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RT @littlebiancakay: When your best friend tells you she turned down a horse and carriage ride on a date because it’s bad for the animals @jaderibe ??? -
RT @margaretcho: Kathryn Knott was acquitted for brutal beating of gay men in #phillyhatecrime Justice was not served. I am disgusted by our justice system.
You Can Observe A Lot By Just Watching: Yogi Berra
Do you know how people think of your organization? Are your members loyal because you are the only game in town, or because you deliver so much for them? Why do you have the followers you do?
As hard as nonprofit work is, frequently that hard work can be so easily undone by small stuff. How is the phone manner of your staff, or senior volunteers? Are requests for service promptly returned, how long before an email is answered? Don?t answer with that you hope or believe, test it from the outside.
From the Outside In
From the inside, there is the mission, fundraising, advocacy, social medial, financial reporting, website management, the list is endless; always too much to do and too few to do it. It is important to take a look at your org as a new visitor would do.
Ask a friend to call as a stranger, send an inquiry email or post a ( not obnoxious) question on Facebook. See what happens. Yeah, maybe a little Undercover Boss here. The purpose is to see what is working and what is not. What is happening at that first interface with a prospective donor or member that can open the checkbook and what will send that person someplace else.
Objectivity can be tough to offer when it is the hard work of your staff and volunteers can be criticized, it is tempting be to be defensive about the importance and pressure of the work. The goal is to see that anyone visiting you has a good impression the first time out. First impressions are lasting, find out if yours is a good one.