Have you ever stopped to consider what the barriers are for a black woman with two kids? Wow, hello hate mail! Because of my posts about being a nonprofit wage slave , and being unable to make rent on a nonprofit “salary” , someone took issue with this. MORE
Of the more than 1 million nonprofits in the U.S., nearly 75% post annual revenues below $500,000. This leaves little or no room for the ‘science’ part of fundraising, like data analytics and predictive modeling. MORE
According to a 15-question survey Convio conducted between September 2008 and October 2008 of 60 nonprofits, the most common response regarding their organization’s top barrier to success was insufficient staff. Other barriers to online success noted by those surveyed were lack of coordination, lack of education of online marketing, database issues, integration of different Web tools/technologies and intradepartmental issues. MORE
Stagnant organizations are generally marked by lousy boards and clueless, or worse, arrogant CEOs. Without the leadership of an engaged, aware and willing-to-learn CEO you might as well forget about growth. MORE
HIPAA barriers healthcare social communication Small nonprofit medicineI don't know that I've mentioned it here, but I serve as a volunteer on the Santa Cruz County Emergency Medical Care Commission, which advises our County Supervisors on emergency healthcare issues. I got interested in this area when my late husband was going through a lot of hospital visits, some of which involved ambulances and helicopters. I've continued to volunteer (as the consumer. MORE
Ken Burnett has now published Part 3 and Part 4 of his thought-provoking five part series on the Future of Fundraising. Our summary of Parts 1 and 2 found here , asking whether Agitator readers thought the future was ‘bright’ or ‘bleak’, generated lots of great comments. MORE
Without question the greatest barrier to great fundraising is a lousy board. Of course issues like staff quality, the necessary funds for investment, proper organizational structure, etc. are important. But none is more important than a board. Because at the end of the day it is the board that ultimately determines the quality and culture of the organization. Whether it will be mediocre or magnificent. MORE
I decided to call out this thorny barrier to growth because I’m not alone in observing a dangerous pattern that’s emerging. A lot of what I’m about to say here will seem offensive to fundraising agencies and insensitive to their problems. I mean to be neither. Higher fees, lost respect, absence of serious innovation – all are trends that manifest themselves in the anger, frustration and angst expressed by clients over their agencies. MORE
Whirlpool is fighting against education inequality by installing washers and dryers in schools to remove this barrier to attendance, and give students the confidence they need and deserve to get through class each day. MORE
Welcome to guest blogger Joleen Ong, who is the Marketing & Publications Director at NTEN —the community of nonprofit professionals who put technology to work for their causes. Successful integrated marketing goes beyond the communications products you put out there in the world. MORE
We need to break down the barriers preventing fundraising and marketing staff from cooperating in order to get the best results. The advice to get rid of “silos” is nothing new. MORE
Every election season is a barrier to connection, with people overwhelmed by 24/7 messages from multiple campaigns via multiple channels. But connecting this fall, with a presidential campaign as contentious and bizarre as the Clinton-Trump contest, is tougher than ever. MORE
assessment to identify her specific barriers to independence (ie. First off, if you haven’t done it yet, please, for the love of everything, Take the survey here! If you HAVE taken the survey, very good, carry on, biscuits will be served at 3. Second: Are you in the Austin Texas Area? Do you want more donors? Yes to both questions? We have two slots left in this presentation. MORE
But… The way many organizations discuss their causes, approach and impact is a huge barrier to connecting. It’s a simple equation, at least theoretically. Your goal is to change how people perceive, think, and give or act around your issue or cause. MORE
You’d think a $300 billion industry like ours would have empirically based standards and practices readily available and accessible to all. After all, most sectors — ranging from apple growers to doctors and hospitals, and even zoos — have them. Fundraising doesn’t. MORE
In Part 8 of The Agitator’s Barriers To Growth series I cited “Insufficient Collaboration” as one of the principal barriers. Of the more than 1 million nonprofits in the U.S., nearly 75% post annual revenues below $500,000. I noted that “this leaves little or no room for the ‘science’ part of fundraising like data analytics, predictive modeling and other higher cost skills that can aid in growth.” ” “It shouldn’t be this way,” I lamented. MORE
Fix It on barriers to growth was triggered by Jay Love’s prediction that when Giving USA 2015 was released it would show that once again charitable giving in the U.S. Our recent post Stop it. would not exceed 2% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Sure enough, two weeks later on June 15 th Giving USA 2015 was released and once again reported that charitable giving remained at the 2% level. The same 2% of GDP that Giving USA has reported year after year after year. MORE
Include a realistic budget (what it will take), and clear roles and responsibilities, and you’ll be likely to bust through these barriers to real marketing impact. Proof Points : Research findings to use when advocating for the marketing approaches you know are right. MORE
not enough time) is the barrier to impact I hear most frequently from you guys. Please tell us what you’re doing to strengthen supporter relationships, and what’s in your way. Thanks! Read Part 1 here. MORE
Following through on the message is doable, because any obvious barriers are addressed. I’m headed to Austin, Texas today to teach a workshop I’m calling “So What and Who Cares? MORE
Several hundred new Agitator readers have come on board since I first launched the ‘Barriers to Growth’ series back in May. Here’s a summary of all 10 Barriers along with a link for those particular barriers in which you’re most interested. MORE
But there has to be a Barrier that keeps the hero from getting to the goal right away or else it's not very compelling. This introduces the barriers or obstacles the protagonist faces). There could be several barriers). Storytelling is the single most powerful communications tool you have available, bar none. But many good causes tend to have problems telling good stories even though people have been communicating through stories for thousands of years. . MORE
There is a way to move past this seemingly insurmountable barrier—Launch a team of messengers to be your nonprofit’s ambassadors for year end (and beyond). We’re in count down to year-end fundraising season, with its relentless pressure and never-ending to-dos. Are you banging your head against the wall yet? Joking aside, it may seem like your team’s hard work and limited resources won’t be enough. Yet you know how much you could bring in, if only…. Good news! MORE
Look no further than how strategy is typically thought of by most nonprofits and their consultants and youll quickly understand why poor or no strategy is a major barrier to growth. MORE
One of the great barriers to growth is the idiocy of ‘testing’ Not because testing is bad, but because most fundraisers and their consultants don’t have the slightest idea what real testing is all about. MORE
Look no further than how strategy is typically thought of by most nonprofits and their consultants and you’ll quickly understand why poor or no strategy is a major barrier to growth. MORE
Last week, in Overcoming Barriers to Growth , I previewed the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s Leadership Summit by the same name that kicks off this Wednesday. MORE
In particular, the research uncovers four key barriers that are likely preventing donors from giving more to your cause: 1. So, how do you break through these barriers? MORE
Of the more than 1 million nonprofits in the U.S., nearly 75% post annual revenues below $500,000. This leaves little or no room for the ‘science’ part of fundraising, like data analytics and predictive modeling. MORE
Alfred Sloan was the General Motors Chair and CEO who led GM from the 1920s through the ‘50s and grew it to become largest corporation on Earth at the time. In a board meeting at GM, Sloan asked the board about an important decision: “I take it that everyone is in basic agreement about this decision?” Everyone nodded yes. Sloan’s response: “Then I suggest we postpone the decision. Until we have some disagreement, we don’t understand the problem.” MORE
Chapter 9 of my book, Retention Fundraising: the art and science of keeping your donors for life, focuses on ‘Barriers to Retention’ The top two barriers? The real killers? #1: 1: Silos and #2: False Attribution. Silos. Those who work in organizations with more than one department are familiar with silos. The online personnel do little to coordinate with the offline folks. Major gift officers look down on direct mail fundraisers and vice versa. MORE
I’ll follow up with posts on each step, starting with the most productive pilot program I know: 1) Assess potential barriers to success. You face an uphill battle to recruit volunteers and retain them at ever higher and more effective levels of engagement. MORE
By allowing an exchange of stories you break through barriers with your donors (barriers you might not have been able to penetrate otherwise). I get it! I get it! Tell stories! There’s been a lot of talk about storytelling for fundraising recently. MORE
In Part 7 of our Barriers to Growth series, I noted that the inability or unwillingness to take a hard and realistic look at an organization’s fundraising potential represents a significant barrier to meaningful growth. MORE
If measured by the number of organizations, the nonprofit sector is growing quickly in the US. Up a whopping 47% over the past decade. But, if measured by the share of national income representing private giving to nonprofits, there’s been a decrease of 11%. MORE
I like to think about it as a barrier breaker. My job is to identify and remove barriers that separate the people from the art. Some of the barriers are obvious, price, description of programming, etc. Other barriers, like an overly complicated subscription order form, are less obvious. Either way, I need to identify the barriers and do what I can to remove them. MORE
I’m convinced that a major barrier to most nonprofits’ growth is that there is little understanding of an organization’s true potential. As a result, far too many organizations and their consultants set their sights far too low, settling for the average given in a benchmark like Giving USA , which year after year, for the past 20 years, has estimated the growth of giving at 2% of Gross Domestic Product. The first of the Easy Excuses arises from benchmarking. MORE
There’s no question that the shortage of investment funds for fundraising is perceived as a principal barrier to growth. That sentiment was voiced by many attending the DMANF Leadership Summit last week, and it’s certainly a reason offered in a lot of the comments and email from Agitator readers. The solution to this problem may lie within your organization itself. Most charities have significant reserves. Which is no bad thing in and of itself. MORE
When, what they really need from us, is to help them remove the barriers blocking them from changing themselves.&#. Tags: Quote of the Week barriers change choices decisions empowerment perspective Quote MORE
Removing a Barrier to Understanding. It’s removing a barrier to understanding,” he says. Infographics are all the rage, so I asked graphic designer Julia Reich to tell us all she knows about producing them. MORE
As I noted in an earlier post, The Idiocy of Testing , one of the great barriers to growth in our sector is that despite the countless thousands of hours and millions of dollars spent on so-called ‘testing’, the result is navel-gazing at best and months or years of time wasted at worst. Let’s face it. Every one talks about ‘testing’ Few fundraisers and their consultants really understand what true testing means and how to conduct it. MORE
As part of the Agitator’s Barriers to Growth series I noted that the shortage of investment funds for fundraising is often perceived as a major hurdle. MORE
Barriers Related Topics Getting Attention
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
Welcome to guest blogger Joleen Ong, who is the Marketing & Publications Director at NTEN —the community of nonprofit professionals who put technology to work for their causes. Successful integrated marketing goes beyond the communications products you put out there in the world.
The Agitator
JUNE 1, 2014
Stagnant organizations are generally marked by lousy boards and clueless, or worse, arrogant CEOs. Without the leadership of an engaged, aware and willing-to-learn CEO you might as well forget about growth.
The Agitator
JUNE 10, 2014
I decided to call out this thorny barrier to growth because I’m not alone in observing a dangerous pattern that’s emerging. A lot of what I’m about to say here will seem offensive to fundraising agencies and insensitive to their problems. I mean to be neither. Higher fees, lost respect, absence of serious innovation – all are trends that manifest themselves in the anger, frustration and angst expressed by clients over their agencies.
The Agitator
MAY 11, 2014
There’s no question that the shortage of investment funds for fundraising is perceived as a principal barrier to growth. That sentiment was voiced by many attending the DMANF Leadership Summit last week, and it’s certainly a reason offered in a lot of the comments and email from Agitator readers. The solution to this problem may lie within your organization itself. Most charities have significant reserves. Which is no bad thing in and of itself.
The Agitator
JULY 29, 2014
Look no further than how strategy is typically thought of by most nonprofits and their consultants and you’ll quickly understand why poor or no strategy is a major barrier to growth.
Social Media Bird Brain
MARCH 6, 2013
HIPAA barriers healthcare social communication Small nonprofit medicineI don't know that I've mentioned it here, but I serve as a volunteer on the Santa Cruz County Emergency Medical Care Commission, which advises our County Supervisors on emergency healthcare issues. I got interested in this area when my late husband was going through a lot of hospital visits, some of which involved ambulances and helicopters. I've continued to volunteer (as the consumer.
The Agitator
SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
Several hundred new Agitator readers have come on board since I first launched the ‘Barriers to Growth’ series back in May. Here’s a summary of all 10 Barriers along with a link for those particular barriers in which you’re most interested.
Wild Woman Fundraising
JANUARY 16, 2012
Have you ever stopped to consider what the barriers are for a black woman with two kids? Wow, hello hate mail! Because of my posts about being a nonprofit wage slave , and being unable to make rent on a nonprofit “salary” , someone took issue with this.
Mission Paradox Blog
MARCH 16, 2011
I like to think about it as a barrier breaker. My job is to identify and remove barriers that separate the people from the art. Some of the barriers are obvious, price, description of programming, etc. Other barriers, like an overly complicated subscription order form, are less obvious. Either way, I need to identify the barriers and do what I can to remove them.
The Agitator
JUNE 18, 2014
You’d think a $300 billion industry like ours would have empirically based standards and practices readily available and accessible to all. After all, most sectors — ranging from apple growers to doctors and hospitals, and even zoos — have them. Fundraising doesn’t.
The Agitator
MAY 18, 2014
Alfred Sloan was the General Motors Chair and CEO who led GM from the 1920s through the ‘50s and grew it to become largest corporation on Earth at the time. In a board meeting at GM, Sloan asked the board about an important decision: “I take it that everyone is in basic agreement about this decision?” Everyone nodded yes. Sloan’s response: “Then I suggest we postpone the decision. Until we have some disagreement, we don’t understand the problem.”
The Agitator
JULY 21, 2014
Of the more than 1 million nonprofits in the U.S., nearly 75% post annual revenues below $500,000. This leaves little or no room for the ‘science’ part of fundraising, like data analytics and predictive modeling.
The Agitator
JULY 14, 2014
I’m convinced that a major barrier to most nonprofits’ growth is that there is little understanding of an organization’s true potential. As a result, far too many organizations and their consultants set their sights far too low, settling for the average given in a benchmark like Giving USA , which year after year, for the past 20 years, has estimated the growth of giving at 2% of Gross Domestic Product. The first of the Easy Excuses arises from benchmarking.
SocialButterfly
MARCH 29, 2010
When, what they really need from us, is to help them remove the barriers blocking them from changing themselves.&#. Tags: Quote of the Week barriers change choices decisions empowerment perspective Quote
The Agitator
JULY 21, 2014
Of the more than 1 million nonprofits in the U.S., nearly 75% post annual revenues below $500,000. This leaves little or no room for the ‘science’ part of fundraising, like data analytics and predictive modeling.
Wild Woman Fundraising
FEBRUARY 8, 2011
assessment to identify her specific barriers to independence (ie. First off, if you haven’t done it yet, please, for the love of everything, Take the survey here! If you HAVE taken the survey, very good, carry on, biscuits will be served at 3. Second: Are you in the Austin Texas Area? Do you want more donors? Yes to both questions? We have two slots left in this presentation.
The Agitator
MARCH 8, 2017
In Part 8 of The Agitator’s Barriers To Growth series I cited “Insufficient Collaboration” as one of the principal barriers. Of the more than 1 million nonprofits in the U.S., nearly 75% post annual revenues below $500,000. I noted that “this leaves little or no room for the ‘science’ part of fundraising like data analytics, predictive modeling and other higher cost skills that can aid in growth.” ” “It shouldn’t be this way,” I lamented.
The Agitator
JULY 29, 2014
Look no further than how strategy is typically thought of by most nonprofits and their consultants and youll quickly understand why poor or no strategy is a major barrier to growth.
The Agitator
JUNE 16, 2016
Chapter 9 of my book, Retention Fundraising: the art and science of keeping your donors for life, focuses on ‘Barriers to Retention’ The top two barriers? The real killers? #1: 1: Silos and #2: False Attribution. Silos. Those who work in organizations with more than one department are familiar with silos. The online personnel do little to coordinate with the offline folks. Major gift officers look down on direct mail fundraisers and vice versa.
The Agitator
OCTOBER 20, 2009
According to a 15-question survey Convio conducted between September 2008 and October 2008 of 60 nonprofits, the most common response regarding their organization’s top barrier to success was insufficient staff. Other barriers to online success noted by those surveyed were lack of coordination, lack of education of online marketing, database issues, integration of different Web tools/technologies and intradepartmental issues.
Getting Attention
FEBRUARY 3, 2016
Include a realistic budget (what it will take), and clear roles and responsibilities, and you’ll be likely to bust through these barriers to real marketing impact. Proof Points : Research findings to use when advocating for the marketing approaches you know are right.
The Agitator
JULY 15, 2014
In Part 7 of our Barriers to Growth series, I noted that the inability or unwillingness to take a hard and realistic look at an organization’s fundraising potential represents a significant barrier to meaningful growth.
Getting Attention
SEPTEMBER 27, 2016
Every election season is a barrier to connection, with people overwhelmed by 24/7 messages from multiple campaigns via multiple channels. But connecting this fall, with a presidential campaign as contentious and bizarre as the Clinton-Trump contest, is tougher than ever.
The Agitator
SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
One of the great barriers to growth is the idiocy of ‘testing’ Not because testing is bad, but because most fundraisers and their consultants don’t have the slightest idea what real testing is all about.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
JANUARY 21, 2016
We need to break down the barriers preventing fundraising and marketing staff from cooperating in order to get the best results. The advice to get rid of “silos” is nothing new.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
MAY 29, 2012
Removing a Barrier to Understanding. It’s removing a barrier to understanding,” he says. Infographics are all the rage, so I asked graphic designer Julia Reich to tell us all she knows about producing them.
Getting Attention
JULY 28, 2015
not enough time) is the barrier to impact I hear most frequently from you guys. Please tell us what you’re doing to strengthen supporter relationships, and what’s in your way. Thanks! Read Part 1 here.
The Agitator
JUNE 8, 2015
As I noted in an earlier post, The Idiocy of Testing , one of the great barriers to growth in our sector is that despite the countless thousands of hours and millions of dollars spent on so-called ‘testing’, the result is navel-gazing at best and months or years of time wasted at worst. Let’s face it. Every one talks about ‘testing’ Few fundraisers and their consultants really understand what true testing means and how to conduct it.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
APRIL 23, 2012
Following through on the message is doable, because any obvious barriers are addressed. I’m headed to Austin, Texas today to teach a workshop I’m calling “So What and Who Cares?
The Agitator
AUGUST 24, 2016
As part of the Agitator’s Barriers to Growth series I noted that the shortage of investment funds for fundraising is often perceived as a major hurdle.
iMarketSmart
DECEMBER 1, 2014
By allowing an exchange of stories you break through barriers with your donors (barriers you might not have been able to penetrate otherwise). I get it! I get it! Tell stories! There’s been a lot of talk about storytelling for fundraising recently.
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
AUGUST 31, 2015
In particular, the research uncovers four key barriers that are likely preventing donors from giving more to your cause: 1. So, how do you break through these barriers?
Getting Attention
OCTOBER 26, 2016
There is a way to move past this seemingly insurmountable barrier—Launch a team of messengers to be your nonprofit’s ambassadors for year end (and beyond). We’re in count down to year-end fundraising season, with its relentless pressure and never-ending to-dos. Are you banging your head against the wall yet? Joking aside, it may seem like your team’s hard work and limited resources won’t be enough. Yet you know how much you could bring in, if only…. Good news!
Getting Attention
NOVEMBER 26, 2012
But… The way many organizations discuss their causes, approach and impact is a huge barrier to connecting. It’s a simple equation, at least theoretically. Your goal is to change how people perceive, think, and give or act around your issue or cause.
Fundraising 123
MARCH 24, 2011
But there has to be a Barrier that keeps the hero from getting to the goal right away or else it's not very compelling. This introduces the barriers or obstacles the protagonist faces). There could be several barriers). Storytelling is the single most powerful communications tool you have available, bar none. But many good causes tend to have problems telling good stories even though people have been communicating through stories for thousands of years. .
The Agitator
AUGUST 17, 2015
Without question the greatest barrier to great fundraising is a lousy board. Of course issues like staff quality, the necessary funds for investment, proper organizational structure, etc. are important. But none is more important than a board. Because at the end of the day it is the board that ultimately determines the quality and culture of the organization. Whether it will be mediocre or magnificent.
The Agitator
JUNE 23, 2015
Fix It on barriers to growth was triggered by Jay Love’s prediction that when Giving USA 2015 was released it would show that once again charitable giving in the U.S. Our recent post Stop it. would not exceed 2% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Sure enough, two weeks later on June 15 th Giving USA 2015 was released and once again reported that charitable giving remained at the 2% level. The same 2% of GDP that Giving USA has reported year after year after year.
Getting Attention
JUNE 1, 2017
I’ll follow up with posts on each step, starting with the most productive pilot program I know: 1) Assess potential barriers to success. You face an uphill battle to recruit volunteers and retain them at ever higher and more effective levels of engagement.
Selfish Giving
MAY 23, 2017
Whirlpool is fighting against education inequality by installing washers and dryers in schools to remove this barrier to attendance, and give students the confidence they need and deserve to get through class each day.
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