Nonprofits are just too nice when it comes to creating, inventing and working hard. They show their result and the design to achieve the results.

If you create it, especially if it is successful, copyright it or patent it.  Universities and colleges have been doing it for years and making money on the royalties.

You can always give an individual, company or government permission to use it, and certainly always credit the funding source, but make sure you get the credit for what you did.

Branding and Name Recognition = Marketing = Money

An Association is usually incorporated as a 501 (c) 6 organization. It works on behalf of its members. The strength of an Association is based on its membership. The larger the membership, the more success the Association will have in producing greater results. A nonprofit or individual should pay a membership to join an Association if there are clear and measurable benefits to being a member.

The most simple measure is, “Will my organization save money or obtain additional funds by the actions of the Association?” Group purchasing is the quickest and easiest way to see results immediately. These actions create more funds by decreasing costs.

Property insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, visioin insurance, utilities, billing services, retirement plans, human resource services, accounting services, consulting services, development services, office supplies, security, bottled water, food, equipment, web services, information technology services, banking services, audit services, construction, and employment assistance programs are just a few examples where group purchasing can decrease costs.

The other part of an Association’s effort is lobbying and clearly educating elected officials. A key role they play is providing a clear voice on the economic impact of their member organizations and the criticial areas of concerns.

So take advantage of Associations where it makes sense. Make sure you never pay more than it costs your local, state or federal government for a service or product.

An instinctive reaction to fear is fight or flee.  An individual’s reasoning causing their reaction does not have to be based on truth but can be a perception.  Therefore, when groups use false information to create a perceived threat many individuals do not really know if the threat is real.  Their first reaction is based on their ability to cope with the situation.  Youth have not at this point in their life gained the coping skills to resolve conflict without striking out forcefully. The Matthew Shepard attack may have been such a reaction.

Causes of death between the ages of 15-24, according to the CDC, are:  first accidents, second murder, and third suicide.  Groups that teach hate only confuse youth more.  It is hard enough for them to understand that in their sphere of family, school and community, love and hate can be directed to and from the same person.  Teaching youth the tools to resolve conflict within themselves is critical to teaching them to resolve conflict with others.

Maybe the increase in violence among youth is due to the fact that society supports their exposure to violent content but not to sexual content.  Violence is okay but sex is not.  Hate is okay by adults but not kids.  Remember free speech does have its consequences and children and youth do hear.  Behavior is learned from adults and shared among peers.

The Boston Globe wrote in its 9/25/2007 edition about the pending Matthew Shepard Act in Congress.  It focuses on fabricated information by individuals throughout the USA who have stated that it is a bill to arrest clergy and storm churches.

It is about stopping hate crimes.  Stopping Violence!!!!!!  Supporting our youth helps us all.

One of the most frustrating exercises is spending a lot of thought and time on a proposal only to have it not funded.  Many people get very discouraged after repeating this exercise over and over again.  They begin to question themselves or their programs.  They wonder what they’re doing wrong or why funders don’t like their programs.  No matter how many times they receive “rejection” letters telling them that it wasn’t their program, they don’t believe it - they feel that there must be something more or different they can do.

What they need to do is not get discouraged!  It is important to reflect an enthusiastic attitude with funders - if you don’t show strong belief in your program, neither will they.

I recently read some stats that were both disheartening yet encouraging at the same time:

“On average, foundations reward grants to about 5% to 10% of those who apply, and in many cases less”    and       ”The rule of thumb for professional fundraisers is a 10 to 17 percent success rate.”  And that’s for professional fundraisers.

So while these stats make you realize that getting funded is not easy, they should also make you realize that it probably isn’t your program.  The important thing is to target those funders who are most likely to fund a program like yours rather than wasting time on those that “might”, and to have a well written proposal that reflects the funder’s priorities as well as your program’s strengths.  Have someone else edit it.  And if you doubt your writing skill, hire someone to write it for you. 

And while it’s easier said than done, try not to get discouraged!

The use of state government procurement systems is the best way for nonprofits to utilize hundreds of hours of staff time, not pay for it, and end up with a great result.

Government must procure everything imaginable. Your organization should as a policy utilize the government procurement lists as the basis for pricing and qualifications. You then have a base for negotiating a better price with your current or local businesses. Please note that any government vendor must offer the lowest price to the government, so if they are to offer a lower price to you, they must offer the same to the government. However, there is the chance that the configuration of what you are buying is not the same as what is being offered to the government, thereby giving your organization some room to negotiate.

One example to check out is the Massachusetts procurement system at www.comm-pass.com. Further, for those organizations in Massachusetts on the nonprofit qualifying list under the Operational Service Division, you are allowed to purchase off these contracts as well. Other organizations should use the information in the contract as a base of information to work from and to be an educated consumer.

Focus on utilizing the government procurements to provide your organization with the expertise of government staff responsible for these activities. These individuals are usually more efficient and effective at coming up with the best options.

The other great aspect of using government procurements is their evaluation component for measuring satisfaction.

So what are you waiting for, Take Advantage of the government’s efforts.