Ready, Set, Go: 5 Nonprofit New Year's Resolutions

It's time for new year's resolutions - is one of yours to be more organized and productive at work? Here are a few suggestions for how to start 2017:

• Map out the coming year: Take the time to look at your commitments for 2017. This includes events, programs, fundraisers, fundraising campaigns, grant application and report deadlines, performance evaluation schedules, annual reviews of policies and procedures, facility maintenance, equipment upgrades, and required inspections. Map all of it on your calendar. Consider not just the dates of events and programs; work backwards and mark when you have to start your planning process. Notice if you have several major time-consuming commitments scheduled around the same time; there might be a simple fix to make your year flow better.
• Use your calendar program effectively: When I discovered that I could program my computer's calendar to send me email reminders of important deadlines, it was a hallelujah moment - because I spent many fewer days waking up in the middle of the night in a panic about whether I had sent that grant report out on time. It's a pain in the ass (and really time-consuming) to do this the first time around, but I promise you'll be thanking me for this tip. And if you've already done this, take a moment to make any necessary edits as well as brainstorm anything you should add into your calendar for 2017.
• Review your Policy and Procedures Manual: First of all - I hope you have one. If not, this is your first order of business. If you do, take the time to read it thoroughly. Because you've probably forgotten much of it, yet this manual provides the basis for prudent governance. Note policies that need to be updated; note policies that your board and staff need to be reminded of. And note if there's anything that's missing or needs to be added to help your organization address new challenges that have arisen in the past year.
• Read your mission statement: Yep - I highly recommend that staff and board actually take some time at the beginning of every year to read your organization's mission statement out loud, together. These words are at the core of what you do and why you do it - and it constantly surprises me how many folks who work in nonprofits can't remember what it says.
• Resolve to take care of yourself: Remember to breathe before you speak defensively or in anger to a client, donor, volunteer, or staff member. Take time to schmooze, joke, and laugh with your colleagues. Be sure to actually take a lunch break. Don't sit in a chair staring at your computer all day - at the very least, take a walk around the block or do five minutes of stretching periodically. And take time to mingle with your clients, get to know them, and actually see what your nonprofit work is accomplishing.

Happy newly organized and productive new year to you all!

15 Important Fundraising Questions

Are you meeting your fundraising goals? In order to be successful in raising the money to support your nonprofit work, you need to focus on three things: building your database, developing and maintaining positive relationships with donors - and actually asking people for contributions. Here are some questions you should be thinking about:

1. Is everyone on your staff collecting contact information (email, mailing address, all phone numbers, particular interests) to expand your database on an ongoing basis?

2. Do you have a mailing list form for people to sign up to receive your email and mail available at your front desk and at every event you do?

3. Do you maintain and update information on all your donors in your database, including a detailed giving history?

4. Are brochures and remit envelopes available at your front desk, in your offices, and at all events?

5. Does your website feature an attractive, prominent donate button on every page?

6. Have you actually checked, step-by-step, to see whether your donation page is user-friendly, on home computers and on mobile phones?

7. When people call or stop by your office, is your staff immediately welcoming and helpful (or do they keep their eyes glued to their computer screens) - and do you have a clear policy that one-on-one personal contacts always take precedence over computer work?

8. Do you send out a weekly enewsletter with information about your services, programs, events, clients, and donors?

9. Is there a link to your donation page on your enewsletters?

10. Can a potential donor easily find information on your website (including contact person) about making a gift of stock, and do you have a brokerage account (preferably Schwab) to facilitate this?

11. Do you make a specific effort to be in touch with donors throughout the year (personally, via mail, and email), not just during your fundraising campaigns?

12. Are you making a pitch for donations at every event you sponsor?

13. Are your board and staff (including the Executive Director) trained to make personal asks - and are they actually getting on the phone, arranging meetings, and soliciting donations?

14. Are you asking for donations more than once a year?

15. Are thank you letters sent out promptly - to everyone - and do you also follow up with personal thank you calls to significant donors?

If you've answered no to any of these questions, it's time to go back to the drawing board. I know fundraising isn't easy - it's hard and it's never ending. But the bottom line is that you need to do that hard work and make those asks and get those donations in order to create the community of supporters your organization needs to sustain your programs.

Who's Minding the Money?

Do you really understand your organization's fiscal reports? When I ask the most basic of questions - what is your total annual budget? - most board members haven't a clue. That spreadsheet with lots of numbers on it? I'm betting many of them haven't even looked at it, and if they have, they are not really sure what it all means.

Prudent fiscal management is one of the most important responsibilities for nonprofit boards. Here are some tips on how to help your board step up to the plate:

• Make fiscal reports understandable. For the numbers people: Your spreadsheets should clearly indicate all income and expense categories, and these should be consistent on both ends. They should include two previous fiscal year final reports, current year projections, year-to-date income and expenses, and a revised current year projection - so folks can easily contrast and compare past, present, and future. For the words people: Provide a narrative report that addresses any significant variances, explains shortfalls and/or surpluses in individual categories and overall, and makes clear which grants or donations are one-time only or restricted. For the visual folks: use charts, graphs, or dashboards (or all three, if necessary). Use colors - red for areas of concern, green for pleasant surprises, and yellow for nothing to write home about.
• Schedule regular budget reviews. Conduct thorough reviews on a quarterly basis at board meetings, with monthly updates in between. Evaluate cash flow, where your revenue is coming from, any changes in programming, and any unexpected expenses or income.
• Update your budget projections throughout the year. Change happens; this doesn't need to be a problem if you are tracking it, ready to assess what that means for your organization, and prepared to take necessary action promptly.
• Aim for a surplus. Yep - just because your organization is nonprofit doesn't mean you can't. In fact, working towards a surplus is a prudent financial goal, because it makes it possible to consider raising salaries or hiring new staff or buying new computers.
• Plan for the future. Every organization should have a program reserve fund with a minimum of three months (but ideally six months) operating expenses, in case of emergencies or another significant recession. You should also have a capital reserve fund with money set aside for major facility improvements and/or equipment upgrades. And don't just wish for reserves - plan for them. Designate a portion or all of any budget surplus for these funds.
• Establish financial policies. For every reserve fund, your board needs to have a clearly articulated policy about how these funds can be used, and how decisions are made about that use. And that's not enough - your board needs to know and understand these policies, update them periodically, and enforce them.

Most important of all, encourage everyone to ask questions. Even questions that seem stupid or embarrassing. That's how you do your job; that's how you make sure your nonprofit is on a solid financial footing.