Archive for the ‘Organization’ Category

NPC: Tell us a little bit about your organization. Why was it started?
Dogs for the Deaf:
• In 30 years, DFD has rescued and placed over 3,000 dogs in homes as Hearing Dogs, Miracle Mutts (Special Dogs for Special People), and Career Change Dogs.
• DFD rescues dogs from animal shelters throughout Oregon, Washington, and California. We choose dogs between the ages of eight months and three years old that are people friendly, confident, and motivated by toys, treats, and affection. We rescue, train, and place over 100 dogs annually.
• The dogs are trained with positive reinforcement and lots of love.
• Hearing Dogs are trained to alert to the sounds: fire/smoke alarm, telephone, door knock, doorbell, oven timer, alarm clock, and name call. In some cases a dog may be trained for the baby cry.
• In addition to sound training, Hearing Dogs are also extensively obedience trained and socialized.
• All dogs that enter training are first spayed or neutered, micro chipped, vaccinated, and receive any necessary medical treatment so they have the best possible chance to succeed.
• More than 1½ million of the 23 million deaf or hard of hearing individuals in the United States and Canada could benefit from a Hearing Dog.
• Miracle Mutts (Special Dogs for Special People) – Special furry friends who provide companionship, motivation, and emotional support to people who need a helping paw. These dogs help with depression and loneliness; they provide a reason to get up in the morning and motivation to exercise; and they generally make life more worth living.

NPC: Who does it serve?
Dogs for the Deaf: Deaf and Hard of Hearing; we also place dogs through our Miracle Mutt program with senior citizens, and individuals who may have other physical or emotional challenges such as strokes, Alzheimer’s, MS etc.

NPC: How long in operation?
Dogs for the Deaf: Established in 1977

NPC: How many people did you serve your first year? And, this year?
Dogs for the Deaf: The first year was spent setting up the organization, obtaining the IRS 501 (c) (3) status, and remodeling a barn into kennels and a training apartment. Then the first few dogs were rescued and began training. Today we keep in contact with and provide support for several hundred dog/person teams all around the country, and we currently rescue, train, and place 30-40 new dogs a year (due to limited space and trainers). We have plans to expand and build a new facility within the next 2 years.

NPC: What is your most difficult challenge as a nonprofit?
Dogs for the Deaf: As with most nonprofits it is fundraising and public awareness–especially in these current economic times. But also, we have a four year wait list for our hearing dogs; therefore we are looking at expanding and building a new facility and adding training and kennel staff.

NPC: What was your most difficult challenge starting out?
Dogs for the Deaf: The most difficult challenges were getting the word out about what we were doing and getting people to start donating.

NPC: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a nonprofit?
Dogs for the Deaf: Be ready for a lot of hard work. Recruit a good diverse board, develop a development and marketing plan and set policies.

NPC: How can people help?
Dogs for the Deaf: As volunteers, goodwill ambassadors in various states/regions, getting the word out. through clubs, service groups, churches etc., working onsite at facility with the dogs (walking and giving them love) and as donors.

It is prudent to check what the community that you serve thinks of the programs you offer frequently. I would recommend that you institute this process every year, and six months after a new program has been introduced, at the least. You’ll know exactly when this should happen as it is (or should be) stated in your Bylaws.

An evaluation is a list of questions to help you gauge the success of your program. It’s obvious that you want to mention your programs to have the community weigh-in on them. “Outcomes” evaluations are increasingly required by nonprofit funders as verification that the nonprofits are in fact providing practical help to their constituents. See the Basic Guide to Program Evaluation for more information.

Questions you might ask of your patrons include:
- Does the nonprofit organization provide needed services to the community?
- How did you find out about this program?
- What do you believe are the strengths of the program?
- What do you recommend in way of improvements to the program?

Goals-based evaluations, process-based evaluations, and outcomes-based evaluations are discussed in detail at the Free Management Library.

The Utica Public Library has put together a list of Internet resources for nonprofits seeking help with outcome measurement and program evaluation tools..

Here is a post from my very dear friend who knows first hand about assisting children with special needs. Thanks, Donnamarie, for this great post!

As a volunteer, there is nothing greater in this world than giving of your time to help children with special needs.

Special needs can cover a broad spectrum. You may be working with children whose issues might include:
• Behavioral issues
• Cerebral palsy
• Learning disabilities
• Autism and autism spectrum related disorders
• Speech related difficulties
• Blindness and many others

You will learn many important aspects about life in general when working with children who have special needs. You will develop a keen understanding and appreciation about the difficulties certain sections of your community face in their everyday lives. You will also acquire a wealth of knowledge quickly about how you can help to improve the lives of those less fortunate than yourself. Look here for some very basic advice about working with these children.

Start with the idea that the desire to help people with disabilities is a basic and very human characteristic. You might also wish to overcome stereotypical opinions that are held by some who only see the ‘issue’, and never the person behind it. When you take the steps to get beyond the stereotypes, you are not only helping the individuals directly, but also sending a strong message that will enable others to gain a better perspective of the difficulties faced by people with special needs.

When you learn that children with autism really are very emotional, and that LD children have brains that are just wired differently, you will learn exactly how to help them and you are bound to have a new and very different appreciation of life in general.

Directors & Officers Insurance (commonly referred to as D&O insurance), is often overlooked by nonprofits for the simple reason they are uncertain whether or not they really need D&O coverage. Read this article noting compelling reasons to protect your organization. This should reassure you that D&O insurance has significant value to even the smallest nonprofit organization.

When a person becomes a board member, she assumes a level of responsibility for the organization and thus exposes herself to claims for not managing the organization properly. Even if the case brought against a board is thrown out, the organization still bears the brunt of having to pay the legal fees. Legal expenses could be brutal for a small organization and could even put them right out of business.
In general, D&O insurance includes coverage of an officer or director in the discharge of his/her duties. This includes but is not limited to:

• Any actual or alleged act
• Misstatement or misleading statement,
• Neglect or breach of duty
• Omission and/or error

As with all insurance policies, read the policy carefully to ensure it includes all the necessary components for your organization. Here is a checklist of issues to review when looking to purchase D&O insurance.

Setting up a nonprofit is complicated and overwhelming. So, make the creation of your policies and procedures basic. Here are five things that will help you to keep it simple:

Keep it general- At this point in the creation of your policies, your goal is to keep it basic. You are only doing the preliminaries at this stage in the game. Once the final board has been identified, and put into place, then together you’ll revisit what you’ve started. It is up to the entire board to make the final decision on the policies.

Don’t reinvent the wheel- Take help and use available templates.

Make sure your policies support your Bylaws- We talked about the Bylaws and their importance. Make sure your policies agree with and support your Bylaws. You don’t want contradictions between the two.

Remember to tie in your organization’s mission statement- At all times, remember to reiterate your organization’s mission statement in everything you write, share, and produce. Your mission statement is one of the key elements of your organization; make sure to promote it.

Ease into the process - Don’t stress and feel as though you have to complete this document all at one time. As your organization grows and changes, you’ll find that you’ll revisit your policies quite often. This is a growing and changing document.

Enjoy this time of discovery as you explore the depths of what your organization can be!

Brainstorming new ideas may be your passion; implementing new ideas on the other hand may be where projects breakdown. When bringing your key leaders together your organization can gain passion and purpose in utilizing true collaboration.

Here are a few key strategies to assist you in seeing those well-dreamt projects through to fruition.

• Include your entire team in gathering ideas. You never know where a great idea may come from, and it could very well be the part-time volunteer that comes up with the next best thing.
• Check with the community that you serve to see if anyone has a suggestion for how your organization can improve its current services, or implement something new. A suggestion box is a great way to gather ideas from community members.
• Surveys are effective in helping organizations gauge the successfulness of a program. We recommend surveys that also gauge the interest of the community and staff members. This sort of questionnaire will assist your organization in not only considering what new ideas to try, but will also tell you what current programs are working well.

Remember to include everyone; it helps to grow a stronger organization if you get the buy-in from as many people as possible. In addition, it is very important to make sure that whatever new ideas you implement fit with the organization’s mission statement and strategic plan.

Check out the organizational assessment tool offered free through The Hartford Foundation’s Nonprofit Support Program.

Bylaws contain the fundamental principles regarding the nature of the organization and the institutional structure by which the board of directors operates. Bylaws establish the specific criteria for decision-making, and should meet the specific needs of each organization.

The following questions will help to guide you through the process of drafting a set of Bylaws for your organization.
•What is the purpose and mission statement?
•How and when will you elect board members? How many will there be? What number of board members will be conducive to helping your company achieve its mission? What will the term limits be? When can a director be removed and what is the process? What will the procedures be for resignation?
•What committees will be the most essential for your board?
•How often will the directors meet? Is it a quorum?
•Should your Board be insured?
•How often should your bylaws be reviewed and updated?

Putting together a set of Bylaws is a daunting and necessary task; however, there are many resources available to help you and your Board through the process. Take advantage of the Foundation Center and the Lectrin Law Library, just to name a few. You can find templates for nonprofit Bylaws at Easy Forms.

An organization cannot exist until the Bylaws are formally adopted by the Board and comply with the state laws governing the organization.

Last week you learned about the concept of “Virtual Assistance.” , and this week we can look at exactly “how” a VA can benefit your organization. If you are looking to work smarter, not harder, working with a VA could be the key to taking your organization to the next level.

Each organization is unique. A great VA will help you to examine the goals and objectives of your organization. Together, you will take a close look at the list of what you want to accomplish, but haven’t been able to. The VA will closely analyze the day-to-day operations and create systems that will move you forward to achieving your mission.

Just a few ways a VA will benefit your organization:
• Freeing up your time to concentrate on providing outstanding services to your community
• Ensuring that your organization stays cost conscious by only billing for time actually worked on your
organizations needs
• Maximize your bottom line by minimizing time wasted

I am a VA who specializes in working with volunteer Boards of Directors of nonprofit organizations. Please visit Virtual Details to learn more about how a VA can benefit your organization.

Are you overwhelmed? Are you on administrative overload? “Did you know that trying to do everything is costing you 40-60% in lost revenue and productivity?” If you can’t see past your paperwork, then it may be time to consider working with a virtual assistant. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, “The good news is the explosion of the Internet and the global economy has produced not only the virtual organization, but also a new business opportunity; the virtual assistant.

So what is a virtual assistant? According to AssistU, one of the leading communities within the virtual assistance industry, VA’s are micro-business owners and independent entrepreneurs who provide administrative, creative, and possibly personal support while partnering in long-term collaborative relationships. Using emerging technologies, VA’s support their clients’ needs remotely, from their own office on a contractual basis. Virtual Assistants take over “day to day” tasks, allowing clients to focus on those activities that will grow their business and support their goals. VA’s are actually small business owners themselves who offer a variety of talents and skills to other business professionals. What a perfect combination!

By partnering with a VA:
• You will only pay for the time you use, and accrue no additional employee overhead.
• You will use your time to focus on the tasks that will propel you towards obtaining the goals and objectives
for your organization.
• You will be free of administrative tasks that are dragging you down.
• You will improve the quality of life with the gift of time added to your day .
• You will take control of your schedule, spend more time with family and friends, and simplify your life!

Check out the upcoming Online International Virtual Assistants Convention. This internet-based event is for business owners and any other business professional who are thinking about working with a virtual assistant. You will learn:
• What to look for in a Virtual Assistant
• What services VAs can perform
• How VAs can add value to your business and save you money

What are you waiting for? It’s time to simplify your life!

Volunteers are every where; you just have to speak up and let people know what you need.

A client of mine runs a housing organization for low income families in Virginia. Well, she decided that in addition to helping people with their housing needs that she would also like to assist them with developing job skills. So, she reached out to many of her friends and asked if they would offer classes in their specialties. It has been a huge success. People are learning job skills, getting better jobs, and improving their financial outlook.

Another client is looking for board members. We’ve been scouring the various Leadership groups within Pennsylvania. Quite a few counties within many of the states offer Leadership programs. In Maryland we have Leadership Prince George’s County and Leadership Montgomery County. I know people who’ve graduated from Leadership Washington, DC and Leadership Alexandria in Virginia. What makes the Leadership groups a great place to find volunteers is that it is made up of individuals who’ve already shown an interest in their communities.

There are organizations that conduct searches for volunteers for your boards some for a fee, and others do it for the shear benefit of helping a nonprofit. I have used Volunteer Match one time to make a connection with a board group. It was a successful match, and now I highly recommend to others.

So, start right in your own back yard looking for volunteers. You’ll be surprised by the number of people you already know that are anxious to serve the community. They were just waiting for someone to ask for their participation.