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Welcome to Vantage Business Support & Insurance Services
VANTAGE has been servicing the nonprofit industry for over 35 years. Over the years we have accumulated much knowledge, contacts and experience in helping to establish nonprofits and help them grow. As such, we will be publishing a semimonthly newsletter geared toward providing nonprofits with the latest news, products, and guidelines to assist in their success and growth. Please feel free to comment and/or request topics that are important to you for us to research.
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How to Make Your Nonprofit More Entrepreneurial
 One of the hottest trends in charitable work in recent years has been the social entrepreneurship movement. As a result, traditional nonprofits are increasingly encouraged to become more entrepreneurial.
Nonprofits are in a transitional phase right now, and your organization is likely somewhere on a sliding scale between a traditional nonprofit model and a new entrepreneurial one. It's not always comfortable to be in that spot.
I follow Nell Edgington and her Social Velocity blog to keep up with this issue. Edgington has devoted her resources to helping nonprofits learn about moving from a fundraising mindset to a financing one.
Edgington acknowledges that social entrepreneurs often look down on the traditional nonprofit as being stodgy and unwilling to change. At the same time, those organizations that have been in the trenches for many years sometimes feel unappreciated and forced to change.
However, Edgington has some excellent suggestions about what nonprofits can learn from social entrepreneurs. It comes down to being more innovative, changing the organization's mindset, expanding its goals, and approaching funding in a different way.
Here are some of the points that Edgington makes in her webinars and e-books:
* Be Bolder. Nonprofits need to think bigger. Think of the BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) from Jim Collins' book, Good to Great. Collins says:
"A BHAG is a huge and daunting goal -- like a big mountain to climb. It is clear, compelling, and people 'get' it right away. A BHAG serves as a unifying focal point of effort, galvanizing people and creating team spirit as people strive toward a finish line. Like the 1960s NASA moon mission, a BHAG captures the imagination and grabs people in the gut."
* Lose the Charity Mindset. "Charity" implies that an organization is narrowly "benevolent." It implies need, inadequacy, addressing symptoms rather than causes. Plus, charitable organizations may not invest in infrastructure because every penny is spent on services. Charities are often loved but might lack the respect of their supporters. They are seen as always looking for a handout rather than working as equal partners with funders in creating solutions.
* Finance, Don't Fundraise. Traditional fundraising can keep nonprofits in the "starvation cycle" of trying to do more and more with less and less. On the other hand, social entrepreneurs think of "financing" social change, not fundraising for it. The differences in these approaches to funding include: - funding for both short and long term goals...programs and infrastructure.
- an integrated approach to funding with no silos partitioning off fundraising and programs, and due consideration to money-making endeavors as well as traditional fundraising.
- a greater focus on individuals (who make up more than 80% of all private money in the nonprofit sector) and less on corporate or foundation philanthropy. o messaging that goes beyond a "tin-cup" mentality to emphasis on the social impact to be achieved.
- raising money to create an effective organization, from great staff to technology to evaluation to training.
- including capital vehicles such as loans and equity in the financing mix.
- finding earned-income opportunities where appropriate.
- willingness to evaluate all financial sources and drop those that are not effective, replacing them with higher net endeavors.
- moving away from "push" fundraising and marketing, such as direct mail, to "pull" efforts that bring in interested donors and prospects through things such as social media.
- Make Donors Organization Builders. Make the case for investment rather than handouts. Convince supporters that building the organization will result in better service and the ability to make a real dent in social needs.
Social Velocity is leading its clients in this direction and having considerable success. Its resources will help you make a checklist of the ways your nonprofit can move closer to new, entrepreneurial ways to think and act. Right now, if you sign up for Social Velocity's newsletter, you can download a free e-book about the basic principles of financing not fundraising.
SOURCE: Joanne Fritz
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DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
Our firm provides the information in this e-newsletter for general guidance only, and does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation. Tax articles in this e-newsletter are not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding accuracy-related penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.
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Nonprofit Products
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VANTAGE has a wide range of products designed to sustain nonprofit success and growth. These products include:
Health Insurance Exchange
Group Medical
Group Dental / Vision
Business Liability
Directors & Officers
Errors & Omissions
Sexual Misconduct
Workers' Compensation
Employee Theft
Crime
Commercial Auto
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Property
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Legal Assistance
Human Resources
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