All posts by Tony Martignetti

AFP Western Mass: Here Are Your Forms

Thank you so much for hosting me as your lunch speaker for Demystifying Charity Registration: Making Your Solicitations Legal. You’re a really engaged group and I love your interest in getting into compliance. It was a lot of fun being with you!

Here’s my Power Point:

You can also see it on SlideShare.

Here are the forms I talked about (in .pdf format):

Thank you again and good luck!

Nonprofit Radio for January 21, 2011: Sexism and Planned Giving Punch-Up

Big Nonprofit Ideas for the Other 95%

Compliance. Board relations. Fundraising. Technology. Volunteer management. Accounting. Finance. Marketing. Social media. Investments.

Every nonprofit faces these issues and big nonprofits have experts in each. Small and mid-size nonprofits have Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. Trusted experts throughout the country join Tony to take on the tough issues facing your organization.

Episode 23 of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio for January 21, 2011

Tony’s Guests:

Karen Bradunas, SPHR, is a human resources consultant working with start-up organizations to protect and grow their businesses. With over 20 years experience in human resources, Karen has best practice knowledge of how to attract, retain and motivate staff.

Topic: Save Your Office From a Sexism Scene: Policies you need in place to protect your nonprofit in case of a sexism or sexual harassment situation

Claire Meyerhoff is Editorial Director at The Planned Giving Company. She is in charge of all content for PGC’s newest product, the PG NewZine, an innovative magazine-style marketing piece targeted at loyal donors.

Topic: Punch-Up Your Planned Giving Newsletter: from savvy story style to picking perfect pictures, tips to get your newsletter read by donors and prospects

Here is the link to the podcast: 025: Sexism Protection and PG Newsletters

When and where: Talking Alternative Radio, Friday, 1-2pm Eastern.

You can subscribe on iTunes and listen anytime, anyplace on the device of your choosing.

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Hyre welcome to tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent, i’m your aptly named host. Tony martignetti what a coincidence that i found this show, i hope you recall last week it was ethics our with professor doug white dogs, the author of the non-profit challenge, and we talked about ethics and the role of non-profits in our culture this week, save your office from a sexism seen policies you need in place to protect your non-profit hr consultant karen bradunas comes back to the show and explains what you need now to protect later your organization, you’re bored and you employees in case of a sexism or sexual harassment situation and punch up your planned giving newsletter from savvy story style to picking perfect pictures. Claire meyerhoff comes back to the show she’s, the editorial director of the plant e-giving company, and she shares her secrets to getyour planned giving newsletters read by donors and prospects this week on tony’s take two at thirty two minutes after the hour. I’ll talk about my tv and other radio appearances in florida this week and give you a little glimpse of what is coming up. That’s all this week, this show, tony martignetti non-profit radio we now take a two minute break. You, khun, stand by for that. Stay with me. They didn’t think the tooting getting ding, ding, ding, ding, you’re listening to the talking alternate network duitz get in. Nothing. You could. Is your marriage in trouble? Are you considering divorce? Hello, i’m lawrence bloom, a family law attorney in new york and new jersey. No one is happier than the day their divorce is final. My firm can help you. We take the nasty out of the divorce process and make people happy. Police call a set to one, two, nine six four three five zero two for a free consultation. That’s lawrence h bloom two, one two, nine, six, four, three five zero two. We make people happy. Are you suffering from aches and pains? Has traditional medicine let you down? Are you tired of taking toxic medications, then come to the double diamond wellness center and learn how our natural methods can help you to hell? Call us now at to one to seven to one eight, one eight three that’s to one to seven to one eight one eight three or find us on the web at www dot double diamond wellness dot com. We look forward to serving you. Hey, all you crazy listeners looking to boost your business? Why not advertise on talking alternative with very reasonable rates? Interested simply email at info at talking alternative dot com welcome back to tony martignetti non-profit radio i’m joined now by karen bradunas, and we’re going to be talking about saving your office from a sexism scene. The policies you need in place to protect your non-profit and your employees. Karen is a human resources consultant working with startup organizations to protect and grow their business. Her consulting business is karen m bradunas human resource is consulting. She has over twenty years experience in human resource is before consulting, she held officer position’s at gulf insurance and bankers trust with which is now deutsche bank. And she holds the designation nufer senior professional in human resource is s p h r or sierra papa hotel romeo. If you’re in the military sierra papa hotel romeo, that is a senior professional human resources, and i’m very glad that her expertise brings her back to the show. Welcome back, karen. Good to be here. Thanks very much. Glad to have you. I have a big interest in sexism lately and sex harassment issues because of a block post that i did originally in november and then just a few weeks ago, sort of confirming what i asked in november does workplace sexism exist and i got resounding yes comments, mostly from women. So i was a little embarrassed that i even bothered to ask the question initially, what are the risks? Too small and midsize non-profits around sexism and sexual harassment, the risk is huge, there’s different kinds of harassment. There is targeted harassment, which is where it is. An individual or a group of individuals has a specific person that they’re not treating equally. Tough guy targeted. If someone sues your organization for targeted harassment, it can shut down your business. And how is that? Well, there’s damage is that that you will end up paying if they can prove it and they’re good, they go through lawsuit. I don’t know the limits, but it’s significant, this is under federal law is where the lawsuit would come from or state law. Well, both both. But harassment has looked at pretty stringently. It’s a part of title seven, which is, you know, ingrained in our culture in title seven. Just tell listeners what that is. We have jargon, jail, remember so okay. Title seven. It was started for race discrimination, but all kinds of discrimination is included in title seven and most recently, gina, which is genetic information. So all of this harassment really stems from title seven, which has been around a while, okay. And gina, what is jenna? Stand for genetic information. Think it’s notification act which president bush signed, signed in enacted and now something’s air taking place where you can’t discriminate, especially for insurance companies based on genetic information. Okay, so if you have a predisposition for certain illness, you can’t be discriminated against, etcetera. So this is title seven of what? The employment law. Internal revenue code. The internal revenue code. Okay. All right. So the sewol but let’s, take it a step further is just makes good business sense. If if you have a mission that’s important. Can you really say that on ly? A certain sector of the population can help you with your mission. It doesn’t make sense to exclude any kind of person based on race, genetic information, sexual orientation, any of that or including sex or gender. Exactly. And so if there are risks, who where does the risk lies it with board members? Is it with the corporation? The non-profit? Where is the risk it’s been broadened? Buy-in especially the serbians. Actually, it rests with even the management level if i’m a manager at an organization and ice and employee comes to me and says so, and so when it could be a vendor, could be this just isn’t employees harassment can involve vendors consultant’s also, and they come to a manager and reported that manager is obligated to either go to someone who can investigate it or investigated themselves if they’re trained to do so. All right, now you mentioned sarbanes actually does. Does that apply to non-profits, though? Or we strictly talking about title seven for non-profit i think there are some aspects of sarbanes oxley that applied all businesses. Okay, including, you think the discrimination? Yeah, i don’t know if it goes as deepest discrimination testing, but there is the idea of accountability and and the underlying responsibility and needing toe audit. And the idea of harassment in the workplace is considered a significant piece of auditing. Okay, and at the very least, title seven still applies. So so your point is the manager has a potential liability. Absolutely. Who else within the organization, including maybe the organization itself, the organization it’s, our board members boardmember sze management. Hr clearly, and you typically can’t even get employment practices liability insurance, which organizations should have unless you have a policy manual with how to report it listed in detail. Okay, we’re going to get into what those things are that we should have in place. And you just mentioned to insurance and employment practices manual ah, so in terms of these these liabilities, can they be individual? So in other words, what i mean is, can an administrator or a boardmember be liable as an individual? I have, and i don’t know the court precedent on this that have to do for an attorney, but i my understanding, is as hr. I can have personal liability. I’ve had two in the past. Fire a client because of some issues around this has put my business in jeopardy. Okay, well, i would think that if if the hr administrator manager has individual liability than most likely other other managers in the company and again, you know, i keep hitting the board members, but we often forget about boardmember. But they are absolutely fiduciaries to the to the organization, and they have a legal duty to make sure that office is in the organization generally is operating legally within title seven and possibly star beings. Actually, okay, we’re going to take a break. And then after that break, we will continue with karen. And we’ll start to talk about some of the details of what your organization needs. Tto have in place, and we’ll also talk about what the role of human resource is. Office is. After this break, stay with me. Talking alternative radio twenty four hours a day. Are you feeling overwhelmed in the current chaos of our changing times? A deeper understanding of authentic astrology can uncover solutions in every area of life. After all, metaphysics is just quantum physics politically expressed. I am montgomery taylor, and i offer lectures, seminars and private consultations. For more information, contact me at monte m o nt y at r l j media. Dot com are you stuck in your business or career trying to take your business to the next level, and it keeps hitting a wall? This is sam liebowitz, the conscious consultant. I will help you get to the root cause of your abundance issues and help move you forward in your life. Call me now and let’s. Create the future you dream of. Two, one, two, seven, two, one, eight, one, eight, three, that’s to one to seven to one, eight one eight three. The conscious consultant helping conscious people. Be better business people. I really need to take better care of myself if only i had someone to help me with my lifestyle. I feel like giving up hyre is this you mind over matter, health and fitness can help. If you’re expecting an epiphany, chances are it’s not happening. Mind over matter, health and fitness could help you get back on track or start a new life and fitness. Join Joshua margolis, fitness expert at 2 one two eight six five nine two nine. Zero or visit w w w died. Mind over matter. Y si dot com. Yeah, you’re listening to the talking alternative network. Duitz durney welcome back. My guest is karen bradunas, and we’re talking about saving your office from sexism scene. Karen. What is the role of human resource is if there is ah ah, complaint. Human resource is is responsible to investigate the complaint. Human resource is may not be the only avenue in depending on the size of the organization. You may not have a formal hr department many dahna right? It doesn’t make sense to have one into your certain size, but that function needs an individual doing that really needs to understand that there is really a huge risk, especially when a complaint comes in if you choose to ignore it not only from the sense of a lawsuit, but just in the sense of productivity, because that really sends a strong message to staff that complaints go unheard. Yeah, that they’re not working in a safe workplace is not a safe environment it’s harmful on when i write policy manuals for organizations, i really stress that you need to have in the policy manual detailed information off what the process is like and to whom the individual should go, too, and i suggest that you have two avenues either their manager or h r if there is no hr that they can go directly to the board or the executive director, but there needs to be two avenues. If i’m uncomfortable going to my manager to discuss this, i need another place to go. Okay, so let’s, get that, then this is the first obligation that a non-profit has tohave unemploy eee practices manual in place. And what else should it should that manual talk about in terms of sexual harassment? Sexism in the workplace? Depending on the organization, you can go into detail of what sexual harassment means actually define in the mind and touching. And you, khun yeah, you can go into e-giving examples others just state what the law is and then say, if you feel you’ve been a victim of harassment, thes air the steps to take. I also encourage organizations to including there that if you don’t notify us of the harassment, there’s, nothing we can do. And i understand that because there are times that something may be going on, that people don’t know the detail of what it is. Yeah, what if what if it’s just rumors? You know, there are a lot of people talking at the water coolers about ah, woman who’s suffering something at the hands of maybe another woman or or a man or a vendor, but or event right you mentioned didn’t mention it before, too. And but suppose there isn’t a formal complaint that just there’s just rumors around. Everybody hears it, but nobody the woman who’s suffering this has not come forward formally. What happens then? I encourage who’s ever doing the hr function. Whoever has a relationship with that that individual it’s a it’s a woman that they approached her one because you want to make sure that you’re sending a message. Hey, we care if something’s going on we want you to be aware that this is being said. You don’t really want it work environment where rumors the running around about people it’s not a safe environment, it’s not safe and it’s not productive. Exactly. And so, just with a little detail, how would someone do that? Suppose it is an executive director that there is no hr there’s no hr manager, right? How would an executive director approach that person about whom the rumors are swirling and she may very well know that the rumors just being talked about but irrespective of that, how does how do you make that approach? And had that meeting i would apart someone by saying, you know, i’d like to meet with you. Go off somewhere. Not in front of everyone behind closed doors and say, look, i’m hearing scuttlebutt about a situation and this is what i’m hearing i want to make you aware of it one to find out if it’s true toe let you know if it is true, this is serious stuff. This is not behavior we approve of here, and i want to get your take on this. Is this really going on? If the individual doesn’t want to share it, i ous an h r professional would wantto sort of see what’s going on in the office, and i might if the scuttlebutt is affecting. A lot of staff members call people and say, why are you saying that? So you’re actually doing the investigation, even if the person says i don’t want to talk about if it’s affecting productivity? Yeah, if it’s going to, you know, give people a bad name, you know, if it’s going to be, you know, a slander, i want to address it and i’m you know, depending on how much the scuttlebutt is if it’s one individual and you talk to the woman in this case who is being named as thie victim sometimes if she’s sharing with one individual that will stop it if he doesn’t want any to go further. But if it’s already spread throughout the office, it’s not a safe environment if it’s if it’s a false claim, then you have an issue with an employee being bad. Muffed you don’t want that either, right? All right. Yeah. That’s. That’s. Very possible to it, you know. Well, we’re talking about rumors on in our hypothetical the woman who’s. Supposedly the victim doesn’t want teo make a formal claim. Maybe there isn’t anything going on. Maybe that’s. Why she doesn’t want to. But your point, then somebody’s being talked about badly a za potential, the perpetrator. Now, what you just mentioned is what if it’s not happening? If it’s not happening in someone is starting this rumor or making a false claim, i recommend to two employers to start to terminate the employee that’s making these false claims. Because, again, it’s a nun safe environment where someone can falsely accuse someone else of doing something. Okay? And you think termination is appropriate? Yeah, yeah. I mean, if you’ve got an office where someone’s being spoken against and you, you start an investigation that individuals going to know it, no matter how, especially a smaller office, no matter how discreet you are. It’s uncomfortable? Do you really want? Do you really want someone who lies to be in your office? You know, i mean that’s the bottom line right now, it’s someone you don’t drop, and if you go through this and you let them stay or don’t discipline them, at least in some fashion, you’re essentially saying it’s, okay and it’s not right, you are, and this is all this all goes back to protecting the organization, so even even if the again and our hypothetical the woman is a victim, even if she doesn’t want to make a claim, you still the executive director. However, has this hr function roll still has an obligation to protect the organization and whether or not they make the claim. If something happens, the organization is going to suffer even if it’s just bad publicity employees who leave because they don’t like the work environment, talk about the organization to other people, so word on the street is going to get out. Anyways, i’m with karen bradunas hr consultant, and we’re talking about protecting your office from a sexism seen potential sexual harassment claims or or or sexism in the office. So karen, besides thea employee manual and if we have time, maybe we’ll come back to some of the details that should be in emmanuelle, but we’ve touched on them somewhat. What else doesn’t organization need to have in place? There’s some insurance that they should have? What kind of insurance is for some organizations, directors in officers at which may or may not apply here, but employment practices, liability insurance they should have, and that is protects an organization from things such as this, and you can talk to a broker about it. They’re specialized brokers in this area that’s that specialized in it and there’s certain, you know, claims it’s very specialized insurance. You cannot typically get it without having an employee manual in place. Yeah, just cassette. You mentioned that earlier because they won’t underwrite it is because without emmanuel, they don’t know what you’re doing. So how do you want to underwrite something where we don’t know what your employment practices are? You can’t even assess the risks that can assess a premium, and so they can do right now would insurance company of that type that has that employment practices, liability insurance typically help the organization constructed non-profit i mean construct the employee manual, or would they have a template, or would you not expect that? I have not seen them have it. There may be some out there that do. You can get boilerplate manuals from some accountants, have them. I don’t know if they’re they’re the most current, and certainly attorneys have them. I work with organizations who want to customize it and the ones you get from attorneys are oftentimes legalese, and often organizations say that doesn’t really feel like our organization, so we’ll customize it because it is part of the orientation process. Emmanuel sort of gets an employee to get a sense of what the organization is like, and in some cases i will write managers manuals based on the employee manual. Well, that’s interesting. So that’s that’s something else that should be in place? Well, it doesn’t have to be in place. And but if you haven’t organization where you want to ensure that there’s consistency for all managers, you’d like a document for them to refer to so that they know they have the policy manual. They know what the policy is, but how do they enforce it? You know, do they have forms they have to use for corrective disciplinary action? Is there a template? We are these forms. How do you do this? You know where things do? Sort of a guidebook for managers i create that it cuts down on training time, and it also ensures some consistency across the organization. Okay, so sort of. Does it also, that manager’s manual includes sort of interpretation. Of the policy and as well as you’re describing the process for carrying out the policies in the employee manual, so it’ll typically say, here’s, the policy, you know, way, expect you to be on time, i’ll give, you know, we expect you to be on time, so it will say in the manager’s manual employees, you know, if an employee’s consistently late, fifteen minutes or more for x number of days, they really should have a verbal warning or a written warning, and it goes through that steps just to make sure that, you know, you don’t have one man, and you’re putting someone on written warning for one, you know, one minute after the hour and another, you know, never yeah, okay, consistency, fairness and of course, that would relate to claims of sexual harassment is, well, exactly and the more consistent in the more you follow your policy manual and and understand when someone is claiming harassment suit, they’re going into court with that manual it’s a legal document. Oh, talk a little about that thie employee manual is the manual that goes to court that talks about how you do what you do with your organization. So if an employee is suing you because you’re not, you’re not treating them the same as everyone else that’s what they’re going to court with, not what you said, although that that is part of it, but what the legal document is. You know when when an employee says, i got fired for poor performance and they say, but here all my performance reviews the all salmon excellent employee there’s, a disconnect so saying between the practice and the manual, the mexican so i mean, i sent an email that i was being harassed by this person, i here’s the manual that says that they will investigate it, and i’ll get back to me. Nobody got back to me, it was never investigated. I also have a friend who complained about the same individual. I mean, it could become then a class action. Okay, so should these manuals. So we’re talking about the employment practices manual and maybe the manager’s manual. Those should be approved by the board, then a lot of boards do look at them, yeah. When i’m working with organizations, i typically work with executive director level and maybe the top manager level and then it’s given to the board for approval. Okay? Because as you said, it could end up as evidence in court. All right, um, all right. So the manuals, the employment practices, liability insurance, um, what about training around these? Is that is that an element of, yeah, you have to get included. You have to do sexual harassment, avoidance, training, not sexual harassment training, like most people say. And that should be done at least annually, and that is for all employees, all employees, and you need them to sign a document that they went. And what are the elements of that training is to talk about what sexual harassment is is to talk about if you are, if you feel you’re a victim of sexual harassment, what to do in the process so that everyone knows and everyone has a heightened awareness of it. Now, some people call it diversity training as well, you know, and they’ll encompass in in diversity training, depending on the organization, how they feel about using the term sexual harassment avoidance, but it does need to happen. I’ve heard some anecdotal stories of organisations that have had their hr person give the training, and typically the person who was making fun during the meaning is the perpetrator. What that shouldn’t even be tolerated. I mean, if we’re in a meeting to talk about sexual arrested avoidance and people are making off color jokes. It’s difficult when it’s executive director, though ditigal director making the jokes? I mean, yeah, you’ve seen that i’ve heard it secondhand, i wasn’t there because if i was there wouldn’t have been what would you do in that? Okay, so if you were the hr consultant, i’m gonna put you on spot. You’re the hr consultant in an organization. You’re doing sexual harassment, training your annual training. And the executive director of the organization is making some kind of off color jokes about women. What would you do in that case? I would first state. Look, this is really serious. And do you understand the implications to this organization? You’re doing this? I’m sorry. In the meeting, right in the meandering in a public. Okay, you’re stopping the meeting. Okay, go ahead. And because if if it’s important teo to really set the tone that hey hr takes this seriously, people need to know they can come to work and be safe, and so i will address it that way. And if that doesn’t, that doesn’t stop all has the person to come out. And if that person i know of is suspected of doing things, i may directly talk to them about it and say you’re you may be an offender of this. This is a big deal, you know? Yeah, that includes we’re talking about the executive director. Anybody, anybody, because the because the risk runs to the organization right now, your job is to protect the organization, the person who has the hr role, their job is to protect the organization, right, not the executive director, right? And that means if you’re not going to talk to me about it, i’m going to have to fire you as a client and notify the chairman of the board. I understand, okay, we have just we have just a minute left, first serious stuff. Dahna what about what about orientation for new employees? Can you say something about that in just a minute or so? The policy manual is in a really important part of orientation, because you’re telling everyone these are the rules we play by as an organization and that’s. Why you want your manual to really reflect who you are and what you’re doing, and to be written in a way that reflects your culture. They need to feel that it’s a it’s, a tool that they can use to go to. I suggest that people, when they give orientations, that they also have time to meet with various departments, we have to leave it there. Karen. Very good advice. Karen m bradunas human resource is consulting is her company. Her name is karen bradunas, and she is in hr consultant, and the subject has been sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace. Karen, thank you very much for coming back to studio. Thank you, it’s ah, thirty minutes after, and we’re going to take about a two minute break, and when we return, it’s tony’s, take two, and then my guest, claire meyerhoff, talking about punching up your plan giving newsletter after this break. You’re listening to the talking alternative network. This is tony martignetti aptly named host of tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent technology fund-raising compliance social media, small and medium non-profits have needs in all these areas. My guests are expert in all these areas and mohr. Tony martignetti non-profit radio friday’s one to two eastern on talking alternative broadcasting do you want to enhance your company’s web presence with an eye catching and unique website design? Would you like to incorporate professional video marketing mobile marketing into your organization’s marketing campaign? Mission one on one media offers a unique marketing experience that will set you apart from your competitors, magnify your brand exposure and in cancer current marketing efforts. Their services include video production and editing, web design, graphic design photography, social media management and now introducing mobile marketing. Their motto is we do whatever it takes to make our clients happy contact them today. Admission one one media dot com hey, all you crazy listeners looking to boost your business, why not advertise on talking alternative with very reasonable rates? Interested simply email at info at talking alternative dot com no. Durney durney welcome back to tony martignetti non-profit radio it’s thirty two minutes after the hour, which means it’s time for tony’s take two. I do a lot of speaking in training, and i can speak at your conference or train your office fundraisers on either planned giving or charity registration compliance. This week alone, i was at the association of fund-raising professionals in western massachusetts talking about demystifying planned, demystifying charity registration for them. Then i talked about planned giving on the michael chapman e-giving show, which is a radio show down in south beach, miami, florida, and then i did more planned e-giving talking on ah tv show in naples, florida wall street wrap up this coming week are the in the coming weeks, i’m going to be a women in development at mercer in mercer county, new jersey, that’s on january twenty six he mystifying planned giving for them. And then on february third, i’m keynote dinner speaker at a meeting on staten island in new york, so i’ve been busy and keeping busy, and if you’d like me to talk about joining your meeting or conference, then you can email me from my blogged, which is mpg. A dv dot com and that is tony’s take do for friday, january twenty first. Sam, do we have claire meyerhoff on the phone? We do. Ok, i’m joined now. Bye, claire meyerhoff. We’re going to be talking about punching up your plans. E-giving newsletter from savvy story style to picking perfect pictures. Claire is the editorial director of the plant e-giving company and she’s here to share secrets to get your plan giving newsletters red as i said she’s, editorial director for the plan giving company that company produces magazine style newsletters for major nonprofit organizations. So there’s there’s our ah there’s, our mission big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. She’s also the creative producer for this show. And i’m very glad that her expertise brings her back to the show. Welcome back, claire. Hey, tony. Thanks for having me. It’s. A pleasure. What’s the what’s. The problem with planned giving newsletters. How come a lot of them go on red? Well, there are some problems with plan giving news letters, but there’s some good news that i just heard about planned giving newsletters. And this was an anecdotal bit of information i was recently talking. To a colleague. And he said that he had gone to visit a perspective. Donorsearch had known for a long time, and, uh, donor. Information in there his his own financial information. But he also had the last ten or so letters from his institution. That’s great that he had saved. And he had them all neatly in that folder. And i just heard that about a month ago and that it’s really kind of changed the way that i think about plan giving news letters in a way. And what it makes me think is that we need to give people something that they’re willing to save. Yeah, i think that’s a big win that that story is a home run. If people will save those for when they go to their estate planning attorney to revise their will or prepare their will. And they have a stack of these that’s that’s a home run, i think for the organization because that person has there has the organization in mind when they go to revise or prepare prepare their first will that’s true and so often we like to just, you know, do stories or write little nice things and that’s what we’re so focused on, but at the end of the day, it really is the planned e-giving content that the person that’s the reason that they saved the newsletter so i think that the key is really combining really cool, neat stuff donor xero nasty things, but also keep in mind that you need to provide some of that really content like a little, you know, give annuity rate chart and definitely your request language and those kind of things, okay? And we’re going to get into your tips just though who’s, the who’s, the audience for planned giving newsletters who are we writing for? Well, you have to think about your audience so that’s different whichever organization your four and you have to know your donors it’s just like anything else. So if you’re the plan getting person or the development person or even the executive director or communications director of your organization, you have to be thinking about who was getting this newsletter at my organization. So you know who that person is, who you’re sending it to? You might want to do a targeted plan giving news letter maybe your donors that are a little bit older, you’re adjust your boiled donors, people that e-giving consistently for ten or fifteen years at the plant giving company sam caldwell. Who’s been, you know, with the company, he started the company a long time ago, and he says that it’s, your loyal donors that are your best plan e-giving prospects, not necessarily your high end donors, it’s your people that have been given consistently, even fifty dollars, a year for more than twelve or fifteen years, that it’s those people that are most likely to do plan about those people in that audience that writing i’m always stressing that in seminars that the best plan giving prospects of those who are consistent long term donors and exactly as you said, ignoring the size of those gif ts but if somebody’s been giving for, say, eighteen of the past twenty years on and some of the non-profits that i work with have been around for much longer than that, so maybe twenty seven or twenty, twenty five or twenty seven of the past thirty years, even if it’s just ten or fifteen dollars a year, they’re always planning for you, and that makes him a terrific plan. Give prospect, right? It shows a couple of things. It shows one that they love your organization and they continue to care about your mission. But to that there is a certain kind of a person that they’re organized. They do, they do the same things every single year there were probably more organized people, which means they’re more likely tohave a will or teo be really interested in there, you know, financial planning. And they’re so organized that every time a plane giving newsletter comes, they put it in their file, right? So let’s, let’s think that that’s our typical persons were writing for all right? So let’s talk about some of your tips for punching up plan giving newsletters whatyou want start with. Well, i’d like to start with the stories. So it’s something i call the savvy story style instead of doing your typical donor profile where you you know, you know what we call gushing gushing flattery where you just say, oh, they’re on the board of this and there’s ahead of this, and they love this, and they’re so wonderful in the community. Forget all that we assumed that that’s who this person is find that riel nugget of information, the real reason that they give to the organization and that might just be a little, you know, funny. Little story. And then what? Something that you could do is instead of doing the paragraph format, try something else. Think about the magazines that you read and how you see interviews with people. The ones you read and say a celebrity magazine where it’s, like, you know, five questions for nicole kidman? Yes, a lot of the mark q and a format, right? Yeah, q and a format and that’s more fun to do. It’s easy to do and think about this it’s. Easier for the donor you don’t have to, like, take up all of the donors time like getting all this information you just get, you know, a few questions and get the answer to that. And it could be more fun and it’s so much more readable for your audience. Okay, okay. What else do you have for us? Well, the key to the the question style is in that last questions. Say your first questions were like, how did you get involved in the organization and what’s your favorite thing about the organization and what’s? The best thing that we do or something like that? Your last question should always b what would you hope? To see the future for our organization. How do you hope? What do you hope to see habitat for humanity doing in the future? And that gives the person the chance to say what they dream about the future for your organization. And then you tie it into the plan. All right? You can say that leads naturally to the the planned gift, which is almost always cash to the organization in the future. Right? So the answer might be. I’d love to see us double the number of houses we build and that’s. One reason i decided to put habitat for humanity in my will. And then after that that’s, where you you anchor your interview, the interviews, you know, on the top and it looks nice it’s all laid out well. And then you skip a couple of spaces and you anchor it with that. You know that hard information that you want people tohave the call to action. If you would like to put us in your will, here’s, how you do it, it’s really easy, here’s our request language. And then you also want to encourage the person to get in touch with you. The development. Director of the plan e-giving director. Because what’s. So important. So you give them a reason to call. So you give them the outright bequest language in the article, and then you encourage them to call or email for alternative language, like a fraction of the estates, residual or any other reason you can think of to actually call or email you now, let’s, define a few of these. Now, you know we have jargon jail on tony martignetti non-profit radio. So let’s, just go in a little detail now. The outright request. What do you mean by that? Well and outright. Seaquest is i be quick to the university. A gift of ten thousand dollars. Okay. And you mentioned you contrast that with the residual bequest. A residual request is you could. You could, after you have made provision for everyone in your family and your friends and your, you know, dogs there. Then you can leave the residual a percentage of the residuals. So you could say i leave ten percent of the residual of my estate. Or you could leave the entire residual of yours, right? And the residual is what’s left after the after taxes and the death expenses and all the outright requests have been paid. Okay? Expert tony. Well, you’re on probation from jargon jail. Careful, careful. And walking a fine line. Um ok. What about what about pictures? You have some advice about making those pictures? Mohr interesting, yet the photos they’re definitely the sticking point. When you’re putting together a plan giving news letter often it’s an afterthought, you have this great story. You have it in there and at the end you only knew the future of the donor. And then you might call the donor and they send you some really lame snapshot that’s not high resolution. And when you do things in print, you should really have his high resolution photographs possible. So to stay out of jargon jail high resolution is the number of pixels and that’s pretty much the image that comes straight out of your digital camera onto your computer before you compress it stayed to put on the webber sent to your friend in an email. So it’s more of that original big photograph for your work with that’s. Important is to get a nice, clear photo. So if you don’t have that great photo your best case scenario would be that when someone went on a habitat for build a habitat for humanity, build their nephew who’s, an art student came along and took pictures for his portfolio and he has some. Then you can use that in your newsletter. Give him a credit that that’s your slam dunk that’s. The best thing possible is casual and the daughter has no great photograph. This is a good opportunity to actually spend some face time with that wonderful person that left you. It left your organisation in their will, so use this opportunity. Hey, you know i need to take a picture of feature. You would love to have a great photograph. Can i come over? Can i come over with our young staff member who’s a great photographer and spend a little time with them? So that’s that’s something to really think about that that’s an opportunity as opposed to something that’s. A problem that’s like, oh, we don’t have a photograph. What a pain in the neck and what i find a lot with people and organizations is things like photography writing for the web. People treat these things like a chore because it’s not what they do and they think it’s complicated, so i would advise people to really get those skills. If you’re not a great photographer, take a little class. Ask a friend who’s, the photographer, you know by a little bit better camera if your organization doesn’t have one and make that effort because you could do so much with photograph, you can with photographs, you can take a picture and and and send it as a thank you note to someone. Take that photo printed out. Put it in a card, write a thank you note so you could do a lot with photograph, but for your organization for this newsletter, you really want that good photographs have a couple of tips about taking photographs if you get to the donor’s house and one of them is, you know, get us close as you can to the subject don’t stand way, way back it get closer up, have them actually do something. So if your habitat for humanity have the person stand there with a hammer there just holding the hammer. That’s a cool photo it’s not fake because you know they’re they’re standing in their front yard. With a hammer haven’t have some have some sort of a proper doing something. And then, like i said, get close up and make sure the light is right on them. The light should be right on their face and their eyes that’s the main thing, if you get that right, you’re in good shape, and then my last tip is shoot from above. So if if you’re shorter than your subject, hold your camera up hyre and tilt down a little bit and you can see it in the viewfinder and that is a much more flattering way to take a photo. Just trust me on this it’s really most flattering way to take a photograph of someone okay? Or that the little short version of the you know how to take a picture, okay? And even if if you’re shorter, you stand up on a little stepladder or chair or something. Exactly stand about a little a little stepladder or something like that. Ok, we have just a minute before a break. Claire, can you get another tip in the next minute? I can nappy nasty headlines. Very important. That’s, that’s a really waste of newsletter. Really? State are dull headlines like donor-centric we have to be careful about our criminal code here can’t expand the criminal code the way the way some some people might like. Teo, i’m not sure that that qualifies, but tell us tell us what the trouble is with dahna profile. All right, all right, parole probably don’t profile it’s generic it’s like sitting down to watch the television show thirty rock and an announcer comes on and says, comedy television show that’s inside jargon that we use, we’ll say, hey, tony, what we’re going to her donor profile this month, that shorthand it’s, not it’s, not a headline. Find something about the interview and put that in the headline. Okay, we’re going to take a three minute break. My guest is clear, meyerhoff and we’re talking about punching up your plan giving newsletter three minute break. You can sit through a three minute break, come on at the end of that it’s clear meyerhoff. Of course, you can sit through it, stay with us, talking alternative radio twenty four hours a day. Are you stuck in your business or career trying to take your business to the next level, and it keeps hitting a wall? This is sam liebowitz, the conscious consultant. I will help you get to the root cause of your abundance issues and help move you forward in your life. Call me now and let’s. Create the future you dream of. Two, one, two, seven, two, one, eight, one, eight, three, that’s to one to seven to one, eight one eight three. The conscious consultant helping conscious people. Be better business people. Dahna i really need to take better care of myself. If only i had someone to help me with my lifestyle. I feel like giving up. Is this you mind over matter, health and fitness can help. If you’re expecting an epiphany, chances are it’s not happening. Mind over matter, health and fitness could help you get back on track or start a new life and fitness. Join Joshua margolis, fitness expert at 2 one two eight six five nine to nine xero. Or visit w w w died. Mind over matter. Y si dot com. Do you want to enhance your company’s web presence with an eye catching and unique website design? Would you like to incorporate professional video marketing mobile marketing into your organization’s marketing campaign? Mission one on one media offers a unique marketing experience that will set you apart from your competitors, magnify your brand exposure and enhance your current marketing effort. Their services include video production and editing, web design, graphic design photography, social media management and now introducing mobile marketing. Their motto is. We do whatever it takes to make our clients happy. Contact them today. Admission one one media dot com. Talking calm. Welcome back. I’m with claire meyerhoff as i promised. I told you she’d come back clear. You’re still there. Right? Okay, what else do you have for us? Punching up our plan giving newsletters? We want donors to actually read these things. How do we do it? Well, we make it more like the things that they’re used to reading instead of things that look like a church newsletter fifties so that a key point is that what our people reading these days, what air they used to looking at more and more people are online, even your older donors, they’re online, they’re reading, you know, punching nifty things online so they’re used to reading huffington post or use a today online? Uh, there used to more punchy writing, punchy layout. Just let just a different look than this old fashioned sort of newsletter looks really think about your style of your newsletter. Try to get more white space in their remaining believe more space around things you don’t have to crowded with content and that’s usually a challenge because we do have a lot of great things to tell people, right? We want to get it all in there. So try as best you can to leave more white today so much more attention to your layout when you’re flipping through a magazine. Your favorite, you know, magazine that you’d like to read on your off time, and you see a layout that looks good, rip it out and think, well, why do i like that? And then try to duplicate that in your plan e-giving newsletter is not hard to think about that a little bit more wood. One element of that bee keeping this short stories the articles to a certain length yeah, i think there’s no specific the word count. Okay, article more about how it looks and what you’re trying trying to get across but definitely keep your articles to, you know, a couple of hundred words or less. You can say a lot in fifty words, believe it or not photos tell a great story. What for? The idea that you’re trying to get across plant giving is very, very simple, really. It’s it’s just about leaving a legacy, leaving this this gift for the organization it’s something that comes from the heart. It’s not complicated, it’s not about, you know, doing anything it’s really complicated it, it’s a simple, simple thing when you think about it, anybody, anybody can do that. And so you just want to get to the heart of the matter why people want to be a gift. So use those little donorsearch stories and use a little examples of things. So if you are one organization that recent recently had a a real estate gift, someone left you a farm. Explain that to your donor’s that’s really interesting that’s inside information to them and and cool. So write about that about how that works that you’ve got this farm and and it was valuable to you for this reason, and you sold it and used the money to put up a new community center or whatever, tell people the nitty gritty details of that cool gift. So if you’ve had interesting plant gift and you would like more of them, talk about that, we have just about two minutes left. Claire, you mentioned something. You said this is all, you know, at its roots, it’s. All very simple. But plan giving does have a technical side. I mean, so should we spend newsletter landscape explaining the details of the charitable remainder unit trust with makeup provisions. Well, i think that you should spend a little time with the technical part for the things that you would like your donors to dio. So if you do have a say, a gift annuity that you have to offer and you would like people to do that, then talk about it a little bit and you could do that in a simple way. Just talk about the benefits of the gift, so you could say, check out our charitable gift annuity and check a few things off your to do list and then under, you know, to do like it’s a list increase my retirement income, decreased my taxes now and give back to habitat for humanity. And that sort of tells people in a nutshell what it does and then just, you know, put a little rate chart down there that you get from the person that provides you the rate chart. So a sample rape charge for a ten thousand dollar gift annuity for someone this age sixty, and then you want a little disclaimer language under there. So you briefly explain how it works, but you don’t have to. Get into a lot of details because they’re not going to not fill out something below that and send it in and do it it’s not that kind of a gift, so you don’t have to tell them every single thing. Just tell them the benefits tell them who’s eligible and how they would go about doing it. And given that information, claire, in just a thirty seconds, we have left it sounds like, you know, going back to your original advice, you’re not writing a newsletter for cps and estate planning attorneys does not need to be a technical explanation. No, you’re writing for your loyal donors and keep in mind that you want them to hang on to this. You want them tow to read it and think about it and go well that’s interesting and maybe tuck it away somewhere instead of throwing it out. Because that’s, how plan, gift get made over the years. People think about it, it’s in the back of their mind that something happens in their life, a change where they think, oh, i need to really get on this. I need to really work on my they plant and do these kinds of things and then they’ll have you in mind you’ve already offered them solutions, and hopefully they’ll give you a call and act on it clear, thank you very much. My my guest has been clear, meyerhoff she’s, editorial director of the plant e-giving company, and we’re grateful for her advice about punching up your plan giving newsletter also want to thank my first guest was karen bradunas hr consultant talking about sexism and protecting your non-profit from those kinds of claims next week, our i’m looking siri’s continues, we’re going to check in with our job seeker leonora and recruiter paula marks we’ve been checking in with them once a month. We’re going to see how leonora his job search is going on. I’m looking and also will be joined by scott keg lor, the show’s tech contributor, and he’ll have the latest software reviews that’s next week, you can keep up with what’s coming up. Sign up for our insider email alerts on the facebook page and while you’re there, click the like button, become a fan of the show, of course that’s on facebook dot com tony martignetti non-profit radio, the creative producer of our show is claire meyerhoff. Line producer is sam liebowitz. He’s, also the owner of talking alternative broadcasting and our social media, is by regina walton of organic social media. This is tony martignetti non-profit radio, always having in mind. Big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. Join me next friday, right here on talking alternative broadcasting at talking alternative dot com, one p m next friday. Dahna e-giving you’re listening to the talking alternative network, waiting to get into thinking. E-giving you could are you suffering from aches and pains? Has traditional medicine let you down? Are you tired of taking toxic medications, then come to the double diamond wellness center and learn how our natural methods can help you to hell? Call us now at to one to seven to one eight, one eight three that’s to one to seven to one eight one eight three or find us on the web at www dot double diamond wellness dot com. We look forward to serving you. Are you feeling overwhelmed in the current chaos of our changing times? A deeper understanding of authentic astrology can uncover solutions in every area of life. After all, metaphysics is just quantum physics, politically expressed hi and montgomery taylor and i offer lectures, seminars and private consultations. For more information, contact me at monte m o nt y at r l j media. Dot com you’re listening to talking on their network at www dot talking alternative dot com now broadcasting twenty four hours a day. Is your marriage in trouble? Are you considering divorce? Hello, i’m lawrence bloom, a family law attorney in new york and new jersey. No one is happier than the day their divorce is final. My firm can help you. We take the nasty out of the divorce process and make people happy. Police call a set to one, two, nine six four three five zero two for a free consultation. That’s lawrence h bloom, too. One, two, nine, six, four, three, five zero two. We make people happy. I really need to take better care of myself. If only i had someone to help me with my lifestyle. I feel like giving up. Is this you mind over matter, health and fitness can help. If you’re expecting an epiphany, chances are it’s not happening. Mind over matter, health and fitness could help you get back on track or start a new life and fitness. Join Joshua margolis, fitness expert at 2 one two eight six five nine two nine. Zero or visit w w w died. Mind over matter. Y si dot com. Durney buy-in talking. Yeah.

Florida TV & Radio Appearances

Florida in January. Not so bad.

I’ve got two south Florida media guest appearances coming up.

On January 20th I’ll be on the Michael Chatman Giving Show. It airs at 11:30AM Eastern on the web and, for those near South Beach Miami, on AM 880. For months on Twitter, Michael has been saying I’m the second best-looking guy in philanthropy. I wouldn’t pay that any heed, except I disagree with his choice of number one. If this were TV I’d demand a call-in vote. Maybe we can do one by directing listeners to this post, with his pic, and have you vote by comment. (Note my blatant attempt to get blog hits.) Whatever, it’ll be a fun show, so join us.

Then on Friday the 21st I’m a guest on Wall Street Wrap-Up, hosted by David Morgan and Howard Jordan. This cable TV show is from Naples and I’ve been on twice before. After making money in the market, their audience wants to hear smart ways to make charitable gifts.

Click on these show pages and you’ll see why I’ll be quite differently attired for each.

I expect we’ll be talking about giving strategies that make sense now–right now–like the IRA rollover and temporary private foundation (aka charitable lead trust). If these were my shows, I’d call the segments “Two Tips for Tax-Wise Giving,” but I don’t want to constrain my hosts.

Michael, David and Howard, thank you for your invitations.

On Saturday, I’ll visit my aunt Josie in Deerfield Beach. I like the drive across Alligator Alley, Route 75. It’s long, straight and flat, ideal for introspection, contemplation and speeding.

Nonprofit Radio for January 14, 2011: The Doug White Ethics Hour

Big Nonprofit Ideas for the Other 95%

Compliance. Board relations. Fundraising. Technology. Volunteer management. Accounting. Finance. Marketing. Social media. Investments.

Every nonprofit faces these issues and big nonprofits have experts in each. Small and mid-size nonprofits have Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. Trusted experts throughout the country join Tony to take on the tough issues facing your organization.

Episode 22 of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio for January 14, 2011

Tony’s Guest:

Doug White is an award-winning author and is the Academic Director and Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU’s George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising.

Topic: The Doug White Ethics Hour – Professor White is the author of “The Nonprofit Challenge: Integrating Ethics Into the Purpose and Promise of Our Nation’s Charities.”  He joins Tony live to talk about ethics and the role of nonprofits in our culture.

Here is the link to the podcast: 024: Ethics with Doug White

When and where: Talking Alternative Radio, Friday, 1-2pm Eastern.

You can subscribe on iTunes and listen anytime, anyplace on the device of your choosing.

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Dahna welcome to tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent? Do you feel that your non-profit is left out of the media out of conversations with consultants? You have a home here at tony martignetti non-profit radio, maybe call. Last week, we had the bank of america merrill lynch high net worth study, and my guest was the bank’s study expert claire costello, also last week, enviable e newsletters with the newsletter editor and our show’s technology contributor, scott kegel er, that was last week this week, it’s ethics our i’m really excited, very pleased. My guest is doug white, and doug is the author of the non-profit challenge integrating ethics into the purpose and promise of our nations. Charities that’s available at amazon dot com doug is with me live in the studio to talk about ethics and the role and the potential of non-profits in our culture on tony’s take two at thirty two minutes after the hour, i’m going to talk about sexism in the workplace based on my most recent blawg post and also give you ah, on ira e-giving reminder, there is an opportunity for two thousand ten remaining. For the rest of this month, we’ll talk about that on tony’s. Take two. After this break, i’ll be joined by professor doug white, and we’re going to be talking about ethics. Stay with us, co-branding think dick tooting getting ding, ding, ding, ding. Duitz you’re listening to the talking, alternate network, get in. Nothing. You could. Is your marriage in trouble? Are you considering divorce? Hello, i’m lawrence bloom, a family law attorney in new york and new jersey. No one is happier than the day their divorce is final. My firm can help you. We take the nasty out of the divorce process and make people happy. Police call a set to one, two, nine six four three five zero two for a free consultation. That’s lawrence h bloom two, one two, nine, six, four, three five zero two. We make people happy. Are you suffering from aches and pains? Has traditional medicine let you down? Are you tired of taking toxic medications, then come to the double diamond wellness center and learn how our natural methods can help you to hell? Call us now at to one to seven to one eight, one eight three that’s to one to seven to one eight one eight three or find us on the web at www dot double diamond wellness dot com way. Look forward to serving you. Hey, all you crazy listeners looking to boost your business? Why not advertise on talking alternative with very reasonable rates? Interested simply email at info at talking alternative dot com welcome back to tony martignetti non-profit radio my guest this hour is doug white. Doug is the academic director of new york university’s heimans center for philanthropy and fund-raising, where he also teaches ethics based fund-raising and board governance he’s, also a senior governance consultant for board source. His other books are charity on trial, published by barricade books and the art of planned giving published by wiley. And i’m very pleased that his most recent book, the non-profit challenge, brings him to the studio today. Doug welcome. Thank you, it’s good to be here. The purpose and promise of non-profits our nations, charities. What was the purpose of your book? Maybe it’s a stunning preface, but i’d like to say that i think the charities have the most promise in terms of acting well in our society. They also have the most promise in terms of leading society. At the same time, i think there are a lot of ethical issues and organizational issues, board issues and so forth that impair charitable organizations when they are trying to do the right thing, but oftentimes don’t so they have a large mandate, i think, and this is just my own. Personal feelings that charities are the ethical sector of society, charities were designed primarily and pretty much solely to do good mor so then government or business, the other two sectors now, that doesn’t mean they’re not ethical. That doesn’t mean they’re not good, but we wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for that goodness component, and we really need to take that more seriously than we do let’s start with a common understanding of ethics. What? What is your definition of ethics? Well, it’s, funny, you ask that question because i’m asked that all the time in my classes, and i have to take pains because a lot of the times when i talk about ethics, people will want to sit in the back of the room and they think they’re going to get yelled at because they’re not ethical or they’re not making the right decisions or they’re just not good people and that’s really not how i look at ethics, ethics is really a process, not a result. If tony, you and i can actually say to each other that two men or two people can disagree to good, people can disagree, and we can’t really mean that because we get angry with each other, if we disagree, then we’re really not giving that any credence. What we really need to do is understand each other’s values the process by which we come to an understanding, and if the purpose of ethics were to find agreement, we would have no success whatsoever. The purpose behind ethics is the decision making process it for me anyway, the decision making process that goes into an exploration of our values and waiting those values and so forth, and then coming up with a reason. And i would call it an ethical decision that may be different from yours. After having gone through that same process, i would have to respect that, and you’d have to respect my process and that’s part of that’s an an essential part of the ethical making ethical decision making process respect. And you say in the book that ethics permeates everything. I i stand by that, yes, it permeates everything now doesn’t permeate what you’re gonna have for dinner tonight. That kind of ah decision no s ow when i say everything, i mean everything important, but anything of significance oftentimes involves values, anything that involves values might be bringing up issues that were going to make us defer, and in the process of that, we’re gonna have a problem if we dont have respect, if we don’t look at it as an ethical decision making process and but even in what i do choose to have for dinner or how i feed myself generally, there can very well be value based ethical based decision making in that as part of my my thought process, right? Thank you. You’re so right about that. I was thinking of it, more of let’s say a spouse and husband and wife are going to decide what to have for dinner. That doesn’t matter to anybody else, but what you’re actually pointing out here is that it doesn’t matter if you’re thinking of being if you don’t like meat or something like that on ah larger ethical basis, absolutely it could very well have an impact on that decision again. The subtitle to your book you know the purpose and promise of our nations charities do you think that we have just a minute, a half or so before break? Do you think our nation’s non-profits have lost the public trust. Um, i don’t think they’ve lost it. I think that the public trust is ah, very strong commodity in our country, and we’re very fortunate to have that trust. I think there are people in the united states who are becoming more, they’re becoming more interested in the way charity’s operate. And because charity’s air having showing so much more force in society, the questions are more important than their more more, they’re louder. And so, my my concern is that charities they haven’t so much lost, the trust of the public is they need to. I think i have a better understanding of what that trust means and to respond to it, and the questions being asked are deeper and more insightful. Absolutely, yes, we’re going to take a break. My guest is professor doug white, author of the non-profit challenge. This is tony martignetti non-profit radio stay with me, talking alternative radio twenty four hours a day. Are you feeling overwhelmed in the current chaos of our changing times? A deeper understanding of authentic astrology can uncover solutions in every area of life. After all, metaphysics is just quantum physics, politically expressed, i and montgomery taylor and i offer lectures, seminars and private consultations. For more information, contact me at monte m o nt y at r l j media. Dot com are you stuck in your business or career trying to take your business to the next level, and it keeps hitting a wall? 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My guest, professor doug white, author of the non-profit challenge. Integrating ethics into the purpose and promise of our nations. Charities don’t ask about the tv show the philanthropist. You talk about a little in the book. Why do you think that failed so stunningly? Well, it certainly had nothing to do with philanthropy that’s, for sure, i think it failed because it was so shallow, and this is one of the problems when we talk about philanthropy and certainly with ethics, is that there’s a way of telling a story and then there’s a way of being in the moment of the actual job, and sometimes when you tell the story and then it goes through several rewrites and several editors network, a major network like nbc, you’re going to lose a lot of the you’re going to lose a lot of the effort. So my feeling is that if you ask, it just became a shallow piece of nothingness. Yeah, i didn’t see much philanthropy in the in the siri’s no, there wasn’t, and this is one of the problems with the mass media. There is such a delusion of the important aspects of things in every area, and this is certainly true in philanthropy to and certainly an ethics that when you get so diluted there’s, no story left except for the one bank stuff that the producers think will be interesting what’s your sense of of why people give to our non-profit sector either time or money or or their talent, i really do think there’s a sense of giving to help other people. I really do believe that some people call that altruism. If you look at the definition of altruism in the dictionary, it couldn’t be because altruism says you cannot have any personal benefit back. And i think a good feeling from having done what you have done is a benefits. So i think in a way, there’s, no way we can be truly altruistic. But i do believe we as humans haven’t have ah, a way to think about other people and their tragedies. Three weeks ago, i would have mentioned haiti as one of the examples. Today i can talk about tucson and the outpouring of of of this indescribable feeling of wanting to reach out and make the world a better place for the people who are suffering. I think that’s a big part of it. I think that’s the major part of some people, will say that taxes play a large rule. I’ve talked to enough accountants and attorneys. You might get that impression, but you mentioned a high net worth study, they think. Exactly the tax tax motivations always low, always low, even among the people. For whom it’s most important it’s still not that important. So there i think that it is that and i don’t think it’s an american characteristic, a lot of people say, isn’t the united states the most generous country in the world and that’s true, because we give a lot of money and so forth. But i don’t think that it’s ah it’s bounded by national borders. I feel like there are people around the world that we don’t have a monopoly on that feeling of what i would call altruism for the moment here s so i think that’s the primary reason people are our philanthropic there are others but i think that’s the primary well, you mentioned the two sound shooting and there was a chronicle of philanthropy opinion piece this past week by diana aviv. Yes, on dh she heard a thesis is that the nonprofit sector has a role to play in sort of healing and, well, maybe not so much in healing. That’s not right in civil discourse in creating a civil discourse, i think that’s really what she was getting at. Do you think there’s ah role there for charities? I think there is no other place for that role then in charities, i think diana of eve was on target. I get to that issue myself at the end of the book, the non-profit challenge by talking about the sectors. And where do we look for this kind of discourse? Because this kind of discourse is the backbone of ethical decision making. It’s the backbone of acting good and dinah aviv is correct. If she had a book length article, i think she would have gotten into some of the details. One of the problems is, is we talk about those in highfalutin terms that we have this ability to do this. We we want to be change makers. There’s ah, a lot of evil in the world and so forth. My concern with that is not so much that we don’t recognize that as a general idea. But how do we get it specific? How do we make that happen? And that article didn’t go there. I’m not saying it should have, but we need to go there’s charities and ask those tough questions because she’s right, the non-profit sector has a tremendous role, a tremendous responsibility. Do you think we’re going to get it from business? I don’t think so, and that isn’t to put down business, but that’s not where we’re going to get that answer is not their role and the government. I mean, i’m not really a big fan of government regulation because it’s always this great big hammer and we’re trying to get a fly dun and the regulations usually don’t do the job. So how is that gonna happen? It’s gonna happen in the ethical decision making process? This is gonna happen in what i call the ethical sector, the non-profit sector on that part on that point, i would say diane is right on target, and we’re going to get teo your four pillars of ethical, the ethical process? Yes, we’re going to get to that. What about the, you know, also very timely in the news, the buffet gates challenge to their to their fellow very ultra high net worth people americans mostly not exclusively, mostly the sort of a backlash that that that creates aa concentration of national priorities in the hands off roughly forty families and mostly in the u s do you do? Do you feel that kind of concentration? Do you? Do you think much of that? That backlash argument? Well, it’s interesting, you ask that question? Because right after Mark zuckerberg became the 57 that was interviewed on that point and that question was asked, and i wish i had with me the quote, because i put this up from time to time when i’m doing my talking, lee, then ask who says this, but basically, is that what you’ve just said? We have to be ah aware of those organizations or people who would usurp government activity, and this is george washington in his farewell address spoke to that very issue because what’s going on right now on guy think that bill gates and warren buffet and other philanthropists are wonderful people and they’re doing wonderful things, but a lot of the question comes from who are they to make the decision? Who are they to say, for example, that charter schools are the best way to go? They may be, i’m not making that argument one way or the other, but your question is were really relying on these people of wealth to make. National decisions and as a result of that, this past year, this growing issue i’ve developed a course at n y u for the masters that i’m teaching next year on public policy and philanthropy and how they intersect because that question is philosophical to the core, and it concerns me a great deal that there’s a lot of wealth concentrated in just a few people, and those people will have an inordinate amount of sway when it comes to public policy. But they have altruism at their roots, don’t they? They do. Did i say this was a black and white question? You’re absolutely correct, tony. They have altruism at their roots and they want to do good for society. They want to do well, they want to do good weaken talk about that distinction in philanthropy, but but this is the issue when it comes to philanthropy in general it’s not all black and white. I’m with doug white, and doug is a professor at the gnu heimans center, also the author of the non-profit challenge integrating ethics into the purpose and promise of our nations charities don’t you talk some about some stunning disasters that charities have? Suffered the madoff scheme, the smithsonian institution, stevens institute of technology, emory university, the national heritage foundation. What what can we take away from these crises? Well, the first thing i want to just mention is that it’s important to be specific it’s important to be riel a lot of times when we’re going to conferences, as we were talking before the show began, we talk about charity, eh? Or donorsearch being or this guy or that guy, we don’t get specific and a lot of the times what we what we don’t get as a result of that are the real issues that make the problem. And so in my books, i’ve been very clear about wanting to say, ok, the red cross you did bad smithsonian, you did bad you shiva, which is the made off example that i used you should have done this not because these people are bad or these places are bad, but we need the reality is of things because every other organization is itself a real place and things can go wrong. What we need to take out of this process is that a first of all it’s not going to be under the rug any longer. The public is too interested in this. The media are too interested in this, and they’re going to follow this kind. Of a thing up, and if they don’t, i will, you will in the world is just a different place from what it was five, ten years ago. Now, on top of that, what charity’s need to take away from this is that they need to step up to the plate and be riel they can’t hide the fact that their investment share is also the person where the who’s getting the money to invest and taking a fee from that they can’t hide, that they’re going to dip into their endowment as opposed a cz against what their donors wanted to have happen. That is no longer something that’s going to happen behind closed doors and that’s i think what charities they need to see that sunlight and you don’t you don’t think they have these issues top of mind and their processes, they’re not accommodating that sunlight. I do not think they do right now, a lot of them, not all of them, a lot of them. Yeah, we’re generalizing. I don’t mean to put you on spot say, although the entire charitable sector that doesn’t, nothing applies to everything within a within a community you do see? Ah, good number of a good percentage of the charitable sector. Not answering the call to this sunlight. That’s? Correct? Yeah, i think. And that’s that’s the issue for me. Because of all of the organizations in the united states in the all three sectors, charities ought to be the most comedy tow that you hold your charities to quite a high standard effect, the highest of the three absolute sectors of our economy. Yes, i do. And it represents sort of what? Roughly what percentage of our gross gross national product of gross domestic product? I’m not sure which i think they changed it. The gross domestic product is a while back, so i’ll go with that. And i again think it’s somewhere between it’s fairly large ten to twelve percent. Well, no one really knows. I think maybe you do, but i think it’s somewhere on ten to twelve or maybe fifteen percent of our gross domestic product, which is not a small amount of change now, considerably. No, i think that product is roughly fifteen trillion dollars. Okay, roughly a trillion and a half dollars. Yeah. You you talk about the four pillars of ethics and i want to start toe, get into sort of the substance of the ethics process that you’re you’re advocating? Really? Why don’t you want to tell the audience? What are those four pillars? Well, wait, talk about these words have been known to go we’re talking about how we say phrases and they’re kind of airy and we don’t get down to the details of them. The phrase you had it a minute ago that you’re going to show me the out of the book the phrase for example, transparency, you know, just take a look at that the phrase transfer their word transparency, the word are the phrased disclosure, disclosure, conflict of interest, those air all words that we use nowadays they’re buzzwords we talk about them say, well, we we are we want to be more we want tohave disclosure, we want to be sure we don’t have a conflict of interest, we want to be transparent, and then everybody dances around that. But what does that mean? And so not only are they what i think are the four pillars of of ethics because they asked the charity’s themselves to do the work to get the word out. To get the honesty out to get the ability for anybody else to find out that honesty, i talked to a charity in washington, d c an awful charity who felt that it was doing everything it should because it files nine nineties, as if they should be rewarded for following the law and that’s just the wrong standard to use, especially for a chortle that’s just getting by. That’s just getting by, you know, that’s not anything to brag about, but what we’re so that being understood, what is that level? Where do we go, how do we become transparent? What does that mean? What do we tell people? How do we let them know what that is? Well, today, it’s, easier than ever. We have websites. Why don’t people have their own nine nineties on their websites? Why do they not only not have them, but if they did, why would they only go back three years? Oh, well, that’s, because we’re required to only go back three years. That’s, not the answer. We’re going tow. We’re going to take a break, and when i return, of course, doug white will stay with us, actually, right after the break, it’s ah, tony’s take to doug white is going to stay with us. We’re going to talk in detail about the four pillars of ethics on the fourth one that didn’t, but doug doug did not mention yet is oversight. We’ll talk in detail about those and get into that process of ethical decision making. This is tony martignetti non-profit radio. You’re listening to the talking alternative network. This is tony martignetti aptly named host of tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent technology fund-raising compliance social media, small and medium non-profits have needs in all these areas. My guests are expert in all these areas and mohr tony martignetti non-profit radio fridays one to two eastern on talking alternative broadcasting do you want to enhance your company’s web presence with an eye catching and unique website design? Would you like to incorporate professional video marketing mobile marketing into your organization’s marketing campaign? Mission one on one media offers a unique marketing experience that will set you apart from your competitors, magnify your brand exposure and enhance your current marketing efforts. Their services include video production and editing, web design, graphic design photography, social media management and now introducing mobile marketing. Their motto is. We do whatever it takes to make our clients happy contact them today. Admission one one media dot com hey, all you crazy listeners looking to boost your business, why not advertise on talking alternative with very reasonable rates? Interested simply email at info at talking alternative dot com welcome back to tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent time for tony’s take two on today’s show. First thing i’d like to spend a moment with is workplace sexism. I blogged about this in november, and then again just about two weeks ago or so, confirming what i had asked in november, which was, does sexism still exist in the workplace? And i was embarrassed to say in the in the second post, just two weeks ago that i didn’t realize yes, it does. I shouldn’t have even bothered in november asking the question i should have just gone right to the declarative and said sexism does exist in the workplace and the comments that i’m getting on that the most recent post just ten days or two weeks ago some very poignant stories, so suggesting it’s something you might want to take a look at management and boards just ignoring federal law that prevents is supposed to be preventing ah, create sanctions for sex discrimination organization policies being ignored and even to the point of one woman telling story about her daughter, who is a professional fundraiser who ended up quitting her. Job because she was being set up on dates with donors, sons, those comments and all the other stories that are attached to that post you’ll find on my block at m p g a d v dot com in the name of the post is sexism confirmed also want to share with you last minute e-giving opportunity for i r a gift. So under the tax relief act, which president obama signed just a couple of weeks ago, there is a provisioned for donors to make two thousand ten ira gif ts this month on ly the month of january and what you might do is look to donors who have multiyear pledges who may want to accelerate those pledges, and they could do that in the month of january by making a gift that counts toward there mandatory required distribution of their ira counts toward two thousand ten, and then again this year, they could make another gift, which counts there toward their two thousand eleven mandatory required distribution. So if you have those donors who maybe are willing to help you with a two thousand ten shortfall in your fund-raising or as i said, maybe they have multiyear pledges and they’d like to accelerate those pledge payments. Those would be good prospects to talk to you for this opportunity it expires at the end of this month the counting the gift for the two thousand ten is on ly good for the month of january, then for all the rest of two thousand eleven, the ira possibility remains, but it would only be for two thousand eleven minimum required distributions, and you’ll see that block post that’s called gift possibility remains for two thousand ten ira rollovers and that’s also on my block at mpg a d v dot com i’m with doug white, doug white is with us, and we’re talking about his book the non-profit challenge integrating ethics into the purpose and promise of our nations charities, you’ll find his book as well as his other two at amazon dot com and right before the break, doug, we were just talking about your four pillars of ethics just wanted just quickly name them, and we’re going, we’re going toe talk about them in a little detail, but if you just name the four pillars, okay, we have, i think, disclosure and transparency, which are quite close to another and we have a conflict of interest, and the fourth one is oversight on dh those for all our very subjective terms. They don’t have black and white ideas, but i love that you call them pillars. Killers are not mushy, subjective relative things there’s are typically granted or concrete and their towering that’s kind of what you call them pillars. I think you’re absolutely correct and looking at that because i feel that they are the pillars, without which charity will crumble. Would you mind reading this paragraph from doug’s goingto read one paragraph from page one fifty three of his books book, talking about these pillars. Four concepts form the backbone of ethics that non-profit organizations the one we just discussed, actually, charities would do well to structure all of their activities around these practices. Every decision should begin by searching for a fidelity to those words. The people making decisions should ask themselves whether they would do the same thing if they knew their actions would be disclosed to the public to ignore the growing level of interest the public and the regulators have in charities or worse to fight them is a loser. Idea. Akin to automobile manufacture. Emperors fighting the requirement to install air bags in all cars. Doug, how do we ensure fidelity to those four pillars? We don’t we can only hope we can only strive, and in order for that to happen, we have to have a humility about who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish. I can look at examples very small, for example is the smithsonian institution who did not bring that kind of humility to his job at the smithsonian. Now you’re not going to hear a lot of people say that because i love the smithsonian and we don’t liketo talk that way about our own, but until we do, i think we need to be honest and until we are that we’re goingto allow people to not be human humble, to not be honest with themselves, and then we won’t be able to accomplish this objective. I’m not sure we’ll ever accomplish it because it is it’s a high standard, but i think we need to have people who know that the non-profit sectors different from business and government is not business light it’s not like another way of doing business non-profits have a special place in society. They have a special place in our hearts, they have a special place in history, you know what i mean? By history’s going back thousands of years durney the idea that we don’t have an extra moral purpose as humans when we run these organizations which are designed solely to help society in a way that neither business nor government can do. The idea is so profound that we need to call upon the best of who we are as human beings. And part of that is an examination would be those four pillars. And in order for those toe really stand as pillars, we have to take them seriously. We have to examine them. We have to examine them in terms of the in the context of the organizations that were running as as well as who we are, ours leaders off those organizations and nothing can be taken for granted. One of the issues with with ethics in the decision making process is not to put yourself into a different place from everyone else. This is what bill aramony did at the united way and that’s why everything went downhill during the late eighties and early nineties. Now the united way of america. Back then, it was the united way of america is a wonderful organization, but he decided he was better than anyone else in the organization. He decided that it would be that the organization would do certain things, and he decided how some money would be run and that’s not the way to do it. So we need fewer bill aramony’s, despite how wonderful a job he did until that time to bring the organization to a very high place. We can’t have the larry smalls of the world running charities. Larry smalls, please tell us at the smithsonian, i’m sorry, the smithsonian, we can’t have that not because he’s a bad guy, he’s a good guy, but he didn’t get the non-profit ethos lost his humility. He lost his humility here. He didn’t have it one of the other. The point is we can’t say it’s, okay for me if it’s not okay for you that’s part of the ethical decision making process and charities have to embrace that they have to embrace that wholeheartedly. That’s another part of what i love about the quote that i asked you to read, which is, would you do the same thing if you knew that everybody was looking at you? Absolutely. And now some people ask that question and ethics and say, well, you have to be aware of what the new york times might say on its front page tomorrow. Well, you do, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you wouldn’t do it. Question is, can you defend it? Can you honestly say that this was the right thing? You know, the newspaper might get it wrong. The general feeling of the public might be wrong. You would have to stand by your values, but you can’t do it by just saying i’m right and you’re wrong. See a lot of people i know in this town anyway, okay? And then why you think that bush should not have gone to war with iraq? Ok? They think they should not have gone to war with iraq. I say, look, let’s agree with that. But if bush president bush had done one thing, he would have been a lot better off if he had been honest about why we had gone to iraq. He could have said, i know there aren’t any weapons of mass destruction, but i feel that saddam hussein’s a really bad guy and we got to get rid of a lot of people. Would have disagreed with him. That’s okay, but at least he would have been honest. And he would have said, these are my values. These are the values i think the united states ought to bring into this process. That’s what we need tohave we can’t always go around saying, oh, i hope i do something that everybody will agree with, and if i don’t, i’m just not going to tell anybody and hope that nobody understands. We’ve got to be clear about being honest about what we do. An example you you spend some pages on in the book is the metropolitan museum of art, whether they should i have put our scent art to las vegas on loan to the bellagio. So now he’s world class art museum talking about world class art in one of the richest places in the world. Las vegas why don’t you take the story from there? Actually, that was the boston museum. It was boston museum in new york. Centric course. Everything happens in new york. I’m surprised supplies las vegas is not new york. Ok, sorry. But i used that example not to say anything bad about the organization, but to show the challenges that come up in governance, and this is part of oversight and part of what governance ought to be at boards source. They teach clients about governance as leadership and all of the questions that come up. But let’s say you run an organization like the metropolitan well, you can use that they have wonderful pieces of our it could’ve taken out to las vegas, this den of iniquity, this is this is culture. We can’t have that we can’t be lending our name into this this place and a lot of places would let it go at that. But then this museum up in boston said, well, what are the pros and cons? What are our values and what that might be g would it be better for more people to see this art? Would that be a good thing? And the answer to that question is yes would be associated with las vegas. We a bad thing? I mean, this is boston after becoming like, my goodness, that would be a terrible thing. See away the right versus the right. Rushworth kidder, one of my heroes when it comes to ethical decision making, who runs? In a non-profit in maine talks about right versus right all the time because if we’re talking ethical decision making, we’re talking about ethical dilemmas. We’re not talking about the obvious right versus the obvious wrong. We’re talking about a dilemma right versus right? And in that particular example, there were two rights. One is we’re going to have a problem with our image, the second oneness, and confronts it in conflicts with it. And that is the idea that more people will be able to see our our work, and they ended up doing the deal they did, and they took some criticism for it. They did, but you looked at their process and and it’s outcome the process was key and to try to avoid criticism, it’s a loser’s game and it’s not even it’s, not even a worthwhile goal. Who would want to live in a world where everybody agrees all the time it would take away ah chunk of our humanity that i don’t think we’d be a world a tte leased the one that i would recognize without it. So forget the idea that we’re always going to agree, in fact, when i go into a room and i learned this when i worked in politics in the early seventies, the fellow said. Well, i could go into the room full of people who agree with me, and i could go into a room full of people who disagree with me, which where should i go? I said, we’ll go with it where they love you, he said, no, i go into the room that they disagree with me because that can change their minds. I can talk to them. I can hear what they have to say, and i’ve never forgotten that that’s part of the idea here, i want to get into your the process that you recommend that you advocate but let’s talk so a little in leading up to that more the detail of the four pillars you said disclosure and transparency very close, but you do make a distinction in the book. Why don’t you make that first? Well, i think that disclosure is the ability for people for a charity to teo wth the idea of a charity allowing people to see the what’s going on. We have to disclose things, aunt, i’ll come back to that in a second, with an example, transparency from my perspective is the ease that we allow the public to see are what we disclose so there’s a distinction there, but the reason i make the distinction is we’re saying those two words all the time as if they were different and they are different, but we never really make that distinction. We’re always talking about it is that it goes away. Let me give you an example of disclosure. I sat on in nineteen ninety five for the dahna philantech protection act, the texas case and we we got this bill passed and a required disclosure with gifts that were planned gifts that we’re co mingled and we’re really happy the sec wanted this for twenty years now is a federal law. A lot of charities didn’t like it, but i was happy, so they said there needs to be disclosure. Great. So the next day, after i had testified to this and after it had gotten past, i called the head of the sec, barry barbash and i said, oh, gosh, we’ve got to ask this question what does disclosure mean? What’s the definition he said that’s up to you, that’s up to you, you have to do that for yourself, and actually the law says reasonable disclosure reasonable, which is even, you know, so, you know, the issue is we are responsible for deciding that and so and it can’t be run by a bunch of lawyers because after that gift annuity disclosure statements were fifty pages long, they were all pretty much filled with legalese. Do you know what barry barbash said when i said, i’m having difficulty with your answer, he said to me, if a seventy five year old person he said, lady, so i’ll just say that who doesn’t understand finances doesn’t understand what you’re telling her in this disclosure. It’s not disclosing anything now i think of that that’s profound it’s not disclosing anything, you could throw a bunch of stuff out, and if it doesn’t tell the person anything it’s not disclosing anything, is it fair to say that you envision you see it transparency as sort of the mindset of openness and then disclosure as the process the practice of disclosing yes, yes, ok, and that mindset, the transparency being reaching out to the public, the donor of the public and saying this is the way we’re going to make it easier for you to understand what we’re doing just in the thirty seconds or so. What we have before a break, let’s, talk about avoidance of conflict of interest. Oh, yes, a third pillar, thirty seconds on that. Well, i i think conflict of interest needs to be disclosed. Okay, bringing those two ideas together. It’s not always going to be avoided, but it should be disclosed, and the issue isn’t so much that it always that it exists. Sometimes we can talk about this later, but that is not disclosed. My guest is doug white he’s, the author of the non-profit challenge. This is tony martignetti non-profit radio stay with us. Talking alternative radio twenty four hours a day. Are you stuck in your business or career trying to take your business to the next level, and it keeps hitting a wall? This is sam liebowitz, the conscious consultant. I will help you get to the root cause of your abundance issues and help move you forward in your life. Call me now and let’s. Create the future. You dream of. Two one to seven to one eight, one, eight, three that’s to one to seven to one, eight one eight three. The conscious consultant helping conscious people. Be better business people. Dahna i really need to take better care of myself. If only i had someone to help me with my lifestyle. I feel like giving up. Is this you mind over matter, health and fitness can help. If you’re expecting an epiphany, chances are it’s not happening. Mind over matter, health and fitness could help you get back on track or start a new life and fitness. Join Joshua margolis, fitness expert at 2 one two eight six five nine to nine xero. Or visit w w w died. Mind over matter. Y si dot com. Do you want to enhance your company’s web presence with an eye catching and unique website design? Would you like to incorporate professional video marketing mobile marketing into your organization’s marketing campaign? Mission one on one media offers a unique marketing experience that will set you apart from your competitors, magnify your brand exposure and enhance your current marketing efforts. Their services include video production and editing, web design, graphic design photography, social media management and now introducing mobile marketing. Their motto is. We do whatever it takes to make our clients happy. Contact them today. Admission. Wanna one media dot com? Talking. Metoo welcome back to the show conversation with doug white. We’re talking about ethics and his book the non-profit challenge and doug were at the fourth pillar of of ethics, which is oversight. Don’t you say a little about oversight? Oversight is pretty much the domain off of boards, and i think the board’s oftentimes don’t understand the seriousness of their job. They are the legal backstop oven organization, they are in charge not only of keeping it safe financially and otherwise legally, but also they’re in charge of its leadership. They’re in charge of looking toward its future, they’re in charge of that charity, and so if they don’t have oversight on dhe mentioned earlier with the united way with stevens and with all of these organizations where there have been problems ah lot of that could be traced back to the lack of oversight on the part of the board or the lack of oversight on the part of the senior staff. So the board has tohave a sense of seeing the organization of overseeing its activities. It has to take a seriousness in that approach because they are who they are, they’re they’re the people who are responsible. For this organization they cannot allow, no matter how good, no matter how smart a ceo or us on executive director might be to just work alone without any sense of, uh, answering to the board. So the board has to take that very, very seriously, and that will mean doesn’t matter that they pay, you know, one hundred dollars a supposed one hundred fifty dollars, for ah lunch or something for the staff or whatever. I’m talking about the big picture and people will say, of course, you know, boards are very interesting the big picture there go cardio overseeing what’s going on, but that’s not true look at yeshiva, who lost all of that money and made off the payoff scandal. That is a pretty big picture, but people say, well, i trust this other person who’s on the board or i trust the person who’s investing the money. Nobody looked a trading slips because there weren’t any trading slips that was too much of a detail, so who’s going to look at it? Well, the board should ask about that. Even if you’re not, you don’t have a lot of financial acumen or investing acumen. You should ask that one of the people asked on the harvard boards said, but if we got into all of these alternative strategies, which reduced liquidity, but increase the value of the portfolio and we then got into a situation where we didn’t have that liquidity, where would we get it? Because you know what the students need, that this is what keeps the place going that was asked by someone who wasn’t even part of the investment process, so it takes i think, for the oversight of people who aren’t the expert but who care and that we’re smart and that responsibility is won’t make this explicit, of course, is a legal responsibility that board members have, yes, the under the laws of fiduciary duty, right? I heard that there of the nine million board chair board occupancies in the united states, four and a half million were vacant a couple of years ago because there was so much difficulty getting board members on the charities. My question is, i’m worried about the four and a half that are not vacant, you know, the ones that are filled by people who don’t know what they’re doing don’t just in the few minutes we have left. Let’s, bring these four pillars together into ah, what you advocate is the process of ethical decision making. Yes, there’s. No real blueprint for this because every organization is going to be different and it’s a subjective process. But the question here is, do we know what the big questions that we have to face are, for example, let’s, let’s. Look at investing, for example, the are investment portfolio is x do we want to have? What kind of a mix are we going to become more risky? Do we want to become more conservative? There’s? No right answer within that. But when we get there, when we answer that question based on other values, then we want to make sure that the investment makes is correct. And if we get out of that, we want to know. And so there has to be a process to know. And there has to be a process to ask the question to begin with. So you you know, you walk in there, you say here’s a slate, a blank slate, one of the large questions, and i wouldn’t recommend a charity start. Simple. Take the five largest. Questions they can imagine asking on saying, how are they going to answer it and then go deep and deep, deep down to the details of that process using the ethical decision making process? I’m not going to accept myself because i’m special. I’m going to get a cz much information as i possibly can in the process of making a decision not just the information i want but everything, and then i’m going to make a decision, but i’m going to keep my mind open after that that’s all part of the guideline of making an ethical decision maker of the ethical decision making process. But i would say that charities don’t do this, they do not do this. My guest has been dug white, and he is assistant professor at the and then you new york university heimans center. His book is the non-profit challenge integrating ethics into the purpose and promise of our nations. Charities. You should read this book there’s considerably more detail, of course, that we were able to conserve a kidder. Consider in just an hour, doug. Thank you very much for joining me in the studio. It’s. My pleasure, tony it’s. Been a pleasure having you next week. Savvy strategies to save you from a sexism scene policies you need in place to protect your employees and your non-profit i’m so concerned about sexism in the workplace that we’re going to start devoting cem showtime to it, this will be just one segment. There will be another show in the future devoted to it next week, talking about these strategies to save yourself and your organisation from an embarrassing situation around sexism. My guest will be hr consultant karen bradunas and also next week planned giving newsletters tips to make them punchy and interesting so that your donors actually read them. My guest will be clear meyerhoff she’s, a marketing consultant and also the creative producer to this show, you could get our insider alerts, and i hope you will like us on the facebook page. It’s, of course. Facebook dot com tony martignetti non-profit radio click on the like button. The creative producer of tony martignetti non-profit radio is claire meyerhoff, our line producer on the owner of talking alternative broadcasting. Sam liebowitz and our social media is by regina walton of organic social media. This is tony martignetti non-profit radio always. With mid size and small non-profits in mind, of course, the tagline. Big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. I hope you join me next friday for those guests. I just mentioned one p m eastern here on talking alternative, which you always find at talking alternative dot com. E-giving ding, ding, ding, ding. You’re listening to the talking alternate network, waiting to get you thinking. Duitz are you suffering from aches and pains? Has traditional medicine let you down? Are you tired of taking toxic medications, then come to the double diamond wellness center and learn how our natural methods can help you to hell? 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We take the nasty out of the divorce process and make people happy. Police call a set to one, two, nine six four three five zero two for a free consultation. That’s lawrence h bloom two, one two, nine, six, four, three five zero two. We make people happy. I really need to take better care of myself if only i had someone to help me with my lifestyle. I feel like giving up dahna is this you mind over matter, health and fitness can help. If you’re expecting an epiphany, chances are it’s not happening. Mind over matter, health and fitness can help you get back on track or start a new life and fitness. Join Joshua margolis, fitness expert at 2 one two eight six five nine to nine xero, or visit w w w died. Mind over matter. Y si dot com. Talking.

Gift Possibility Remains For 2010 IRA Rollovers

There’s still a chance for your charity to get a 2010 IRA rollover, even though re-contribution is not allowed.

When I posted about the revived IRA charitable rollover, a question arose among the comments. Advisors wondered if those over 70 1/2 who had already met their 2010 minimum required distribution (or MRD, which most taxpayers use as their maximum distribution) could re-contribute to their IRA, then make a charitable gift. The purpose would be to take advantage of a provision in the Tax Relief Act that allows January charitable rollovers to count toward 2010 MRD. The IRS says “no,” because Congress didn’t allow for it. Here’s coverage from The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Wall Street Journal (if you’re allowed in).

Yet, a gift possibility remains. Your donors who’ve met their 2010 MRD still can do an IRA rollover to your nonprofit (more precisely, it’s a “qualified charitable distribution”) this month, and make the election for it to count in 2010. They would have to distribute more than their 2010 minimum, with the extra going to you. They could do it up to the $100,000 annual limit and it would not be taxable income.

That’s a tough sell, I know, because so many people count the minimum as their maximum–the floor as their ceiling. (They live in a building where I would not want to buy; strictly a rental property). But, it’s a possibility you should consider. Someone who loves your work–a board member, perhaps–might be game. A particularly good prospect for this is someone with a multi-year pledge, looking to accelerate their payments. Or a donor willing to help you overcome a 2010 shortfall.

Another possibility: I have a client with a donor who has pledged his entire IRA to the charity, including distributions, but still owns it. Someone who has made that commitment may also be willing to get cash to you sooner than later. (We’re talking to him.)

Hey, I’m opening up a possibility where you probably thought one did not exist. Exploit as you see fit.