WNY Executive Director’s Network: Nonprofit Knowledge Matters

Wanted: Courageous Board Members

For too long, a myth has hung over the nonprofit community like a scary fog: that nonprofit advocacy is somehow spooky. Nothing could be further from the truth, because advocating for missions is a core part of our sector’s proud legacy. If you eat in smoke-free restaurants, drive safely on divided highways, have a Social Security card, use your civil rights, or are a voting female, then you are benefiting from the past advocacy work of nonprofits – and board members. That’s why we are excited to let you know about a new campaign,Stand For Your Mission, launched to raise awareness - specifically among nonprofit board members - that being an advocate for the nonprofit’s mission is an important role for every board member to play.

Don’t just sit on a board: Stand for your nonprofit’s mission.

The Stand for Your Mission campaign calls on all nonprofit board members to stand up as powerful champions for the missions they serve. The campaign is designed to unleash the full potential of nonprofit organizations to advance their missions in their local communities by engaging board members more directly as advocates on behalf of their organizations.

The goals of the Stand for Your Mission campaign are to:

Bring about a sustainable shift in the understanding and expectations around board engagement in advocacy;
Move advocacy from an ancillary to a key board leadership role; and
Strengthen the nonprofit sector’s ability to advance the public good.

Importantly, this new campaign is not being advanced by ghosts, ghouls, or goblins, but by trusted, mainstream organizations in the nonprofit and grantmaking communities that recognize the need to change the culture around nonprofit advocacy so it is embraced as an effective, everyday tool for advancing nonprofit missions. The National Council of Nonprofits collaborated withBoardSource, the Alliance for Justice (with its Bolder Advocacyinitiative), the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, the Campion Foundation and John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, to curate a set of core resources for board members, CEOs, and grantmakers. Please share the Stand for Your Mission discussion guide as a useful resource with your board.

Read on for more resources for courageous boards

Talking about That Which Shall Not Be Named [what it really costs to be a charitable nonprofit]

While we wish we could just wave a wand, magical thinking won’t stop those who rate and rank nonprofits by focusing on the cost of a nonprofit’s operations, rather than its impact in solving community challenges. So what can nonprofits do to shake off this aversion to costs? Remember Harry’s invisibility cloak? Throw it off! Be bold and brave enough to have candid conversations with donors about what it really costs to deliver programs and services.

Bring financial sustainability closer in 3 easy steps

First, let’s toss out the shape-shifting term “overhead” that means something different to everybody and instead just call all these costs what they are, whether “fundraising,” or rent, or “general administrative.” Second, let’s ignore any apparent incentives to be fuzzy about the full expenses needed to deliver a nonprofit’s services or programs. Instead, by fully embracing our own costs, nonprofits will help manage expectations about what is really needed to solve problems in communities. Third, let’s find the courage to talk about the costs, especially with donors and grantmakers – and document them, demonstrating accountability and candor consistent with a culture of transparency. We think this is the right approach – and we’re inviting you to join us by:“owning your own costs.”

Read on for more on owning your own costs.

Join us for a Special Webinar to Raise Awareness
About Costs

At the National Council of Nonprofits, we and our State Association network are tackling misconceptions about costs one step at a time. Transparency about costs first requires knowing how much it actually costs to provide services and deliver programs. This means that someone at every nonprofit should be able to properly account for program related costs as well as those costs that cut across all the activities of the nonprofit. We know this can a challenge, so our network is hosting a special program designed to help your nonprofit #OwnYourOwnCosts.

Please join the National Council of Nonprofits and our State Association network for a free webinar about proper cost allocation, so we can all own our own costs and spread the message that all costs, whether for fundraising or administration, or anything else related to advancing our nonprofit’s mission are essential.

Guest speaker: Jeff Russell, founder and CEO of Jitasa

October 23 | 3:30 - 4:30 pm Eastern