Danosky & Associates

Consulting for Non-profit Organizations

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FOMD

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I was speaking my colleague, Mary, a few weeks ago, lamenting the reluctance of board members to reach out and engage with donors. And then Mary nailed it – FOMD! Fear Of Meeting Donors. It is hard to understand why accomplished, well-spoken, very likeable people have this fear. But I am afraid it is true.

People, who usually have no problems making business calls, social calls, or calls to any person they don’t know, need to have a script to call a donor, or an extensive training in how to meet with a donor in person. Simply to say “thank you.” These very same people are usually very open about doing these things when it is first suggested. Then – it happens: FOMD. So, I would like to explore why this happens and how we can help each other overcome FOMD.

FOMD is not about meeting or talking to someone you don’t know. I believe it actually comes from a deep respect for the donor and an uncertainty relative to how to approach someone who has done something so nice as to give to your organization. There is also the fear of not knowing what the answer is to a donor’s question, and that can be a tad bit intimidating.

Here are a few tips for helping board members or any staff or volunteer making those calls:

  1. Prepare a simple script. However, don’t load the script with facts. Rather share some nice information, such as, “This is a woman who is in her 70’s and has been giving for 12 years. She has come to a few of our events with other friends. Her giving has increased from $50 to a high of $400 in 2020. You are calling to thank her for giving $350 one week ago.” A board, volunteer, or staff can prepare this.
  2. Provide a few facts or story of interest to share with the donor about your organization, such as the programs you have restarted after COVID, how things are going, or a funny anecdote. Your Executive Director, staff, or even your Development Committee could do this.
  3. Share why this organization matters to you, when you made your first gift or why you joined the board.
  4. If they ask a question you don’t know, simply say, “that’s a great question and I don’t have the answer, but I will find out and get back to you if that is ok?” (what a great way to reconnect with the donor, by the way)
  5. Let the caller know you don’t want to keep them long – just long enough to say thank you and how much the donor is appreciated.
  6. Enjoy the call. Donors are really nice people and fun to talk to.

I think the bottomline is that people just need encouragement to make that first call. With year-end giving appeals and strategies underway, it is important to overcome FOMD. The most important aspect of fundraising is communicating how much you appreciate a donor’s gift and how that gift is being used. The thank you letter that also serves as the donor’s tax receipt is not enough. A call or a meeting is so much more effective. Of course you can send an e-mail or a text. But think about making that call.

If you are a board member, volunteer, or staff, and are anxious about calling donors – here is one piece of advice: Just Do It. It may just be the most enjoyable few minutes of your week!

Let’s Talk About Exceeding Capacity!

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What a crazy idea..building the capacity we need, and maybe a little more? YES! That is exactly what I am talking about.

Today, as I am writing this, I’ve had three zoom calls with three clients who are all struggling because they have not built enough capacity. One is a national nonprofit who, for decades, lived with the mindset they could not spend money and had to make do with whatever they have. So they now have an antiquated database that won’t function as they need it to, and multiple staff who all have to take on an assignment, because no one was ever hired to do it and they all took on one aspect of it (hence using 3x the human capital). Another is the development department of an organization raising several million a year. They had just enough staff to get by – until several decided to resign over a period of four months. Now they are scrambling to manage a huge year-end appeal which brings in $1 million plus drastically short-handed. The third is an Executive Director near burn-out, because he never had funds to hire staff, launched a capital campaign short-staffed and is trying to perform the jobs of at least three people. The bottom line here is you can get by – until you can’t!

We need to build capacity for the future our communities want. We need to transform how we function in the nonprofit sector. And this is the time to do so, to imagine what is possible and invest the resources necessary to achieve it. As I was lamenting the calls I had this morning, I ran across this article in Non Profit Quarterly, “Don’t Rebuild, Upbuild! – Reimaging Nonprofit Infrastructure,” by Tiloma Jayasinghe, which I encourage you to take a look at.

To quote from the article: “Upbuilding is what happens when infrastructure is defined expansively, centering humans and communities, and with a strong equity, anti-oppressive lens. Upbuilding requires having the willingness and imagination to question why things are the way they are, whether they serve or oppress, and whether they can be done differently. In short, upbuilding means building something new and different as opposed to recovering and going back to “normal.”

The time has come…

The Great Resignation

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The “great resignation,” a term coined by Anthony Klotz, a Texas A&M University associate management professor, is permeating the nonprofit sector these days.  


According to the U.S. Department of Labor, during the months of April, May, and June 2021, a total of 11.5 million workers quit their jobs. A survey of over 30,000 workers conducted by Microsoft found that 41 percent are considering quitting; that number jumps to 54 percent when Gen-Z is considered alone. Gallup found that 48 percent of employees are actively searching for new opportunities. A quick Google Search shows a lot of the analysis of the resignations has been focused on the for-profit sector — though some savvy recruiters are positioning it as a great opportunity for those working in corporations or business to transfer to the nonprofit sector (that is a discussion for another time and place). The reality is – it is happening in our sector as well. 


Some transitions are happening because leaders who have been at the helm of nonprofits for a long time are retiring. Some are resigning, without any plans, simply burnt-out from what has transpired over the past 18 months, to potentially re-emerge at another a nonprofit (or as a consultant). Some are opting for a different lifestyle. No matter what the reason – it is happening and we need to think about the impact it is or will have.


This is not surprising when taken in context: for too long, Executive Directors have been required to do “much with little.” In 2009, the Stanford Social Innovation Review published “The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle” based on research done by the Bridgespan Group. They found that nonprofits are loath to spend money improving infrastructure or augmenting their management capacity because they don’t want to increase overhead spending. However, underfunding overhead can have disastrous results – one of which is the great loss of leadership following a crisis or series of crisis. Many of these executives have felt that they have seen their organizations through the worst of it. Indeed they have; and they have earned a special place in all our hearts. But if we do not learn from these resignations and fund our nonprofits as they need to be funded, we will be far worse than before the pandemic and ill-equipped to support the recovery that could take another decade. 


Meanwhile, nonprofits need to transition and there are some interesting models that have emerged:

  • Strategic alliances, particularly mergers or acquisitions, is one such model. Before expending the time, effort and investment in new leadership – the board can consider merging with another organization or even being acquired which will strengthen both organizations’ purpose and mission? With any resignation or transition occurring today, this must be considered as a viable alternative
  • Another option is bringing in an Interim Director as the Board considers its next steps. This allows things to slow down for the careful and deliberative process required before replacing and executive. This can be particularly helpful while considering a merger. It can also have a stabilizing effect while searching for new leadership
  • It may also be a good time to take a new look on what leadership means. There are more nonprofits looking at dual, tri or even quadruple leadership models – meaning that the responsibility does not fall on one individual (see article below). Few nonprofits have a deep enough management bench to assume all the different responsibilities required of leadership. Usually the Executive Director is carrying the majority of the burden. Co-Executive leadership is emerging, with different variations. The simplest are the outward or inward facing model or the Artistic Director and Business Director; or the Managing Director and Clinical Director. While more costly than a single model, it is less costly than building a management bench. More important, it might just minimize the level of stress and burnout the majority of Executive Directors are facing today

Transitions are never easy – and the ones we are facing today are particularly difficult because of what has precipitated them. Transitions and resignations are a great time to take pause and ask: what is the most effective way to meet your nonprofits purpose and mission?


(If your nonprofit is working through a leadership transition, Danosky & Associates is available for consultation!)

What’s Next?

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By Sharon Danosky

It’s a question I have been pondering lately. I like this question because it looks forward.  At the same time it is a rather loaded question, because the flurry of activity we have seen at Danosky & Associates over the summer months is quite extraordinary.  From a consulting perspective – here is what we are seeing on the horizon:

Strategic Planning

There are a lot of requests and interest in developing strategic plans.  I believe our sector is taking a close look at what is needed in the near and longer-term and how to best prepare.  I also am finding that organizations are deeply introspective during the process.   They are no longer asking how their organization can ‘position’ itself; the conversation has shifted.  Instead, it is much more about how can we address the inequities, the gaps in service; how can we scale up or even pull back and go deeper into resolving inequities and lack of service.  And even how can we collaborate?

Strategic Assessments

These are very much aligned with the planning process, but instead of developing a plan, organizations are looking for assessments to find the direction they want their organizations to go.  This often includes strong community-based work, from data analysis to community surveys and bringing insights from people with lived experiences to the table.  And some of those traditional “tables” are being torn down so a more open and fluid discussion can be had.

Boards and Governance Re-Imagined

Since Anne Wallested’s article in SSRI on purpose-driven boards, I have been thinking a lot about how boards operate and how they are making themselves more aware of the issues facing the nonprofit sector.  I believe if there is going to be systemic change, it will come from our sector.  But not all nonprofits or their boards are aligned.  Systems work takes time and commitment.  It requires a strong connection to the communities that a nonprofit serves and understanding the power dynamics and inequities that exist between the community and many boards.  This is difficult work – but many boards are beginning this work.  This work is on a spectrum that is miles long and varies significantly in depth.  The real opportunity is that the work is beginning.  The challenge is to ensure it continues.

Funding

Always where the rubber meets the road.  There is a lot of call for building more sustainable fundraising plans, and a real commitment to building relationships with donors and creating partnerships that can foster meaningful change.  Perhaps nowhere is this more present than in the number of campaigns being considered.  And they are not just for buildings, but for investment in systems change, building infrastructure, building capacity, building collaborations and building new futures.

I have to make a confession here – I no idea what’s next – who does?  But whatever it is I see a new fearlessness on the part of many to go boldly forward and own the future.  We have learned how resilient we are and there are many people who have the desire to create more equitable future, where every person can participate, contribute meaningfully and belong.

D&A Staff Summer Plans

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We hope your summer is off to a great start! In addition to finally being able to see and hug our friends and loved ones again, we at Danosky & Associates are excited to share some of the books at the top of our reading list, as well as some “bucket list” items that we are hoping to cross off. We hope this will encourage you to crack open a new book and get out into the world and have some fun this summer!

Summer Reading List

Jaclyn: I’m looking to read “In Five Years,” by Rebecca Serle, because I am a hopeless romantic and can’t resist a good love story!
Sharon: “The Master and the Emissary,” by Iain McGilchrist – This book is about the right side of the brain (The Master) which connects the dots and the left side of the brain (The Emissary) which gathers the data. Learn what happens when they don’t work together.
Sue: I’m reading “Robert Frost, a Life,” by Jay Parini. Frost was an American poet and the book journeys into his life showing both his accomplishments and the tragedies and loss he faced.
Matthew: This summer I’m excited to read “The Man Who Lived Underground,” a previously unpublished novel by Richard Wright that explores themes that are as urgent for our moment as they were for his.
Casey: This summer, I will be going back to the classics! I’m looking forward to re-reading Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and also the sequel, “Go Set a Watchman.” I have read “To Kill a Mockingbird” many years ago, but I am excited to revisit it as an adult!
Juanita: I am interested in reading, “Where the Forest Meets the Stars,” by Glendy Vanderah. It’s about a mysterious child that comes into the lives of two strangers and teaches them how to trust and love again.
Atka: The book at the top of my reading list is a very useful instructional guide: “Outwitting Squirrels – 101 Cunning Strategems.” Hopefully this will help me achieve the #1 item on my bucket list this summer!

Summer Bucket List

Jaclyn: My summer bucket list has everything to do with my four-legged rescues! I am hoping to find a great swimming hole that I can enjoy with my pups!
Sharon: Lazy afternoons hanging out with friends, reading on my deck (maybe some mystery novels), going out to dinner, overnight getaways, barbecues, reconnecting with family – nothing and everything. 
Sue: My bucket list item this summer is to visit Acadia National Park. Looking forward to kayaking, hiking, and bicycling, plus eating lobster!
Matthew: I’m also looking forward to traveling more, and I have some national parks that are high on my list!
Casey: I am extremely excited that I will be running the NYC Marathon this year! The race is on November 7th, so this summer I will be continuing my training and hope to make some good progress!
Juanita: The one thing that I would list on my bucket list for this summer is to visit and purchase one of “the best hot dogs in the world.” This famous hot dog stand, Gray’s Papaya, was featured in the movie, “Fools Rush In,” starring Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry. It’s said to be the number one hot dog restaurant in the world and it’s located in NYC!
Atka: My greatest hope for the summer is to use what I learn in my book, and finally – FINALLY – catch one of those pesky squirrels that play in my yard! My mom will be so proud of me! (Sharon: not really…)

Our Mission

We provide nonprofits the guidance, support and tools necessary to build a better world.

Our Vision

Every nonprofit will have the capacity to fulfill their missions and make the world a better place. 

Who We Are

Danosky & Associates is an action-oriented, results driven consulting firm that builds nonprofit capacity, applied through an equity lens with innovative strategies for an ever-emerging future. 

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