Monthly Archives: August 2011

Do You Fear Change at your Nonprofit?

Posted on August 29, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

When I read the latest post from Seth Godin’ blog I had to share it here. I’ve written several times about how many social services agencies fear change (here and here.) Many would love to be able to maintain the status quo because it’s what they know and change can mean hard work.

Here are some questions to ask yourself the next time you’re considering starting a new program or service, upgrading your software, merging with another agency, hiring a new manager, or starting a new social enterprise business to help your organization deal with budget cuts:

“When confronted with a new idea, do you:

Consider the cost of switching before you consider the benefits?
Highlight the pain to a few instead of the benefits for the many?
Exaggerate how good things are now in order to reduce your fear of change?
Undercut the credibility, authority or experience of people behind the change?
Grab onto the rare thing that could go wrong instead of amplifying the likely thing that will go right?
Focus on short-term costs instead of long-term benefits, because the short-term is more vivid for you?
Fight to retain benefits and status earned only through tenure and longevity?
Embrace an instinct to accept consistent ongoing costs instead of swallowing a one-time expense?
Slow implementation and decision making down instead of speeding it up?
Embrace sunk costs?
Imagine that your competition is going to be as afraid of change as you are? Even the competition that hasn’t entered the market yet and has nothing to lose…
Emphasize emergency preparation and the expense of a chronic and degenerative condition?

Calling it out when you see it might give your team the strength to make a leap.”

Seth is a marketing guru and I would highly recommend bookmarking his blog (or subscribing to his email list) and letting some of his wisdom sink in.

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Posted in Budget Cutting Solutions, Non-Profit Business Advice, Non-Profit Software, nonprofit leadership, social businesses, social enterprise, social service nonprofit, social services leaders, social services leadership

Advocates for disabled urge feds to reject cuts to California Medicaid

Posted on August 26, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

Here’s an interesting story affecting our customers and the people they serve:

A consortium of 33 advocacy groups for people with disabilities on Thursday urged federal regulators to reject California’s request to cut the state’s Medicaid program.

Gov. Jerry Brown has asked for permission to slash his state’s Medicaid reimbursement rates by 10 percent to help plug a $26.6 billion budget gap. Advocates say the cuts would be particularly harmful to people with disabilities, and are urging federal regulators to reject California’s request.

“With cuts this deep we are concerned that some service providers could go out of business and people with disabilities would lose access to critical services,” the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities wrote in a letter to Medicare and Medicaid chief Don Berwick.

The letter goes on to urge federal officials to thoroughly examine how access to care would be affected if deep Medicaid cuts were approved.

“The necessity of strong CMS oversight of Medicaid rate-setting by the states is more important that ever,” the letter reads. “CMS should be scrutinizing those states where cuts endanger people’s ability to live successfully in the community … [and] ensure that states set and maintain their Medicaid rate structures at levels to assure that … enrollees can access necessary services.”

Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) has also urged Berwick to reject proposed cuts to services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, The Hill reported last month.

Brown made the request on June 30, setting in motion a 90-day federal review period. Federal officials have said they will require California to provide more information about the request’s potential impact on access to care, which should delay a final decision.

From The Hill

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Posted in Budget Cutting Solutions, disability news, Medicaid Cuts, Non-Profit News, nonprofit leadership

6 Social Media Myths for Nonprofits

Posted on August 23, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

Many social services agencies are just getting started or are contemplating a jump into the world of social media. Many you have waited to see if Facebook was just a fad or if Twitter was only a trend for teenagers. Maybe you’ve looked into starting a blog but didn’t think you really had the time.

But now – you are seeing the benefits of social media. And you know it’s not going away.

Are you ready to take your nonprofit down into the “rabbit hole” of social media? If you are, I bet you already have a few preconceptions in mind… A few myths that need busting:

Myth 1 – Set it and Forget it: Many believe all you must do is set up your account and you’re halfway done. Maybe do a few quick posts asking people for donations or volunteers and you can kick back and wait for the phone to ring. It’s not true. You do need to work at it to make it a real communication tool between you and the outside world. You don’t need to spend hours a day, and you really don’t need to put out a message every single day, but you must certainly be active. Social media is about being having that conversation with your fans. And having it often.

Myth 2 – Social Media Takes Too Much Time: On the opposite end of myth 1, a lot of people think they must spend 6 hours a day – time they don’t have – on social media activities to make it work. Some actually try to do this and give up. Or they never start. Honestly, you can have 1 to 3 accounts (a blog, Facebook, Twitter, for example) and spend about 15 to 20 minutes a day (or every other day) and still be effective. Link up your blog posts so they automatically go to Twitter, then set up your Facebook account to post everything that appears on Twitter. With one blog post, you’ve talked with all three groups of “friends” or followers at once.

Myth 3 – Social Media is Just People Talking to Hear Themselves Talk: While it’s true some people spend all day complaining about an achy back or what they had for lunch, social media can be a powerful tool. You can use it to talk about a new program at your agency, to highlight one of your clients and how they have overcome their disability, to provide tips on how you’re handling a budget cut, to give advice on a successful nonprofit merger, and to announce upcoming fundraising events. Find and follow influencers. Become friends with peers and prospects. Offer quality comments on their blogs. Re-tweet their posts. Give links to a great website or resource. Write great content. And you will see great results.

Myth 4 – Social Media Should Be Your Online Presence: Wrong. Your website should be your major online focus. You should have your blog on your website and not hosted by the blogging platform (WordPress, Blogger, etc.) You should provide links on your Facebook, Linkedin, Google+ and Twitter accounts that drive people back to your website. You should have a site and it should be your home base. You can use the site to brand your agency, to generate donations, to find volunteers, to tell your story, to bring in new contracts for your vocational facility, and so much more. Social media allows you to get your messages out there, but you should own your content on your own site and control your brand.

Myth 5 – Social Media is Too Technical: Is social media technical? Yes. Is it too hard to do? No. The very old and the very young easily have accounts. Nearly all social media is free with very intuitive and easy-to-use systems that require you to create them with a log-in and password. If you’re not sure how to create a profile or find new “friends”, simply read their online instructions or do a Google search asking questions and someone, somewhere will have covered it. Once you’re up and running, it’s a matter of producing good content, finding good information to pass along, and having a conversation with the people you follow. Don’t simply ask for money or help with every submission. And don’t talk about what you had for lunch – unless you can make it funny, interesting, or informative.

Myth 6 – Anyone Can Succeed at Social Media: Turning Myth 5 on it’s ear, this one is simply not true. While it’s true that anyone can use social media, it doesn’t mean they’ll do it well. Sometimes your social media presence should be run by someone within (or outside) your agency who is mature, smart, even-tempered, and knows how to tell a story. I don’t mean to scare you off but you should have someone in charge of your social media campaigns that will represent your agency well, will be able to find those resources I mentioned, and be able to craft messages that will do the 3 things mentioned in Myth 5 – be funny, be interesting, or be informative. That’s what will keep people paying attention to your social media campaigns, returning to you to read more, and eventually becoming more involved with your agency.

Social media can and does work for many social services agencies. It requires some time and some effort, but it will give you good results.

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Posted in Facebook, Non-Profit Business Advice, Social Media, social service nonprofit, Twitter

Should Nonprofit Leaders Take a Vacation?

Posted on August 18, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

Everyone has heard the phrase, Nero fiddles while Rome burns. We talk to many social services leaders who are constantly putting out small fires and fear that if they take time off their organization will burn to the ground.

But most people understand the restorative value of time away from work (and the anxiety and stress involved with putting out all those small-ish fires.) And it’s not just getting some rest or “re-charging the batteries” when it comes to vacations. Time away from work can give you new experiences, teach you new things, remove those blinders allowing you to open your mind and be more creative, and gain more insight into life from the additional time spent with family and friends.

So, vacations are truly necessary.

The next hurdle is always going to be those pesky details that produce the guilt associated with taking time away from the mission of your agency. When is the best time to go? There’s never a good time… How long should you be away? More than a day is too long… Where should you go? To a donor’s house to beg for a sizable donation…

But in all seriousness, a great nonprofit leader will be aware of his or her value to the organization, will understand that time off is necessary, will know when is a good time and when it’s a bad time for a vacation, and will realize that they need to be dispensable to their organization.

The key to being able to get away is depending on your staff, training them to handle a crisis, and realizing that you can trust them and then proving it. By taking time off.

One way to improve their outlook for those days when you’re on vacation is to prepare contingency plans for when the mini-disasters strike. Planning and working out the “what if” details beforehand makes great sense.

First, make sure there is a clear leadership hierarchy in place for when you are gone. When there’s a panic on, people who normally look for you need to know who is next-in-line on the chain of command, if it’s not already clear. All parties concerned should understand and accept who the boss is while you’re gone.

Second, consider what those scenarios are that might cause the panic. If “this” happens, then do “that”. And if “that” happens, then do “this”. Running through the possibilities will calm your nerves and your staff’s. Doing this can prevent those vacation-interrupting phone calls or emails while you’ve got your toes in the sand on the beach because “this” or “that” has happened and they weren’t sure what to do.

Finally, put a plan in place and discuss it with everyone involved for what you want to see happen while you’re gone. Basically, idle hands should be put to work to ensure your staff doesn’t decide to take an in-house vacation while you’re away. Let them know you’ll be following up on whatever task might have been assigned above and beyond their own tiresome workloads. It doesn’t have to be a crazy, over-the-top project but something you know your people can handle (or possibly work on as a team to strengthen their leadership skills while you’re out of town.)

So, energize yourself with time off and come back with a renewed sense of purpose and the strength to power on. You deserve it and you need it. Depend on your staff and they’ll step up when you ask them.

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Posted in Non-Profit Business Advice, nonprofit leadership, social service nonprofit, social services leaders

Tagged nonprofit vacations, should leaders go on vacation

Getting the Most out of Social Media Nonprofit Marketing

Posted on August 11, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

Even though there are no initial costs required to open most social media accounts, there are still costs to making your social media strategy successful. To develop worthwhile content in several different areas takes time and dedication. Organizations that divert existing employees’ energies to social media have to recognize that this represents both time and opportunity costs. Before your nonprofit puts money or an employee’s time into social media marketing, it is imperative to consider the return on investment (ROI).

Having a new Twitter follower is not the same thing as getting a new donation or more volunteer hours. True engagement for an organization hinges on cultivating your social media efforts toward a certain end. Tracing social media success to determine organizational benchmarks is not easy. You can demonstrate correlations, but a correlation is not the same as proof.

Marketing Week columnist Mark Ritson recently wrote a scathing review of social media marketing, saying, “Too many marketers have forgotten that if you cannot demonstrate ROI you should not be committing your organization’s money to it.” In a survey by Econsultancy conducted last year, 47 percent of companies surveyed reported that “they have not been able to measure results from their social media activity.”

And yet, because it is impossible to ignore social media, organizations need to ensure that they use it in line with their needs. Since there is not a guarantee of donations or volunteers through this type of marketing, it might seem risky for nonprofits on a shoestring budget to make a big investment to tweet. However a possible direction for them to turn is software. While there are not yet any applications that can fully report on social media ROI, nonprofits can still ensure that they are maximizing their online presence with certain online tools. Moreover, most software programs are not nearly as expensive as a new hire or a social media consultant.

One option is buying a general web marketing and CRM software program to handle this task. Most major CRM vendors, such as Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics CRM, are adding a social media component to their products. There are also some nonprofit software vendors developing products for social media fundraising in addition to the more traditional online fundraising products.

There are also software vendors creating apps to monitor social media conversations. These can help you keep track of what’s being said about your organization across the web. Additionally, some companies are releasing social analytics tools, such as Gist and Clarabridge, best utilized along with social monitoring programs. These tools can give nonprofits insight on trends and topics that relate to their organization and its mission. They are a relatively cheap source of knowledge but offer the ability to capitalize on an effective social media presence.

David Matthew is an ERP Analyst at Software Advice.

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Posted in Non-Profit Software, ROI - Return on Investment, Social Media, social service nonprofit, Social Services Technology, software for social services, Twitter

July 2011 Unemployment Stats from the DOL Released

Posted on August 5, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics has released disability employment statistics for July showing that the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 21.2.

By comparison, the percentage of persons with no disability in the labor force was 70.2. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 16.8 percent, compared with 9.0 percent for persons with no disability, not seasonally adjusted.

Update – Held each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities.

The theme for NDEAM 2011 is Profit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities, which promotes the valuable contributions people with disabilities make to America’s workplaces and economy.

2011 NDEAM posters are now available to download or order.