Ventures in Philanthropy E-Newsletter: May 2008

		May 2008

	PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
	*Welcome to our Ventures in Philanthropy* E-Newsletter**

Strategic Planning for Development
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE

Last month, I had an opportunity to be part of a lively panel of ACFRE authors at the AFP International conference. Each panelist prepared a white paper and discuss their research and writing with over 100 senior level professionals attending the workshop. Here are some excerpts from my talk. All of the white papers are available on AFP’s website.

What Does the Research Show?

“Cheshire Puss,” Alice began, “Would you tell me please which

way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a great deal on where you want to get to,” said the cat.

“I don’t much care where,” said Alice, “so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the cat. — Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

D. Kerry Laycock, in The Nonprofit Management Handbook, says the Cheshire cat, being a wise strategist, recognized that a well-defined purpose is the key to planning.

He goes on to say that they key characteristics of strategic planning are that it:

Adapts to a changing environment
Is future-oriented
Is comprehensive
Is based on a consensus-building process.

Every organization, according to Laycock, is faced with certain opportunities and challenged by certain barriers. The perfect world, in other words, does not exist. He says that nonprofits must ask whether their organization is stable, must determine if there is a need for change, and must be committed to planning.

In what I believe to be the premier book on strategic planning for nonprofits, Allison and Kaye define strategic planning:

“Strategic planning is a systematic process through which an organization agrees on—and builds commitment among key stakeholders to—priorities which are essential to its mission and responsive to the operating environment."

They go on to outline the components of a strategic plan as:

Choosing how best to respond to a dynamic and sometimes hostile environment;
Following a process that is both focused and productive;
Choosing specific priorities for both short and long term;
Building commitment of key stakeholders.

Allison and Kaye say that strategic planning:

Views the future as unpredictable
Views planning as a continuous process
Expects new trends, changes and surprises
Considers a range of possible futures
Asks, “What business should we be in? Are we doing the right thing?”

How Does This Translate into Best Practices in the Philanthropic Field?

Too often, even organizations that understand the value of long range planning and strategic planning on an overall organizational basis, fail to utilize these same strategies in their development program. Development and fundraising is often done in a haphazard way because, like Alice, the development officer sometimes has no idea of where they want to be. They are caught up in the day-to-day management of a myriad of fundraising activities, many of which are often unproductive or counter-intuitive to the building of lasting donor relationships.

Undue pressure may be put on the development office from boards and executive management who think fundraising as a “necessary evil;” who, despite the body of knowledge which is available, still think of fundraising in the tin-cup mentality, or who refuse to make the necessary financial investment in the development office.

First, the organization must commit to strategic planning at an organizational level, if development planning is to be successful. Second, the organization must allocate sufficient funding to the development office, allowing them to hire staff leaders who have the ability and interest in planning for development. And, furthermore, the development office must utilize good strategic planning techniques to develop its own plan.

Why do organizations resist allocating the time necessary to development planning?

CEOs and development officers are often under a great deal of pressure to raise money quickly. Entrepreneurial board members who are shrewd business people are often accustomed to working on the basis of instant decisions, and may want the development office to just “go out and do it” without adequate planning. Development officers may be so caught up in keeping their heads above water that they do not have the time to plan.

Organizational leadership must take the time to plan strategically; otherwise their organization will be left behind in the dynamic and ever-evolving world on the nonprofit sector. Leadership should look at the Return on Investment of careful, strategic planning

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein

How do we convince CEOs and Board members that they need to be part of the development planning process?

Successful organizations have visionary leadership. One way to convince our leadership of the importance of strategic planning for development is by having them interact with the key nonprofit leaders in their communities. A CEO or board chair from a highly respected and successful nonprofit can often convince a struggling CEO of the value of strategic planning for development.

Leaders want their opinions to matter, but may feel that development is not their area of expertise and may want to spend their time on organizational planning which they are generally more comfortable with. Development officers need to help their organization’s leadership reach a comfort level with development and philanthropy and convince them that their insights as the organization's leader are critical to the development program.

How do we prepare the development office for a “dynamic and sometimes hostile” environment?

Involving community leaders in the philanthropic process and the development planning process is one good way to assure that community concerns and changing environments are incorporated into the nonprofits’ development planning process.

Marketing people, key business leaders, political personalities are generally in tune with environmental factors that could affect the organization's development program, and should be invited to participate in the philanthropic planning process.

How does the development officer assure that their plans are truly strategic and that they will be implemented?

Incorporating into the planning process the points Allison and Kaye make about strategic planning are critical:

It must be a systematic process
It must build consensus among key stakeholders
Priorities must be set
It must be future-focused and respond to a rapidly changing environment

William Sturtevant quotes Victor Hugo:

“The future has several names.
For the weak it is impossible,
For the fainthearted, it is unknown,
For the thoughtful and the valiant, it is ideal.
The challenge is urgent, the task is large; the time is now.”

How will your organization meet the future?

CAPITAL VENTURE 15th Anniversary Celebration

May 1, 2008 marked the 15th year in business for CAPITAL VENTURE. Some of you attended our first FREE workshop held in Las Vegas. We have two more scheduled at the following locations:

Eastern Pennsylvania — June 4, 2008
Northern Nevada — July 14, 2008

These workshops will each feature five one-hour powerful presentations from CAPITAL VENTURE consultants and other experts in the nonprofit field. Visit the registration link on our website for the Eatern PA and Northern Nevada workshops to sign up. Seating is limited to please sign up early.

And please don't forget, deadline to register for the second FREE workshop in Las Vegas, Motivating Your Board to Be Fundraisers Extraordinaire! on May 13, 2008, is approaching quickly! To reserve your seat, please click here to for more details and to register.

We're also honored, as part of our anniversary celebration, to sponsor the Essentials of Fundraising series hosted by the AFP Las Vegas Chapter. This is a tremendous offering for everyone, regardless of your level of fundraising experience. The five sessions begin May 16, 2008 and run monthly through September 26, 2008. For more information, please visit the AFP Las Vegas website and don't delay, the discount to attend all five sessions ends May 14, 2008.

Stay Connected with Your Colleagues — Bookmark our Blog

We all want to hear from you. Visit our blog, the Fundraiser's Coffee Break, and share what is working and not working for you in your development career.

Technology Corner — A Privacy Policy: The **MUST HAVE** for Every Nonprofit!

If you're accepting donations on the Internet, your success will hinge on the degree of trust you build with your donors. Tell them up front that you respect their privacy and you will protect it. Create a privacy policy, publish it on your website and provide links to it from every page. Online and other donors will feel more secure if they know that any information submitted to you will be used only in the ways they have authorized. Legally, you shouldn't even think about soliciting donations online without a posting privacy policy; risk reduction far outweighs the few minutes it will take to publish one.

WebWritingThatWorks.com has put together an excellent resource to help write a privacy policy. You can download it by clicking here.

Consultant Profile - Sue Kreeger, CFRE

Sue has over twenty years of fundraising and nonprofit management experience in California and Nevada. She has been with CAPITAL VENTURE since the year 2001. Her areas of expertise include capital campaigns, annual fund campaigns, major gift solicitation and board training. Sue has held the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation since 1993 and received the Outstanding Fund Raising Executive of the Year award from the AFP Las Vegas chapter. She is a graduate of the “Management of People” certificate program, Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo, CA and the “Non-Profit Management” certificate program, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV. Sue was the founding president of

the AFP Las Vegas Chapter and remains active in AFP and volunteers her time at Canyon Ridge Christian Church.

Special thanks to Sue for her dedication and commitment to success of CAPITAL VENTURE clients!

We will be featuring each of our consultants in upcoming issues of Ventures in Philanthropy.

To read more about our other nationally based consultants on our website, please click here.

Useful Resources

You may order The Development Plan, Recruiting and Training Fundraising Volunteers and other books recommended by Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, and learn more about our recommended fundraising books by visiting our website: www.cvfundraising.com/resources/cvbooks. CAPITAL VENTURE has updated our Training Catalogue, which is available by email. We offer a wide variety of workshops for groups such as AFP chapters, statewide associations, national organizations, Dioceses, United Ways and Centers for Nonprofits. If you would like to receive a copy of our offerings, please contact cvlinda@cox.net.

UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
May 13 , 2008 CAPITAL VENTURE 15th Anniversary Free Workshop Motivating Your Board to Be Fundraisers Extraordinaire! Las Vegas, NV Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, CAPITAL VENTURE Jennifer Von Tobel, CAPITAL VENTURE Click here for details and registration		June 2, 2008 AHP Mid-Atlantic Region The Development Plan Pittsburgh, PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Kelly Altland, St. Joseph Medical Center Click here for details and registration
		June 2, 2008 PA Federation of Museums & Historical Organizations The Development Plan and the Role of Staff, Board and Volunteers in Implmenting the Plan Reading, PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
May 21, 2008 AFP Berks County The Development Plan Reading, PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here to download details & registration
May 21, 2008 PA Federation of Museums & Historical Organizations The Development Plan and the Role of Staff, Board and Volunteers in Implmenting the Plan Reading, PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here details and registration
		June 4, 2008 CAPITAL VENTURE 15th Anniversary Free Workshop Building a Fundraising Board Recruiting and Training Fundraising Volunteers Major and Planned Giving Getting Ready for a Capital Campaign Internet Fundraising Reading, PA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, CAPITAL VENTURE Chuck Reynolds, CFRE, CAPITAL VENTURE Yvonne Frey Oppenheimer, CAPITAL VENTURE Nancy Stoever, CAPITAL VENTURE Cody Sharp, eTapestry Click here for details and registration
May 28, 2008 National Coalition for Homeless Veterans The Development Plan Webinar Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Invited Audience Only
May 29, 2008 Planned Giving Roundtable of Southern CA Keynote Address—Trends in Philanthropy Fundraising Essentails: Integrating Planned Giving into your Development Plan Costa Mesa, CA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for more information
		June 7 , 2008 CASA National Conference The Development Plan Washington, DC Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, CAPITAL VENTURE Althea Valentine, Valentine Consulting Click here for details and registration

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Advancing Philanthropy through Consulting and Training for Nonprofits
Offices throughout the United States
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