Lessons from a Saturday Garage Sale

by Laura Huth, do good Consulting, President & CEO

Three years ago, a friend from Chicago called to ask me to work the checkout for with her garage sale. She was moving from her apartment to her first condo and wanted to sell everything and use the proceeds from her sale to ‘start over’.

I was busy planning Habitat’s Homebuilder’s Blitz at the time, so I promised to come up day-of to help. When I arrived a half-hour before the sale to get acquainted with the set-up, I was horrified. She was nowhere close to ready – upriced items piled high in boxes and one rickety card table for the entire sale. At least the sun was shining.

Eight o’clock arrived and Maggie was still running around bringing boxes out of the garage. I wanted to help price, but she couldn’t find the labels. I offered to put up yard sale signs instead. “Signs?” she asked, a look of panic crossing her face. She also forgot to take out an ad in the local newspaper.

This was going to be a long day.

By 9AM, we had three visitors in all and about $6.50 in the cash box. Thankfully, all of our customers so far had exact change, for we had no till.

Maggie and I had plenty of time that morning to talk. She asked me about the Homebuilders’ Blitz we were planning at work – an effort to build four homes in just five days. I asked her about her new place.

At 10AM, Maggie was clearly concerned. Red-faced from a combination of sun, exhaustion, and worry, she looked at the sparse collection of change and bills in the box and still too many of her belongings strewn on blankets on the lawn. “I don’t want this stuff at my new condo!” she exclaimed, then got quiet. A few moments later she turned to me and said, “I’ll be right back,” and disappeared into her apartment.

She came out with a pad of paper. She sat down and wrote: “For my next sale…” then below it the words “do” and “don’t” in two columns. She handed the pad to me.

“Laura, you’re coordinating an effort to build four homes from scratch in just five days. Surely you have some tips to offer me here for next time,” Maggie sighed.

Maggie and I sat outside (thankfully at least Mother Nature took pity on us that day) and filled out her form. Slowly it took shape with items like, “don’t forget to make signs”, and “don’t use blankets as tables”. The “do” column she found more helpful: “get $100 in various bills and change two days before the sale”, “buy pre-made garage sale stickers and price everything at least two weeks in advance”, “rent tables”.

At the end of the day, Maggie thanked me for my help and the list. We carried it and a lot of her stuff inside (and a very light change box containing less than $100 from the day’s proceeds). I was sure she would misplace the list in the move.

Last fall, Maggie called again, excited. She bought a house. I knew what was coming: a garage sale. Was I ever relieved when she told me before even asking for my help she still had the list and would be ready. I needed only to show up on the day of the sale to work the checkout.

On a crisp fall morning, I arrived (following her moving sale signs) and found her true to her word. Large tables ringed the driveway; a canopy covered the checkout area. The cashbox was ready. Everything was priced and organized by household theme. Maggie was ready.

At the end of a very busy day, Maggie was giddy to count her earnings. That night, Maggie took me for margaritas and Mexican food to thank me. She was $2,400 richer.

“Laura, I didn’t realize how important it was to plan ahead, even for something as simple as a 2-day moving sale. Three years ago, I was trying to save money for my move. I cut corners, and waited until the last minute – and boy did I pay for it.” Maggie told me. “Now I look at my sale as a business venture. I invested on supplies and came out ahead. Way ahead. I’m so glad we made that list!”

Whether you’re hosting a garage sale, a special event, a grand opening, or just need some sound business advice, do good Consulting can help. While we can’t promise you’ll make 2,400% more like Maggie did, we can promise you results. Real results. Will we work for margaritas and dinner? Let’s talk.

Contact us at dogood@dogoodconsulting.org or 217-778-1687.

The Business of Being Non-profit

It’s not easy to be a non-profit these days. Resources are as limited as ever, yet more people are turning to community organizations for help. Donors are demanding improved accountability and effectiveness from those receiving their ever-limited funds. New IRS regulations are aimed at ineffective, outdated practices. New generations of volunteers and supporters expect transparency, efficiency, and meaningful opportunities to get involved.

How can an organization stand out from the crowd?

While non-profits have always had an obligation to clients and communities to be as effective as possible, this has never been more true than it is today.

Many non-profits measure their bottom line in mission and outcome rather than dollars and cents. But these days, that’s no longer enough. Gone are the days when non-profits could function solely on good intentions and determination. The time has come for those of us in the non-profit sector to learn a thing or two from our friends in the business sector. We must focus on executing our missions with more business-like mindsets.

Let’s begin with this: the most significant distinction between a for-profit business and a non-profit organization is how they handle revenues. Non-profits can accept donations because they do not seek to earn profits to distribute to stakeholders. Business shareholders look out for the company bottom line to personally profit; non-profit board members look out for the organization’s bottom line to profit the organization and its mission instead of themselves. Otherwise, the two entities have a lot in common.

If a non-profit organization is a type of business then, why not act like one? Of course non-profits and for-profits are not identical and nor should they be. Our viewpoints, values, and goals are unique to our sector. Just as a restaurant doesn’t operate like a mechanic, a non-profit shouldn’t mirror a for-profit business. What should be universal for any business – non-profit or for-profit – is a focus on using resources most effectively to achieve goals. Businesses focus on efficiency and effectiveness; to be the best resource for the community, non-profits should, too.

So, what does this mean for your organization? Here are a few key areas to think about:

• Measurement & Evaluation. If you don’t know how you are currently performing, it’s impossible to know how to improve. Anecdotal evidence alone is no longer enough to demonstrate that an organization is effective. Donors demand hard evidence of effectiveness and results – you should too.
• Accountability. How you communicate and carry out your work is critical to accountability. What have you promised to your clients, donors, and volunteers? Are you able to meet these expectations? By focusing on these questions, and monitoring both organizational and individual performance, you can keep your organization on the path to success. Without accountability, you may never reach your goals.
• Transparency. Transparency is about how you share information about your organization, financial and otherwise. Be clear about your situation, your impact, and the challenges you face. Give stakeholders the information they need. Give clients a voice. When you tell your story effectively and follow that with clear action, you build trust. When your organization is trustworthy and effective, funding and support follow.
• Strategic Planning. Lewis Carrol once said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will lead you there.” Without a solid strategic plan, you simply cannot meet your mission. Without your eye on a goal, how can you make the best use of your resources or decide what new program will best fit with your mission to meet the needs of your community?
• Focus. Do you know your organization’s mission statement? Do all of your employees? Your board? Effective organizations focus on their mission above all and use it to guide their decision-making. They know their strengths and their weaknesses. By focusing on what you do best, you’ll be able to do the most good for your clients and community.

Jessica Paulsen is a member of the University of Illinois Professional MBA Class of 2009, where she is the recipient of the program’s Nonprofit Scholarship. Jessica works full-time in nonprofit management in Champaign-Urbana and is a member of the do good Consulting team.

Q&A: Are volunteer hours tax deductible?

Dear do good Consulting:

I recently got a call from one of our volunteers looking for a letter detailing her volunteer hours to use to write off her volunteer time on her taxes. I've never heard of such a thing, but she was pretty persistent. We don’t track volunteer hours, so I wasn’t able to produce a letter, but it got me wondering. Can volunteers write their time off on their taxes?
- NOT KEEPING TIME, Western Springs, Illinois

Dear NO TIME:
As tax time approaches, this is an important question. Volunteers play a critically important role in most non-profit organizations. The time they spend working on special events, building homes, distributing food to the hungry, and working on clean-up days is invaluable.

However, time spent volunteering is not deductible on individuals’ taxes. If it were, I’m sure we would never have a shortage of volunteers in the U.S., and many long-term ones at that!

According to the Independent Sector, the estimated dollar value of volunteer time in Illinois (for 2007, the last year available) is $21.09 per hour (which is higher than the national average of $19.51 per hour).

Non-profit organizations themselves, though, can use the value of volunteer services in financial statements for internal and external purposes, grant proposals, and annual reports, but only if a volunteer is performing a specialized skill for a non-profit (i.e., would the group have to otherwise purchase the services if they had not been donated.) More information on this can be found at the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

With regards to your comment about not tracking volunteer time, you can see from Independent Sector'S numbers and FASB'S recommendations that you’re probably missing a whole lot of reporting and storytelling opportunities to donors, foundations, and the community. While the thought of tracking volunteer time can be overwhelming, it need not be. do good Consulting can recommend some really great constituent management systems (read: databases) that track not only donors, but also volunteers (names, contact information, skills, hours, etc.), and even some that have outstanding special event modules, too. Our favorite for small to mid-sized organizations is GiftWorks -- it's affordable, easy to use and learn, and tracks all sorts of useful information. For more information, contact us.

- Laura Huth, do good Consulting, President & CEO

Have a question for do good experts? Submit your inquiry to dogood@dogoodconsulting.org or call us at 217-778-1687.

Group Profile: Net Impact, University of Illinois

by Ginger Hartwell, do good Consulting Program Intern

Students at the University of Illinois who think business can and should be doing more to change the world would find kindred spirits in the weekly meetings of Illinois MBA Net Impact.

The global organization has chapters at work on campuses around the world. The students who comprise each chapter are high-energy, impact-oriented go-getters working in their local communities to foster change in the environmental and social arenas of business.

Net Impact’s local group at the University of Illinois has over five dozen members from all over the world; India, China, Taiwan, and throughout the U.S. Their interest areas are just as broad, with some members concentrating on environmental issues and others that attempt to quantify social impact within business. Their mission? To bring Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), social entrepreneurship, non-profit management, international development, and environmental sustainability values to the University of Illinois and the local community.

The local chapter is linked with more than 10,000 individuals and 200 chapters around the world. They are all focused on one uniting goal: to improve the world through business.

In addition to bringing in speakers to discuss leadership, sustainability, and energy issues, Illinois MBA Net Impact plans to build ties to local business leaders and implement change in the Champaign-Urbana area.

While working locally, the group also maintains its global vision. Last fall, local chapter members joined 2,400 other Net Impact members and professionals from around the world at Wharton Business School for the organization’s annual Sustainable Advantage Conference to brainstorm CSR issues in the workplace and discuss current events in sustainability.

If you are an organization dealing with Corporate Social Responsibility projects and implementation, Net Impact would like to learn more and determine how they can work with you to improve our community. Contact Illinois MBA’s Net Impact’s VP of External Affairs, Ginger Hartwell, at hartwel1@illinois.edu. Or go to www.netimpact.org or https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/NetImpactatUIUC. The group meets Thursdays at noon during the school year at the Business Instructional Facility on the University of Illinois campus.

Have a group you want to see highlighted? Let do good Consulting know at dogood@dogoodconsulting.org.