So many days I'm struck by the number of people who seem to manage their life by crisis. This seems to be a normal way of life. Problems pile up and become bigger problems, until things get so out of control drastic measures have to be taken.
Several months back I heard a commercial on TV advertising a credit card consolidation service. Normally I zone out when commercials come on but the announcer said one line in his pitch that just made me want to scream.
He said something like: "Having bad credit is not your fault! You have probably been a victim, the credit card company has tricked you by changing your interest rate and added additional finance charges to your account. Let us help you consolidate all your debt into one easy payment, blab, blab, blab.” When I heard this I did a double take! The phrase kept ringing in my ears: "It's not your fault!"
Holy crap...who's fault do they think it is then? Are they really blaming the credit card companies for you not being able to make your payment and loading yourself with debt you can't pay? Why stop there? Why not blame Wal-Mart for offering low prices or better yet blame the government for all your worries.
I'm sick and tired of this type of daily brainwashing that has created a room full of bobble heads. I'm beginning to wonder if there are any sane people left on the planet. Does anyone ever wonder how many people are left that have locked deep in their soul a built in compass that points to being personally responsibile for their own actions and not having to blame others?
Don't get me wrong, I realize we all have crisis situations that happen, and we all need help at some point. I'm not for denying help where help is needed! But at some point we have to stop promoting what is touted as a God given right to live the "American Dream" and wake up to reality.
Reality is what we make happen, not what we want to happen! Granted there are certain situations that occur that are out of our control but how you choose to react sets the course. People need to take responsibility for themselves. Further we need to understand that the problems we face in America today are ones that need individuals to act like adults not like spoiled children or addicted drug addicts.
The real road to freedom starts with living within your means and looking for happiness first within yourself. After that things are much easier than you could imagine. Don't be confused by what some might tell you. All roads do not lead to this type of freedom only the straight and narrow path does. The only question that remains is, are you willing to make the effort to search?
John www.nonprofitexpert.com
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Obama’s Budget Will Force Nonprofits To Lose Over $3.9 Billion In Contributions!
It now is becoming painfully obvious that with the unveiling of President Obama’s 2010 budget plan an all out attack is being made on the nonprofit arena!
In the president’s budget plan there is a proposed lower limit to the charitable deduction a family making more that $250,000 can take.
The president thinks by doing this, as well as by taking away the mortgage interest deduction, he will be able to raise in ten years $310 billion which would be used as part of a reserve fund for a nationalized health care system costing over $630 billion!
A recent study by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy suggests that based on 2006 data if the Obama tax plan had been in effect looking at those making $250,000 would have decreased their giving by 4.6% or approximately 3.9 billion dollars not going to charity!
This fact alone is disturbing but realizing that as much as one third of all foundation assets have been wiped out by the stock market collapse means the sector has already lost $200 billion in available assets!
Don’t be surprised when you notice nonprofits closing their doors at the same time the need for assistance increases. This apparently is part of a larger plan this administration has for shrinking the nonprofit arena and apparently making people more dependent on the government for help.
~John Minges~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
In the president’s budget plan there is a proposed lower limit to the charitable deduction a family making more that $250,000 can take.
The president thinks by doing this, as well as by taking away the mortgage interest deduction, he will be able to raise in ten years $310 billion which would be used as part of a reserve fund for a nationalized health care system costing over $630 billion!
A recent study by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy suggests that based on 2006 data if the Obama tax plan had been in effect looking at those making $250,000 would have decreased their giving by 4.6% or approximately 3.9 billion dollars not going to charity!
This fact alone is disturbing but realizing that as much as one third of all foundation assets have been wiped out by the stock market collapse means the sector has already lost $200 billion in available assets!
Don’t be surprised when you notice nonprofits closing their doors at the same time the need for assistance increases. This apparently is part of a larger plan this administration has for shrinking the nonprofit arena and apparently making people more dependent on the government for help.
~John Minges~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
How Some Try to Justify a Fundraising Approach
The current economic crisis and continual need for funding by nonprofits has created a new fervor among more and more companies and individuals pitching fundraising programs and multi-level marketing schemes. Maybe you have been exposed to this.
The offer or pitch acts as if the company is truly concerned about the nonprofits and how the company making the offer in their great compassion and wisdom want to share with you the lowly nonprofits a remarkable new concept. This next generation fundraising idea will create an “endless stream of income” for the nonprofit from their donors or others with little effort.
All this hype of course is pure baloney but many nonprofits fall for this approach out of desperation, and it makes me sick when I get these emails full of false promises and half truths.
What these companies fail to realize is that the vast majority of the time nonprofits don’t have the paid staff capacity they need to just carry out their current programs and maximize their current fundraising activities much less try to start new ones.
Likewise, having all volunteer board members normally does not lend itself to having an endless amount of time or energy to take on more programs that would require trying to “sell someone,” namely their donors or whoever else might lend an ear to this new fundraising idea.
One idea that seems to be touted frequently is the fundraising idea in which nonprofits are given the opportunity to create their own online shopping mall.
Originally many of these companies charged a set up fee or monthly fee or both to nonprofits to create a template web page or site for the nonprofit as their own online shopping mall that had hundreds of stores to choose from. The companies often acted as if by having this page on the internet it was somehow magical with the assumption that nonprofits would get traffic and people would buy items left and right and somehow through all this they would get a commission and be able to ride the gravy train to easy money! Well, as you might have guessed there are many fatal flaws in this concept.
Soon companies were finding it harder to sell these pages to the nonprofits so many started giving these pages away for free. All with hopes that the nonprofit would do all the sales pitches and work to bring people shopping to these pages.
Having a template web page with some obscure long domain name and your extension to identify the page as yours is about as useful as yesterday’s news.
Who cares! How are you going to get people to find this web page? Assuming they find you, what is their incentive to use your site to order anything?
Let’s be honest, in general people i.e. your donors are set in their ways to a certain pattern to their life like most people. Asking someone to change their habits is a big deal and without a benefit attached that is tangible. People are not going to automatically start ordering or buying items off one lame web page just because you ask them nicely.
Nonprofits need to really examine the motives behind any offer made by a company or individual to give them money or items! It is ok to be skeptical and further is even more prudent for you to ask up front, what is in this for them.
It is reasonable to think that if a company could sell whatever service or product on their own they would do so without soliciting nonprofits for help. If they are asking for nonprofits to be their sales force then I am afraid they are going to be sorely disappointed.
John Minges www.nonprofitexpert.com
The offer or pitch acts as if the company is truly concerned about the nonprofits and how the company making the offer in their great compassion and wisdom want to share with you the lowly nonprofits a remarkable new concept. This next generation fundraising idea will create an “endless stream of income” for the nonprofit from their donors or others with little effort.
All this hype of course is pure baloney but many nonprofits fall for this approach out of desperation, and it makes me sick when I get these emails full of false promises and half truths.
What these companies fail to realize is that the vast majority of the time nonprofits don’t have the paid staff capacity they need to just carry out their current programs and maximize their current fundraising activities much less try to start new ones.
Likewise, having all volunteer board members normally does not lend itself to having an endless amount of time or energy to take on more programs that would require trying to “sell someone,” namely their donors or whoever else might lend an ear to this new fundraising idea.
One idea that seems to be touted frequently is the fundraising idea in which nonprofits are given the opportunity to create their own online shopping mall.
Originally many of these companies charged a set up fee or monthly fee or both to nonprofits to create a template web page or site for the nonprofit as their own online shopping mall that had hundreds of stores to choose from. The companies often acted as if by having this page on the internet it was somehow magical with the assumption that nonprofits would get traffic and people would buy items left and right and somehow through all this they would get a commission and be able to ride the gravy train to easy money! Well, as you might have guessed there are many fatal flaws in this concept.
Soon companies were finding it harder to sell these pages to the nonprofits so many started giving these pages away for free. All with hopes that the nonprofit would do all the sales pitches and work to bring people shopping to these pages.
Having a template web page with some obscure long domain name and your extension to identify the page as yours is about as useful as yesterday’s news.
Who cares! How are you going to get people to find this web page? Assuming they find you, what is their incentive to use your site to order anything?
Let’s be honest, in general people i.e. your donors are set in their ways to a certain pattern to their life like most people. Asking someone to change their habits is a big deal and without a benefit attached that is tangible. People are not going to automatically start ordering or buying items off one lame web page just because you ask them nicely.
Nonprofits need to really examine the motives behind any offer made by a company or individual to give them money or items! It is ok to be skeptical and further is even more prudent for you to ask up front, what is in this for them.
It is reasonable to think that if a company could sell whatever service or product on their own they would do so without soliciting nonprofits for help. If they are asking for nonprofits to be their sales force then I am afraid they are going to be sorely disappointed.
John Minges www.nonprofitexpert.com
Monday, December 29, 2008
Pretending To Care
As the Christmas season winds down and the New Year quickly approaches I think it might be good time to talk about a serious topic that is often overlooked or ignored.
Daily I am struck by the number of people who have fallen in the trap of “pretending to care” their way through life.
The following is an extreme example but hopefully one that will prove a point:
If you were walking through the desert and found someone dying of thirst it would be rather ridiculous to look at that person and say: "Well, I sure do hope you find some water soon," and walk away.
However, I would say that in reality this is exactly what is happening day in and day out in most places in America. Sure, you can find examples of compassion and people helping others but it seems to be more the exception than the rule. We have all walled ourselves in, turned on the alarm and posted a sign: Keep Out!
Fear drives many individuals to do nothing and there is a tendency to justify your lack of action with endless excuses as to why now is not a good time.
More than ever people are struggling to make a decent living and pay their bills. Many have extended themselves far beyond reasonable limits and are now having to pay the price for wanting everything now. No doubt the year 2008 will go down in history as the year of GREED and CORRUPTION.
In 2009, nonprofits will be pushed to continue to do more with less and find it harder and harder to raise the money needed to survive. I predict that many nonprofits will be forced to shut their doors like many in the for profit arena.
Now is not the time to pull up the drawbridge and bolt the door! Now is the time for action. Not because you are “suppose to” but because you “want to.”
What does it mean to be blessed and to bless others?
I recently ran across a quote from Eden Eliot that said: “We all have the means to bestow on others the most lavish gifts; love, joy, peace, hope, kindness, acceptance, encouragement, laughter, forgiveness, time. There is not enough money to buy them and not too little money to give them. The more you spend, the wealthier you become; yet nothing will cost you more than what you freely possess to give.”
~John Minges~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
Daily I am struck by the number of people who have fallen in the trap of “pretending to care” their way through life.
The following is an extreme example but hopefully one that will prove a point:
If you were walking through the desert and found someone dying of thirst it would be rather ridiculous to look at that person and say: "Well, I sure do hope you find some water soon," and walk away.
However, I would say that in reality this is exactly what is happening day in and day out in most places in America. Sure, you can find examples of compassion and people helping others but it seems to be more the exception than the rule. We have all walled ourselves in, turned on the alarm and posted a sign: Keep Out!
Fear drives many individuals to do nothing and there is a tendency to justify your lack of action with endless excuses as to why now is not a good time.
More than ever people are struggling to make a decent living and pay their bills. Many have extended themselves far beyond reasonable limits and are now having to pay the price for wanting everything now. No doubt the year 2008 will go down in history as the year of GREED and CORRUPTION.
In 2009, nonprofits will be pushed to continue to do more with less and find it harder and harder to raise the money needed to survive. I predict that many nonprofits will be forced to shut their doors like many in the for profit arena.
Now is not the time to pull up the drawbridge and bolt the door! Now is the time for action. Not because you are “suppose to” but because you “want to.”
What does it mean to be blessed and to bless others?
I recently ran across a quote from Eden Eliot that said: “We all have the means to bestow on others the most lavish gifts; love, joy, peace, hope, kindness, acceptance, encouragement, laughter, forgiveness, time. There is not enough money to buy them and not too little money to give them. The more you spend, the wealthier you become; yet nothing will cost you more than what you freely possess to give.”
~John Minges~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Donor Merry-Go-Round
The pace is frantic; contributions are down because of the economy and it doesn’t look like you are going to see any relief in the near future. Oh, it is true, you have got a few regular contributors that seem to understand and hang in there with you but trying to find new donors is making you pull your hair out. You know your program is doing good work but you’re just one person what can you do?
Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common in the nonprofit arena. The simple fact remains that the vast majority of nonprofits are small and seem to be spread a mile wide and about an inch deep when it comes to having the capacity to pull off what it takes to do everything well. Budgets are indeed tight and nonprofits have always been asked to do more with less. There is nothing new to this chorus!
However, one of the greatest strengths a nonprofit should have is being able to tell their story and if told to the right person connect on a deeper level. Yet it seems the constant daily fires keep the vast majority of executive directors from doing the simple job of connecting with their donors.
Donors to a nonprofit are as important as the air is to our daily life. However, like air, donors are often taken for granted and no real attention is given to them until there is a crisis on the horizon.
There is a deadly cycle that is occurring every day. Donors are fought for and found and the first contribution is given. After that many nonprofits tend to forget the donor exists and fail to realize that the first contribution can be the last unless they take additional action.
What would happen if a farmer decided to just plant a row of seeds in a field and maybe sprinkle a little water on the seeds one time and then just walk away?
Friends, unfortunately this is what many nonprofits are doing on a daily basis! If you don’t have in place a way to connect with your donors then more than likely they will end up forgetting you as fast as you forgot them or end up contributing to someone else’s program other than yours.
~John Minges~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common in the nonprofit arena. The simple fact remains that the vast majority of nonprofits are small and seem to be spread a mile wide and about an inch deep when it comes to having the capacity to pull off what it takes to do everything well. Budgets are indeed tight and nonprofits have always been asked to do more with less. There is nothing new to this chorus!
However, one of the greatest strengths a nonprofit should have is being able to tell their story and if told to the right person connect on a deeper level. Yet it seems the constant daily fires keep the vast majority of executive directors from doing the simple job of connecting with their donors.
Donors to a nonprofit are as important as the air is to our daily life. However, like air, donors are often taken for granted and no real attention is given to them until there is a crisis on the horizon.
There is a deadly cycle that is occurring every day. Donors are fought for and found and the first contribution is given. After that many nonprofits tend to forget the donor exists and fail to realize that the first contribution can be the last unless they take additional action.
What would happen if a farmer decided to just plant a row of seeds in a field and maybe sprinkle a little water on the seeds one time and then just walk away?
Friends, unfortunately this is what many nonprofits are doing on a daily basis! If you don’t have in place a way to connect with your donors then more than likely they will end up forgetting you as fast as you forgot them or end up contributing to someone else’s program other than yours.
~John Minges~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Hand Grenades and Horse Shoes!
Being a non profit does not mean you should strive to just be close enough, but it means in all that you do your objective should be to be spot on!
I’d like to just briefly talk about disclosure for this blog entry.
The money a non profit receives are funds that are in fact investments made by donors i.e. individuals, foundations, corporations, etc. Receiving these monies requires a heightened sense responsibility not only on how you might spend the money but also to make sure it is managed properly.
If you are honest then you will admit that really being transparent isn’t easy because this means facing a fear that someone might question a decision that was made.
However, the real truth is the more you show you are open and willing to seek not just support from donors but corrective criticism the better your overall program will be and the easier it will become to have others accept what you are trying to accomplish.
~John~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
I’d like to just briefly talk about disclosure for this blog entry.
The money a non profit receives are funds that are in fact investments made by donors i.e. individuals, foundations, corporations, etc. Receiving these monies requires a heightened sense responsibility not only on how you might spend the money but also to make sure it is managed properly.
If you are honest then you will admit that really being transparent isn’t easy because this means facing a fear that someone might question a decision that was made.
However, the real truth is the more you show you are open and willing to seek not just support from donors but corrective criticism the better your overall program will be and the easier it will become to have others accept what you are trying to accomplish.
~John~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
Friday, October 31, 2008
Is honoring someone really an honor?
Recently a donor received a letter in an envelope with an address label attached congratulating him for being chosen by the organization because of the outstanding manner in which he had distinguished himself within his field and/or community involvement. The letter went on to explain that he, as well as others, would be highlighted at an upcoming banquet/symposium on leadership.
Secondly, in order to make the presentation complete the organization asked this individual to fill out a form telling them all his accomplishments as well as to supply a photo for the presentation and tell his view of what qualities make an effective leader. All this information would need to be sent back promptly to the director of development.
Lastly, the letter was signed with what appeared to be a computer generated signature by someone the donor had never met and was new to the organization.
So, is this an honor or not? I assume, like many things, this is all in the eye of the beholder.
This event is obviously an attempt to create some type of donor involvement with the organization as well as an effort to show a form of appreciation.
However, any attempt to thank a donor for contributions and/or their support must be carefully weighed and measured.
The foundation to building any relationship begins with knowing upfront who you are dealing with and what their mind set might be. That only comes when you are willing to be face to face with a person to find out if saying thank you is enough or if you first need to ask for forgiveness. Until you know that answer, you are wasting your time. ~John~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
Secondly, in order to make the presentation complete the organization asked this individual to fill out a form telling them all his accomplishments as well as to supply a photo for the presentation and tell his view of what qualities make an effective leader. All this information would need to be sent back promptly to the director of development.
Lastly, the letter was signed with what appeared to be a computer generated signature by someone the donor had never met and was new to the organization.
So, is this an honor or not? I assume, like many things, this is all in the eye of the beholder.
This event is obviously an attempt to create some type of donor involvement with the organization as well as an effort to show a form of appreciation.
However, any attempt to thank a donor for contributions and/or their support must be carefully weighed and measured.
The foundation to building any relationship begins with knowing upfront who you are dealing with and what their mind set might be. That only comes when you are willing to be face to face with a person to find out if saying thank you is enough or if you first need to ask for forgiveness. Until you know that answer, you are wasting your time. ~John~ www.nonprofitexpert.com
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