Special 4-Day Bonus Issue from the Blue Avocado

A special 4-Day Bonus Issue from the Blue Avocado

Free Webinar! Google Analytics for the Enthusiastic Beginner
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 3:00 pm eastern /12:00 noon Pacific

Speaker:  Bonnie Massa, Massa & Company

Wonder what all the hype is about around web analytics? Thanks to Blue Avocado and American Nonprofits, you can join this overview of Google Analytics, a free web analytics tool that shows you how visitors are using your site. We will start with how to capture data on visitors and then hit the highlights of using Google Analytics to improve your website. This overview is for beginners and executives that want to know the value of the tool but not necessarily how to operate it . . . Click here to register free . . . offer closes March 15, 2013.

Another Free Webinar! Nonprofit Sustainability:  Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability 
April 12, 2013  12:00 pm eastern/9:00 am pacific

Speakers:  Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado and CEO of CalNonprofits, and Steve Zimmerman, Spectrum Nonprofit Services

Too often program goals are discussed separately from financial means, although we all know that both must be discussed together. Jan and Steve will present the methodology for doing so from the book they co-authored with Jeanne Bell: Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability. This model can be used as an adjunct to or substitute for traditional strategic planning. Click here to register free. Offer ends March 15.

Board Recruitment Time? Learn the Blue Ribbon Nominating Committee Technique
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 3:00 pm eastern/12:00 pm pacific

Speaker:  Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado and CEO of CalNonprofits

Board recruitment discussions usually start with the tired question, "Who do we know?" Instead, let's start with "What are the three most important things for the board to accomplish this year, and what kind of board members do we need in order to do so?" Tested successfully with hundreds of nonprofits, we'll also tackle some difficult questions such as whether and how to recruit people of different races or educational backgrounds, whether to have clients or parents (or other direct beneficiaries) on the board, and whether to have fundraising or donation requirements. Based on the tested and popular Blue Ribbon Nominating Committee technique. Click here to register free . . . through March 15 only.

Free "Gift of Learning" online courses from Cornerstone

This was such a hit in the last Bonus Issue, we’re pleased to offer this again. And we’re grateful to Cornerstone to offer this once more to Blue Avocado readers and American Nonprofit members!

The Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation established the “Gift of Learning” program to over 40 classes of downloadable e-learning content -- such as leadership training, effective communication, project management, and desktop product tutorials -- to nonprofit professionals at no cost.

The Foundation is offering this to five individuals per organization...and 300 organizations will be selelcted to receive the access to the Gift of Learning library. How do you become eligible? The first 300 Blue Avocado readers that respond on March 15, 2013 (starting 9 am Pacific/12 noon Eastern) are eligble.  Send an email to Blue Avocado's Susan Sanow at blueavocado@hotmail.com with the subject line "Gift of Learning” will be awarded the opportunity to access thousands of courses. Your e-mail must include the following information:

• Your organization's name
• Nonprofit tax ID number: you must have U.S. 501(c)(3) status to qualify
• Name of the contact person, and contact person's e-mail address and phone number

Once we reach 300 interested organizations, this offer will expire.

If your organization is chosen to participate, you will receive an introductory email directly from the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation no later than March 29, 2013. Selected nonprofits will have access to the Gift of Learning for a three month period (April 1, 2013-July 1, 2013.)

(And if you were awarded the "Gift of Learning" last fall, please step aside and let another organization benefit!)

April 1? No Foolin'… It’s a Blue Avocado Contest!

As April Fool's Day approaches, we wonder what our best April Fool's joke news headlines would be for the nonprofit community. So give it a try. Submit your headline with a 2-to-3 sentence opening paragraph. Here is a sample to get you started:

AmeriCorps to Exclusively Serve Businesses in 2014
The AmeriCorps program announced that beginning in 2014, AmeriCorps Volunteers will only be placed in small for-profit businesses.  While historically placed with nonprofits, it is clear that nonprofits are better managed and there is a greater need to support the small business community.

Submit your April 1 headline and 2-3 opening sentences tosusan@blueavocado.org.  Use the subject line April Fool's. Send in your entry by Friday, March 22, 2013.  You may be featured in our special April Fool's Day issue!  What's in it for our top 10 favorite/funniest entries? You'll win a copy of Jan Masaoka’s book, The Nonprofit’s Guide to Human Resources. Good luck!

Nominate an Outstanding CPA; Join the NYCON Board

2012 Michael H. Urbach, CPA, Community Builders Award Now Accepting Nominations Submission Accepted through August 24th, 2012 Sponsored by the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) Lewis Kramer, Urbach Award Recipient and Doug Sauer, CEO, NYCON The New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. (NYCON) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) are pleased to announce this call for nominations for the Ninth Annual Michael H. Urbach, CPA Community Builders Award. The award is named in honor of the late Michael H. Urbach, CPA, former partner of Urbach, Kahn and Werlin, former NYS Commissioner of Tax and Finance and Chair of the State Employees federated Appeal, and board leader of a number of charities. This award is in recognition of the important role, talents and leadership that a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York State can provide as a board member for community-based charities. Award Criteria & Submission Candidates must: Be a CPA in good standing and a member of NYSSCPA. Have served as an Officer on at least 3 different charitable 501(c)(3) community-based nonprofits with service as President/Chair at least once. Have demonstrated exemplary board leadership resulting in significant and positive organizational impact including, but not limited to, financial turn-around, growth, and/or organizational re-structuring. Preference will be given to nominees whose board leadership accomplishments have been with community-based charities. Deadline - August 24th, 2012 Nominations addressing the candidate's qualifications must be received by August 24th. Nominators are strongly encouraged to address the qualifications related to the four (4) criteria mentioned above and to include at least three (3) letters of support from the charities who have benefited from the candidate's volunteer leadership. Send two (2) packets of nomination materials to: Urbach Community Builders Award Committee New York Council of Nonprofits 272 Broadway Albany NY 12204 or email the packet to Melissa Currado, Executive Assistant to the CEO at mcurrado@nycon.org. NYCON Now Accepting Applications for Board Membership A great opportunity to volunteer your time and lend your expertise to help nonprofits of all types improve the quality of life in New York State. The New York Council of Nonprofits' Board Development Committee is now accepting applications for nominees for its Board of Directors. Terms are for three years, starting January 1, 2013, with a three consecutive term limit. Successful nominees will be presented for election to our Membership at NYCON's Annual Meeting on October 4th in New Paltz. Applicants must be individuals of high integrity, demonstrate commitment to our state's nonprofit sector, and be willing to invest the time, effort, expertise and influence necessary on a regional and statewide basis to further NYCON's mission. All applications will be considered by the Board Development Committee however priority consideration will be given to individuals who meet more than one of the following characteristics: Resides in Hudson Valley, Metro New York or Central New York regions Has public policy knowledge & expertise, particularly with respect to state government Has marketing & Media Relations expertise Is affiliated with Organized Philanthropy Has Banking & Corporate Business expertise & affiliations Is a racial or ethnic minority Applications are due by August 27th, 2012. If you are interested we encourage you to review the NYCON "Board Brief" document and complete the application below: Download an application Download the NYCON "Board Brief" Candidates are recommended to the Board by the Committee and the Board in turn recommends a slate to the NYCON Membership which convenes for our Annual Meeting at Mohonk Mountain House on October 4th during Camp Finance. Board members elected by the members begin service in January 2012. Questions?Please contact us.

All About the Board Members... Nominate an Outstanding CPA Board Member by August 24th Are You Interested in Joining the NYCON Board? Thank You to Our Supporters! NYCON and NYSSCPA would like to recognize The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region for their grant contribution towards the Michael H. Urbach, CPA Community Builders Award. For More Information visit NYCON at WWW.NYCON.ORG or contact Melissa Currado at (800) 515-5012 or mcurrado@nycon.org Co-sponsored by The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants 　 www.nysscpa.org

Recruiting Youth for Your Board: New Idea for Continuing Challenges

As more of our organizations face recruitment and engagement issues with our Boards of Directors, it is time to think outside of the box and take new approaches.  One such idea is to consider youth serving on our Boards.  Below is a great overview and info from the National Council of Nonprofits, the umbrella organization for the NYCON, for your consideration.

You’re only as old as you feel

By Jennifer Chandler
 

When a question landed in my inbox last week about youth serving on nonprofit boards, my thoughts turned to our society’s attitudes towards age and the role that charitable nonprofits can play in bridging the “generation gap.” The question in my inbox was: “Are there any programs that prepare youth to serve on nonprofit boards?” The question prompted me to think about the distance between young and old, and how nonprofits bridge what I think of as a “perspectives gap.”

But first, let’s clarify a threshold issue relating to the question posed. While seven states (Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Utah) prevent anyone under the “majority age” (usually 18) from serving as a board member of a nonprofit corporation, most states are silent about the age of board members. This leaves the decision about what age is appropriate for board members up to the individual nonprofits. (To our knowledge there are no state laws that restrict older individuals from serving on boards.)  If you are curious what your state law says about the age of board members, you can research the statutes that govern nonprofit corporations in your state at LawForChange.org.
 

The post "Youth Board Members: Can minors serve on nonprofit boards?" by Emily Chan, co-author of the Nonprofit Law Blog, gives an excellent overview of the legal issues raised when young people serve on boards. Chan raises many important questions nonprofits should tackle before inviting youth to take on decision-making roles, and she offers several alternatives to board service. Chan’s post is very comprehensive (and we always appreciate Nonprofit Law Blog’s carefully researched resources). My own view is that whether someone under 18 should serve on a nonprofit board should not turn on whether the “youth board member will feel isolated” or “what skills or training the youth board member needs that the organization currently does not provide?” Isolation, preparation for taking on the fiduciary duties that board service requires, and other issues are equally relevant across the age spectrum. What we are really exploring when we ask the age question is whether this particular individual has skills and experiences that will add value to the board’s work and/or whether placing that person on a governing board is necessary to fulfill other goals, such as growing the bench of leadership for the organization, or creating ambassadors to segments of stakeholders that are important for the nonprofit’s work.

 

Conscious of the need for continuity of leadership, many nonprofits cultivate talent, whether young or old, to make sure that multiple perspectives are represented on their board and that when one generation steps aside, another is ready to take its place. “It’s something the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits advocates, as we want to see nonprofits grow their leadership and ensure that other generations are ready to serve,” explains Trisha Lester, Vice President of the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits. “Authentically engaging young people as partners and decision-makers is a crucial and challenging topic for youth-serving nonprofits (and other groups). Service on governance boards can be a powerful way to do this, but there are other ways to accomplish the goal of giving this particular constituency voice,” says Molly O’Connell, Resources and Advocacy Coordinator at the Maine Association of Nonprofits.  Looked at another way, we all need mentors, and when seasoned seniors can pass their wisdom and insights on to younger generations – whether defined as under 18 or under 30 – everybody wins over time. (If you think that working with board members is a little like herding cats, this 60 Minutes story about the importance of role models for elephants may suggest a different analogy!)

 

Moreover, a board that boasts a diversity of perspectives is simply better-poised for scenario planning. Different life experiences not only help board members see around the organization’s corners, but also help the organization see challenges in the community more clearly. Such added perspective can lead to more effective problem-solving and greater impact. When the work of charitable nonprofits reflects diverse perspectives, this is a perfect example of a “triple bottom line” ROI because it benefits the nonprofit, volunteers, and the community.

 

At the National Council of Nonprofits we are strong believers in the value of proactively preparing leaders and diversifying governing boards (and staff) of nonprofits. We also believe in the important role that charitable nonprofits play as places where people in communities, young and old, of all shapes, sizes, and colors, come together to learn from each other and collaboratively solve problems.

 

So what does age have to do with it?  Age, like any other characteristic, adds meaningful texture to our own perspectives. And the perspectives of charitable nonprofits are really all about the perspectives of individuals in communities, coming together through nonprofits, to affect change and improve their worlds.

 

Resources about diversity on boards (National Council of Nonprofits)

Resources on board development (National Council of Nonprofits)

Resources about cultural competency (Bridgestar and BoardSource)

Resources

Boards and governance issues  (National Council of Nonprofits)
 
Next Generation and Governance (BoardSource)
 
Plan A – How Successful Nonprofits Develop Their Future Leaders (Bridgestar)
 
Youth Advisory Committees (Michigan Community Foundation Youth Project)
 
Creating a Teen Board/Ambassador Program (United Way of Central New Mexico)
 
Case study on board diversity (Maine Association of Nonprofits)