Is there such a thing as firing a volunteer? For organizations that depend on volunteers, this can be a tricky subject. What about motivation when there are no raises or promotions on offer?
This week’s interview with Rodney Walker focuses on the challenge working with volunteers presents the non-profit.
Listen in.
We’re into our third week of interviews with Rodney Walker on the challenges facing Non-Profit organizations. It’s been a great series.
If you’re just joining us now, you can always click on the player to the right to hear the most recent episode.
It’s true. I’ve just been designated an SOB.
And by someone who should know. Check out Liz Strauss’ web site to appreciate the value of being called an SOB to one’s face.
Don Silver. Adams-Hall Publishing. Los Angeles, CA. 2007.
Ever wonder how why some kids seem astute with money and others are still paying for the last two things they bought? For that matter, how do so many of us get to adulthood and still feel like slaves to our lifestyles instead of the other way around?
You’ve got to pick up Don Silver’s High School Money Book. It is a practical guide to a broad array of money issues. It is written is short, pithy sections that are easy to digest and perfect for the young adults in our lives whose attention spans are often shorter than a television commercial.
My favorite sections are the ones on credit and investments. The value of money over time can work powerfully for us or against us whether we’re saving or borrowing. Don spells it out in a clear, straightforward style.
I was fortunate to have parents who equipped me to function in this money-based society of ours. Not all are so fortunate. Give your kids (or even yourself) the gift of financial fluency.
“Isn’t it enough merely to do good?” goes the line of thinking.
But what if you could do better? What if funds and resources entrusted to you by donors and volunteers are missing their mark? What if key opportunities are being overlooked, or lurking threats are infecting your system?
This week’s interview with Rodney Walker focuses on how to evaluate success in a non-profit organization. Without the metric of profit, which, for all its faults, has served the working world well, we can stumble along never really knowing if we should be making different decisions than we are.
We have no criteria for improving our decisions.
Listen in.
One of the things I am thankful for is you.
Thank you for being you. For showing up each day fully yourself and holding nothing back.
Thank you for bringing who you are and what you can do to the professional table.
The working world is a better place because you have chosen to participate fully.
Yes, I am very thankful today.
Fund raising can twist two ways. For some it feels like the annoying child whining for your limited time while you’re trying to focus on more important things. For others it is the insidious demon that has somehow possessed your soul without you even realizing it, and all you do and see is related to money.
Helpful may be to ask, “Who is serving whom here?
Money has its place, a reality we have acknowledged in an earlier entry. But its place is not the primary place. When you feel like you’re serving the money demands of your organization instead of money serving the world-changing goals of your organization, it is time to realign and/or get some help.
Find creative ways to keep money and fund-raising in your service. Funds are a vital and necessary tool to have in the arsenal. But we want to be able to choose how we leverage its power on behalf of our cause. When we can no longer choose, we are no longer in charge.
Who is serving whom?
If you haven’t heard this week’s interview with Rodney Walker, then be sure to click on the player in the right column and enjoy!
At the other extreme, there are those for whom the reality of funding their non-profit enterprise is an all-consuming responsibility.
Like a hungry beast always prowling for its next meal, these leaders see others through the eyes of donation potential. Everyone becomes financial prey, so to speak. We can feel it too. And as a result we take evasive action to protect ourselves.
The heart-breaker here is that these leaders are no longer passionately involved in the cause for which they are raising the money. Their focus has been diverted by the need for funds. The need is real. But the response is out of balance. Like a drowning swimmer who panics trying to get air, they pull down the would-be rescuer with them.
Our plans for ensuring we have enough oxygen, need to include tools for staying in touch with our original passion. How do you keep fund raising in perspective?
Be sure to hear the podcast interview series!
Oxygen. Interesting word to use when talking about money.
It forces a reality check for the non-profit. Rodney’s insight in this week’s podcast interview is that there is no avoiding, getting around, or wishing away the simple fact that no enterprise, even a not-for-profit one, can function without funds.
Many non-profit leaders look down on, or are simply annoyed by, money, fund-raising, and the capitalistic context of our work. All power to them on their convictions, but unless they find a way to pay their staff, pay their rent, buy supplies, postage, computers, etc. etc., they will be out looking for a new job themselves.
What is your view of the role of money in the non-profit? How do you keep fund-raising in perspective?
Listen in.