We Are Media (!)

The Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) has launched a new project, We Are Media: Social Media Starter Kit for Nonprofits. Beth Kanter, the project's consultant and "evangelist", is collaborating with individuals interested in the nonprofit community's use of social media to put together a valuable online resource. The We Are Media community is working to create the "go-to place for vetted resources about social media strategies and nonprofits for individuals who work for or with nonprofits and need practical advice about getting started or to quickly access best practices, examples, or experience from other practitioners working in nonprofits."

The Social Media Starter Kit will consist of three tracks: Strategical, Tactical, and Resources. Examples of Modules within these tracks are "Why Should Your Nonprofit Embrace Social Media? (Or Not?)" and "Sharing Your Organization's Story in Multi-Media." All of the modules are in the process of being created right now- and you can be a part of it! Check out the project's site or Beth's Blog for more information and for updates on the project.

Media Survey

Thanks to everyone that has completed our Nonprofit Public Relations/Media Survey! If you havne't filled the survey out yet, please take the time to check it out. We have gathered some great feedback so far that we are using to plan our Wednesday, September 10th group program on Nonprofits and Media. The program will be held from 12-2pm at Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency.

One of the main concerns expressed in the survey was a lack of time. Many responses cited the lack of time that nonprofit staff have to focus on their media coverage and the time-crunch that reporters face as well. Hopefully our panel participants (representatives from local media outlets) will be able to engage in discussion with us about how we can all get the most out of the limited time investments that we can make.

Organizations seemed particularly interested in learning how to create situations where both the media and nonprofits could benefit. Many respondents had creative ideas about how to cultivate these win-win relationships, and even more expressed interest in discovering how to do so. One response summed up the sentiment expressed by many, saying that the organization could provide "Great stories, great visuals, great sources and great style. When they find us, they'll love us-- but we're out of their regular radar range... I'm workin' on it!"

Utica City may impose nonprofit firms fee

An article appeared in The Observer-Dispatch on Friday raising the possibility that "charitable nonprofit agencies that have long been tax exempt might have to pay a service fee to the city as early as next year, city leaders said." The city is researching how it could implement a charge for all properties in Utica that receive services such as street cleaning, snow removal and street and sidewalk repairs. Read about it here. As budget constraints become more of an issue in the region, nonprofits will face more pressure from local and county government. The Steering Committee will be considering a response, and would like to invite your feedback and input.

Steering Committee Meeting: Nonprofits & The Media

On June 18th the Steering Committee held a phone conference to discuss upcoming programs. Our next group-wide meeting will be held September 10th from 12pm-2pm at Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency on River Road in Utica. The program will focus on the relationships between nonprofits and the media. We are planning a panel discussion with local media outlets on public relations (not marketing/paid advertising). We are hoping to have a discussion with local newspaper, radio, and television outlets on the larger issues that arise in the communications between nonprofits and the media. Example questions for the panel so far are:
-When there is a crisis involving a nonprofit, where do we start in addressing the media?
-What are 5 things that nonprofits do well for the media?
-What are 5 things that we don't do well when communicating with the media?

We've put together a survey in order to gain more feedback about what you'd like to focus on. Please take the time to click here and share your experiences.

Also, please remember to send us any events and trainings you might have scheduled so that we can add them to the calendar that will soon be up on this page. The calendar will be a place for you to stay updated on the events organized by Oneida & Herkimer nonprofits. If your organization is hosting a training session that you'd like to open up for other organizations, please send that along as well (even if there is an attendance cost). You can email your events to: asickles@ccsnys.org.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, our last meeting will be in November/December and is tentatively focused on Board Retention and Recruitment.

40 Below & Board Recruitment Methods

If you haven’t heard of 40 Below yet, take a minute to check out their site. The Syracuse-based group promotes “civic participation among young professionals in Central New York.” Pretty exciting stuff! Tonight over 90 nonprofit agencies will be attending their Involvement Fair from 5-9pm. The event is targeted towards young professionals who are interested in discovering opportunities to serve on a board of directors or volunteer.

In light of the interest in board recruitment that the group has recently expressed, it’s worth exploring opportunities like these. We’ll continue to discuss other creative ideas for board recruitment in the upcoming months; think about some of the successful recruitment your organization has done in the past and some ideas you’d like to try in the future.

"Beyond Charity": The Nonprofit Impact

Here is an interesting report on the D.C. area’s nonprofit community that focuses on measuring return on investment in order to show how valuable nonprofits are. Not only does the report talk about the economic impact of the organizations, it also focuses on the way nonprofits encourage civic engagement and generate social capital. The report uses programs to illustrate how the sector saves society money by focusing on prevention, finding untapped potential, and by utilizing volunteers and in-kind donations.

It’s no surprise to those of us working with nonprofits that the return on investment is significant and strengthens communities. However, many people have never considered thinking about, or evaluating, nonprofits in terms of their return on investment. Next time someone asks what your organization does for the region, you can provide a reply that goes deeper than your programming; remind them of the social capital generated, the way you maximize resources, and the money your nonprofit is saving them!

ED Group Meeting Discusses Events and Staff Retention

The Oneida and Herkimer Nonprofit Executive Directors Group held the May 14th program at the Herkimer Area Resource Center (HARC). The meeting was attended by eleven directors, who began the meeting with introductions and announcements. As each director introduced themselves, he or she announced upcoming special events. The Group found that golf tournaments are especially popular this time of year. This discovery spurred a discussion about the need for a master planning calendar that would list the major special events that Oneida and Herkimer nonprofits were planning. The calendar would allow directors to try to avoid event conflicts. The calendar also could be a collecting point for staff training that organizations were planning. These trainings could be of interest to other nonprofits. The Group decided that developing a calendar was a good next step. More information about this calendar will be available shortly.

The remainder of the program focused on the discussion of the climate assessment survey on staff retention. The Peacemaker Program's Brenda Episcopo facilitated a discussion of the summary report (available here) and her agency's experience of implementing this survey. Glenn Beville from Hospice & Palliative Care, Inc. also spoke about his organization's employee survey conducted early last year. Glenn has provided a copy of the survey here for the Group and related the following about the survey and examining the results:

The questions are not unique. We came up with some of our own,
borrowed from the internet and got some advice from a vendor company
that had previously conducted their own employee survey. As part
of the analysis process, the team categorized the responses to the 12 write
in questions into one of the following categories:

• Communication
• Leadership
• Staffing
• Wages & Benefits
• Education
• Space
  
  We used the categories as a basis to formulate actionable solutions. The second attached document is the "report card" that we used to communicate the actionable plans to staff and periodically report progress.

The Group continued discussion about action steps based on the survey data. The two most challenging areas revealed by the survey were: Factor 7 Recognition and Reward and Factor 9 Competitive Salary. The Group discussed the challenges of these factors, and Brenda shared some of The Peacemaker Program's responses. First, the agency examined salary levels, and created an informal study (available here). This information helped The Peacemaker Program restructure staff salaries. The organization also examined different ways of recognition and reward, creating the following research list:

• job switch days (shadowing, mentoring)
• job sharing
• telecommuting
• 360 degree feedback
• Exit interviews
• Surprise “spot” recognition for a job well done
• Employee sport teams
• Include family members in agency functions
• Flexible schedules
• Employee assistance programs
• Ability to use pre-tax money for medical expenses or day care
• Random days off (personal holidays)
• Pension plans

The Peacemaker Program is continuing to examine this list for possible ideas to implement. The Group finished the program meeting with a discussion about other topic ideas and next steps. The Group discussed a follow up to this program on employee recognition and reward. Another topic idea mentioned was board retention and recruitment. The Steering Committee will be holding a follow up meeting to discuss setting the next program. Please share any additional ideas by e-mailing amarietta@ccsnys.org.

May 14th Program Participants:
Kevin Crosley, Herkimer Area Resource Center
Phyllis Spinner, Herkimer County HealthNet, Inc.
Glenn Beville, Hospice & Palliative Care, Inc.
Cornelia E. Brown, MAMI of CNY, Inc.
Lorraine Kinney-Kitchen, Mid-York Child Care Coordinating Council, Inc
Sylvia J Bunce, RCIL
Rev. Bill Dodge, Rescue Mission of Utica
Sue Casanova, Smoke-Free Mohawk Valley
Gail Miskowiec, The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter, NYSARC
Jan Squadrito, The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties
Brenda Episcopo, The Peacemaker Program, Inc.