Trends & tips for emerging leaders in the nonprofit human services sector

1. Nonprofit Leaders of
Tomorrow :
4 Things You Should Know
Carol Loftur-Thun
CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

2. 4 Trends
 Government
outsourcing of social
services &
proliferation of
nonprofits
 National debt & aging
population
 Growth of Internet &
social media
 Professionalization of
social services
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

3. Government Outsourcing &
Proliferation of Nonprofits
 Less costly, reduced
liability & more
accountability
 Leverages in-kind
donations & volunteers
 Are nonprofits doing
government’s job?
 One result: more & more
nonprofits—58,000 new
501(c)3 applications to IRS
in 2008 alone
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

4. National Debt &
Aging Population
• Looming hard choices for
society—social security &
Medicare costs
• Population shift to older,
conservative demographic
• Aging population with higher
health care costs
• Government cuts in human
services makes increased cuts
& competition for nonprofits
almost inevitable
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

5. Growth of
Internet & Social
Media
 Revolutionizing
communication &
commerce
 Revolutionizing political
campaigns
 Creating fast-paced true
marketplace & democracy?
 Provides new powerful
communication,
organizing, education &
fundraising tools
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

6. Professionalization
of Nonprofits
 Nonprofit graduate
programs
 Medical model
 Compartmentalization &
specialization
 Those served are now
“clients” & “patients”
instead of people
 Demographic shifts &
volunteering trends
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

7. 4 Challenges
 A new “Pink Ghetto”?
 Undervalued & under-
resourced
 Getting a voice at the
table
 The nonprofit leadership
challenge
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

8. The New “Pink
Ghetto”?
 Traditionally teaching & nursing
were the “pink ghetto”
 Lower salaries in nonprofits
than other professions
 Mostly women fill nonprofit
positions, especially in smaller
organizations
 Human service nonprofits serve
children, elderly, sick, poor,
people of color—those often
marginalized in society
 Are nonprofits the new “Pink
Ghetto”?
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

9. Undervalued &
Under-resourced
 Nonprofits often seen as just
“charities”
 Nonprofits have to “beg” for money
 Short-staffed, inadequate facilities,
little working capital, lower salaries
than government or business
 Always “changing water into wine”
 Toughest jobs out there—best &
brightest work harder with less to
get more done
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

10. Need a Voice at
the Table
 Just like in “pink ghetto”
professions, nonprofits
have little power or say in
big decisions
 Nonprofits need a “voice at
the table”
 Third Sector with Business
& Government
 Largely ignored in decision-
making—recent health care
debate is an example
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

11. The Leadership
Challenge
 Long hours, low pay & lots of
pressure
 It’s running a business with more
accountability, higher standards, &
fewer resources—”a levitation act”
 Only business where more
customers equals less resources
 ¾ of EDs will leave jobs - but not
nonprofit sector – within 5 years .
 Boards & funders contribute to ED
burnout.
 EDs believe they make significant
financial & family/work-life
sacrifices to lead nonprofits (Daring
to Lead 2006, Meyer Foundation &
Compass Point)
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

12. 4 Opportunities
 Social media &
Internet
 Nonprofits are the
Third sector
 Solving the leadership
challenge
 New business models
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

13. Social Media &
the Internet
 New ways to educate,
fundraise, recruit, organize
 Email, Facebook, Twitter
 The Obama campaign
model
 Pepsi Challenge & Lilith
Fair Competition
 SaveWEAVE campaign
 Razoo Give2Max day
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

14. Nonprofits are
the Third Sector
 Nonprofit Congress
 V3 Campaign
 Nonprofit Roundtable in DC--
Beyond Charity: Recognizing
Return on Investment
 Politicians need to see votes
& businesses need to see
customers when they see
nonprofits
 Organizing the sector to
achieve political & economic
muscle is key
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

15. Solving the
Leadership
Challenge
 Innovate new leadership
styles & forms
 Collaborative leadership
 Job-sharing; Sabbaticals;
Co-EDs; 9 month jobs;
higher pay; more resources
so better work/life balance
 Challenge boards to
become more savvy, more
realistic, more skilled
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

16. New Business
Models for
Nonprofits
 Likely consolidation of
nonprofits
 Get more efficiency—
bigger bang for the buck
 Use full range of
strategic alliance options
for nonprofits
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

17. 4 Skills You Need In Your
Toolbox
 Finance &
accounting
 Management
 Social media
 Communications &
marketing
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

18. Finance &
Accounting
 Can you read a balance
sheet?
 What is ROI?
 How about debits &
credits?
 Can you put together an
Excel spreadsheet budget?
 Financial acumen is a must
for nonprofit management
& program management
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

19. Management
 Formal management skills are
critical for performance—for
example:
 Forming, Storming, Norming &
Perfoming = Group
Development
 Tannenbaum-Schmidt
Leadership Continuum from
collaborative to authoritative &
Situational Leadership
 Powerpoint, business writing,
meeting facilitation, people skills,
etc
 Nonprofit leaders must speak the
language of business &
government too
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

20. Social Media &
Networking
 Stay abreast of
technology as a powerful
tool in your toolkit
 Facebook, Twitter,
Linked-In, Blogging
 Will keep evolving
 Innovate & envision new
ways to connect with
those we serve & those
who support us
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

21. Communication &
Marketing
 Top communication skills are the
gold standard for leadership
 Need ability to advocate,
persuade, sell, & most of all
listen
 Written, verbal, visual & non-
verbal communication skills plus
active listening skills key
 Crowded world of information—
how can you make your message
stand out?
 Branding & marketing—if you
don’t know it, learn it
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center

22. Wrapping Up
 Pursue lifelong learning—”if
you’re not learning, you’re
dead”
 Make time to stay abreast of
strategic trends, challenges &
opportunities
 Look for intersections &
synergies, and realize change
is the norm & will accelerate
 Practice the “jiu jitsu” of
turning crises into
opportunities
Carol Loftur-Thun, CEO and Executive Director, The Women’s Center