Here are a few items that I came across this week that you might find of interest.
We Need Fewer Bottom Lines in Nonprofits, Nina Simon Blog, Museum 2.0
This blog posting would make for an interesting discussion point for chapter 5, “Planning and the Arts.” Questions about organizational focus, outcomes, and impact are integral to the planning process. At the same time, there is a lot to be said for creating plans you can actually manage. Clarity of purpose can also make it a great deal easier to communicate with your patrons and the donors who support your organization.
http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2015/01/we-need-fewer-bottom-lines-in-nonprofits.html
Contactless Giving?
Here’s a link to story that was highlighted in the Nonprofit Quarterly e-newsletter about using smart phones to facilitate giving. This idea could find its way into yet another 21st Century fundraising practice in chapter 12, “Fundraising and Development.” The article notes:
How does it work? Four window displays in the offices of Cancer Research UK (CRUK) are designed to allow persons to donate by simply touching their cellphone or credit card to the window. A radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip makes this possible by communicating with the display.
If the United States moves toward using RFID chips in credit cards maybe this will catch on. An arts organization could have a lobby display which would serve as the gateway to giving on the spot.
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/25513-next-wave-of-smartphone-giving-arrives-in-uk.html
BoardSource Releases its Board Practices Survey
The link below will take you to information about key findings of their survey of CEO’s about the nonprofit boards. There is also a link on this webpage to the full report which may be downloaded for free. Chapter 7 covers the topic of board, but the findings are relevant to chapter 12 (Fundraising) and chapter 8 (Leadership).
http://leadingwithintent.org/leading-intent/
Source: BoardSource, Leading with Intent: A National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices (Washington, D.C.: BoardSource, 2015). Please note that BoardSource retains the rights to the Leading with Intent survey and data.