1. family and parenting

MPA Capstone Learning and Professional Development Portfolio
Piece of Evidence Cover Sheet
Name: Samuel T. Weekley
Title/Label of Evidence: Family Promise of Brevard: Assessing Organizational Growth
and Sustainability
Type of Evidence:
o Course assignment for (identify class): PAD 6149, Nonprofit Administration and
Management, Dr. Naim Kapucu
o Internship artifact for (identify internship):
_____________________________________
o Written reflection produced for the portfolio
o Other (explain):
__________________________________________________________________
Competency/capacity addressed: 3d: Evaluate and Model Best Practices
Self-Assessment
Score: 4
Criteria you have met: Can provide new insights into the performance
management challenges facing an organization or network, and suggest alternative design
and measurement scenarios. Can demonstrate how he/she has applied organizational
learning and development concepts to real situations.
Instructor Assessment
Score: ___________
Check list:
o Written assessment follows completed rubric
o Evidence is located after written assessment or may be found under another
tab/page of the portfolio (add location):
_________________________________________
o Additional supporting evidence included
This strategic management plan was written for a nonprofit organization located in
Brevard County Florida, and as a course-required assignment for PAD 6149, Nonprofit
Administration and Management for Dr. Naim Kapucu. Similar to my strategic planning
experience with Dr. Skolnick and the EFLC, this assignment was a pleasure to conduct,
as the course was stimulating and fun, and integrated many of the concepts that I had
been exposed to in prior course work with nonprofit administration; a field that I had
worked in professionally. This plan was a collaborative effort that included a fivestudent team of classmates: Kaelynne Nill, Sandra Otte, Jasmine Jordan, Lisa Staton, and
me. The organization as it turns out was not as responsive as we may have liked, but the
research we conducted as a team to make a recommendation was interesting, and
enjoyable, which made up for any lack of organizational awareness or desire to
collaborate. We understood however going into this project that Family Promise of
Brevard was a brand new chapter of Family Promise and that there was no leadership in
place while we were conducting our research. Challenging as it was, we still managed to
complete a quality analysis of best practices that Family Promise of Brevard may use
moving forward, and given the opportunity again I would indeed work with this
organization to produce an even higher quality strategic plan that they can use as a model
well into the future.
Family Promise of Brevard: Assessing Organizational Growth and
Sustainability
Name:
Course:
Instructor:
Kaelynn Nill, Sandra Otte, Jasmine Jordan,
Lisa Staton, and Samuel Weekley
PAD 6149
Dr. Naim Kapucu
Executive Summary
The Family Promise of Brevard (FPB) is a 501(c)3 based in Rockledge, Florida whose
mission is “keeping homeless families together as a unit, providing them temporary
shelter and meals through an interfaith network of congregations, and assisting them in
obtaining human services, permanent employment, and safe affordable housing, so they
can achieve self-sufficiency and lasting independence.” The following is an
organizational analysis focusing on key issues that will affect this organization’s
volunteer management, donor relationships and management, and lastly marketing,
including social media.
This organizational analysis consists of a literature review that discusses major
research findings and trends on the mentioned key issues; a qualitative research was also
conducted using a questionnaire to make key recommendations to the organization. The
data collections consisted of an open-ended questionnaire to the organization and analysis
of secondary data retrieved from their website; data was also retrieved from Guidestar
and the National Center for Charitable Statistics to obtain financial and demographical
information. The major finding of the analysis of the volunteer program is that the FPB relies
mostly on volunteers through the associated churches, and Family Promise has a training
program specifically for the mission. The organization does utilize a data base management
program, FPForce and solicitation tools to maintain donor relationships. In the area of
marketing the organization has a basic website, but their social media sites; Twitter and
Facebook are not updated often.
Recommendations to the Family Promise are to have a leader designated to handle
volunteer management, a more direct communication with donors from the board. In the area
of marketing, the organization should use current donor information from sister organizations
as benchmarking tools to formulate a marketing strategy.
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis into the operations of
the nonprofit organization Family Promise of Brevard. This study seeks to examine the
current practices utilized to determine the most optimal way in which to improve service
provision levels to the respective stakeholders of the organization, as well as improve or
begin to build effective organizational capacity. Family Promise of Brevard is a local
chapter of its parent organization and national affiliate Family Promise. FPB seeks to
keep homeless families together by providing a place to stay, food, and assistance in
securing employment and housing. These families are connected to social service
agencies by case managers who provide them with the various needs that they have
during their period of displacement.
While Family Promise of Brevard has a success rate of 75% for placing families
in a stable environment within a 2-4 month period and consistently providing families
with their needs, there are still obstacles to reaching optimal success for their mission.
These obstacles include their volunteer management program, effectively utilizing a
donor management system, and creating interactive marketing/social media strategies.
The nonprofit is looking to enhance its volunteer management program both on an
individual and organizational level. However, the current marketing strategies and the
inability of the average stakeholder to interface with or get a good grasp of his/her role
within the organization keeps the organization from advancing. Furthermore, Family
Promise of Brevard is unable to adequately foster the necessary partnerships to maximize
the prospective opportunities available within their desired Interfaith Hospitality
Network. Without the ability to fully establish the Interfaith Hospitality Network and the
partnerships represented through the means of the network, Family Promise of Brevard
would possibly be unable to fulfill one of its key long term goals of expanding the
organization into multiple chapters throughout the county by specific regional or
geographic location.
Thus, in order to effectively counter these issues, there must be a strategic
analysis in place that examines each critical issue facing the organization and to measure
whether the organization has improved from its current starting point. The research
questions that will address these critical issues are: how can the effective management of
volunteers, communication with donors, utilization of a donor system, marketing, and use
of social media improve the organization; what organizational tools or strategies can the
nonprofit implement to increase overall effectiveness; and how can the organization
modify its structure to increase its effectiveness?
Identification of the organizational critical issues will provide key insight into
improving the organization’s capacity building and strategic management. If the
organization can successfully integrate the findings from this study into daily
organizational operations, it will improve the current service provision levels and build
capacity that lends to key partnerships. The partnerships gained would not only be within
the Interfaith Hospitality Network, but to similar organizations with comparable missions
and goals. The findings from this study will provide a framework to address the key
critical issues and establish a platform upon which Family Promise of Brevard can
continue effectively serving its stakeholders and ensure longevity and sustainability.
Family Promise of Brevard
Family Promise of Brevard is a nonprofit organization committed to keeping
families together during periods of homelessness by providing these families with
temporary shelter, meals, and access to services as families seek to regain self-sufficiency
and independence. The organization is able to link these families with human services,
permanent employment, and safe affordable housing that includes, but is not limited to:
job training skills, the acquisition of food stamps, day care assistance and links to housing
leads. These services are provided through Family Promise of Brevard’s collaboration
with the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which consists of 17 local churches that support
the efforts and mission of the organization. FPB also links each family with a caseworker
to connect them to the necessary social service organizations dependent upon each
respective situation. The case manager continues to follow up with the family to track
their progress up to a year after the family has been successfully placed in a home to
ensure that the self-sufficiency is sustained and to eliminate instances of repetitive
displacement.
Family Promise of Brevard is a relatively new affiliate of the national Family Promise
program and is attempting to distinguish itself in the competitive nonprofit arena. The
organization hopes to expand and further the mission in their community. This makes it
imperative for the organization to think strategically and examine important aspects of their
management. Family Promise of Brevard should assess their management of volunteers,
relationship with donors, use of donor data system, marketing, and social media in order to
maximize their organization’s effectiveness.
Literature Review
Volunteer Management
Due to limited governmental funding, nonprofit organizations are cutting back on
full-time paid staff and replacing them with volunteers. It has been suggested that using
volunteers to replace paid staff is not necessarily a good tool to fix the financial burdens
of paid staff. Instead nonprofits must manage the ever-changing needs of the volunteer
by rethinking strategic approaches to their organizational structure (Free Mgmt Library).
A review of historical literature will offer insight on best practices and trends associated the
strategic implementation of volunteer management.
Dickie and Ott (2003) mention that nonprofit agencies should use strategic
planning in order to be more efficient and effective. Volunteer management is critical when
looking at organizations’ human resources because it provides an awareness of possible issues
that can thwart an effective and efficient workforce. Brudney (2010) revealed that volunteer
management is different than managing paid staff, as volunteers do not need the organization
to earn a salary (p. 753). Brudney revealed in a study conducted by the Urban Institute that
organizations with volunteer coordinators did not spend any more time on volunteer
management than those without. According to the 2004 Urban Institute study, nonprofits that
established a paid staff member to serve as a Director of Volunteer Service (DVS) put forth a
100% of the effort dedicated to managing the volunteer program (Brudney, 2010, p. 765).
In order to effectively manage volunteers, the organization needs to have a structured
program that will guide and assist the volunteer’s time and effort. A recommended structure of
a strategically focused volunteer management program contains the use of recruitment,
training, selection, motivation, and retention techniques for managing volunteers.
Maintaining Donor Relationships
Retaining donors is an important task for nonprofit organizations and it is a
challenge they must persistently undertake. Nonprofit relationships with the donors
should be founded on trust in order to avoid losing relations with a donor. According to
Bryce (2007), a trust relationship is neither unconditional nor risk free because there is
uncertainty about whether or not expectations will always be fully met (p. 113). The
relationship is based on the reciprocity of expectations in which both parties derive some
benefit from. This relationship can be cultivated through ongoing communication and
personalized messages from the organization (Riley, 2008, p. 9). Nonprofits can
strengthen the connection with donors by communicating realizable future performance
and confirming that the organization is making good discretionary decision in the
public’s future interest (Bryce, 2207, p. 126). An organization must illustrate
transparency and accountability in order to build trust with donors and sustain their
relationship.
Nonprofits can improve donor retention by nurturing donor relationships through
acknowledgement and gratitude. Thanking the donor is a vital building block in the
nonprofit organization-donor relationship because it not only strengthens the relationship,
but it also increases the likelihood of more frequent donating (Ford, Merchant, &
Sargeant, 2010, p. 593). According to a cross sectional study on donors to a regional
public television station in the United States, acknowledgements help strengthen the nonprofit's relationship with less frequent donors and enhances positive emotions towards the
organization (Ford et al., 2010). Donors place a premium on developing a relationship
with organizations in their communities and are likely to support their local nonprofit
once the organization has earned their trust and has sufficiently acknowledged them
(Powers & Yaros, 2013). Cultivating or maintaining donor relationships are vital to a
nonprofit’s fundraising endeavors and ability to expand their donor base.
Utilizing a Donor Management System Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the most critical element of a fundraising strategy and is designed to help nonprofits compete with other organizations.
The choice of the technology that will facilitate efficient CRM is an indispensable
component in a nonprofit’s strategy for approaching the management of funders in a
socially connected 21st century. It is important for a nonprofit to “stay ahead of the
change,” ensuring that technology based decisions are not reactive, but proactive (Ross p.
41, 2009). CRM provides a sufficient array of resources to employees and volunteers
throughout the fiscal year in order to ensure transparency about future technology
decisions.
A developing Floridian nonprofit may consider using new and innovate
technology such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to map fundraising patterns.
Using GIS provides the capability for “plotting on a map the location of their: $100+
donors; loyal donors; subscribers; patients; alumni; food recipients; ticket buyers; gala
attendees and so much more” (Raff, 2013). An organization may also consider
conducting a Return On Investment (ROI) evaluation after fiscal year two because it
helps quantify the technology’s benefit to your organization’s mission by forcing you to
quantify the benefits into a monetary value (Ross p. 57, 2009). A nonprofit can use a
customized CRM system based on the Salesforce CRM platform. Salesforce “is a
powerful CRM system,” established on cloud technology that is, “flexible in tracking and
displaying all the myriad ways a constituent might interact with an organization” (NTEN
p. 38, 2011). The flexibility that Salesforce offers may also bring complexity because it
is harder to learn to use than some of the other systems (NTEN p. 38, 2011). Nonprofit
managers must weigh the positives and negatives of the technology they use and choose a system that is most compatible with their organizational needs. Marketing
A developing nonprofit organization can greatly benefit from a strategic market
approach. Gainer (1989) argued that marketing within nonprofit organizations should be
a branch of the organization’s strategic planning and management. This approach relies
on research and analysis that focuses on segmentation and marketing. This marketing and
segmentation focuses on targeting specific audiences/groups and certain segments of the
population based upon demographics, educational background, socioeconomic status, etc.
Gainer (1989) warned about specifically targeting segments or groups because the
nonprofit may miss the opportunity to target other groups that are not primary
beneficiaries, stakeholders, or the target population. While these groups and audiences
should be targeted, the organization should also look beyond those audiences and groups
and tap into unchartered markets in order to be truly effective.
It is imperative for the nonprofit organization to have a good grasp on what the
service provision climate is outside of its respective organization and build a strategic
marketing process. Gainer (1989) stated that competition, positioning, and branding are
vital components to consider when a nonprofit organization is designing its marketing
campaign and strategies. Organizational branding will help with acquiring multiple
revenue sources and creating a solid donor base. A nonprofit should also have both an
Internet presence and a physical presence within their community because it is vital to an
organization’s effective marketing sustainability to reach mass markets (Stater, 2009). If
this is done effectively, nonprofit organizations can obtain the trust of the constituencies
desired and the attention of broad audiences. Bryce (2007) introduced the idea that trust
is gained through a transactional relationship between the nonprofit organization and the
public. If a nonprofit organization can reach a delicate balance of the core transactions of
trust with the antecedents that affect the marketing message, the nonprofit organization
can create a sustainable future and a successful marketing campaign.
Social Media
In the era of online social networking, it is very important for nonprofit
organizations (NPOs) to be fluent in the use of social media. The literature thus far on the
use of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook has examined how NPOs are
making use of social networking and how they should be. One of the big findings in the
research is that it is not enough that organizations have set up Facebook and Twitter
accounts alone, they must engage with their followers. The second major finding is that
NPOs are not taking full advantage of social networking sites.
One study on the use of Facebook examined 275 NPO Face book profiles to
understand how they are using the social networking sites to advance their missions and
programs (Waters, et. al. 2009). The items researchers specifically looked for in profiles
were the “presence of items representing organizational disclosure, information
dissemination, and involvement” (p.103). These three components are deemed important
in relationship building. The results of this study concluded that organizations used
disclosure as the most frequent strategy and there were mixed components involving
information dissemination and involvement (p. 105). Organizations are not using the
interactive features of Facebook to build relationships.
A study conducted on the use of Twitter by NPOs looked at 73 organizations to
see how they engage in stakeholders not only by looking at their Tweets, but they also
looked at the utilization of tweet frequency, follower behavior, hyperlinks, hash tags,
public messages, retweets, and multimedia files. Like the Facebook study, the Twitter
study concluded that organizations are not using this social networking at its maximum
potential either. Organizations are using Twitter and Facebook as a “one way
communication channel” (Lovejoy, et. al (2012). Organizations need to be active on
these sites and need to engage with their followers regularly. It is recommended not to
over-tweet on Twitter because messages could get lost in user feeds. Also, it can be
worse for organizations to have abandoned accounts as this may turn off potential
stakeholders.
Methodology
A series of interviews, email correspondence, and a key list of open-ended questions
provided to the organization were used to analyze the effectiveness of its strategies. Upon the
initial interview with the Family Promise of Brevard, short-term goals were identified as
establishing communication with constituents, donors and volunteers, and various types of
funding. Their long-term goal is to further expand and increase the growth of their
organization. The articulation of these goals led to the formation of three research questions:
•
•
•
How can the effective management of volunteers, communication with donors,
utilization of a donor system, marketing, and use of social media improve the
organization?
What organizational tools or strategies can the nonprofit implement to increase overall
effectiveness?
How can the organization modify its structure to increase its effectiveness?
Research Design
A qualitative research design based on observation was utilized, which ultimately
provided us with more research flexibility moving forward. This flexibility was imperative, as
communication between FPB, and our team was primarily conveyed through the use of
technology, specifically by phone, and Email. The questions we sought to answer were
explanatory questions of, “what, where, when, and how, and why,” (Babbie 2013, p. 92),
which are also identified by Bryson (2007) as the fundamental questions used in strategic
planning to identify strategic issues.
Data Collection
To answer these questions, we chose to design a questionnaire consisting of openended questions that we hoped would ultimately generate a sufficient amount of organization
specific data to answer the aforementioned research questions proposed at the beginning of
this study. This questionnaire can be found in Appendix A. We also analyzed (secondary)
data that we retrieved from the organizational Website, and data that were passed down to use
through the organization and through our point of contact to analyze organizational
effectiveness. We were also able to utilize both the Guidestar database and the National
Center for Charitable Statistics database to obtain relevant financial and demographic data
pertaining to established Family Promise chapters within the region that we would ultimately
use as a benchmark for comparison. Given that this chapter of Family Promise (of Brevard)
was new, and did not in fact have previous financial data to use, it was crucial to use the data
retrieved from the two charitable statistics databases to benchmark where FPB wants to be,
where they should be, and how they may go about getting there.
We are also obliged to note the research method that Family promise of Brevard
should utilize when attempting to formulate a strategy for obtaining benchmarking data that
can be used to advance the organization beyond the conception stage and into a fully
functional operation. If FPB is to be successful in achieving its mission, it will be imperative
for the organization to conduct both a qualitative analysis using a Grounded Theory Method
for comparing organizational data and a quantitative analysis of data accumulated by multiple
Family Promise chapters within the region for use as a benchmark to set organizational goals
or objectives. The qualitative analysis should focus on relevant case studies and the processes
used to address recurring issues, as well as any findings associated with those processes. It
should also seek to identify patterns of success, accomplished, and recorded by multiple
Family Promise chapters within the region that answer questions concerning: the frequency
for which identifiable success patterns occurred; the magnitude of the impact that these
successes had on the stakeholder base; the processes that were undertaken to ensure these
successes; the initial causes that were considered in the formulation of the organizational
mission statement, and any recurring issues that have been strategically accounted for; and the
consequences, whether factual or hypothetical if the organization does not in fact address these
issues. The quantitative analysis should focus on primarily financial and demographic data
accumulated by Family Promise chapters within the region. Financial data may include
budget and financial statements from previous fiscal years that would provide a benchmark for
setting financial objectives for the organization. The demographic data should be comprised
of accumulated case data that indicates successes or failures given the availability (or lack
thereof) of resources that are necessary to achieve the organizational mission.
Findings
The research questions have a common theme of requiring effective strategies and
tools to increase the effectiveness and establish future growth of the organization. A review of
the literature provided that the variables of volunteer management, donor relationships, donor
management system, marketing, and social media should be examined to answer the research
questions and asses the long-term goals of the organization. The questionnaire and analysis of
secondary data provided significant results of the effective ness of the organization. Refer to
Appendix A to see the organization’s responses to open-ended questions related to this project.
Family Promise of Brevard relies on partner churches and the National Family
Promise for volunteer management and communication. According to the questionnaire, they
utilize church coordinators to communicate and oversee their volunteers because of a vacant
Board position for Congregational Relations. This future Board member will also be
responsible for the recruitment and retention of volunteers. Volunteers representing the
National Family Promise trained current volunteers for the Brevard branch in order to provide
the organization with a “Core Group” of volunteers. The Executive Director is responsible for
training the coordinators and congregational volunteers several weeks before the hosting week
of congregations. The National Family Promise provides most of the training and volunteer’s
information for interested parties.
The organization depends on FPForce data system and solicitation tools to maintain
donor relationships. The data system will be used to organize their donor lists and media tools,
email, or mail solicitation will be used to communicate with and thank donors for
contributions. Donor communication is strongly linked with the use of their data system,
social media, and marketing strategies. System generated thank you letters will be a regular
tool that Family Promise of Brevard plan on using. The nonprofit will also communicate
through pastors and church coordinators of the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). Donor
communication will be organized by FPForce and maintained on a regular basis through
newsletters, emails, mail, and church coordinators.
Marketing for Family Promise of Brevard consists of promotion through their website,
social media, newsletters, email, bulk mailing, and timely acknowledgement of donations.
The website currently has a very basic set up in which information about the organization and
newsletters are provided. Their Facebook is not updated on a regular basis and Twitter was
last used in November 2012. Family Promise plans on having two mass mailing solicitations a
year and will be asking participating congregations to take an annual special offering. The
organization is also planning three major fund raising events: a golf tournament, a Bowlarama,
and a Walkathon and Tent City event. They hope to develop a two-person grant writing
committee that works on government, corporate, and private foundation grant requests. The
organization has future marketing tactics, but is not currently utilizing all marketing tools.
Social media is not used on a regular basis by the nonprofit and they are focusing on
public media promotion of their organization. They do not update their Facebook page
regularly with their current newsletter or the interviews with media outlets. They also do not
invite users to donate or volunteer, there is a link to their website however. Social networking
sites should be used consistently with the most up to date information and used as two
communication tool.
Discussion
After an analysis of the answers provided by the organization to the open-ended
questions, it was determined that Family Promise of Brevard is not currently utilizing all
recommended effective strategies and should make some organizational changes. Kapucu
(2012) stated that “it is clear that capacity building activities are needed to enhance the
organizational effectiveness of small nonprofit organizations” (p.182). Ultimately, the
process is a continuous incremental that will build organizational capacity over time.
Given the substantial role volunteering has on the organization’s day-to-day
operations, it will be imperative for FPB’s immediate future to elect the new board member
who will be charged with the responsibility of recruiting and managing volunteers. The
absence of a leader from the organization to manage the volunteers will hamper their ability to
effectively recruit and retain volunteers. According to Herman and Renz (2000), nonprofit
effectiveness is strongly related to board effectiveness, which makes it essential for boards to
have carefully chosen members and to lead the organization (p.158). It may also be prudent to
consider relinquishing volunteer recruiting and management duties to either a full-time or parttime coordinator to ensure efficiency. Volunteer managers must set clear goals, evaluate
performance, and recognize the achievements of their volunteers, which may be too much for
a single board member to handle when considering their other organizational responsibilities
(Worth, 2013, p. 234). A full or part-time volunteer manager will enable the newly elected
board member the capability to focus further on managing the relationships within the
religious congregations currently collaborating with FPB.
De Vita & Fleming (2001) suggest that nonprofits that want to increase the
overall effectiveness of their organizational structure can do so by restructuring their
organizational activities, thereby resulting in a sustainable building of capacity. Strategies
that can be used by FPB, are to build structural effectiveness by providing more training
of staff and volunteers, increased utilization of volunteers and the creation of specific
programs that focus on public outreach, marketing and donor-base management.
Other strategies that are external to the organization can include, collaborating
with other agencies that have a similar mission to heighten mission impact, diversify
funding sources, and diverting resources to more successful ventures. Family Promise
can create additional homeless outreach program that provide literacy and job-hunting
skills for the homeless, thereby creating additional avenues and sources of funding.
Another recommendation for the FPB is to take advantage of technology by using
the world-wide-web to achieve a broader reach for potential donors, and volunteers, and
to communicate organizational effectiveness to their constituents. De Vita & Fleming
mention that nonprofits that do not take advantage of the today’s new technology in
fundraising will be left behind. By FPB incorporating social networking and providing an
easier way for people to donate online, they will increase their capacity for long-term
sustainment. In addition, the day-to-day management of the Internet will replace the old
antiquated letter mailings and phone calls.
Family Promise of Brevard must place more emphasis on relevant and meaningful
communication with current donors, particularly with large donors. The organization relies
too much on mass mailings and impersonal emails as a means of communication. More
personalized emails and direct communication from the Board will ensure a sustainable source
of revenue and open the door to potential sources for unrestricted revenue that may be used for
general operating expenses. However, the nonprofit does plan on effectively using the
FPForce donor management system for the necessary one-way communication (i.e. thank you
notes, and communication regarding upcoming events). The software will also assist in the
identification of future or potential donors and provide Family Promise of Brevard with the
data necessary to create a map of current and future donor prospects and formulate a plan for
engaging them. Utilizing the full potential of the software’s capabilities should not, however,
be viewed as an alternative to face-to-face communication with donors.
Finally, a well-planned marketing strategy, including the use of social media, should
be considered during the initial strategic planning phase. It will be crucial for Family Promise
of Brevard to use data accumulated by Family Promise chapters within the region, as well as
current donor information as a benchmark for formulating a new marketing plan that accounts
for the needs that should be identified during the where are you now, where are you going,
and how do your plan to get there phases of the strategic planning process. Given the relevant
significance social media has played in the success of many Family Promise chapters
nationally, it will also be important to make better use of both the organization’s Facebook and
Twitter accounts to advocate on behalf of stakeholders and clients, as well as promotional
purposes. Social media, especially Twitter, has not been utilized effectively to reach out to
potential donors because of its limited use by the organization. Both Facebook and Twitter
provide a unique opportunity for engaging potential and future donors who may identify with
the organizational mission and should be updated daily with relevant information.
Conclusion
This paper addressed a series of research questions in the hopes to provide some
palatable recommendations that will empower the Family Promise of Brevard to seek
consolidated approach that will produce high returns in achieving its mission. The
overall goal of the paper is to provide a picture of organizational success by using the
mission-action connection, which involves: assessing the mission, providing a strategic
approach to achieve the mission; and producing recommendations and activities that will
assure organizational effectiveness for the FPB.
This study recommends several ways that the agency can effectively market the
organization and communicate to donors and volunteers, by using various social
networks in order to improve performance. Additionally, this paper provides
organizational tools and strategies in order to improve organizational effectiveness.
Lastly, this paper addresses ways that the organization can modify its structure to
increase the overall effectiveness.
It is the view of this research that the organization lacks a knowledgeable human
resource that can address effective ways to approach volunteer recruiting, fund-raising,
marketing, and collaborative activities that will produce high impact on mission
effectiveness. By using social networking, the agency can post a need for a strong leader
to fill the gap in volunteer management and fund-raising roles. In addition, using social
networking sites such as Facebook will empower FPB to market the organization and
communicate mission impact to current and potential donors, and volunteers, Also, the
agency can show constituents and larger funders such as regional or national foundations
the fruits of their labor and a measurable performance that produces a positive
community impact. The overall embracing of technology will reduce the current
ineffective ways of fund-raising, volunteer management, and marketing.
To accomplish an effective use of resources and outreach, Family Promise of
Brevard will need to incorporate training of staff and volunteers in proper procedures for
day-to-day operations, fund-raising, and recruitment. It is the hopes of this study that the
organization implements the recommendations, thereby empowering FPB with a longterm sustainable approach to building capacity in the years to come.
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Appendix A
•
Questionnaire for Family Promise of Brevard
What are the long-term goals of Family Promise of Brevard?
o The long-term goals are to mentor the lifestyle basics for the guests and
help to locate permanent housing. We will remain in contact with them for
a year after completion of the program to ensure they are not falling back
into homelessness. We seek to give them a hand up, not a hand out.
o We will partner with other organizations to meet these goals, for they have
expertise in these areas and we do not need to expend valuable resources
to re-create the wheel.
o Because Brevard County is 76 mile long, we have a long term vision to
eventually form an affiliate for Brevard North, Brevard Center and
Brevard South, so that we are better able to assist more families in the far
reached of Brevard County.
•
What’s the best way to manage the vital relationships with donors to drive
results?
o A way to manage the relationships with donors is to stay in touch with
them, keeping them aware of what we are doing and how important they
are to the success of the program.
o We have just purchased FPForce a data system developed by National
Family Promise that will allow us to sort contacts and donors in numerous
relevant ways and to generate thank you letters, information and publicity
communications, and donor solicitation both via email and USPS mail.
•
What tools (Facebook, Twitter, mass mailings, phonations, special events, etc.) is
your organization using as part of its current fundraising strategy?
o We are using or will use the Website, Facebook, Twitter, distribution of
newsletters via email distribution and bulk mailing, timely
acknowledgement of donations and seeking additional grants.
o We are also members of the Brevard Homeless Coalition, Brevard
Interfaith Coalition; Greater Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach Regional, Melbourne
Regional and soon, The Puerto Rican/Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.
We are planning to join the Titusville Chamber of Commerce in the
future.
o We seek opportunities to present our program to Civic, Business and Faith
organizations. We also attend tabletop events as the opportunity arises.
o We continue to seek any group willing to listen to how our program does
so much with only two salaried positions. Our volunteers will provide two,
three or more times our annual budget in value of time contributed to our
guests.
o We will be doing two mass mailings solicitations a year. We will be
asking participating congregations to take an annual special offering in
which we provide the return envelopes and a bulletin inserts, and media
copy for projection. We currently are planning three major fund raising
events: 1. A golf tournament. 2. A Bowlarama and 3: A Walkathon and
Tent City event. We also have a two person grant writing committee that
works on various government, corporate and private foundation grant
requests.
•
How often does your organization communicate with donors?
o We contact donors on each occasion a contribution is made, through a
current quarterly newsletter, and email distributions, although it is not
limited to donors.
o We also communicate via the Pastors and Coordinators of the Interfaith
Hospitality Network (IHN) involved in support of our guests through
hosting, feeding, listening, mentoring and treating the guests with respect
each night for the week they spend at each congregation before moving to
the next congregation.
o We provide personalized thank you letters following a donation using
templates based on the purpose of the donation. We list grants on our
website. When we begin to use FPForce (see comment on bullet #2
above), we will be able to generate regular (probably quarterly)
communications with donors.
•
How can social media be utilized to promote the mission of Family Promise of
Brevard?
o We have had various articles the past few years in newspapers: Florida
Today, Hometown News and Viera Voice. We have used advertising of
events through WCIF-FM, and WMEL-AM for a 30-minute interview and
other media outlets.
o We also had a Family Promise of Brevard, Inc. night at the Space Coast
Stadium in Viera.
o We have an upcoming interview with Channel 6 for their segment of
"Making a difference".
o We are working hard to keep our website up to date and relevant with
what is happening with our organization
o We ask our churches to continually put articles in their church weekly
bulletins and monthly newsletters.
o We continually meet with the Brevard Interfaith Coalition and Brevard
Homeless Coalition and use their information website and Facebook
outlets to get our information out to other audiences through United Way
and Catholic Charities. We are also in the beginning stages of becoming
more involved with Habitat for Humanity.
•
Who is responsible for managing volunteers?
o Currently, we utilize our Church Coordinators to communicate and
oversee our volunteers. We have a Board position for Congregational
Relations who will assist the Church Coordinators in communication with
volunteers. This will include sending the newsletter and periodic updates
to the volunteers as well as assisting with an annual volunteer recognition
event.
o The Executive Director is responsible for all volunteers training and
support to the Church Coordinators.
•
How can your organization improve volunteer retention and recruiting processes?
o As we move forward and host our first guests, the host congregation will
realize what they have just encountered, lived through and what has just
changed in their lives and attitudes. They will want to share that feeling
with everyone in their circles. As more congregations cycle through their
first week, that feeling will spread and others will want to know how they
might share in this endeavor. It will be through the volunteers that more
congregations and volunteers will wish to be a part of moving a homeless
family to permanent housing. That has a snowballing effect as long as
there are guests needing assistance to stand and fight against the adversity
of being homeless.
o We are looking at having Board position that is responsible for volunteer
recruitment, placement and training for needs outside of the church
hosting duties. This person would be responsible for recruiting
individuals and groups who assist with things such as staffing of the
resource center, staffing fund raising events, light office duties, assisting
the Executive Director with projects etc. They would also oversee training
and manage the schedule of these volunteers. This Board position would
work in conjunction with the ED, the Board President, and the event
fundraising chairpersons to identify needs. This person would also be
responsible for planning and organizing an annual volunteer recognition
event for all volunteers to include church/host volunteers as well.
•
Are volunteers provided access to adequate training and mentoring resources?
What resources or information are available to volunteers?
o On several occasions, volunteers representing National Family Promise
came to train the “Core Group” of volunteers as we proceeded to form
Family Promise of Brevard, Inc. In June 2013, the Board of Directors,
Executive Director, congregational coordinators and the team of
volunteers from the first two host and support congregations met for a
more formal in-depth set of training required for us to host the first guests.
The Executive Director is responsible for training the other coordinators
and congregational volunteers several weeks before their hosting week.
This continues as other Host and Support congregations are added to the
Networks.
o The National Family Promise organization offers a large array of helpful
material and training for affiliates as they start up, as well as those mature
in hosting guests.
o The National Family Promise staff is always available to provide training
asset and materials. Additionally, volunteer trainers from other affiliates
are available to assist us in training and organizational structure as well as
address issues as they arise for the 1st time, as we move forward.
•
Do you have SOP's (standard operating procedure) in place for events and
volunteer recruiting as well as daily operations?
o Yes. They all have been recommended by National Family Promise, and
adapted for Family Promise of Brevard, Inc. and approved by the Board
of Directors. As a new start up organization, our policies and procedures
are dynamic as new policies are placed in use where circumstances dictate.
That may come from Federal, State, Health, Payroll, Insurance or a myriad
of other sources.
o We have a complete set of personnel and financial policies. We have also
established daily operating procedures that guide our daily operations, as
well as long-term operational aspects of Family Promise of Brevard, Inc.