Acknowledging Sponsors Names in Programs

How do nonprofit organizations address long sponsor names in their programs?

As more nonprofits turn toward individual and corporate donors, they face the issue of how to acknowledge these contributors often in contexts that do not easily accommodate long naming formats.

Red Rooster Group recently worked with a nonprofit organization that had multiple tiers of sponsorship naming — the entire building as well as specific wings of the building, its departments and individual programs, as well as a book series — all named after people.

Their series of brochures, are typically named for their respective programs. Given that these sponsors names, some of which were quite long, had to appear in the nameplates of the various publications, a plan was needed in order to handle them appropriately.

We identified the following three considerations for addressing sponsorship names:

1.  Political – how the name is treated based on the donor’s request balanced with the needs of the organization. The size of the donation, the clout and influence of the donor, and the need and fortitude of the organization will come into play.

2.  Relative – the size, nature and payout of the donation relative to other contributions for that organization. It is easiest to set up this hierarchy before soliciting contributions in order to set the standards for the appropriate recognition and treatment of sponsors’ names.

3. Logistical – the practical considerations that will determine how a sponsor’s name is treated. Each media will tend to have its own limitations. Building names, for example, may require a significant capital investment and have a fairly long lifespan, while links from an online recognition can provide quick means additional information.

TRENDS: The Grantmaking Gap

NEWS FROM GRANTMAKERS FOR EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS

Most foundations are not making changes they and their grantees say are essential to supporting nonprofit success, but there is evidence of a gradual shift to more nonprofit friendly grantmaking practices, according to a new survey from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.

The research, conducted by Harder+Company Community Research, was the second-ever comprehensive survey of the attitudes and practices of all staff ed grantmaking foundations in the United States. It builds on a similar study conducted in 2003 by the Urban Institute in partnership with GEO.

Principle Findings

There is a pronounced disconnect between the ways in which grantmakers are supporting nonprofits and what nonprofits say could contribute most to their success. Further, many grantmakers have not adopted practices that they themselves see as important for effective grantmaking.

In focus groups through GEO’s Change Agent Project and in surveys conducted by colleague organizations, nonprofit leaders have consistently pointed to two critical areas where changes in grantmaker practice can lead to better support for nonprofits:

  1. Improving the type of financial support grantmakers provide, and
  2. Building a more productive relationship among grantmakers and grantees. GEO’s survey found that while by and large progress is slow, there is evidence of a growing movement among some foundations to provide better support for nonprofits.
WAKE UP CALL: It’s time for funders to recognize the importance of supporting capacity building.

Also see the post: Valuing Intellectual Capital

Red Rooster Group IconRed Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, fundraising, and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.

BRANDING: Naming Nonprofits for Impact

I recently received an email that reinforced the importance of having a strong name for your nonprofit organization. Envirolution, a website leading the revolution for environmental jobs, was launching their latest project: The Win-Win Campaign — a youth-led small business energy and carbon efficiency campaign.The name Win-Win Campaign name made me grin — how can you go wrong with a name like that? It underscores the importance of the emotional impact that a name makes when people hear it. And face it, who would you rather support, The Association of Small Businesses for Carbon Efficiency (ASMCA)  or The Win-Win Campaign? (I made up ASMCA to demonstrate how most nonprofits name themselves, that is, purely descriptive and not result-oriented.)

Envirolution’s e-mail also contained the names of other groups that they work with including Always Build Green, Make Me Sustainable, Global Kinect, and Urban Go Green — all names that have an immediate appeal. Always Build Green is powerful because it is an exhortation that is easy to understand. The name Make Me Sustainable is an invitation that is hard to resist. The names Global Kinect, and Urban Go Green are short, direct and sound progressive, but it is not entirely clear what they do, making them a little less powerful.

WAKE UP CALL: Make your organization’s name compelling and it will make it that much easier to achieve your mission. Align your programs, campaigns and events around the same theme for even more impact.

Tips for Naming Nonprofits

  1. If possible, describe the benefit that your audience will receive.
  2. Use your audiences,’ not your organization’s, frame of reference when naming.
  3. Keep it short. If it’s refer to it by an acronym, it’s too long.
  4. Avoid industry jargon.
  5. Make it memorable by combining words in new ways  to create interesting juxtapositions.
  6. Make sure it distinguishes your organization from others doing similar work.
  7. Reinforce your organizational name through the naming of your programs and sub-brands and event as well as through your logo and tagline.

BEST PRACTICES: Model for Addressing Hunger Provides Lessons for Nonprofits

A December 15 recent radio broadcast on NPR highlighted the gap in how this country provides a social net for the poor. The “Hunger in America,” episode of On Point, hosted by Tom Ashbrook, featured guest Joel Berg, who is author of  the book “All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America” and Executive Director of the NYC Coalition Against Hunger which represents more than 1,200 nonprofit soup kitchens and food pantries in New York City. Continue reading

ART WATCH: Second Look

This large upside-down image of the Mona Lisa holds some surprises. Modern viewers will have no trouble recognizing the iconic image, though pixelated as it is. We have been accustomed to seeing this famous painting altered, satirized and otherwise copied in so many ways that even the cliché has become banal.

However, this interpretation deserves another look. In fact, it requires one. Upon close inspection, the work of art is comprised of thousands of spools of colored thread carefully arranged to form the image. But to fully appreciate this piece, you need to view it through the glass globe stationed 10 feet in front of the work. Viewed through the sphere, the upside-down the work is both righted and sharpened into focus.

As if that weren’t clever enough, the artist portrays the image with a tourist’s hand holding a camera obscuring Mona Lisa’s face to show how most viewers would actually experience the world’s most famous work of art in person.

WAKE UP CALL: This piece holds lessons for us in giving new perspective and context in which to re-examine the familiar, subverting cultural clichés, and in the repurposing of materials in imaginative ways.

SOURCE: This piece is part of the exhibit titled Second Lives, on display at the Museum of Art and Design in Manhattan, running through April 19, 2009. The exhibit showcases artists who have breathed new life into mundane items such as buttons, beer bottle caps, plastic spoons, and discarded magazines – turning these utilitarian objects into works of great beauty or contemplation.

Is it possible to communicate entirely in symbols?

One artist addressed this issue at the Second Lives exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design in Manhattan, which runs through April 19, 2009. In a commentary on what language means today, the artist uses icons to depict a conversation between two people who meet on board an airplane, an icon-rich environment.

After reading the story in icons, which features a running narrative below it, museum goers are invited to engage in their own dialog using only symbols. A computer features a dictionary-style listing of icons from which to select and construct sentences.

Does it work? Well, you could form a limited range of sentences using the icons, but I wasn’t able to decipher the icon sentences that other museum goers had left. I believe that two reasons account for this.

The first is that icons derive their meaning, in large part, only after repeated exposures. That’s why in many cases, icons are still accompanied by text below them. Another factor influencing the readability of icons is context — the environment in which the symbols appear provides clues to what they mean.

In all, this is an interesting commentary on how the nature of language is changing in a time when IM texting has given rise to widely understood abbreviations, emoticons are commonly used to convey base emotions, and corporate logos have become a shorthand for a range of values and stories.

WAKE UP CALL: So what ramifications does this have for us as a culture? On the upside, symbols provide a shorthand for allowing people to communicate with each other quicker and easier than ever before. On the other hand, in a world that increasingly communicates through visual rather than written methods, we need to be aware of the ways in which nuanced and complex thought is being compromised.

Red Rooster Group Terms of Agreement


Scope of Services

Red Rooster Inc. agrees to provide all the services described above within the criteria specified. If, however, the Client changes any of the criteria during the project that results in additional services required, we will let you know what the additional fees would be and would require Client approval to proceed.

Additional services will include, but are not limited to, changes in the extent of work, changes in the complexity of any elements of the project, and any changes made after the Client approval has been given for a specific stage of the project, including marketing/strategic direction, concept, design, copy development and production and programming of final electronic files.

For programming services, Red Rooster Inc. provides code guarantee for up to 30-days from launch and guarantees that the site will be designed to function efficiently on current browsers. Additional code correction after this 30-day period as well as any site maintenance/updates, if needed, will be billed and negotiated separately.

Red Rooster Inc. will keep the Client informed of additional services that are required and obtain the Client’s prior approval for any services that cause the total fees to exceed those outlined in this agreement.

Payment

Payments must be made in accordance with the payment terms in this document. We can issues invoices for these payments. Please let us know if you need to issue a Purchase Order or need any reference on the invoice.

The initial payment for each project is not refundable in the event the project is terminated. Red Rooster Inc. reserves the right to suspend work and/or withhold issuing any project documents if payments are not received in a timely manner according to the schedule.

Additional Services

Rounds of revisions or corrections beyond what is noted above to be billed at the rate of $200 per hour. Changes in the scope of work beyond what is described above will necessitate an additional fee and approval from the client.

Expenses

The fees for out-of-pocket expenses and in-house expense are not included in this agreement and will be billed additionally upon completion of the project plus a 20% markup for account handling and supervision. Out-of-pocket expenses include, but are not limited to, illustration and photography, photo retouching/manipulation, presentation materials, overnight couriers and messengers. We will gladly use the client’s vendors and account numbers for some of these expenses, where appropriate and when provided by the client.

Cancellation

In the event of cancellation of this project at any time, Red Rooster Inc. will retain the first payment and the Client will pay an additional cancellation fee that will include full payment for all time spent up to that point and well as expenses incurred up to that point. The cancellation fee will be based on the fees described in this agreement and subsequent change orders.

Inactivity Clause

If the project is in active due to client unresponsiveness in providing materials, feedback or approvals for 30 days, the project will be considered closed and all outstanding payments will be due. We may require a fee to reactivate the project.

Client’s Responsibility

The Client is responsible for appointing a sole representative with full authority to provide or obtain necessary information or approvals that will be required by Red Rooster Inc. in order to proceed with the project on a timely basis. This will include final approval of this agreement, subsequent change orders, invoices and all project stages, including, but not limited to, strategy/creative briefs, design, editorial, mechanicals and press proofs. The Client’s approval of all tangible material and artwork will be assumed after the work has been submitted to the client for review, unless the Client indicates, in writing, otherwise.

The Client and/or the Client’s subcontractors will provide accurate, complete and timely information and materials to Red Rooster Inc. necessary for the project. The Client guarantees that they have all the necessary rights and/ownership in such materials to permit Red Rooster Inc. to use them for the project.

In order to avoid errors, text changes and corrections will not be taken over the phone and must be emailed to Red Rooster Inc. We prefer that the Client make changes in PDFs using the Comments feature in Adobe Acrobat. For text with extensive changes please submit the revised text by email as well as a marked-up hard copy, indicating the revised text.

Third Party Contracts

If appropriate to the project, Red Rooster Inc. may contract with other companies or individuals to provide services such as design, writing, photography, illustration, programming, consulting, printing and production. If any of these parties has terms, payments, credits or usage rights, that are not specified in this Agreement and that will affect the project, we will submit those  for your approval (this usually affects rights related to programmers using proprietary coding). Upon approval, the Client agrees to be bound by all specified terms and conditions by these third parties.

Rights/Ownership

Upon payment of all fees and expenses, Red Rooster Inc. will transfer ownership and all rights to the client for the approved final concept created by Red Rooster Inc. Red Rooster Inc. will retain all rights and ownership to preliminary concepts, works in progress and electronic files, whether the project is completed or canceled.

Credit

Red Rooster Group reserves the right to add a small, unobtrusive credit line on the brochures, websites, and other materials we create for the Client reading “Design by Red Rooster Group/redroostergroup.com”  and to feature the project and credit the Client in publicity/promotion of the project including, but not limited to, our website, brochures, press releases, competitions, awards, etc.

Samples

The client will supply Red Rooster Inc., with 15 printed samples of each printed project. These samples will represent the highest quality of work produced. Red Rooster Inc. can use these samples or photographs of these samples and the name of the client for publications, exhibition, competition and other promotional purposes (such as our website).

Storage of Electronic Files

Red Rooster Inc. will provide electronic files of the final project to the Client, its vendor or agent. We will store all final electronic files created for the client for one year from the completion of the project. Red Rooster Inc. will charge $200 per hour to retrieve/transfer any element of our electronic files from archive at the request of the Client.

Arbitration

Either party may request that any dispute arising out of this agreement will be submitted to binding arbitration before a mutually agreed upon arbitrator pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator’s award will be final and judgment entered in court having jurisdiction.

Legal Issues

This agreement will be construed and governed under the law of the State of New York. If Red Rooster Inc. must retain an attorney to enforce any terms of this agreement and wins, the Client will be required to pay all court costs, attorney’s fees and collection fees.

The client representative, has full authority to provide and obtain all necessary information and approvals throughout this project. The Client represents that they have full power and authority to enter into this Agreement and that it is binding upon the Client and Red Rooster Inc. and enforceable in accordance with its terms.

IDEAS: Valuing Intellectual Capital

Why don’t nonprofits value intellectual capital, particularly marketing expertise, when it can prove crucial to the success of their cause? I encountered that question when I learned about a nonprofit organization that was planning a campaign to raise $300,000 for food pantries and safety net social services, as well as to engage the community in volunteering on a regular basis.Continue reading

Ami Dar’s Online Tools for Effectiveness


At the CT Association of Nonprofits 6th Annual Conference, Ami Dar, the founder of Idealist, spoke about using online tools to communicate more effectively within an organization. His 70-person company uses Google Docs to share documents and Skype to hold video calls with each other around the world, using the internet and avoiding phone bills.

He urges nonprofits to embrace these tools, which bypass traditional hierarchies, and create a more streamlined organization. His organization’s adoption of these methods was driven by the younger generation – provided the tools, but without a mandate to use them, they naturally tended to them – a fine formula for nonprofits.

WAKE UP CALL: Will you allow the younger generation to drive change in your organization? What steps will you take to lead the change? The next time you email a document to a colleague, try posting it on Google Docs instead.

RELATED POST: How Lunatic is Your Fringe?

Facing the Recession

Citing a $6 billion state deficit, Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy reported at the recent Connecticut Nonprofits Conference that the last eight years have brought “an assault on social services.”

“Government has an obligation to provide for its citizens.” He delivered a passionate call to fund the state’s safety net, starting with a 1.5% average increase in nonprofit aid. “The needs of the least among us should be taken care of first.”

Fellow presenter and NYU Professor Dr. Paul Light predicted massive consolidation in the nonprofit sector due to recession. Smaller organizations will likely join together to reduce administration costs.

According to Light, nonprofit organizations represent a $1 trillion sector, powered by 11.5 million employees and 61 million volunteers.

He views a reduction in the number of nonprofits as inevitable and a chance to strengthen the sector. Instead of avoiding the situation, we should embrace the opportunity to start a strategic dialogue regarding which organizations should go under and which ones should survive.

WAKE UP CALL: As a member of the nonprofit community, how can you engage peers to begin open, honest communication about the challenging times ahead?