Acheiving more through partnerships

Over the last month I have had the privilege of working with the management and staff at Exhibition Park to co-host an event called Mastering the Board Game with international governance consultant Bill Charney. www.bcharney.com

When they approached me to ask if I would donate my time to take on the task of creating a web page and email campaign, along with setting up online registration and tracking systems, I jumped at the chance. I believe so strongly in the potential for boards to do more and better when they understand their role more clearly, and this workshop was a great opportunity for learning and understanding these important concepts.

In all, we had 77 people attend from 26 different organizations. Bill delivered an excellent presentation and I believe we all went home with more clarity around our roles on boards.

Thank you to Exhibition Park for inviting me to take part and to all the volunteer baord members and executives who took a full day to join us.

What is the Center for Board Development

The Center for Board Development delivers resources that are intended to be practical, cost-effective, adaptable and respectful of each organization’s unique differences, objectives, values and culture.

Over the last three years, this work has been evolving and adapting as we receive more feedback from clients about the changing landscape of non-profit management. We have been conducting groups sessions and on-site facilitation since 2006, and are now delivering resources across Alberta.

Community workshops have included:

Board Governance in Action
Writing Effective Policies & Procedures
Board Recruitment for Beginners
Building Healthy Board/Staff Relations
Make the Most of Your Local Media
Marketing Strategy for Non Profits
The ABC’s Of Your AGM
Email Marketing and E-Newsletters
Volunteer Management – Making Best Practice Practical
Building Better Communications
Panel Discussion - Risk & Liability
Donuts to Dollars – Strategies for Community Fundraising
The 7 Keys to Successful Corporate Collaboration
Peer Mentoring
Words That Change Minds™


On-site programs with individual organizations have included:

Board Orientation and training
External evaluation of programs for funder
Policy evaluation and development
By-law review and recommendations
Board recruitment facilitation
Strategic planning facilitation
Administrative training
Operations systems analysis
Communications strategy development

Volunteer recruitment planning sessions
Third-party wage scale review
Board/staff evaluation program
Fundraising support
Project management services
Leadership coaching director/board chair
Business plan development
Public relations/community awareness campaigns

For more information on programs available in your community, please contact:

The Center for Board Development 1-877-327-3750

http://www.boardcenter.ca/ or email info@boardcenter.ca

Creating Readable Newsletters

9 Helpful Tips for Creating Newsletters
That Readers Love to Read

Content

1. Keep it short. Newsletters generally are best kept to the highlights or summary of your topic. If you are using an electronic version, create the possibility for someone to find out more by adding a link to a more in-depth treatment on your website, or recommend a book or magazine which expands on the topic.

2. Make it personal. Are your articles focused on the ‘human’ issues? If you are talking about your programs, can you include the first-person experience of a recipient? How about photos of real people with your service or program in action?

3. Offer a variety of viewpoints. Perhaps you might include one or more segments written by others (include their name as guest columnist) to add variety to the tone and ‘voice’ of your newsletter? Everyone likes to see their experiences, stories and opinions in print, and it is worth a little careful editing if it brings the fresh perspective and enthusiasm of a new contributor.

Appearance

4. Make it match. If you have developed branding, logo, theme colors or images, or a certain style, you may choose to use those elements when creating your newsletter. You can develop or use a prepared template that you use consistently and update the look with seasonal graphics.

5. Make it flow. Break up the items into larger and smaller textboxes that makes information easy to spot. Can you create a sidebar or pop-out box in a different color to highlight program changes, important dates or contact information?

6. Make it readable. Try to use a common look throughout; a jumble of unrelated geographic shapes, multiple fonts or images that switch from cartoon to photo to realistic make it hard for the eye to follow.

Distribution

7. Keep your list current. People move and change jobs more than ever. Make an effort to update your distribution list at least annually.

8. For your eyes only... Email newsletters are the way to go for affordability, adaptability and quick receipt but make sure to use the bcc button when sending. (If you don’t know how to find this on yours call me, and I will come and help.) If you don’t, your entire mailing list could be used by an unscrupulous spammer to send unwelcome and inappropriate emails.

9. Speak the language. If you are sending out email newsletters, check with a few of your recipients to make sure that their computers will read what you send. Some email programs automatically block image files or attachments, or some recipients may not have the program installed that you want to send in. Word and PDF are the most universally accepted, or use an internet email system like Constant Contact to make sure your information gets through.

Happy writing!

PS: Have you checked out Charity Village lately? Always a great resource for board members, staff and volunteers. CharityVillage

Communication strategies for nonprofits

Shy? Who, me?

Strategies for Building Community Awareness

Buzzwords like branding are being tossed around non-profit boardrooms a lot these days. Most organizations need to have awareness of their programming, services and needs in order to continue operating successfully over time. I think of that kind of awareness as your ‘internal loop’. But how much is known about you in the general public? The business community? Among other agencies within your field or parallel industries? Can you attract enough media support, potential clients, donors, volunteers or employees to your organization with your existing level of exposure? Depending on your group and specific objectives, this line of planning might be described as marketing, public relations or simply developing a higher profile within specific sectors.

So, what could this look like in your organization?

Step 1: Define the Goal

What does your organization want? Can you identify one or more objectives to focus on? These may be based on a vision for the future – a sort of ‘magic wand’ wish list, or simply drawn from a desire to resolve current challenges.

Here are some statements about goals for community awareness and participation as stated by the groups we have worked with through The Center for Board Development. Do any of them fit for you?

• To have more people in our community recognize our name, and understand the work we do
• To be able to attract more (quantity) or more (variety) of people (volunteers, employees, board members) with unique skills and experience to contribute to our group
• To educate a greater percentage of the general public by increasing subscriptions to our newsletter
• To identify specific sectors (eg. business, other health practitioners, media) where we would like to have a higher profile/interaction
• To understand where we fit in relation to our ‘competition’ in the minds of potential users of our services and/or funders
• To have support from our community in the form of ongoing donations and sponsors
• To have support/participation for a particular project, from the community or a specific sector
• To have our events well-attended, both internal (eg. AGM, industry-specific conferences) and public events (open house, press conference, dinner dance or other)

Part of deciding where you want to go is knowing where you are now. How are you perceived in the community? Within your sector? Do people know what programs you offer, the benefits, or criteria for service? How do they find this information?

Don’t assume you know. You may choose to invite input from your community of stakeholders; clients, your membership, neighboring businesses or organizations, employees, board members, funders, corporate donors or anyone who is impacted directly or indirectly by the work of your group. Can you host a Town Hall-style meeting? Send out an email questionnaire? Have a team of volunteers conduct an awareness survey in a mall or other high-traffic location?

Colette Acheson is an author, facilitator and award-winning business consultant. She is responsible for program development for The Center for Board Development and coordinates training and supports for board-governed organizations in Alberta through group workshops, on-site consultation, mentoring programs for individual board members and staff, and project management services.

Send your comments or questions to colette@boardcenter.ca or call toll free 1-877-327-3750

For more information visit:

www.boardcenter.ca

www.coletteacheson.com

www.morethanthelabel.com

Communications strategies for non-profits

Shy? Who, me?

Strategies for Building Community Awareness

Buzzwords like branding are being tossed around non-profit boardrooms a lot these days. Most organizations need to have awareness of their programming, services and needs in order to continue operating successfully over time. I think of that kind of awareness as your ‘internal loop’. But how much is known about you in the general public? The business community? Among other agencies within your field or parallel industries? Can you attract enough media support, potential clients, donors, volunteers or employees to your organization with your existing level of exposure? Depending on your group and specific objectives, this line of planning might be described as marketing, public relations or simply developing a higher profile within specific sectors.

So, what could this look like in your organization?

Step 1: Define the Goal

What does your organization want? Can you identify one or more objectives to focus on? These may be based on a vision for the future – a sort of ‘magic wand’ wish list, or simply drawn from a desire to resolve current challenges.

Here are some statements about goals for community awareness and participation as stated by the groups we have worked with through The Center for Board Development. Do any of them fit for you?

§ To have more people in our community recognize our name, and understand the work we do

§ To be able to attract more (quantity) or more (variety) of people (volunteers, employees, board members) with unique skills and experience to contribute to our group

§ To educate a greater percentage of the general public by increasing subscriptions to our newsletter

§ To identify specific sectors (eg. business, other health practitioners, media) where we would like to have a higher profile/interaction

§ To understand where we fit in relation to our ‘competition’ in the minds of potential users of our services and/or funders

§ To have support from our community in the form of ongoing donations and sponsors

§ To have support/participation for a particular project, from the community or a specific sector

§ To have our events well-attended, both internal (eg. AGM, industry-specific conferences) and public events (open house, press conference, dinner dance or other)

Part of deciding where you want to go is knowing where you are now. How are you perceived in the community? Within your sector? Do people know what programs you offer, the benefits, or criteria for service? How do they find this information?

Don’t assume you know. You may choose to invite input from your community of stakeholders; clients, your membership, neighboring businesses or organizations, employees, board members, funders, corporate donors or anyone who is impacted directly or indirectly by the work of your group. Can you host a Town Hall-style meeting? Send out an email questionnaire? Have a team of volunteers conduct an awareness survey in a mall or other high-traffic location?

Colette Acheson is an author, facilitator and award-winning business consultant. She is responsible for program development for The Center for Board Development and coordinates training and supports for board-governed organizations in Alberta through group workshops, on-site consultation, mentoring programs for individual board members and staff, and project management services.

Send your comments or questions to colette@boardcenter.ca or call toll free 1-877-327-3750