Live blogging Nonprofit Day: Coaching--a form of Supervision

When I was a nonprofit manager I utilized a professional coach on a regular basis. My coach listened to me, asked me prompting questions, and then provided me suggestions for how to handle situations in new ways.

In Judith Wilson's session this afternoon, she explained the importance of informal coaching. (Workshop presentation and materials here). This means that people like you and I can coach our co-workers, subordinates, and supervisors. She explained that informal coaching is a form of supervision and involves active listening.

I have to say I really struggle with active listening. I am so passionate I often have to remind myself to shut up and listen!...I mean really listen and ask follow up questions. So this session was VERY helpful to me.

Too many times supervision involves reminding employees of tasks and following up with them with the question, why didn't you do that task? There is often a major disconnect between supervisors and employees. This method turns the focus away from the task and onto the solution and next steps. Employees feel empowered with they are part of the solution!

This informal coaching method starts by asking the question to your employee, co-worker, friend: What challenge or opportunity do you need to work on right now?

Then....listen....really listen.

Next...ask several follow up questions like...what new things would you try? (rather than what did you try to solve the problem) Judith said that asking what they already tried doesn't help people, it only brings them back to square one.

Next...ask the question....what are you going to do next?

Judith said that you can still provide suggestions but in the form of stories and ideas--not on how they should do things differently. **Also, don't take over the conversation**

I like this pro-active version of supervision where the employee comes up with the solution and next steps. Additionally, in this way employees are not micromanaged.

We got to try this method with a partner and it really works.

I personally think that all forms of supervision should be coaching.

Judith also wrote the book Coaching Skills for Nonprofit Managers and Leaders: Developing People to Achieve the Mission

Live blogging Nonprofit Day: Reimagining Service/Effective Human Resource Management Practices

Jeanne Bell CEO of CompassPoint moderated a morning plenary session titled "Reimagining Service." (Audio recording will be available after 8/31). This session was all about how effective volunteer & human resource management improves nonprofit capacity and organizational effectiveness.

Recent research by the TCC group through the Core Capacity Assessment Tool reiterates the importance of effective human resource management practices within nonprofit organizations. This research shows that organizations with more volunteers and larger budgets manage volunteers more effectively. It also shows that once organizations hit the $1mil budget mark they struggle with scalability and capacity to manage volunteers. The organizations that do succeed through the scalability transition create strong and well developed human resources practices.

Bobbi Silten CFO of Gap reiterated this fact when she spoke about an amazing new initiative titled Reminaging Service, which is:

A self-organized community of individuals from nonprofits, government, and the private sector. We are inspired by the renewed call to service, and believe that volunteerism can help solve some of society's most pressing problems. In order to maximize the potential of service, we seek to convert good intentions into greater impact.

This community promotes service enterprises: "nonprofits or for profits that fundamentally leverage volunteers and their skills to successfully deliver on the social mission of the organization." Since nonprofits generally leverage ten to twenty times more volunteers than staff, Bobbi expressed the importance of strategically recruiting and managing volunteers. She said, "volunteering only matters if it addresses issues related to you and your community." She also said, "don't let supply dictate your volunteer program, you wouldn't hire every potential employee that comes into the door." The solution: Bobbi expressed scalability --start small with a one time volunteer event and work your way up to multiple events. Be proactive versus reactive towards volunteers.

Peter York also emphasized focusing on both the program (skilled and unskilled) and operational staff and...most importantly invest in human resources. "We need board members to understand the importance of human resources." If you don't have the capacity to serve more people, stop serving people until you can invest in more operational staff to scale up.

Great session!! I highly recommend you listen to the audio recording when it becomes available here.

Volunteer Management Resources shared during the plenary:
Talent Initiative by CommonGood Careers
Betty Stallings
Volunteer Center San Francisco
Nonprofit Risk Management Center

Live Blogging Nonprofit Day 2010: My Story about CompassPoint

Storytelling is the focus of this year's Nonprofit Day. Before I get into the notes from the keynote this morning, I want to tell a story about CompassPoint.

Before I moved to San Diego (from the San Francisco Bay Area) I took full advantage of all the amazing professional development resources and trainings that CompassPoint provides. While I was working as a nonprofit manager for Low-Income Families’ Empowerment through Education (LIFETIME) in Oakland, I attended the Fundraising Academy for Communities of Color and learned from some talented fundraisers in the sector: Kim Klein, Robert Weiner, and Madeline Stanionis. I also attended several professional development workshops on creating a nonprofit website, being an accidental techie, and conducting nonprofit bookkeeping and accounting. In addition, I purchased and vigorously read Sue Bennett’s Accidental Techie Book and Jeanne Bell’s Financial Leadership for Nonprofit Executives book. And, I attended numerous Nonprofit Day Conferences.

CompassPoint is continually evolving and sharing best practices that reach nonprofits, nonprofit leaders, and social change agents where we are at.

I was awe and inspired by Peter Bratt, this mornings keynote speaker who discussed the importance of storytelling in our lives and in our nonprofit work. I didn’t realize how much the stories we learn and we share are embedded in how we perceive the cultures within our society. He said “Unlearn some stories that have been imposed over us and reclaim new ones share them with your community. Share ourselves in a new light!! ” As a storyteller and movie producer (see La Mission -- wow!) He also opened up the floor for the audience to be able to share their own stories about the nonprofit community. I personally feel that storytelling is a form of nonprofit marketing. When we improve storytelling in our organizations, we improve our marketing efforts and how the community views our organization.

Now that I shared my story about CompassPoint and notes from this mornings keynote, what is your nonprofit story and how will storytelling help your organization?

As a point of clarification I am volunteering for CompassPoint and not getting paid by them to say these nice things about them. :) I just really like the services that they provide and how relevant these professional development opportunities are to the current needs of the nonprofit community.

I'll be blogging Nonprofit Day 2010

On Tuesday, August 31st I'll be live blogging CompassPoint's Nonprofit Day 2010 in San Francisco. I am super excited to attend this conference and spend time with my nonprofit peeps in the San Francisco Bay Area!!

I'll be blogging and tweeting (@Heather Carpente) the conference alongside some of my long-time friends and colleagues in the sector including:

• Gene Takagi of the Nonprofit Law Blog (@GTak)
• Curtis Chang of Consulting Within Reach
• Jara Dean-Coffey of To What End (@jdeancoffey)
• John Kenyon, Nonprofit Technology Educator and Strategist (@jakenyon)
• Peggy Duvette of WiserEarth (@wiserearth)
• & Nelson Layag of CompassPoint (@nonprofitsrule)
  

If you cannot attend the event or want to read about all the sessions, check out the Nonprofit Day 2010 Live page. This page includes a Nonprofit Day blog roll and a compilation of tweets from the event (#npd10).

Setting the Record Straight about Nonprofit-Focused Graduate Degrees

I believe there is a lot of confusion about nonprofit-focused master's degree programs and I hope that this blog post will set the record straight. There are many different types of master's degree programs that can be considered "nonprofit-focused" or "nonprofit education". These types include:

• Master's of Nonprofit Administration
• Master's of Public Administration
• Master's of Social Work
• Master’s of Business Administration
• Master's of Public Policy
• Master’s of Human Services
• Master's of Arts in Philanthropic Studies
  

If you are interested in becoming an Executive Director of a nonprofit, then you should consider pursuing a stand-alone Master's of Nonprofit Administration (aka MNO/MNS/MNM/MS in NP). These master's degree programs offer core and elective courses in managing a nonprofit organization. These courses include: Nonprofit Management, Board Governance, Fundraising, Nonprofit Finance and Accounting, Capital Campaign and Development, Strategic Planning, Human Resources, etc.

If you are interested in studying the intersection between government and nonprofits, then you should consider pursuing a Master's of Public Administration (a.k.a MPSA, MPIA) with a Specialization in Nonprofit Management. These master's degree programs offer core courses in managing a governmental organization and offer elective courses in managing a nonprofit organization. Also some of these programs focus on NGO's (international nonprofit organizations).

If you are interested in becoming a nonprofit board member (or nonprofit manager) and studying earned revenue within nonprofits, then you should consider pursuing a Master's of Business Administration with a Specialization in Nonprofit Management. These master's degree programs offer core courses in managing a business and offer elective courses in managing a nonprofit organization.

If you are interested in directly working with clients and constituents on a daily basis and managing the programmatic side a nonprofit organizations, then you should consider pursuing a Master's of Social Work with a Specialization in Nonprofit Management. These master's degree programs offer core courses in social welfare and social change and offer elective courses in managing a nonprofit organization.

If you are interested in changing social policy related to nonprofit organizations, then you should consider pursuing a Master's of Public Policy (a.k.a. MA in PP, MPPA) with a Specialization in Nonprofit Management. These master's degree programs offer core courses in creating and changing public policy and offer elective courses in managing a nonprofit organization.

If you are interested in directly running human service organizations, then you should consider pursuing a Master's of Science in Human Services. These master's degree program offer core and elective courses in managing human and social services organizations.

Finally, if you are interested in studying philanthropic giving within nonprofit organizations, then you should consider pursuing a Masters of Arts in Philanthropic Studies. This master's degree program offers core and elective courses in philanthropic giving within nonprofit organizations and the sector.

Please note, these descriptions above are generalizations. You should ALWAYS visit a master's degree program website to see the specific courses offered within the program.

If you want to attend the BEST nonprofit-focused master's degree in the country you may not find it listed on the U.S. News and World Report website. They rank graduate schools -- not master's degree programs. They do rank top public affairs schools with nonprofit specializations and top business schools with nonprofit specializations but these rankings completely ignore stand-alone nonprofit master's degree programs or the other types of master's degrees I listed above.

Additionally, there are some nonprofit-focused master's degree programs that span 2-3 three different colleges/schools within a university.

Since I am studying master's degree programs associated with the Nonprofit Academic Center's Council (NACC) for my dissertation, I created a table of these 50+ master's degree programs.

University	Location	NACC Member Center	Master’s degree associated with NACC Center
Arizona State University	Phoenix, AZ	ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation	Masters of Nonprofit Studies
Baruch College, City University of New York	New York, NY	Center for Nonprofit Strategy and Management	Masters Public Administration (MPA) Specialization in Nonprofit Administration
Bay Path College	Longmeadow, MA	The Graduate School and Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy Program	MS in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy
Boston College	Boston, MA	Center on Wealth and Philanthropy	Masters of Social Work
Case Western Reserve University	Cleveland, OH	Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations	Masters of Nonprofit Organizations & Executive Option
City University London	London, UK	Centre for Charity Effectiveness - Cass School of Business	PgDip/MSc in Voluntary Sector Management (post graduate diploma)
Cleveland State University	Cleveland, OH	Center for Nonprofit Policy & Practice	Master of Nonprofit Administration and Leadership
DePaul University	Chicago, IL	School of Public Service	Master of Nonprofit Management
George Mason University	Fairfax, VA	Nonprofit Management Studies	Masters of Public Administration (MPA) Concentration in Nonprofit Management
Georgetown University	Washington, D.C.	Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership - Georgetown Public Policy Institute	Masters in Public Policy/Policy Management (Nonprofit Policy and Leadership Track)
Georgia State University	Atlanta, GA	Nonprofit Studies Program - Andrew Young School of Public Policy Studies	Masters of Public Administration (MPA)-Nonprofit Administration/MPP-Nonprofit Policy
Grand Valley State University	Allendale, MI	Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership	Masters of Public Administration (MPA) with a concentration in Nonprofit Management and Leadership
Harvard University	Boston, MA	Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
Indiana University	Indianapolis, IN & Bloomington, IN	The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University	MA in Philanthropic Studies/MPA Nonprofit Management
Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore. MD	Center for Civil Society Studies	Masters of Arts in Public Policy
Louisiana State University – Shreveport	Shreveport, LA	Institute for Human Services and Public Policy - College of Liberal Arts	Masters of Science in Human Services Administration
Mount Royal College	Calgary, AB Canada	Institute for Nonprofit Studies	No Masters Degree- Bachelors in Applied Nonprofit Studies
North Carolina State University	Raleigh, NC	Institute for Nonprofit Research, Education, & Engagement	Masters of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management
New York University	New York, NY	Public and Nonprofit Management & Policy Program - Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service	Masters in Public Administration (MPA) in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy
New York University School of Law	New York, NY	National Center on Philanthropy and the Law	Three different nonprofit law related courses - does not offer Masters Degree
North Park University	Chicago, IL	Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management	Master of Nonprofit Administration
Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	Center for Nonprofit Management - Kellogg School of Management	MBA
Notre Dame	Notre Dame, IN	Master of Nonprofit Administration Program - Mendoza College of Business	Master of Nonprofit Administration
Portland State University	Portland, OR	Institute for Nonprofit Management, Mark O. Hatfield School of Government	Master of Public Administration Specialization in Nonprofit Management
Queensland University of Technology	Brisbane, AU	Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies	Master of Business (Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies)
Regis University	Denver, Co	Global Nonprofit Leadership Development	Master of Nonprofit Management
Seattle University	Seattle, WA	Center for Nonprofit and Social Enterprise Management	Executive Master of Nonprofit Leadership
Seton Hall University	New Orange, NJ	Center for Public Service	Masters in Public Administration Concentration in Nonprofit Organization Management
Texas A&M University	College Station, TX	Program in Nonprofit Management - Bush School of Government and Public Service	Master of Public Service and Administration with Elective Concentration in Nonprofit Management
The New School	New York, NY	Graduate Management Programs - Nonprofit Management Program	Master of Science Degree in Nonprofit Management
The University of New South Wales	Sydney, AU	Centre for Social Impact	Graduate Certificate in Social Impact (No master’s degree)
University at Albany-SUNY	Albany, NY	Center for Women in Government & Civil Society - Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy	Master of Public Administration Concentration in Nonprofit Management
University of California-Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership	MBA (Nonprofit Specialty)
University of California-Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	Center for Civil Society	Masters in Public Policy
University of Delaware	Newark, DE	Center for Community Research & Service	M.A. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy concentration in Community Development and Nonprofit Leadership
University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	Nonprofit and Public Management Center, School of Social Work	MPP with focus in Public and Nonprofit Management, MPA (same as MPP but accelerated program), MSW with practice method in management of human service organizations, MBA with electives in social enterprise
University of Minnesota	Minneapolis, MN	The Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs	Master of Public Policy (MPP) with a concentration in public nonprofit leadership and management. Masters of Public Affairs with nonprofit courses
University of Missouri-Kansas City	Kansas City, MO	Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership - Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration	Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree with a concentration in nonprofit management
University of Missouri-St. Louis	St. Louis, MO	Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program	The Master of Public Policy Administration (MPPA)
University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA	Center for Community Partnerships - Penn Program for Public Service	Leadership for Social Change Masters Program
University of San Diego	San Diego, CA	Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research	MA in Nonprofit Leadership and Management
University of San Francisco	San Francisco, CA	Nonprofit Management Program	Master of Nonprofit Administration
University of Southern California	Los Angeles, CA	Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy	Master of Public Administration/Master of Public Policy Specialization in Philanthropy and Nonprofits
University of St. Thomas	Minneapolis, MN	Center for Nonprofit Management	MBA with Elective Track (Specialization) in Nonprofit
University of Technology- Sydney	Sydney, AU	Centre for Australian Community Organisations and Management - School of Management	Master of Business
University of Texas at Austin	Austin, TX	RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service	Master of Public Affairs Specialization in Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies
University of Washington	Seattle, WA	Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy	Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Milwaukee, WI	Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management	Master of Science in Nonprofit Management and Leadership
Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, VA	Institute for Policy and Governance	Master's of Public and International Affairs (MPIA) with a public and nonprofit management concentration (govt. and capacity building)/Masters of Public Administration (MPA)/Masters of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
York University	Toronto, ON	Nonprofit Management & Leadership Program - Schulich School of Business	MBA in Nonprofit Management and Leadership

Please note, this list is just a sample of the 160+ nonprofit-focused master's degree programs offered across the US and the world. For a complete listing, please visit Roseanne Mirabella's website.

On the professor job market

THE TIME HAS COME! I have begun applying for nonprofit faculty jobs. I am super excited about this process and anxiously awaiting what is to come.

My faculty advisors and mentors have been very helpful to me during this process. They have provided me with feedback, encouragement, and awesome reference letters to include in my job application packets.

If you know of a nonprofit faculty job opening or if you work for a nonprofit master's or undergraduate degree program that is hiring, please let me know!! Any referral during this process would be much appreciated. This process has also helped me to look deeper into myself and truly articulate why I do what I do. Here's a section of my job application packet: My personal statement.

Personal Statement

“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
-Confucius

Many people are passionate about the mission of their organizations, or their nonprofit’s cause, but I am different. I am passionate about helping people run more effective nonprofit organizations, and helping people pursue nonprofit careers. I feel lucky that I found my passion at such a young age.

As a child I was in girl scouting for eleven years and I earned my gold award (the highest award in girl scouting) through 300 hours of community service within nonprofit organizations. This experience instilled in me a commitment to community service and a dedication to nonprofit organizations. As an undergraduate student I earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Management through American Humanics and then went on to work in a variety of nonprofit settings. I worked for two different nonprofit organizations while I earned a Master’s of Management in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois. My education gave me the practical skills to succeed in the nonprofit management jobs that I held. Through my work as a nonprofit manager, I developed a Nonprofit Operations Toolkit, and I was interviewed by the national women’s Blogging website Blogher, that touted me as being a “Nonprofit Operations Guru.”

My nonprofit management education also provided the theoretical tools to understand the nonprofit sector as a whole. Because of this understanding and my enjoyment of networking, I have participated on a variety of national nonprofit committees including the Nonprofit Workforce Coalition, the Nonprofit Congress, and the Independent Sector’s NGen Initiative.

I chose to enroll in an interdisciplinary PhD program at the University of San Diego to become a nonprofit professor and learn how to effectively teach nonprofit managers. During my PhD program, which included substantial theoretical training, I developed my teaching skills and the ability to do methodologically sound research. My PhD program, as well as my experiences as a nonprofit manager, prepared me to continue helping people run more effective nonprofit organizations and pursue nonprofit careers.

Interested in learning more, check out my Vita

Two things critical to the vitality of the nonprofit sector

Last weekend I spoke to members of the Education Industry Association (EIA) at their annual conference in Chicago. The majority of EIA members are for-profit companies. Many of these for-profit companies wanted to start nonprofit arms in order to access additional funding only available to nonprofits. This brought up a lot of interesting conflict of interest issues that we discussed during my two conference sessions.

In one of the sessions I presented a workshop titled: Partnering or Forming a Nonprofit and shared about different types of social enterprises including (B Corporations, L3Cs, and nonprofit organizations). I also presented my signature workshop: Starting a Nonprofit Organization.

I enjoyed presenting to this enthusiastic group of tutoring companies, education software companies and charter schools. It was also interesting to hear their comments and perceptions about the nonprofit organizations that they partner with. For example, they were frustrated that the nonprofits they work with have a scarcity mentality. They were also surprised by the legal and financial risks involved with being a nonprofit board member or starting their own nonprofit organization. Hearing these comments reminded me of two things that I think are critical to the vitality of our nonprofit sector:

1) We (nonprofit organizations) need to continue to educate the general public (including for-profit companies) about what a nonprofit organization is and how it operates differently than a for-profit company.

2) We must educate our board members about the legal and financial duties as well as risks of being a board member of a nonprofit organization. (Most importantly the Duty of Care and the Duty of Loyalty) Eide Bailly sums up these board duties nicely.

These pieces of education are especially pertinent after today's article in Blue Avacado about the demise of the Vanguard Foundation. The Vanguard foundation would have benefited from some key legal and financial trainings for its board members.