I *HEART* MEETINGS
by Elizabeth Simpson, Group Dynamics & Teambuilding Specialist, do good Consulting
Meetings.
Just hearing the word makes most people cringe. I happen to love
meetings. Meetings are an opportunity to draw on the wisdom and
experience of a group of people brought together around a common cause
– how inspiring!
However,
meetings have earned a bad reputation, because they are usually
structured poorly and have weak (or no) facilitation. In such
circumstances, conversations run in circles or off topic entirely.
Conflict and resentment build, resulting in discouragement. Ultimately,
people check out (mentally, if not physically).
While
it will do wonders to start by creating a relevant and structured
agenda, even this will not guarantee results if there is not also
effective facilitation, which means bringing in a trained, outside
facilitator.
We can do it!
All too often a group will decide that one of its members – or worse,
its leader (e.g., board president) – should facilitate a meeting. There
are a number of reasons why this often undermines the meeting's success:
Ability: Facilitation
is a skill that requries substantial training. Most people simply don’t
have the experience to make on-the-spot assessments, resolve conflicts,
and process decisions that are needed in this role. However, even if a
member of the group has such skills, there is still the issue of…
Bias:
If a person has an opinion on what the outcome should be, they are not
in a position to facilitate the decision. This usually excludes
everyone in a group. If that person is in a position of power, people
will be even less likely to share potentially fruitful disagreements
with them. In a different area of bias, “inside” people are poorly
positioned to see or address latent group conflicts or dynamics because
they are so close to them, and/or directly involved.
But we don’t have any money!
The real question is: How much is your time worth? Especially in
situations where the attendees are paid (e.g., staff meetings), the
value of saved time from shorter, more productive meetings is more than
worth the cost of a facilitator – not to mention how much more
effective the outcomes are! For groups with smaller budgets, consider
creating a partnership with another group: invest in facilitation
training for members, then trade facilitation at each other’s meetings.
So,
let me caveat my profession of passion and say that I love meetings
with good facilitation. I love them because I value my time and the
organizations I am involved in, and good facilitation helps me make the
most of both.
Find a quick reference guide from the Student Environmental Action Coalition at www.seac.org/resources-backup/facilitation1-04.pdf.
do good Consulting
offers facilitation services to groups large and small, as well as a
number of other group dynamics and teambuilding offerings. Click here to learn more these services.
Q & A: The Timing of Mailed/Emailed Appeals
Dear do good:
Our organization is moving ahead with implementing an annual
fundraising plan. We are trying to be as strategic as possible in
timing our appeals – whether mailed or emailed. Are there better days
of the week to send things like appeals, e-newsletters, and the like?
- Aiming for the Bull’s Eye, Rantoul, IL
Dear Bull’s Eye:
This is a great question, and I’m pleased to see the detail and
strategy your organization is putting into your fundraising plan for
2010.
The short answer to your question is “not really." Let me elaborate.
For
mailed appeals, we certainly know that appeals sent at the end of the
year are the most effective. The weeks from Thanksgiving to December 31
are when donors in the U.S. are the most generous, and more
specifically, the last two days of the year are the hottest charitable
giving days of all 365.
Regarding
what day of the week your mailed appeal shows up in the mailbox,
though, little formal research has been done or published.
My
best advice speaks to your overall annual fundraising plan. Your
organization should plan to send four to six mailed appeals each year
to your support base. The actual number depends on multiple
organizational variables, so I cannot tell you the precise number your
group should send without knowing more about the composition of your
plan, your marketing efforts, etc.
The
reason for asking multiple times throughout the year is that you do not
know when your prospective donors are inclined or disposed to give.
They go on vacation, retire, or have kids at different times. They get
tax refunds and paychecks at different times. Some are compulsive mail
readers; others are stackers, waiting for the weekend. All respond to
different appeal angles. So whether your appeal shows up in their
mailboxes on Monday or Saturday, your recipients will all respond
differently.
Far
more important than what day your appeal arrives is how your appeal
looks when it arrives in the mailbox. Will recipients even notice it in
the sea of bills, magazines, and junk mail? Open it before tossing it
in the recycle bin? Know who your group is? Using great fundraising
appeal techniques is far more valuable than the day-of-the-week timing
of the appeal.
Now,
regarding emailed appeals. I’m glad to learn your organization is
blending emailed appeals with your mailed ones. Trends are moving in
the direction of online giving, though it is still far from king.
However, providing this option to donors now is a great idea, so long
as it is coupled with a strong mailed appeal effort as well, because
most donors still prefer to give the “old fashioned” way.
Most
experts agree that sending emails (e-newsletters and e-appeals)
Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday during normal business hours is best,
though no consensus or industry-accepted best day to send exists. As
with your mailed appeals, the best day to send e-appeals is a small
part of the equation. The content of your "ask" is key as well, and
another question would be what time of day to send the e-appeal. The
jury is still out on this one.
Some
advice in this regard is to use a program that tracks data. That way
you can analyze your own supporters’ trends. It is the only way for
your organization to truly uncover the day and time that your
supporters are most responsive to your appeals. At do good, we use Campaign Monitor and also like Convio
, Constant Contact, and Emma.
Additional resources:
- Laura Huth, President & CEO, do good Consulting
Have a question for do good Consulting? Contact our experts at 217-778-1687 or dogood@dogoodconsulting.org.
ONE SIMPLE ACT
In each month’s Doing Good,
you’ll find one great tip to implement over the next month. By taking
this one small, achievable action each month, you can make big changes
in your organization’s and employee's performance, increase donations
and volunteerism, and expand your group’s visibility. Give it a try!
The month's ONE SIMPLE ACT focuses on creating a healthy work environment and happy employees.
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February’s ONE SIMPLE ACT is:
Make it a point daily to compliment a co-worker on a quality, skill, or
accomplishment. Getting support for your organization is all about
building relationships. Too often, you and the people right next to you
are overlooked in the ongoing contribution to the organization you make
by simply showing up and doing the work. Creating a culture of
appreciation is an investment in your organization and, ultimately, in
your life.
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Tell us about your ONE SIMPLE ACT experience this month.
Group Profile: CUDO
The
importance of networking: You’ve heard about it dozens of times from
career coaches, magazine articles, and maybe even on Oprah. “Yeah, I’ll
get around to doing that – someday,” you’ve said.
What if you found a group in your field that was more than just an impersonal “networking group," but was really a community?
For graphic designers in the Champaign-Urbana area, that group is CUDO. The Champaign-Urbana Design Org.
is a professional organization for print, web, and interactive
designers that creates and supports an active, engaged, and vibrant
designer community.
To
foster that community, CUDO organizes events that allow its members –
graphic designers – to use their interests and talents to engage the
rest of the community.
One such event is project: non-profit makeover.
This is an exciting, frenetic, and creativity-filled day-long event
when dozens of designers donate their time to perform an “extreme
branding makeover” for one selected non-profit organization. The
designers get a chance to spend the day working with others in the
local design community whom they would not normally get a chance to
work with. The non-profit organization is the beneficiary of all that
creativity, coming out of the experience with a brand-new logo,
business card, letterhead, and website.
Another fun event that is open to the entire community is Pecha Kucha Night (which is part of an international movement of PechaKucha
events). Pronounced "pe-chak-cha", the phrase comes from the Japanese
term for the sound of conversation (“chit chat”). The event itself
rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20
images x 20 seconds each. CUDO’s Pecha Kucha presentation is typically
held in the Canopy Club and is very popular – the September 2009 event
attracted a crowd of over 350 people!
If you’re a graphic designer, visit thecudo.org
to learn more about CUDO. If you are in a different line of work, maybe
there’s a similar organization for you – look into it today!
Want to see your favorite non-profit organization highlighted in the next issue of Doing Good? Contact do good Consulting at dogood@dogoodconsulting.org or 217-778-1687.
Calling All Designers!
Does
your organization love your website designer? Do you have a friend who
works for a web design company, or who does freelance web development?
If so, please forward this to them!
do good Consulting is looking to "refresh" our website. Following good practice, we have a Request for Proposals (PDF) for interested designers/developers to respond to.
Questions? Contact Jenn Raley Miller, Project Manager, at 240-688-8037 or jennraleymiller@dogoodconsulting.org.
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