Welcome to the Nonprofit Partnership E-News

In this Issue

	February, 2009
	Navigating the Financial Crisis with Your Nonprofit
	Upcoming Educational Events from The Nonprofit Partnership
	Partnership Education Events Offered through NPP
	Volunteers for Your Organization through the Erie Ambassadors
	Resolved: To Increase Donor Commitment This Year

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Robert Wooler,
Director
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February, 2009

This edition of The Nonprofit Partnership e-news is sponsored by Malin, Bergquist & Co.

Navigating the Financial Crisis with Your Nonprofit

Not surprisingly, there is suddenly an avalanche of advice for nonprofits on how to weather the fiscal storms. At NPP, we have been slogging through it and have culled some of the better and more practical tips for you:

From the Nonprofit Finance Fund:

• Nonprofit managers, Board members, and professional advisors need to work together to manage risk on two levels: investments (are they diversified and varied?), and revenue (are you overly dependent on single revenue streams that might dry up?)
• Avoid “fake it ‘til we make it” behavior and sustained spending which weakens nonprofits even in good times. Previous downturns have documented the tendency for nonprofits to run deficits. Minimize those risks by considering how to get by on decreased revenue.
• Partner and collaborate with complementary organizations to maximize funding and access to services.
• Nurse cash by avoiding large investments in infrastructure or service expansion.
• Diversify funding streams, but be conservative. The downturn is not the time for untested new ventures.
• Ask the difficult financial questions: What are our priorities? What will funders support in this climate? How important to our mission are programs that are running a deficit? What can we deliver currently and in the future without increasing our administrative or fixed costs?

From the Community Foundation e-Newsletter:

• Do not become or sound desperate.
• Prove that you are responsible by sharing the steps you are taking to be a good steward of every donated dollar.
• Don’t give up on your supporters – continue to let them know how much their support is needed.
• Don’t pull the plug on major campaigns, but slow up prudently. Capital campaigns and endowment drives take a back seat to basic needs in times like these.
• Keep up your marketing and public relations – keep the buzz going about your organization by continually sharing your successes and all the good things you are doing.

Upcoming Educational Events from The Nonprofit Partnership

Tuesday, March 17 8:00 – 9:00 am “Are You Ready for the New 990?”
At Malin, Bergquist & Co., 2402 West 8th St., Erie, PA
Vincent F. Halupczynski, CPA and Partner at Malin Bergquist and Tom Tupitza, President of the Knox Law Firm will present the significant changes to Form 990 and prepare managers and Boards for the changes they face during the upcoming filing season.

Wednesday, March 25 – 9:00 to 11:00 am “Social Enterprise 2009 – New Approaches”
At Asbury Woods Nature Center, 4105 Asbury Rd., Erie, PA
Community Resources for Growth and The Nonprofit Partnership will present a new set of resources to help nonprofits market their excess or specialized capacities to new markets or audiences to enhance their revenue streams.

Wednesday, April 22 – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm “Voluntary Action”
At Ambassador Conference Center , 7792 Peach St., Erie, PA

Susan Ellis, CEO of Philadelphia-based Energize, Inc., a world-renowned expert in recruiting, engaging, and managing volunteers will offer a two-part program in designing and running a best-practice volunteer program for your organization:

9:00 am – Noon  - The Foundation for Your Volunteer Program

For CEOs, senior managers, and program directors – how to assemble all the right elements in the right climate so that your volunteer program thrives.

1:00 – 4:00 pm  - Engaging and Keeping Volunteers Through Best Practices

For program managers and volunteer program staff – all the tools you need to recruit, engage, and retain talented volunteers that bring your organization to higher levels of achievement.

RSVP for any session at (814) 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org

Partnership Education Events Offered through NPP

In addition to our regular calendar of management and governance trainings, The Nonprofit Partnership is pleased to be able to partner with specialized organizations in Erie to offer low-cost training opportunities for appropriate staff. Upcoming events include:

Human Resource Trainings with JL Nick Associates, held on the following dates at the Admiral Room in the Blasco Library, 150 East Front St., Erie.

Friday, February 20 - 9:00 am – 12:30 pm -  “Communication and Conflict”

Friday, March 20  - 9:00 am – 12:30 pm - “Union Avoidance Strategies”

Friday, April 24 - 9:00 am – 12:30 pm - “Your Employee Handbook”

Friday, May 22-  9:00 am – 12:30 pm - “Reasonable Suspicion Drug Testing”

The Supervisors Boot Camp series for new supervisors and those who are growing in their field will be held at the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies, 40 Holland Street, Erie from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm on

March 12 and 16
April 9 and 23
May 27

2008’s popular computer program training series with the Point Click Learn Learning Lab is back for a limited engagement of six training dates at The Learning Lab, 3823 West 12th St. in Erie. Sessions will be held from 9:00 to 11:30 am on the following dates:

March 19 - Beyond Basic Word - Mail Merge and other tricks

March 24 - Excel Intermediate

April 14 - Powerpoint

April 28 - Outlook and e-mail etiquette

May 12 - Office 2007 tools

May 26 – Publisher

Our partnership with the e-marketing Learning Center at the Center for e-Business and Advanced IT brings a variety of new e-marketing learning opportunities to the local nonprofit world

March 5 and June 4  - 8:30 am – 2:30 pm -  “Successful Search Engine Optimization”

March 5 and June 4 - 8:30 am – 4:00 pm -  “Guide to Successful e-mail Marketing”

April 15, 2009 - 8:30 am – 4:00 pm - “Guide to the Online Marketing Channel”

May 7, 2009 -  8:30 am – 2:30 pm - “Paid Search Marketing Strategies”

To learn more, visit www.emarketinglearningcenter.org/schedule or call (814) 898-6500. Registration fees vary by course.

Registration fees for the HR and computer application courses are $25, payable to The Nonprofit Partnership. RSVP for any session at (814) 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org.

Volunteers for Your Organization through the Erie Ambassadors

Reserve your table now for the Erie Ambassadors’ Get Involved! Erie night. The Erie Ambassadors, a volunteer program of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, will be turning out their members and many more potential volunteers to connect volunteer energy and organizational need on Tuesday, March 24 from 5 to 8 pm at the Bel-Aire Hotel and Conference Center, 2800 West 8th Street, in Erie.

Confirm your participation by February 27 for a discounted table price of $50 by calling (814) 454-7191 or e-mailing getinvolved@eriepa.com.
 

Resolved: To Increase Donor Commitment This Year

If not now..... when? Individual donors are the holy grail of nonprofit giving, so the time has come to get donations from your casual acquaintances and get repeat donations from your committed friends.

For the casual would-be friends who have a passing notion of what you do because they have participated in an event of yours or have visited your facility, make it abundantly clear to them that you can’t do wonderful things without their donations. Your website is your storefront. It’s where you make a great impression and sell yourself – and it’s where you establish your donor dependency with a direct statement like, “Philanthropic contributions account for over 40% of our revenues each year.”

Get each of your visitors to sign a card or a quick survey that captures their name, address, and e-mail, or get their business card by enticing them to enter it into a drawing for a giveaway item each week or month. Use this contact information to write to them four times a year and let them know about your successes, other results, and the challenges you face. Build the relationship – then make an appeal.

But don’t necessarily limit yourself to an annual appeal. Consider at least four times per year, but follow time-tested rules like:

• Start with an ultra-short paragraph to draw the reader in.
• Make sure you’re sending the right kind of letter. Renewal letters and acquisition letters will differ in tone and content.
• Try a teaser on the envelope – the goal is to get them to read the letter.

For more details on getting and keeping your donors, visit Tom Ahern's valuable site and see newsletters 6.7 and 6.8 at  www.aherncomm.com