Nonprofit Online News

Recession Forces Nonprofits to Consolidate

SOme buzz on various mailing lists has followed the publication of this article in the Wall Street Journal, by Banjo and Kalita: Recession Forces Nonprofits to Consolidate. Despite my own reputation for "business-like" processes, there are a lot of pernicious concepts that arise when we enter the realm of civil society as seen from the world of business. For example, in this article, the notion of the "weakness" of certain organizations is tossed about freely, when what it really means is financial weakness. But in the world of business (and the Wall Street Journal), that's the only weakness that counts. More significantly though, this article raises the cliched notion that there are just "too many nonprofits". (It's funny how nobody ever says that about small businesses in general.) Now I think there is plenty of silly turf preservation out there and I have managed many a nonprofit merger. But I tend to think that we need to direct our attention to the structure of the sector as a whole. How can we structure things so that, like in the world of small business, it's a good thing that people want to start small organizations doing good works? How can we make that sustainable? That said, I think this article is a valuable reality check in today's economic circumstances. Social service organizations are being hurt the worst and that has real meaning for people's lives, in the here and now. And it too raises structural issues as to how such services are best delivered. I keep wondering what we can learn from the social democracies of Europe and how those models of success might be blended with the social entrepreneurialism of our American civil society. Til then, there are people that need real help, right now. And they aren't getting it.

The Problem with the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom Hierarchy

A great many of my communication and planning engagements can be classified as some kind of "knowledge management". Thus I often run into the now classical hierarch of data-information-knwoeldge-wisdom (each one is presumably a refinement of the former). But Dave Weinberge points out thethe problems with this model. Just like "knowledge management" was this fancy-sounding (but empty) bucket into which sales operations could toss just about anything, the DIKW hierarchy lacked the sort of rigor that actually leads to good planning. The term "knowledge" is bad enough. When you get to "wisdom", you know you are no longer in a place to agree on terms. Some people like it that way, since it allows the appearance of agreement. I have to say I'm with the author. I don't.

The Small School's Technology Planner

I'm teaching a new Technology Planning workshop soon â•„ from the You're Doing it Wrong series â•„ and I am still pretty disappointed with many of the planning guides out there. The Small School's Technology Planner is a great exception. It avoids the common tech-centered flaws of most such guides, embraces user involvement (but not in the "survey and shopping" list sense of the term), and makes a strong case for pilot projects as a part of planning. This isn't just for schools.

Idealist Needs Our Help

As you probably know, Idealist.org has done tremendous things for civil society over the years. Their directories, job fairs, the Nonprofit FAQ, and many more projects have touched the lives and careers of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people working for social change. Their model for supporting most of this was classified ads for nonprofit jobs. During this economic downturn, that revenue has slowed to a trickle. They need our help to weather this recession. I'm a big believer in the organizations, like Idealist, that help make our sector successful. I am familiar with every business model for this work. They are all very hard to fund. The fact that Idealist has made it work and at the same time done so much for so many is a remarkable thing. I have only once before asked you, as a reader of Nonprofit Online News to support another organization. But when I do, it's because it really matters - not just to one part of civil society or another, but to every part. Please take a moment to visit Idealist, read what they are facing, and make a donation of whatever size you can manage. And pass it on.

"Online Fundraising: You're Doing it Wrong!" Seminar Now Available On Demand

Sometimes the best way to stay on the path is to have clear warning signs that keep us from straying off of it. That's what we're aiming for with our new series of workshops with the "you're doing it wrong" subtitle. Our first such seminar - Online Fundraising: You're Doing it Wrong! - is now available on demand. Most of us have room for huge improvement in our online fundraising. Find out what your organization's biggest mistakes, and biggest opportunities, are by signing your team up for this one. Taking this workshop is a great way to instigate some renewal in your fundraising program, especially since (as with all our on-demand seminars), it comes with a personal consultation.

Nominate an Organization for a Just Award!

Last week, we made public a new project called Just Awards, brought to you by Nonprofit Online News and Blue Avocado. With your help, Just Awards will be the IgNobel Prizes of the nonprofit sector. We aim to call a little bit of possibly unwanted attention to those parts of civil society that deserve it. We have recruited a stellar group of judges to make the final decision on these awards. We are asking you to participate by submitting nominations for the two "Justies" we will award in 2010: one for most amazing example of narcissism by a U.S. philanthropic organization and another for most abominable coverage by a U.S. press organization. You can find much more information at the Just Awards website, including an online nomination form, instructions, bios of our judges, and so on. Please feel free to contact us via the website. And finally, this will only work if you're our eyes and ears. Tell us who deserves these awards. Put your own spin on this and spread the word.

"Technology Planning: You're Doing it Wrong!" Seminar on Feb 17th

I've taught a lot of organizations and consultants how to do communication centered technology planning over the years and a certain lesson has dawned on me: Sometimes we just need to have our mistakes pointed out clearly. That's what we'll be doing with our new seminar, Technology Planning - You're Doing it Wrong!. It'll be delivered live online February 17, 2010. Among other things, we'll cover key warning signs, managerial causes of tech problems, numerous examples, and the costs of doing it wrong.