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July
2003
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to e-newsletter
SUMMER
GREETINGS FROM LAPA !
Welcome to our e-newsletter -- providing tips and updates from
Laurence A. Pagnoni & Associates, Inc. (LAPA). Our e-newsletter
is designed to keep you informed about our services and to provide
you with LAPA’s take on innovations in nonprofit management.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
-- A Note from Laurence: Dealing with Uncertain Times
-- How You Can Benefit from Speeding Up Team Learning
-- Using Databases to Build Effective Individual Donor Programs
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A NOTE FROM LAURENCE: HOW IS OUR SECTOR DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY?
These days, leaders in the nonprofit sector are surrounded
with contradictory information. On one hand, analysts make dire
predictions, in which the fundraising outlook is grim and getting
worse. On the other hand, charitable giving totals for last
year held strong. Although they did not increase enough to outpace
inflation, the giving totals compared favorably to past periods
of economic downturn.
So how do we make sense of our current situation?
Nonprofit leaders should not despair in the face of uncertainty.
Confusion and conflicting information are inherent to uncertain
times. Despite present economic difficulties, there are constants
in your organization that remain the same. Do you know what
those constants are? We suggest you take this opportunity to
reaffirm the mission, vision, and values that guide your work.
By reclaiming these core principles you can provide leadership
to those caught up in confusion, and chart a strong course for
your organization through this period of uncertainty.
In opening this edition of our e-newsletter, I congratulate
LAPA Project Associate Bodi Luse, who recently received the
Nonprofit Management Award from the Robert J. Milano Graduate
School of Management and Urban Policy at The New School University.
The award recognizes students based on the criteria of academic
excellence; personal, academic and professional growth; individual
contributions to the field of study; and general leadership
qualities. Bodi’s Masters thesis was entitled “Affiliation and
Autonomy: National-Local Relations.” Her client for this paper,
a professional decision report, was Emerging Practitioners in
Philanthropy, a new network of young people working in philanthropy.
All of us at LAPA congratulate her on the hard work that earned
her this prestigious award.
Laurence A. Pagnoni, MA, MPA
lapagnoni@mindspring.com
P.S.--Please forward this newsletter to others whom you feel
it would benefit. If you would like to be removed from our list,
please follow the instructions at the end of the page. Thank
you and enjoy!
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On Our Web Site: An Overview of Services!
LAPA’s Web site contains a complete overview of the nonprofit
services that we provide. Our consulting intentionally combines
organizational management and fundraising services. Why? Because
our experience has taught us that organizational development
and fundraising are intertwined. If you have ever wondered what
services might help you to confront organizational challenges,
raise money, or achieve professional growth, visit http://www.lp-associates.com/service.htm
and learn more.
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SPEEDING UP TEAM LEARNING
At LAPA, we often work with organizations facing the challenges
of “team learning.” If you are building a staff to oversee a
new program, integrating new technology into your work, or fashioning
an effective subcommittee for your Board, you know that changing
an organization from within often requires that staff members
learn new things. This can be a slow and difficult process.
Yet organizations can embrace change more quickly and effectively
when an environment is in place that encourages team learning
while supporting the learning needs of the individual staff
person. Whether you are dealing with a team constructed for
a short-term project, or with a longer-term group, LAPA believes
that a conscious devotion to successful team learning can help
speed up your organization’s development.
The Harvard Business Review suggests three things your organization
can do to enhance team learning. First, arrange a team with
diverse skill sets, learning capabilities, and experience that
will allow it to meet a particular organizational challenge.
Second, frame the organizational challenge as a goal for the
team, making sure the incentives are clear and attainable. Third,
provide an environment of psychological safety. People will
make mistakes along the way, so provide reinforcement or encouragement
as needed. Ironically, speeding up team learning does take time
initially, so be patient! As we like to say around the LAPA
office, “sometimes you have to go slowly to eventually move
fast.”
If you would like to talk more about achieving change in your
organization through team learning, LAPA associate Melissa Shurkin
can provide you with a free consultation. Please call 212-932-8001
x4.
For more general information, refer to “Speeding Up Team Learning,”
Harvard Business Review, October 2001, Vol. 79, No. 9.
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USING DATABASES TO BUILD EFFECTIVE INDIVIDUAL DONOR PROGRAMS
The key to increased giving from individual donors lies in
the system that tracks these individuals. Donor databases should
feature more than a person’s address and phone number. A database
should collect as much information as possible. Most importantly,
it should contain a record of a person’s interaction with your
organization and your organization’s interactions with that
person.
In fundraising, cultivating a relationship with a donor is
essential. People give to people they know, and to people who
know them. Studies show that the more interactions an organization
has with a donor, the more money the organization will receive
from that individual. Donors want to feel that they are known
at the organization they support. They want to know that their
money and their opinions matter.
It is difficult to personally remember your contacts with the
hundreds or even thousands of people on your mailing list. If
your organization relies on a team effort to complete development
work, things get even more complicated. Thus, you need a database
to keep track of the information for you.
The type of database you use is less important than how you
use it. At LAPA, we have seen even bad databases serve as exceptional
tools for some of our smaller clients. The most important factor
is having someone who is passionate about keeping the database
up to date, and who will actively use the information to keep
in touch with individual donors.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get good database
software. ebase™, which we recommend, is available free of charge
at www.ebase.org. LAPA firmly
believes that nonprofits should not spend a lot of money on
technology when so many opportunities exist to get it at no
or low cost through things like the freeware movement.
For some organizations it can even be more cost effective to
outsource their database of supporters in conjunction with their
individual donor systems. LAPA believes that the nonprofit sector
should increase opportunities to outsource its more technical
functions. Right now, organizations often outsource information
technology, human resources, and financial responsibilities.
Organizations should consider outsourcing fundraising as well
to achieve better results in this area.
Currently, two organizations outsource their database and individual
donor systems with LAPA. We use ebase™ to keep track of contact
information, donation histories, letters and thank you’s sent,
telephone calls, interests, background details, and more. This
information helps us to tailor our interactions with specific
donors. Maintaining good records allows organizations to give
supporters the personal attention they deserve, treating them
less like names on a mass mailing list and more like people
who matter. Ultimately, it leads to more significant financial
contributions and longstanding relationships, which are the
goals of all individual fundraising.
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LAPA associates may be reached as follows:
Enid Harlow, MA: eharlow@lp-associates.com
Melissa Shurkin, MMHS: mshurkin@lp-associates.com
Bodi Luse, MS: bluse@lp-associates.com
Mark Engler, BA: mengler@lp-associates.com
Katie McMullen, BA: kmcmullen@lp-associates.com
Elsa Rios, MSW: elsarios7@aol.com
Julia Ritchie, CSW: ritchieinc@aol.com
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