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Blog from the Big Chair: The Three C's

11/17/2015

By Robert Meiksins, CEO

Welcome to the CEO blog, or the blog from the big chair. (The chair in the picture is actually outside of an incredible museum in Glasgow, Scotland.) This blog will be about some of the things I notice, trends I am seeing, or issues I am hearing about as I travel through the sector. Sometimes I might say things that can be considered a little strong, but please forgive those as “overstatement for effect,” as a friend of mine used to say.

This blog is adapted from a series of emails I sent out over the past few weeks to some of our members and service users. Apologies to them for repeating myself.

Let’s start out talking about the Nonprofit Center. At the same time as hitting my 100 day mark in the CEO role here, we are heading towards the New Year and the time to make resolutions and plans. Here at NPC we are thinking about some big plans, and I would like to share them with you. Just to make it easy to remember, we are calling this:

The Three C's:

Capacity Building
Chamber of Commerce
Connecting for Impact

Let’s go through these one by one and share with you what we have been talking about.

The first C is Capacity Building. This is what the Nonprofit Center is most known for, and it is at the heart of what we do for the sector. Next year we are going to implement a few new things and strengthen what we already do. Here are some examples:

Workshops:
Building an intentional curriculum around nonprofit topics including fund development, financial management, governance, and more. We will be working on developing beginner, intermediate, and expert levels of workshops in at least 2 of these areas this coming year. As a participant, you could pick a track and follow it through to become an expert, or you can design a program for yourself that would cross the tracks, building your base of knowledge to help you grow to the role you would like to play at a nonprofit organization.
Consulting
Ensuring nonprofits have access to the right assistance from consultants who are experienced in the field. We will be working to help with professional development of consultants, and will be establishing a roster of consultants and services that meet a clearly defined and transparent series of vetting criteria.
Volunteering
Partnering with United Way to build a stronger volunteer matching website, and offering training how to be an expert in volunteer management. We want to make sure that ALL nonprofits and ALL volunteers have the same access to quality matching and placement services no matter whether you are a United Way agency and enter the process through their portal, or you enter through ours.
New Engagement Model
We will be testing the idea of reaching out to members, asking how we can help, and building a capacity building plan for them even if the services cannot be found here at the Center. We will also be testing adopting a portfolio of nonprofits, working with them over the course of the year.

The second C is Chamber of Commerce. I don't mean that the Nonprofit Center will become a traditional Chamber of Commerce, but we could start to act like one. It is our belief that the nonprofit sector is an equal and equally vital element of our society along with the Private sector and the Public sector. The role of a Chamber of Commerce is to enhance the business environment for the industry being served, and that is something this Nonprofit Center will begin to do. There are many ways we can do that, and here are just a few thoughts:

Promoting awareness of and appreciation for the impact that the nonprofit sector has on the community. Through healthcare, education, social services, the arts, and all the other things we do, we are growing jobs, we are improving the quality of life - we are having a real impact.

Establishing task forces to research, explore, and develop action plans around sector-wide issues such as challenges to property tax exemption, how to address the evolving relationship with the funding community, etc.
Serving as the voice of the sector in local discussions about initiatives and trends. I just had the honor to serve on an AFP panel about trends in philanthropy and my next blog will touch on that topic.

The third and final C is Connecting for Impact. I list this one last, but it certainly is not least: in fact, it may be the most critical thing we do.

To me, the nonprofit sector is about connecting: connecting people to the resources they need to thrive, connecting people to learning, to food, to each other, to entertainment. So, it only makes sense that the Nonprofit Center should also be about connecting. Connecting the people and organizations in the sector to create a strong, seamless web to enhance the community.

How do we connect?

Volunteer Milwaukee connecting people with opportunities to help
Leaders Circles & Roundtables connecting peers for support and learning
Jobs That Serve connecting nonprofits with qualified employees
Member events to celebrate, learn, network, and have fun
Board placement services
Task forces to connect organizations and people to issues and ideas they have in common

That sums up what we have been talking about at the Nonprofit Center. We believe that the client we serve is the nonprofit sector as a whole. That means the organizations, staff, boards, volunteers, donors - everyone and everything involved in a nonprofit in some way.

Thanks for reading and for being interested in the Nonprofit Center. Have a delightful holiday and I’ll be back with the next exciting installment of the blog from the big chair in a couple of weeks if not sooner.

Thanks,
Rob

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Nonprofits, huge visions, employee wellness and tiny budgets!

11/9/2015

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Related Workshop

Employee Wellness Programs:
Real Life Successes

Wednesday, November 18
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Like the idea of an employee wellness program but don't know how to start? Enjoy a light lunch and learn from the experience of your peers. Panel includes 3 nonprofits of different sizes sharing their secrets to success.
Click here to register.

Guest Blog by Gail Bennett, Director, Well City Milwaukee Initiative located at the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee

Many of us who work for nonprofits are well familiar with the staggering data: obesity, diabetes and other chronic disease are costing our city, state, nation and organizations billions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost productivity.

On the flip side, we’ve seen the other (more friendly) data: comprehensive worksite wellness programs can produce lasting value on investment over time in the areas of employee engagement, productivity, retention and absenteeism while in turn lowering health risks, and decreasing healthcare and worker’s compensation spending.

A recent and controversial Rand Corporation analysis estimated that for every dollar an employer invested in comprehensive wellness programming, they would see a return of $1.50 in reduced health spending. When considering the added value of investment (VOI) that employers receive as a result of healthier, more engaged and productive employees that number could increase exponentially.

As the worksite wellness landscape evolves, employers are beginning to report that an engaged and productive workforce may bring even greater value to their organization than the reduced health spending. Effective worksite wellness programs can reduce the risk of a lethargic and disengaged employee population.

Nonprofit Employees' Passion Can Lead to Stress, Burnout, Poor Health

In the nonprofit sector, we don’t need to be convinced that people matter. People are the lifeblood of our mission. Engaged, passionate employees who will drive impact in our communities are a necessity to the fulfillment of our organizational goals. These employees are the ones who will keep our funders engaged. They are the ones who will serve as walking billboards for our organization’s brand.

Yet, we can sometimes forget that our employees, the ones who truly care about the community, may overlook their own well-being for the sake of the larger cause. Yikes! Our super-star, ultra-responsible, intrinsically motivated employees can oftentimes become overworked and burned-out for the sake of the mission! Data is now showing that chronic stress can lead to a host of other chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Likewise, overworked and exhausted employees often struggle with engaging community members in the nonprofit mission.

So, how can we help support our employees’ journey to healthy lifestyles and resiliency while at work? How do we start? How much will it cost? Can we afford it and where do we find the resources? What should we do first? Great questions! Join us on Wednesday, November 18, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. for Employee Wellness Programs: Real Life Successes. This lunchtime workshop will include real life stories from three nonprofits who have implemented highly engaging employee wellness programs on a shoestring:

Life Navigators, with a staff of more than 20 employees, seeks to improve the quality of life or individuals with developmental and related disabilities. Rebecca Dibb, program manager and volunteer wellness champion, will share how this nonprofit helps employees manage their energy through engaging them in physical fitness and healthy nutrition activities, and how they have managed to weave wellness and particularly stress management and self-care into their daily operations.

Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, with a Milwaukee staff of more than 90 employees, is dedicated to achieving a vision of a healthy society and strong communities for all children, adults and families. Kim Schick, HR manager, will share how they have worked to engage their senior leadership and rally a volunteer team to help design their annual operating plan and weave wellness activities into their operations on a shoestring!

IndependenceFirst provides 20 programs and services to people with disabilities of all kinds. Over 50% of their 1,800+ staff members have disabilities themselves and roughly 1,700 of their staff work remotely. Their robust wellness program started in 2005. Stephanie Chard, wellness coordinator, will share how their team strives to make each and every wellness program accommodating of all employees no matter what the disability or level of engagement with the organization.

These three employers will share firsthand components of their programs, such as walking meetings, stress management care packages, onsite massage, healthy potlucks, benefits and dental provider resources, weekly fruit for employees, senior leadership serving breakfast to staff, dedicated wellness rooms for exercise videos, and more on a shoestring.

There will be ample time for Q&A. Get ready to learn and be inspired! This workshop will be a great way to jump-start your holidays and plan for a healthy 2016. Don’t miss it! Click here to register.

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Blog from the Big Chair: The Three C's

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Nonprofits, huge visions, employee wellness and tiny budgets!