Obituary? Elevator Pitch? Same thing.

Lately I have become an avid reader of the obituary column. I am fascinated by the scope of people's lives and by their accomplishments. What makes obituaries so readable and engaging is that they follow a progressive format that combines basic facts about the person with personal stories and is followed by a call to action. 

We can benefit from this structure when communicating the value of their organization to potential stakeholders and donors. At its essence, a successful elevator pitch has all of the components of a well-written obituary.

Obituaries begin with facts about the person- who, what, when, where and why. The middle section highlights personal and professional accomplishments and the value the person brought to their community. The last section provides a call to action – where, when, and how those reading the obituary can interact with the family or make a donation.

Let’s consider this three-step format to craft a successful elevator pitch.

1-    The Facts: Lead with Core Purpose, NOT your job description.

When asked ‘So, what do you do?’ most people answer with their job description ‘I am the Development Director at XYZ.’ Unfortunately, answering with your job description does not give your listener the opportunity to ask questions or for you to offer more information. Instead, consider leading with the Core Purpose of the organization. (A bit more about Core Purpose at the end of this post)

  

When speaking about your organization pique the curiosity of your listener by speaking first about your organization’s core purpose. This open-ended statement makes it easier for the listener to ask questions and to begin a dialogue about the facts of your organization (who, what, when, where, and why). Beginning a conversation with core purpose will engage your listener and permit them to lead the discussion.

Here is what it sounds like: 

Listener: ‘So, what do you do?’

You: ‘ I work with the ASPCA. We promote compassion through interaction with animals.’

Listener: ‘ I thought that the ASPCA just saved stray animals’.

You: ‘That is only one of the many things we do. We were founded in 1866 and now run 20 different nationwide programs in Community Outreach, Animal Health Services and Anti-Cruelty Initiatives’.

What Happened: With this approach you have created two pathways: One path to discuss facts about the organization, and another that opens the door for the listener to connect with the area that is most interesting for him.

2-    The Stories: Talk about Accomplishments and Future Plans.

This middle section gives you an opportunity to integrate what your organization has done in the past, how it has benefited the community, and talk about plans for the future. For the listener, this section provides education and opens the door to becoming involved.

Here is what it sounds like:

Listener: ‘I had no idea that the ASPCA ran that many programs.’

You: ‘As a matter of fact, we just expanded the animal therapy unit and this year gave out $100,000 in grants to new animal welfare organizations all over the country.’

Listener: ‘Really? Tell me more about the animal therapy unit.’

What Happened: The speaker has uncovered the listener’s area of interest and can target the conversation.

3-    The Call to Action. The First Step toward Creating a Supporter.

When you begin a dialogue about your accomplishments it opens the door to follow up. Follow-up can take a number of forms. You can follow up by phone, offer to put the listener on a mailing list, invite the listener to a site visit or an event, or arrange a meeting with another stakeholder in your organization. The action step ensures subsequent conversations and further interaction with the listener.

Here is what it sounds like:

You: ‘We have therapy dogs right here in town that go to the Senior Center and the hospital. They interact with patients and are a calming influence.’

Listener: ‘I had no idea.’

You: I would be happy to meet you at the Senior Center so that you can see what an amazing resource the therapy dogs are for the patients.’

Listener: I would love to see the therapy dogs work.’

What Happened: The speaker has engaged the listener and can now continue to educate him to become an advocate for and/or donor to the organization.

Some Important Elements to Remember when Crafting your Elevator Pitch:

1-Know the Facts about Your Organization-history, programs and future plans

2-Be nimble-listen to the conversation and tailor it to the emerging interests

3-Practice! Practice! Practice! Write down your opening and practice talking about the individual programs.

Following this format will help you craft an effective elevator pitch. An effective pitch should be written down and practiced. It is very important to sound conversational and passionate and not like you are delivering a canned speech to your listener. Your pitch should be no longer than 15 to 20 seconds. Leave plenty of opportunity for your listener to ask questions and become engaged in what you are saying.

Counseling your stakeholders to follow this format will help create a clear and consistent profile of your organization within your community. Developing clear and consistent verbal messaging is a crucial part of any community engagement strategy.

     Read some obituaries- you’ll be captivated!

A bit more about Core Purpose:

(A word about Core Purpose: Core Purpose is the essence of your organization’s work. It is not a reiteration of the mission statement. A mission statement is an action plan, a description of actions that will be taken to fulfill goals. 

Core Purpose answers the larger inquiry ‘Why do we exist’?

Example: The mission statement of the ASPCA is "to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.” The core purpose of the ASPCA could be defined as ‘promoting compassion’.)

Are you 'Grant Ready?'

I have been having a lot of conversations recently about what constitutes a 'grant ready' nonprofit organization. I am compiling opinions and points of view from grant writers, NPO's and funders. What I have listed here are the LinkedIn group discussions on the subject to date. When all of the data is compiled I will post more detailed findings. This information will be aggregated and put into a presentation form later this year.

Grant Professionals Association:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=1820340&type=member&item=93017307&qid=4707bb10-a664-4099-b07a-6a4f5cc3b2a8&trk=group_items_see_more-0-b-ttl

Grant Writers-Grant Writing
http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=1957325&type=member&item=93017724&qid=a2274616-5447-432a-a3d7-3a651c11819d&trk=group_items_see_more-0-b-ttl

Non-profit Consultants and Grant Writers
http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=146837&type=member&item=93018795&qid=3816fce2-7ec4-4893-8cac-49d563f2d563&trk=group_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=%2Egmp_146837

Professional Grant Writers-Grant Writing
http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=3680430&type=member&item=93019090&qid=fd3d8fb8-8155-452b-98f1-3f29fbe0cead&trk=group_items_see_more-0-b-ttl

Taking Your Organization’s Temperature: What Social Media Can Tell Us

This is for those of us who use social media outlets to communicate the message of our nonprofit organization. What is your biggest issue with your social media campaigns? Chances are you will answer ‘the need for analytics on my posts, Tweets and blogs’. Again, you are not alone. Every corporation, nonprofit, or small business in the social media space is looking for the same thing.

Domo, (www.domo.com) an executive management platform and information aggregator, has identified some useful analytics topics to measure the effectiveness of social media campaigns.

1)  Gauge Social Sentiment-Social sentiment is the tone and volume of the comments about your organization. Capture what people are saying about you through Tweets, Facebook, blogs, and LinkedIn comments and analyze the results. Is your strategy on track, or are your communications being misinterpreted? We only have to remember the repositioning of Netflix this past summer or the dismal failure of the opening of the movie ‘Borat’ to understand how influential social sentiment can be, and how quickly it can be disseminated.

2)  Employee sentiment-Think your employees aren’t on Facebook, LinkedIn or Tweeting? Think again. Tracking what your employees are saying about your organization can be very helpful. Is your organization a stimulating and friendly place to work or so consumed with the bottom line that it is a pressure cooker? What is the atmosphere you want to convey? Listening to employees over social media may seem like ‘Big Brother’, but it is effective.

For those not comfortable with this approach, here is another option. Offer a workplace blog space for employees to anonymously communicate their thoughts about the organization-positive and negative- for managers to hear. The anonymity of a blog can let many employees feel that their concerns will be heard without personal repercussions. Hearing your employees’ concerns can help you to react to trends in the workplace. Acting on or verbally addressing your employees concerns (within reason) can lead to more positive reviews of your workplace in their social media space.

    Don’t forget to ASK your employees to Tweet, Blog or post the positive steps that your company has taken. Good news travels slower than bad news, so ask your social media employee ambassadors to spread the word!

3)  Share of Voice-This pertains to those actively using social media. To appropriately gauge share of voice (social media market share) you need to know what your competitors are doing. How many ‘friends’ are on their Facebook page, how many Tweets do they put out/receive each day (follow their conversations to find out), how active is their blog or their LinkedIn profile? Where does your organization sit in this competitive landscape? There may be opportunities here for nonprofits with similar Mission statements to partner on blog posts or Tweets in favor of raising awareness to larger issues. 

Stories are sexy, but Analytics drive decisions. Your organization’s public image profile and success at conveying its message lies in the numbers and tone of the conversations about your organization. Determining where you stand in your sector and the impact of your message can help you to reposition yourself or to capitalize on your ‘buzz’.

Social media outlets are tools. Use the tools.

I would like to thank DOMO for distilling the three main topic statements-‘Social Sentiment, Employee Sentiment, and Share of Voice’. Detail about these statements are mine and do not reflect the views of DOMO.   

Social Media: Is it Right for Your Organization?

Although much has been written on this subject, I am throwing my thoughts into this already overcrowded arena.

Take heart nonprofit organizations you are not alone. Every company from manufacturing to media is trying to figure out how to monetize social media. The ease of use and the incredible reach potential of social media is very appealing to any company or nonprofit organization with a message. Set up a Facebook page and the donations will start rolling in-well, maybe and maybe not. I would assert that despite the stories of fundraising success in social media the medium is just not appropriate for every nonprofit.

If you do move forward with a social media plan, first decide what purpose you want your social media to serve. Are you disseminating information, raising awareness, raising money, or taking the temperature of your market? Setting a strategy will help you to be successful and stay on track when using this fast paced medium. Remember that social media is a tool to be used as a distribution point for your message or story. Like any other tool it has to be used the right way to be effective. If you set up social media sites and let them sit on the shelf, they will languish and be forgotten about. In other words, if you sign on, use it. Here are a few things to consider:

Don’t let ease of set up fool you. Social media is an evolving conversation, and like any effective conversation needs constant input, ideas, and stimulation. The set up is the easy part. If your organization is not prepared to post, Tweet or update on a frequent basis your entry into the social media foray will not be successful. Users of social media love exciting news, but without constant input they will forget about your organization in a heartbeat. Keep your information interesting, appealing and short. Interactive games are a great way to increase interest in your organization. (Check out game developer

www.zynga.com).

Don’t assign an intern to run your social media campaigns. This is a very common mistake. ‘A 20-something college intern must know a lot about social media so we will put her in charge of the updates’. Please do not do this. Your social media, like your website or any written materials are your first line of communication with the public, potential users of your services, and prospective donors. Your social media communication must come from a strategic media and messaging plan that has been developed and vetted by program officers, senior staff and the Board. A senior program or marketing officer should be tasked with updating social media. Remember, it is not what you say; it is what the person reading takes away. Proper communication to convey a specific tone is a skill that must be employed for social media to be effective. 

Don’t assume that you will raise money with social media.  Raising money using social media outlets is best directed to a specific cause with a specific goal (example: help us raise $5,000 by sponsoring our team) and not a long-term device like an annual campaign. People who consume social media want and are accustomed to immediate input and gratification. Give them something they can identify with and act on quickly. Raising awareness, disseminating information, and gathering friends for your organization may be a more appropriate use of your social media outlets.

There are plenty of organizations that use social media and many who don’t use social media. The only correct strategy is the one that is consistent and works for your organization. If you use social media be active and engaged. If you don’t, be prepared to utilize other communication outlets to their fullest potential to get your message heard. To determine if social media is right for your organization, you may want to send out a social media ‘test balloon’. Set up a Twitter feed, Tweet daily and gather followers then determine if social media is a viable avenue for your organization. See my next post ‘Taking Your Organization’s Temperature: What Social Media Can Tell Us’

 that discusses measurement analytics for social media.

What’s Up with Fairfield County, CT?

There is no question that we love living in Fairfield County, CT. Close to New York City yet with access to beaches, beautiful hiking trails and world class shopping, it is a great place to live. Connecticut has the highest per capita income of any state in the country at $36,775 and our median home prices hover 60% above the national average at $80,000. That is great news for anyone who is trying to sell a home in this real estate market. 

Yet, just under the surface the picture is not so rosy.

Connecticut is home to the largest income gap in the country. The disparity between the haves and the have-nots is staggering. The average income in the top ten percent of earners was $114,000 (2008 study) versus the bottom ten percent at $7,800. That is a14:1 ratio, an increase from a 10:1 ratio in the mid-1980’s! Governor Dannel Malloy recognized this imbalance and instituted a tax plan with a luxury goods tax and earned income tax credit.

However, income disparity is not the only troubling statistic in Connecticut. In an area with such a wide income gap, I would assume that there would be a high rate of volunteerism to help those less fortunate. This is not the case in Connecticut. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) recently issued a report that stated that volunteerism in Connecticut had fallen. Just under one third of residents in Fairfield County volunteer and devote an average of 31 hours a year. That ranks Fairfield County 30^th among the 125 municipal areas in the survey. Further, the state barely made it into the top third of residents who volunteer, and trailed Vermont and Maine in the Northeast.

As individuals we can make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. If you can, help those in need by volunteering your time or donating to an organization. Ask your employer if they would consider instituting a volunteer program or offer pro-bono services to a nonprofit organization. There are many ways to give back. 

Economic inequality is a hot button issue from the Occupy Wall Street movement to the 2012 Presidential campaign. Consider a new twist on the ‘Occupy’ movement and turn ‘Occupy Wall Street’ into ‘Occupy Volunteerism’. Let’s help all of our residents take advantage of the many aspects of Connecticut. Do Well By Doing Good.