need in 4 hours

From the start, Steppingstone Foundation, lacked strong leadership, a clear and concise plan for the budget and growth and connection to the community. When looking at the key components of having a successful organization, Steppingstone failed to deliver.  They went through 2 different directors, had the Boston office stepping in to help but had them running the Philadelphia office.  Philadelphia failed to establish a budget based on the projected children they would serve.  They felt that leaders in the area, would automatically accept the program and provide fundraising opportunities throughout the city, but that did not work.  Steppingstone-Philadelphia should have written out a clear plan, detailing annual funding to keep the facility operational, a fundraising plan, a miscellaneous fund plan, a high-priority special projects plan and goals for all of these plans.   With this in mind, Steppingstone-Philadelphia should have organized a Board of Directors, an experienced Executive Director and an Advisory Board, that have connections with philanthropist's, private funders, state and federal officials in order for this branch to be fully independent and functional.   A new nonprofit organization or an existing nonprofit organization expanding their offices in a new city or state, cannot afford to waste time and money on projects that fail.  Conducting fundraisers can be expensive, therefore being effective is a top priority.  According to the textbook, "Effectiveness focuses on high payback activities. When deciding which fundraising strategies to undertake, first determine what will produce the greatest payback for the time and resources spent" (Weinstein, 2009). The Fundraising Manager needs to evaluate those strengths and weaknesses of the organization.  Evaluate what projects yield a high return and build from there, whether it's involving people in the community to help put on a fun event for the children or having annual formal events that attract donors and supporters.  If there are too many special projects, that are time consuming and costly, then some things may need to be consolidated or discontinued.   Being efficient is simply after recognizing those things that are done right, being able to do them quickly, with low cost and being highly productive. For example, the local nonprofit food bank in my area understands there are a lot of people that seek assistance daily.  They have put in place specific hours of operation for those seeking assistance.  Within those hours, they quickly establish their clients in the system and then provide them with a shopping cart of food.  They have many volunteers in place that handle customers, donations that come in, volunteers to sort food items and volunteers to make sure food is stocked in the right place.  Their organization is run efficiently and in order.  If nonprofit organizations are not effective, then they will not be able to serve their target demographics.  Just as Steppingstone-Philadelphia did not have the proper staff in place, they were not able to efficiently serve their clients.   There will be occasions where a nonprofit agency will not have a fully operational staff, a well balanced budget and other components missing from the company but the organization must still operate.  When there is a strong mission and vision to follow a nonprofit organization can still run effectively and efficiently.   I own a small boxing gym, with only my husband and I as the only employees.  Being able to market our business can become very expensive for us but is also important.  We have to ensure  that whatever marketing we do, it does not put us in a position that will hurt our monthly budget.  The best way for any small business to market their case is by targeting corporations, donors, and other organizations that have a special interest in your company.  One way to do that is to research the prospective corporation and research who they would normal sponsor and their demographics.  Having presentations with printed but cost effective material, videos and dvd's that are specific to who they're presenting their case to and brochures are also ways of presenting their case

peer 2

The Steppingstone Foundation in Philadelphia made the vital mistake, of not hiring and keeping a Development Director.  As we discussed last week, one of the most important pieces to a thriving non-profit is the ability and durability of fundraising. Both in-kind and monetary donations are the foundation of any non-profit. When looking at the preliminary questions used to conduct an early analysis, all of them center around contributions and funding. Arriving to an answer about funding without a director to lead the process is almost pointless. Creating and executing a plan without a lead is a dangerous thing to do. I believe it is similar to letting those who are mute, be led by the blind.

                In our reading, we see that effectiveness, “…focuses on high payback activities…[and] involves basic decisions.” (Weinstein, pg23). We also see that efficiency helps us, “…pursue our aspirations in the most competent, practical, and productive manner.” (Weinstein, pg26). In the non-profit world, effectiveness helps us to understand that in order to be impactful, we must find the best route to allow others to understand the cause or purpose we are soliciting for. Efficiency is finding the best way to maximize our efforts to reach a greater amount of people. It is important to remember though, that efficiency does not always equate to effectiveness. Neglecting this, could lead a non-profit into a disaster. An attempt to be efficient with time could lead to losing a relationship with a long time donor and a lack of funds. An attempt to be effective with a corporate volunteer event could lead to a loss in time and forgetfulness. Finding the right balance between the two spells success but it is not an easy achievement.

                During my time as a Volunteer Coordinator, I once had to find donors to bring in Christmas gifts for our six centers. The previous In-Kin Coordinator had found a different job and left the organization. The non-profit I worked for felt that it made the most sense to consolidate my job into two. At each center, there were no less than 70 children ages 0 to 5. It was my job to bring in donors who would donate gifts to each child, which came to about over 300 children total. In the past there were organizations who donate to one center. Because this was my first year, and the previous person in charge wasn’t there to guide me or leave proper notes I had to wing it. I had to visit each center and figure out who was donating, and what their contact information was. While this was not the most efficient way, it was the most effective. What I could have done was try to contact the previous In-Kind Coordinator and garner as much information as possible. But, like I said earlier, the balance between effective and efficient is not easy. Sometimes you have to choose one over the other. I chose effectiveness because I also saw that I could create a relationship with the centers as the new In-kind coordinator and get to know who I am serving.

peer 3

Per the book efficiency is known as doing the right thing, but who determines what is right or wrong?  It about not taking short cuts when doing anything.  One of the examples used is about speeding up chores and time that it takes to do them. Efficiency is being thorough to prevent from having to do things over again.  One may think that it is a good idea to mop the floor without sweeping first but they will soon find out that they are moping around trash.  After the floor is dry, they must redo it by sweeping first then mopping with clean water. “Policies and procedures should be kept as simple as possible—but not too simple” (Weinstein, 2009)!

          This compares to doing the right thing, which is known as effectiveness. With Steppingstones, doing the right thing to get more funds for their expansions is to tell the corporations, funders and volunteers their plan and how they can help.  If a company or a business is going under, it is important to do the right thing by telling key stakeholder, employees, and customers what is going on. “Effectiveness is setting the right goals and following through with your plans” (Weinstein, 2009).  If Steppingstone is going through a tough time and in need of funds to expand they need to sit with the board or members that can help to put together a plan and work it effectively. 

          Working in a nonprofit agency, it is important to be transparent with planning.  This help for fundraiser to be more involved in helping them to be more effective or efficient.  Getting things done and doing it right the first time will help to save money and helps for a speedier result.   To analyze and explain how a nonprofit can improve if one of these elements is missing is, by looking to see which element is missing and determining what it did.  When the is found, the focus should be keeping communication open with everyone on what why extra help is needed.  “While all of these purposes result in the tax-exempt legal status due a nonprofit mission and purpose, it is plausible that in these arrangements, depending upon the characteristics of the nonprofits, different democratic contributions result.” (Casey, 2016).   The need to hold more developmental meeting and to have accountability meetings.  As mentioned, some procedures need to be readvised such as mailers or phone calling campaigns.

          Budget constraints can affect how a small nonprofit work because they do not the bandwidth to market, advertise, or promote outside of their local area.  While word of mouth can provide as advertisement, they can start asking for more favors from the local organizations in the form of putting up flyers and having a portion of proceeds going to their small organization.  A smaller organization has to humble themselves and hire less and use more volunteers. 

peer 4

 To understand the difference between effectiveness and efficiency is to understand that effectiveness is not the same as efficiency. Effectiveness focuses on doing the right thing. This simply means analyzing the “payback” of the nonprofit organization. Strategic implementation is important in any nonprofit structure. These detailed outlines provide valuable information about the goals and objectives of the organization and what is to be done in order to achieve those initiatives. When a nonprofit organization decides to implement a program, fundraising is the main source of where the money comes from. When developing the fundraising strategies, the fundraising board and manager must take into account what will give them the greatest rate of return on time and resources spent. (Weinstein, 2009)

    Efficiency is the ability to do the right thing. If a nonprofit is to be efficient in their fundraising they must analyze “the most competent, practical and productive manner” (Weinstein, 2009, pg. 26) to achieving its overall outcomes. The nonprofit structure needs to focus on policies and procedures. This will create a more detailed and refined plan of execution for the fundraising project. By the nonprofit organization knowing the strategic plan and developing a structure implementation routine will help the fundraisers become more potent in its initiatives to provide services to those in need of help. (Weinstein, 2009)

    Effectiveness is a strategy useful when putting “high payback activities” (Weinstein, 2009, pg. 23) into perspective. This concept is meaningful to any nonprofit agency when conveying their cause to others. A nonprofit must find the best path to illustrate their purpose and how it will effect communities. The agency needs to collaborate and focus on the main goals and objectives. By exercising these concepts will help the nonprofit move more towards their goals to see the best results. (Weinstein, 2009)

    Efficiency is a strategy best used when prioritizing the implementation route. Efficiency focus in on the policies and procedures that will assist the nonprofit to achieving its goals and objectives. Efficiency can be described as the game plan. Once the nonprofit has outlined their overall direction of the organization, then implementation of those policies and guidelines can be put into action. This concept will allow the nonprofit agency the ability to optimize their fundraising, outreach and overall purpose. Without careful, thought out plans, the agency can cripple. This is why strategic planning and implementation are the keys to success. It is imperative to find the right balance between the two concepts. Effectiveness if not done correctly can hurt the agency. This concept allows organizations to develop their meaning and their cause while efficiency helps apply the changes necessary for growth.  (Weinstein, 2009)

A case statement is a “body of language that tells any prospective supporter how the funds will be used and who will benefit from the programs and services” (Weinstein, 2009, pg. 61). This definition explores the identity of case statements. This tool used in nonprofit structures assists the organization with providing meaning behind their purpose. It outlines the who, what, where, why and how. While case statements in bigger agencies are marketed using major platforms, smaller nonprofit may find it difficult to compete because of budget constraints. A small nonprofit needs to outline the major goals and objectives of the agency. By eliminating fluff and focusing on the main priorities will help assist the nonprofit in budget constraints. Also, partnership with local and state government will help the smaller nonprofit with their budget constraints in regards to their case statement. Another idea for smaller nonprofit is to think outside the box. It is important to be creative, if there is a platform that hasn’t been used, then researching and development of that platform can be of great potential for the agency.