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Welcome to the Nonprofit Snapshot blog!

I do not think that every website needs a redesign or a facelift. I have some opinions about websites--opinions that really don’t matter: I think a lot of organizations over-think their web-presence. I think simpler is better. I think it is perhaps good for websites to change their appearance every once in a while. But these are just opinions. Two things are certain:

Nonprofit Snapshot, LLC is a consultancy offering a variety of assessment and planning services to nonprofit organizations.  Nonprofit Snapshot will soon deploy assessment apps to a national audience of consultants who work with nonprofit entities. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT

As we approach the next phases of Nonprofit Snapshot’s development, we are looking for a stellar Marketing / Social Media Intern to work with us.  The Intern will work on a semester-long project focused on market research and developing new business targets for Nonprofit Snapshot.  Specific tasks might include: researching potential marketing partners, reaching out to sector influencers, defining portions of marketing strategy, and implementing portions of marketing strategy (including updating social media channels and producing marketing assets if necessary). 

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Nonprofit Snapshot

FREE*

The Challenge: The organization needs a top-down look at its management practices.

Solution: The Nonprofit Snapshot micro-assessment. Deliverable will be an organizational report card that highlights the org’s management strengths and deficiencies.

*Conditions may apply. Inquire within for details.

 

Social Media Shuffling

$295

The Challenge: Your organization may be underusing or mis-using opportunities to tell its story. Branding may be inconsistent. Stakeholder stewardship is critically important during times of turmoil and uncertainty.

Solution: Starting with the org's existing assets (a video or even a blog post), Unstoppable Start Studios will "cut and shuffle" assets to properly and thoroughly schedule the social media effort to thoroughly tell the org's story. Cut and shuffle deliverables will include: 1 blog post, 6 images, 3 quotes, 3 videos, and a shuffling schedule with posts and hashtags.

 

Website Facelift

$750

The Challenge: The organization is hampered by a website that does not facilitate communications, may deliver inaccurate information, or simply costs too much in time or financial resources to update.

Solution: Working in cooperation with Allen Farm Studios, we’ll quickly interview key stakeholders and bring the org’s website to current standards that will facilitate communications and improve basic functionality. Your website must already be constructed in WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla.
*A facelift is not a complete website redesign.

 

Case For Support Draft

$750

The Challenge: Donors are not engaged. Organizational messaging is not presented with uniformity. Stakeholders may not be uniformly aware of organization’s strengths.

Solution: Creating a draft Case For Support document for your org. A one-week engagement, working with internal staff and stakeholders to draft the donor message and an emotionally compelling case that casts a vision for the org and tells donors why they should invest. This does not include layout or design.

 

Ten Hours of Executive Officer Coaching

$1000

The Challenge: Board leadership may have challenges that are not easily overcome. Problems may include communications challenges, difficulty delegating, low motivation, or perhaps an incomplete awareness of executive roles and legal responsibilities. The board itself may be “stuck in a rut.”

Solution: This engagement begins with a Nonprofit Snapshot micro-assessment, and includes up to ten additional hours of time (over ten days) working with an org’s Executive Officers (including the Executive Director) for situation analysis, problem solving, and leadership coaching. Can be used to set a high-level leadership plan for the org moving forward.

 

Crisis Communications Plan or Kit Development

$1750

The Challenge: The organization may be disorganized in disseminating crisis messaging to its stakeholders. This may cause lengthy delays, or the message may be diluted, and erroneous information may be given. Organizations that wait to respond, hesitate or lack visibility of action create uncertainty and anger. This diminishes trust, and may expose the organization to risk.

Solution: A draft Crisis Communications Plan and/or Crisis Communications Kit for any organization. This two-week engagement prepares the org for an emergency or unexpected event. These plans include steps to take when a crisis first emerges, how to communicate with the public, and how to communicate with other, identified stakeholders.

 

Extended Web Services

The Challenge: Your website needs more than a facelift. New functionality is desired, a reorganizing of online resources must be done, or the org may take the opportunity to rebrand itself.

Solution: Working in cooperation with Allen Farm Studios and Unstoppable Start Studios, we will estimate a current project scope for your organization on a case-by-case basis.

 

Fundraising Feasibility Study

$2000

The Challenge: Your org may be thinking about a special fundraising campaign. (Not all campaigns are capital campaigns.) You may not have an accurate analysis of the org’s fundraising history, or you may have in incomplete picture of stakeholder engagement. As a result, the org may be unable to set realistic expectations and strategy for conducting a fundraising effort.

Solution: A two-week engagement in preparation for a fundraising campaign. This will include a Nonprofit Snapshot micro-assessment. Steps will include:

  • Collect feedback about proposed fundraising plan from the appropriate stakeholders
  • Analyze current data to make sure it's solid
  • Conduct a market survey or market research to enhance data collection
  • Write an organizational or operational plan
  • Prepare a projected income statement
  • Make a "go" or "no-go" recommendation on proposed campaign

 

Database Management or Design

The Challenge: The consequences for poor data management and poor use of donor records are dire. Your org may be inadequately tracking what its doing, and won’t be able to monitor or forecast performance. Or worse, you’ll need to reach specific, individual donors, but you won’t know how to contact them.

Solution: Your data is your institutional memory. A good database will help you work more effectively. It can help you:

  • Prioritize and segment mailing lists
  • Manage and track your prospects
  • Steward your current donors
  • Identify future donors
  • Measure and forecast
  • Ask the right person for the right gift at the right time for the right purpose

Working in cooperation with Allen Farm Studios, we will estimate a current project scope for your organization on a case-by-case basis.

 

Disaster / Continuity of Operations Plan

$2500

The Challenge: Organization is unprepared, may lack disaster management plans, or continuity of operations plans are out-of-date. This puts both the organization and its employees at risk. It also may lead to confusion and lack of trust among stakeholders and community partners.

Solution: A two-week engagement to draft a plan that addresses emergencies from an all-hazards approach. The continuity of operations plan establishes policy and guidance ensuring that critical functions will continue and that personnel and resources are relocated to an alternate setting in case of emergencies. The plan will include procedures for:

  • Alerting, notifying, activating and deploying employees
  • Identify critical business functions
  • Establishing an alternate facility
  • Roster personnel with authority and knowledge of critical functions

A continuity of operations plan may not automatically include a complete crisis-communications plan.

 

Post-Pandemic Strategic Planning

$5000

The Challenge: How does the organization move forward from here? What are the available, viable options? How can we make effective plans during a time that is filled with uncertainty? Let’s prepare for the changing tide, right the ship, and make ready to sail again.

Solution: This three-week engagement begins with a Nonprofit Snapshot micro-assessment. Together, we’ll analyze the current situation and document a plan to navigate an organization through the unfolding stages of pandemic.

 

Thank you for being a part of the Nonprofit SnapCast family.  I wanted to take a quick minute to ask for your help and input on a couple of things.

1)  We are looking for your suggestions.  Specifically, if you know of someone who would make a good SnapCast guest, or if you have an idea for a subject we should cover on the SnapCast, please visit the Contact Us page on the Nonprofit SnapCast website and tell us.  As you know, we try to keep the podcast to roughly fifteen minutes in length, and we welcome participation from any nonprofit professional who can share their best practices and tips with others in the nonprofit sector.  Topics need not be related to pandemic, though we will continue to produce the occasional Special Episode on crisis management for nonprofits.  

2) Can you put us in touch with grant makers?  SnapCast would like to feature conversations with grant-makers in our efforts to provide solid content to our listeners.  We're especially keen on talking with philanthropic entities that are very active in COVID-19 related efforts.  But in the longer term, we would also like to be speaking with entities who make grants as part of public health initiatives, disaster and emergency management, and other grant-makers in general.  

Thank you for your help!

Once again, here's the link to the SnapCast Contact Us page:
http://nonprofitsnapcast.org/contact-us/

And in addition to the Nonprofit SnapCast webpage, here's a list of all the places where you can subscribe to the SnapCast:
http://nonprofitsnapcast.org/where-to-find-the-snapcast/

 

We are pushing more content than ever via the Nonprofit SnapCast. In addition to our regular series on nonprofit management, we are releasing frequent SPECIAL episodes specifically focused on current crisis contingencies and examples of what nonprofits around the country are doing during times of pandemic. The secret? Don't panic. Your mission is still relevant. Check out the SnapCast to hear what others have to say. As we do more recordings, we may publish new SnapCast episodes daily. If you have suggestions or questions, please contact me here. And if you or someone you know has a story to tell on the SnapCast, please contact me via this link. Thank you! I hope you're all safe and sound.

A friend wrote, “How do you find board of director openings? What if I am just a lowly nobody?  I feel like board members are ‘somebody.’  Rising executives, or people who give lots of money...”  I was momentarily floored by this sentiment, but quickly understood her feelings. Here's how I attempted to clear up her perceptions: