Moving the Needle

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This year, working with the Support Center for Nonprofit Management’s Executive Search and Transition Management service, the Board of New Jersey Policy Perspectives named Deborah Howlett as their new president.

Deborah succeeded Mary E. Forsberg, who had been serving as interim president and will continue with the organization in her previous position as research director.

“Among a strong field of candidates for this position, Deborah’s diligent and enthusiastic grasp of NJPP’s mission stood out,” said Tim Carden, chairman of the NJPP board of trustees and head of the executive search committee.

“Her professional background and thoughtful approach to research and advocacy of progressive policy are just what NJPP sought in an ideal candidate moving forward.”

Previously Deborah served as director of communications for Governor Jon S. Corzine.

She established a new media component in the governor’s communications office and worked closely on budget priorities as the administration dealt with the fallout from the worst national economic crisis since the Great Depression.

She was also directly involved in the Corzine administration’s efforts to pass marriage-equality legislation.

NJPP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established in 1997 to bring a progressive voice to the public policy debate in New Jersey.

Andrea Dispenza

Andrea Dispenza recently participated in NYC Life After AmeriCorps *VISTA, sharing her story about making the transition from AmeriCorps to job hunting in NYC.

Life After *VISTA provides currents VISTAs with:
• A clearer understanding of the marketable skills that VISTA builds
• Strategies for translating VISTA experience into résumé language
• Resources for career exploration, job searches, educational opportunities, travel, continuing in the service field
• Connections to the national network of AmeriCorps Alums

The event was facilitated by Ben Nowell, a Support Center Volunteer Facilitator, and hosted in partnership with Corporation for National Community and the NYC Coalition Against Hunger.

There were eight stations where current VISTAs could hear from “experts from the experts.”

Andrea Dispenza and Frances Wood, both former VISTAs with the NYC Coalition Against Hunger,  had a particularly popular station, Job Hunting as an AmeriCorps Member: Where to Look & How to Tap Your Connections, because current VISTAs could really see themselves in them.

They said talking to Andrea and Frances made them feel better about where they are now in their lives and also greatly expanded the options they were considering.

Most were just thinking that if they did not get a job at the site where they were serving, they didn’t know what else they would do.

Now they are thinking about other options and feel empowered by the experience they’re getting during their VISTA year.  They see the many places their current work could lead.

By Kevin Beerstecher

Does hedge fund experience really qualify analysts to judge domestic violence prevention organizations?

During a lecture delivered by Princeton’s Peter Singer at New York University this spring on the importance of increased giving, something interesting happened.  One of panelists put forth the idea that many nonprofits are poorly run and have no demonstrable results, and thus do not merit donations.

But how did the panelist reach that conclusion?  What statistics were analyzed? Unfortunately, much of the available analysis currently focuses on the finances of the nonprofits only, not on the quality, specifics, or difficulty of the work.

The nonprofit community deserves the effective evaluation that is crucial to helping donors make their decisions.  But this information should be gathered by individuals or organizations with awareness of the communities being served and the services being provided.

Increasing childhood literacy may have a different cost structure than bottling Pepsi, and the analysts doing this work should be experienced in the fields they are evaluating.  A mistrust of the nonprofit community, the process of giving, and faith that this work is effective is spreading as a counter current.

Imagine the impact of scandal involving an analytic firm with a checkered background.  Without checks and balances into the backgrounds of the nonprofit analyst, this distrust can only grow.  And without evaluation standards focusing on specific communities and their needs, analysis will only be flawed and misleading.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS:

Meaningful Outcome Measurement (Dec. 1)

Surveys for Nonprofits: From Questionnaire Design to Data Analysis (Dec. 17)

Written by Don Crocker, Executive Director/CEO, Support Center

What a year! We elected a new President, New York captured the baseball world series, and the universe of nonprofit and philanthropic endeavors changed and morphed right before our eyes. The volatile economy had us both back on our heels and, at the same time, darting forward to meet new challenges.

So let’s look back to see what happened and where we might go from here. Here are my top five major developments of 2009 that will be grabbing our attention in 2010:

Don Crocker

1) Change is the watchword and customer service is primary:

Nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, at their core, are committed to change. Whether it is changing an entire community or changing conditions for individuals, we are committed to making the world a better place. Expectations for rapid and meaningful change have never been as demanding and instant as in 2009.

In essence, the product of our work is not as important as the experience and the outcome. Here, in 2009, we ramped-up our ability to listen to our customers philanthropic and nonprofit leadership and to respond to requests. In 2010, we are poised to refine our ability to listen regularly and to respond more nimbly, quickly and effectively.

2) Social media and social networking are legitimate venues of communication:

Surveys tell us that more than 50% of current web users interact with social networking communities. Our foray into LinkedIn, Facebook, Blogs, U-Tube and Twitter was just the beginning. What started out as a fun exploration is rapidly becoming a full-fledged arm of our communications effort. Not only will we be talking to you through these venues in 2010, we will be listening to you through them as well.

3) Philanthropic and nonprofit work requires a more refined and reflective strategy than ever before:

We are all discovering that while we often need to make decisions quickly, random business decisions are dangerous in this volatile environment. A lack of understanding of the external environment and our internal imperatives can lead quickly to chaos and devolution. Sound and strong strategy requires reflection and discussion. Leadership teams need to take the time to reflect and work toward common ground in order to align their focus and maximize efficiencies and effectiveness. We are planning for these discussions here and we stand ready to assist you with your strategy discussions in 2010!

4) Reinvention is hard but necessary:

An overly cautious management culture, lack of opportunities for experimentation, and a tendency toward business as usual thinking will hold back needed transformations in our sector. Management, board, and employee engagement at all levels is critical to future success. Confronting the realities of our external and internal environments is critical.

In 2009 we worked more closely than ever with our philanthropic partners and clients to get agreement on a focus and ground rules for engaging and addressing these changes. We will do more of this in 2010 and stand ready to work closely with you as you refine your focus and build your momentum for reinvention.

5) A better world ahead?

For all of us, some pain of change is inevitable. We will be anxious, confused, and angry at times while we move to a new way of doing our work. Down deep, perhaps, we know that some of this anxiety, confusion, and anger can and will lead us to a new, better way of accomplishing our missions and creating stronger communities and a better world.

William Bridges, in his timeless bestseller Managing Transitions, quotes Marilyn Ferguson (American Futurist) in saying, “not so much that we’re afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it’s that place in between that we fear like being between trapezes. It’s Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There’s nothing to hold on to.”