Blue Avocado

Let Everything Happen To You . . . issue 44

Jan Masaoka Issue 44 — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:51:46 -0800

"Let everything happen to you," said the poet Rilke. "Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final."

One of the under-appreciated aspects of working and volunteering in the nonprofit sector is the vividness of experience we have with beauty and terror, with despair and exaltation, with fear and with urgent hope. That hope can be as global as world hunger, as intimate as one person seeking release from demons, as workaday as needing that check to come through before payroll.

At Blue Avocado we see ourselves as community organizers: supporting and organizing nonprofits into the self-aware, powerful force for social change that we aspire to be. This issue we have some big articles -- on the importance of the Census and a First Person Nonprofit Story from a retiring activist -- but first some brief queries and announcements:

Nonprofit banking needs: please help with a new project by answering this brief survey on nonprofit banking and financial services; click here and thank you!
For an upcoming article on unusual board terms of office (such as one board we know with sequential terms of 1, 3, and 2 years), click here so we can contact you for more information.
Fundraising software bargain: Exceed! is making its Basic version available for just $99 to eligible Blue Avocado readers (an 80% discount) for just three days starting March 16. Look into it now, and mark your calendars so you can get it at this amazing price (and help Blue Avocado, too).
Ever wonder about the "story behind the story" in Blue Avocado articles? Become a Facebook "fan" of Blue Avocado by clicking here or by searching in Facebook for "blueavocado.org" and signing up as a fan (we just started this).
Deadline approaching for Just Awards nominations: Nominate a foundation for "Most Narcissistic Behavior by a Funder" or a publication/website for "Most Abominable Coverage of the Nonprofit Sector." Do it NOW!
Thanks to so many new members/donors to Blue Avocado! If you joined at the $45 level or above, your flash drive will be on its way to you in a few days. Thank you for your patience.

And speaking of "everything" . . . what did the Buddhist monk say when he went up to the hot dog vendor? "Make me one with everything." Enjoy the week. --Jan Masaoka

Angry Activist Gets Old & Wise: A First Person Nonprofit Story

Brenda J. Crawford — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:50:38 -0800

Brenda Crawford is known as a fierce activist and relentless advocate for African Americans, for poor communities, for women, for lesbians and gays, and against all forms of oppression everywhere. As she turned 63 she came to some reflections and conclusions that surprised her; we think her comments will start a conversation for you:

I'm 63 now and how am I going to spend the rest of my life?

I'm retiring from the activist movement. I'm finished with in-your-face lobbying and sign-carrying activism. I don't want to go to Sacramento again unless it's to see a basketball game. I'm done talking to our elected officials. I'm done with confrontational politics.

I'm going to take up senior line dancing and dominoes. I have to re-learn how to play bid whist. My new activism is about building community, talking more with people I don't agree with . . .

Census: Battleground for Money and Justice

Rick Cohen — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:12:47 -0800

This year, the fight for our communities means fighting to get them counted in the high-stakes battleground of the Census. Rick Cohen's timely analysis shows us why the 2010 Census is so important and what nonprofits can do now to make sure everyone is counted.

Suppose the U.S. Census had forgotten to include Chicago? In 2000, the U.S. Census missed three million people, the approximate population of Chicago. If we had missed three million people at random, maybe it wouldn't have made a big difference. But most of those we missed are poor people, people of color and children. In other words: the Census missed much of the nonprofit sector's communities.

The importance of the Census (conducted every ten years) cannot be understated, especially to nonprofits on the front lines of serving communities. And it's not just the numbers: it's getting race properly identified.

In addition to your organization's . . .

What to Do When You Really, Really Disagree with a Board Decision

Jan Masaoka — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:40:53 -0800

Most of the time, nonprofit boards work through consensus. But what if you think a serious mistake is being made? Sometimes knowing what to do in advance if such a situation arises can help you understand the situation more clearly as it unfolds:

Have you ever been in a situation where the board has made a decision that you think is very wrong and will have severe negative consequences for the organization? Or where you think an important decision has been railroaded through?

As a board member myself and something of a contrarian, I've found myself in these circumstances from time to time over the years. For example, on the board of an organization with a sizable financial deficit, I found myself and one other board member losing a seventeen-to-two vote to take funds from the organization's endowment for current operating expenses. As a member of CompassPoint consulting group for many years, I saw more serious cases, too, such as ones where board members suspected illegal activity or a takeover of the organization by a few aggressive (and often new) board members.

It's important to remember that reasonable people can disagree in good faith on important issues. The following situations may give you some food for thought if a case that goes beyond reasonable disagreement were to arise for you.

Question: The board I'm on is about to make a bad decision. Although . . .

COBRA Subsidy Extension Update

Pamela Fyfe — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:49:27 -0800

Dear Rita: I have heard that when an employee separates from employment, the federal government will help pay for continuing health insurance in the form of a subsidy. I have so many questions: Is every ex-employee eligible for this help? Are all benefits covered (medical, dental and vision)? Are an employee's dependents eligible for the subsidy? How long will the government help out? And how much of the premium does the federal government subsidize? This seems almost too good to be true! Am I missing something here? Clueless

Dear Clueless: You may think you are clueless but you have asked all the right questions. My answer --posted February 2010 -- will include a little background about the COBRA subsidy benefit.

Stimulus Package - COBRA Subsidy

In February, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the "Stimulus Package." This Act provided a 65% subsidy towards COBRA health care premiums to employees who were involuntarily terminated (laid off) between September 1, 2008 and . . .

Take a 3-Minute Vacation to Laugh with the Stand-Up Economist

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:03:44 -0800

If chemists and physicists constantly got it wrong when predicting the outcome of a chemical reaction or calculating the required speed for airplane lift, their sciences would be discredited. Not so, of course for economists. In fact, in 1974 two economists shared the Nobel Prize in economics for saying opposing things.

Finally we have a stand-up economist, Yoram Bauman, Ph.D. to tell it like it is. Catch his act at the American Economic Association here.

Next, a stand up nonprofit policy analyst?