A North Dakota-based financial services company gave its 500-plus employees a gift that gives back at its annual Christmas party this week. State Bank and Trust will provide each staff member with a gift of up to $1000 on the condition staff "pay it forward" for local individuals or organizations in need. The announcement (complete with Oprah impersonator) generated a lot of buzz within the organization and has already attracted interest from other companies and media internationally.

The idea has merit on several levels:

• creates relationships and profile in the community (and beyond) for the organization
• raises awareness of community needs
• empowers staff (donors) in researching and selecting recipients
• connects staff (donors) with the impact of their gifts
• gives potential for longer term relationships as corporate or individual volunteers or donors
• creates opportunities for leveraging of gifts; some staff members are pooling their donations and seeking matching gifts from other funders
• is relatively simple from an administrative point of view
• opens the door for future PR

The company will publish a report after the deadline concludes in June 2008.

Nancy at the Getting Attention blog has challenged nonprofit consultants to describe their top three ‘to do’ items for 2008 for their clients. Now before you think I am whining about working too many hours, read further - there is a story here.

Alone and at the top of my list would be creating a culture of philanthropy. Without this, there is nothing else that matters much.

This big wish is the one I hear from my clients and friends in the sector that is the most desired yet elusive. What is it and what would it look like? In my own admittedly poetic terms (as I come down from the natural high of National Philanthropy Day event today), this would mean an organization that is singing from the same songsheet, to an inspiring tune that people love and can’t get out of their heads. Wouldn’t that be top of the charts?

As noted today was the Association of Fundraising Professionals National Philanthropy Day awards presentation in my city. Once again I was humbled by the immense good so many people do, in so many ways and I am thankful to have the opportunity to support their work indirectly. One of the award recipients, Ted Foreman, responded this way when asked why he has made a lifetime of giving back to the community. His response was simple and profound: The givers sleep a lot better than the takers. Creating a culture of philanthropy means creating more givers than takers, and giving them fulfilling and rewarding opportunities and experiences. My To Do is to help create this culture.

Today is National Philanthropy Day in North America to honour those people and organizations that have helped change the world with a giving heart.Watch for events in your area.

As a young communications student (many) years ago, I was not aware of the range of opportunity and rewarding careers available in the not-for-profit sector. Today I encourage students and youth to explore their options and to find a path that is meaningful and just right for them. The best feeling in the world is to do what you like, and like what you do! To do so, and make a difference is truly untouchable.

If you have ever doubted the power of positive energy in attraction, or like my wise dad says, energy begets energy, check out this irresistable clip called The Gratitude Dance brought to you by the marketing genius of the Junior Attractors. These two young Canadians know their audience and have learned a thing or two about tapping into the communications vehicles that will work best to reach them. And they have used their personal stories to connect to their target market. On this eve of Remembrance Day, think about all that you are grateful for and I dare you to do the dance!

We’ve all heard the news stories that tell us two-thirds of workers have mentally quit their jobs and spend each day going through the motions; another report today by Monster Canada cites "bosses" as the primary reason people resign. What this means to the non-profit and philanthropic sector is there is opportunity to provide choice to those who want to work with organizations that fit their personal values. In her new book Judith Bardwick gives tips to organizations whose workers have One Foot Out the Door (also the title of the book). Here’s her list of what employees want most:

• I want to keep learning.
• I want to achieve reasonable security.
• I want to be successful (and it’s not all about the money)
• I want my work and my family to flourish.
• I want my life as well as my work to have meaning.

My take on this is that corporate North America is full of skilled employees who are ripe for change; many, like myself, willingly leave "cubicle nation" (thank you Pamela Slim) for opportunities that offer flexibility, personal growth and rewarding work. But having a worthy cause will not be enough to keep employees happy and committed. Are you ready?

This week I came across a quote on the Fundit blog. It sums up perfectly my philosophy toward inspiring organizations. I’ll be covering four steps to success in communicating with internal audiences in my next e-newsletter. You can sign up here.

If you want to build a ship,
don’t herd people together to collect wood
And don’t assign them tasks and work
but rather, teach them to long for the
endless immensity of the sea.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Recently I was reminded of an important lesson in managing client relationships: when problems occur or mistakes are made, it’s not what happened that matters, it’s how you fix it. I experienced a highly frustrating problem with what I have taken to call my new "dumb" smart phone. After hours spent on the phone with technical support, frantic trips to the store where I bought it, and many stifled moments of aggression towards an inanimate object you’d think I’d cancel my contract and move on. Instead I have switched penalty-free to a different type of unit (love my Palm Treo 755p), I am singing the praises of the helpful staff who held my hand along the way and I would not hesitate to recommend the service provider to others.

You may begin to wonder what this has to do with donor relations and internal communications. It has everything to do with it. The point of my anecdote is that memory of detail may be short, but you will always remember how someone made you feel. Here’s what was done right:

• I was not talked down to
• Each person I spoke to actively listened and responded like a real person, as opposed to someone reading a script out of a manual
• I did not have to repeat my tale of woe every time I was passed to someone else
• My calls were returned promptly
• I was appreciated and thanked for my patronage, over and over
• I felt each person I spoke to sincerely cared about resolving my problem and wanted to help me get the most out of my service

If you find yourself in a situation where you have made a mistake with a donor, colleague or staff member, move quickly to resolving the problem without belaboring the issue. Admitting the mistake is the first, but not the only step. Most reasonable people accept mistakes occur, after all, we’re only human. The important thing is listening, acknowledging and addressing the root of the problem. If you can sincerely respond, this will be remembered long after the nitty gritty of the problem is forgotten.

I have had people ask me how big does an organization have to be to require a formal internal communications program? The flip side of this is "that won’t work for us, we are too small". My answer is always the same: size doesn’t matter.  Internal communications is just as important in an organization of five people in one location, as in an international organization with multiple offices and hundreds of employees. A formal program doesn’t have to be as formidable as it sounds: it can consist of devoting time at each staff meeting to touch base on the organization’s strategic plan or progress on an important goal, inviting two-way dialogue and feedback on pending changes or new ways of doing something, and making sure staff know where to find information and who to go to with questions. The key is ensuring they are plugged in to the strategic direction of the organization and understand how they each fit and contribute. If you’re a small organization, steps toward a formal plan can be as simple as writing down the different opportunities you have to communicate with your staff, and pencilling topics and time frames. It’s also useful to think of best practices as scalable, meaning you can increase or decrease all those big ideas you hear about to get the right-sized solution for your organization.

This statistic was so interesting I can’t resist repeating it. If you’re a fan of using myths vs. facts to tell your story about a cause or issue, you might want to think again. A recent study from the University of Michigan showed that more often than not, readers confused the information upon recall and the facts in the message were lost. Once this happens, it’s even more difficult to turn it around. In the study, volunteers read a brochure that listed myths and facts about a health issue. After 30 minutes, they misremembered 28 percent of the false statements as true. Three days later, this increased to 40 per cent. To make it worse repeating misinformation to clarify actually tended to backfire. This has implications particularly if you are using these kinds of messages as part of a long-term campaign.

I remember vividly the first time I realized the power of fundraising and the moment I knew that I wanted to use my communications talents for good and not evil. I also remember the reaction I received from colleagues and friends when I said I wanted to pursue fundraising as a career path. What are you, nuts? was the most common response.

As a communications professional for more than 20 years, I think I can offer an informed opinion on why the fundraising profession gets about the same popularity ranking as a auditor or funeral director: it’s in the language. We make it sound about as appealing as a root canal or other medical procedure.

Take the following examples:

Solicitation - sounds like something you don’t want to be caught doing. Illegal.

Cultivation - most definitely agricultural.

Donor - what you do with blood or organs.

Constituency - determines where you vote and who your political representative is.

Development and advancement - better, but vague.

Donor pyramid - sounds like a get rich quick marketing scheme.

Case statement - what your lawyer does in court after you solicit.

I think it’s time for a rebranding, don’t you?