Manage Other People's Money
- Your organization is a trust. Always remember that it runs on other people's money.
- Spend your time wisely. I estimate my personal time at: 55% development, external relations, and governance; 35% conservation and stewardship; 10% general management. I should have spent more time in development, despite the fact that we've consistently run our budgets in the black.
- Always run your budget in the black. It shows your nonprofit is stable and cares about other people's money. It also helps keep the board focused on policy, fund development, and other governance matters. Budgets in the red suggests to donors that you can't manage their money well and that your organization is desperate rather than financially stable.
- The best nonprofits make profits. It's just that the profits go to the cause, not to individuals. It's important, especially for new executive leaders, to understand and embrace the profit-making mindset.
- Manage for margin. Pay attention to the income and expense targets and the difference between the two. Expand your programs by judiciously using part of your organization's "profit" as you go, provided you can still turn in a healthy margin.
- Budget a president's discretionary fund for unplanned granting opportunities that present themselves suddenly.
- Sell superlatives. When seeking funds, use terms such as "the first," "the best," the largest," "the only," etc., to establish the noteworthiness of your project. For example, as far as we can tell, our Acadia Trails Forever campaign created the first and only privately endowed trail system in the national parks, and our $5-million lead gift was the largest to any Maine nonprofit.
- View yourself as the chief trustee-that is, as the person most responsible for passing the trust along in better shape than you found it.
- Since no one in the board and staff structure owns shares in the other people's money, you as the chief executive have a leadership obligation not to possess your organization.
- The best advice I ever got from a board member was this: "A good executive consciously works himself out of a job." Try to make yourself, the chief executive, the most expendable person in the organization.
- As the organization's executive leader, many people will thank you personally its accomplishments. Make sure you actively transmit those thanks to your staff, board, volunteers and the Park Service.
- Hold public inaugurations when noteworthy projects are completed. These garner news and double as donor acknowledgment events. Be sure to invite the park workers who did the project.
- Give out awards in your organization's name. Friends of Acadia issues six awards each year. Recognize excellence in park employees, government officials, volunteers, business leaders, philanthropists, etc. This public form of appreciation goes a long way.