Zimmerman Lehman : News and Workshops

News
For current news of interest to the nonprofit sector see below.

Upcoming Public Workshops by Zimmerman Lehman
These workshops are open to the public and hosted by different nonprofit resource centers. The fees are set by each center. Current workshops and details.

Alerts
For policy issues of concern to the nonprofit sector see below.

Test Your Nonprofit I.Q.
Each month ZimNotes features a nonprofit quiz. Regular ZimNotes readers should have no problem answering these questions; for those that get them wrong you may need to review older ZimNotes articles or check our free resources section.

CURRENT NEWS OF INTEREST TO THE NONPROFIT SECTOR

Feeling the Squeeze
Bob Zimmerman is quoted in Chronicle of Philanthropy about Capital Campaigns: "Feeling the Squeeze: some capital campaigns falter as the economy sours." Bob remains optimistic "that campaigns can be successful now. The economic downturn is hurting nonprofits but not in the way most of them think. They take the downturn as an excuse not to do fund raising. I hear a lot of whining and moaning about the economy, but the best way not to raise money is not to ask for it." For full article you may need a subscription to access.

ZL Email Communication Workshop
Zimmerman Lehman is sponsoring a free E-Mail Communication workshop for ZimNotes Subscribers on June 11, 2008 at Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health in Palo Alto. E-mail Communication quickly has become a staple of outreach for nonprofits, but do you know how effective your e-mail communication is? We've all had different experiences with e-mail newsletters, and this Zimmerman Lehman workshop will address some issues you may want to consider to improve your e-mail newsletters and e-solicitations. DETAILS BELOW UNDER WORKSHOP.

Internet is Changing Philanthropy, Advocacy, and Politics
Convio sponsored and recorded a panel discussion on Converging Campaigns: How the Internet is Changing Philanthropy, Advocacy, and Politics with Facebook, Rock the Vote, Nationwide Grassroots, American Cancer Society and others to listen to the Webcast.

Want to Connect with the Millennials?
OK maybe you are a boomer who didn't know what to call the younger generation. Now you do--people who reached adulthood at the turn of the millennium are the "Millennials." Read the transcript of a recent discussion that took place on how to have your nonprofit connect with them.

Upcoming Public Workshops by Zimmerman Lehman

Board Members Rule! - How to be a Strategic Advocate for Your Nonprofit
CompassPoint, San Francisco, June 04, 2008, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Being a truly effective board member requires time and effort - just showing up to meetings isn't enough. In Ann Lehman's new book, she explores how busy board members - or those considering joining a board - can make their board service experience more productive, meaningful, and enjoyable. In this workshop, Ann will touch on best practices she outlines in her new book on accountability, transparency, advocacy, and strategic governance. No more listening to boring reports! Come and learn how to engage in meaningful and strategic discussions that will help you and your fellow board members fulfill your organization's vision for the future. For information.

Zimmerman Lehman E-mail Communication
E-mail communication quickly has become a staple of outreach for nonprofits, but do you know how effective your e-mail communication is? We've all had different experiences with e-mail newsletters, and this Zimmerman Lehman workshop will address some issues you may want to consider to improve your e-mail newsletters and e-solicitations. Among the topics to be discussed:

Does it matter how your newsletter looks?
How much impact can a subject line have on open rates and click-throughs?
How can nonprofits best communicate particularly important news via e-mail?
How long is too long for an e-mail newsletter?
Does it matter how you sign people up?
And does it matter when you send your newsletter or e-solicitation?

The workshop, led by Felicity Ayles and Andy Krackov, Zimmerman Lehman Team member, from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, is a reprise of a similar session they delivered in March at the national Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans. The format will be highly interactive, using the foundation's own e-mail communication as case studies. Attendees are encouraged to bring questions and share successes and challenges about their own newsletters for what promises to be an invigorating discussion about what works - and what doesn't work - in the realm of e-mail communication.
When: Wednesday, June 11, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Where: The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, 400 Hamilton Ave., Suite 340 Palo Alto, CA 94301
Cost: Free for ZimNotes Subscribers. Space is limited and reservations needed!
RSVP: EMAIL with your name, title and affiliation or call 415.986.8330.

Each month ZimNotes features a nonprofit quiz. The correct answer is below. Regular ZimNotes readers should have no problem answering these questions; for those that get them wrong you may need to review older ZimNotes articles or check our free resources section.

Our newest challenge...

Which of the following questions should be answered yes before you initiate a capital campaign?

a) Does your agency need a building, a piece of land or a piece of equipment?
b) Does your board have the capacity to make large contributions to the campaign?
c) Are board members ready to pursue friends, relatives and colleagues in the campaign?
d) Have the board and volunteers been trained in how to ask someone for a big gift face-to-face?
e) All of the above

Answer: All of the above

If your answers to the above questions are "Yes, no, no and they'd rather face root canal than ask for major gifts," you're probably not ideally situated to conduct a capital campaign. The fact that you need a building, a piece of land or a piece of equipment does not necessarily mean that you should launch a capital campaign. For more information on capital campaigns see "Are You Ready For A Capital Campaign?"

The full Test Your Nonprofit I.Q. quiz

ALERTS

New Resources: Campaign 2008 and V3 Campaign
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has compiled a new resource called Campaign 2008 with information about where the candidates for the White House stand on the issues that matter to nonprofit causes, information on getting the vote out, and the rules about the laws governing nonprofit involvement in political and advocacy activities. Another good resource on these issues is V3 Campaign whose motto is "V3 will make the voice of the nonprofit sector heard, its value realized, and its votes counted in EVERY election in America by Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2017." It's worth checking out their website to see the cool flashing statistics on the home page about nonprofits (such as 14 million folks work and 80 million volunteer in nonprofits every year).

IRS Getting Tough on Governance Issues
If anyone thought that the IRS is backing off governance issues, they are sadly mistaken. An IRS spokesperson recently said they will spend more effort monitoring the "efficiency and effectiveness" of nonprofits. IRS would try to "create and enforce a standard to ensure that organizations spend in line with their resources," a so-called commensurate test - to determine whether nonprofits are using their money in an acceptable way. Allegedly Congress and the public are frustrated that nonprofits with significant assets are doing little or nothing that would be considered "charitable;" in particular they point to educational institutions that are hoarding large endowments. See "Putting Charity to the Test: IRS considers controversial measure for charitable activity." Lawmakers are also considering tougher penalties for groups that fail to fill out key lines of the Form 990 and for groups that fail to accurately report information on the form and may revisit plans to calculate ratios that show how much of a nonprofit's revenue is used to fulfill its mission versus how much pays for executive salaries and fundraising costs. In addition the Postal Service is talking about making nonprofits reveal fundraising costs in more detail than is already required by 990s. "Proposal to Improve Disclosure of Fund-Raising Costs Debated." You may need a subscription to access.

See past ZimNotes Alerts for policy issues that affect nonprofit sector.

Copyright 2008 Zimmerman Lehman.