Doing More With Less in Hard Times

Tuesday, December 9, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

Hildy Gottlieb is the president of the Community-Driven Institute and Help 4 NonProfits in Tucson, Ariz. Ms. Gottlieb, a writer and speaker, is author of the blog "Creating the Future!" and the forthcoming book The Pollyanna Principles: Reinventing "Nonprofit Organizations" to Create the Future of Our World.

A transcript of the chat follows.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Welcome to today's online discussion. The topic is one that many organizations are dealing with in this tough economy -- delivering better results while facing the prospect of fewer resources. Today, Hildy Gottlieb, an author and nonprofit expert, will take your questions on this topic.

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Hello, everyone!

My name is Hildy Gottlieb, and I am president of the Community-Driven Institute at Help 4 NonProfits. Our mission is to help Community Benefit Organizations create more significant impact in our communities and around the world.

The question that has driven our work for the past 10 years has been this: If this is the sector that was supposed to change the world, how come the world has not changed?

We have found that the answers are not in the programs organizations provide, but in the internal systems that support those programs - governance, planning, program development, program sustainability, etc.

When we change how we think about those systems, and aim those systems towards dramatic community improvement, things change - and change quickly!

Today we will be talking about how we ensure our programs are able to accomplish what our communities need from us. Given the economy, how can we not only address the increasing need in our communities - how can we be more proactive in our work overall, all the time?

Because of the nature of this discussion, if it is helpful to look at some of the articles in the Institute's online library while you are participating, the link to the library is here: http://www.help4nonprofits.com/H4NP.htm

I look forward to your questions!

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Please feel free to ask questions during the next hour. To do so, simply click on the "ask a question" link on this page and type your question. Hildy will respond as quickly as she can.

Question from Dave Gagne, Urban Boatbuilders:
    Can hiring more part time workers, rather than full time workers, during these tight economic times be effective in stretching our budgets but still getting a variety of necessary tasks done? What are the negative consequences of doing this part time hiring in your opinion? Dave

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Dave - We are all being encouraged to cut costs, but your question about negative consequences gets to the fallacy in that approach. How much more can most programs possibly cut without hurting the very communities we are supposed to be helping?!

When we focus on costs, we are focusing on what we do NOT want - and that cannot get us what we DO want. Instead, we need to be focused 100% on providing the benefit our communities need, asking "What do our communities need from us? And what do we need to do to create that?"

That starts a whole different cascade of questions, but at least those questions are aimed at something positive, rather than the emotionally draining and counterproductive discussion of cutting costs.

(As an aside, that is why we have been advocating changing the name from Nonprofit Organizations to Community Benefit Organizations - it focuses us on what we really are about!)

Question from Hae Jin Higgins, Common Cause, nonprofit:
    Are there any success stories you can share on how are organizations are repurposing existing materials into member benefits?

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Hae Jin - the repurposing that is most helpful is not materials and etc., but repurposing the thinking that goes into those materials. The materials are intended to further your mission and vision. So the fist question is "How can we further that mission and vision in general, then how do the materials fit that?"

We find it helpful to think of programs as a house. For a house to be strong, it must have strong infrastructure. It must have people who care about the house, to maintain it in all ways. And yes it must have cash to keep going.

But first, that house has to have a purpose - to be a home.

Same with our programs. Strong infrastructure is built collaboratively, using shared resources as much as possible. Engagement with people who care - not just donors, but anyone who cares about the difference you are trying to make.

Cash, yes, but how we generate cash is important. We can continue to struggle for income, or we can build on the myriad assets we all have, hiding in plain sight.

But that has to all be guided by core purpose - the difference you want to make.

So repurposing materials should focus FIRST on the difference Common Cause has the potential to make - that is something everyone cares about. What will be better if you are successful? From there, we can build the house - the programs - to always be able to make that difference.

Question from Linda Griebsch, small healthservices non-profit:
    How can we help foundations/donors to understand that money is needed for operations, so we can continue to deliver quality services at the rates we are currently getting? When you are barely getting the money to keep going, increased volume makes the matters worse not better.

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Linda - first, you are getting to the heart of why dependency on grants is not a way to assure your community that your program will always be there to provide what they need. So the question is not so much convincing foundations to give for operations - the question is how do we build sustainability, so our communities can always count on us?

The normal fund development process is (approx) this:
1) Budget what you need
2) Determine what's coming in
3) Figure out how to fill in that gap

That does not build ongoing sustainability - it builds the sense of scarcity that leads to not being able to help our communities.

The best model we have found for sustainability is the model of wealthy individuals. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet do not make their money from their day jobs - they build on what they have.

And so that adds a step 2.5 above - identify what you have to build on, and how you can generate income from what you already have.

And Community Benefit Organizations have a ton of assets and resources to build on if we stop thinking the only assets that matter are money.

Hildy Gottlieb:
    To follow up a bit on my response to Linda, there are 4 kinds of assets / resources every organization has to some degree or another.

Physical assets and resources - the stuff we have. A parking lot, a large meeting room, a copy machine.

Mission assets and resources - what we do. We have seen great success stories when folks build on what they are already doing, to generate income.

Human assets and resources - all the people we know. Not "rich people who might support us" but everyone whose lives are touched by your work.

Community assets and resources - the physical, mission and human resources that belong to everyone else in your community!

When we build on what we have, no one can take those things away from us.

So the job is to first identify the assets you have to build on, then figure out how to engage those assets to work for you!

Question from Karen Barsell, United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra:
    Statement/ Question... I agree that we need to do more to help people right now in these hard times but we've already cut costs. I suspect that there are tremendous opportunities to do things differently now and I don't want to miss them. So Hildy, what opportunities should I be looking for now to find ways to accomplish our mission?

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Karen: Nice to see you here!

The answer is first that no organization can do what our communities need on their own. If we are considering building strong efforts like our strong house - we need an army of folks who care about this issue.

Starting with the purpose - the difference you want to make - who else cares about making that difference? Other organizations? Donors? Volunteers? The people whose lives will be affected by your work - program participants, clients, patrons?

Bring them all together, and start aiming at the change you want to see in your community. How might you all make that difference by working together? What does your community really need? (Make sure you have "real people" there - they are your community!) What assets and resources do we all have, that we could use to build this effort together, collaboratively from the inside out?

You’ll find that Organization A has a building. Volunteer X has connections at the State. Organization B is willing to share their back-office to make it happen. Donor Y has a son who has expertise in this area. Organization C will have their grant-writer work with yours. Community Member Z wants to bring together the PTA at her daughter’s school to help. And etc.

We are all interconnected, we all want the same thing for our communities, and we all have much to build upon. The questions that will change our thinking AND the way we do things AND the way we sustain them are therefore, "What difference do we want to make? And then how can we build on what we already have to make that happen?"

Yes, you will need money when this is all said and done. But you will need less money - AND your infrastructure will be strong, because you will have built a strong, interwoven fabric to create whatever you wind up creating!

Question from Kristi Puchbauer, Omega Development Solutions:
    During periods of recession charitable giving has historically been resilient. However when the economy slows, giving tends to grow more slowly. What are ways organizations can best use their resources to maintain momentum in campaigns launched before the current economic situation unfolded while being mindful of the need to reduce expenses?

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Kristi: It may take rethinking the project a bit, just in terms of how it is built. Build it on shared community resources. What functions must the project accomplish that others in the community are already doing? If it will need warehouse space, is there anyone in town who already has that? If it will require transportation, who in town is already doing that?

The more you can create a flow chart of the functions it will take to do the job, and then identify who in town is already doing parts of that work, you will accomplish 2 things.
1) It will cost less
2) You will be building shared ownership of the issues AND the solutions

Two articles that might help with that: Building and Sustaining Strong, Engaged Programs http://www.help4nonprofits.com/NP_Fnd_Building_Sustaining_Programs-Pt1.htm

Intro to Asset-Based Resource Development http://www.help4nonprofits.com/NP_Fnd_Asset_Based_Resource_Development.htm

Question from Julie Anderson, small non profit:
    Our board of directors is very dysfunctional. They only give thought to the organization one hour quarterly. How do you go about "changing" a board to be a group of individuals who engange and actually assist you in managing a small non profit?

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Wow, Julie - that is a whole ‘nother discussion! Maybe we can get the Chronicle to do a session on Building an Energized Board! :-)

The quick answer, which relates to this discussion, is that boards are disengaged because they got on your board to make a difference and that is something they rarely get to talk about. Focus them back on what matters most, and they will engage. And then they will be part of your efforts to build engaged support for your mission, which is all about what we are talking about here!

This link may help. http://www.help4nonprofits.com/NP_Bd_Governing_for_What_Matters1-Art.htm

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Hi Julie. I also recommend you check out the transcript of our recent live discussion on inspiring board members to raise money. There are some great tips on getting your board more engaged. http://philanthropy.com/live/2008/10/raise_money/

Question from Marc A. Pitman, FundraisingCoach.com:
    Hildy,

Thanks for putting this chat out to the CharityChannel email list!

In your experience, is "doing more with less" often more of a recommitment to an organization' vision and mission? And shedding some of the mission creep that got it?

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Marc: Easy answer - Yes!

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    As we approach the halfway point in today's discussion, I'd like to remind you that you can submit questions at any time by clicking on the "ask a question" link. We've gotten some excellent queries so far -- and I know there are many more out there. So please, don't be shy.

Question from Michelle Baldwin, Pillar Nonprofit Network, Canada:
    Hildy - I see times of economic challenges as an opportunity for organizations to really focus on their mission and to look at new shared service models. How do we remain positive and look at opportunities while still giving a voice to those who are feeling a since of despair and not so hopeful.

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Michelle: Hello! Nice to see you here!

In times like these, organizational leaders feel alone. The alone-ness feeds the fear, and it becomes a cycle. The only time they seem to gather is to focus on the scarcity, the problem.

Instead, take your role as a community resource and bring organizations together as a Learning Community / Community of Practice - engage them with each other. Don’t let it turn into a gripe session, or a scarcity session.

Focus instead on the Learning part - How can we aim at creating a healthy, vibrant community? What would that look like if we were successful? What is the path towards that? What would that look like in practice?

Then they can go back to the answer I gave to Karen. Are there ways we can build that together? They need to feel they have each other, and that they can build on the many strengths they all have - because they really do have so much to build on!

Question from Sloane, National Park Service (anonymity requested):
    How can government agencies with huge unmet needs, cultivate partners successfully when there are so many worthy 'causes' that desperately need resources to do their work? Secondarily, in a sense, the crisis of natural resources and climate change create a contextual need to do a better job of protecting those resources, with not near enough dollars and manpower to so. If we fail in our mission to protect public lands, then all the other organizations go by the wayside because the planet is in trouble. How can we tell our story in a compelling way and urge the public to get involved?

Hildy Gottlieb:
     Sloane: What you are really talking about is Community Engagement - engaging the community in the core of what is important. It really is about building friends for the cause - and not the way we have used that word in this sector - i.e. to mean "donor." I mean real friends, like we have in our real lives.

In our real lives, our friends will do everything for us - be there when times are good and bad, dance at our weddings and cry when we lose a loved one.

Our organizations need those kinds of real friends! (It’s why my Community Engagement book is called FriendRaising!) Real friends will volunteer and get you speaking gigs and advocate for you and introduce you and - this is important - advise on your programs. And oh by the way, they will give you money. But when all we ask for is money, we leave all the rest of that on the table!

So we need to engage people who care, in whatever way they want to be a real friend, working with us as equals. Community members have ideas, wisdom and experience just waiting to be tapped. When we engage them for THAT, the rest follows. And then they are SO engaged!

So it’s not about "FriendRaising so we can eventually ask for money." The goal of community engagement is an engaged community!

Question from Lin Schmidt, mid-size community theater:
    Can you give us some examples for building on those "assets"?

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Lin: An organization that provides classes to kids has added "snack sales" to what they have available. They use space they already had, they use the fact that their mission has kids around all the time - and that healthy snacks further their ultimate vision to have a community filled with terrific kids! It takes little extra work, as they just load in a few more boxes when they go to Costco.

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Other asset-building approaches we have seen: Using physical assets such as rooftops in a housing complex, for leasing to cell towers. And building or re-thinking our programs, based on shared community resources.

And of course building on all the people we already know - our human assets. Asking for their wisdom, their ideas, their experience as we build our programs. Those are people who will eventually sustain those programs in all ways, because the programs are built upon THEIR wisdom!

A STORY: A small counseling agency in a rural area was about to go out of business for lack of funding. The board refused to fundraise, so the board president got them each a copy of FriendRaising, and had them engage the community in the mission. They didn't talk to movers and shakers - they talked to who they already knew. Moms, shop owners, teachers. Within 6 months, they had so much support of all kinds that they ALSO had no more money problems. But they didn't set out to raise money - they set out to build engaged support, based on who they already knew. The board pres told me, "Once we engaged the community in our mission, the money took care of itself!"

Question from Barry Kibel, SEED:
    In today's climate, it is not surprising that programs are cutting back not only in spending and services, but also in the spirit of innovation. How can one spark this spirit when it seems to run counter to the prevailing, perceived need to retreat?

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Barry: Nice to see you here! The quick answer is to start with stories of success - not the organization's success, but success of innovation, wherever you find it. Share what works.

I had a caseworker once tell me the worst poverty was not material poverty, but poverty of the spirit. We counter that by getting back to what is possible - the difference we want to make. And I have found telling stories of what CAN work is a huge motivator.

Bottom line - unless something is scientifically impossible, it is possible. When our stories reflect what is possible, people are willing to open up, for a brief moment. Then you can show them how it CAN work.

Question from Volunteer, small nonprofit:
    During this economic climate, it is especially harder to secure new donors. It seems natural that most donors will shy away from any giving, especially to new charities. What are some effective outreach strategies and perspectives to share when soliciting businesses, in particular, for gifts during these hard times?

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Let's get back to building a strong house. We need to engage people in caring about that house. And that will start with sharing what matters to THEM - that the house be a home.

Building engaged support for your work takes 4 steps then:
1) Focus on your vision for what is possible in your community - the thing everyone cares about.
2) Build your programs on a base of shared resources (infrastructure)
3) Engage people in what you both care about (hint - few people care about your organization. Everyone cares about living in a healthy, vibrant community)
4) Then build your cash flow on the assets you already have.

This link may help with Step 4 http://www.help4nonprofits.com/NP_Fnd_Asset_Based_Resource_Development.htm

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Let's take just one moment to talk about outreach. The typical outreach strategy is to tell our story and hope folks will do what we want.

Instead, engage folks by asking questions - ask for their ideas, their wisdom, their experience. Ask for their ideas about a program you are building. "We are about to address this need. What have you seen work in this area? What have you seen not work? Who do you think we should talk with about this? What would you want to know about such a program before referring folks to it?" and etc.

This is how we engage people. We ask, and we listen to their answers. And we thank them for that wisdom, repeatedly throughout the year. We may like to be thanked for our dollars, but we are downright flattered when folks thank us for our wisdom!

Question from Michael Wyland, consultant:
    Hildy, I think you've hit on a real point here. We need to move away from a "scarcity mentality" to an "abundance mentality". It's my way of saying we need to think broadly about what we CAN do and access rather than frustrate ourselves about what we CAN'T do and don't have.

Hildy Gottlieb:
    Michael: Nice to see you here! And yes - I often tell folks, "Don't tell me why you can't; tell me how you CAN!"

Can't comes from our fears. CAN comes from what is possible. That potential is what separates us humans from the rest of the animal world.

Hildy Gottlieb:
    I cannot believe how quickly this hour has gone by. I would like to invite anyone who still has a question to email me via the Contact Us page at our website - http://www.help4nonprofits.com/ContactUs.htm and I promise to post as many answers as I can get to at my blog. (The blog is here: http://www.HildyGottlieb.com)

Thanks to you all for the work you do to make your communities amazing places to live.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Thank you to everyone who took the time to join us today. Hildy has offered to answer the questions she couldn't get to during the live portion of this discussion on her blog. We'll also attempt to add some additional questions and answers to the transcript as they are available. Please join us next week when author Tom Watson will discuss his new book CauseWired -- a look at how nonprofits are using online tools to change the world. The discussion begins at noon Eastern on Tuesday, December 16. See you all then.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Ms. Gottlieb has answered additional questions on this topic on her blog, Creating the Future!