How we got here Stacey Wedding
At this tradeshow stop, Stacey Wedding explained that the lack of volunteerism and philanthropy are both symptoms of a larger problem—the lack of capacity of with the nonprofit sector to properly recruit, solicit and steward donors and volunteers.
Stacey, a native of Las Vegas, has been involved in nonprofit work since she was a child. She has worked in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors for the last decade, including a seven year tenure at the Nevada Community Foundation where she developed infrastructure and systems for a young nonprofit foundation. While at the Foundation, her work with donors and nonprofits provided her with many perspectives.
Opening her own company, Professionals in Philanthropy, almost two years ago, what she's hearing from donors and nonprofits today are similar to what she' heard the last several years.
Donor Needs—Donors are frustrated and dissatisfied with lack of sophistication and business acumen of nonprofits. Today’s donor is highly engaged (which means they not only look at what a nonprofit does, but how it does it) and requires financial and programmatic accountability.
Nonprofit Needs—Nonprofits are doing their best to keep up with tremendous growth (demand vs. supply) and are not receiving support for operations or professional development from donors. During nonprofit focus groups facilitated by Stacey fall, she asked nonprofits what their biggest need is. Surprisingly, funding was not their answer. Instead, they voiced that their biggest needs were leadership development and training in the areas of fundraising, board development and marketing.
Characteristics of Effective Nonprofits—Effective nonprofits have vital missions, sound strategy, well-run and well-respected programs and services, able and committed leadership (including board, upper management, etc.), reliable and diverse funding, an engaged board, and clear communications and accountability.
Public Perception—A national study conducted a few years ago asked people what impacts their perception of nonprofits. Overwhelmingly, the response was: how money was spent. The second greatest impact: that the nonprofit helps people in need. The third greatest impact: how well-run and effective a nonprofit’s programs and services are.
No Idea is a New Idea—The idea of a nonprofit training center or nonprofit capacity building is not a new one. There are notable examples of this nationwide, a handful of which the Visionary Leadership Team (VLT) has researched. Having great interest and concerns in this area, and hearing similar comments from colleagues and friends, Stacey and the VLT began having conversations with some of these organizations and their personnel.
Brought People Together—Eventually, Stacey decided it was best to bring everyone together since she was having similar conversations (about nonprofit capacity) with many different pockets of people. In each conversation, people were sharing similar ideas and dreams for the future of this community. After bringing everyone together, the group dreamed and brainstormed, allowing the vision to continue to evolve. This fall they decided it was time to stop talking and start moving this idea forward. In order to do this, they defined a few core principles and also made some decisions for the time being.
Core Principles—Defining Capacity & Values
Capacity building includes activities that strengthen an organization’s ability to further its mission. It was determined that the values to be upheld throughout the process will include: excellence, integrity, collaboration, community/diversity, and innovation.
Decisions To Date—There were a few decisions the VLT made in order to move forward and make possible the event on the 25th.
These decisions included:
- Contracting with Surgance, our nonprofit facilitative partner and coordinator. Surgance provides a neutral platform, has international connections, and is an expert in the type of facilitation needed to move this process forward in a collaborative fashion. They have agreed to work with us on moving this forward.
- Creating the Center for Excellence Fund at the Henderson Community Foundation, which will serve as the temporary holding spot for donations. All donations to the Fund are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
- Collaborating with the community and asking others to join in moving this vision forward. The VLT believes that each of the participant’s voices, expertise, resources, and experiences with the nonprofit community will benefit this process and the ability to accomplish this huge endeavor. Collectively we can do more than any of us can do alone.