 It's another fry yay, and I think we're ready to go. How about you sister? Yes, I'm ready. Let me start off Welcome. Thanks everyone. I'm so glad that you have been able to join us today on this fry yay fundraising academy cause selling education ask and answer For those of you that are raving fans, and this is not your first show You know that we reserve one day a week this day friday as the Dedicated episode where julia and i or another thought leader guest Joins us to answer questions that have come in from you our viewers. So again thrilled to have the support Of fundraising academy that continues these conversations each and every week on the friday or fry yay as we also lovingly refer to today We are extremely proud of our partnership with these companies These presenting sponsors have been with us by our side and with you and by your side Each and every day most of them for the last two years as we continue to navigate forward and um We are so just honored to have their investment in the sector as well as these episodes julia patrick ceo of the american nonprofit academy joins me i'm charit ransom your nonprofit nerd ceo of the raven group and again We have with us today a large amount of questions We were just talking in our chitty chat chat. So for those of you that joined us early You heard this we were talking about how The conversations continue to shift and change as we all continue to shift and change forward in this forward motion Still not quite sure what this year brings because there's a couple more weeks left In this year before we welcome the new year. Many of us were excited and eager to welcome this new year, although There wasn't a lot of change. So looking into 22 as we move forward Um, I'm excited julia to see what our questions are because you and I have seen The trajectory of these questions changed throughout the years You know, we really haven't and I was reminded earlier We had our guest even shattuck. He really is a an amazing supporter Of uh of you and I jarrett individually collectively the show really interesting human being And he made the comment that you know We kind of give ourselves in the nonprofit sector Some false deadlines and we tend to kind of pull back or just let go like because we're so exhausted And he was talking about really December and how a lot of times we're like giving to say, okay Poof, and then we just coast through we're we're not without Our stress because we want to meet our our numbers and all that but he had some really interesting things to say about You know really staying in the saddle till that end of the month And so if you have a chance to go back and learn from his wisdom I would really recommend that that episode Was really very cool. Yes, even uh is with bloom ring and one of our great supporters of the the show Uh, we referred to his book quite a bit in that episode this week And so it's uh nonprofits are sorry robots make bad fundraisers And he has an entire chapter on giving Tuesday, which of course we just finished up As a national philanthropic day of giving so that was november the 30th It will be again next year in 22 So make sure that you read his book if you have it yet so that you can prepare for that national day of giving Yeah, it's it's just really been fascinating. Well, let's get into It sister james from city withheld. You know how I like those withheld Okay, as our nonprofit is growing our ceo wants to establish an mod manager of the day Program, this would be assigned on weekend so that even though our site is closed We would have a responsible person designated My issue is that I don't feel confident about this responsibility and i'm not being paid extra for it either Oh Isn't this interesting This is interesting and i've never heard of a manager of the day process Um, and so this would be assigned on weekend So i'm assuming that's your saturday and sunday manager of the day Not assigned on the weekend for the week coming um You know First off again, I I like to shoot from the hip But I also joke and say these hips have over 20 years of nonprofit experience Jelly beans and some chocolate and you know, there's a lot but I do like to Um, whenever you are uncertain of your responsibilities I would highly recommend james that you go to your ceo And any of these other manager of the day Individuals maybe this is your leadership team your executive team And simply ask for the protocols. What is expected? Um, what is kind of that f a q so we know how to Manage situations in a consistent way So I really think having that consistency Depending on who's serving as that manager of the day depending on the weekend So I would say, you know, use this as an opportunity to inquire with your ceo How this should be run and again just kind of some of those protocols and procedures so that everyone's doing it similarly right You know an mod program really Is as far as I know really comes out of hospitality Where you have open areas you know, you have open Facilities 24 7 and so but you can't you need to shift your your your teams so I would say absolutely you need to understand what it is That you're going to be possibly called to do what would be the protocols I mean, I know of several organizations that do this And they actually have a phone That goes to that mod so that if a call comes through And it you know You get a message or whatever and it can say call this number There's somebody attached to that And it's on that weekend you wouldn't You would be asked to stay in your community, you know, you couldn't travel even if you traveled Outside the city and you should be within a certain Radius of your campus and I would think this would be something that would be more for An organization that serves The public in a way like human services You know things of that nature where there really is you know life or death kind of issues, right? a museum You know sure if they're open on the weekends, I can see if it's a cultural institution, but Yeah, the responsibility issue is something to address Because a manager of the day is going to chances are going to get They're going to have to answer some tough questions Now what about this not being paid extra? What is your thought? And opinion there Julia Well, I would love to see what the job description is so to speak or the areas of responsibility And then I would like to know what is you know the recompense for that Is it extra time off? Is it you know coming in late for the following week every day? I mean, I don't know, but I think there should be something because This is generally I would see it seems to me that This would not have come up if there weren't issues that had come up for this organization on the weekends, right? Right, right. So this isn't just going to be like hanging out. This is probably going to involve some actual service or work It sounds like it and I I hate to recommend the compensation time because chances are and again We were talking in our chitty chat chat. Everyone is so busy. Everyone is you know, their plates are overflowing So chances of James actually taking advantage of some of those hours off are coming in late I think are slim to none considering our sector So I I would probably Vote towards the compensation, right? Perhaps this is a bonus perhaps again I'm not sure, but I'm assuming that the time off is going to be slim Yeah, and I but I think there needs to be some discussion of it And I think for somebody to say I don't feel confident about the responsibility. That's a red flag I mean that needs to get addressed. That's a big deal Because that mod that manager of the day, they are the ones making decisions. So wow, james. Good luck and I'm hoping that this uh works for you. I'm a little nervous for you to be honest Yes, okay name withheld san francisco Are you familiar with a policy that forbids married couples to work together in the same organization? I'm secretly dating a co-worker from a different department and we are about to get engaged. Well, congratulations Will this impact our jobs? You know, we had a question similar to this months ago Jared, but it was about board members. Do you remember that? Yeah interesting so You know, I think it depends on the organization. There is um Occasions or there are occasions when this is acceptable. There are occasions when they're not I know of an organization where uh, the husband and wife They both are on payroll and they both are on the executive team And um, I also know organizations that do not allow You know this To happen and it is in their written policy. So name withheld san francisco look in your employee handbook first and foremost Take a look there and see what is um already written out and stated if you're secretly dating this person and You're talking about getting engaged I think this is something you probably should have looked into prior Yeah Again, go to that employee handbook and see what it says about inter office dating and relationships Yeah, absolutely. And I would say that you need to really understand this because Um, I know we had somebody for I think from your part-time controller who mentioned this maybe Like more than a year ago about not having relation ships with People in the accounting departments that that was kind of like a red flag for fraud and mismanagement And so that there were a lot of organizations just right out the the gate said you cannot have a relationship And we're talking, you know sibling parent marriage. I mean, you know, pretty extensive You cannot be related to somebody in the accounting department. So yeah, wow Well, congratulations, but that is a little dicey if you don't mind me saying Maybe start looking for another job. Yeah, I'm thinking thinking you better think this out Josh and Boise Idaho I'm in charge of reestablishing our donor database I have been doing a lot of research and I'm wondering if I should have an nda Agreement executed for these folks who have access to our valuable database. This is a good question Do you have any thoughts on this? Yes, okay, good Yes, I mean I have an nda that you can download josh from my website the ravengroup.com It's one of my free resources because of this as well as committee involvement so Especially within the fundraising and or development department. There is a lot of private information that is often shared And you need to make sure that those individuals that have access to this information Again, be it, you know, they are entering data into the donor database Perhaps they are helping you pull reports or they are, you know, really knowledgeable and again have access to this data committee members may also have access to the data data and become knowledgeable of their peers And uh, really, you know, their assets, they're giving their capacity to give So I do like to have a non-disclosure agreement signed annually by these individuals Keep that on file And again, you know, you can google non-disclosure agreement I did that and I created one for anyone to use again You can download it on my website under the resources tab, but the ravengroup.com It's all yours josh. So use it, please So this is really interesting. You're saying every year It should be updated And and this would be employees and volunteers or just anyone who is working in that with that data So for me, my recommendation is any volunteers that are Um Privy to accessing that data, right? So employees I tend to find are covered under that employee handbook and the access to sensitive information So that's why I'm saying really for the volunteers. So board members committee members Interns or volunteers that are coming in to help you within these administrative roles And I do think annually because it reminds them of this privacy matter And it you know again reengages their commitment to take this in a very confidential confident way Jared, I think that's great. I appreciate you extending the offer to our viewers to be able to get that document I mean that could save somebody a lot of time and travel to get it going and um, I like this practice I I can kind of see this needs to be one of those things that's calendarized that it occurs You know the last two weeks of every every december in preparation for the new year or or whatever But I'm I'm also intrigued that you added board members to that because definitely board members are going to be Seeing data, but they're also going to probably be discussing it with the development team or goals I mean there are a lot of Ways that that information would be shared and I like that you're saying that to remind everyone Wow. Yeah. Good job. Josh. I love that you're thinking about this and not reacting to a problem Yes proactive proactive. It's super good Okay, um, we got another question that's come in and this question comes to us from st. Louis from char Our nonprofit has a few board positions open and I'm thinking of putting my name in for consideration Is this a conflict or something that is ever actually done In the nonprofit sector. I'm assuming this person means they work for the organization I'm assuming that too unless they're a volunteer So not knowing your position char If you are an employee and I paid staff or contractor That is a conflict of interest and I do not think that that is Legal, I would double check. I do know that on occasions Perhaps a board member has been retained or hired for a service product or the like in which case they have to Of course Recuse themselves from any voting that might happen to be a conflict in their current state and role If you're a volunteer that might be different and so this might be a great opportunity I highly recommend that board members actually participate on a committee prior to becoming a board member I think that is great practice It gives the organization an opportunity to get to know you as a volunteer It gives the volunteer an opportunity to get to know the organization and to see how it's run So sharn again, not quite understanding your role your current role within the organization I would say no if you are a current employee or a contract employee Or vendor if you are a volunteer Absolutely, I would highly recommend that you talk to someone from the governance committee Hopefully the organization and the the you know board has that committee in place That is where the board development usually Lies and again, you can ask any of those questions to to that committee I agree. I think that You know, I love what you said and that is about the training aspect Of serving on a committee because a lot of times it sounds super glamorous and fun And you don't know really what you're getting into By going on to a board and by doing committee work It lets everybody understand, you know, what the cadence of the organization is And what they need and how to work together or not So I agree with you. I think that um, it just sounds to me from the the tone and tenor of that Question that they're an employee and so that's just not gonna fly Yeah, no, that's not gonna work, but doesn't mean you can't serve on a committee Or in a volunteer capacity Although we have had some discussions in the past about Where do you overlap that paid employee with volunteer? And so sometimes that can get a little gray, right? And so you kind of need to refine that a little bit, but super interesting I hope that works out. We need board members serving our 1.8 million nonprofits Yes, we do. I mean wow, okay name with help. Wow. This has been like a juicy Friday Salt Lake City, Utah There is a nonprofit in our region different state that has asked me to consult with them They like the programming work that I have created for the nonprofit I work for Is this a conflict problem or issue? Yeah, this is very interesting name withheld and and you're right. It's been a juicy Friday So we have addressed this on a couple of occasions in different ways, but really about collaboration Thought partners and really being open to sharing some of that intellectual property I think that I would approach it the same Now when you say ask me to consult with them I don't know if this is a paid opportunity for you, but that's something you might want to Decipher and really, you know better understand or are they simply asking to pick your brain And to find out some of those best practices of what has worked well for you and your community I I love collaboration I'm always open to those conversations in a very transparent and ethical manner So I do think you know sharing this opportunity with your supervisor and or ceo Ask them how you how they would like you to proceed with moving forward in this conversation and again just Getting clear. What does this consultation look like? Right, you know, I think one of the big trends across the nonprofit sector Moving forward is the valuation of intellectual property and this really dovetails to programming Programming protocols and processes and management And I think that's a revenue source for a lot of nonprofits and they might not realize it But it is I mean think about this Jared not five minutes ago You offered a document in nda form that really Is an amazing tool that saved somebody will save somebody a lot of time, right? We'll put that back into the programming if you have a programming Structure protocol and management system that can be used in another part of our country That eliminates a ton of work somebody can get up to speed right away And solve a problem in their community and so I think this needs to go to the question of What is the value of this information? Did your nonprofit help, you know pay you while you worked on this? And paid you to create this? Then it really is something that really should go back to the organization. I think No, it should be part of that Um, and I agree with you distributed that you know distributing that information Is a valuable thing for everyone? And the collaborative nature is is a huge thing, but I think it's important that we start looking at some of these issues As assets You know you've mentioned that a couple of times julia and talk about a disruption that is very innovative and not Often considered or thought of in our sector. I wonder why right? I would tie it to that that valuation perhaps We're valuing our intellectual property at the level in which we should be Um, so I think this gives us a great opportunity, especially towards the end of the year to address and reassess What is our intellectual property? So as we're doing inventory of perhaps, you know technology equipment and staffing and You know our workspaces and places. Let's also add into that assessment and inventory our intellectual property Well, think about it Jared. Think about how many organizations and you and I know this Um, that will come even into another community From black tie gallows to after school programs to evaluate or watch see what's going on Learn about that and take that back to their own community And I think that that's great. I think it's it's magical, but I think there's nothing wrong With saying hey, we've worked really hard and we've crafted A program that we know works We know how much it costs. We know how to manage it. We know how to fund it We know how to market it. We know how to be successful What if you package that and then you put it out there? for the marketplace to You know engage in purchase lease You know licensing whatever you want to call it It could ramp up a community really quickly Really quickly because these programs take a long time to to get going and to be successful They do and I I couldn't help but think about in the sports world because you know us we love to bring in our sports analogies really looking at Perhaps you know that you're playing this big team or this this athlete and you have this competitive Game in the future. There's always someone who's going to find out more about this team or this athlete, right? Like really benchmarking What is it we're up against? What are the plays we need to know? It's very similar It really is and I think that um, you know, it helps you I would think they could say you wanted to launch a new Let's say a new theater program in your community and it deals with children And you've never had a community theater for children in your you know in your region Imagine if you had a program That you could draw upon all that information and then you went out to fundraise You could go to your philanthropic investors and say look here's the plan We're not going to kind of like free will and this because we think it's a great idea You could say this is our structure. This is what we're going to do. This is exactly what your investment is going to do for us I think it's a win-win. I think it ramps up projects and it it makes it easier to get financial support To take that further I have seen that happen and I love that you brought that example in because What I also coach is to say we know this works because we have proven results of this Practice in another community. So we are looking at the same model We are taking this model implementing executing analyzing here within our community We expect and forecast similar results because this has been done Yeah proof of concept Well, you know, this has been great. I mean our time is up Before we I know it's like before we bid a deal I want to mention something really really interesting that our friends from fundraising academy are launching They are launching an accelerant program on their cause selling Program and cycle and it's going to be directed by one of the fundraising academy You know, really amazing leaders. It's a very small cohort. It works together On lessons on feedback on some mentoring I think it's just going to be such a pivotal piece Of somebody's career to help navigate them through Their development career and strategies and success. So I just wanted to kind of plant that seed Jared I know we've started talking about it Briefly and we're going to get more information about it But should be something really really fun to look into Yeah, and I don't believe there was a huge cost associated So Hannah burger was on with me a couple of weeks ago Maybe last week I forget now and she's the representative with fundraising academy leading this accelerant program And uh, I think it's phenomenal so much so that I've considered entering it just to Again continue my own education as we move into the new year Cool. Well, we'll get some more information up about it because I think it could just I mean you and I have really become fans of this this program But I imagine how amazing it would be To be in a national cohort where you could actually learn from the other participants and and see what they're doing It would be magical Magical so check that out and again, we'll be getting more information. I'm julia patrick I've been joined today by the nonprofit nerd herself. Jared ransom Again, we want to thank all of our presenting sponsors. And you know, Jared You said something really cool that We're honored to have them with us and I loved that you said that because I do feel that way I'm really honored that they you know choose us And invest with us. So thank you very much. Wow another great week. We have had a lot cooking We have a busy week next week too. Don't we we do and So excited because we are with you till the very end of the year and again in the new year so Don't go away. Keep joining us because we are here for you and to help you with your organization again The power of december. We are living it. We are right here in the middle of december looking at the finish line, which is insight It is and it's a good site Keep strong and as we like to remind you every day Stay well So you can do well. We'll see you back here on monday everyone