The following is an interview with one of our 2010 participants about his experience in the 2010 Leadership Program
Terrance Roberts, Executive Director, The Prodigal Son Initiative. The organization provides a wide variety of opportunities such as, after school programs, leadership training and gang violence prevention to help the youth of the Northeast Park Hill community succeed. PSI is changing the lives of young people and helping to revive one of
1. How have you become a better leader as a result of your participation in CRC’s Leadership Program?
I got a chance to really talk to other leaders and executive directors who were having the same struggles that I was having. We were able to learn together and discuss the challenges of fundraising, staying organized, marketing, personal leadership styles, etc. The high quality training opportunities, coupled with the group activities with other leaders around the state really helped me see my potential and growth. This let me know more of what I needed to be doing to become a more effective leader for my organization and community.
2. What specific technical or management skills have you learned and implemented within your organization?
I have begun to reach out to more funders and personal donors. I have always had a problem asking for resources and money, which is not a good problem to have when running a charitable organization. After the session where CRC had the different foundation leaders and donors discuss what they wanted to see in an organization, and how they would like to be approached, I felt far more confident in reaching out to potential donors and funders and am doing it regularly now!
3. What was your greatest “take away” from the
The rock climbing excursion! I was scared to death on the rock, but when I got the encouragement from the other leaders that I would not fall to the ground if I trusted in their abilities to do their job, I was able to make it all the way to the top of a 100 foot rock! It taught me a lesson about trusting others to do their job so I can go on and do my job. I really needed to learn that lesson.
4. What personal insights have you made as a result of the coaching you received in CRC’s Leadership Program?
I learned that my leadership style is communicated very differently than others. I am always more aware now about how others may be interpreting things I say or do. This is the lifeblood of my business - communication.
5. Do you have other thoughts or comments you would like to make about your experience with CRC?
I thought the entire experience was absolutely great! It was informative, I made a ton of new friends, and I will always remember the experience like going to high school or something of that effect. I think we all will!
6. Would you recommend the Colorado Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program to other ED’s across CO? If so, why?
Of course I would! First of all, if anyone is a new executive director or is planning to take on a major leadership role, then they need to learn to feel comfortable exchanging ideas with others. It is imperative for leaders to be able to learn and discuss certain aspects of the challenges and joys of leadership together. They need to develop trust. Being considered a leader is an honor that no one can truly understand unless they have been in that position and able to discuss their challenges with a group and to learn how to manage that roll and the nonprofit business effectively.
Now in its 21st year, CRC’s Colorado Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program is proud to sponsor a 3-day transformational experience for executive directors of Colorado nonprofit organizations. The following interview illustrates what it was like for one of our program participants.
Stephanie Stephens is the Executive Director of the Colorado Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA), a statewide membership association that provides education, support and recognition for parks and recreation professionals. You can reach her at 303.231.0943, by email at stephanies@cpra-web.org or via the web at www.cpra-web.org.
Before going, what were you expectations and perhaps hesitations about participating in this adventure?
When applying for the Leadership Program, I used this quote: “And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~ Anais Nin. The Challenge Course was the culminating event in my ‘blossoming’ as a stronger leader and as a more confident woman.
I came into the outdoor adventure with some hesitation... what would it be like sharing a ‘bunk’ with others I don’t know entirely well? What will the challenge course really be like? My expectations, though, were stronger than the hesitations. What a great opportunity to stretch my mind and body! And what a fabulous way to remove myself from day to day work craziness and just focus on my abilities and goals for the future of our association.
The adventure did not disappoint!
What were the highlights of your 3 day experience?
So many highlights…
Fellow leaders – There’s no better way to get to know some really fabulous people than to share a room, kitchen and dining table with them. Spending three days with Kara, Mary, Alisha, Julie, Carol, Jim, Leslie and all the others opened my eyes to new ways of thinking, and my heart to new friends. I now have a strong support group to call upon on those days when I just need someone to vent to who understands the world of non-profit leadership!
Rock Climbing – It still gives me goose bumps just thinking about this challenge! I came into the program expecting to take part in the ropes course on site at BOEC. I’ve done ropes courses before and was excited to try a new one. The day I learned we would be rock climbing, frankly, I cringed inside. Gravity loves this rather large backside of mine… how on earth was I going to haul it up a rock wall?!?! Needless to say, with much encouragement, a super support team around me, and a sound ‘I can do this’ attitude, I made it up the rock – twice! Repelling down was a bit more challenging: trusting the rope, my own strength, my support team and the universe; I made it off the blind drop and once again mastered the rock! The overwhelming feeling of accomplishment still inspires me to tackle big projects and challenges today. And I continue to hear my support team around me encouraging “just one more step, Stef.”
What are the most important things you have learned as a result of this opportunity?
#1 – I’m not alone. There are always folks around me to encourage, teach, and care for me; I need to seek out that encouragement, lesson and support from my peers, my Board, my friends and now my new Leadership Family.
#2 – Stop, breathe, pick a path and go… Just like when I was on the face of that (very high) rock, I need to take the time in my everyday life to stop and breathe, look at all of my options, then pick a path and go. No looking back. No procrastination. No ‘I can’t do this’ attitude. Pick a path and go.
#3 – Trust in myself, the team around me and the rope. Whether it’s balancing on a very (very) small ledge I was sure would not hold my big toe, let alone my entire body or choosing a path for our association’s future, I need to trust in myself that I’m making the best decisions I can make with the knowledge and information I have in front of me; trust that the team around me will support me; and hang on to that rope to stay firmly attached to that team and our collective goals.
What kind of impact will this experience have on you as a leader within your organization and community?
This was a very personal growth experience for me, stretching my mind (and body) beyond what I thought I could do. Having that new mindset, I’ve embarked on a few new challenges at the office already with a renewed sense of passion, confidence and willingness to ‘pick a new path and go’. I’ve been able to entrust duties to members/volunteers I once thought only I could do. I’ve employed the ‘stop and breathe’ method when projects have become overwhelming. I’ve called upon my new cohorts for advice, information and yes, just to invite them to come participate in a few of our fun events!
Would you recommend the Executive Challenge Course to other executive directors? Why or why not?
Only if they are willing to look at themselves in a new light, challenge their way of thinking and doing, enjoy making new friends and connections, have a love of adventure, appreciate good conversation over some really fabulous food, like to laugh, and yes, trust in rope!
Thank you for your interview Stephanie!CRC is accepting applications for the 2011 Colorado Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program. For more information click here or contact Carol Crawford at 303.623.1540 x13 or email crawford@crcamerica.org
Sarah Fischler and Lauren Price, Community Resource Center. Sarah is the Director of Consulting and Special Projects at CRC and Board President of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Denver , and Lauren is CRC’s Director of Rural Outreach. They can be found on Twitter: @sarahfischler, and @laurenelizab.
Late April was a busy time for Denver nonprofit professionals! Lauren and Sarah both had the opportunity to attend the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network National Leaders Conference, hosted by YNPN Denver. Sarah also attended parts of the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) and Council on Foundations annual conferences, while Lauren followed these conferences on Twitter and webTV.
Sessions on the practical aspects of leadership development and the implications for the sector were prominently featured at all three conferences. The transfer of leadership from the Silent Generation (b. 1928 –1945) and Boomers (b. 1946-1964) to Gen Xers (b. 1965 – 1980) and Millennials (b. after 1980) is well underway. This transition has implications for the ways we communicate, strategize, fundraise and implement our programs. All relating back to the generational leadership shift, these five trends were echoed across the three conferences
1. “Next” Generation to “Now” Generation: Most of the dialogue about the young leaders characterizes challenges for the sector in terms of preparing next generation leaders and developing strategies to stem crisis. It is time to stop talking about young leaders as the next generation, and start talking about the now generation. As superstar blogger Rosetta Thurman explains in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, earlier this year, “I began using the term ‘now generation leaders’ because the reality is that young nonprofit leaders who are typically referenced as the next generation are not as young as people think. We're not all college kids anymore… Although we will certainly be the ones leading tomorrow, we're also the ones who are already leading today.”
More than ever before, it is possible to be a young professional with significant nonprofit leadership experience. Robert Egger, founder of the DC Central Kitchen and a prominent national nonprofit leader, championed this concept during his keynote address at the YNPN conference: “When YNPN first got started, the only accurate word in its name was ‘young’. Now, YNPN is a powerful network of seasoned pros.” Changing the language we use to describe our emerging leadership from “generation next” to “generation now” can help reframe the ways in which leaders from different generations see each other.
2. Shared Leadership: Much of the writing on the topic of the leadership “crisis” facing the nonprofit sector pits generations against one another – one group is leading, the other is waiting in the wings. This is the kind of language that talks about Gen Xers and Millennials and their role in nonprofits, rather than engaging us in a genuine dialogue. Language like this reflects a black and white view of a nuanced, complex situation, and it only polarizes the dialogue about current and future leadership challenges for nonprofits and philanthropy. Language like this contributes to an “us vs. them” thinking, which does nothing to address the real challenges of the sector. This got us thinking about a conversation we had a few weeks back: Lauren felt the language surrounding the Pew Research Center’s February report (“Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next”) was particularly guilty of this kind of “us vs. them” approach. Perhaps it was due to the webcast forum of the panel introducing the report, but it felt a little bit like the presenters were excited biologists who had just discovered a new species – familiar, of course, but look how weird these Millennials are, and how different from us! Cool!
In a session entitled “Trading Power” at the Council on Foundations conference, the facilitators offered a new construct for thinking about these changing dynamics in sector leadership: identifying what the “next generation” has to offer in exchange for what seasoned leaders can provide. This strengths-based thinking can result in shared leadership – collaboration rather than a competition to prove one group or the other as better, more effective, or with the best ideas.
3. Access to Professional Development and Career Growth: Many young leaders participating in the YNPN Conference expressed significant frustration over their lack of access to basic professional development. If we hope to retain these young leaders, individual organizations and managers need to invest in the Gen X and Millennial leaders of the sector by helping them develop in their careers. As social entrepreneurs and traditional corporations integrate the ideas of a mission-based business, working for a nonprofit is no longer the only way to make a difference in society. We are saying a firm farewell to the days when young people could be expected to take a professionally and financially unrewarding job for the sake of impacting a particular mission. Consequently, the nonprofits that recruit and retain top young leaders will be those that put a high priority on professional development. In Denver, programs like YNPN Denver’s learning circles and Community Shares’ Executive Leadership Institute groups offer very affordable professional development for younger nonprofit employees. Even if your organization cannot pay for these types of activities, meet your employees halfway and provide paid time to pursue professional development and other opportunities for career growth.
Also, for a variety of factors nonprofit professionals are retiring later than they used to. Consequently, some young professionals find that senior leadership opportunities are not available – opportunities which would have once been vacated through retirement. This phenomenon occurs in the corporate sector as well: publications like Bloomberg Businessweek call it the “grey ceiling”. What are individual nonprofits doing to provide career growth opportunities for Gen Xers and Millennials, especially when senior leadership positions are still occupied by skilled, experienced and healthy Boomers and Silent Generation leaders?
4. Challenging Misperceptions around Generational Tendencies: During the intergenerational conversations about what younger staff can bring to an organization, the discussion nearly always turns to technology. Both young leaders and their colleagues need to challenge the misperception that the most important skill that young professionals bring to an organization is the ability to use social media proficiently. While tech savvy is a tremendous asset, young professionals and leaders bring so much more than their Facebook networks, and are eager for opportunities to demonstrate proficiency in these other areas as well. Are we thinking about generational ‘personalities’ as a starting point for actual workplace relationships, or are we pigeonholing each other into stereotypes? Not all Millennials are tuned into pop culture, for example, just as not all Boomers love committees.
5. Hunger for New Approaches to Solving Persistent Problems: Power dynamics between funders and nonprofits. The challenges of the nonprofit board governance model. Interest in social enterprise and the burgeoning L3C movement. Enthusiasm and interest in collaborative leadership models. What do all these thoughts and trends have in common? The participants in the YNPN and EPIP conferences have new, interesting ideas about how to address some of the persistent challenges and new opportunities associated with nonprofit work and the sector as a whole. Giving young leaders some room to try new ideas and engage in calculated risk now will pay off in helping build sustainability and increased effectiveness for the sector over time.
What are your thoughts on these five themes? Did we miss something? Ask us questions or comment on our blog below!
RESOURCES Want to read more about these topics, the happenings of these three conferences, or learn more about resources for young leaders? Check out these links:
What is Colorado Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month? Archaeology & Historic Preservation Month is a celebration of our state’s heritage. Help spread the word that preserving the past is important. Saving significant prehistoric and historic places ensures that future generations in Colorado will maintain a connection with our shared cultural legacy.
With tighter budgets and fewer resources, more nonprofits are looking towards collaboration as a strategy to help leverage resources and increase organizational effectiveness. Collaboration can often result in greater mission impact or better leveraging of resources. However, if they are not well-conceived and properly managed from the beginning, such “collaborative” relationships can also be a drain on organizational resources. There are two critical pieces to setting up collaborative relationships for success: ensuring that each involved organization has an organizational culture that supports shared work, and having deliberate discussions in advance around any areas where a shared approach or values may not inherently exist.
Initiating a collaboration can sometimes feel like a first date. Each organization wants to present its best face, its strengths and opportunities. This dynamic can sometimes lead to glossing over important cultural issues that will impact the long-term success of a collaborative relationship. Bringing up difficult conversations early on might mean there would not be a “second date” and the organizations involved do not want to risk that kind of potential rejection. This dynamic often results in organizations holding back information or preferences because they fear that discussing such things could derail progress. Identifying what is important to each organization is a critical, but often forgotten, step in ensuring successful outcomes through collaboration.
When CRC works with organizations in developing collaborative relationships, we often start by identifying what we call an organization’s “collaborative culture index.” Using this tool, we are able to get a sense of how well an organization’s culture will support collaborative efforts. Depending on the results, we can help identify some areas for deliberate conversations and negotiations with partners before a collaborative relationship starts.
As part of developing a collaborative cultural index for an organization, CRC assesses the areas described below. We consider the level of agreement with these statements to be an indicator that an organization’s culture will generally support successful collaborative relationships. Areas of less agreement can also help identify places for deliberate discussions and negotiations prior to initiating formally or informally shared work. How well do these statements describe your organization and staff members?
Generally, organizational cultures that are more collaborative in nature are more effective in collaborative relationships with other organizations. These cultures tend to have diffused decision-making structures, history of working well with other organizations, and see added value from working with others. If you find that most of these statements reflect your organization and its practices, there is a strong likelihood that your organization’s culture supports effective collaboration. However, if these traits do not describe your organization, formal collaborative relationships may not be a good immediate strategy for your organization or may require some significant preparatory steps for your organization to be a good partner. This kind of organizational self-reflection is very important to ensure that collaboration is a good strategy for you, and that you will make a good collaborative partner.
If your organization is in the process of developing a collaborative relationship, we encourage you to consider these tools as part of designing your collaboration. If you need more help, please check out the resources below or contact Sarah Fischler at CRC to see how we can help your organization successfully use collaboration to increase your mission impact and to more effectively leverage resources.
By Sarah Fischler, CRC Consultant
As part of the Weathering the Storm project, the Community Resource Center and the Colorado Nonprofit Association sponsored trainings on fundraising, financial management, and collaboration to help nonprofit organizations enhance their sustainability during these challenging economic times. As part of this project over the last nine months, I have taught 15 trainings on fundraising during difficult times for nonprofit organizations of all sizes and types across Colorado and have seen the same opportunities for growth come up again and again.
Because the ability to generate revenue is at the core of nonprofit sustainability, we are suggesting these four fundraising resolutions to improve your organization’s fundraising effectiveness for 2010. Check out CRC’s reading list for more information and some ideas to get started on each of these resolutions.
Commit to Greater Diversification
Unfortunately, 2009 was a difficult year for many nonprofit organizations. A lack of diversified revenue sources has continued to be the source of vulnerability for many organizations. If a major funder pulls out or a type of funding declines across the board, a nonprofit can be forced to make difficult decisions like cutting or reducing programs, or in the most extreme cases, closing the doors.
Help your organization improve its prospects for long-term sustainability by diversifying your fundraising base during 2010, both in terms of number and types of donors. Has your organization been planning to start an individual donor campaign or investigate foundation funding for the last five years, but has never found the time? Make it a priority for 2010, even if it is only starting with a small goal, like recruiting 25 new individual donors or submitting a small grant application to a local funder. Setting some small goals for increased diversification and then achieving them can help put your organization on the path to greater sustainability.
Devote Time to Data Management
I am consistently surprised when I encounter an organization with a mid-sized budget and a spreadsheet full of donor information. With donor management packages now accessible to even the smallest organizations, 2010 is the year to commit to getting your donor information into a database, especially if you rely on individual donors for revenue. Better data management can help you make better fundraising decisions and possibly increase the outcomes of your fundraising activities if used strategically. In a spreadsheet, you only see donors as single lines of information. Donor databases can instead help you see donors in terms of their level of engagement with your organization. This can help your organization in better targeting and customizing your donor solicitation activities, activities that will likely result in better outcomes over time. A good, intuitive, and affordable solution for small nonprofits is GiftWorks. (And, if you need some help in transitioning your information, CRC offers classes and consulting in GiftWorks.)
Learn to Love Strategy
Being more strategic and deliberate in fundraising can almost immediately improve fundraising outcomes for any organization. Scattered fundraising is ineffective, frustrating, and leads to burnout because it feels like an endless treadmill of marginally successful activities. If your organization’s fundraising is scattered, simply outlining a few key fundraising activities, setting measurable goals, and then assessing your organization’s progress can significantly help your organization in being more strategic in its fundraising. Even if it is very simple, creating a written plan of action for your 2010 fundraising can help you move from scattered to strategic, resulting in better fundraising outcomes for your organization.
Being more strategic also includes having a better sense of what works and what doesn’t work. Start 2010 by doing some analysis on your previous fundraising activities to get a sense of what is effective and what is not. For example, how much does it actually cost your organization, including staff and volunteer time, to run an event or raise money through your other fundraising campaigns? Through this kind of simple analysis, you can get a sense of whether or not you could be getting a bigger bang for your buck through other fundraising activities. With this sort of information available, you can make a plan that helps prioritize your organization’s activities and leads to more strategic fundraising.
Embrace and Leverage Technology
One of my favorite nonprofit organizations, Community Shares of Colorado, is building an exciting new program on the idea of incremental giving. Through their My Colorado Project (www.mycoloradoproject.org), Community Shares is enabling donors to quickly and easily donate to their member organizations on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis – all automatic once someone is signed up. Community Shares adds on the concept of giving circles, in which people use online tools to engage their networks to get others involved in supporting their favorite organizations. We should all learn something from this model, as converting people who send a $100 check each year to regular, monthly donors can result in increased revenues and greater engagement without having to dedicate resources to recruiting new donors. This kind of program would be a huge drain on resources for most nonprofits without technology to automate the process. Using a service like Acceptiva, your organization can implement a similar program to transition your occasional donors into incremental donors using technology and possibly reap the benefits of higher donations and engagement in your mission.
Incremental giving is one example of how using technology allows a nonprofit to leverage its resources like never before for increased fundraising effectiveness. Web-based technology, like WordPress, has made it possible for small nonprofits to develop professional informational websites for just the cost of a website domain and web hosting (as little as $10 per month) with very little technological expertise. Constant Contact, the popular e-newsletter service, makes sending out an e-newsletter easy and cost-effective. If your organization is not currently using these tools, we encourage you to learn more about how they could help your organization leverage its resources during 2010 for increased fundraising success.
While all of these solutions are not right for all organizations, we encourage you take at least one of these and implement it within your organization during 2010. Doing so will help, in at least a small way, increase your organization’s sustainability for 2010 and beyond.
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