 because we are so grateful to have everyone's support here for the nonprofit show. You have sent us phenomenal questions. So we have, of course, moved this Friday, ask an answer to a Thursday, ask an answered. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our sponsors. You see them in front of you on the screen. They are here in your community. And I say that because they literally are. You can find them online. They will be there in a snap, are in a jiffy. We say that in the South as well, right? We'll be there in a jiffy. And so grateful to have their continued investment and support partnership truly because these companies have been with us in support of you, our nonprofit friends and family across the nation, even the globe, right, Julia? Yeah. So we're just so grateful and honored to have their commitment. And you will see many of them as we move into next year. So again, thank you. And thanks to Julia. It's so much fun. Again, Fridays is one of our favorites, but Thursday, a pretend Friday on this week is also one of our favorites. So thank you to Julia Patrick. And if you don't know me, I'm Jarrett, the nonprofit nerd every now and then I whip out these glasses because they are so close. And you see them in my new headline that we have there. But I'm already thinking of a new hairstyle for next year. So who knows what I'll come back with. I know me too. I think I like overphotoshopped my face. So every day I look at this and I'm like, oh, we got to go. We got to get off this picture. I think it's great. So we're going to switch this up, Julia. I'm going to read the first question from Jeffrey. I know, hot seat. And I'm going to give you the first pass. So those of you that continue to watch us, again, thank you. This will continue to be our ask and answered where we read the questions aloud. And hot seat moment, we answer them as I like to say, you know, off I just shoot from the hill. But these hips have over 20 years of experience. So Jeffrey, our friend Jeffrey in Boston, he writes in and wants to know, could you please review the ethics of development staff taking their portfolios when changing jobs? Jeffrey is responsible for creating a policy that all development staff will be required to observe. Specifically, he wants to address the process when a development staff leaves the organization that protects the valuable data and contacts. So I'm really interested in your answer. I'll tell you something that happened to me in the last probably 90 days, a development director from a very large organization who I know personally and I've worked with for many years even on board level, community level things, sent me an email from that existing organization's email saying that they were moving on to another nonprofit and that they hoped that I would, you know, connect with them and join them. And frankly, I was really perturbed by that. I thought it was unethical. I certainly don't have a problem wishing somebody well and joining, you know, a new organization or changing their trajectory of their career, but I thought it was in bad form to use the existing organization's email platform and branding to communicate that information. I don't know what you think and I know AFP has some things that they talk about with this. So what do you think? Cause I'll tell you, I've seen this. I mean, you know, Jeffrey's not saying he's seen this, but I've had this happen and it's okay, Blana. You know, it's so AFP, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, you know, really does have this very wonderful, robust code of ethics in which we all subscribe to when you're a part of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. So even as a consultant, Julia, I am privy to so much confidential data. And in fact, we talk about a non-disclosure agreement with committees and board and the like volunteers with an organization. So it's really having that ethical commitment that we are not sharing any organization's information with another organization. So as a consultant, this is for myself as well. I can't take information and intellectual property from one organization in, you know, relationship for this question about donors to another organization in my community to say, well, you know, Jane Joe just gave $100,000 and I know Jane's email address and mailing address. Let's make sure that we put Jane Doe on our mailing address. Like that is no bueno, as you said. So when it comes to, you know, creating a process for this, Jeffrey, it really is, again, I would make this part of your annual conversation with your development staff is to reiterate the best practice. And when you find out that a staff member may be leaving an organization, you remind them of the process when it comes to off-boarding that staff member and how the, let's say a portfolio, in your case, Julia, perhaps you were a part of this, you know, development portfolio. I'm sure I was. And so really what I would recommend, especially if you know who will be handling this individual going forward is to really make an email introduction, but not saying anything about, please join me over at this, I don't know, arts and cultural organization in which I think you would really love their mission, you know, let's have coffee. Like that is horrible form, horrible, horrible form. Now, where I also was thinking about going is when I coach my clients, I love to build relationships three layers deep so that the person, the donor really stays loyal to the mission and not to the person that's been stewarding this donor, right? And so depending on who owns that first layer or relationship, that's relationship number one, then I really like to have three layers deep when possible so that the person really gets to know different people within the organization. And again, committing to the mission, not to the person that's asking. Wow, I love that you said that. And I think that I learned a lot from what you said and I think Jeffrey, sage advice, review the policy every year, review the policy upon exit, well, and maybe number one, have a policy, which that's why Jeffrey reached out to us. Yeah, I think that's great. And Jeffrey, I would, you know, check out AFP and see what they have. They probably have some things that are ready to go that you can modify slightly or maybe not at all, just put your logo, your organization's information on it, so you've branded it to your group. But yeah, really important, good question. Whew, okay, take us away on the next one, sister. Shonda, Kansas City, Missouri, this is more of a suggestion and not a question. Thank you, Shonda. I created a goals board in our break room. I had all of our staff members write the goal that they wanted to achieve for our nonprofit and we posted them. It has caused a lot of buzz. I love this, Shonda. So we had talked earlier, Julia, a couple of weeks ago, I believe, about creating our own goals, mine and yours separate, but then also together as it relates to the show. And really about, you know, we had a question, is this something that we should share with our supervisor? And Shonda, perhaps you were listening to that episode and you took this even further because I remember us saying, why not share it in community if you're comfortable so that we could help one another achieve those goals, right, and to ask your supervisor what their goals are and how you might be able to help them? So the fact that Shonda, you took that to the next step, I think is endearing. I love that you created a wall inside the break room and really had this as a collective community for your organization. So kudos to you, Shonda, and thanks for sharing that. I love that you shared that and I agree with you. I think it's a great idea. And I love that it's created a lot of buzz. Super cool. That is wonderful. And what a great way to celebrate when those goals are achieved. And I can even see where they move to another piece, another section of the board to say, let's celebrate this goal achievement. I think that's fantastic. I love it. I love it. Okay, so speaking of goals, Michelle writes from St. Paul, Minnesota, do you think it's a good idea to give team members a day off when they reach certain team goals? This way there's no taxable income and it seems like a nice bonus. People could do what they want with the time or do you have other ideas for me? First of all, St. Paul, and I'm just like, that's gotta be so cold right now. I couldn't get past that. So Michelle, great question. And I love that you are aware of the taxable income that comes with a financial bonus. Many individuals right now at the end of year may be facing these additional taxes because of the end of year bonuses. So I'm from a different thought process and Julia, I have a feeling you're gonna have a different answer. I, Michelle, I really like to ask the individual, the employee, what motivates them and what would be something of value to them because for some people it absolutely could be a day off. For someone else it could be a work from home an additional work from home opportunity or it could be almost anything, right? If you have a, I remember one of my early jobs and here I live in Arizona, it's a very hot and covered parking is like what we want, right? And so that was a, what do I wanna call it? That was like a reward, thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so to get that covered parking, it was coveted. You know, that's true. So I'm a lot meaner than you. I would be like, in my mind, I'd be like, I'm not screwing with asking people, I'm gonna make a judgment and everybody's gonna get the same so they're all treated the same. So I mean, that's just my old lady approach but I agree, I think you're right. I think it would be great to say I might not be able to do this for everybody but can you give me some feedback? And if there's something that we can do that would be more meaningful and more valuable then let's work on it because what a supervisor deems as a nice thing to do, staff might not. I mean, it might not have the same value. So, but I do think that we had somebody from, if I'm not mistaken, YPTC that said to us, even if you are giving gift cards to your team members that should be reported. And so you might think, wow, you know, a gift card to a grocery store or something like that, you know, or a big box store, whatever, technically you're gonna have to report that. So it is something to think about, Michelle. Wow, and yeah, I hope you're warm. Thank you. Okay, take us away on this one. This is another cold place, David in Madison. I know that I have heard Julia and Jared, that's us, that's us Julia. I talk about this, but what is the average time of service board members should serve? I'm supposed to review and update our board policies and it is not listed. Yikes! You know what, get that listed because I have this question asked me all the time, especially when I travel or I'm doing trainings, I inevitably get somebody that comes up and says, we have somebody that we wanna get off the board, but we don't have term limits and they've been there for in some cases, decades, decades. So this is the deal, you gotta have term limits because it's the right thing to do and it really isn't a best practice. Generally what you do is you have it a couple of different ways. You have a voting term that runs something like maybe three to five years, sometimes only two years, but three is probably a better number. And then you can be voted back in for another term, right? So you'd have two terms, so maybe six years or 10 years. And then you have to go off. That doesn't mean that you would leave the organization. Maybe you get pushed into service on a committee or you do something that is binding you or maybe you move to the emeritus board because you are really are leaving, you're not gonna be an active board member. Most definitely you need to have this. Now, here's a little trick I like to share. If you have an organization and it's human nature to do this, they're looking at making a policy, voting on a policy, because it needs to go into your bylaws, David. Sometimes they're like, yeah, how does this impact me? And so they might vote a little differently when they're thinking about the actual health of the organization. If you have that concern, then start something and institute it going forward. So for example, you can say, and you can do this for any policy, this is our policy and it will commence in 12 months or 18 months or the next fiscal year, whatever. And then sometimes that insulates the individuals from getting all freaked out. And in the case of something like your board, you don't want everyone to leave at the same time, obviously, because that would be catastrophe, right? So you want to nuance this a little bit so that you are recirculating talent and you're not just bleeding off your whole board. I went on way too long, sorry about that, Jared. This is like one of my hot buttons. I know and I just want to say ditto. And what I would like to bring up is I cannot recall who shared this with us, but basically it takes nine to 12 months for a new board member to really grasp the... Oh, it was me. Nine to 12 months to really grasp the mission and the organization and to feel comfortable in speaking up and truly participating in those board meetings. I'd love three year terms for that purpose so that they really have the ability to, you know, get their feet on the ground, really plant themselves, understand, and then you've got two solid years of their service and understanding their confidence, their participation. And so perhaps they, you know, are up for another term. So in this case, another three years. And then when Julia said, and then they go away, that's typically a year hiatus. So it's typically they have to be off of the board for a full 12 months before they could be voted back on. So, you know, they can still be involved, as Julia said, again, as a volunteer, a committee member, ex-officio, things like that. And that's a great way to stay and keep them engaged, not have a fiduciary governing voting right. Exactly. And this is a really important thing, David, because as Jared mentioned, you know, this is a process that helps the organization manage themselves, but it also reflects back on the organization. So when you are recruiting, you know, the smart, the savvy board member will ask to see these policies, will want to know what you're doing because it's reflective of a much bigger approach and strategy to managing the nonprofit. And so when you don't have some basic tools like this, sometimes it kind of like makes you look less desirable for certain board members, especially high-powered board members that know how to behave and how to lead and how to work within that structure. So. And I have to add, David, it really irks me when I am in a board meeting or I hear someone brag that they've had board members on for seven years, 12 years, and I'm like, red flag, that's bewaving the red flag, because that's really not a point of. Pride. Pride, you know, that to me says, oh gosh, there could be some truly underlying issues. So thank you, David, for taking a look at your term limits, establishing this and make sure that they get not only in the board policy, but in the bylaws. Exactly. Okay, ooh, name with help, go get them. From Montana, is that right, Inti? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, another cold place. For a while since I was in fifth grade and had to learn, you know, all of the states. We want to extend some training to our general staff about fundraising, even team members in programming. And our development team thinks this is a good idea, but programming does not. How do we convince them fundraising is everybody's business? You know, we've had this type of question before. It's very, isn't it interesting? It is, yeah. And I love to say this, and I think I say this at least once a day, not just here on the show, but also in real life, IRL. IRL. Fundraising is not the F word, y'all. Like this is not a bad thing. Fundraising is a good thing. And so so many people hear fundraising and they think, how scary, I don't want to do it. And so it's really been coined the F word, right? You can figure out what the other words might be, but friend-raising, fundraising, it is everyone's business. It is, you know, everyone plays a part in garnishing awareness and recognition and, you know, sharing and advocating for the mission and the cause in which you're serving. It doesn't mean that the program staff has to have a fundraising goal. It simply means that they understand their role in the process. And when you look at fundraising academies, cause selling model, I think that is a great tool to share because some people still think that fundraisers are dialing for dollars, which is so not the case. So really helping, you know, all staff, including programming to understand what fundraising is, what the journey of a donation might go through and how they play a role in telling the story to help shape that financial revenue and security to continue and or expand their programming. You know, I love that you said that and I would kind of sum it up as if you went to a high-end steakhouse, sat down, and we're expecting to spend a lot of money and you said to the waiter, wow, we're excited to be here. What sounds good or what's Chef recommending? And the waiter said, oh, I don't know, I'm a vegetarian. I mean, like literally that's what these folks are saying. Oh, yes. You know what I mean? And it's like if you went to a plumbing supply store and you said, you know, which aisle are the faucets on? And the person that the friend said, oh, I don't know, that's not my department. I mean, this is kind of the same thing, people. We need to be thinking a lot more holistically. And I loved that you pointed out and I don't know if I've ever heard anyone really articulate that this and that. You're not asking your programming people to get have a portfolio and to cultivate relationships, but you're asking them to understand what the process is and how they can support the overall process. And that's kind of maybe the starting point. You know, even one of the things I love to do when it comes to stewarding and cultivating donors is to bring donors to the program, see the program in action and even for your program staff to understand why someone else is there with you, maybe giving a tour or better understanding and seeing the program. If you have a program that provides that opportunity, arts and culture, phenomenal opportunity. I always say, if you have a performance, this is a wonderful time to invite some of these donors or donors that you're prospecting so they can see firsthand where their impact will be made. And the program staff, I think, would and should understand why these individuals are being invited. I love, I love it. I think you're absolutely right. And I've done a lot of work in the cultural space and I got to tell you really quickly before we move on. I think one of the coolest things is to take prospective donors or donors that you're stewarding to rehearsals. Oh, I love that. To rehearsals, because it's crazy powerful to see what goes on. And that just, that is amazing because it's not perfect and you see how hard, you know, you're up close and if you can get somebody on a stage or in the wings to see that or in a practice session or practice studio, gold. Okay, I'll stop. Okay. I wanted to spend a little bit of time talking about the cause selling accelerator. You probably know a little bit more about this than I do because if I'm not mistaken, you actually worked with the leader of this that's coming up, right? Yes, Hannah Berger looks like Hannah but pronounced Hannah and she is the lead facilitator. I hope that's the right word. It's another F word facilitator for the 2022 which is coming up online cause selling accelerate program. It doesn't, I don't recall it being a large investment. I want to say about $400. Don't quote me on that, do check it out. But Hannah Berger is the one overseeing that it's a great opportunity. One, I'm actually looking into myself to continue education and I just think it's a phenomenal way. It is like a cohort program. So you get the great opportunity of connection and community with people around the nation. So check out the accelerate program. Again, thank you to fundraise academy for all that you do to support our nonprofit sector in and around, you know, all over the globe. So I think it's worth checking out if you have any professional development dollars, training dollars in your budget, please, please ask your employer if this is something that they would be willing to invest in. Yeah, I think it could be a lot of fun and I just reached out to Fundraising Academy yesterday to see if we couldn't book Hannah back on at some point just to explain what they're gonna do because this could be a, it's high level. So I mean, it's really for I think that higher level leader within an organization, but I've been so impressed with their program and I like the idea that you could, you know, work and study but then you have a group to come back to. You're not just being spoken at, you can actually engage in a conversation and real world practice. So that should be a lot of fun. Hey everybody, I'm Julia Patrick. I've been joined by the nonprofit merger self-chair We wanna thank all of our presenting sponsors who are here day in and day out doing this amazing work. I also wanna give a shout out to our executive producer, Kevin Pace. He runs our Twitter feed and he's done this super cool thing, Jared. He's done the 25 days of Christmas, I think countdown and he's been taking snippets of really great content and putting it up on the Twitter feed every day kind of for, you know, a push, an extra push for the end of the year. And it's really a lot of fun. We'll talk about it a little bit more next week but super, super fun. And so we definitely wanna thank him for doing that. Also, I just got to say before we sign off, I noticed today, we have a lot of new folks and some returning folks from the Middle East that are watching us, so watching us live. So I know that's a end of a long day because you're, we're just getting going and you're just ending. But we wanna say, express our gratitude. Thank you so much. We are very fortunate to have some of the Royal families and their foundations watching us. And so we wanna say thank you very, very much. Okay. Hey, a day off tomorrow? No, speak. Yeah, I know. So today was our Friday, it was our fake Friday, our Thursday. So yes, we will take tomorrow off but we will be back on Monday. We have a lot cooking. A lot of exciting things as we round out this year, some really fun things that we're gonna be doing next week. So make sure that you join Jarrett and I for another chilling and thrilling episode of the nonprofit show, right? Yes, please do. Hey everybody. You know, things have been looking grim with this new variant, COVID variant. So we definitely wanna remind everyone to stay well so you can do well. We'll see you back here on Monday.