Month: May 2018

Women Entrepreneurs: Sharing Wisdom

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PeopleSpring2018

The wisdom of experience is priceless. PeopleFund – a nonprofit that provides small business loans and other business assistance – celebrated the wisdom of Austin business women at the “PeopleSpring, Ladies, Lunch & Learn” networking and leadership event in Austin on May 31st.

The focus of the luncheon event was a panel discussion and Q & A with three leaders in the business community: Deborah Whitby, Austin Plumbery Owner; Meme Styles, MEASURE Founder & President; and Quita Culpepper, KVUE Anchor. Some of the key pieces of wisdom the panel shared with the audience of women entrepreneurs included:

  • Spend time on setting business processes and procedures early;
  • When you are struggling for balance, don’t forget self-care;
  • Remember that your community is a source of energy;
  • Own your destiny.

Thank you panelists, PeopleFund and event sponsor American Bank for a wonderful afternoon and for providing an empowering space for female entrepreneurs.

 

Image: Erler

Tips to manage, leverage, and energize your nonprofit board

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Tara

The Texas Grants Resource Center’s May presentation was all about getting the best out of your nonprofit board. Long-time nonprofit consultant Tara Levy shared the top tips for leveraging your board to support your organization’s mission.

Tara is an experienced trainer and consultant on nonprofit leadership and management, including a decade assisting nonprofits at Mission Capital before launching her independent practice (Tara Levy Nonprofit Consulting). She has served nonprofits as a staff member, board member, and volunteer.

Here are just a few of Tara’s tips on board relations:

  • Mentor new board members (pair new members up with established members);
  • Have an annual board self-evaluation;
  • Do board succession planning (for example: consider having an Incoming Board President position);
  • Connect and enjoy each other as a team.

The TGRC provides events that will uplift, educate and connect in ways that make Austin’s nonprofit community even stronger.  This program furthers the mission of the University of Texas at Austin’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE). The DDCE’s Community Engagement Center (CEC) houses this program.

 

 

Image: Erler

 

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Tips

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Qgiv NTEN May 2018

Todd Baylis of Qgiv at Austin’s NTEN Nonprofit Tech Club – May 24, 2018

Nonprofit organizations are getting a little help from friends. More and more nonprofits are inviting their biggest fans to spread the word and help raise funds for their causes.

It is called peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising and at their May meeting, Austin’s NTEN Nonprofit Tech Club chapter got a crash course from Todd Baylis, Qgiv President.

An organization’s supporters can reach out to their network of friends to introduce them to the nonprofit through crowdfunding, walk-a-thons, giving days and more. Todd’s top P2P tips include:

  • Engage donors;
  • Cultivate relationships;
  • Provide a sense of urgency (this will minimize procrastination);
  • Create templates of messages;
  • Provide training and guides for your fundraisers;
  • Incorporate badges;
  • Also, provide an opportunity for off-line gifts.

Oh, and don’t forget that Qgiv has a peer-to-peer fundraising platform that can help enhance P2P efforts.

Austin’s NTEN Nonprofit Tech Club, a program of the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), has presentations every month. Click here for info about upcoming events.

 

 

Image: Erler

What Do Funders Think?

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Funders Forum

Nonprofits: does it sometimes seem as if there is a cloud of mystery keeping you from finding out what funders want?

All clouds lifted on May 11, 2018  at the Annual Central Texas Funders Forum presented by the Grant Professionals Association – Austin Chapter. Representatives from regional funders were there to answer questions, provide channels of communication and develop ways to work together.

The kinds of funders included: private, corporate, and community foundations. There were panel presentations and small group opportunities to ask questions one-on-one.

This year the themes and tips for nonprofits that kept coming up included:

  • Think of funders as partners;
  • Demonstrate there is a need that you will be able to solve together;
  • Funders want transparent communication;
  • Funders want to hear how their gifts and investments are touching the community;
  • Evaluation of activities is they key to sustainability;
  • Funders don’t want surprises.

It is conversations like these that help both service providers and funders support the community.

 

 

Image Credit: Erler

 

Twitter for Nonprofits: Social Media for Social Good

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Many of you know how much I enjoy spending time on Twitter. I want to share what I’ve learned with local nonprofits and help take the mystery out of Twitter. I’ll be teaching a class at Austin Community College’s Center for Nonprofit Studies on June 21st, 2018.  Here is the link for tickets.

You can learn how your nonprofit organization can use Twitter to support your mission. We’ll cover the basics: following and followers; conversations and proclamations; hashtags and handles. Participants will not only learn how Twitter can support your outreach strategy, we’ll also connect attendees on twitter – taking your community to the next level. This class will take place in a computer lab, so please come ready to log in to your (or your organization’s) Twitter account for exercises.

I hope to see you on June 21st at noon!

Take-aways:

Philosophy:

  • Get an overview of social media strategy and how Twitter fits in to a nonprofit’s social media strategy.

Logistics:

  • Tweets: Who sees them? What is the best content? When should I tweet? Where is my content seen? Why should my nonprofit tweet?
  • How do I use: #s, @s, lists, direct messages, notifications?
  • How do I “create community” (and gain followers).

Other Outcomes:

  • Connecting with classmates on Twitter.
  • Learning about conversations and proclamations: Who am I writing to? Who can see my tweets?
  • Answering your questions about twitter.