Category: For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators Personal and travel

Minimizing my online life and maximizing the rest (Part I): Minimizing

Major transitions are often a time of reflection and change for me, and coming back from travelling is usually a time where I set goals and make changes as “real life” resumes.

One of my goals is to cut down on my online life. Here’s what I’m doing.

BLOG READING

Cutting down the blogs I keep up on to:

General News
I don’t have a TV and only listen to CBC radio, so RSS news feeds are my main source. I subscribe to feeds from Vancouver Sun, CBC, Globe and Mail, and NY Times. I also get emails from the Economist and Financial Times.

Thought leaders
 This doesn’t mean leaders in the “I have a bajillion followers” sense. But instead, people that write about things that I would love to discuss with them in person – usually related to community and/or education. Some of my current favourites:

  • Glenn’s little ugly blog by Glenn Gaetz, who I’ve come to know in person through SFU’s Certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement
  • Know Your Own Bone by Colleen Dilenschneider, who I’ve only met online through the Nonprofit Millennials Blogging Alliance
  • Peter Levine (Director of CIRCLE), who writes largely on civic engagement, but I read him through Facebook, as this is where the comments happen on his writing (friend him, he doesn’t have a fan page).

Deep Sector News
 Websites that offer important policy and research news regarding topics like civic engagement or the nonprofit sector in Canada. Some of my sources:

  • CIRCLE, which produces research on youth and civic engagement
  • Imagine Canada, which produces research and policy recommendations related to the charitable sector in Canada

Hard Resources
 No, I don’t want to know your “Top 3 Ways For Nonprofits to Use Twitter” or “10 ways to enhance your personal brand”. However, if you have recommendations for tried, tested and true technology tools or professional development, I’d like to hear. Some examples include:

  • Civic Footprint, which writes a lot about their innovative Timeraiser events and civic engagement, but is also a huge proponent of cloud computing and efficiency and productivity through technology
  • Wild Apricot Blog, which writes about volunteerism and associations in general, but also a lot about web technologies

TWITTER

Sigh. I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to do about this. I’ve met great people through Twitter, and have been directed to great information. But most of it is shit, and results in a lot of switching costs (time wasted by changing objects of focus too often). Even limiting people I follow to those interested in similar topics leads to a lot of shit. And I’m guilty of producing it too.

I’m kind of a “let’s get down to the good stuff” kind of gal, and I don’t think Twitter is what I’m looking for when it comes to conversing and learning. I’ll probably stick around, but in a much more limited way. I learn more meaningful things about people and their ideas through their blogs.

FACEBOOK

Sigh to the power of infinity. It’s a personal not a professional tool for the most part, and as so many friends are on it, I think giving it up is impossible. But maybe only check it once a day? Maybe? OK. Twice. Fine, three times.

EMAIL

Delegate. Do. Delete. or Designate = Done. I like a zero inbox at work and at home. I’ll continue this.

TV

I don’t have a TV, but I still watch a lot online. This season I’m trying to stick to Mad Men and How I Met Your Mother.

What about you? Have you tried to minimize your time online?

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

Incomplete Thought #1: People in politics and humanitarian work shouldn’t be

In Tamga, Kyrgyzstan, I met a woman who worked for MSF and had been in the south doing some work after the ethnic violence around Osh and Jalalabad. She told me there was a saying about humanitarian workers. They’re all one of three ‘M’s: madmen, missionaries, or martyrs. Generally, people doing it for the wrong reasons.

At another time, I heard (perhaps in a movie?) that the people that get into politics are the exact wrong people who should be. People who want to be mayor/premier/prime minister are at some level attracted to power and attention. Again, doing it for the wrong reasons.

Now, there are definitely good people working in international aid and politics. But the two systems are almost set up to reward people for the wrong reasons. Politicians need to stay in power. Humanitarian workers want to be relied up. They manifest people and processes that counteract the guts of the work that should be done.

Can these cycles of corrupted positive reinforcement be broken?

Discuss.

The Incomplete Thought Series is, well, a series of incomplete thoughts. These are thoughts I have not researched, but which have popped into my head and am interested in discussing. Your incomplete or complete thoughts are encouraged.

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

Your small Canadian nonprofit can’t afford professional development?

I’m a firm believer in on-the-job learning, including professional development. I believe it can not only strengthen an individual’s effectiveness in a job, but also can positively impact employee engagement and retention.

But conferences, workshops, courses and other professional development opportunities can be expensive for nonprofits on tight budgets. This is where the Leadership Grants Program from PricewaterhouseCoopers comes in.

Deadline for applications: October 29, 2010

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada Foundation Leadership Grants Program provides funding for professional development opportunities for staff and volunteers who work at small- to medium-registered charitable organizations in Canada.

The grants are available to both staff and volunteers, individuals or groups.

The application process requires some thinking as well as endorsement from highers-up in your organization, so be sure to take time to prepare your submission.

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

Executive Director position and Professional Development certificate

Two great opportunities came across my desk, and even though I’m currently keeping it real in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, I had to share.

Executive Director, Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation

Deadline: June 30

My friend Michelle is becoming a mother, and her position is open. I have a variety of experiences with Take a Hike as a donor, volunteer and event attendee, and they’ve all been fantastic!

This would be a great opportunity for a younger (in age or career) nonprofit professional looking for challenging but well-supported leadership position.

Read the posting on Charity Village here. They are hoping to hire by mid-July for a mid-August start.

SFU Certificate in Dialogue in Civic Engagement

Deadline: July 10

I completed this certificate in April this year, and also developed online curriculum for the first course in the program. I think this program is highly appropriate for activist and advocates, government employees involved in public engagement, citizen organizers, and private sector employees that have a public role in their work – anyone really with an interest in “strategically addressing issues of public concern.”

The people – faculty, staff, and fellow learners – were diverse, experienced, and encouraging, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the program. I was able to use the techniques and principles immediate in my work and was able to explore possible further career interests in dialogue and civic engagement.

Scholarships are available for selected applicants from nonprofit sectors – don’t let the costs stop you from applying.

Read more here.

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

12 things to do when you leave your job for the next person

As I’ve written about already, I’m heading to Central Asia for about 6 months soon, and my last day of work is today (egads!). I’m currently doing some cross training, and though I’m not perfect, I’m striving to get the following things done before I go to ensure as smooth a tradition as possible.

There’s nothing worse than the only times your name comes up after you leave being in phrases that involve frustration and expletives.

Written documents:

  1. Next 30 days: A list of things that will need to get done in the next 30 days.
  2. Project status: A documents with ongoing projects and their current statuses. I use my email and file folders to create a structure.
  3. Key contacts: Key contacts needed to get core work done, plus list of peripheral but helpful/collaborative/interested others.
  4. Yearly plan: Major dates/deadlines/projects throughout the year.
  5. Philosophical documents: Mission/vision/philosophy/values and other core principles that have guided your work to now.
  6. Support staff: A list of who does what. My student staff keep a constantly updated manual going, and it REALLY helps make onboarding more efficient.
  7. Burn after reading: The down-low on relationships, funding, issues, and other contexts that are important to have a heads up on, but that aren’t “on record”.

Access:

  1. Email files: I’m sharing most email folders with the next person. I’m only sharing (and not exporting/importing) as they should only be for reference if necessary. It’s never a priority, but try to clean them up and delete irrelevant ones.
  2. Computer files: Keep them orderly fashion from the beginning (by project/task area) and it will be a huge help. At my last job I had no crossover time with the new person, but I heard back many thanks that all the files were easy to find!
  3. Paper files: I’m not a huge paper file person. But do the same as you should do with computer files.
  4. Online tools: Make sure any surveys/mail lists etc that you are the owner of either get shared or transferred to the new person.
  5. List of passwords and logins.

What do you do to help transition staff changeovers?

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

What’s in your message to donors? Technology to assess communications

I was really excited to attend Net Tuesday last week, and I wasn’t disappointed. Ben Johnson (currently with Union Gospel Mission) was one of two presenters giving a talk on data for social change. While he had tonnes of great points re: data analysis, what excited me most was the visualization of text data using Wordle.net. (I used Wordle last year to demonstrate what my blog was about, and it was right on target!)

Question 1: What message are you sending out?

What message does your board chair’s message in the annual report send?
What message does your vision and vision statements send?
What message does your newsletter send?

While we obviously write these items with very specific intents, sometimes our language, when we dig down deep, doesn’t actually reflect our intentions.

Copy and paste your text (or an rss feed) into Wordle, and voila! (See below for an example). You may be surprised. At UGM, Ben found that some of the language actually focused on programs, when really what they wanted to focus on was people.

Question 2: What messages do your donors respond to?

On UGM’s online donor form, an open box question asks “What inspired you to give today?”. Ben then took all the responses and threw them into World, and voila!

Many at UGM (a faith-based social services organization) might assume that faith and God would be reasons behind giving. These words were present, but even more so were words that indicated a connection to family (brother, father, sister, etc.) and times of year (eg Christmas).

If you analyze what is inspiring donors to give, you can update (and assess!) your communications accordingly to match donors’ interests.

Example: UBC Vision and Mission

UBC is my alma mater, and I have always loved and identified with their vision and mission. I would have done SFU’s but alas, we DON’T HAVE THEM (ridiculous and uninspiring, I know).

UBC vision and mission by Wordle
Image Credit: Wordle.net

I can see easily now why I connect with UBC’s vision and mission. Beyond the obvious university words like “research” and “students”, the next most prominent words are “society”, “sustainable”, “global” and “citizens”. I’m surprised that “learning” isn’t more prominent though.

Try it! You might like it! What results did you get?

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

“Hey guys” and other gender-bending language

gender bending robot
Image Credit: Pablo Gutiérrez

When I was a high school teacher, I tried very hard to avoid the ubiquitous “guys”.

“Alright guys, listen up.”
“I need all you guys to put your lab equipment back up at the front once you’re finished.”
“Attention up here guys.”
“What did you guys think about….”

“Guys” are male. Half of my classes weren’t. So instead I tried to use gender-neutral alternatives.

“Alright everyone, listen up.”
“I need each of you to put your lab equipment back up at the front once you’re finished.”
“Attention up here folks.”
“What did you all think about….”

Gendered language like this is so commonplace it’s easy not to give it a second thought. Other non-gender-neutral language is more thoughtfully shifting, as roles that historical may have been filled by one gender are much less homogeneous today.

Stewardess–>Flight Attendant

Policeman–>Police Officer

Chairman–>Chairperson

And then there are the phrases like “men at work” and” manpower”. Somehow “personpower” doesn’t have the same ring to it though. (And spell check doesn’t like it either).

I don’t think it’s being oversensitive to want to change the way we genderify language. (I totally just made that word up.) Rather than be an outspoken activist about it, I just infuse language into my conversations. Repeating a gendered phrase back with ungendered words, for example.

“That waitress was such a wench.”

“Yeah, the server was totally rude to us.”

Is speaking with ungendered words important to you? (For me yes). Or does it even matter? (For me yes).

Can gendered language create barriers? (I think so). Or am I just being overly PC? (I say no).