Note from Beth:    In March,  I had the pleasure of co-presenting at the GEO Conference (Grantmakers for Effective Organizations) with Kathy Reich, Director, Organizational Effectiveness Program at the Packard Foundation and Jared Raynor, Director of Evaluation at TCC Group, that helped OE analyze its “goldmine” of grantee data.  The learning in public (slides and resources here).  During the conference, “a small army of guest bloggers [and] grantmakers, who [attended GEO] posted their reflections on the session and LIP in general on my blog.  These are here:

• Bridge Building or Trust Busting: A Warts-and-All Reflection on “Learning in Public”?
• Learning in Public Challenges and Actions
• Learning in Public: To What End?
• Is a Culture of Learning Required To Learn in Public?
• The Outcome of Our Outcomes

Last month the OE Team at the Packard Foundation shared this guest post about the next steps in their public learning journey as part of program review.  This post shares the latest learning from their quest to revise and refresh the program strategy by learning in public.

Packard OE Strategy Session: Laying Everything Out on the Table – Guest Post by the Packard Foundation OE Program Team

Have you reorganized your filing cabinet lately? You have to take everything out, decide what to keep and what to throw away, and then organize the materials for easy retrieval later. There is always that moment when everything seems chaotic, before once again, the contents of your cabinet have some semblance of order and logic. *cue sighs of relief*

Packard OE did something similar during its strategic planning retreat, which was full of insightful exchanges between staff, consultants, and advisors.   The image above shows what we came up with.

We still have a long way to go in synthesizing the numerous inputs, including a large constellation of trends, grantee priorities, values, economic realities, and more. And while we would welcome any input on our strategic questions we wanted to continue highlighting a few questions for which we would like specific advice:

• How do you use intermediaries to help non-profit organizations build their organizational capacity? Have you evaluated your work with intermediaries, and if so, what lessons have you learned?
• Have you participated in a great peer learning community—either in person or online? What made it great? Are there particular topics or issues that lend themselves to peer learning? When you’re designing a peer learning experience, what pitfalls should you avoid?

Please visit the OE Strategy Refresh site and share your thoughts on these questions and, more importantly, your stories. Not too jazzed about sharing in a public forum? Then please feel free to contact us directly. Collaboration on this process will lead to a well-informed strategy, enabling us to better serve a variety of organizational needs all over the world.

P.S. Your input will help us draft a set of hypotheses—in the form of possible paths for Packard OE to take in coming years—to be tested among our grantees, colleagues, and all of you. Stay tuned!

We’re really excited about this process and we’d love your feedback!

OE Staff: (left-to-right) Gurpreet, Dora, Kathy, Cheryl, Brian

The OE Team:   Flowing from Packard Foundation’s Founders’ business philosophy of nurturing leaders and giving them the freedom to pursue promising approaches, the Packard Foundation assists in building the leadership skills and management capacity of their grantees.   The Organizational Effectiveness and Philanthropy program supports their current grantees to allow them to undertake projects that transform their organizations in a sustained and meaningful way. These grants address the many organizational and capacity challenges that may affect nonprofits—from strategic planning and board development needs to mergers and executive transitions.  To this end, they advance the organizational effectiveness of current Foundation grantees by supporting projects that improve their management, governance, and leadership by developing strategies, systems, structures, and skills. The Foundation also makes grants to help advance and support the field of private philanthropy.

Says Kihlstedt: “The more we can be ourselves, the more we will be able to follow our donors’ cues—adapting our presentations to match what they need.”

Which style are you?

There's no right answer, according to Kihlstedt: "Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, analytic or intuitive, you can ask in a powerful and effective way. Some people are better listeners; others light up a conversation. Some are masters of facts and data; others prefer simple big ideas. Some quiet people are powerfully compelling when they share why they care. Others are more talkative and goal oriented. Having a simple system of asking styles so that people can see the power in their own styles helps each person—whether staff or board—find the courage to ask in the way that suits him or her best."

You can learn more by reading the whole article here.

At Tech & Social Change Baltimore's May meeting, virtual world and Nonprofit Commons evangelist Sally Cherry explained what virtual worlds are, discussed the differences between several virtual worlds, and then took the room on a tour of Second Life and introduced us to a few of her colleagues. You can read the notes from the session in the Tech & Social Change meetup group.

Our next meeting will be June 7 at 6:30 pm, and Ben Kutil, a local designer, will explain the theory behind design and talk about a few of the rules designers follow. Interested in attending? You can RSVP online.

As part of the ACE Leadership Training, we had several site visits to bring some of the real world into our discussions.    The group visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial.   The site was established in 2004 on the 10th Anniversary of the genocide in partnership with the Rwanda Government, Kigali City Council, and Aegis Trust, a charity in the UK dedicated to the prediction, prevention, and ultimately elimination of genocide.   The site operations a Genocide Archive, a Museum, Education and Social programs, and a memorial garden and burial grounds.

The exhibition in the Museum has three main sections.  The main exhibition tells the history of Rwanda leading up to the genocide, what happened, and the aftermath.   It includes personal testimonies, photographs, and artifacts.    Another exhibit looks at past massacres in Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia, The Holocaust, and other places of the world where genocide has taken place.   While the exhibit was emotionally wrenching, not to mention disturbing, the most poignant was the children’s memorial that tells the story of innocent child victims of the genocide.

Needless to say, one leaves this memorial site with a profound sense of sadness, horror, and grief.     As our group was leaving the Museum,  I started talking with Favorite and Germaine, two young women who has joined the training for the day.  Both are on full scholarship at the Kigali Health Institute and are supported by nonprofit call “Generation Rwanda” that helps orphans and other socially vulnerable people in Rwanda become leaders and foster economic development and social reconciliation.

These two young people both has personal stories to tell, having been about 5 years old at the time of the genocide and orphaned.     They both are inspiring, hopeful, and determined to make the future of their country a better place.   They wanted to share their stories on my blog and through video and photos.     Here is their stories.

Germaine:  A Social Entrepreneur

Germaine will graduate from the Kigali Health Institute with a degree in physical therapy.     She grew up in Kigali and lost her parents and four brothers and sisters in the genocide.  (You can find her story on the Generation Rwanda site).

She started a business to sell bags, skirts, and dresses for women.    The business helps her support her remaining siblings and provides money for her transportation, meals, and other school expenses.     The women she hires to make the bags are widows with HIV and have no other way to generate income.   The profits from the business help both Germaine and these other families.Germaine uses her Windows Phone as her virtual store.

Favorite:   On A Mission To Help Children in Rwanda

Favorite is also a student at the Kigali Health Institute and will graduate this year.She was born in the south of Rwanda and the genocide started one month after she turned five years old.  She lost both her parents and members of her family to the genocide.    Her mother encouraged her to get an education at the University.    She searched for scholarships and connected with Generation Rwanda where she received a scholarship.  Her vision for the future of her country is young people.  She wants to start a school program and center of excellence for young children and providesprograms that help them stay physically and mentally in shape.   She says, if a country’s young people are healthy,  this will build a country that is better for all – and wants to see a future free of genocide.

Here’s a quick checklist to answer that question.  If you can’t check all the boxes, work on doing better.  The single most powerful thing you can do as a fundraiser is to take great care of the donors you have.

Timeliness:

_ All donors thanked promptly
_ All donors thanked throughout the year

Personalization and Accuracy:

_Thank-yous are directed at the donor – not “Dear Friend”
_The gift amount is included and correct
_ Thank-yous reference the appeal or campaign that prompted the gift
_ Thank-yous are signed by a real person or include a real person’s name
_ I properly acknowledge gift designations and dedications

Gratitude:

_ I express heartfelt thanks for the gift twice in each note
_ I also express gratitude for past support (when relevant)
_ I give credit to the donor for what will be achieved
_ The thank-you is a thank-you, not an appeal!  (It doesn’t ask for money again)

Useful Resources:

_Thank-yous include full contact information of my organization
_ Thank-yous include appropriate tax language
_I make clear how the gift will be used

Ongoing Communication:

_ I tell a good story or use a vivid example in every piece of outreach
_ I report to donors on their impact at least twice a year
_ I recognize donors after thanking them
_ I include the voices of donors in my outreach
_ I ask my donors for feedback

The more you care about your donors, the more they will care about your cause!

Akilah workshop

After the ACE leadership training,  I had the opportunity to spend a day in Kigali.    I volunteered to do a Social Media and Professional Networking workshop for second year students at the Akilah Institute for Women.  The Akilah Institute mission is to  empower young women in East Africa to transform their lives by equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to find meaningful employment and launch ventures in the fastest growing sectors of the economy.   The organization was founded by Elizabeth Dearborn Davis and Dave Hughes. I got an opportunity to do a workshop with second year students during their IT class.   Since students who participate in Akilah’s Leadership Program are required to do a social change project and participants are on a professional career path,   I did a workshop about using social media to support social change projects and how to use it as a professional networking tool.

I worked with 39 young women between the ages of 18-30.   Everyone was using Facebook.   There were a handful who were using  LinkedIn and Twitter as professional networking tools.  One student, Gisele Bahati, has already implemented social fundraising by using Razoo to raise funds to attend the Global Youth Connect human rights conference in New York City this summer. She still has $2,300 left to raise; you can help her get to New York!

One of the messages I wanted to share with this group of young women was that women can do technology – and that they can use social media to help them with their social change projects.   I shared my story and my experience in doing some online blog mentoring project with young women in Nigeria through my colleague Ore Somolu.    I focused on showing them Twitter because there were so many examples of women leaders here in Rwanda and other countries in Africa  using it for networking and professional development.

We spent most of our time looking at the importance of setting up a professional profile on Twitter.  I had them view other profiles and share what struck them.

They were very excited to see the Minister of Health in Rwanda on Twitter.   They remarked about her the professional appearance.

I shared Ory Okolloh’s Twitter profile and shared some of her background as a co-founder of Ushahidi and now working for Google.   What they found inspiring was that a women can balance being a mother with a career in technology.

Next, I  had them write out their 160 character description for their Twitter profile or what I called a “Twitter Elevator Speech.”  I also had them practice it verbally in pairs and then in front of the whole group.  We were able to briefly share what Twitter looks like online.    I asked participants to share what they learned and most shared that they had never considered tools like Facebook as ways to help them with their social change projects or professional networking.     If I were teaching this a full course,  the next session would go much deeper into  privacy and security techniques.

All in all, I had a lovely day at the Akilah Institute.

Read the write up of my visit to Akilah Institute on their blog.

The headline is that online giving is up across all channels. The healthy growth of digital philanthropy continues apace.

We continue to find the winning formula online to be a great donation experience on your website.  Specifically, we recommend branded donation pages that look just like your website (as opposed to a generic donation page that links off to a third-party donation form that looks nothing like your website).  When nonprofits feature a branded donation page on their websites, they can see a five or six-fold(!) increase in donation dollars over the more generic experience. In Q1 2012, the average gift through a branded donation page was $104, 20% larger than the average gift of $87 on generic donation pages.

Why is that? A branded donation page looks like a natural extension of your website - with the same look, inspiring messaging and warm language.  (Here’s an example.) That keeps donors in a generous state of mind.  You are able to reinforce your nonprofit’s mission and identity throughout the donation process and follow-up.  It builds a relationship with supporters—and shows your organization cares enough to pay attention to the donation experience and donor stewardship.  These small acts matter and increase the likelihood of repeat donations.

While the majority of donations will come via your website (so you better be ready!), social giving continues to increase, so it’s important that you engage your audience where they are online, too.  Make sure you offer donors the chance to share your content through easy Facebook and Twitter links,and encourage your most ardent supporters to recruit friends and family to donate to your events and campaigns on social fundraising platforms like Crowdrise and via their social networks.

Want to see the data in full? You can download this quarterly update here.

The headline is that online giving is up across all channels. The healthy growth of digital philanthropy continues apace.

We continue to find the winning formula online to be a great donation experience on your website.  Specifically, we recommend branded donation pages that look just like your website (as opposed to a generic donation page that links off to a third-party donation form that looks nothing like your website).  When nonprofits feature a branded donation page on their websites, they can see a five or six-fold(!) increase in donation dollars over the more generic experience. In Q1 2012, the average gift through a branded donation page was $104, 20% larger than the average gift of $87 on generic donation pages.

Why is that? A branded donation page looks like a natural extension of your website - with the same look, inspiring messaging and warm language.  (Here’s an example.) That keeps donors in a generous state of mind.  You are able to reinforce your nonprofit’s mission and identity throughout the donation process and follow-up.  It builds a relationship with supporters—and shows your organization cares enough to pay attention to the donation experience and donor stewardship.  These small acts matter and increase the likelihood of repeat donations.

While the majority of donations will come via your website (so you better be ready!), social giving continues to increase, so it’s important that you engage your audience where they are online, too.  Make sure you offer donors the chance to share your content through easy Facebook and Twitter links,and encourage your most ardent supporters to recruit friends and family to donate to your events and campaigns on social fundraising platforms like Crowdrise and via their social networks.

Want to see the data in full? You can download this quarterly update here.