So, my wife and I give our two sons (ages 7 and 5) an allowance each week that is tied to their completion of several chores (and the avoidance of certain unwanted behaviors!). Doing your homework, taking out the trash and recycling, not hitting your brother, scooping the dog poop, etc. all get tracked on a little chart on the fridge, and on Sundays we reward them with a shiny new dime for each completed task.

Each boy then splits his dimes into three containers, one for “spending” which they can use to buy anything they choose (within reason), one for “saving” which they must hold onto and eventually will end up in a bank savings account, and one for “giving” which they either put in the offering tray at church or give to one of the charitable causes we support.

So far, this system seems to be instilling in our children valuable lessons about hard work, performance, rewards, discipline, and even philanthropy. Such systems of measuring and rewarding performance worked for me growing up, they seem to work well throughout our economic system, and one would think that they would work in the nonprofit arena too.

But do they work?

At Greenlights, we’re pretty proud of the fact that we evaluate everything we do, every workshop, every consulting project, even sometimes the meetings we lead. We survey our board, our members, our clients, even each other. In fact, if SurveyMonkey had an award for “Most Use By A Nonprofit,” we’d probably win it.

Program evaluation is weaved throughout our culture and all of our programs, both the immediate, short-term variety, and the longer-term, longitudinal kind. And we do it all on essentially no budget (or at least no real designated funding for evaluation). And while we can’t say that we are “rewarded” financially (like my sons are) for achieving certain performance targets, I can say that our funders know about our performance and that many of them choose to fund us based on our demonstrated track record of impact and success.

But we also understand that many nonprofits have a difficult time tracking, monitoring, and evaluating programmatic performance. They lack sufficient funds and staff time for it, their client populations do not lend themselves well to be tracked, or they lack the expertise to design and implement good program evaluation practices. As the nonprofit sector matures, though, and as funders continue to increase their demand for demonstrable “return on investment” for their dollars, we must put aside these excuses as a sector and embrace a new level of sophistication in measuring and evaluating our impact.

To help nonprofits do this, Greenlights has engaged in a new research project to study how nonprofits do or do not evaluate their programs, and we will be publishing this research and our thoughts on it later this year. If you have not yet taken our survey of nonprofit program evaluation, please do so: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Results_and_Impact.

We have also posted several free program evaluation resources and tools to our Online Resource Library: http://www.greenlights.org/resources/resource-library/cat_view/30-resource-library/24-planning-and-evaluation .

The hardest part about our allowance system at home is when one of the boys does his chores and gets paid, but the other one does not. This results in a lot of crying and upset feelings (both by parents and child!), and while we certainly feel guilty for not paying that child, we know it is a lesson he needs to learn now and not later in life when it will be much more costly.

Maybe this is how many funders are feeling these days, with so many nonprofits asking for money, so many unmet needs, and relatively limited philanthropic capital to give away? How about we nonprofits make their decisions much easier by investing in our own abilities to demonstrate meaningful impact and programmatic outcomes.

Each year, Greenlights’ 501 Council awards capacity-building grants to Greenlights members for consulting services in the areas of fundraising/resource development, board excellence, and strategy and planning. Receiving a record 72 applications for support this year, the council had its work cut out for them!  After multiple rounds of reviews by the council’s stellar grant review team, two finalists in each grant category were invited to make their case for support before an all-council vote.

It is our pleasure to congratulate the following 2012 grantees!

Fundraising/Resource Development Category
Recipient:  Colorado River Foundation

Board Excellence Category
Recipient:  The Christi Center

Strategy & Planning Category
Recipient:  Austin Clubhouse

So how does it work?
Greenlights’ 501 Council consists of business professionals and community-minded individuals who want to support Central Texas nonprofits through collaborative giving and decision-making. Each year, members contribute $250 into a pooled capacity fund that is distributed through grants once a year, enabling qualified Greenlights member organizations to benefit from our consulting services. This year, under the leadership of Clayton Bullock of Moreland Properties, the 501 Council members contributed nearly $12,000 collectively, all in the name of strengthening Central Texas nonprofits!

Get involved!
The 501 Council welcomes new members year-round. Council membership provides an opportunity to learn more about the nonprofit sector while supporting it – and it’s a great way to meet like-minded individuals who come together from a variety of sectors. Whether you’re new to nonprofit service, looking to gain experience before stepping onto a nonprofit board, or you’d just like to try your hand at philanthropy-in-action, this is a sure fit! And as a thank you, council members receive a complementary individual membership with Greenlights and gain access to a variety of benefits like discounts on professional development opportunities. Learn more about the 501 Council and join us!

Apply for a grant!
The next grant cycle will kick off in October 2012 with grants awarded in early 2013. Nonprofits in need of capacity-building in the areas of fundraising/resource development, board excellence and strategy and planning are encouraged to apply. The 501 Council is most concerned with an organization’s readiness (i.e. What steps has the organizations taken to address the challenge previously? Why is now the right time for a consulting engagement?) and impact (i.e. What are the foreseeable outcomes of a consulting engagement? How will the organization define and measure success? ). Learn more about the grants offered, the process and former grantees.

Congratulations to the Colorado River Foundation, The Christi Center and Austin Clubhouse! Thank you to our generous 501 Council members for their commitment to Central Texas nonprofits and to Greenlights’ work to strengthen nonprofits for extraordinary performance and impact!

USS Enterprise from Star Trek Desktop Wallpaper

In brainstorming for my blog topic, I searched through our Resource Library, browsed LinkedIn News Updates for the nonprofit sector, and looked at some of the top tweets in my #nonprofit twitter stream. The most repetitive topics I noticed were on leadership, Pinterest, and fundraising. I was immediately drawn to the Forbes article on “Five Leadership Lessons from James T. Kirk”, so I decided to focus on this popular topic.

What makes a great nonprofit leader? The Forbes article I reference above places value on learning, encourages diversity within our organizations, recommends team member involvement, and suggests implementing creative and innovative solutions. For educational opportunities this year, attend one of our many workshops offered throughout the year and register for the Texas Nonprofit Summit on September 20 – 21, 2012. To inspire creative, innovative solutions download our recently created Logic Model Development Guide and use it at your next brainstorming session or staff meeting. Be an involved team member by leaving your office or cubicle from time to time and join in on hallway chats or catch up with a team member over fresh coffee brewing in the kitchen.

When I reference nonprofit leaders, I’m not solely referring to our managerial staff or Executive Directors. Aside from Captain Kirk, one of my favorite examples of great leadership is 15-year old Sam Collins who was awarded OneStar Foundation’s First Lady’s Rising Star Awards at last year’s Texas Nonprofit Summit. Mr. Collins started the nonprofit R.E.A.D. for Houston which collects and distributes gently used books to inner city shelters, community centers and under privileged youth groups. We are all given the opportunity to serve as leaders in our community and organization. In our Resource Library Leadership category, the document “Characteristics of Effective Nonprofit Organizations” from the Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation could also be applied to effective leadership traits. To be a great leader, you must be able to identify financial opportunities and diversify your fundraising techniques, be customer-focused and innovative, realistic in your goal-setting, resilient during challenging times, and constantly striving to fulfill your mission.

As leaders in the nonprofit sector, this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. may be our best source of inspiration, “May I stress the need for courageous, intelligent, and dedicated leadership. Leaders of sound integrity. Leaders not in love with publicity, but in love with justice. Leaders not in love with money, but in love with humanity. Leaders who can subject their particular egos to the greatness of the cause.”

What do you think makes a great nonprofit leader? And do you agree that we could all take some lessons from Captain Kirk and Sam Collins?

44.6% of respondents have a college degree, and 51.6% have an advanced degree.

Earlier this month, we shared a survey link asking our readers to share your perspectives on your nonprofit career to help us identify trends in Central Texas’ nonprofit sector.  A whopping 346 of you took a few minutes of your busy, mission-driven day to tell us about your career goals and needs. (And 5 of you won vouchers for half-day workshops!)

So what did we learn?

Greenlights is carefully analyzing your responses, benchmarking the data with some recent national studies, and developing some relevant recommendations for the sector based on this information, which we plan to publish as a report this spring.

In the meantime, here are a few intriguing highlights from raw data:

1. More than half of Central Texas nonprofiteers have an advanced degree.
2. Most respondents under 55 have been with their current organization for 2 years or less.
3. Most respondents are not interested in becoming Executive Directors.

Do any of these initial findings surprise you?

One of the things I’m curious to learn more about is why people are not interested in becoming Executive Directors.  Is it because they don’t perceive making it to the top as an important goal, or because the ED position as currently structured seems unappealing?

As we process all of this information, we are thinking about how Greenlights can support our sector and help its nonprofiteers have meaningful, long-term careers in the nonprofit field. If you have any ideas, let us know!

Yesterday I received my first donation request in the mail from a local nonprofit: Austin Children’s Shelter. My husband and I recently began planning our annual charitable donations so their request was perfectly timed. It was simple and straightforward with background on the shelter, statistics on government assistance received, and narrations on children impacted by the shelter. The letter referenced their matching grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (incentive to give more!), but the main personal impact was in their P.S.

Austin Children's Shelter, December 2011

It referenced the included snowflake card that read “Like a snowflake, every child is unique … and beautiful.” If statistics and testimonies hadn’t already drawn you in, then that statement and the space on the opposite side of the card for your handwritten words of encouragement to the children, was the perfect emotional hook. It was that simple concept, and my immediate research of their website and organization, that sealed one of our charitable donations this year.

This morning I started wondering how Greenlights’ members and the local nonprofit community were making the ask this holiday season. Several of our members have online wish lists that tie in perfectly with this time of year! Austin Dog Alliance is asking for craft supplies for K9 kid programs; Breakthrough Austin would like student materials and professional services; Green Doors needs canned food and kitchen items; The Caring Place is collecting coats for kids; Zach Scott Theatre is asking for a range of educational, office, and production needs. Aside from wish lists, a few of our members have created holiday campaigns: Communities in Schools has “Gifts for the Head & Heart” which ties in various donation amounts with tangible items that decrease school dropouts; and SafePlace matches you with a family through their Holiday Sponsor a Family Program. I encourage you to peruse Greenlights’ member directory and local newspapers to learn about further local seasonal campaigns.

Greenlights’ core values encourage fun and innovation in our organizational culture, and I believe the holiday season and annual donation requests are the ideal opportunity to execute that approach. Austin Children’s Shelter hooked me with testimonies and an emotional appeal. What innovative seasonal campaign has inspired you? And what are some additional ways that nonprofits could make the ask this holiday season?