COMMON GROUND CONSULTING LLC

Marketing, Messaging, & Media: What's the Answer?

Many of you have been asking us for a workshop that can help you do a more effective job of communicating with your stakeholders—particularly your donors. We'll be piloting this new session for a group of social profit organizations in Pennsylvania in January. Click here to check out some of the other workshop and plenary sessions that we offer.

Primary Goal

Expanding on our storytelling workshop, this session has been designed to provide practical tools for social profit organizations and educational institutions to think about how you are currently marketing your organization.

Abstract
In this session, we'll discuss creative strategies for telling your stories; how those stories impact community engagement; and how they can leverage that engagement to recruit volunteers, raise more money, and provide critical services to more stakeholders. 

We will use a variety of interactive techniques to help you uncover and discover your passions, and explore how they connect to the choices you make and the actions you take. From there, we'll help you connect your passions to the work your organization does everyday, and determine the most effective ways to tell the stories that align with your values and move people to get involved as volunteers, as contributors, or board members.

Objectives

1. Be able to articulate why you do what you do--your values, motivations, and dreams.
2. Recognize the connections between this level of self-awareness and your work.
3. Use this new awareness to create the organizational stories that cause people to act.
4. Apply the skills by creating a two-minute pitch related to their organization's work.
5. Determine the best marketing approaches for building high-trust approaches to community engagement.
6. Engage stakeholders in marketing efforts, particularly social media strategies.
7. Learn how to use a organizational self-assessment tool for strengthening capacity-building efforts.

 

If you are in Pennsylvania ...

Unified Family Services Systems of Bedford County (UFSS), Southwestern PA CTC and Evidence-based Programs Regional Network, the Penn State EPISCenter, and Behavioral Health Services of Somerset and Bedford Counties, Inc. (BHSSBC) are pleased to offer this training. Seating is limited and participants will be registered on a first come, first served basis.

When: Friday, January 20, 2012 / 8:30 am to 4 pm

What: Marketing, Messaging, & Media: What’s the Answer?

Where: Best Western Bedford Inn, 4517 Business 220 North, Bedford, PA 15522Who:

Trainer: Craig Bowman,Common Ground Consulting, LLC

Target: Community Coalition Members, Educators,Audience: Administrators, Behavioral Health Practitioners, Family Services Workers, Youth Workers, Prevention Service Providers, etc.

Cost: Free (minimum fee of $10 for LSW/LCSW, LPC and LMFT CEUs)

If you have any questions please contact Lyn Skillington at [email protected] or Tracy Shultz at [email protected] or (814) 443-4891.

CEUs available: Act 48, PA Certification Board (PCB), LSW/LCSW, LPC and LMFT - $10

This program is offered for 5.5 hours of social work continuing education through co-sponsorship of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work, a Council on Social Work Education-accredited school and, therefore, a PA pre-approved provider of social continuing education. These credit hours satisfy requirements for LSW/LCSW, LPC and LMFT biennial license renewal. For information on social work continuing education call (412) 624-3711.

How to Tell Your "Business" Story in 60 Seconds or Less

As you know, a lot of our work at Common Ground focuses on helping social-profit organizations become sustainable. This means we review program outcomes, help with efficiency issues, and develop new fundraising strategies. We're often asked to help organizations craft their messaging—particularly how they tell their stories. I came across this great article on the entrepreneur.com website which aligns almost perfectly with our methodology.

By CARMINE GALLO

I recently spoke at LeWeb, a large technology conference in Paris that's filled with entrepreneurs pitching to venture capital investors who are looking for the next big thing. In such situations where many people are vying for attention, the entrepreneurs who stand out are the ones who deliver their pitch in less than a minute, but still make their points quite persuasively.

Unfortunately, many small-business owners don't think enough about their company's story and how it comes across. I can say that with confidence because I've witnessed many ineffective pitches at conferences and chamber of commerce mixers. At the last chamber mixer I attended, I asked one person what he did. His response started with, "That's a good question…" Five minutes later, he was still trying to describe his new company, and I was trying to find a polite way out of the conversation.

As a communications coach, I've developed a four-step exercise that will work for any company or product. You must simply answer each of the following four questions in no more than two sentences:

1. What do you do?

2. What problem do you solve?

3. How is your product or service different?

4. Why should I care?

By keeping each answer brief, you will develop a succinct story that should take no more than 60 seconds.

Let's use the example of an entrepreneur who is starting a housekeeping franchise. Based on those four questions, the company's story might sound something like this:

"We own Five Star Cleaning, an eco-friendly housekeeping service that pampers you and your home [what your business does]. Typical cleaning services make you prep your home ahead of time, supervise to prevent theft and hang around for hours while the cleaners do their work. Because we require no prep, this saves time right off the top, and we are bonded so our service is worry-free, allowing you to go about your day [what problem does it solve]. And, we always send a minimum team of three to get the job done quickly [how it's different]. Imagine coming home from a long day and your laundry is all done, your bed has been turned down and there are fresh flowers awaiting you. That's the extra pampering we offer that sets us apart from all the rest [why you should care]."

Your first sentence should be a "Twitter-friendly headline." You should be able to describe your product or service in 140 characters or less, short enough for a tweet. In the example, Five Star Cleaning bills itself as an "eco-friendly housekeeping service that pampers you and your home." But many small-business owners don't create product descriptions that are short, catchy, distinctive and memorable. The Twitter exercise will help. If you can't describe your product in a sentence, go back to the drawing board.

If you can tell your story in well under 60 seconds and have some extra time, be ready to relate an example or story that makes your product or service more tangible. You'll notice that in the cleaning service pitch, we offered examples of pampering, such as turning down bed sheets.

Don't let your idea die because you've lost the attention of your audience. Grab your listeners in the first 60 seconds and they'll want to hear more.

Help An American Student Study Abroad

When I was 16, living in a little town in Ohio, I had the amazing opportunity to live overseas as an exchange student for a summer. I lived with a wonderful family in Switzerland and had the chance to travel all across Europe. That experience changed the course of my life forever. I'm really clear that the work I am doing now, had everything to do with that experience.

I know how much an exchange student gains from the study abroad experience—improved language skills, an appreciation for other countries and cultures, an increased level of maturity and confidence―it's the learning adventure of a lifetime!

The program that sponsored me was Youth for Understanding (YFU USA) and they offer more than 100 different programs in 40 different countries. Next year, they anticipate awarding 350+ full and partial scholarships for their programs!

More information is available on their website at www.yfuusa.org. Deadlines for many scholarships are rapidly approaching. If you're interested in being a participant or know someone who would make a great candidate, please email them at [email protected] or call 1.800.TEENAGE to speak with an admissions counselor.

Make Sure Your 2012 Salaries Are Competitive!

For so many of our clients, salary levels are a major issue at this time of the year and will grow in importance even more as recovery from the recession takes place. In the United States, we are fortunate to have the GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report. It remains the only large-scale nonprofit compensation analysis based entirely on IRS data.

As the job market becomes more competitive in 2012, you need to make sure that the compensation your organization offers is on par with your peers, without being considered "excessive" under IRS guidelines. This report gives you the information you need to establish appropriate compensation and demonstrate to grantmakers, oversight agencies, and individual donors that the salaries and benefits your nonprofit offers are justified.

At $349 for a single-user PDF, it isn't cheap, but you really only need to buy it every few years. If you're a larger organization (more than 25 staff members), it is worth the investment.

Click here to learn more and get the latest compensation report today.

Grants & Awards

Case Foundation #GoodSpotting Sweepstakes

Deadline: December 23

This holiday season, YSA is joining the Case Foundation in #GoodSpotting! Together, we're catching people (or organizations) in the act of doing good. Snap a pic of your friend, neighbor, coworker (or it could be you!) doing something good, and share it online using the hashtag "#GoodSpotting." You can also upload it directly from the Case Foundation Facebook page. Then enter the #GoodSpotting sweepstakes to win up to $500 in holiday spending money and $5,000 in grants for your favorite charity. Let's go #GoodSpotting! Submit all #GoodSpotting pictures by 12/23. Learn more at: http://bit.ly/sPa24z or on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/vae4Ow or on YouTube at http://bit.ly/ryiQCf

Whole Kids Foundation & FoodCorps School Garden Grants

Deadline: December 31

The Whole Kids Foundation and partner FoodCorps offer $2,000 grants, along with curriculum, resources and mentorship, to 1,000 schools.  FoodCorps' expertise in gardening, and its ongoing support will help schools build and sustain their gardens to ensure long-term success. All schools and garden-related nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for grants to support the launch or expansion of school gardens that will help children engage with fresh fruits and vegetables. Garden projects may be at any stage of development; planning, construction or operation. http://bit.ly/rrUU7K

Splashlife Lincoln Awards for US Military Veteran Entrepreneurs

Deadline: January 15

Identifying, honoring and supporting the next wave of entrepreneurs to help them take charge of America's future. As announced at the White House Youth Entrepreneur Summit, Splashlife is giving out $2,500 Lincoln Awards to support entrepreneurs aged 35 or younger.  All US Military Veterans aged 35 or younger are invited to apply for a $2,500 Lincoln Award to get started on a business idea. You've made a huge sacrifice for our nation, now Spalshlife wants to help you by supporting your brightest ideas and ambitions. http://bit.ly/sXbAND

Captain Planet Environment Grants

Deadline: January 15

The Captain Planet Foundation primarily makes grants to U.S.-based schools and organizations with an annual operating budget of less than $3 million. Grants are made for activities that promote and support high-quality educational programs that enable children and youth to understand and appreciate our world through learning experiences that engage them in active, hands-on projects to improve the environment in their schools and communities. Preferential consideration is given to requests seeking seed funding of $500 or less and to applicants who have secured at least 50% matching or in-kind funding. http://bit.ly/tusfjb

J-Serve 2012 Micro-Grants

Deadline: Ongoing

Grants are available for J-Serve 2012 - April 22, 2012.  J-Serve is the International Day of Jewish Youth Service. Since 2005, J-Serve has been a part of YSA's Global Youth Service Day. A limited number of J-Serve micro-grants of up to $500 will be awarded to community projects committed to creating service opportunities that bring Jewish teens together to participate in a J-Serve project.  Projects that are creative and innovative, especially those that will be first time events in a community, as well as projects conceived and planned by teen project leaders will receive preferential reviews.  Micro-grants will be accepted on a rolling basis, and grants will continue to be awarded as long as funding remains available. http://bit.ly/uzfYIa

2012 AmeriCorps Grants

Deadline: January 18

AmeriCorps awards grants to organizations to implement programs that utilize AmeriCorps members to engage in evidence-based interventions to strengthen communities. In the 2012 competition CNCS expects to invest a significant amount of available funding to programs working in the six Focus Areas of Disaster Services, Economic Opportunity, Education, Environmental Stewardship, Healthy Futures, and Veterans and Military Families. In particular, CNCS seeks to target its AmeriCorps grantmaking in the Education, Disaster Services and Veterans and Military Families Focus Areas. http://bit.ly/pBIpCw

State Farm Good Neighbor Scholarship Program

Deadline: January 25

Applicants to the State Farm Good Neighbor Scholarship Program must be a high school senior who will graduate at the end of the 2011-12 school year, plans to enroll in full time undergraduate study at an accredited two or four year college, university or vocational-technical school for the entire 2012-2013 academic year, has a cumulative grade point average of 2.50 to 3.20 on a 4.00 scale, is a U.S. citizen, and demonstrate financial need. Up to twenty-six (26) selected recipients will receive a $2,500 award. Only the first 360 applications received will be accepted.   http://bit.ly/umJYNZ

Scholastic Book Grants

Deadline: Ongoing

The Scholastic Book Grants Program is a corporate in-kind giving initiative that provides high-quality reading materials to children in need. The Company's goal is to ensure that each of its book donations has a significant impact on fostering literacy. Small-scale (unsolicited) donations of 500-1,000 books are awarded to 501c3 or 170c literacy organizations. To read the unsolicited donations policies and procedures, and to download a donation application, visit: http://bit.ly/uktlhz

 

2012 Wildlife Conservation Youth Engagement Grants

Deadline: February 1

Whether you're in a city, rural area or a suburb, wildlife is all around you. In many places, wildlife faces challenges. Are you a high school student with a creative idea for conserving and protecting wildlife and its habitat in your community? Planet Connect is offering high school students grants of $1,000 to implement their problem-solving projects and participate in a local internship focused on wildlife conservation Winners receive $500.00 to turn your project into a reality and an 80-hour wildlife conservation or natural resource internship with a $500 stipend in your local community during the summer of 2012. http://bit.ly/sPM29L

Splashlife Lincoln Awards for Women Entrepreneurs

Deadline: February 14

Identifying, honoring and supporting the next wave of entrepreneurs to help them take charge of America's future. As announced at the White House Youth Entrepreneur Summit, Splashlife is giving out $2,500 Lincoln Awards to support entrepreneurs aged 35 or younger. Despite making up 46.3% of the workforce, women are underrepresented in positions of management, with just 2.4% of Fortune 500 companies being run by female CEOs. Splashlife wants to support a woman entrepreneur aged 35 or younger with a $2,500 Lincoln Award for her business idea. http://bit.ly/uXIZu6

Jenzabar Student Leadership Awards

Deadline: February 20

The Jenzabar Foundation has opened the nomination process for its fifth annual Student Leadership Awards, which recognize student groups that have made a difference in the world through service and philanthropic activities at the local, national, and international levels. The awards will honor ten student-led campus groups or activities that have made a significant impact beyond their own institution. Nominations are open for students enrolled in any accredited institution of higher education. Each award includes a $5,000 grant to support the student or group's future humanitarian endeavors The first step in the submission process is joining the online Jenzabar Foundation Community Network; please use referral code SLA2012. Once registered, applicants will be advised of the submission procedure. http://bit.ly/uR4V8C

2012 Do Something Awards

Deadline: March 1

Are you one of the nation's best young world-changers? Do Something Award nominees and winners represent the pivotal "do-ers" in their field, cause, or issue. In 2012 (up to) five finalists will be rewarded with a $10,000 community grant, media coverage and continued support from DoSomething.org. The grand prize winner will receive $100,000 during the nationally televised broadcast. http://dsorg.us/t5wklU

Five Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012

This is one of my favorite articles of the year. I need to heed most of this advice. The piece was written by Dorie Clark for the Harvard Business Review.

"I recently got back from a month's vacation — the longest I've ever taken, and a shocking indulgence for an American. (Earlier this summer, I was still fretting about how to pull off two weeks unplugged.) The distance, though, helped me hone in on what's actually important to my professional career — and which make-work activities merely provide the illusion of progress. Inspired by HBR blogger Peter Bregman's idea of creating a "to ignore" list , here are the activities I'm going to stop cold turkey in 2012 — and perhaps you should, too.

1. Responding Like a Trained Monkey. Every productivity expert in the world will tell you to check email at periodic intervals — say, every 90 minutes — rather than clicking "refresh" like a Pavlovian mutt. Of course, almost no one listens, because studies have shown email's "variable interval reinforcement schedule" is basically a slot machine for your brain. But spending a month away — and only checking email weekly — showed me how little really requires immediate response. In fact, nothing. A 90 minute wait won't kill anyone, and will allow you to accomplish something substantive during your workday.
2. Mindless Traditions. I recently invited a friend to a prime networking event. "Can I play it by ear?" she asked. "This is my last weekend to get holiday cards out and I haven't mailed a single one. It is causing stress!" In the moment, not fulfilling an "obligation" (like sending holiday cards) can make you feel guilty. But if you're in search of professional advancement, is a holiday card (buried among the deluge) going to make a difference? If you want to connect, do something unusual — get in touch at a different time of year, or give your contacts a personal call, or even better, meet up face-to-face. You have to ask if your business traditions are generating the results you want.
3. Reading Annoying Things. I have nearly a dozen newspaper and magazine subscriptions, the result of alluring specials ($10 for an entire year!) and the compulsion not to miss out on crucial information. But after detoxing for a month, I was able to reflect on which publications actually refreshed me — and which felt like a duty. The New Yorker , even though it's not a business publication, broadens my perspective and is a genuine pleasure to read. The pretentious tech publication with crazy layouts and too-small print? Not so much. I'm weeding out and paring down to literary essentials. What subscriptions can you get rid of?
4. Work That's Not Worth It. Early in my career, I was thrilled to win a five-year, quarter-million dollar contract. That is, until the reality set in that it was a government contract, filled with ridiculous reporting mechanisms, low reimbursement rates and administrative complexities that sucked the joy and profit out of the work. When budget cuts rolled around and my contract got whacked, it turned out to be a blessing. These days, I'm eschewing any engagement, public or private, that looks like more trouble than it's worth.
5. Making Things More Complicated Than They Should Be. A while back, a colleague approached me with an idea. She wanted me to be a part of a professional development event she was organizing in her city, featuring several speakers and consultants. She recommended biweekly check-in calls for the next eight months, leading up to the event. "Have you organized an event like this before?" I asked. "Can you actually get the participants? Why don't you test the demand first?" When none materialized, I realized I'd saved myself nearly half a week's work — in futile conference calls — by insisting the event had to be "real" before we invested in it. As Eric Ries points out in his new book The Lean Startup , developing the best code or building the best product in the world is meaningless if your customers don't end up wanting it. Instead, test early and often to ensure you're not wasting your time. What ideas should you test before you've gone too far?

Eliminating these five activities is likely to save me hundreds of hours next year — time I can spend expanding my business and doing things that matter. What are you going to stop doing? And how are you going to leverage all that extra time?"

The Next Generation Economy

Sonal Shah is the former Director of the first White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, and is currently a Tides Fellow. She has authored this outstanding piece for the new Tides Foundation journal, Momentum.

Social Innovation is fast gaining traction in the United States and overseas.  While not a new concept, there is growing recognition that in order to change our trajectory and solve some of the world’s greatest challenges, there needs to be real innovation and scale in the social sector as well as the economy more broadly.  The current structures created for addressing social problems are inadequate and incentives are not aligned toward achieving outcomes.  Hence, social innovation is about building the infrastructure necessary to create an economy that can have a transformational impact in our country and the world around us.  This investment in an “impact economy” has the potential to create jobs, economic value, and social benefit for the US and the world. Creating this economy and having real innovation requires an investment in non-profits, for-profits and hybrid enterprises to develop the necessary ecosystem for growth.

For too long, the definition of success has been the growth of an organization rather than outcome achieved.

The most important aspect of the impact economy is that each of these sectors measure results.  For too long, the definition of success has been the growth of an organization rather than outcome achieved, for example, whether more children graduated from high school, or fewer people were diagnosed with diabetes. Instead, investors should be asking what problem the organization is trying to solve, and hold themselves and the organization accountable for achieving the stated objectives.  This can be achieved across sectors: non-profits need to start managing to outcomes, not just outputs; governments need to assess how to align incentives to solve problems, not just keep the status quo; and businesses need to find better ways to partner with both governments and non-profits to help scale solutions.

This requires a real investment on behalf of philanthropists to help build the infrastructure that can meet this demand, and build the ecosystem to help create the next generation economy.  As the growth and demand of the impact economy increases, there will be real opportunity to more clearly define the term “long-term value” to incorporate social and environmental criteria.

Non-profits

Non-profits play a critical role, providing necessary services to ensure a more educated, healthy, and prosperous society.  They work within local communities, across communities, and nationally to address some of our nation’s and world’s most critical challenges.  These are largely grant-based organizations like the Latin American Youth Center, YouthBuild, or Year Up.  However, as budgets at local and national levels become tighter, it is important to ask what new models need to be developed to help solve some of the tough challenges.   Policies and investments in the sector need to focus on the evidence of impact – not just on number of people served.  In his book Leap of Reason, Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity, Mario Morino offers a critical view of how leaders and investors of non-profits can best manage to outcomes, especially in an era of decreasing budgets.  Grant-based models are changing and it is even more critical to develop new ones, with the appropriate incentives to achieve real results.  Philanthropy and government need to support and scale innovative new models and structures that have the potential for transformational change.

For-Profit Enterprises

For profit businesses and enterprises are also critical to creating an impact economy as they have the greatest potential for reaching scale.  According to B Lab, there are 50,000-60,000 mission-driven businesses in the US.  These are not corporations practicing corporate social responsibility (CSR), but firms specifically created to achieve social purpose and deliver financial returns.  These enterprises come in many forms and stretch across industries: from privately-held manufacturing businesses such as Interface Carpets in Atlanta, GA, to publicly traded automotive companies like Tesla Motors in Palo Alto, CA; from dynamic software startups including iContact in Raleigh, NC, to corporate-owned beverage companies like Honest Tea in Bethesda, MD (which was acquired by Coca Cola in 2011).   Investment in these types of businesses is called “impact investing” because they create both social value and have financial returns.   According to the Monitor Institute, this is considered to be a $50 billion market that could grow tenfold by the end of the decade.  Foundations like Rockefeller, Kellogg, and Heron are already experimenting with “impact investing.”  There needs to be greater investment in the sector to create more businesses and a longer conversation with larger corporations on how CSR can more effectively achieve social change while keeping a business focus.

Hybrid Enterprises

The third sector in the impact economy is made up of hybrid or social enterprises, which are neither non-profit nor strictly for-profit.  Generally they are innovative non-profit organizations that are driving revenue through dynamic earned-income models such as Greyston Bakery in New York City, the Chrysalis workforce training program in Los Angeles, or Aravind Eye Hospitals in India.  These social enterprises, like for-profit businesses, believe that organizations need to do more than generate shareholder returns, they must also build value chains that bring value back to the communities that they serve.  Whether job training or green jobs, hybrid organizations are creating a new form of engagement between companies and non-profits.   In some cases like Aravind, they are introducing new efficiencies in the market while maintaining incredible quality.  When investing in these enterprises, investors should help develop effective business models or continue to scale the existing models, while also providing capital—or outright grants—to continue to innovate and adapt to the needs of the market.

We have an opportunity to define new structures that will last into the next century.  We can either continue to work at the margins, make small changes, and hope for the best; or we can create new business models for each of these sectors, ask ourselves the tough questions about the impact we want to have, and make some radical changes.  The real question is whether we are willing to make the necessary investments and take the risks needed to create a new impact economy that can fundamentally transform our world.

U.S. Education Department Releases Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies

The U.S. Department of Education this week released an Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies, a new report summarizing current approaches in the 46 states with anti-bullying laws and the 41 states that have created anti-bullying policies as models for schools.

The report shows the prevalence of state efforts to combat bullying over the last several years. From 1999 to 2010, more than 120 bills were enacted by state legislatures from across the country to either introduce or amend statutes that address bullying and related behaviors in schools. Twenty-one new bills were enacted in 2010 and eight additional bills were signed into law through April 30, 2011.

Out of the 46 states with anti-bullying laws in place, 36 have provisions that prohibit cyber bullying and 13 have statutes that grant schools the authority to address off-campus behavior that creates a hostile school environment.

"Every state should have effective bullying prevention efforts in place to protect children inside and outside of school," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "This report reveals that while most states have enacted legislation around this important issue, a great deal of work remains to ensure adults are doing everything possible to keep our kids safe."

The first Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit, hosted in August 2010 by the Department and other federal agencies, exposed an information gap regarding anti-bullying laws and policies across the country. The summit brought together government officials, researchers, policymakers, and education practitioners to explore strategies to combat bullying in schools. To address this information gap and respond to requests for technical assistance, the Department composed Anti-Bullying Policies: Examples of Provisions in State Laws, a guidance document outlining common key components of state anti-bullying laws.

Following the Summit, the Department's Policy and Program Studies Service contracted researchers to compile the analysis on state laws and policies. In preparing the report, researchers reviewed and coded legislation and policy documents in every state across the country along with an additional sample of 20 local school districts. The report sought to address the extent to which states' bullying laws and model policies contained the key components identified in the December guidance. A follow-up study will aim to identify how state laws translate into practice at the school level.

To learn about more key findings and to read the full report, please click here.

A Stark Outlook for Fund Raising in 2012?

By Holly Hall for the Chronicle of Philanthropy

Two new surveys suggest that fund-raising challenges for charities will persist through year’s end and beyond. But a third shows a burst of optimism among people who raise money for nonprofit causes.

Among the key findings:

* Nearly 60 percent of nonprofits achieved no increase in donations or saw giving drop in the first nine months of 2011, compared with the first three quarters of 2010. That news came in a survey of 875 charity officials by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative, a joint project by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy and five other organizations.

* Sixty-five percent of donors don’t plan to increase their giving in 2012, while 17 percent plan to contribute less, according to a study of 1,131 people who provided at least $20 to charity in the past year.  That is a sign things are growing worse for charities: A similar study, conducted for the Fenton public-relations company last year, found that only 11 percent planned to reduce their giving.

* Nearly two-thirds of fund raisers expect giving to grow in 2012, according to a study of 1,100 people who are involved in solicitations at charities. The study, conducted in October by Blackbaud, the fund-raising software company, found that only 9 percent of fund raisers predicted a decrease.

Fund raisers are responding to the challenges in varying ways. Forty-five percent plan to spend the same amount seeking gifts in 2012 as they did this year, but others are cutting costs, the Nonprofit Research Collaborative found. One third of charities said they will reduce or eliminate the amount of money they spend on fund-raising consultants, while 15 percent said they would spend less on fund-raising events.

Yet some charities will increase spending on specific types of fund raising. Forty-four percent plan to increase the amount they spend to reach affluent donors.

The most likely area in which respondents planned to spend more was major gifts, with 44 percent planning increased spending to generate large donations.

Tell us which survey you think provides the most accurate picture of the state of fund raising, and how your organization is preparing for 2012.

2011 Michigan AmeriCorps Member Celebration Keynote Slides

A few weeks ago I had the chance to be the keynote speaker at the 2011 Michigan AmeriCorps Member Celebration: Be the Change! Many of the participants expressed interest in receiving the slides from that session, so they've posted them online.

The slides from the keynote session can be found by clicking here and the slides from my breakout session on trust can be found by clicking here . Don't forget there are many other resources available on the Common Ground website: www.commongroundconsulting.org.