another great deed to getting your business out there? People take notice in organizations that continue to offer their services to help out those in need.

With Dentistry from the Heart (DTFH), for example, dentists open up their practices to those who cannot afford proper health care all over North America. DFTH provides people in low-income communities with free dental care. Dr. Mario Pary of Smile Dental Center in Shreveport Louisiana participates in this event every year. Not only is this great a way to give back his community, but it shows people that he cares.

Doing nonprofit services to the community attracts audience through the press. If people are seeing that you’re doing good things, they’ll write about you. If they aren’t writing about you, then you should write about you. What? Tell people about what you have done. People want to hear that you have been doing good things to help your community. They don’t know it yet, but that’s what they want to here. If someone were comparing dentists, for example, they would most likely choose Dr. Pary over someone that doesn’t offer…