Unfortunately in today’s world it does not seem that there are much goodness and mercy left. You would think as a consultant for nonprofits I would be surrounded by all like minded people that in short are all seeking to make a difference in others’ lives and doing everything for the right reason.
Now more than ever I feel as if I have to be on constant guard as I am approached by individuals, all that tout they want to take up the banner of “doing good” and helping others. Yea, right!
As I talk to others and peel away the layers seeking to really understand what the person’s motivation might be, in many cases I discover quickly that it is not all about helping others, but helping themselves as well.
Let’s look at a case in point that is known nationally. Most of us at some point have seen TV commercials advertised by various chain office supply stores encouraging you to help the kids going back to school with school supplies because they can’t afford to buy them.
The local stores in turn ask their customers to buy that extra pack of paper or box of pencils and donate them to the school of their choice. On the face there is nothing wrong with school teachers getting help but we tend to forget the store is making a sale. All that warm and fuzzy advertising is just that, advertising.
Likewise, there several different websites like http://www.iloveschools.com/ and http://www.donorschoose.org/ that have as a goal to connect teachers with donors. Again, there is nothing wrong with that! How the programs generally work is that teachers post a wish list and then donors can go and make purchases via the site to help with that wish list that was posted. The donor gets a donation receipt, the teacher gets the item and the website….well the website or I should say the managers of the site get a commission on the sale.
Again, is good being done, absolutely! However, if there were no profit potential would the site be online because it was the right thing to do or would the store care about the school children needing school supplies?
I’ll let you answer this question in your own mind.
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Friday, July 30, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Nonprofits Geting A "Free Pass" By Government
Today the IRS announced a one-time filing relief for small organizations that failed to file for three consecutive years!
Small nonprofit organizations who were at risk of losing their tax-exempt status because they failed to file required returns for 2007, 2008, and 2009 can preserve their exempt status by filing returns by October 15, 2010.
Two types of relief are available for small exempt organizations - a filing extension for the smallest organizations required to file Form 990-N, Electronic Notice (e-Postcard), and a voluntary compliance program (VCP) for small organizations eligible to file Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax.
Find more information about the filing relief program on IRS.gov.
Small nonprofit organizations who were at risk of losing their tax-exempt status because they failed to file required returns for 2007, 2008, and 2009 can preserve their exempt status by filing returns by October 15, 2010.
Two types of relief are available for small exempt organizations - a filing extension for the smallest organizations required to file Form 990-N, Electronic Notice (e-Postcard), and a voluntary compliance program (VCP) for small organizations eligible to file Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax.
Find more information about the filing relief program on IRS.gov.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Nonprofit Donor Burnout
More than likely you have read quite a bit about burnout when it comes to employees or staff of non profits. Rarely, however, do you hear about the flip side of the coin and hear someone discuss donor burnout.
As a donor to many different non profits over the years I can attest to the fact that there is a real frustration with how a non profit handles their end of the agreement.
Supporting a nonprofit as a donor is a very serious commitment I do not take lightly. I have to be sure that what the nonprofit stands for is something I can be fully committed to.
If I take the next step and join a board of directors then I am literally giving a piece of myself away. While this might seem to some as being melodramatic I can assure you that my wife of twenty-three years views this quite different! Whatever I give away of myself to supporting a non profit leaves less time and quite frankly energy for her. This is a big deal!
My gift and I do see what I give as a gift, goes far beyond just my time, my energy, my talent and what most nonprofits seem to be fixated on i.e. money. It is actually something deeper and more serious and for me part of my soul. How can you quantify the worth of self someone gives to your organization?
Unfortunately, few nonprofits I have run across have ever really comprehended this level of giving or found the way to respond to where I believe that they “got it.” So I seemed destine to repeat the same old cycle:
First I find a nonprofit I think is doing good work and get excited about what they are doing and support their cause. I might attend an event or give a donation.
Second, I learn more about what the organization does and get closer to the executive director and/or staff. I might find myself helping more by donating money or sometimes I find it more rewarding to meeting a specific need of the organization.
Eventually my level of giving and interest is noticed by others and at some point I might be asked to consider being on the board. This is the critical point! The older I get the more picky I have become and quite frankly more guarded, because I know if I join a board I will consider myself being all in.
If I join I quickly learn the good, the bad and the ugly about the organization. Sometimes this in and of itself is a huge disappointment. If however there are no hidden land mines then I quickly adjust to learning more about the organization and I gage the commitment levels of others on the board while learning about the excitement and energy level of the staff running the programs.
Many times after giving lots of time and energy and money I have found that the executive director and staff begin to take for granted past donations and get comfortable being the recipients of a generous nature and just expect it to continue forever regardless of their performance or outcomes. A disconnect begins slowly. There is not the level of excitement. Everyone still knows the reason they are there is to help the cause but at this point I generally hit a wall. I don’t see others around me willing to push as hard as I am or I begin to feel like my time is just being wasted. Staff slows down and only wants to push so far. The reason is that since they are working with an all volunteer board they do not want to have to do most of the work if the volunteer board stops pushing.
At this point if I am still on the board I will rotate off and normally my giving level drops. I also have a tendency to be reflective in nature. While I am not totally second guessing my judgment I do tend to mull over if the donations I’ve given in the past and generally draw a conclusion in my own mind if it was all worth it.
I wish I could end saying I felt good after all this but honestly answer is that of feeling more confused at times than being reassured that my personal commitment was met with an equal level of acceptance. Strange isn’t it?
As a donor to many different non profits over the years I can attest to the fact that there is a real frustration with how a non profit handles their end of the agreement.
Supporting a nonprofit as a donor is a very serious commitment I do not take lightly. I have to be sure that what the nonprofit stands for is something I can be fully committed to.
If I take the next step and join a board of directors then I am literally giving a piece of myself away. While this might seem to some as being melodramatic I can assure you that my wife of twenty-three years views this quite different! Whatever I give away of myself to supporting a non profit leaves less time and quite frankly energy for her. This is a big deal!
My gift and I do see what I give as a gift, goes far beyond just my time, my energy, my talent and what most nonprofits seem to be fixated on i.e. money. It is actually something deeper and more serious and for me part of my soul. How can you quantify the worth of self someone gives to your organization?
Unfortunately, few nonprofits I have run across have ever really comprehended this level of giving or found the way to respond to where I believe that they “got it.” So I seemed destine to repeat the same old cycle:
First I find a nonprofit I think is doing good work and get excited about what they are doing and support their cause. I might attend an event or give a donation.
Second, I learn more about what the organization does and get closer to the executive director and/or staff. I might find myself helping more by donating money or sometimes I find it more rewarding to meeting a specific need of the organization.
Eventually my level of giving and interest is noticed by others and at some point I might be asked to consider being on the board. This is the critical point! The older I get the more picky I have become and quite frankly more guarded, because I know if I join a board I will consider myself being all in.
If I join I quickly learn the good, the bad and the ugly about the organization. Sometimes this in and of itself is a huge disappointment. If however there are no hidden land mines then I quickly adjust to learning more about the organization and I gage the commitment levels of others on the board while learning about the excitement and energy level of the staff running the programs.
Many times after giving lots of time and energy and money I have found that the executive director and staff begin to take for granted past donations and get comfortable being the recipients of a generous nature and just expect it to continue forever regardless of their performance or outcomes. A disconnect begins slowly. There is not the level of excitement. Everyone still knows the reason they are there is to help the cause but at this point I generally hit a wall. I don’t see others around me willing to push as hard as I am or I begin to feel like my time is just being wasted. Staff slows down and only wants to push so far. The reason is that since they are working with an all volunteer board they do not want to have to do most of the work if the volunteer board stops pushing.
At this point if I am still on the board I will rotate off and normally my giving level drops. I also have a tendency to be reflective in nature. While I am not totally second guessing my judgment I do tend to mull over if the donations I’ve given in the past and generally draw a conclusion in my own mind if it was all worth it.
I wish I could end saying I felt good after all this but honestly answer is that of feeling more confused at times than being reassured that my personal commitment was met with an equal level of acceptance. Strange isn’t it?
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