 Okay, ask and answer Friday. I'm excited. I am so excited to be here on a Friday, back with our asked and answered and back with so many of you that continue to join us live. We are so grateful to have you committed to the show just as we are extremely committed to our presenting sponsors. And we like to start every episode with expressing our sincerest gratitude. We thank our sponsors. You can see logos on the screen. They really believe in the great work that you do. So they're in your corner, please find them online, give them a like, follow them, give them a heart. And yeah, they are here to support you and your mission to make every day stronger in your community. So thank you to these sponsors. First, thank you to Julia Patrick. I recently called you Sensei Patrick because I learned so much from you Julia. Julia is the CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. And just so grateful that you had this wonderful idea to continue showing up to be of service to our way of the nonprofit show. So hoorah, yay for Julia. I again, of course, every morning and I sincerely mean it, I am so honored to serve alongside you Julia as your co-host, I'm Jarrett Ransom, also known as the nonprofit CEO of the Raven Group. And as you all know, our faithful watchers every Friday is asked and entered. I liked Friday so that we have some fun. And this is when Julia and I take some time during our so weekly on Friday to curate the questions that you have sent in and we answer them live during the show. And of course, some of you might be joining us later and that's perfectly fine. You can find us on many channels, even comfort of your own living room or wherever you might be situated. So Roku TV, Fire TV, Vimeo, YouTube, all the good stuff. So Julia, welcome, happy Friday. Happy Friday. Well, we have a lot of questions that came in and I'm gonna witness to everybody, we were not able to get all of them on. And sometimes that just happens because we get so many and oftentimes we'll try and answer something directly if we feel like we can't, you know push it off to another episode. So let's get on this train because there's a lot. First of all, name withheld, you know how I love those. Yes, you do. I do. So it says, I need a coaching moment. I want to be more strategic about my salary. I'm a CEO of a small nonprofit. Instead of going before my board every year to discuss salary, would it be a good idea to present a salary that I want to earn for the next three years? I think it would help in budgeting and be tied to KPIs. Ooh, first of all, you know, I love acronyms but I think it's important that we tell everyone may not be aware what exactly a KPI is. So Julia, do you want to shut? Yeah, so key productivity indicator or key product indicator. I mean, basically it's a metric. And so basically if you look at your KPI would be like in the nonprofit sector we need to have so many donors. We need to have so much that we've brought in in grants so much we've brought in from individual donors so much we've brought in, you know, corporate donors things of that nature. So that is something that you would decide upon and then based on that most often if you have met those KPIs that means you have the financial resources to increase salaries, pay out bonuses make investments, whatever it is, you know that your organization wants to do. But again, this goes back to the concept of defining what some of those goals are. Yeah, you know, short and sweet. So and I love that you mentioned the KPI in regards to, you know, cash reserves one of the really big opportunities for organizations and CEOs as you continue to build sustainability and I see here name withheld this specifically is for a small nonprofit is like, you know, what are those cash reserves that you need and forecast three years in advance? I hope that you're also forecasting the salaries of your growing team because I imagine that that too will happen as you continue to be successful with the resources of your organization. So a great way to address this. Absolutely, go in front of the board. Here's what I recommend. Here's what I would follow for the upcoming five years for all team members, all titles, all, you know positions, even associations of additional new hops, right? So as you grow, that might actually mean that you also incur the cost of not only new staff but the staff benefits that go along with that your payroll cost will increase, you know, your workman's comp might increase. So there's other benefits that you need to financially account for. And I am right there with you, Julia, let's come up with these, you know key indicators of success so that you can show your board these are the goals, here's the metrics here's how close we are to meeting that and, you know, is this a viable financial goal that we're looking at not only for your salary, right but also the team that you're meeting. Right, and I think that, you know for most boards, at least boards I've sat on, you know, nobody wants to see the CEO go and nobody wants to see the CEO job hunt because ultimately, you know it's gonna come back onto your plate and you're gonna have to take all that energy and all that effort and all that rigmarole and try and find a new leader and that's not fun that's not pleasant. Now there are times when you wanna push them away I get that and I've been there but the reality is I think if you could have an open discussion and it might be named withheld depending on how you're structured it might be with your executive committee or it might be with your board chair and vice chair I mean, it just kind of depends what your structure looks like but to have that very honest and transparent discussion and say, look, you know this is where the marketplace is this is where I wanna be and this is where I need to be financially and also remember that it's not just about the cash you know, outlay in terms of salary it can be additional training it could be additional time off it could be additional perks like mileage, travel I mean, there are a lot of different ways to navigate what that package looks like and you know, you might need to get somebody that has some HR skills as well to help you figure out what that looks like and for the board too. But yeah. Compensation report in our sector so I would definitely reference compensation report on this and you're right also, you know, go to your HR team or HR consult to see if this is something that they, you know able to assist you with. Right, exactly. Okay, good. Well, I hope that helps. Halima from Colorado Springs, Colorado I keep hearing that we need to have mission moments at the beginning of our meetings especially board meetings. Can you give me ideas on how to do this without bringing in clients who are hesitant to speak publicly about the services they are engaged in? Really good question. Great question Halima. And I'm so glad to hear that you're really listening to a lot of the episodes and how this mission moment is really been to quite a few of the topics. The best way I have seen this happen Julia is organically, right, is on the agenda and I even have it in team meetings so that it continues to elevate our mission. It elevates why are we here, right? Our Simon Sinek why, why are we here? And it's really organic. It's not, you know, really, I don't know how to say it. It's like, it doesn't have to be overly produced. Thank you. It's not overly produced. Anyone can say, oh yeah, I just a moment. I witnessed, you know, our program director do this with a client that was really great because it really fed into our focused mission of this is why we provide X, Y and Z. I'm so just open the table, open the discussion for other people to say, you know, what have they personally experienced? It could be in person, it could be an email, it could be a phone conversation. There are so many opportunities to bring your mission moment to life and into conversation. That I've seen it best is Julia is just really like, hey, who seen our mission in a work and who would like to share this mission moment with all of us before we get started. Right, right. I think that's really powerful. And I think that in the case of folks that don't want to be public about what's gone on. So we see this about substance abuse, domestic violence, certainly in health and human services. A lot of times that is the place where you have to get somebody on your team to come in and do what I call a witness. And to say, I witnessed somebody that was struggling and this is what they said to me as they were being involved in the intake process or whatever. But I like what you just said, Jared, about the natural aspect of this because I think it should be, and this is just me, but I think it should be solemn. And I think it should be, like this is a reflection of what's going on. And this is how tough it is for our staff and our frontline people. And for me, I think what it does is that board who's come from their corporate environment and their nice cars, whatever. And then all of a sudden they've got to switch in the hubs and get their mind into the place of the nonprofit. And that's what this mission moment can do. It can help kind of set the tone for the importance and why you're doing what you're doing and why it matters. So the mission moment can be really, really thoughtful, I think that's my personal opinion. Yeah, and I think it's intended to be a relatable moment. I hear too often, Halima, from many of the clients that I work with that the board is really not in touch with the service that's being done. And so, how might you bring the program into the discussion, especially as you're about to go into meeting and to make really focused decisions around your mission, what best then to start with the mission moment? Right, exactly. I think it pulls it back, it centers you and you hear about things that maybe you're like, oh, well, we've gotten the board packet and we got to really have a discussion about this budget item or this contractor, this policy, it's like, okay, yeah, but this is what happens every day on our campus or when we're serving. So yeah, Halima, good job. I love that you're even thinking about this. Emelda from Seattle, Washington writes in, although, oh my God, this is hilarious. Although I noticed that Julia and Jared do not have CFRE designations, I am wondering what they think about this. I need to decide if I should invest in this program. Great. Wow, CFRE, thanks for calling us out, Emelda, but you're absolutely right. So Certified Fundraising Executive is what CFRE is. And I chose, I've actually considered pursuing my CFRE, I chose not to because I actually have a master's in this administration. So when I went through the Association of Fundraising Professionals Mentor Program, I was the mentee and I had a mentor, you have to be a CFRE to be for the AF program. From what I understand, at least when I went through, might've, I'm not sure. So my mentor that was a CFRE designated professional fundraiser, you know, we had a really in-depth conversation, Julia, and I will never forget the day that he told me, you have a master's in business administration. I don't think you need both. And I said, are you sure? Because I really do wanna pursue professional fundraising as a career. And the fact that he said, no, you've got, you know, your master's in this administration, it is, I don't know that he used the word equivalent, but he was really clear on, I don't think you need both. The other thing I will tell you, Emelda, and this is very transparent part, never, ever, ever has anyone asked me if I have a CFRE designation. Never, ever, ever has anyone ever asked me. And for that reason, I don't think that, I think that I desire to, what do I wanna say, desire to achieve at this point of my career and level of professional, but going back to the name withheld of your CEO benefits, if this is something you do want to achieve, and this is a professional desire of yours, absolutely see if your company or organization might offer some type of reimbursement or investment into this designation. Right, that's what I was gonna say. You know, I noticed when I look at the landscape across the country, the CFRE piece of it, and I'm all about education, so undoubtedly. But the thing of it is, it really, I think, Jared, is community to community. So for example, the community that I live in, there's a very active CFRE piece. I mean, there are, generally there's been somebody from my state on the national board. You know, it's the sort of thing where it's all whipped up, right? And so you get internally a lot of people trying to support and promote it. And so I think you just have to kind of look at what the landscape is to determine as you move through your career, if it will help you and if it will be a sound investment, because it's expensive, not only just financially, but time-wise. The other part of this, and Jared alluded to this, you know, if this is important to the organization that you serve, then make sure that they will scholarship you, fund you, fund you for the hours, reimburse you for the testing, for the materials, whatever. But make sure that if that's gonna be something that you pursue, you have support from your organization. Because I think- And it's not a one and done, right? Julie, there's continued education credits. Yes. To keep it relevant, to keep it active and to keep that designation. So it's something that you really need to commit into the longevity of the CFRE program. Right, and it's, you know, it's something, it's like a board certification. I mean, it's something you have to sit, you have to test for. It is an arduous process. I would say that if I had a choice, and an MBA is far more and much more in depth of an educational tool, but there's more value for me as somebody going out in the marketplace to hire somebody that has an MBA. And that's because it goes through the management aspect of running an organization. So it's gonna involve marketing, it's gonna involve accounting, statistics. I mean, all of these different things that help you be a strong leader. And I think in terms of fundraising, it's all about leadership for me, you know? It's, so that would be my comment in Emelda. You know, again, I'm proud of you for looking at how you educate yourself and improve yourself. We need that in our sector. We need that in our sector. And it's a great program. And if that's to you and where you are and what you wish to desire, you know, definitely look into that. Yeah, yeah, never stop learning. I mean, never stop learning. I mean, that's like, I think just basic. Okay, Shane from Huntsville, Alabama. I'm writing articles about the nonprofit service area that I work in, I work in. I am not writing about the nonprofit I work at. However, it is logical to assume that I'm discussing issues raised at work. Wow, my question is this, when submitting articles for review, should I identify my nonprofit or not? Wow, good question. Great question. And I'm gonna defer to Julia on this because this is such in your wheelhouse of publications and writing and whatnot. So first and foremost, depending Shane on where you work, you need to go back to the organization and determine what type of policy there is for any disclosure whatsoever of your organization. And this is really important for those of you who work with children, that means under the age of 18, minors under the age of 21, health and human services, anything that has to do with HIPAA, you have very, very specific things that you can talk about and that you can't talk about. And when you write something and it goes into that domain of, domain is like huge, this is a big deal. So you need to figure that out. But if your organization doesn't have that, then you need to write that. And it could be just for yourself, but you need to determine what is appropriate and what is not. And then have a chit chat with your CEO, explain that you're doing this work because this might be something that your organization can use as a white paper. It can become a marketing tool for them. It can go into their media stream. There are a lot of opportunities. But I think you start with your own organization so that everybody knows what's going on and there's not a surprise because you're right. Somebody to the outside will never understand or be able to tie it to the organization, but somebody internally can and they will. And it would be really harmful to have somebody on the team say, oh my God, Shane talked about that problem and he was talking about me. That's not what you wanna have. That's not what you wanna have. So- Great answer, Julia. I learned so much. Well, I mean, I was in publishing for 30 years. So this is kind of one of those things. But I'm all about white papers. And I don't think enough nonprofits do this to become thought leaders in the sector and share their knowledge. And I think it helps with grants. I think it helps with donors, with collaborations that might come down. I think it's a good way to go. Yeah. And it brings me back to what you always say since say Patrick is senseless. No, it's senseless Patrick. No, no, it's about reaping, right? Never do anything just once. So if you, Shane, are writing these wonderful articles, how might you benefit or how might other areas within your community benefit from this, right? So just as you said, Julia, this is something that your organization that you are with that they're able to benefit from as well and have that conversation. I also subscribe to the big rules of transparency, authenticity and just being ethical, right? On the up and up. And so I think having that conversation, Shane, if just what Julia said, if they don't have these policies or procedures in place, do it, create this for them. This is a wonderful win-win. Right. And if there's a problem there, then I think what you can do is you can navigate away from the institution but identify yourself to the sector. So for example, you could say, domestic violence expert or Shane, works at a museum in the Southern United States. There are ways that you can tie your work and your work experience to the moniker of what it, to your name, so that people can say, yeah, this is a worthy review of the topic because this is an expert right now. And so, interesting. Yeah, good job, Shane. We don't want you to get into trouble. Absolutely. Okay. Oh, another name with Eve, Overland Park, Kansas City. How important is it to have our volunteers backgrounds checked? We are a cultural institution. Thank you. Wow, short and sweet. Wow. You know, I'm gonna be honest with Pell. I have worked with so many organizations that do background checks and so many that don't, right? And it makes it really hard. I've seen volunteer forms that literally ask the individual to self-identify or to disclose, you know, yes, I have a history of X, Y, and Z and to provide anything that might come up in a foreseeable background check. I honestly don't have a lot of experience in this question, Julia. What about you? Well, I've served on two boards that I had to get a background check and I had to be fingerprinted and put into a, I don't know what kind of database, sorry, got a base. So one dealt with human services and one was a cultural institution which is kind of interesting. So with a cultural institution that I'm thinking like, okay, in this case, if you were an art museum whereby you had the ability to be around highly valuable things that could be stolen or whatever, you know, I'm not really sure, but this, Jared, when I see this type of question, it makes me think that you need to talk to your insurance carrier and find out what they think. Because, you know, in the insurance industry, they have all of these, you know, going back to white papers, they have all these documents where they determine what the risk is. And so you could literally say, you know, I'm a XYZ nonprofit and they'll be able to pull it up and say, okay, this is what our industry has identified as potential risk. And so I would think that would maybe be the way to go because ultimately, if there's a problem, it's gonna involve your insurance carrier. That's a great point. And my fingerprints are also in that same big database that you alluded to, Julia, because I have needed to do, you know, background checks for organizations that I've worked with to either, you know, physically be on campus with them, with clients. As well as I'm gonna say name withheld, your question does not ask anything about the cost related to this, but I'd like to take that one step further that I have seen many organizations ask for the volunteers to cover the cost of a background check. And I think that is a great practice to be honest. Not everyone would agree with me, but I think that that really shows a level of commitment and dedication from the potential volunteers that if they're willing to put literally some skin into the game, maybe it's $25, right? I'm not sure exactly what level of a background check you're looking to do for your institution, but those associated fees could either be passed onto the volunteers or at least mitigated by having, you know, a piece of that paid by the volunteers. And remember, never, ever, ever shy away from the concept of scholarship. If you have somebody who you think would really be great, but they can't afford it, you need to find the funds or find somebody to underwrite it. I mean, and to say, I'm gonna, this would normally be a $95 expense, but we want you to be in our team and we think you'd be great. So we're gonna scholarship this in. Never, never forget that tool because that's I think a fabulous way to go. But yeah, I think that we're gonna see more and more of this and especially within a cultural institution that might have really not only theft issues, but disturbance or destruction issues, like something is harmed. You know, you're like, you spill your coffee on that, you know, 1,000 year old painting. I don't know, you know what I'm saying? But I just think you gotta figure out, you have to align what it is your organization's doing to what the risks are. And like I said, for me, Jared, that's gonna come through with the insurance carrier. Holy moly, hard to believe that we've like, we got like two seconds to get out of our show. I want a Friday. It's been wonderful, Julia. Boom, boom, boom. You always do a great job curating these questions. So of course, thanks to Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. I'm Jared Ransom, CEO of the Raven Group, also known as the Nonprofit Nerd. There are four ways that you can send us your questions. So make sure that you do. And also over the weekend, check out Portable's Board Engagement Survey results. It's phenomenal. It's annual, Jenner was on our show. He started, was it last week or was it Monday? It was last week. Last Thursday, yeah. Posh, time flies. Great report, check that out. It's really been insightful. Yeah, and you mentioned you've got four ways to get ahold of us. Join us on Twitter. Definitely you can email us. You can approach us on LinkedIn. And we wanna know what you're thinking and where you need some help. Wow, look at all these sponsors. We're so grateful. We added two new sponsors this week, Fundraising Academy and Nonprofit HR. We're very, very excited. If you wanna get involved with us, drop us a line. Our presenting sponsors mean everything to us and we would not be here without them. So we are very, very honored that they're investing in us just like they invest in the nonprofit sector every single day. Wow, another great week. Yes. I hope that you have rest on your agenda, Julia. And for all of you, right, take some time to rest, recover, replenish yourself because my Santa will join us again. Yeah. You know, and really we do say this every day, but maybe it means a little something to different today as we move towards the weekend. And that is the mantra that we say, you know, stay well, so you can do well. We're gonna see you back here on Monday. I was starting to say tomorrow, but on Monday, we have another fabulous week, a lot of really interesting discussions and guests. And we are so delighted that you joined us today. Have a fabulous and restful weekend. You too, Mr. Jared. You too, Julia. See you Monday. Thanks everyone. Bye.