Client Spotlight

Compass Regional Hospice

Recently we have been asked to manage the current capital campaign for this wonderful and necessary service organization. For those not familiar with Maryland's Eastern Shore, Compass is headquartered in Centreville, Maryland and provides care to families in Kent, Queen Anne and Caroline counties. The reason I feature them this month is because their board is totally engaged and has a deep and profound understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

Compass has an innovative Hope and Healing Center. This center provides grief support to those surviving the death of a loved one. It is open to persons coping with grief whose loved one was under hospice care as well as members of the community who have experienced the death of a family member or friend from suicide, accident or unexpected causes. It is a premiere resource for restoring hope and healthy functioning. Very impressive, creative and much needed.

Their underlying care and commitment to individuals needing a hospice presence remains their essential mission. Whether in a bed in a Compass facility or in the patient's home Compass provides high standards of care, excellent staff and continuous training and a history of excellence since 1985.

We are so pleased to be associated with Compass. Some years ago MacIntyre Associates managed a capital campaign for the Queen Anne's Hospice, the previous name that was changed when the services expanded. Our founder Richard MacIntyre was part of the team then and we aim to live up to his standards.

The Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards

Spring comes to Warwick

Do your board members understand the critical role they play in your nonprofit organization? We have found that in the board recruitment process a reality check is sometimes needed on performance expectations. Here are a few we think are a place to begin the discussion. You may have others. The important thing is to communicate the responsibilities that will strengthen a potential member's service. Too often a new board member becomes discouraged or even resigns. Keep this in mind as you recruit. Happy board members make for a strong sense of purpose and involvement.

1.  Determine the organization's mission and purpose. It is the board's responsibility to create and review a statement of mission and purpose that articulates the organization's goals, means, and primary constituents served.

2.   Select the executive director. Boards must reach consensus on the executive director's responsibilities and undertake a careful search to find the most qualified individual for the position.

3.   Provide proper financial oversight. The board must assist in developing the annual budget and ensuring that proper financial controls are in place.

4.   Ensure adequate resources. The board must provide the resources necessary for the organization to sustain itself to fulfill its mission. 

5.   Ensure legal and ethical integrity and maintain accountability. The board is ultimately responsible for ensuring adherence to legal standards and ethical norms. Know what they are!

6.   Ensure effective organizational planning. Boards must actively participate in the overall planning process, and they must help implement and monitor the plan's goals.

7.   Recruit and orient new board members and assess board performance. All boards must articulate prerequisites for candidates, orient new members, and periodically and comprehensively evaluate its own performance. We can't say this often enough.

8.   Enhance the organization's public standing. The board should clearly articulate the organization's mission, accomplishments, and goals to the public and garner community support.

For more information on board development and support for your nonprofit organization, please call us at (302) 530-6806 or visit us at www.macintyreassociates.com. We look forward to working with you.

Steps to Successful Development, Part II

Louis D. Brandeis

Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, 1916 - 1939

 "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both."

Last month, we shared numerous fundraising strategies, from planning to mobilizing your resources. This month, let us look at additional strategies to help you make the most of your development efforts:

1.       Publicize. Announce all your fundraising activities, events, and annual appeals. Explain the goal, the need, and how to donate or get involved. Be sure to name the leadership. Use media, personal letters, newsletters, etc. to reach as many people as possible.

2. Raise. Assign each event and giving program a start and end date. Keep an up-to-date, accurate database.
3. Report. Provide regular updates to plot success and challenges as they arise. Make sure donors are aware of the importance of their gifts. If a fundraiser is a community event, quickly get the results to the local media for publication no later than 10 days after the event.
4. Evaluate. Analyze why a goal was met or why it was not. Over time, you will learn what about your mission is most important to the community and donors and what needs careful thought and revision.
5. Celebrate. Even if an accomplishment is small, everyone involved should share in it. People like participating in success and will stay with you. From thank-you letters to parties, celebrate every success you have.
6. Maintain. Keep in touch with donors and event participants. Use newsletters, annual reports, a speaker’s bureau, and other avenues to gain continued support and expand your volunteer and donor base.

For more information and support in implementing your development strategies, please call us at (302) 530-6806 or visit us at www.macintyreassociates.com  We look forward to working with you.

Arts in the Community

We at MacIntyre Associates are working with a wonderful local arts organization- The Oxford Arts Alliance in Oxford, PA. It has been an important part of the Oxford arts and culture scene since 2008. Their gallery is located in downtown Oxford and provides a place for monthly exhibits, music and a variety of art classes in multiple media, summer camps, movies etc. One of my favorites is their Artisan Gift Shop with all items produced for sale by local creative individuals. You get the idea.... the arts are flourishing in this area, developed and run by local leadership.

Check them out at their website www.OxfordArt.org or stop by the Gallery 38 South Third St. in Oxford.

A great example of local initiative which provides a wonderful opportunity to expand arts and cultural experiences as they build bridges with other community activities and resources in the Oxford area.

See you out and about! 

Steps To Successful Development

The Mending Wall 

(excerpt)

Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
 And to whom I was like to give offence. 
Something there is that doesn't love a wall, 
That wants it down.  
by Robert Frost

As you develop your fundraising strategies and activities, this checklist should prove helpful: 

 1. Plan. Build a campaign that is integral to your strategic plan. It should bring you closer to achieving your mission and vision. Set a monetary goal for every initiative.

 2. Involve. Your leadership should own the plan, with the Board, staff, and major supporters taking part in shaping it. Their enthusiasm will build support because they are your primary ambassadors to the community.

 3. Create. Develop a key message, and repeat it in all your fundraising campaigns. The message should connect the value you deliver with your rationale for development activities.

 4. Test. Validate your message with a small group of supporters. Take their comments seriously, and adjust your message as necessary. Establish a financial goal for each activity, and understand your indicators of success.

 5. Target. Identify a spectrum of donors appropriate to each activity: individuals, companies, and foundations. Examine your database and expand where necessary. Solicit small and medium-size gifts that enable as many people as possible to support your efforts. Modest gifts can increase over time as your relationships with donors mature.

 6. Secure. Leadership gifts from your Board, previous donors, and senior staff should be pledged before any campaign goes public. The amount is not as important as the participation level.

 7. Mobilize. Find people in the community, beyond the Board, to serve as a core volunteer base for promoting your goals and contacting potential donors. Provide them with training, specific tasks, and rewards.

This is a good starting point, and remember to look for Part II of this article next month. For more information and support in implementing your development strategies, please contact us at (302) 530-6806 or visit us at www.macintyreassociates.com.  

February Recipe - Winter Salad 

This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten. Her vegetables were slightly different and she didn't add the apple/Chinese pear. I think it's yummy and tastes so fresh you have hope for spring. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup each of julienned red/green cabbage, arugula, Brussel sprouts.

• Amounts can vary but should be in equal proportion

Handful dried cranberries

1/3 cup thinly sliced pear

Oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper for dressing

Shaved parmesan to taste.

With a glass of white wine and a fire this is a perfect lunch.

Arts in the Community

Getting to know Ryan MacPherson, the new Development Associate at OperaDelaware. 

A healthy arts scene in a community is often a good sign that there is a thriving economy too.

We are in an area blessed with a plethora of musical performances, staged plays, special cinema screenings, art exhibitions and pop up concerts and activities too numerous to mention. There is always somewhere to go and something to see.

As you can tell OperaDelaware (ODE) is my personal favorite, even if I can't read a note of music. To be transported into a world of magic lifts my heart and spirit every time. Their Spring Festival in 2016 drew critical praise.

In fact, the Washington Post noted "it's worth the trip". This was for the staged east coast premiere of the forgotten Opera Amleto  by Franco Faccio based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Maybe you saw the "Essere" (to be) signs all over the place? This year the spring festival features Rossini in all his glory. Check it all out on the ODE website: www.OperaDE.org.

I urge you to find a favorite arts organization and support them with attendance and donations. The arts give us additional perspectives and we can all benefit from them.

See you out and about! 

"Thank you, Donors"

Nonprofits, your year-end appeals are over, and I sincerely hope they were successful. Now is the time to be mindful of saying "thank you" to donors so they know that you are truly appreciative. In all cases, think of yourself as the donor and follow your best instincts.

I love lists, so here is one with tips on thanking donors.

Remember that timeliness is a virtue.

All thank-you letters for donations made in December should be written and mailed before the end of January. Within 30 days, is my mantra.

Mind your spelling. Misspelling a name is a cardinal sin. I'm appalled at the times I write a check or register for an event to find my name spelled Bonnie, not Bonny, on a thank you or nametag. Check carefully; it's how donors spell their name, not how you think they spell it. While you are at it, make sure the names in your database are spelled correctly, too. P.S. - Organizations that misspell my name don't usually get another donation.

Personalize the salutation. "Dear Friend" doesn't work. The donor took time to write the check, so recognize the effort and use the name they use. Also, do not say "Dear Ms. S. Jones;" say "Dear Susan." You can do better than lifting the name from a spreadsheet column.

Don't be boring. Boring letters are not read, so avoid a long introduction. Get straight to the point: What will happen because of the donation? Refer back to why you asked. Keep the introduction short and service-focused. 

Acknowledge special requests. "We will keep your gift anonymous" and "Your gift will go to the swimming program as requested" are two examples. The donor knows that you heard them. Keep notes like this in your database for future reference.

Focus your thank you on the impact of gifts. Refer to why you asked and be specific about getting started on the program or initiative to which the appeal is targeted and the difference it will make. If part of the gift will go to the endowment, stress how important this is to effective stewardship.

Provide contact information. Donors will want to know whom to contact if they have questions, if there's an error, or if they want to make an additional gift...you never can tell. Giving an email that says "info@myprogram.org" is totally unacceptable; give the contact information for a specific person at your organization.

An Alibi Engagement Study found that 21% of donors say they were never thanked for their gift. This is a cautionary tale for donor cultivation if I ever heard one. For further information on this or other development strategies, please give me a call at (302) 530-6806.