KRISTIN'S MARKETING GEM #6

We don’t do it that way here

This is such a powerful statement and sometimes even said without real thought.

If you say this phrase to a colleague, a new hire, a volunteer or a board member you may have just squashed an initiative that could take you to the next level of fund raising, motivating volunteers or spreading the word about your NPO.

Maybe you are more comfortable with the ‘way things have been done’ in the past, but I encourage you to entertain every idea, no matter how off-the-beaten-path it is, just to encourage innovation and possibly….brilliance!

Powerful Impact People: Barry Kazats

He embodies the term “bridges” and I am more than a little in awe as I interview this CEO and President of Bridges in Milford.  Barry Kasdan guides this nonprofit in providing a comprehensive range of outpatient mental health, addiction, community support and home-based services for children, families and adults, residing in Milford, Orange, West Haven and their surrounding communities.

Their slogan, Bridges is where the community turns for help, hope and recovery, is not just a phrase on the website for him.  His day started with caring for his own young granddaughter, and then quickly kicked into high gear. It was being available and caring for people, that drew him to field of social work and his role as CEO with Bridges in 1984. 

He came to Bridges because had done a lot of clinical work and his forte was looking at services and systems and how to grow them to benefit people.  Back in 1984 the agency was called the Milford Mental health clinic and had children services but was struggling to deal with a growing population of adults. To say that Barry is involved in many program services development projects and in taking on leadership at the state level is an understatement.

Monday he traveled to Harford for 9am meeting. Appointed by Senator Gayle Slossberg to the commission for nonprofit health and human services, he is working with this committee to take a look at the health/human services benefits that it offers the state and community.  The report will get turned over to the new governor with recommendations to serve more people and do it in a more cost effective way. Essentially becoming the “bridge” from the committee to the government, to the community.

“Early in my career, if I was dissatisfied with services I realized I had to get involved in policy, budget and legislation. So three days a week I usually start someplace out of the office like New Haven or Hartford in meetings. Given the nature of funding, I interface at those levels a lot.” 

Back at the office he meets with a number of his senior management staff. He has a total of seven senior managers and 160 staff members with a site in Orange, two sites in Milford and two in West Haven.  With a $12.5 million budget, 80% is funded by state and federal money. “At our meetings we go over budgeting, systems, new grants, issues about services that need to be addressed, all focusing on how to coordinate all the services we offer here.”  Bridging the gap from funding to implementation.

Bridges has strong local support from United Way, the city, and other local sources and they generate fees to cover the rest. Often Mr. Kasdan’s days are filled with policy type meetings for at least a dozen different departments or subdivisions of the program.  “We can’t operate them as separate entities.  How do you integrate all this together so that when a client walks through the front door it’s a seamless process for them? So they don’t get juggled around?. It’s a continuous challenge that takes a lot of my time.  I sort of transpose that type of an approach to ‘how to we do that at a state level?’” 

The state funds them to provide treatment and community support services.  By putting this structure in place, Connecticut was able to shut down state hospital years ago. “We were keeping people there, not because they needed to be there, but because we didn’t have the community services to bring them home. We started planning this and money started flowing from the state to establish the community systems.  Connecticut was in the forefront to set up a nation system.” And Barry was one of the advocates for all this. 

“Now, today, the budgets are difficult. The economy is in bad shape.  The questions policy makers are grappling with is ‘do you cut services like this and have people end up back in hospitals or do you think long term?’”

Founded in 1957 by a group of concerned citizens in Milford, Bridges now provides services to approximately 5,000 people annually at sites in Milford, Orange and West Haven. “Why we are here?  To help people we serve to lead healthy and productive lives. In fact their recovery-focused services include evaluation, counseling, and treatment, which are available to adults, children, adolescents and families “As an agency we have 5000 people a year who pass thru our doors.” Some need an assessment while others need ongoing treatment and support services. Their open caseload is usually 1500 people.

In the last 18 months they’ve had over half million in cuts and they’re waiting anxiously to see what happens with the new administration in Hartford and in how they will deal with the budget.  For all nonprofits creative fund raising ideas are important and since there is often a stigma attached to mental health issues Barry lights up as he talks about their own events like Folks on Spokes in it’s 19^th year.  “I was sitting at a board meeting years ago and we came up with a community event that would be fun and help take the stigma off the mental health services. Let’s have something where we can bring the community together for a good cause”.  This year over 500 folks participate and they raised 30 thousand. More important is the statement that the community makes for all the folks who use our services.”

For the first time in May they had a Do wop concert with Kenny Vance. While normally hosting a big annual event, they realized that the economy is in bad shape and wanted to make it fun and affordable.  “We filled the Parsons with 900 people. It speaks so loudly about the community and the support.  We raised money but more that that, it raised the spirits and the moral. Which is so important. Our board did that. We have a wonderful board and a wonderful staff. There’s not a meeting I sit down at where someone doesn’t come up with a new idea. I love to foster out of the box ideas.”

I must admit to feeling that this one column isn’t enough space to report on the many groups, services and meetings that Barry attends and advocates for, many times at the state and national levels. They received two federal grants this year. One is for a new initiative “Tobacco cessation” a statewide program, and the other concerns the integration of primary health care into behavior health care. They are one of 13 systems in the country to get these grants. “ We did some renovations and built into our sites, medical exam rooms to provide primary health care to our adult patients. Many of them never had this type of access. Our hope is to eventually meet the goals that we have for them in dealing with problems so they can be on their own and more independent.” For folks who have a challenge in meeting life’s challenges, expanding the view of what people need without so many barriers is a model that works and that is community based.

“How do I see myself? As a CEO, a supervisor, an orchestra leader, as someone who helps people to coordinate the seamless system, a change agent, a motivator, a health care reformer, a team player.”  Notice what all these titles have in common?

I think “Bridge” is a term that applies nicely as well. 

To learn more about Bridges, vist http://www.bridgesmilford.org

VOLUNTEER TIPS BY TAYLOR: TIP #6

#6 Use ‘em or Lose ‘em – Do You Know the Value of Your Volunteers?

Please do ‘just one thing’ for me!

Have you ever said that?  I’m sure! But have you ever asked a volunteer to do just one job for your organization?

When I first heard this concept I thought what a great idea – if I were approached and asked to do one task, it would be SO easy!

Keep in mind that this is for people who are so involved in their lives they don’t think they can add one more thing!

Be careful of what you ask – certainly not to chair your annual fundraising event. Remember: match the volunteer to the task!

If they are born salespeople, they wouldn’t mind making cold calls to ask for ____________ (fill in the blank). If they are artistic, they could ‘decorate’ for your next event. If they are organized, they could create a system for an event to make it run more smoothly.

You get the idea – Try it, they’ll love it!

KRISTIN'S MARKETING GEM--TIP #5

Keep it ‘simple”

 "Well, it's complicated."

One challenge administrators face is that their answers are often a lot more complicated than the simplistic stories that are peddled by those that would mislead and deceive. This is true for many non-profits doing important work.

We're not going to have a lot of luck persuading masses of semi-interested people to seek out and embrace complicated answers, but we can take two steps to lead to better information exchange and responses.

1. Take complicated overall answers and make them simple steps instead. Teach complexity over time, simply.

2. Teach a few people, the committed, your volunteers, your best staff, to embrace the idea of complexity. That's what a great college education does. That's what makes someone a statesman instead of a demagogue. Embracing complexity is a scarce trait and worth acquiring. But until your donors/board/employees/volunteers do, I think the first strategy is essential.

You can't sell complicated to someone who came to you to “buy” simple

Powerful Impact People: Sandra Koorejian

“What do you want to see happening and what can we do together to promote your safety?” This is a question often repeated by Sandra Koorejian, Director at the Domestic Violence Services (DVS) of Greater New Haven, a program of Birmingham Group Health Services, Inc.  This program helps thousands of victims of domestic violence every year, in a wide variety of ways and Sandra has been with them since 1987. Her duties range from program developer to fund raiser to grant writer. 

She acknowledges that successful grant writing is an‘art’. “The trick to successful grant writing is that you have to truly believe in your mission. You have to have a compelling story and a track record. More importantly you have to follow the directions.” 

Fund raising this year includes a Bowlathon, March 5^th. “Almost everyone enjoys bowling and the people who participate know it’s for a good cause”. Last year they raised $25,000. “In this Economy it is particularly hard doing private fund raising but our expenses continue to go up.  Do the math, you find yourself in a desperate situation”.  

Among the many services DVS offers is a 24 hour hotline that is bilingual and anonymous. “When people call the hotline they sometimes feel ashamed or blamed. And we say there is nothing you could have done where you deserve to be treated this way and we tell them that they are not alone. What can we do together to help you be safe?”  

In fiscal year 2010 DVS responded to 103 hotline calls from Milford residents.  A 300% increase over other years.  “It’s the economy. People losing their homes, jobs, it increases pressure.”  

DVS has a 15 bed emergency shelter in New Haven for families with children up to age 17 and those families can stay for up to 60 days.  Counselors work with the women to find housing, employment, and other needs. They also help the women deal with their feelings of low self-esteem, victimization and guilt “We have food, linens, transportation tokens and we can arrange for them to relocate if necessary for safety.”

They have victim advocates on the criminal and civil side.  There were 269 victims in the past year that worked with the criminal victim advocate, an 11% increase.  And the civil advocate worked with 103 Milford residents this year.   

“We also offer community education programs. Our advocates go into the high schools and senior centers to speak about healthy and unhealthy relationships. We do all this for free and everything is confidential.”  

While being a "victim" is not a place anyone would care to find themselves, Sandra’s compelling reason for the hard work she and DVS do is understandably bold and empowering.  “I feel like ultimately what we are helping people do is reach their potential. We are speaking out against the use of violence as a means to and end. It’s ultimately about power and control and when we help victims understand it in those terms they are freed from feeling that it’s their fault.”  

For more information about Sandra and Domestic Violence Services, please visit http://www.dvsgnh.org/

VOLUNTEER TIPS BY TAYLOR: TIP #5

Use ‘em or Lose ‘em –

Do You Know the Value of Your Volunteers?

Job Descriptions are a pain!

When I worked in my ‘corporate’ life job descriptions were VERY important. Annual reviews were based on them, salary increases were calculated according to them and those dreaded 5-year plans had to include all the parts and pieces of that description.

BUT I also knew what I was ‘supposed to do’ at any given time.

Your volunteers need this type of guidance. In nonprofits lines are very blurry because of lack of time, too much to do, deadlines and, sadly, not enough people to do the tasks, making it hard to get the job done.

SO when your volunteers know what the responsibilities are, it’s much easier for them to grab a friend and ask them to do ‘just one thing’ to help them out.

Try it – involve your current volunteers in preparing a job description. It will elevate them (being involved in something ‘different’); it could increase your volunteer base when they think of the best person for that job and in the end it will make the job much easier.

Powerful Impact People: Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson, Executive Director of the United Way in Milford, is celebrating his 33^rd year with this non-profit and is a champion of the word “collaborative”.   Executive Director since January of 1986, he started with The United Way in March 1978 as the campaign director. Now his duties as administrator, fundraiser and multitasker are a full-time load. “With over 200 local volunteers throughout the year working on different projects and 36 members of the board, our volunteers carry a lot of weight”. While he started out in the field of Law, Gary gravitated to this work early on by being involved in fund raising. He also had the opportunity to see the community working together, collaboratively.  He was inspired and now he inspires others. 

Today he starts out reading the paper to see the current events happening in Milford.  Last night was the annual holiday fundraiser held at SBC restaurant for United Way, where he met up with 100 attendees and helped run the raffle and silent auction while folks brought in unwrapped toys. ”People can still bring toys to the office which is located at 20 Evergreen Ave in Milford” This year the United Way has a special holiday appeal for families that have emergency needs.  “We have just seen a dramatic increase for our services this year and we collaborate with the department of human services. They do the outreach for people in need in the community. Mainly for help with bills or rent when a parent has gotten laid off.” 

After email responses he sizes up the day, prepares for an early morning campaign cabinet meeting and gets reports from all 10 divisions that are a part of the national campaign called “Live United”

“Our heaviest fund raising is fall to December with events like the annual golf tournament but we still raise money well into the New Year.  Nationally each of the 1300  United Way offices are separately incorporated, with 16 locals here in Connecticut.  The fund raising goal this year is 1 million dollars.   The United Way in Milford plays a collaborative role with 21 other agencies in town by helping with funding and networking.  Working together to make a difference locally.

“This year we were the recipients of a $125,000 federal grant over 10 years to promote programs on substance abuse like alcohol and tobacco.  So we are working with many agencies in town on this new initiative to educate the community on substance abuse.”

A Member of Milford Rotary, Thursdays means networking opportunities and a chance to associate with fellow business people who are doing good things, like Harry Garafalo, owner of Shop Rite and also a board member of UW.   “Harry is just one of the most generous people and this is the fourth year for our July, “United Way month” at Shop Rite.  We set up a display certain times during the week at Shop Rite and we passed out literature and education on what United Way does.  Harry has his staff cooking and selling hotdogs and soda and we get all the proceeds. We raised over 10 thousand this year”.

It is always the stories of the people who benefit from each non-profit that make the biggest impressions and Gary tells me of one such family in town.  Both parents were laid off and have two teens in school.  On top of that the wife had surgery recently and  was at home recovering with no income, no heat (oil) and with the electric getting ready to be turned off. “The woman called us. We have a small emergency fund and it was apparent that this person was in desperate straights. We were able to get an oil delivery for her and also help pay toward the electric so no lights were shut off.”  This woman was so grateful that she has been speaking on behalf of the United Way.  “It’s a case where we were able to help and they were able to give back, by speaking. It just touches me.”   Not uncommon, after 32 years of working with the United Way.

We all know that the cost of living is high in Connecticut and that the recession has really affected everyone but unless you are personally affected, or know someone who is in trouble you might tend to lump United Way in with all others. “We are different.  We are local, not a national bucket that money is funneled into.  The money that is raised here stays here.” 

At the end of the day Gary goes home tired to a certain extent, but he says he is also energized by working with so many other agencies that do great work and by touching lives here in Milford.    “Most days I can go home and know that we have made a difference in someone’s life and that is very rewarding work”.

Collaborative is a good word for United Way and Gary Johnson.

 For more information, visit:
www.unitedwayofmilford.org

KRISTIN'S MARKETING GEMS: TIP #4

Keep it "simple":

"Well, it's complicated."

One challenge administrators face is that their answers are often a lot more complicated than the simplistic stories that are peddled by those that would mislead and deceive. This is true for many non-profits doing important work.

We're not going to have a lot of luck persuading masses of semi-interested people to seek out and embrace complicated answers, but we can take two steps to lead to better information exchange and responses.

1. Take complicated overall answers and make them simple steps instead. Teach complexity over time, simply.

2. Teach a few people, the committed, your volunteers, your best staff, to embrace the idea of complexity. That's what a great college education does. That's what makes someone a statesman instead of a demagogue. Embracing complexity is a scarce trait and worth acquiring. But until your donors/board/employees/volunteers do, I think the first strategy is essential.

You can't sell complicated to someone who came to you to “buy” simple

VOLUNTEER TIPS BY TAYLOR: TIP #4

Use ‘em or Lose ‘em –
Do You Know the Value of Your Volunteers?

Treat your newest volunteer as though they were your best house sitter!
 
Why? Your house sitter knows where everything is, what to do in an emergency and how to reach you when it’s important.
 
Do your volunteers have that information about your facility, their fellow volunteers or emergency contacts?
 
Sometimes in our rush to welcome our new ‘people’ we forget what they don’t know! Again, we take things for granted and this can lead to upset and disorientation.
 
Prepare a ‘cheat sheet’ for every new person. Look at this information with a fine tooth comb. Ask yourself some of the questions I asked. Are the answers there?
 
Your volunteers will thank you and stay with you for a very long time.
After all, you treated them like your best house sitter!