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No More Sexual Harassment in Fundraising Relationships!

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Raise your hand if you are (or have been) a development professional and have ever had a donor flirt with you?

That question would be more powerful if asked in a large room of participants. My guess is that there would only be a very small group of folks who would NOT raise their hand. And, the larger majority of folks with hands raised would be comprised of both women and men.

A well-known adage (and every day media) tells us again and again: “sex sells.” Fundraising is essentially the sales function of a nonprofit corporation. So, perhaps it was inevitable that we would see increasing trends in fundraising professionals being hired because they are attractive or incidents of donors who make inappropriate comments or physical contact towards fundraising staff.

Driven by human nature or not, it needs to stop. There is no room for sexual harassment in any arena – and most especially in the nonprofit arena where we work to protect and support the most vulnerable segments of our society. To allow ourselves to be objectified or diminished for the benefit of our organization’s cause is at best hypocritical and, at worst, physically and emotionally dangerous.

Ending sexual harassment within the fundraising arena must start with the nonprofit organizations. We cannot control the behaviors of others who behave inappropriately, but we can consistently and consciously make choices to minimize the opportunity for sexual harassment to occur and control our reactions to it when it does.  For example, at Spokes, we’re in the process of reviewing our personnel policies and have identified two new policies we will add to support our staff in navigating donor relationships. The first will require that any and all meetings with donors regarding their support of Spokes will be scheduled during regular business hours in a public space appropriate for a professional discussion, unless otherwise approved by the CEO. There is generally no need to schedule a professional meeting with a donor on the weekend or in the evening – especially at a bar. And, no Spokes staff will be allowed to drink alcohol during such meetings. If the donor chooses to order a glass of wine or a cocktail, he/she is entitled. The fact that a staff person refrains from ordering alcohol subtly reinforces that he/she is participating in the meeting in a professional – and only a professional – capacity. It also protects a staff person’s ability to safely and quickly remove him/herself from a meeting that devolves.

Another option may be to set a policy that a minimum of two people always meet with donors. A recent Chronicle of Philanthropy opinion piece, “Stop Tolerating Donors Who Sexually Harass Fundraisers” by Arminda Lathrop offers additional ideas and strategies for ending harassment in the development field. Read her full article here to learn additional steps you can take to protect your employees, your donors and yourself.

Help for Best Hiring (and Firing) Practices

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PICMaybe it’s evidence that our economy is really improving and our organizations have more resources to make long-overdue budget and program to expansions? Or, maybe, as our society ages, more longtime volunteers and donors are making the “ultimate gifts” through generous bequests in support of critical operating needs? Or, maybe, volunteer and employee turnover continues to reoccur and has us looking for solutions to end the cycle that plagues our organizations? Whichever the reason, Spokes has received a rash of recent inquiries and requests for assistance in hiring new employees (especially executive leaders), staff restructuring and mergers. In response to these inquiries, we’re pleased to offer a few quick resources and announce the launch of our new Executive Search Services!

Hiring a new employee can elevate your entire organization when you hire the “right” person. Likewise, it can be downright treacherous and cause lots of expensive and collateral damage for the organization and other staff when you hire the “wrong” person. “Background Checks Vary but Need to Be Robust and Fair” by Eden Stiffman, an article recently published by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, offers some practical considerations for researching a candidate before making an offer. Suggestions include using a third-party to conduct a verified background check and establishing a formal policy regarding if/how social media will be reviewed as part of your candidate evaluation. Read the full article here.

NOTE: If your organization would like to conduct background checks on candidates, remember that the California Association of Nonprofits has discounted services available to its members. Your insurance provider may also have cost-effective options for you. And, if you have a payroll services contractor like Paychex, you may have access to employee screening services through your payroll processor. Remember to budget these checks into your search and hiring costs as they can be expensive.

Often, hiring a new employee is proceeded by the unfortunate reality of dismissing another one. The best practices for dismissing an employee due to reorganization are different from the best practices of dismissing an employee for performance-related issues. Read the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s article, “Advice: How to Know if it’s Time to Fire an Employee” by Pratichi Shaw, to learn what steps are best to take for your specific situation. And, the Chronicle’s article “Terminating an Employee: Handling the Aftermath in Your Organization” also by Shaw offers additional advice to help guide your organization through the after-affects of any employee changes.

Looking for a little more hands-on help? Spokes may have just what you’re looking for! We’ve recently finalized and launched our NEW Executive Director Search Services to assist you in finding your organization’s next great leader. We offer a full suite of services from soliciting and evaluating candidate applications to facilitating your interview and decision-making processes. Services can be provided “a la carte” or comprehensively, based on your organization’s unique needs. For more information, please complete our online consulting inquiry form or call our offices at 805-547-2244.

Hardest Part of Board Member’s Job?: Orienting a New Executive Director

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Imagine starting a job where you have 5 or more bosses with whom you meet once a month. They are thrilled to have you on board – relieved, really – because they haven’t been intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of the organization and they know that there is lots of work to be done. Staff is glad to have you on board, too, and is anxious for direction.  Where do you start?  How do you make sound strategic decisions when you’re still trying to figure out where the bathrooms are located and remember everyone’s name?
This scenario may seem like a bit of an exaggeration, but, sadly, it replays in nonprofits of all sizes again and again, year after year.  The “costs” of replacing a key executive in any type of organization are costly because of the requisite learning curve. Flattening that learning curve is especially important for nonprofits – both because they are working with fewer resources than their for-profit counterparts and because the services they offer are critical to clients who rely on them.  Ironically, right at the moment that the board of directors sighs with relief after hiring a new executive director, that’s when the real work needs to begin.
In their article, “Boosting Nonprofit  Board Performance Where it Counts,” published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, July 16, 2014, Lisa Walsh, Libbie Landles-Cobb and Leah Karlins offer 5 specific strategies for nonprofit boards to employ to help a new executive director transition more successfully to your organization:
  1. Do your homework in order to hire well.
  2. Collectively set the new leadership agenda.
  3. Get clear on goals.
  4. Go slow on orientation to go fast on the job.
  5. Make performance management routine.
For more specifics about each of these recommendations, read the entire article here.

How Much Should You Pay Your Nonprofit Executive Director?

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Lately at Spokes, we’ve received a lot of questions about nonprofit executive compensation.  Many nonprofits are planning and budgeting to hire their first-ever executive directors in 2016.  Others, unfortunately, have suffered some turn-over in their executive positions.

So, how does a nonprofit that is hiring a new executive director – either for the first time or to replace a previous one – decide what to offer to attract and retain the best person for the job?   How does a nonprofit compete with increasing employment opportunities in all sectors of our economy?  How does a nonprofit balance its fundraising obligations with its desire to retain good employees?

The answer is complicated. And, there is no one solution for all organizations.  As with all nonprofit management issues, there is quite a bit of art mixed in with the science of budgeting and managing employees.

First, visit Spokes!  We have purchased the most recent Compensation and Benefits Survey for Southern & Central California Nonprofit Organizations.  Published by the Center for Nonprofit Management, the survey provides detailed compensation information from 509 participating nonprofits for every staff position, including executive director, bookkeeper, administrative assistant, program officer, volunteer coordinator, development manager, counselor, receptionist, gardener, case worker, activity director, thrift store clerk, network technician and many more.  We have only one reference copy available in our library, so you’ll need to visit us to view the survey. Members, however, may also call us to request scanned copies of portions of the report.

One of our favorite educational resources, Blue Avocado, recently published an article that offers some concrete steps boards can take to better inform their compensation discussions and decisions. Highlights include:

  1. Consider the value the individual brings to your organization.  Salaries are paid for the work to be done.  What would it cost to recruit and hire someone else to meet your goals for next year?  If your expectations are escalating, perhaps your salary budget needs to grow as well.
  2. Ask other nonprofits what they pay their executives. If there are not enough local comparisons, consider similar positions in same-size organizations in the for-profit or government sectors to establish a benchmark that’s in line with your community’s cost-of-living.  Remember, salaries within the same sector can vary widely throughout the country.
  3. Consider what benefits you are offering.  Retirement and health benefits can add thousands of dollars to the overall compensation package.  More and more employee candidates are more interested in benefits than salary, especially with escalating healthcare costs and concerns over the future of social security.  If you don’t offer benefits, the salary may need to be higher to allow the employee to purchase/invest independently.

For many of us, a new fiscal year and budget will be here before we know it.  Start planning now by scheduling time on your next board meeting agenda to discuss your process for evaluating the executive director, ensuring that other employees are being evaluated and defining a strategy or policy to guide your salary and budgeting discussions.  As always, please let Spokes know if we can assist you as you move through your process. We’re here to help!

Blue Avocado article link: http://www.blueavocado.org/content/how-much-pay-executive-director

Nonprofit Cost Saving Strategies: Reimbursing vs. State Unemployment Insurance Taxes

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Do you have former employees collecting unemployment benefits?  Does your nonprofit employ more than 20 employees (or at least 10)?  If so, you may be missing an opportunity to save some significant costs for your nonprofit.

In 1972, the Federal Government enacted legislation granting 501(c)(3) Nonprofit employers the right to self-fund for unemployment, rather than pay State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) taxes. Today, thousands of Nonprofits across the country utilize this little known tax break and save millions of dollars on their unemployment expenses.

Here’s how it works – rather than pay SUI taxes that cover all of their employees in case they become unemployed, Nonprofits that self-fund are only responsible for the actual benefits that their former employees collect. This self-funding strategy is also known as “Reimbursing,” and typically saves Nonprofit employers about 50% a year on their unemployment expenses.

Although understandably appealing to for-profit employers, this right to choose which unemployment option they use (SUI tax paying vs. Self-funding) is only available to 501(c)(3) Nonprofit employers.  Read more here to learn more about Self-funding and determine if it’s a potential cost-saving solution for your organization.

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