 Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Whenever you happen to be watching this, and thanks for joining us for another episode of the Nonprofit Show and particularly Ask and Answer. So glad to have each and every one of you here with us today. Just as we are so grateful to have each and every one of our presenting sponsors joining us for this episode and so many episodes throughout the year. But I'm going to say what I really enjoy saying is these sponsors love, no, they like us. They like us. They love you. They love the work that you're doing. They're here to support and elevate each and every one of your missions and your causes. They've got amazing resources. So many wonderful passionate team members that make up these, you know, organizations. So go check them out if you haven't already and give them a like and some love and just some good, some good following energy. But thank you to each and every one of you for being a presenting sponsor. And thank you to Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy for having this crazy idea to start the Nonprofit Show more than a year ago now. So coming up on our 300th episode, and she's got some more tricks up her sleeve. I'm going to tell you, she and I have been up to some shenanigans lately. I'm Jarrett Ransom, the nonprofit nerd CEO of the Raven Group and can't wait to share more of those shenanigans with you as we, I don't know, create them, right? We've got a creative session on our calendars of ways that we could add value to each and every one of you as our viewers and really to the sector at large. So looking forward to that, are you Julia? I am. I'm really always excited to be, you know, engaged with you and our whole team here on the Nonprofit Show. Also, I think, you know, I'm really proud and very privileged to be engaged in this sector that has been, well, I believe so crucial to the wonderful life I get to lead, but in life for my family. But for a sector that really was challenged this last year, challenged in a way that made them so much better. And, you know, Jarrett, you and I were talking about just the questions that came in at the beginning when we started and how they were like, there's so much more developed. Have you noticed that? Yes, yes. Our questions are developed each and every one of us are further developed because of the navigation, you know, and all of the the pivots that we've had to do, but you're right. It's fascinating. The questions have changed. It was much more, how do we do this? How do we work from home? How do we keep our teams going? You can take me off the screen. That's totally fine. Like, please, I just got caught. I'm tired of looking at myself. But really, you know, how do we survive? And I feel now, as you mentioned, Julia, we're really in this recovery phase, a lot of conversation about what back looks like as we go back in that reference. And I believe that we're not, right? We're moving forward and back is really non-existent. So what we used to know and what we used to do is really no longer going to be the case, but I agree. I'm excited. Okay, so before we get started, I want to bring everyone's attention to this like awesome, awesome group. And we've had one of their lead thought leaders on the show. It's the Washington nonprofit. So it's like the trade association for nonprofits in Washington state. I swear to God, it makes me want to move to Washington state when I see their pieces, their marketing is amazing. Their outreach is phenomenal. It's very, very developed. I feel like that if you were in this part of the nation, like the region, this is an organization, whether you're in Washington state or not, that you should be looking at. Amazing. But the reason why I wanted to bring this up, this is like my witness. Peace for Friday. As you know, this has been a really amazing, I say this every week, it's been an amazing tough week in America. But we had the George Floyd trial come to a head. I mean, we've had so many different things. Earth Day was yesterday. I mean, all of these inputs to the tenor of our nation and how then the nonprofits have to get on the front lines. And when we've had tumult in our country, it's been very popular in the last 12 to 14 months for nonprofits to release statements. Like, we believe in this, we're pro that we support this. Yeah. And sometimes it rings, frankly, a little hollow. And it's just like, okay, yeah, we can all agree that this is that or this is wrong. But what are you going to do about it? Right? Versus just we're going to turn our Facebook page black or something. And Washington nonprofits, the CEO, I've never met this woman. Her name is Laura Pierce. She wrote this riveting letter to her membership. And somehow I'm on a mailing list. Yeah, team. But she wrote, this was just like, I hope I don't cry short in the face of injustice and violence. I find solace in knowing that our work feels countless nonprofit projects around our state that are life affirming, compassionate, and justice seeking. And this is just one of the brilliant lines in her letter. Like a first six paragraph letter, is that right? Yeah, it's like a legit letter. And she said, she writes like, basically, she acknowledges, I'm not just going to write a statement that says, you know, we're supporting this. I'm going to tell you why we support this, love it or not. And she writes about the hope that nonprofits give that nonprofits lead in the face of adversity. And it's just beautifully, beautifully done. So Laura Pierce, executive director, Washington nonprofits, sister, if you ever want to move to Arizona where I live, the guest is available. Yeah, I really have a guest meet available and advocate for the nonprofits here. Amazing. So, okay. I feel like you remember listening to the radio. I remember listening when I was a kid and I'm like waiting for them to say my name. And it's like, hey, what was her name? I'm sorry, Lisa Pierce, Laura. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Lisa Pierce. Oh my God, she's Louise after I raved about this one. Laura Pierce, Laura. Okay, I was like, I know it's an L. Laura Pierce, if you're listening, give us a call. Like that's what I feel right. Like we're doing right now. But would love would love to have her on and hear more. But thank you for sharing that, Julia, that is very important. We've talked a lot about, you know, not just making a statement, but going beyond the statement. And in this instance with Laura Pierce, with Washington, the Washington organization there, it's really about why, why? Exactly. And you can tell with her leadership, because they do a lot of things, they do a lot of advocacy, they really funnel down into different sectors within the nonprofit, you know, landscape there and very innovative stuff. Yay team. It just, you know, we talk about why we love this sector, you and I privately. And when we when I see things like that, and I know I shared that letter to you immediately when I got it, they just sent it, you know, I just emailed it to you. It's really, it speaks to the integrity of our sector, and why it's just so amazing. I'm preaching to the choir. You're preaching to the choir, but hey, I think the choir likes it. As we say, they better or we don't got we don't got much cooking. Okay, this comes this ask an answer comes to us for China and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This may seem like an odd question. But we have a staff member who is also this is interesting, also volunteering at our nonprofit. Does this create some additional problems? I think they're great. But at the same time, it's like they're working for free and representing management. That's a great question, China. And I would love to know your thoughts. I know a couple of our sponsors might have some insight on that too. My first thought, though, my gut tells me, you know, is this an exempt or a non exempt employee? And that's a question I think that we need to really solidify. I don't know. I can't find my words right now. But I think knowing what type of an employee is this, you know, I think that really does matter because you could get into some legal, you know, employment issues in regards to overtime pay or not enough, you know, paid leave or things like that. HR is not my bailiwick. So toss it to you now. Yeah, it is. It's definitely an HR issue and it should be a policy issue. So for example, I know I did some volunteer work with an organization during the last immigration crisis. And it was like literally a crisis. So this large organization, their paid employees were doing their regular jobs. And then they were going in and executives to, you know, all levels or maybe working in the kitchen or, you know, and taking people or whatever. So yeah, rolling up their sleeves and doing what needs to be done. Yeah, they weren't doing, they weren't like doing their same job in a volunteer capacity. For me, I think that's one of the things, right? And they, you know, I don't think they got credit for it or anything else. It was just literally, you know, all hands on deck. So I think this is an issue where you need to have a policy. And if you deal with a fragile population, if you deal with a situation that does have spikes of crisis, you know, containment or crisis management, then that's a different thing. So for example, you know, if you're in a cultural institution, and you've got, you know, labor that then wants to volunteer maybe during the performance or in an exhibit or something like that, that's a little different. But the key here is, are you volunteering to do your same work? Right? And that is where you get into, you know, some labor law issues. But yes, you need to have a policy and you need to chat with your HR professional. And remember, if you don't have an HR department or team or full time, you know, there are organizations, including two of our sponsors, they, they do like part-time consulting, you know, buying time, you don't have to have sitting at someone sitting in a department to figure these things out. So, but yeah, you need to be trying to, you need to deal on this because you don't want to shut down the goodwill of somebody wanting to do great things. But at the same time, you want to, you know, maintain that, that integrity with your, with your workers. Great. Great question, China. Yeah, really cool. Oh, man. I know. Wow. Okay. Are you ready for the next one? This is going to be a doozy. Okay. This comes to us from Olivia from Billings, Montana. Our nonprofit needs help with our graphics and art design. I'm in the communications department and it is my responsibility to get info out to the media and our followers. Our graphics library is horrible. How do I get us freshened up and back on a stronger path? Well, Olivia, today is your best day, right? Your lucky day because I have inside scoop that Ms. Julia Patrick will be heading to Montana. She can help you. True. I have a speaking gig in Montana. I don't know where in Montana, but I can't remember, but it's in that place in Montana. I do, you know, in August. I know I was thinking that. But I don't think Olivia can wait. So our graphics library is horrible. How do I get us freshened up? And so, you know, there are so many great online free resources for that. I personally go to Pexels, P-E-X-E-L-S. Now, these would not be images of your particular clients or your particular community. So you want to be mindful of that. The good news that I want to say too is that you can also give image credit or courtesy of the photo through using a site like this, because it will tell you, you know, to whom to give credit to oftentimes, which I love. So you can use that as well. But I do think there's opportunity to really engage in maybe a volunteer, an intern or someone that, you know, I always talk about, well, we always talk about it really in the sector, there's three T's to give, time, talent and treasure. So perhaps a photographer would like to, you know, shoot the work that you do or shoot your building or shoot your programs and actions or, you know, things like that. Even virtually, right? Julie, remember our headshot was done virtually in the pandemic? Like there are so many things now that you can capture in this virtual space. So I would say that you don't have to have a huge budget to get started to freshen up. But you might want to put that in your budget for a future year so that you can keep that really top of mind in addition with everything else. But you know, you might want to allocate some funding for that as you go forward. But Julia, you're really versed in this in this space. Yeah, I am. I mean, back and just listen. I did this for 30 years. And I would say that one of the coolest things I've ever seen with a lot of nonprofits is where they will partner with like a community college or even a high school photography course at class and then do like a photo in or basically it's an assignment piece where all the students come and they might do it like if they, as they say, a takeover and and it's for a full day or for a full event and then they'll come and then the professor actually goes through and sorts out and then delivers the best images, right? And it might be 100 images. It might be 50. It might be, you know, 250. But that way you get students that want to know more about photography to be together in an environment where they can be, you know, providing service, but then delivering really great content. The big picture here is that it really is a function of what you need photographed. So remember, if you're dealing with children under the age of 18, minors under the age of 21, all different other types of populations, you need to have photo clearance. And so that's kind of one of those things that you need to look at. But yeah, engage your community. Like Jared said, engage volunteers. Photographers love to be asked to engage in something in storytelling, visual storytelling. It's super powerful. And yeah, Olivia, you have got to have good photo storytelling. That's just like one of your best investments you can make. And I'm going to say you might be shocked, Olivia, if you were to do a call or request to your audience, social media or an email newsletter, just kind of add that snippet. P.S., we're looking for, you know, these types of services. We already have that photographer within your reach, and they don't know that you're in need of that, and you don't know that that's what they provide. So don't be shocked, Olivia, if literally the person to serve you is right within your arms reach. I agree with you. And I mean, what a great gift for a photographer to be able to say, you know, I did this and I was engaged with this. And to your point, when you know something about the organization, imagine what types of images you're going to get. They're going to even be better. Okay, Susannah from Orange County, California writes, is there such a thing as a bank or credit union who will work with nonprofits specifically where we can get lower rates, reduced fees, or even a line of credit. We're also looking to get into getting staff debit or cash cards for our leadership. Take it away. Yeah, absolutely. There are. If you go to your bank, generally, there will be an officer who heads up the nonprofit banking division. That doesn't mean they don't make profit off of your business. They sure as heck do. But they will have published rates. They're not really published, but they will have lower rates and they will have directives as to what the nonprofit track of business is. Now, this is the key. They're going to want your business. So that means be prepared to communicate how much cash you run through your organization. If you have investment accounts, if you have escrow accounts where you're holding trust or you're holding grant money or things of that nature, so you will have your own, if you will, portfolio of what your finances look like and then present that to this banker and see what they can do. I suggest you do this three times, three ways with three different institutions within your community. Number one key here, and it's tough, look for a locally owned and managed bank, local on the ground so that they have more influence and can engage with your nonprofit, right? Yeah, they are often involved in the community and so your next big corporate sponsor, just like we're talking about Olivia with photography, Susanna, looking at your financial relationships, you might be surprised at the reciprocity that they provide and give back to you as well. Yeah, it's a big thing and not enough nonprofits really shock their banking relationships. And I too just want to make point, make sure that the right person is talking to the financial institution. So the executive director, the board chair, the treasurer, like whomever is really that fiduciary sign off or sign door because the institution will need to have that person and the paperwork and signatures and all that in place. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then you need to get the best information. Okay, Susanna, in Orange County is like the center of banking in the western United States in so many ways and credit unions you should have like great choices. There are lots of local banks. I hope I've done my grandfather Patrick proud. I know you have a financial background. I was like, I'm just going to sit back. The graphics question already. So I'm just kind of like, that's Julia. I need to stop talking. Okay, Ben. Okay, this is good. Ben and Ramona from Reno, Nevada. You know how I love it when we get to two people asking a question. We are having an internal discussion disagreement about sending out press releases when a donor gives a major gift. Can you help us determine a strategy and path for this? Also your will Okay. Yeah, it's like, Jared, you always say, ask the donor. I do. Good job, grasshopper. Yeah, I listened to you, sister. It's really, Jared, don't you think you should have a policy and a standard for like, at a certain amount? Absolutely. Well, absolutely. I do think that there should be something within a certain amount. Like here's how we have in the past recognized our donors. But you really, really, really do want to engage with your donor and ask them how they would like to be recognized because they may not want to press release, right? Or they may absolutely be grateful and say, yes, would you also send it to a list of people, right? And it could be, you know, maybe their home state or their alma mater or there could be, you know, other entities. So I think having that conversation, but, you know, really doing this press release is I'm actually working on a press release, Julia. So I'm so glad Ben and Ramona asked this question. It's not, it's not specifically around a donor, but about, you know, an activity or a function that's that's taken place. And I believe should be highlighted. So I also, you know, looking at this too. So thanks, Ben and Ramona for channeling my questions. Yeah, you know, I think one of the most interesting things I ever saw was one of a course that we used to run live, it was very popular called What Corporate Sponsors Want. And we had the Community Relations Manager for an incredibly large national grocery store chain. And she had made up, I call them the plastic rubber checks, but she had the big checks made up on the phone core board. And she had them sent to every one of her major centers with like a, with markers. And then what she wanted, she wanted the picture of the, you know, the big check presentation. And so they would drive to wherever, you know, if they were at a certain location or, or organization, and then that person would write in the name, the name of the organization that the check was going to the donation and the amount and then hold it up and everybody would get their pictures taken. They would, it was dry erase, they would, you know, clean it off, stick it back in the trunk and go on to their next thing. And she swore by this. And I was so smart. Yeah, that's great. And a lot of organizations definitely are doing that. You know, I didn't see this as an organization. It could be an individual donor. But again, just talk to, talk to the person that's investing in that amount and ask them what's important to them. I think it was great. I'm going to read this one. This comes from Craig Chicago. We have a founding board member who just lost his wife of 40 plus years. Would it be appropriate to have a donation made in her honor to our organization? Our board chair wants to do this and have it funded through our board dues. Wow, interesting. That is interesting. And I don't know that I've ever heard of this or seen this question before. You've served on multiple boards, Julia. What have you seen by way of this particular instance or really any, anything else that might come up for a request that's similar? Yeah, I've seen this a lot. But until I just read this, I've never thought about where the money came from. Oh, right. And so he's saying from their board dues, I don't know. I don't know in generally board dues are described in the bylaws. And so I don't know if that's appropriate. I think it's an appropriate thing to do to memorialize somebody's life with a gift to the organization. But I don't think you should fund it through the board dues. What do you think? You know, that's a very valid point because what I come to is an ethical dilemma, right? Did we ask the board or inform the board that expenses such as X, Y and Z would also be covered and incurred through your board dues? So I would say in this instance, if that is not what you've had, it probably needs to come from another bucket of money, right? So I do think that's interesting. You know, I've asked several questions. Serving as interim executive director, serve for six plus opportunities in that space. And one of the questions that I do ask because inevitably something comes up, a family member passes away, someone has a major surgery, or what have you, right? And so how do we recognize and acknowledge, maybe it's a better term, any of these issues or challenges or milestones kind of events? So I do think that's something to discuss internally with the leadership, as well as allocate a budget for that so that every year that is something that you use. And then obviously share that with oncoming board members so that it's not an ethical dilemma. You know, that's a really good point. And maybe that's a discretionary account that is funded for the CEO and the board share to decide upon. So it could be everything from, you know, are we sending birthday cakes? Are we doing, you know, grievance issues? Are we, I mean, I mean, people retire, people, yeah. You will have family members, you know, like just so much. And during this last year, as you were just sharing earlier, you know, so many individuals have lost their loved ones, very near and dear companions, right? So that I can imagine, sadly, has been an increased, incurred, this year, which maybe has not been the same for previous years. Yeah, I think so. Hey, if any of you viewers out there have some thoughts on this or you're practicing this, let us know and we'll revisit it because this is that's the first time we've ever had that question. I mean, or anything even remotely close to it. Wow, it's been another great week, another and amazing Friday. It's blown past us. Again, I'm Julia C. Patrick, president and CEO and major TV chat chatter today. I was just like, and I'm Jared Ransom, the nonprofit nerd, her, her compadre in chatting. So CEO of the Raven Group. So glad that all of you were able to join us. Hey, send us some questions, right? Like, we know you have things going on. The other thing I would love for you to do in addition to sending us your questions is please share these episodes. I've been listening to a podcast every morning, one of several that I love to listen to. And one of them says, hey, do us a favor, share this episode with three of your friends, because I think that is our responsibility to share uplifting positive messages in the world. And hopefully you see this as one of those uplifting positive and definitely informational educational. So would love it if you shared. And if there's someone you would like to see on our show, let us know. We would love to reach out to them and see if we can't get their voice on the nonprofit show. Absolutely. Thank you, Jared. Hey, we want to remind everybody that we launched a book club. It's kind of fun. Most of these books, the authors have actually been on the nonprofit show, but we're always looking for new ideas. If you've written a book or if your group is engaged in a book that you think would really help another nonprofit or another nonprofit group or management team, let us know. We're really excited to engage in these types of discussions. And so it's one of those fun things that we're doing. Again, we want to thank all of our sponsors. They have been amazing supporters of you, of me, of Jared. I mean, and so again, we want to extend our gratitude for them. Wow, another amazing week in the nonprofit sector, Ms. Jared. You know, I hope you have a great weekend. I hope each of you have a great weekend that we'll see you on Monday. Until then, please stay well so you can do well. Thanks, Julia.