Tag Archives: Kelenda Allen-James

Nonprofit Radio for May 25, 2026: DAFs: 2026 Benchmark Report & Dashboards As Functional Powerhouses

 

Karin Kirchoff & Mitch Stein: DAFs: 2026 Benchmark Report

We return to our 2026 Nonprofit Technology Conference coverage with a discussion of the third annual report on Donor Advised Fund fundraising. Our panel shares DAF giving results; changed donor behaviors; illiquid assets; best practices; and, much more. They’re Karin Kirchoff at K2D Strategies and Mitch Stein from Chariot.

 

Kelenda Allen-James: Dashboards As Functional Powerhouses

Kelenda Allen-James reveals lots of info on dashboards, including what’s their value; free entry-level tools; user training; timestamps; a warning on use of public data; paid apps; and, more. She’s with Commonpoint.

 

 

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Welcome to Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. Big nonprofit ideas for the other 95%. I’m your aptly named host and the pod father of your favorite hebdominal podcast. I’m back in my office studio. So the audio should sound much, much better. I’m glad you’re with us. I’d suffer with exotropia if I saw that you missed this week’s show. Here’s our associate producer Kate to introduce it. Hey Tony, introducing. DFS, 2026 benchmark report. We return to our 2026 nonprofit technology conference coverage with a discussion of the 3rd annual report on donor advised fund fundraising. Our panel shares DF giving results, changed donor behaviors, illiquid assets, best practices, and much more. They are Karen Kirchoff at K2D Strategies and Mitch Stein from Chariot. Then Dashboards as functional powerhouses. Kalinda Ellen James reveals lots of info on dashboards, including what’s their value, free entry-level tools, user training, timestamps, a warning on use of public data, paid apps, and more. She is with Common Point. On Tony’s take too. Career broadening. Here is DAFF’s 2026 benchmark report. Welcome to Tony Martignetti nonprofit radio coverage of the 2026 nonprofit Technology Conference. We are wrapping up today. It’s, it’s, this is the first interview of our final day, Friday. With me now are Karen Kirchoff and Mitch Stein. Karen is president at K2D. That will be Kilo 2 Delta Strategies, K2D strategies for those who use the uh The uh military uh alphabet and Mitch Stein. Mitch is head of strategy at Chariot. Karen, Mitch, welcome to our 2026 nonprofit technology conference coverage. Thanks so much for having us. Yeah, we’re happy to be here. Alright, I’m glad, I’m glad you are. Um, Karen, I’d like you to just do like a 30,000 ft view of the, the topic which is unlocking the power of donor advised funds, the 2026. 2026, the 2026 benchmark report, just give us a high level view, please start us off. Yeah, I, uh, sort of became obsessed with donor advise funds back during COVID, and a byproduct of that obsession was a secret shopper study that K2D participated in, made a bunch of daft gifts to different nonprofits, and then sort of watched the donor experience and spoiler alert, the donor experience was not very good, which led to a whole series of questions and how we met, uh, the folks over at Chariot. Um, with an interest in trying to get behind the scenes on why the donor experience was so poor, and that ultimately led to this donor advised fund fundraising report that we’re now in the 3rd year of digging into billions of dollars’ worth of donor data, um, shared, uh, without donor information by nonprofits. We have 53 participating nonprofits this year. Uh, to give us insight into the donor behavior and how data is captured and really what it means for donor value and the overall contribution to nonprofits and their and their mission work. OK, cool. Thank you, Mitch, what is your role in the, uh, 2026 benchmark report? Yeah, so Karen and I have been, um, co-authors of this. Karen and I have been co-authors of the study since we started, uh, and we collect, um, from a group of nonprofits we have them submit their historical fundraising data and we work with an outside, um, data scientists and analyze that. And we’ve just continued to build on number of participants, amount of data and depth of analysis, uh, together and then put that report out which has now been, you know, read by thousands and thousands of folks. Karen and I have gotten to present on this research at probably 1 dozen different conferences and workshops and it’s really opened up a whole new conversation for fundraisers where they have data and research specifically on their. Historical giving information because before that there was a real gap in the market. The only research we had was produced by the donor advised funds with their like outbound grant data, but no one really knew what was the nonprofit experience? How is this changing the makeup of their overall fundraising? How do the donor behavior differ for someone using a DAFF or when someone changes to start using a DAFF? Those are all questions that you can’t answer from the donor advice fund’s perspective. So it’s opened up a whole new field of research really in the fastest growing segment of philanthropy. OK, um, stay with you, Mitch. Uh, what are some takeaways from the 2026 report that we can go into detail? Yeah, I think the two most important ones that I saw were just the rate of growth of DA giving at nonprofits. Um, in 2024, the median across all participant organizations was 30%. The year over year change in the DAF revenue they saw from donors and the median change in non-DaAF giving, so all the other ways that individual supporters donate, was actually slightly down. So it is a drastic difference in the dynamics of DAFF giving versus overall individual fundraising. And the other insight is related to how donors change their behavior when they start using a DAF to support that organization. So what I mean by that is if Karen gives to um the American Cancer Society in 2022 and used a credit card, um, and then the next year used her DAFF for the first time with that organization, that’s an insight we have in this study, uh, and had over 40,000 examples of that. And what we found was that the average change in that support from one year to the next was a 10x increase in giving and the median was 2X. So yes, there are some large outliers, but those are still very valuable to the organizations that got much larger gifts, but over half of your supporters that changed their way of giving to using a DAFF are at least doubling their support. Yeah, OK, um, Karen, so let’s, let’s look into these. These two takeaways, uh, it’s just identified. So, the, the, do I understand it correctly, the rate of daft giving is down slightly. What, what the rate of daft giving is up exponential down? What’s down slightly? Oh, non-aft giving is down slightly. Oh, OK, which tracks with other industry benchmarking reports. That’s been a long standing trend. DF giving is really bucking that trend exponentially. OK. And why are we seeing that? I think there’s a lot of reasons for it. I think that, uh, the tax law changes in 2017 inspired a lot of people to fund DFS, um, the DAFFs themselves, the number of people who have DAFFS has been growing exponentially. Um, the change in the minimum required to open a donor advised fund has democratized staff giving. Um, donors are becoming increasingly strategic about their giving and more intentional about their giving. By using D DFS, um, and so all of that and, and frankly nonprofits are becoming increasingly strategic about how they ask for donors to use their dafts and so the combination of all those factors I think really influences that rate of growth in this particular form of giving and how can nonprofits be more strategic about about encouraging promoting DAFF giving? Yeah, I mean you gotta talk about it, right? You have to uh encourage donors. To use DFs in in every circumstance possible and that includes all of those mass market vehicles like direct mail and email and um other digital forms of giving but it also includes things like peer to peer fundraising. It includes things like events, um, it includes, uh, obviously major gifts, leadership giving those really large gifts, uh, but the number of, of daf gifts that are coming in below what is often considered a mid. Level or a major gift threshold meaning below $1000 is almost 70%. So I’ll say that in a different way. 70% of DAFF gifts come in under $1000. So there’s a bit of a perception that DAFF giving is only for the wealthy. It’s very, uh, you know, the sort of really high-end gifts, and it’s just not, uh, and I think the more that nonprofits lean into using mass market vehicles to solicit. At DAFFS and to remind donors that they can use their DAFF is driving a lot of that giving as well. You mentioned the democratization of DAFF, so that the minimum gift, what, what, what’s a, what’s a more typical, not gift, what, what’s a more typical, uh, donor advised fund opening requirement? So Fidelity a couple of years ago changed their minimum requirement to $0. You can now open a DAFF at Fidelity without putting a single dollar into your account. Um, Fidelity’s minimum distribution is $50 and so there’s, you know, this sort of very different world now. Are those numbers common or typical, or, uh, they’re, they’re, are they a bit of an outlier? They, it, it, it’s becoming increasingly. I mean, Mitch can certainly speak to this as well. Vanguard, uh, still has higher thresholds, um, and, uh, $10,000 or yeah, I think, I think Schwab’s 5, to open. No, Schwab is also $0 minimum. and $50 gifts, uh, minimum gift size, so same, same as Kelly, and those are the two largest, and they’re like drastically larger than any other daff. So that’s like a really large segment of the market, and Vanguard is the next largest, and their minimum account size is $25,000 and their minimum grant size is around $500 so they’re catering to a different audience, but it is certainly becoming common that. Community foundations around the country are lowering their minimums, um, both account size and, um, minimum grant size, and just thinking about how can we be a part of this trend. This is becoming popular for so many different demographics of donors and how can we make sure we’re not missing the chance to build those relationships. OK. And again, the two largest commercial DF providers, um, Schwab and Fidelity Fidelity, are zero minimum. And $50 distribution minimums gift minimum combined the two of them in 2025 donated $28 billion to charities. Yeah, alright, so we need to dispel the myth that your, your donor advised fund gifts are only gonna come from wealthy folks, so that’s, that’s in the past. OK, absolutely, very clear. OK, um, what about the, um. How common are the, the, the website widgets, you know, daf, uh, click here and connect to your daf. It’s, it’s easier now to give than it was just a few years ago, isn’t it? Through a donor advised fund. Like you had, used to have to go to the back to the fund site. Now, aren’t there widgets that that are on nonprofit websites, right? And a lot of those widgets send you back to your fund. To log in and and set up the distribution you don’t have to remember to do it right. I, I will say I’m gonna pass it to Mitch because Chariot has a product that really streamlines and I am not evangelizing the product necessarily, but it has a really great product that helps nonprofits capture a lot more of the data associated with staff giving. Yeah, Tony, what you mentioned has been around for a while are these widgets which is like you. Point reminds people and then sends them back to their fund. Um, what we introduced 3 years ago is a payment option, so it’s called Daftay that can be on the donation form at checkout next to Google Pay, credit card, all those ways you pay. It’s like express checkout and you can finish your grant recommendation right there. So especially for what we kind of call inspiration-based giving, a giving day, peer to peer fundraising, a match campaign, um. Anything where someone is trying to respond and make a gift and be part of something in the moment that often they’ll just make a credit card gift. And when you can intercept them and say no, no, no, make that daf gift right here, then that’s a huge opportunity for nonprofits and to Karen’s point that also comes in your marketing language, what you’re saying at events, how you’re communicating with peer to peer participants. It’s both and the technology, how can we make the user experience prompt them and use dafts more readily. But also educating your entire staff to know that they should be talking about it and communicating with donors about it. Someone just came up to our booth yesterday and said they were at a protest in Boston last weekend. And someone was going around handing out some flyers to donate to their nonprofit that you know was helping with the cause and we’re like, and remember you can use your donor advised funds that is awesome this person was like Mitch’s influence is everywhere. That’s amazing. Walking through the crowd at a grassroots, uh, at a grassroots protest, for like a mutual aid society for their neighborhood, it was incredible. I love it. Uh, Karen, I’m sorry if I missed it. Did, did you say what the average DF distribution is was in 2025? Do we, do we know that? It’s uh $1200 I think in the is that right Mitch? Am I remembering that right? The average through daft pay is around $1200 which is that tends to be a little smaller, yes, because that’s when people are supporting these events and causes and, um, the median for us was around $300. Um, it’s spotty from what the DF providers disclose, but Fidelity’s average, I think is around $4500. And then Schwab did actually disclose or Daft Giving 360 is their new name, but they did disclose a $500 median, uh, grant size in 2025 and in this study, the average is about $1200. OK, among those 53, 53 nonprofits that participated. OK, all right, but still, all right, but, but. That’s not a huge gift. Uh, it may be a major gift that a lot of small and mid-sized nonprofits, but there’s still a lot of, and that again, that’s an average, and there’s a lot of potential for smaller gifts because of the democratization we’ve been talking about, right? There’s potential for smaller gifts and there’s the potential for larger gifts. Fidelity reports that the average size of a daff in their, um, the, the daffs that they hold. Is just under $20,000. So if somebody’s making a $1000 or even a $100 gift out of their daff, odds are good there’s a lot more money in their daff. And with a strong case for giving, this is where a nexus between mass marketing and major gifts, I think, is really important because with a solid case for giving, I think you can go back to anybody who’s made a daf gift that maybe is not at a major gift level. And ask them to make a distribution that is at a major gift level because of the um likelihood that there’s a lot more money that’s sitting in their daff. What I was just gonna add, Tony, that the yes staffs are being democratized and they’re using them in all different levels, but like what Karen’s mentioning is it’s also still a really promising sign that that person likely has a lot of capacity. And so even if it is a smaller gift, I know a lot of folks that want to dedicate their prospect research, for example, to anytime someone makes a daft gift, try to learn more and see if there’s a chance that they actually have a lot more capacity. And to Karen’s point at Fidelity, it’s the median account size is over $20,000. So that means over half of of their fund holders have more than $20,000 that they’ve irrevocably committed to giving. It’s the only thing it can be used for. Those are relationships you want to build. What about the concern, uh, maybe this is in the past, so you can allay this maybe misconception as well. I’m happy to be. Contradicted, uh, that, uh, a lot of DA gifts come without donor information. We don’t know, you know, it comes from the DA provider, whether it’s a community foundation or a commercial institution and we don’t know who the donor is. Is that still a, is that still an issue? It, it does remain a problem. Um, the DFs themselves are getting better at, um, asking donors if they want their information shared. Fidelity now defaults to donors sharing information. If the donor wants to opt out and become anonymous, obviously they can, um, and Fidelity reports that more than 90% of their D DAFF gifts come with at least the name of the fund, if not also the address of that donor. Um, this is another place, frankly, where the daft pay tool is really effective because it captures all that information on the front end, including an email address which you don’t get from any of the DF providers, um, to be able to start to build those we’re not using Mitch’s chariot product. What, what do we do if we get a, a gift from any, any DF provider that doesn’t have donor info? What’s your advice? Yeah, I mean, it’s, and we, and I want, and we do, we’d like to have the info too, of course we want to have that info. What’s your advice? I mean, I, I think this is, there’s. A lot of value in having those internal conversations, um, you know, if that, because a lot of times those staff gifts are coming across, you know, over the transom through a caging operation or through the, you know, internal gift processing, and if those gifts aren’t flagged for, say, a major gift officer, even if they’re not at a major gift level, the major gift officer may know that they’ve been talking with somebody who has a daff and can reach back out to that person and confirm, was this your daft gift? This is not your daft gift. I mean, so it’s, it is additional legwork that is often required. Research if it, if a daf comes over, uh, with just the name of the fund and it’s the puppies and kittens fund, um, a major gift officer may know, oh yeah, that’s Jane Smith. Let me, I’m gonna reach out to her. That’s the internal. What about going back to the daf provider and asking, can we, can we get this information? Yeah, that, that most of the big dafs will not share it. Um, community foundations often will relay messages back to donors. And so if, if a daf is coming in from a community foundation without a name or an. Associated address, um, reaching back out to that community foundation is a really valuable step because they often have those donor relationships and will at a minimum relay a message if not share additional information a message, OK, you might write something and ask them to forward it. The commercial one, yeah, you’re making the point that’s, that’s on the, on the community foundation side, commercial ones, they won’t, they won’t forward a letter. They won’t. I, I had a client literally last month who I’m not kidding, out of $400,000 DF that came in through their caging operation. Um, and they reached out. It was a Fidelity gift. They reached out to Fidelity multiple times to try to get some information and, and got nothing. The donor wanted to remain anonymous, and, and that’s the donor’s right to do so. But, but Fidelity wouldn’t even forward a message forward this letter. No, no, they will not. Yeah, Tony, just one thing I wanna add there is it’s very important for nonprofits to know there’s a difference between being anonymous and only sharing the fund name. So I think a lot of people historically have said if I don’t have full information I just dump all of this into anonymous gifts and that’s really not a best practice when it comes to tracking your DAF giving, number one, because you’re not gonna be able to track it very well like when you wanna participate in analysis like what Karen and I do if you just have a big dump into it an anonymous donor record, that’s not helpful, but also you likely get more information over time. So if you’re tracking this account under a fund name. Then in the future, the puppies, all right, so if it comes back, right, you get another one, there might be more information. I might get an address, so it’s good to start tracking those donor records on the fund name even if you don’t have a donor name on it or it’s not fully clear. Um, and also if, if they’re disclosing something and not fully anonymous, there’s a much better chance that the DAF provider will engage with you on it to say, hey, actually I don’t know who this person is. Can you share this letter with them and you’re likely to have a better chance building that relationship? What would the something be that that would get shared, but it’s not full and it’s not a name, but you said if something is shared, what, what would that something be that you might, what, what data point might you get that’s not the donor’s name? So often you’re getting a fund name. So when you just a, yeah, and or you might get a donor name, but you, it’s John Smith, and so you don’t have enough information to identify them. So that’s often worth following up on. But, and I’ve just heard from many providers that as long as it’s a personalized letter, like a personalized follow up, that they will get it to them and oftentimes then they do engage and you’re able to build that relationship. So particularly for larger gifts, that’s definitely worthwhile. OK, all right, so. So you’re saying it is worthwhile, but Karen had the example of the $400,000 gift that, well, that was fully anonymous was one thing and also it’s from the data at all and from the large commercial staff which is gonna be hard to engage with. OK, OK, good. All right, thank you for making the distinction between community foundation ones and the and the commercial ones providers, but you, but Mitch, your point is if there’s some data. Then you have a better chance of being able to engage, at least get something forwarded than than if there’s nothing. It’s just a, it’s just a fidelity check and that’s it. OK, OK, uh, you know, you, you guys work with this day in and day out for years. I’m, I’m not newly initiated, but, uh, my work is in planned giving, uh, it’s not, I mean that there is some donor advice fund crossover, but you, you, you all are thinking about this day in and day out, um. So another takeaway aside from the rate of giving and the methods of giving was that People who give through DFS, once they give through DAFS, their, their behavior changes toward the nonprofit versus, I guess a control group that never gave a DAFF donor advice fund gift. One of the, what’s that, what’s those behavior changes? One of the data points that we looked at, um, in part because there are some we thought myths out there around DA giving and once. Somebody gifts from a DAFF, it’s in part because data collection can be difficult. Then they lose value over time or it doesn’t, doesn’t, it’s, it’s not worth soliciting D DAFF gifts. And what we learned in the study, and this has been repeated in each year of the study, was that if once somebody converts to using a D DAFF, let’s say the example Mitch was using a couple of minutes ago, I made a credit card gift in 2022. The American Cancer Society, it was $100 in the next year if I used my DAFF, uh, more than 50% of the time that value was gonna now be $1000 so 10x increase in value, um, and so that donor behavior really changes very dramatically from purely from a value perspective. Um, the other variable is around, or meant there are several variables, but a big one is around retention. Um, and donor retention among DAFF donors is exponentially higher, 13% points higher, not 13% higher, 13% points higher for donors who are using a DAFF versus donors who are not using a DAF to make a gift. And so there’s a, a case for, um, encouraging D DAFF giving and, um, developing those relationships to build longer term D DAFF giving because of the value associated with donors who are making investments with that giving vehicle. And 20% of DAF donors make more than one gift a year to the same organization, same, OK, OK. Any other interesting behaviors? In this giving community. Yeah, I, I think to Karen’s point, which the cohort, yeah, um, I just think what’s behind the data points we’re flagging like higher retention, um, multiple gifts a year, giving more, supporting more organizations is something we definitely see from the DAFF data, um, is the, the reasons why is there’s really a psychological change when you’re using a DAF for giving. And I find this is something that a lot of fundraisers don’t fully appreciate, and I always encourage them to open their own DA account, see it for themselves. They’re very accessible. You’ve got the big commercial ones. You can do it for 0 dollars at the top two commercial and even at like a Daffy is a mobile first app. Uh, DF provider where the minimum gift size is $18. GoFundMe has a DF product now where the minimum gift size, I think, is $5 or $10. So it’s really become accessible and then you can see for yourself what happens when you make a proactive decision to set aside money for giving that can’t be revoked for something else. So now you have these committed funds and it kind of forces you to think, well, what do I wanna give? like where do I wanna support and whenever you do get, you know, asked by a friend who’s doing a fundraiser or some crisis happens, you’ve got this ready store of funds. It’s like having a gift card at the ready and so you are way more you give much more liberally because you’re not weighing it against your other budget items that month it’s already accounted for. I’m gonna give a shout out to a friend of mine, Rudy Fletcher, who’s at the National Philanthropic Trust NPT. Uh, he has opened my eyes to something I’d like to explore with you that at, at, at the higher level, uh, the major, major donors, um, donor advised funds are valuable because the type of assets they can accept that are unusual like closely held. Uh, corporate stock or or LLC interests or something like that, uh, more esoteric gifts, wine collections, wine collections, art collections that are non the average nonprofit, well, probably 95% of nonprofits are not equipped to take these types of assets, so there’s, there’s value there too, I guess we’re talking about the, the commercial daft. Providers are set up to accept different types of gifts that others aren’t any that’s even the community foundations, yeah, yeah, yeah, they, they specialize in this. I mean, a lot of them use the same partners to help if you’re doing something that’s really a liquid or or complex to help, you know, value it, get the appraisal, do the sale, etc. But yeah, that’s thank you for using the word illiquid. You, you just condensed 600 of my words into one. I could have just said illiquid assets. Yeah, but illiquid and, or, you know, public securities are not always the easiest thing to divvy up and donate to a bunch of different organizations, get their information. Do they know how to handle that and sell it? Like there’s a lot involved. So if you’ve got $100,000 worth of stock that you want to donate in a year, you can do one transaction into your DAFF, a place that is set up to do that day in and day out. And then make cash grants out to 100 different nonprofits and so it’s really efficient for people who like to donate um these more tax advantaged avenues so that’s certainly once you’re on the higher end of donors, the DAF benefit is you know that you have all this flexibility it’s easier to manage you can do all this more complex giving uh in one place and the nonprofit experiences that they just receive cash. Yeah, so much easier, right? OK, thank you. Thank you, Rudy Fletcher, for making me aware of that. Thank you, Rudy. Do you know National Philanthropic Trust, NPT? Yeah, OK. I don’t know Rudy, but I know that’s OK. I know Rudy. You, you’re 2, you’re only 2nd away. You’re only 2 levels of bacon away from 2 levels of Kevin Bacon away from Rudy Fletcher. Everybody should know Rudy. Alright. Um, so, uh, so Mitch, why don’t you take us out with some inspiration about Daf Giving since, uh, Karen did the intro. Please leave us with, uh, inspiring words around Daf’s. Yeah, I mean, I just say there’s a lot of focus as we’re doing research on past giving trends and so I think it’s worth ending like thinking about the future, especially after a 2025 where every DAF provider I know has told me that their December and Q4 was like multiples of prior years in terms of contributions into those accounts. So with the tax changes, the markets are really hot, people were flooding their accounts with money. So that means that the opportunity in 2026 is enormous. Like no nonprofit can be ignoring this. You really should have a plan for how you are engaging with DA giving to make sure that you don’t get left behind from the fastest growing cohort of donors out there. Thank you very much. That’s Mitch Stein. He’s head of strategy at Chariot. With Mitch is Karen Kirchoff. Is it Kirchoff or Kirchoff? Kirchoff Kirchoff, with a C H. No, I don’t except Kirchoff. No, no, it’s Kirchoff. No, it’s Karen Kirchoff. She’s president at K2D Strategies. Thank you, Mitch. Karen, thanks very much. Thanks so much for having us. It’s a pleasure. Thank you and thank you for being with Tony Martignetti nonprofit radio coverage of the 2026 nonprofit Technology conference. It’s time for Tony’s take 2. Thank you, Kate. Career broadening. Last week, I took a course, just 2 days. And it had nothing at all to do with what I do, planned giving, fundraising, consulting, nothing. It was about organization design, how lots of organizations don’t do as well as they could, nonprofits we’re talking about, of course, uh, because they’re not organized correctly, the, the structure and the, and the processes and the, and the metrics and the people. are not all aligned around a strategy, strategy. So, a lot of times this is why strategic plans may not be so. Easy to implement because your organization is designed for the pre-strategic plan time. And so, that, I mean, that’s the basics of it. But the point is, It’s totally unrelated to what I do. I’m not adding this to my practice, certainly, and just on the strength of a two-day course. I’m not authorized, I’m not, uh, I’m qualified to do this with any nonprofit, but it’s just something different, you know, I, I saw it on LinkedIn, someone posted about the course. Uh, I was able to make the time and it’s just, it’s totally non nonprofit related, Certainly, it was all about social impact organization design. That was the name of the course, but just very different from, Anything I do in nonprofits. And it was, it became stimulating to, to think about. Nonprofits from a different perspective on a, with a totally different purpose. So, I would encourage you to step outside your comfort zone. You know, there was no test at the end. I mean, it cost me some money to go to the course, but, you know, it’s not like there’s that much at risk. And, um, I would encourage you to step outside and just like learn something different, even if it’s not something you’re gonna apply. It’s just a different perspective on nonprofits or maybe not even, maybe it doesn’t even have anything to do with nonprofits. Broadening, broadening, I just. It, it was very uplifting for me and I hope it would be for you too if you did something like that. And that is Tony’s take 2. Kate, One of my favorite university professors of all time taught me characteristics of knowledge acquisition. And one of like his big, you know, overall on our last day, he said never stop learning something new. And so, like a part of the course, we had to go take some, anything we could choose. It could have been like an art class, gym class, but like, learning something that we never like would push ourselves to go do. And that like still sticks with me today. It’s like, what can I learn today? What did you choose for the, what did you choose for yours? So long story cutting it down, I wanted to do like a glass mosaic class, uh, so the, I guess sea glass and we were supposed to make like a lamp. But it actually got canceled, so I ended up following a Bob Ross tutorial because I wanted to do something artsy. So I was learning from Bob Ross. Bob Ross, the classic. There, there are no accidents, just happy mistakes. Yes, there are no, there are no. Mistakes, just happy accidents, something like that. I think that’s what it is. There are no mistakes, just happy accidents. Yes. All right. Did you paint something? Did you paint a seascape or a tree? I painted a landscape. Yes, it’s hanging up in our dining room. Outstanding. Bob Ross is, uh, Bob Ross from the grave is, uh, is very pleased that you, you chose him for your. Characteristics of knowledge acquisition. Outside the box course. Excellent. We’ve got Bu butt loads more time. Here is dashboards as functional powerhouses. Welcome back to Tony Martignetti nonprofit radio coverage of the 2026 nonprofit Technology conference. My guest now is Kalinda Allen James, assistant assistant or associate vice president. Assistant vice president of information technology at Common Point, New York. Kalinda, welcome back to nonprofit Radio. It was about 2 years ago you were with us. Yes, it’s great to be here. Thank you. Your topic this year is dashboards, moving beyond pretty charts to functional powerhouses. Could you give us uh like a 30,000 ft view to kick us off? Um, yes. So, building dashboards is gonna allow people to have a quick view of their data and create narratives to help them make decisions. That’s pretty quick. OK, OK, thank you for that, um. How should we best uh approach the topic? Can we look at what, uh, what, I don’t know what the potential is or how to go about building your dashboards? What’s the best way to go into the topic? It’s like we have different entry points. So the first entry point is I just have raw data. I’m still got 15 Excel sheets. And there’s a manual process for every question that is asked. OK, and it’s like the first time, every time is like the first time we’ve never heard this question before, correct? OK, that’s why. OK, what else you got? OK, and the next is we have this expensive software and it comes with dashboards, so how do we leverage them now that we have our data in this expensive system? OK. And then it’s like we’ve been doing dashboards, they’re starting to make sense. What’s the best way to present these dashboards to our forward facing public? OK, those are our three entry points. I love how concise you are. It’s like boom, boom, boom. OK, OK, excellent. Um, all right, so let, let’s, let’s start with the, like. We don’t even have dashboards. Yes, so if you’re still the sun just got in my eyes. The sun just came out of a cloud. I’m sorry, go ahead. Yes, so if you are still at the spreadsheet way, um, there are some entry level tools like if you’re in like Google Sheets, there’s like Google Looker Studio, which is a free tool from Google. That can already access your Google Sheets to help you start building an entry-level dashboard, OK. And you do have similar um capabilities in Office 365 with Power BI. I’m sorry, it’s called Power BI. Yes, OK, OK. And both of these are included with the software you’re already using, um, but when you want to start sharing with the public, this is when you get into possibly licensing, this is when the prices start to go up, but this is the good part to start to see what you want your dashboards to look like, what questions are you trying to answer. And does a graph, a bar chart really help your story, or is it muddying the water? Are those the uh those are the the the the free resources that Google Power sorry, Google Looker Studio and Power BI Microsoft in Microsoft 360 Office 365. OK, OK. And um also a lot of our CMRs, um, customer relation management tools are offering a dashboard section in our products and we could start looking there. They have a lot of out of the box widgets, see how many in the past 3 months, how many in the past 2 months to start. And then you can start to look at your data. Um, I’m working with Salesforce at my company, and we are currently pushing our limits to the internal. Dashboards. From the water cooler standpoint, we want dashboards but better, but when you look at the analytics from the dashboards you already have, we see through adoption. 18% of the people haven’t logged into the system to look at the existing dashboard yet. So maybe they would have more enjoyment if they actually looked at the dashboard. All right, so you have a recalcitrant 18%. Yes, um, and then when you look at the changes to the dashboard. There was only 3 requests for changes, so maybe taking your complaint from the water cooler directly to the dashboard designer will move the needle for you. So a lot of times we get the tool included. Um, our power users do our best to try to make it work, but sometimes pausing and investing in some training can help you leverage what you have so much better and so much faster before you go to the next new product. OK, right, training what you already have, yes, yeah, OK, and then using all the samples that you have, a lot of we come lots of templates we think we know what we want. But sometimes just experimenting with one of the built-in templates you’d be like, oh this is a really good way to look at our data, this totally changes the question and how we’re presenting it so I feel a lot of us for the time pressure to get our questions answered, we move away from native stuff too quickly. And another thing is when you start looking at the native, you’ll might see that there’s cracks in your data. And we’ll need to pause. I know in like one of our charts. Um, I didn’t know the primary language of 26% of my clients. But when you deep dive into the data, this occurred because a data merge between our case management systems and our fee for service systems. I’m not asking anybody about their language when they’re booking a tennis court. But this is the type of information I need to provide wrap-around services at the food pantry. And so we have to remember we cannot report on data we did not collect. So this is the type of question where, hey, do I leverage AI to review all my correspondence with the client to check which language I sent their correspondence in to update this field. Is this a time for us to pause and look into a universal intake form to get the base language so we can wrap data apples to apples when we are merging it? Or is this a question that we stop asking because that was for a project grant from 8 years ago and maybe we just need to clean up our question sets. So once we start looking at the dashboards, if they start to look wonky, it’s a great time to pause and reevaluate your data. We’re pulling data from a single source of truth, but sometimes the data will show us that we still have some side quest spreadsheets in some departments, and it’s not making it to the single source of truth, and this is where we could do some retraining. Um, some evangelism around the agency of why the single source of truth is the way to go. Evangelism around abandon your spreadsheets, you know, and come to the new, new, and how is it going to help us. Um, another thing is, as my co-co-presenter, um, Ash Shepherd, um, gave us was When we’re using dashboards internally for our current employees, making them fun and interactive so they can really relate to the work they’re doing in the data. So designing dashboards for people, not just for information. Make sure you have the company logo on it. Make sure that you have the company branding colors, so you can really feel connected to this is our data, this is our company. I stand behind this data. This data is showing the work I do person to person. OK, and also in Involving the users of the dashboards in the development of the dashboards. So, so, so I mean this is, I’m kind of amplifying what you’ve already said, so, so it reveals what the people actually want to know. Yes, OK. And also adding a good old fashioned instruction. This is how you should be looking at this data. Um, having good indexes, like, does pink always mean the same thing across every graph? Is red a bad color? Like is green a good color, you know, so really just adding some depth and context to your dashboard will help people approach it in the appropriate way. Can, can be. Personalized to the users like, so I don’t, I don’t use any dashboard tools. I’m a one person business, um. So I’m, I don’t have a, I don’t use these, but can individual users within the, within the nonprofit customize a dashboard for what they want to know, or is it needs to be more centralized and everybody’s looking at the same dashboards? No, that’s a great question. You can generally have more than one dashboard and you should, so you can really have targeted audiences. So there is going to be an executive team who’s gonna want to see the 30,000 ft of the whole agency at all times. and they will have a distinct dashboard, but then there’s going to be a dedicated department who’s gonna want a more nuanced and and detailed dashboard for just their part of the business. And so this is where you do get to individualization of the dashboards and you know, so what the executive team needs versus what the directors need versus what district managers need versus the individual contributor. You know, an individual contributor just might need a simple two graph, um, Dashboard with how many case notes I’m supposed to do this month and how far have I gone, you know, just like nice little ticker tape gauge system. And the executive team might want a more nuance how many clients year over year. OK, alright, so very personalized, um, yeah, personalizable, customizable, that’s what I wanna say, very customizable. OK, um, please, you know, you were, you were on a roll. I, I, uh, made you digress with a question. Yeah, go ahead. Um, other things to think about with the dashboard is how long are you going to use it. Are you looking for something dynamic that’s updating every month? And if that’s the case, you wanna add some automation, so maybe have the first of the month, pull the data, update the dashboard. Um, if you’re doing a community sur survey and you want real-time data, you might link your dashboard to like a Google form, and every time somebody answers the survey, the dashboard updates. Um, depending on the type of data. Um, depending on how people access the survey. You might want to put some distance between. Um, survey and live update. If there’s a chance that your data could be usurped by bad actors, you might want to put a human set of eyes before publishing. And creating a delay before public consumption. Um, all technology is a tool. And these tools can definitely help us make our jobs easier, give us the capacity to help more. But tools are only as good as their instructions, and when you’re new to dashboarding, it can seem confusing and overwhelming, so putting some more pauses between creation and public consumption is the best thing you can do for yourself because sometimes you only get one chance to make a first impression. Yeah, and protect yourself and your reputation, OK, organization and personal. You told everybody you did the work and now it’s embarrassing to the to to the organization. That’s a bad look for you. OK, yeah, yes, and also when you’re doing your dashboards, the curious minds want to know what is the underlying data that got you here. What was the time frame? Um, 2020 looked very different for a lot of organizations than 2019, and so not putting some time stamps to the data can create the wrong narrative. So definitely index your dashboards, be prepared to share how we got here because the inquiring minds will want to know. Yeah, that context, you’re right, people are going to forget what happened in 2020 and they’ll be questioning, well why. Was 2020 so bad? What’s this big rise since since 2021? Yeah, um, so definitely, um, making sure that you’re putting correct context, you know, advertising the data that created the dashboard, um, explaining the methodology will make the dashboard more believable, trustworthy, and people want to relate to it more. OK. These are great tips. What else? What else do you have? I mean, I’m just like, uh, letting you either a quarter in the slot. You go, go. And back to the data piece. Everybody likes a compelling graph, but there’s no data fairies. It is real people collecting data, analyzing data, entering the data way before a dashboard occurs. And we always have to circle back and double check our data is coming from the correct place and even if we are automating our dashboards for convenience, we need to always keep double checking to make sure the data is still good. Um, we have 70 different business models at our nonprofit. I’m collecting data from internal sources, third party government sources, um, individual contributor, family surveys. And if our third party chooses to change how they do data. The sink that has been working for me for 18 months will immediately break. And if I don’t have eyes on my data and I just rely on my automation. I’m going to start missing chunks of clients month after month until I fix that sink. And so even with the automation. Um, we must always have the human eyes on the dashboard and the data, because if you’re doing the work on the ground every day, you can spot immediately why 41,000 people without a primary language looks weird. But if you are a casual observer of the company, first time, um, seeing the corporation and you see this on a public dashboard, well, maybe that makes sense. And so this is why the person should never get separated from the data so you can continue to make sure that your data is reliable. OK, you gotta keep the human touch. Yes, alright, right, right, right, yep, that applies to a lot of artificial intelligence, well, all uses of AI. We haven’t specifically talked about AI, but there may very well be. You may have one of the tools involved in your data synthesis process. There has to be human oversight. And what will happen is the AI tracks learned behavior, so the AI will just assume what the numbers were last month, disregarding that the sink has broke, you know, and so we don’t want any hallucinations. Um, and that’s just with a constant check because AI is always changing. The business is always changing, so change has to be monitored. OK. Mhm, um, also with the human touch. Data and numbers can be very frightening to some. A lot of people who go into the social services might have started off in the 3rd grade with, I’m not a math person. So to now come into a data spreadsheet. And to see graphs and numbers and percentages and pie charts that can feel overwhelming and disconnected to the human connection of a caseworker working with a client. And so by making your dashboards with the human touch with the logos, with the funny gifts, really, you know, disarms the person who might have had a previous math aversion from earlier schooling and so that’s one of the great ways about making the personal touch, creating dashboards for the non-traditional analytic person. Built some humanity in yeah I like the idea of the like gifts and whatever yeah emojis yeah yeah and also providing detailed instructions even adding like a video instruction of where the data comes from, why we use this dashboard helps with onboarding so as you bring on new employees to your team, they will have a much faster uptake of the information if we build it correctly the first time. They’re like, yeah. OK. Mhm. And the other thing to look at is. There’s a lot of free tools. But free generally means open to everybody, visible to everybody. Depending on your clientele of the um customers you work with in your nonprofit sector. Public data might not be the best kind of data. You know, some of us are working with vulnerable communities. We are working in hot button topics of service. So just having all your data on the free platform to get a dashboard might not be a good look. So sometimes you have to look at how can you sanitize your data before you share it with the public good. Um, what is the privacy policies of your free software? Are they gonna be like next week, oh, I got a subpoena. I’m just sharing this information. Um, or is this like, hey, it’s a free website. I just downloaded it, used it for my personal use to sell people Beachbody. Um, therefore, really reading the terms and conditions of the software you enter, free and paid, will help you make sure that you don’t let the convenience of a dashboard put your company, your reputation, and your clients in danger. Are there some paid apps that you like beyond the the the two that we mentioned, the, the free resources? Are there some paid apps that you all talked about in the session that are valuable for dashboarding? Yeah, so things like Tableau, they really specialize in creating data collection from multiple sources and creating great dashboarding, um, Salesforce Native behind the paywall. And even in the um the free services they usually have a paywall version where you can enter a business agreement about how you’re both gonna protect your data, so depending on. What type of data you have and who you’re working with, you can always have the conversations and get the safeguards you need for your particular data, mhm, but some, you know, some of our um conservation nonprofits working with water counts, working with tree counts, that is the type of data that might be easily public. Without safety concerns. But some of our housing clients. You don’t want to have a spatial diagram. With a Google Map directly to a client’s house, show up on a graph, cautious, yes, and so this is why, you know, really working with your internal dashboards, really testing it for the questions you want to be answered internally, um, is the way to go at the beginning of your journey before you make everything on demand to the public. OK, you wanna leave us with one, final, I don’t know, overarching idea or the overarching idea is dashboards is an elevated tool to help you tell your story. To convey the message that you’re trying to communicate about the people you serve. But not let the convenience. Of the dashboard prevents you from being the best actor of the data that you collect. All right, we’ll leave it there. Thank you very much. Thank you, Kalinda Allan James, assistant vice president of Information Technology at Common Point, New York. Thanks very much, Kalinda. Thank you. And thank you for being with Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio coverage of 26 NTC, the 2026 Nonprofit Technology Conference. Next week, our 26 NTC coverage continues with brand you giving programs and donor retention. If you missed any part of this week’s show, I beseech you, find it at Tony Martignetti.com. Our creative producer is Claire Meyerhoff. I’m your associate producer, Kate Martinetti. The show’s social media is by Susan Chavez. Mark Silverman is our web guy, and this music is by Scott Stein. Thank you for that affirmation, Scotty. Be with us next week for nonprofit radio. Big nonprofit ideas for the other 95%. Go out and be great.

Nonprofit Radio for May 29, 2023: Equitable Project Management & Make Time For Professional Development

 

Rubin Singh: Equitable Project Management

An automated soap dispenser. One of the most innocuous objects imaginable. Unless it doesn’t dispense soap to people with dark skin. How does bias find its way into technology projects and hurt outcomes? How can we implement technology through an equity lens? Rubin Singh, from One Tenth Consulting, returns to help us understand.

 

 

Kelenda Allen-JamesMake Time For Professional Development

Kalenda Allen-James explains the value of investing in professional development and shares a lot of free resources along the way. She’s with Commonpoint Queens.

These both continue our coverage of NTEN’s 2023 Nonprofit Technology Conference, #23NTC.

 

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[00:01:47.10] spk_0:
And welcome to tony-martignetti non profit radio. Big non profit ideas for the other 95%. I’m your aptly named host of your favorite abdominal podcast. Oh, I’m glad you’re with me. I’d be stricken with S A trope AEA if I had to see that you missed this week’s show. Equitable project management, an automated soap dispenser. One of the most innocuous objects imaginable unless it doesn’t dispense soap to people with dark skin. How does bias find its way into technology projects and hurt outcomes? How can we implement technology through an equity lens? Reuben Singh from 1/10 consulting returns to help us understand and make time for professional development. Kalinda Alan James explains the value of investing in professional development and shares a lot of free resources along the way. She’s with common point queens. These both continue our coverage of N Ten’s 2023 nonprofit technology conference on Tony’s take two. Sharing is caring. We’re sponsored by Donor Box with intuitive fundraising software from donor box. Your donors give four times faster helping you help others. Donor box dot org. Here is equitable project management.

[00:02:12.99] spk_1:
Welcome back to tony-martignetti non profit radio coverage of 23 N T C. We’re kicking off our day two coverage with Ruben Sing. We are sponsored at 23 N T C by Heller consulting, technology strategy and implementation for nonprofits. Reuben Singh. My guest now is founder and CEO of 1/10 consulting Reuben. Welcome back to non private radio. Thank

[00:02:21.10] spk_2:
you, tony second or third. This is our third time chatting to

[00:02:26.03] spk_1:
virtual. Yes.

[00:02:27.27] spk_2:
Good to meet you in person. Yes, for sure. Thank you so much for having me. My pleasure to

[00:02:44.06] spk_1:
have you next to me, your session this year is managing projects with an equity lens. I think that’s pretty self explanatory. But why don’t you give us a 30,000 ft overview of why this is important for nonprofits?

[00:03:41.07] spk_2:
Yeah. You know, I, I feel like throughout my years of consulting, it’s been about 25 years of consulting. Now, I’ve, I’ve encountered some scenarios here and there that, you know, I, I’ve always thought were odd scenarios, you know, in the middle of the project, you know, working with consultants, working with our nonprofits where, you know, maybe something was borderline, discriminate, discriminatory or, you know, something just didn’t feel right. And, you know, I, when I was younger in the, in the consulting space, I didn’t really pay much mind to it. I said, hey, I’m just following, you know, my mentors and following best practices. Um you know, I’m learning the ropes. Um But, you know, as I got further in my career and I started talking to other technologists of color, other consultants. Um and uh and honestly, spaces like this at NTC where we have very frank and open discussion about race and technology and the intersection. It really um I realized a lot of these things, I was encountering these projects. We’re not, we’re not okay. They were problem at and in fact, we were allowing bias race um and uh to, to really seep its way into projects. Um And, and not only is that problematic in a, in a larger sense, but it also does not lead to good outcomes for the projects and the systems themselves. What,

[00:03:57.93] spk_1:
what does this look like? What, what kind of forms does the bias racism

[00:04:18.07] spk_2:
take? Um Well, let me give you an example if that’s OK. Yeah. So, um you know, I was working with one organization that uh you know, had really said that and actually, I was, I was very impressed with them that they had very, a very strong diversity statement, equity statement and they even extended it to their goals. They say, you know, what we’re, we have a lot of volunteers were a volunteer organization, but we um we realize that we don’t have a very diverse volunteer group. So this is going to be not only a statement of ours that we want to diversify our volunteer group, but we also want to, you know, we want to implement that in 20 you know, whatever the year was. Um, and just, what kind of work were they

[00:04:40.98] spk_1:
doing?

[00:04:42.87] spk_2:
Um, well, I mean, I don’t want to get

[00:04:45.46] spk_1:
to general

[00:05:57.20] spk_2:
social service. They, they were grassroots organizing, grassroots organizing. Let’s put it under that kind of, yeah, I mean, they’re great organization. So I’d hate to, um, I’m not asking you. Right. Right. But, but I think, um, the, uh, definitely in the, in the grassroots organizing and um you know, they kind of found that they are um uh you know, that they need to diversify their volunteer base. And I appreciated that not only was it a statement, but they had taken a step further to make it part of their goals for that particular year. But then, you know, statements aside, once we got into the project, we realized that um you know, there were certain, uh there were certain algorithms that were being that were implemented in their volunteer searches that actually filtered out a lot of criteria. So they said, oh, you know what, we, we have so many applicants, we can’t, we can’t screen everybody. So we implement these filters and the filters will, you know, the filter is kind of looking at them. I realize it’s really going to leave you with very privileged resource to people, you know, gets an education, family, education, household income, so on and so forth. And so, you know, we have this dialogue of, you know, if if these are really your goals that you want to diversify and you want different socioeconomic um groupings in your volunteer base, then you really need to reconsider this. And it was just a perfect example of how with all good intentions with great diversity statements. But even something as simple as an as an algorithm in their search um was was really letting bias find its way into the, into the implementation. And

[00:06:32.57] spk_1:
that’s an ideal example because it’s so buried. I mean, most people that may have been developed by a developer or it may have not even been developed in house, you know, some developer from like could been years ago may have created this algorithm unintentionally let’s assume biased and it just, it just perpetuates and nobody even knows that it’s there, it’s buried in code basically

[00:06:53.31] spk_2:
for sure for sure algorithms live. And if I’m a developer and someone comes to me and says we have too many applicants, we need to filter out X Y and Z to make it easier. Well, as a developer oftentimes, I’m thinking, oh how can I make this better? How can I make this more efficient? Um And they don’t really think about it. So, so this is where I think, you know, um I take it upon myself as a consultant to, to really and D I practitioner to, to raise these things because again, these organizations have great intentions. They’re just not always able to bridge the gaps unless it’s called out,

[00:07:16.45] spk_1:
unless it’s called out. Right. So, I mean, if you have something like this very deep, how would you ever discover

[00:08:06.07] spk_2:
it? Yeah, it, and that kind of goes to really the title of the session is, is managing projects with an equity lens. So the key point there is, is not really separating things. So it’s not about okay. Well, we have this diversity statement, let’s all celebrate it. And now let’s move on to our project. It’s really um taking every single part of the project anytime. In fact, when we start projects, now, I will ask for, let me see your diversity statement. Let me even if you know, chances are you may not be reflecting on it a lot. Let’s dust it off, you know, after 2020 and, and let’s take a look at it. Um And, and, and just like we review missions and visions of the organization before a project. I want to review your diversity statement that way I can make sure every step of the way I’m asking these questions because, hey, it’s your statement, it’s a priority for you. So as a, as a um a trusted partner of yours, I should make held you accountable to that.

[00:08:30.49] spk_1:
I’m just, I’m concerned, yeah, I understand we’re talking about managing projects. So from the outset concerned about organizations that have any kind of bias uh coded in somewhere that, that they just, they don’t know that. I know. I understand. We’re digressing from your topic. We got plenty of time. Yeah, we have plenty of time. You know, you’re, I’m forcing you asking you to digress, you know, but this is, this thing is buried somewhere or these things, these biases are buried. Uh, what’s our hope of ever uncovering

[00:09:23.13] spk_2:
them? Well, I mean, I think, um, you know, it’s interesting even in day one of the conference here at N T C I, I attended a couple sessions. Uh and, you know, the, the narratives are the points that I was bringing up was not just coming out of my session, but, you know, I attended a session that spoke about audience and campaigns and, you know, developing um content that’s, you know, that, that resonates with audiences um that are often overlooked. And, and, and so it was interesting because in their discussion, they were bringing up a lot of the same points that I was bringing up. So, um I’m most hopeful because of to be and I swear that intend to not put me to this. But I, I think like organizations like in 10 forums like NTC, um you know, we’re putting things out there and I think that’s what gives me hope more than anything. Um You know, we’re raising

[00:09:41.57] spk_1:
consciousness, 13,000 people are going

[00:09:43.61] spk_2:
to listen. Absolutely. So, so, I mean, if that’s, if that is, that alone gives me, it gives me a lot of hope Okay. Alright, we can

[00:10:10.60] spk_1:
circle back to your your specific topic about managing projects so that we have equity focus equity center from, from the outset. Okay. Um How are you? I’m just going to your like learning objectives, how bias finds its way into tech project? Well, I think we talked about that. It happens. I mean, I think probably do you think it’s usually innocuous?

[00:11:24.04] spk_2:
Yeah, I really do. Um and, and it finds its way and, and then I think it also finds its way through what we often refer to as best practices. Um, you know, if I can give you an example, um through most of my consulting career, we often use personas as a way of trying to understand our constituents. So, you know, Mary is a single mother of two and wants to attend the museum, but, you know, is unable to afford the, the, the, the, the entrance fee or the membership fee. Um And, you know, again, I kind of sat through a lot of these things with, you know, feeling uncomfortable but, you know, thinking it was just me. Um, but then I started doing a little research and I realized I’m definitely not the only problem with personas. Um And the idea of, you know, a group of mostly, you know, white folks are sitting in a room deciding, you know, what they’re black constituents think, um that, that makes me uncomfortable and, and, um to the point where I’ve, I’ve raised this and, and I think that although I think persona mapping is a good exercise and can and does have merit, it can be done without race, ethnicity, gender. Uh You can take a different approach to it. You can use archetypes, you can use different models, let’s say, hey, you know, so and so is a person who’s never been to the museum before? So and so is the person who is very interested in education, but not so much interested in the advocacy work that we do. There’s different ways that we can get at um persona mapping without having to get into race, ethnicity, gender. If, if I mean, personally, I don’t think it’s very useful, but um but at a minimum, it surely would make people uncomfortable.

[00:12:08.53] spk_1:
You know, I’m saying that these are these things maybe are embedded innocuously, but they come from the fact that so many software engineers, developers, coders are now middle aged white guys, right? I mean, so it’s, it’s, it’s their own inherent biases built into the code that we’re all living with

[00:12:31.70] spk_2:
and, and to be fair, tony, I also feel I’m guilty of it as well. I mean, because I went many, most of my career not speaking out against these things and um you know, incorporated into my own style. So I think, you know, while you’re right, I think like, you know, um it’s, it’s, it’s not, it’s also the onus on all folks, technologists of color as well. Um, to make sure we’re raising our hands when we’re seeing something like this. That, that, that feels, that feels wrong. Um, so, but yeah, I feel like I’ve, I’ve perpetuated this, I participated in this and, you know, starting my own company. It was, it was one thing that I felt like. Okay. Well, now that we’re, now that I understand now that I know now that I’ve seen it, you know, what can I do differently? What are some different, different things that we can do to, um, to kind of right the wrongs that, that we’ve seen in the space

[00:12:55.60] spk_1:
we’re gonna talk about how all this impacts outcomes. I do want you to remind folks why your company is called one

[00:13:53.63] spk_2:
10th. Yeah. You know, there’s a couple of plays on it. You know, we, um, uh, in the, in the sick tradition, which I’m from, we, uh, we have this concept of 1/10 of our, of our earnings that we give through either service or through funding to, um, to charity, back to the, back to the community, um, to help those in need to help humanity. And it was interesting that that’s a tradition that, you know, is, you know, I grew up with, but as I started delving into non profit work and, and consulting, I realized that we weren’t the only ones that, that, in fact, most religions actually have the same idea and the same, um, or faith traditions have this idea of this 10%. Exactly. So, so it was just one of those things I thought was, hey, this is a pretty cool thing about, you know, giving our money, investing our money in communities. Um And it’s something that, you know, so many different faith traditions and communities have in common. Um There’s another play on it also that nonprofits are really working with 1/10 of the resources that they, that they need. So, so it, it has sort of a couple different meanings. So let’s,

[00:14:03.69] spk_1:
let’s talk about the outcomes of these biases, impact outcome.

[00:15:22.60] spk_2:
Yeah. Um Well, you know, I was given an example yesterday in the presentation that one of the, the sort of suggestions I had about, you know, seven or eight different suggestions on how we can address these issues of bias and projects. And one of the ones I brought up was making sure that, you know, as you walk into as you day one or kick off of the, of the project implementation that you have the right team that’s ready for you. Um And when I say right, team oftentimes with I T projects I walk in and they’re like, okay, here’s our team, it’s the I T director, it’s super users and it’s all technical folks and, and okay, you know, I see the merit to that. But if this system is really meant to be for everyone that I’d like to see people, they’re of different age, of different technical proficiency, different ethnicities, different race. Um because we all sort of process things a little bit different based on our upbringing and our experiences are shared experiences. Um So make sure your team is more diverse. Um And, you know, I start thinking about where that has not happened. Um You know, and, and you, you’ve probably heard the stories of, you know, where facial recognition and AI can go wrong. But, you know, it’s still to this day where sometimes in a restroom that has automatic soap dispensers, I can put the back of my hand underneath it and it won’t, it won’t dispense soap until I, you know, put the palm of my hand up and it will, um, you know, I think back about when the COVID vaccine was first rolled out, it’s a real thing, are

[00:15:31.80] spk_1:
biased towards white.

[00:16:36.17] spk_2:
It’s a real thing. Yeah. And one thing to think about it. Yeah, but there’s, there’s so many examples of this and a slightly different one and probably something many people can relate to is when the COVID COVID vaccine was, was rolled out. Um You know, I was, I called my parents. I said, hey, did you sign up for it? Did you register for it? I said, oh no, we can’t fill out this form. And I was like wondering what’s going on. So I looked at the form and sure enough, I mean, and granted, this was in the early stages and perhaps it was just where I lived but it was multiple pages, four pages long. Uh, you couldn’t save throughout, it was medical history. It was health insurance. It was, um, all kinds of information that people may not have readily available when they’re signing up for a vaccine. Um, and then the entire time there’s this timer going where in 10 minutes if you don’t finish, you have to start over like you’re buying tickets. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Maybe this is okay for, for, for lots of people, but for the immigrant community or for my parents are in their eighties, it was not working for them. And then sure enough, you go on the news and they say, you know, older folks and, and immigrant communities are not not signing up for the vaccine. So, you know, here me and my friends are calling all our relatives and, you know, signing them up. Um So it was just yet another example where, um you know, and there’s many examples of this but of just how, you know, perhaps if there was different folks involved in the process of testing this out, um you know, different ages of different ethnicities and different communities, maybe there would have been a better response.

[00:17:48.12] spk_0:
It’s time for a break. Stop the drop with donor box. Over 50,000 nonprofits in 96 countries use their online donation platform. It’s no wonder, four times faster. Checkout easy payment processing, setup fees, monthly fees, pasha contract. How many punitive donors drop off before they finish making the donation on your website? You can stop the drop donor box helping you help others at donor box dot org. Now back to equitable project management with Reuben

[00:17:55.13] spk_1:
Singh. Anything else about outcomes before we move to to some, some methodology about being better?

[00:18:05.52] spk_2:
Yeah, outcomes. I mean, I think, um I think that’s, that’s a key one.

[00:18:07.49] spk_1:
Don’t hold out on non proper radio. Did your session. So you want to hear everything you shared yesterday?

[00:19:54.50] spk_2:
Yeah, I, I think um you know, another point we brought out was and I think it is tied to outcomes is uh iterative development. And you know, you may think that’s sort of a deep project management, you know, concept what does it have to do with equity. Um But I, I do believe that iterative project management is key because if you do bring together a diverse set of folks for you as your project team, they’re not all gonna be CRM experts or digital communication experts. So you cannot just um hand the project group 350 requirements and say, okay, approve them by the end of the week or disappear for two months and say okay, here’s the system test in a week and let us know if it’s done, it’s just not gonna work it if you want to do things with equity in mind. Um and you’re trying to get a diverse audience. You need very iterative development. You need multiple proof of concepts. You need uh several demos because they may just not understand all the terminology. They may not understand all the nuances until they see things. Um because that’s what’s most related to their day to day job when they can actually see the systems in place. So I can’t tell you, Tony how many times I’ve finished a project, you know, early in my career and, you know, someone will finally come to me and say, you know, I’ve, we finished the project. We’re on budget, we’re on time, we checked all the boxes, we’re all celebrating, but I have no idea how this is gonna work. I have no idea if this is gonna be successful or not and I don’t want anybody to feel that way. So, so that’s something that, you know, I, I believe we need to consult differently. We need to keep equity in mind and we need to, uh you know, really take them along for the ride and if the ride is not working, we, we change paths. Um And I surely do. I’m doing that right now for a project um where it’s like, you know, things are not sticking the way because, you know, this is not what the project team does day to day to design systems. So let’s step back, let’s figure out what’s gonna work for you and then we, we’ll adjust our, our project accordingly.

[00:19:57.37] spk_1:
Our listeners are not tech folks. Um, they’re C E O S fundraisers, board members. What can they on the, essentially your, your clients, the users, what, what can they and some of the main leadership positions, what, what can they do to make a difference around the projects that they’re hiring, they’re hiring other folks like you to

[00:20:21.33] spk_2:
do? Yeah. Well, I think, I think definitely, you know, going back to the assembling the right team and having a diverse uh team that’s there. So the

[00:20:28.18] spk_1:
project contributing match exactly what the

[00:22:15.36] spk_2:
users group. Exactly. Exactly. Um And you know, and the key thing is if you don’t have the expertise in house, it’s okay there, there’s, there’s, you know, uh consultants that can help you with accessibility, there’s consultants that can help you with Human Centered design. I’ve met several of the folks here, you know, over the last couple of days. So if you don’t have that expertise in house, this is where I think management leadership can, can bring in those appropriate people. Um And also, um I was working with one organization that said, well, you know, we don’t know how are, how are local community feels about our museum? Let’s say we’ll go ask them, you know, and it’s a different, it’s a different way of thinking. And so this is where leadership really comes into play to say, okay, well, you know, can we do something externally, can we do surveys? Can we do focus groups? Can we bring the community and understand why they’re not attending? Um But I think a key thing also and this may not be something that folks always think about is requesting the right team from the vendor that you bring in. So just as you want a diverse thoughtful team internally, you want your consultants or vendors that’s coming in to also represent that. Um you know, I was facilitating some vendor selections for a particular implementation on behalf of the client. And then towards the end of the selection process, they said to me, um well, you know, the last two that we met, they were pretty much neck and neck. I, you know, they seem to have the same delivery model, their prices are about the same, but I did notice that only one of them had any people of color or any women on their team that they brought to us to demo, this is the solution and to talk to us about the approach. And that right there shows us they’re more aligned with our values than the other one is. And so this is something I tell my, my peer organizations all the time, like if, if you don’t care about equity university in your projects, your clients will and that’s gonna affect your bottom line. So if nothing else, you know, look at it from that perspective. So, so that’s, that’s something I think leadership management can do is bring the right people internally, bring the right people in externally if need be and, and, and feeling comfortable enough to um to uh to ask for, for the right team. Another element of that is in leadership as you’re bringing in partners, incredibly valuable, excellent.

[00:22:36.37] spk_1:
This is what I mean, this is what the listeners need. They’re not the developers, so more of it, I appreciate it.

[00:22:42.86] spk_2:
Yeah, I’m trying get all riled up when I talk about. This is something I’m so passionate about. Feel free to

[00:22:46.88] spk_1:
use your hands. We’re not, we’re not, you can even be obscene gestures were

[00:24:15.56] spk_2:
not recording video, definitely walking around in yesterday’s session. There’s a lot, a lot of hand movement going on. Um But, you know, one of the points I mentioned yesterday also was his partner in vendor diversity. And, you know, this is something I feel strongly about I happen to serve on the Salesforce partner equality uh committee. Um And this is something I’ve been advocating for for a while that, you know, you have um these great tools that allow you to search for different partners. But why can’t we have filters on that to say I’m looking for a system implementer that is run by a person of color or someone from the L G B T Q I A community or from the indigenous community or whatever. Um And we should we know the information. So why we’ve been taking surveys for decades and we’ve identified that there’s a problem with diversity. Well, why not give the customers a choice, why not allow them to apply some filters to say, you know what, this is part of our goals to, to bring in more vendors of color, um or, or owned by, by vendors of color. So, so let’s uh so let’s uh make that a priority, but we have to give them the information. Um So this is something I encourage folks even when I’m asked. Um Okay, Ruben, you know, you’re, you focus on this particular area, but, you know, for digital communications, can you recommend someone? I will make sure in any 23 people that I recommend that one of them will represent a community that is often overlooked in this nonprofit technology space and give them the choice and tell them that and give them the choice. Um Yeah, you can work with this person that we’ve, we’ve worked with for a long time or here’s the advantages of working with, with, with this organization. And I think, you know, by us taking that initiative, you know, um and by leadership asking for it, we’re going to slowly start, you know, adjusting that, that, that power dynamic and creating more balance in the space

[00:24:59.02] spk_1:
so much of it. I think it’s just, it’s consciousness thinking about your software development projects, your, your, your new CRM, your new HR system, you know, whatever it is uh thinking about being thoughtful about the vendors that you talked to, perhaps the consultants that you hired to help you select a vendor. Because that um that’s, that’s an important step in the process of actually implementing, you know, choosing, choosing one is who’s helping you to choose.

[00:25:14.68] spk_2:
And I think that um you know, I get a lot of pushback when I bring this up, they say, oh, well, you know, uh you know, account execs, they have their relationships with people so they, they bring in their, their, their person, you know, they bring in their vendor, they bring in their partner, they bring in the person and there’s no real regulation over that. Um, and, um, you know, you take these larger software companies and they kind of leave it to the discretion of the account executive to make their decisions on, you know, what partners they bring in and frankly, you know, I, I, I work with organizations but this is where the client can say, client can

[00:25:43.46] spk_1:
say something. I’d like some choices, not just your, your preferred. Yeah, I’d like some choices and I want at least one to be a woman owned business or

[00:26:12.63] spk_2:
100% 100% because these preferred partners are not always the best and I speak firsthand. I’ve had undo a lot of messes from these preferred partners and I’d say that, um, and when I sit and talk to other partners, um, you know, uh, where that our partner organizations that are women owned or owned by people of color, they say, yeah, you know, we feel left out of this mix because we all know that if you just leave it to discretion, um that is as we’ve seen, you know, throughout history, that’s where privilege, race and racism and bias, you know, end up being the default.

[00:26:21.68] spk_1:
The cynic in me questions questions, why are these folks are preferred partners? What kind of preferences are they giving? Uh Okay,

[00:26:30.17] spk_2:
I’m, I’m

[00:26:39.84] spk_1:
purely speculating, but you know, the way you’re describing it, the preference seems to not be based on uh talent and, and positive

[00:27:29.55] spk_2:
outcome, not, not from what I’ve seen. And I think, you know, our company is an example of that, you know, we, we are often left out of the, you know, the big marketing efforts. Um you know, and, and um but, you know, when we work with organizations, um our business has been 100% referral after that. Um And, and because we, we are mindful of all these things, we, you know, we have a decent success rate. And so, um and so our business has been 100% referral based after that. We’ve stopped advertising, stop marketing, stop all of that. And, and we often find ourselves um uh being connected with other nonprofits that serve communities of color um because they’re like, hey, you know, just the fact that you’re thinking about these things, uh we are, our experiences are different and the fact that you can even recognize that, you know, we want to work with you. Um So, so, and we’ve been very grateful for that and, and, and, you know, take that very seriously when organizations come to us with that kind of approach,

[00:27:37.40] spk_1:
is there anything else you can recommend for our listeners on the, on the client side that, that they can do, You

[00:29:49.46] spk_2:
know, there’s, there’s probably a couple other things that, that I think are important, things like a project charter, which may seem um, well, everyone has a project charter or that’s really just a very, what’s the charter? It’s um it’s kind of like at the very beginning of the project, it outlines kind of who’s who, what the goals are, um how decisions will be made, um you know, the frequency of meetings who are the stakeholders. So it’s kind of like defines bylaws. That’s great. That’s a great way. Exactly. Exactly. And it’s, it’s always recommended that, you know, the project Management Institute recommends project charters has all kinds of templates for it. But I will say that, you know, practitioners don’t always invest a lot of time in it. It feels like an unnecessary step. Um I in the past have not spent a ton of time with it. But when I started looking at things through an equity lens, I said, you know what, this is really important. If nothing else, um definitely the stakeholders part in the decision making process because if we leave, um unless we have very clear ways where decisions are made, oftentimes, it can end up being the most influential person in the room, the loudest male voice in the room is going to sway the decision one way or another or, you know, a lot of sort of um uh you know, nice talk is happening in the larger meeting and then the executives go on a separate meeting to make it, you know, the real decision. Um And so like, you know, a good charter can help avoid these things and say, hey, look, you know, as a project team, we trust each other. So if there’s a executive decision it needs to be made, we’re gonna make it in the group, you know, at least everyone should be listening to it, everyone should be here for it. Um So I think a clear project charter, something very tangible that folks can do. I think having very clear meeting norms. Um and, you know, meeting norms are very common thing, you know, how we start the meeting, how we end the meeting, you know, who takes notes on and so forth. But I think looking at that from an equity lens, um uh is very important also. So making sure that, you know, the person who is leading the meeting or taking the notes or advising that those roles rotate. Um So again, we’re not leaving, we’re not letting decisions be made strictly through the power dynamic. We’re, we’re allowing everybody to participate equally. So if we allow people to participate equally, the outcomes are likely to be more equitable. Um So even something as simple that, you know, many project managers do charters and norms, you know, it’s just about looking at it through an equity lens uh and tweaking those charters and norms accordingly. Okay.

[00:30:03.00] spk_1:
Have we exhausted that? I think

[00:30:04.47] spk_2:
so. I think so. I think so. Yeah, very good.

[00:30:07.33] spk_1:
All valuable. Um What kind of questions did you get? Anything? Uh stick with you from your, from your session,

[00:32:11.78] spk_2:
you know. Um Yes. Uh There was a couple of questions that um one of the questions which I really had to think about was, well, you know, our organization um does projects with an agile approach and that is our, you know, that is our methodology and that is what we promote that as part of our marketing. That’s what we do. And um and then, you know, they said to me, you know, to the group that we’re also finding it’s not working for nonprofits. And I think there’s an equity, you know, foundation to this as well. And, you know, a lot of nodding heads in the, in the audience. And um and this is where I kind of said, well, you’re right, you know, and, and this is where we need to meet the nonprofits where they are. Um, and this is where the extension models or some of the more popular consulting models are just not, not going to fit nonprofits, organizations that may have a light I T staff or no I T staff or you have an event coordinator who’s gonna be your project manager, um, or, you know, a program manager who is going to be your primary contact. You can’t just use the same models as you would with an organization that had 20 people in I T um or an organization, you know, like I work with that, you know, um we’re midway through an implementation and then they said, you know, the governor of Texas just dropped off, you know, 200 people to our, um to our community center and we don’t, we have no plan for them right now. So, okay, we have to take a couple weeks off or, you know, this gala, you know, was, was, um was in person and now we’re gonna have to go virtual. Okay, we’re gonna take a couple weeks off. So most consulting models and especially agile methodologies can’t support this. But this is the reality of nonprofits in 2023. So it was a great question. A lot of nodding heads. In fact, someone came up to me afterwards and said, this is the third time I’ve heard someone say, you know, model X does not work for nonprofits. So, so I think, um that question was great. And it really, um you know, highlighted the point of, you know, kind of how important these forums are um to start realizing that, you know, the tried and true methods, the models that have worked for other corporations. That’s great. We can learn from it. But um nonprofits are a different entity and we have to take that into account and that’s for the

[00:32:23.72] spk_1:
vendor consultant uh community to be.

[00:33:25.96] spk_2:
Right. Right. And, and also sure and also for the client to, to speak up when, when they feel like things are not going, you know, you know, things are going awry or things are not feeling comfortable. So I think it’s, it’s, it’s on both. Yeah. Um There were other questions that I, I really didn’t have an answer for like, okay, but, but they were excellent questions nonetheless. It was, it was like, um okay. So let’s say that you do approach things with an equity lens. How do you, once the project is over? It was an excellent question. How do you know you succeeded? How do you know that, you know, you, you, how do you measure this? And I didn’t have a great answer for that. And in fact said, you know, I want to think about this and because I think there can be a rubric that can be put together to say, you know, even just the things that we’ve talked about today. Um Did we assemble a team that is diverse. Did we rotate the roles in the meeting norms? Did we make clear decision making details in our project charter? So I think there is a rubric that could be put together. In fact, I’m gonna talk to some of my friends here in the, in the intent community to see if that’s something we can, uh you know, we can draft because, because it feels like something that, that this forum can really add value to

[00:33:31.91] spk_1:
it. And what about comparison of outcomes, maybe a year after implementation versus the year before implementation?

[00:33:38.21] spk_2:
Absolutely. Absolutely. So, I mean, I think all these things can be measured. You know, it’s, it’s just a matter of just coming up with the right rubric or the right scorecard, we measure everything else. Why not measure this? Yeah,

[00:34:01.15] spk_1:
sounds good. You know, it, if you ever are at a loss for an example of where bias and discrimination have entered our culture for folks of color, think of that freaking soap. That’s, it’s, you know, it’s so insidious and so deep rooted yet it’s a soap dispenser. It’s on its face, it’s so innocuous, it just pushes out.

[00:34:19.72] spk_0:
But the

[00:34:21.50] spk_1:
bias built into that technology, that’s

[00:34:31.16] spk_2:
a striking one for me. And there’s so many of this. And if I, if I may highlight the work of Benjamin who um who does has an excellent book called Race After Technology and many books on the same topic that just kind of talks about the intersection of race and technology and so many more examples of this that are, that are so shocking when, when you, when you read about this, about the bias that encourage the technology that we use every single day,

[00:35:03.44] spk_1:
Reuben Singh, he’s founder and CEO at 1/10. Consulting Rubin. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me, tony. Thanks for your honesty. Thanks for sharing. Thank you, appreciate it. And thank you for being with tony-martignetti, non profit radio coverage of 20. Uh where are we? 2023 2023 the nonprofit technology conference where we are sponsored by Heller consulting, technology strategy and implementation for nonprofits. Thanks so much for being with me.

[00:36:22.72] spk_0:
It’s time for Tony’s take two to sharing is caring. Who can you share non profit radio with friends, colleagues, people you used to be friends with, well know people used to be colleagues with. Yeah, uh your social channels possible for you to post on the show there. Certainly, if you tag me, I will give you a shout out. Might even make you listen over the week. I’d be grateful if you would think about who should be listening to non profit radio, who can benefit from our smart guests. That’s what it’s all about. It’s spreading the words, the wisdom of our savvy guests so that more nonprofits go out and be great. If you can share non profit radio, I’d be grateful. Thank you. That is tony Stick to, we’ve got Boo koo but loads more time, the boo koo is back here is make time for professional development.

[00:36:58.30] spk_1:
Welcome to our continuing coverage of 23 N T C the 2023 nonprofit technology conference. We’re at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado where we are sponsored by Heller consulting technology strategy and implementation for nonprofits with me now is Kalinda Alan James. She is assistant vice President, Information Technology at a common point. Queens Kalinda, welcome.

[00:37:05.39] spk_3:
Thank you for having me. And I

[00:37:07.33] spk_1:
should have asked you, what are your pronouns? She

[00:37:10.46] spk_3:
her? Okay.

[00:37:30.01] spk_1:
She was good. I got, I got lucky. But I, I got to ask in the beginning, this was, this worked out perfectly because I have such a smart social manager who was organizing all these appointments and someone couldn’t make it. And Kalinda was on the wait list and it worked out perfectly that she’s available. So thank you. It’s kind of last minute, but it is last minute, but it’s perfect. Glad you glad it worked out

[00:37:33.04] spk_3:
with technology we worked with last

[00:37:46.76] spk_1:
minute. Yes. As long as the people are, the people are they’re ready for us to. Um So your session topic is making time for professional development. Do you feel like we are short changing ourselves and others around professional development in the nonprofit space? Yes,

[00:37:56.07] spk_3:
we are tasked with learning new things all the time, but we’re not always given the time or the resources to learn those things.

[00:38:06.72] spk_1:
So we need, it sounds like something from the top, from the top down, leadership down needs to be committed.

[00:38:35.02] spk_3:
So you can top down leadership will make it a much faster process. But from the ground level up also works. Um for example, pre pandemic, I was working in middle school technology three years before the pandemic, I became a Google, certified educator and trainer. When I put this information in the file cabinet at hr they were like, that’s nice to know. But once the pandemic came upon us and we had to move all our students online in three days. Having that information in the file cabinet allowed me to become a linchpin for my company.

[00:38:54.23] spk_1:
So let’s not, let’s not take this learning and stick it on a shelf in a file cabinet,

[00:39:23.54] spk_3:
right? And so this is where when you do get the learning, you have to advertise it. If you’re doing it from the ground up and going into the break room during staff meetings, letting people know that I’m a Google certified trainer allowed me to pick up two or three teachers on the staff who didn’t necessarily have leadership support but were interested and I was able to do internal training. And so this groundwork movement that I started three years before pandemic really prepared my environment to be ready when the time was upon us. Alright, love

[00:39:43.67] spk_1:
it ground up as well. Alright. It’ll but it’ll be easier if it’s top down. Yes. Okay. But not to, not to be discouraged if your leadership is uh I don’t know, reluctant. Yes.

[00:40:05.65] spk_3:
And even at the mid level, you know, with my staff, I have a lot of all my staff members to put two hours of professional development on their weekly work calendar to let them know that, hey, we’re giving you resources during the workday. So we’re not adding a burden to your home life. I also have the same two hours on my work calendar. So they know I have focused time. So I am leading by example. And also now that I am a leader in my organization, I am providing the resource of at least the two hours on the weekly calendar for professional development, which

[00:40:52.82] spk_1:
is a perfect lead into your first takeaway, which is we have time for professional development. Yes. So make the time. I mean, a lot of times, you know, you hear is an excuse of what could be for anything, not only professional development, you know, I can’t find the time and I always try to push back that you’re never gonna find the time you’re going to have to make it. So that’s exactly consistent with what you’re saying, two hours a week on your own schedule, as well as two hours a week on, on the schedule for everyone who works for you devoted to professional development.

[00:41:21.41] spk_3:
And that time is flexible like some of my workers are reading leadership books. Some of my workers are doing independent trailheads on sales force. Other people are like reinforcing things that they’ve been practicing on the job. Other people are collaborating with other people on the team who now have time on their calendar for collaboration. So, but just making the time, let the desired outcome have a place to flourish.

[00:41:29.11] spk_1:
What if we get um pushback from above? I mean, maybe they’re just not, not just reluctant but unwilling to let someone devote an hour a week or two hours a week to professional development. What are, what are like? I don’t know. Are there some talking points? We

[00:42:04.88] spk_3:
can? Yes, so we can start with the economics. Okay. If we have to send somebody to away training with airplanes and hotel rooms for one person to go or we can use the built in salary time to keep people in house and learning as a cost savings. It’s thousands of dollars.

[00:42:14.76] spk_1:
Okay. Very good. Right. Travel, accommodations, conference fees, etcetera. Okay. Okay. Um, anything else any other way to push back against our unwilling? See, sweet person

[00:42:45.26] spk_3:
also when we are doing in house development, we are more likely to align our training with what’s happening on the ground with our company. When we’re on the ground floor, we’re literally looking at improvements that we’re seeing every day in the company. Sometimes when we go away for the conferences, we get the big ideas and try to have to retrofit them to what our culture is. And so this way, if we start with the training internally, the learning is built around our culture. That

[00:43:30.47] spk_1:
makes perfect sense. Yeah. And it’s also going to be built around what we’re engaged in because we’re doing it weekly. So I guess we’re more likely to look for development that is consistent with what we’re maybe challenged with, you know, this month, this week or this month or this quarter. Versus as you said, putting the putting the broad strokes from a conference, you know, trying to squeeze your work into it. Okay, perfect. So um anything else you want to share about having, having time making time? So

[00:44:25.19] spk_3:
even in our personal life, because not all professional development is going to the job, sometimes that professional development is going for you to improve your confidence, to improve your skill level, to make you more dynamic for the dynamic job market. You know, and with that case, when we look at our entertainment time, let’s make sure that our entertainment is actually filling us up, there’s a lot of negative television. And so if your entertainment is not filled and you up maybe take one of those one hours from Netflix and chill and put into some professional development um during the pandemic with all the turmoil, one of the things I did when I couldn’t sleep at night was going to Microsoft Learn and just the raw technical documentation. Calm my mind. Let me know things were okay and I learned so much afterwards.

[00:45:00.73] spk_1:
Okay. Use your time wisely. Uh listeners. You may hear the nonprofit technology conference. It’s the opening keynote. There’s a lot of, a lot of audience raucousness in the background. But uh non profit radio perseveres nonetheless, just letting you know what you’re hearing in the background, we’re all on the exhibit floor together along with the uh the, the keynote audience this morning. Um Kalinda, let’s talk about um free resources. I love having free resources for listeners.

[00:45:34.94] spk_3:
Yes. So when I was getting my master’s degree in my small New York family apartment, I didn’t have a desk. So I used the ironing board and I got a whole master’s degree with a four point oh G P A from an ironing board. We must not be discouraged if we don’t have the latest greatest resources, what we have can get us very far. When my arning board was up, my family knew I was in study time and they left me alone when the iron board was down. It was family time resources that I got was

[00:45:43.14] spk_1:
able to. Were you able to fit a chair into your ironing board or you did your studying standing?

[00:46:37.46] spk_3:
So it was a standing desk at times and I did have a folding chair from the card table. And um free resources I used, I Lincoln learning is being offered by a lot of public libraries with your local library card. Once you register with your library card, you get the full breath of Lincoln learning and with the registration, your certificates for completion will have your name on it, which can be used as continuing education at your job. Another free resource is the library. My local library is the children’s library, but they do take book orders so I can look at the full library catalog and have technical books shipped to my children’s library for me to pick them up. Other free resources are um

[00:46:41.70] spk_1:
that’s a great one. By the way, I think, I think a lot of folks have forgotten about their local library.

[00:47:16.00] spk_3:
Yes. And many libraries have a complete schedule on their website, offering different hands on trainings for computer skills, resume writing and you can go to many of these free things and all is needed is your library membership. Other free resources that I have used is many of the major manufacturers like salesforce linkedin Google have a very robust free training for their technology on their website. Many of those websites do have a badge system. So if you would like to do metrics for your employees as a recommendation, you could do like oh in this time period, I want you to have 500 badges or 500 points. So there is still a way to track the free learning.

[00:47:33.90] spk_1:
Okay. Any other free resources,

[00:47:48.09] spk_3:
other free resources is when you’re on your manufacturer website for different skills. Um Places like Microsoft Google Salesforce, they offer challenges. If you can do a certain amount of self paced learning in a certain time, you will receive a free voucher to take their certification exam. And during the pandemic, I was able to become Salesforce certified for a grand total of $45 by using one of these challenges.

[00:48:09.94] spk_1:
What about the linkedin learning? What kind of topics can folks find their around professional development?

[00:49:03.14] spk_3:
So linkedin Learning has an amazing breath of information. They have products like learn Adobe Photoshop, they do have professional management skills like time management um leading from the top, they have different introductory course work on cloud computing and you get interesting information on the breath of the subject to see if you’re interested in the topic before you invest. So linkedin Learning is a great way to get um uh 11 distinct skill or to learn the breath of a topic to see if you would like to go for a more formalized information in that topic. So this way you can go and do five training videos on cloud computing before you sign up for a graduate certificate.

[00:49:12.11] spk_1:
Okay? And all free, all free. So when you said invest, invest time, yes,

[00:49:43.58] spk_3:
we’re investing time. So the first thing we can do that’s available to everybody is we invest the time and then we’ll invest the minimum resources. You can become a Google certified educator for $15 you know. And so there are entryways into technology and other industries that do have a low cost entry point. And these are the places where we explore and a lot of times when you can show commitment and self initiative and you can present how this is going to grow your position at your company. It’s then easier to come back and get funding from your job placement. All

[00:50:00.37] spk_1:
valuable. Okay. Yeah, you make the right. You can make the case so much stronger. Alright. Um Anything else about free resources before we move on?

[00:50:28.27] spk_3:
Um free resources change at all times, so always be on the lookout. Um I have a podcast um study hall with Kalinda the tech and I also have sorry, my podcast to study hall with Kalinda the Tech. And I also have an Instagram at Kalinda the Tech and on there, I post some of the free resources as I come by them. So follow technology leaders who are offering you these tips and always be on the lookout in your free newspaper and your local library for resources as they come by.

[00:50:47.72] spk_1:
And let’s move to um sharing. We have a responsibility you believe, to share what we learn.

[00:51:33.44] spk_3:
Yes. The first thing to do is if you learn something, let your job. No, you know, most hr departments are putting together in internal repository, what type of knowledge they have in their company like I said in the beginning, nobody was interested in my Google certification pre pandemic. But because it was on file with, hr they knew they had internal learning that they could tap when the time was right. Also letting people know what you’re studying because there’s people who are studying in silos and you can become a study buddy. Another thing is when you share what you’re learning, it encourages people around you. Um every day somebody is watching your life, a child, a neighbor, uh business partner, you have a community person that you shop with and when you show growth and change, it gives them hope that they can also have growth and change.

[00:52:01.13] spk_1:
Yes. All right. Um What about mentoring is that is that related to professional development? Having a mentor, mentoring? If you are more senior like you are, yes, you see a role in around mentoring for professional

[00:53:03.64] spk_3:
development. Yes, mentoring does um definitely help and have a place in professional development. But what mentees need to know is they’re going to have to do the work to drive the relationship. So when you show up for your mentor session, you need to come with direct questions, you need to come with focused thought. And if you are given task tools or recommendations, make sure you follow through and report back. Um Mentors generally are at a place in their life where their time is being called in different directions. So entering a mentee relationship thinking that you’re speaking to an oracle that’s going to give you all the answers with a magic wand is the wrong approach. So, entering the mentee, mentor relationship as a mentee, come prepared, come focus and be prepared to work.

[00:53:13.35] spk_1:
What do you see as the mentors responsibilities?

[00:53:42.46] spk_3:
The mentors responsibility is to let them know that they have to be their first advocate that you have to have a direction. And I’m here as a guide and that my blueprint as a mentor came in a distinct time and place in history. So what worked for me might not actually work for you if you’re looking at my life as an exact blueprint, but I do have guiding principles that can help you in any time and place. It sounds like

[00:54:01.19] spk_1:
you’ve done mentoring, formal mentoring. Um any story you can you care to share about mentoring, maybe, maybe something you learned as a mentor or of course a great outcome for a mentee. And

[00:55:24.99] spk_3:
so the thing is we have stories. So the thing is when I started my career way back in 2001 black women in technology, technology leadership was not what I saw. There was nobody like looking like me in the corner office. So my first mentors were black women in the secretary pool. And what they offered me was a deep dive lesson in the company culture, letting me know who the movers and players were explaining the fiscal calendar to me knowing when would be the appropriate time to ask for a raise when people would be having money discussions. And so when we’re looking for mentorship, we have to realize there’s a lot of breath of life experience as well as technical experience that can be shared in these relationships. One of my mentors that was invaluable was a professional woman who had a um personal tragedy in her life. And like what she shared with me was how to grieve on your lunch break, fix your makeup and go back into a board meeting. You know,

[00:55:25.92] spk_1:
that’s, that’s touching and sweet and also enormously practical and

[00:56:39.75] spk_3:
valuable because people are introducing the bring your whole self to work mantra, but not all companies are there. So having mentorship like that about how to read a room, how to understand my company culture is great. I recently had a summer intern that I was mentoring with my company. We offer internships for many of the people in New York City through the summer youth employment program. And so we’re working with young people all the time at the first steps of their careers through internship. And one of the things I remind my intern was when looking for a job, please understand you cannot work for a company without participating in their culture. And he had a secondary internship for the fall and he relayed back to me. Thank you so much for the advice, all the interns who skipped the social gatherings over the summer were not offered full time jobs for after graduation. Um Because at these social gatherings, they were able to meet people throughout the whole company and different departments hire at different times versus being at your internship in one department, not realizing what’s going on with the rest of the company.

[00:57:19.89] spk_1:
Also, the social time is just an opportunity to get to know somebody in a, in a wider breath. You know, I think a lot of hiring is, is this somebody I’d like to have lunch with, you know, that I could socialize with there may or may not be that opportunity once you’re hired. But is it somebody, you know, basically like somebody I like and they’ll get to figure out that they like you if they can see more of you than just your work self.

[00:57:44.89] spk_3:
Yes. And this is the great time to bring up the professional development you’ve been doing that is outside the scope of your every day, you know, this is where, oh, we’re talking about this over the pool table. Oh, I just was taking a geology class online, you know, this fits in so well with that, it just gives you more organic conversations to talk about the things you’re interested in, the things you’re pursuing?

[00:57:53.84] spk_1:
Alright, Kalinda, anything else that you want to share about professional development that we haven’t talked about yet? And you’re gonna, I don’t, I don’t want to shortchange non profit radio listeners. So anything you’re going to cover in the session tomorrow that we haven’t talked about.

[00:58:22.01] spk_3:
So I would also like you to remember that all professional development doesn’t have to be formalized. You know, even taking time to listen to a book on tape that gives you three new ideas or changes your mindset. So you walk into work happier, more fulfilled is also valuable. So not all professional development is going to take a semester long. It could just be a nice beach read in the summer one that includes a professional leadership book

[00:58:57.15] spk_1:
and you know, you should, you should share your professional development formally. Also, I’m sure you said this earlier, but I’m just kind of reinforcing for myself. You want your supervisors to know how you’re spending your professional development time. Yes. What you’ve achieved certificates or even just learning, just learning that maybe not doesn’t come with a certificate. Yes.

[01:00:19.78] spk_3:
And you definitely, it’s always great to let people know what you’re working on, what ideas you’re like, brainstorming that you can bring to the company. And these are like at the water cooler during your official Super Vision’s setting your goal sets for the year. These are all great times to talk about it and self promotion could be self advocacy. So we are not being Braggarts, we’re sharing the information we have so we can be a resource. That’s why I’m telling you that I have a master’s degree that’s why I’m telling you what I’m certified in. So I can be a resource. Like my whole goal is to learn and give back and change my community. Like when I learned that we can do free cover letters in Google and they have a whole online training, teaching you the Google products based on a cover letter. This is going to totally help my neighbor who can’t invest in a $2000 employment coach being advertised on linkedin.

[01:00:50.37] spk_1:
You make a very good point too about self promotion. So many folks are, you know, fearful of that, they feel they are bragging like you said, and it’s not you, you position it very well to say, you know, you’re positioning yourself as a resource to the, to the organization, to your superiors, to your peers, to not only your supervisors, but, um, it’s unfortunate that so many folks are hesitant to talk themselves

[01:00:56.16] spk_3:
up. Yes. And this is where like a good leadership book can help you to help you refine that mindset. You know, in the classroom, we’re not supposed to talk about grades, you know, we’re supposed to keep them secret. We don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. But like that mindset doesn’t necessarily work in the work force.

[01:01:43.20] spk_1:
There’s a session here at N T C and I’m interviewing the woman who’s running it about having a powerful voice. What is like, what is voice for power, something like that? I’m talking to her later today. That’s just 11 instance of uh I guess building confidence, you know, sounding confident exudes confidence may be trembling inside, but can you at least sound confident? Yes.

[01:01:45.57] spk_3:
And the thing is it’s much easier to access your confidence when you understand your purpose.

[01:01:53.91] spk_1:
Oh, very good. Spell that out a little. That’s excellent.

[01:02:41.13] spk_3:
So for me, I am a messenger and it is my job to get the message out. Public speaking wasn’t my first choice but public speaking and doing panels at places like N T C allows me to get this much needed information out. There are so many people in these current times who just can’t invest a $10,000 cash payment into a boot camp to change their life. But there are entry point for the free level, the linkedin learning level, the $15 cert certificate level that can get you on the path of change. And those are the messages that I have to get out because my purpose is being a messenger. It’s not being a know it all. It’s not being a brag ID. It’s being a messenger to change people’s lives. And when I know this is my purpose, it’s so much easier to get up and talk on this radio show, to do these panels, to get on the plane and go across the country to have these conversations. Because I know my message is so valuable to my community.

[01:03:26.56] spk_1:
I feel like it’s a perfect place to stop. It’s beautiful. Thank you, Kalinda Alan James, assistant vice president for Information Technology at a common point queens. And she did come across the country. She came from New York to Denver, Colorado and her podcast is study hall with Kalinda the Tech. Alright, thank you very much, Kalinda. Thanks for sharing. Loved it. And thank you for being with our coverage of 23 N T C the nonprofit technology conference where we are sponsored by Heller consulting technology strategy and implementation for nonprofits. Thanks for being with us

[01:04:44.77] spk_0:
next week, Artificial Intelligence for nonprofits with an esteemed panel, Beth Kanter Allison. Fine, a few Bruce and George Whiner. If you missed any part of this week’s show, I beseech you find it at tony-martignetti dot com. We’re sponsored by Donor Box. I’m grateful to Donor Box with intuitive fundraising software. Your donors give four times faster helping you help others. Donor box dot org. Our creative producer is Claire Meyerhoff. The shows social media is by Susan Chavez Marc Silverman is our web guy and this music is by Scott Stein. Thank you for that affirmation. Scotty B with me next week for nonprofit radio. Big nonprofit ideas for the other 95% go out and be great.