Pondering my Decision

I just completed my second month here at the Center for Nonprofit Management. It's been a fantastic journey of self-discovery and, in some surprising ways, renewal. My eyes have been opened to an entirely different perspective on the work that I've been doing for the past eight years.

I won't lie: it's been a great struggle at times. I miss my friends at CDM. I miss going to work every day above the busiest food pantry in North Texas. Strangely, I miss wondering whether I'll be able to make payroll every two weeks.

OK, well, maybe I don't miss everything...

The Center has been incredible. I've had the opportunity to meet some of the most dynamic organizations in our community, and have been able to share in some powerful conversations with people who are dedicated to changing the world. I've especially enjoyed the opportunities that I've had to sit across the table from full-time philanthropists and say,

"I am not here to ask you for a gift. I want you to see me and the Center as a partner in your effort to change the world. You give money to organizations so that they will be better and stronger. We do the same thing, only we do it through training and consulting. We want you to see us not as a grant recipient, but a mission partner."

Mission partner.

I've been thinking a lot about what that means.

I've especially been thinking about what it means for me on a personal level.

What is my mission? Why did I decide to make this move over to the Center? What is it that I am trying to do over here?

I put some thoughts together over on my ListenTheGift.com blog:
http://www.listenthegift.com/2008/12/what-is-this-all-about.html

I have no final answer. But this line from Jim Wallis is about as close as I've come to understanding why I am here:

"Where your gifts coincide with the crushing needs of the world, there lies your vocation."

Shoulder against the wheel,

Jeremy

26% of the way there! (Community Hunger Day)

26% of the way there! (Community Hunger Day)

Thanks to many of you who read this blog, I am now 26% of the way towards my goal of $1,338 raised for Community Hunger Day!

I am going to fast for a full day on Monday, October 27, 2008. I will do this in honor of the thousands of local children and adults who struggle with hunger on a daily basis.

We may not be able to end poverty in our lifetime, but I know that we have the capacity to end hunger in this generation.

Join me today:
http://www.communityhungerday.org/profile.asp?tpgid=59830874

[where: 75223]

Officially Launched Site for Community Hunger Day

Community Hunger Day

CDM has officially launched the Web site for the 2008 Community Hunger Day here:
http://communityhungerday.org

I had the wonderful pleasure of being a daily part of this ministry from February 1, 2005 through the end of September, 2008 -- 1,338 days that changed the course of my faith and my life! I am forever grateful to this ministry, and for all that they are doing for our community.

I want to raise $1 for each day that I was here at the ministry: if I hit my goal, that will provide nearly 10,000 pounds of food to hungry families!

Please visit my page here:
http://communityhungerday.org/profile.asp?tpgid=59830874%20

[where: 75223]

My Big Announcement

After three and a half years, I have made the very difficult decision to leave my position as Director of Development for Central Dallas Ministries.

On October 6, I will join Cynthia B. Nunn's team at the Center for Nonprofit Management in the role of Vice President of Development.

I admit, I did not see this move coming. I certainly did not look for it!

In fact, were it not for the work of my good friends Jim Chambers and Lesa Engelthaler at TNS Partners, I would never have applied. But Jim and Lesa are not the type to be turned down, and their persistence and sincerity convinced me that this move would be worth exploring.

I was drawn to the prospect of not just supporting the good work of one organization, but improving the work of over 1,300 organizations that are touched by the Center each year. One of my growing passions has been my work as an advocate for the overall non-profit sector, and CNM certainly stands at the forefront of the sector's efforts to improve itself as well as its standing in the community.

And I admit ... my fascination with the work of Robert Egger (founder of the D.C. Central Kitchen as well as the V3 Campaign) played no small part in my decision.

However, I do not plan to leave CDM ... merely to transition from "employee" to volunteer and advocate. Much of my heart and life are now wrapped up in the work of this wonderful ministry, and I have no desire to extricate myself from its future.

Beyond that, as I consider the road ahead, I realize that my path does not take me away from CDM's mission of building genuine community . . . in fact, if I am true to the Center's mission of improving the performance and impact of nonprofit organizations, my path will take me deeper into the heart of CDM's own mission.

This is still a difficult time for me. I am grateful that I am turning my work over to some of the best fundraisers in the city of Dallas: Lisa Goolsby, Jenny Fogel and Katie Goldberg are the "Power Trio" that ensures that CDM's wheels keep turning. Jessica Davila had the unenviable task of being my administrative assistant, and her incredible talents will continue to support the CDM Development team in their work. And thank God for Lisa Robinson, who just joined the organization as its Grants & Contracts Manager: her leadership will ensure that CDM continues its incredible trajectory of 20-30% annual revenue growth for the coming years.

Of course, the hardest part of my decision was facing the reality of being outside the immediate world of Larry James, the President & CEO of CDM.

I have worked with Larry nearly every day since February 1, 2005 . . . and I am continually amazed by the clarity of his vision for the community, the passionate dedication that fills his heart and the unbending strength of his will to improve life for our neighbors.

It is impossible for me to know how much I will miss being a part of this world (which is so perfectly described in these Core Values).

My greatest hope is that I will gain an even greater ability to help Larry and his team in this new position.

I look forward to the challenge.

Here is my new contact information, as of October 6th:

Jeremy Gregg, CFRE
Vice President of Development
Center for Nonprofit Management
2902 Floyd Street
Dallas, Texas 75204
gregg@cnmdallas.org
214.286.3470 ext. 224

Rest in Peace, Cindy Honey

Today, after a long and courageous fight, the mortal coil unwound and the life and bright spirit of Cindy Honey was at last released from this world.

She leaves behind family and friends, lives forever changed by her warm presence and often boisterous laughter. She also leaves a community that is far different than the one that she found when she first accepted the position of Executive Director of the newly formed Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance

Under Cindy's leadership...

• The local Continuum of Care turned around years of under-performance and ultimately became one of the nation's top performers, enabling Dallas to qualify for the Samaritan Bonus fund.
  
• CDM was able to secure some of the first permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless persons in North Texas,
  
• CDM leveraged this, and countless other contributions from Cindy and her team, to acquire and re-develop CityWalkAtAkard
  
• And much, much more.

Thank you for your dedication to our homeless neighbors, Cindy. Your heart's strong beat continues to drives us onward, and we ask only that your spirit continue to guide our work.

Rest in peace, dear friend.

[where: 75223]

Summer Lunch Program Sets Record

An amazing update from Sonia White, Director of the Nurture, Knowledge and Nutrition (NKN) program:

For the month of June we served: (THIS IS SUMMER SITES ONLY)

• 132,070 MEALS DELIVERED
• 104 SITES SERVED THROUGHOUT COMMUNITY
• 7,020 UNDUPLICATED CHILDREN FED

We expect numbers to be slightly less for July and then even less for August. But we can easily say that we will probably have served over 300,000 meals just for the summer months. The number of unduplicated children won't change much over the next couple of months as our highest numbers are usually served in June. I think we have about 5-10 more sites that operate in July and/or August which did not operate in June, so that number will increase slightly as well.

You can learn more about NKN here:
http://www.centraldallasministries.org/nkn/

Change the Wind: A New Blog from CDM

Central Dallas Ministries just launched its public policy and advocacy blog, Change the Wind: A blog seeking to 'change the wind' in the current discussion on the policies and systems related to poverty in the United States of America.

Visit it online here:
http://www.changethewind.org/

[where: 75246]

E-Mail Etiquette

Keith Ackerman is one funny son of a bishop.

The following comes courtesy of the inimitable Keith Ackerman, LMSW... Vice President of Community Services & Chief Operations Officer for Central Dallas Ministries.

Interestingly, I have received multiple “comments” this week concerning the Internal E-Mail Traffic that occurs within CDM with requests to point out to 'offenders' their personal practices. Well, after pondering those requests, I have come up with the following CDM E-Mail Etiquette Protocol. If you can identify with one of these personas, I would firmly encourage you to adjust your style - It will endear you to your colleagues!

CDM E-Mail Etiquette
Are you one or more of these?

1. The Sniper - This is the person who hides behind the PC to fire off emotionally charged e-mails, using terms and statements that they would never make in person. Keep in kind that Diplomacy is everyone’s responsibility at CDM – you are our Ambassador. Anyway, Face to Face discussion beats e-mail anytime! That way intent of words can be understood because of tone, body language and reflective follow up!
   
2. The Alarmist – This is the person who puts the Priority Red Exclamation point on every single one of their e-mails thus resulting in people becoming absolutely desensitized by it!!! This useful tool should truly only be used if this e-mail correspondence is truly Urgent!!! Sadly, overuse results into a “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” type responses!!!
   
3. The Exhibitionist – This is the Reply All Specialist. If you receive an e-mail that has been distributed to a large group and a response may be required, the offender chooses to Reply All rather than Replying only to the original sender. This results in unnecessary mail going into everyone’s mail box. There is also the Look At Me person who likes to show how witty they are!
   
4. The James Michener – Ah yes – the novelist! This is the person who writes the equivalent of a short story in an e-mail requiring the receiver to have to read, re-read and respond. Solution: Pick up the phone, walk to an office or set up a meeting. Obviously by writing out so much of that information, a response is expected. Imagine the time that could have been saved by human interaction!
   
5. The Lobbyist & Entrepreneur – Have a cause you wish to promote or a side business you are excited about? Then you could be a Lobbyist and/or Entrepreneur! We all are passionate folks here at CDM – otherwise we wouldn’t be here! The important thing though is to maintain the boundary of what is considered work related versus personal related in our internal e-mails! Please follow the Policy & Procedure that has previously been distributed.
   
6. The Body Snatcher – Ever get one of those e-mails that the sender says “Yes. Let’s do that” with no threaded discussion or other information included in the e-mail? “Yes to what?” you wonder! Another aspect of the Body Snatcher is the person who puts the relevant information ONLY in the subject line and not in the body of the e-mail.
   
7. The Control Freak – This is the person who MUST know that you absolutely, definitively received their e-mail and on EVERY e-mail they send they include a Received Receipt to confirm that you got their e-mail. Don’t desensitize us with this like The Alarmist does!
   
8. The Graphic Artist – These are the folks who blitz you with fancy fonts, backgrounds, graphics and quotes! As a result, the message of the e-mail is often lost because of the clutter. Once again, you are an Ambassador of CDM. Be sure to separate professional and personal.
   
9. The Thespian – This is the person who makes the e-mail a performance piece. Lots of drama, emotion and unnecessary prose. Often these e-mail come back to bite you because of the paper trail you have elected to initiate. Here like The Sniper, you would have accomplished much, much more if you had just put forth some effort to have a Face to Face.
   
10. The Stock Piler & Procrastinator – This is one who saves up all of the e-mails that they receive and wait an unusual amount of time to then respond. As a result, the Sender assumes that the person either blew them off or never received it. If you find yourself in this category – try doing something like responding with “Got your message – I will respond by Monday.”

Well, I know this may qualify as being “The James Michener”, but hopefully this helps in our internal CDM On-line Community. If you feel that this would be of benefit to your staff, feel free to share. And Oh, by the way, please do not hit Reply All with a Red Exclamation Point and a Received Receipt Request to show how witty and funny you are! We already know!

Thanks!!!

Keith Ackerman, LMSW
Vice President of Community Services & Chief Operations Officer

[where: 75223]

Grab the Key to Your Destination . . . Home

Thanks to the wonderful team at The Pursuant Group for putting together another powerful email campaign for Central Dallas Ministries!

Here is the Web version of the campaign (please click below):

In honor of Independence Day...

Urban Connection - Austin

Happy Fourth of July! In honor of this glorious day in the history of our nation, I redesigned the Web site for CDM's satellite organization in the capital of Texas:

Urban Connection - Austin
http://www.UrbanConnectionAustin.org/

If you're in Austin, I encourage you to contact my friend Dean. He's a great guy, and he'd probably be willing to meet you at BookPeople (and any excuse for you to go there would be a good one).

[where: 78758]

Job Opening at CDM: Major Gifts Officer

The hiring and management of this position will be handled by the Pursuant Group.

Central Dallas Ministries (CDM) is one of the largest, most effective faith-based organizations in North Texas and is celebrating its 20th year of service to the community. CDM operates a network of hunger relief, healthcare, housing, legal service, employment training and educational programs serving more than 30,000 unduplicated people throughout the Greater Dallas area.

The Major Gifts Officer will manage relationships and fundraising efforts with the almost 200 major donors and prospects in North Texas. Responsibilities will also include the identification, evaluation, cultivation, solicitation and management of individuals capable of contributing major gifts of at least $5k annually, with a focus on individuals capable of gifts of $25k and over. The individual will also be responsible for developing various church partnerships toward this end.

Ideal candidates will have:

• Strong initiative and self-motivation
  
• Three to five years demonstrated successful experience and effectiveness in major gifts fundraising with a focus on prospect identification, relationship building, and solicitation
  
• Experience in solicitation of large gifts
  
• Outstanding interpersonal skills; excellent research skills; superior written and oral communication skills; and relevant computer skills
  
• Ability to work both entrepreneurially and collaboratively, and to function both as a leader and a partner within a team framework
  
• Bachelor's degree
  
• Interest in and working knowledge of community development, faith-based initiatives, and social service highly desirable.

This position will split time working from home and out of our development agency’s office in Plano, Texas.

Interested candidates should submit a current resume and cover letter to kelly@pursuantgroup.com. Please include "Development Officer, Major Gifts" in the subject line. No phone calls, please.

[where: 75246]

Tickets now on sale for Sept. 29 show with Clint Black!

Central Dallas Ministries has just released tickets for our upcoming benefit concert, A Night to Remember 2008 with Clint Black.

Click here for more information and to reserve your seats for what will certainly be another sold-out show!

Event Details
Monday, September 29, 2008
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Show begins at 8:00 p.m.

The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

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Tomorrow: Book Club on Jonathan Kozol's 'Letters to a Young Teacher'

Thanks to the RELIGION Blog | The Dallas Morning News for writing about tomorrow's Urban Engagement Book Club on Jonathan Kozol's 'Letters to a Young Teacher.'

For more info about this free event, visit:
www.UrbanEngagment.org

The book club is an important outreach effort of Central Dallas Ministries. Held on the first Thursday of every month, the event gathers over 100 people from all walks of life: CDM donors, staff, clients and friends... hope to see you there!

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United Way gives $46M to N. Texas nonprofits

The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Business Journal both released stories on the big news of May for nearly 100 of the largest and most effective non-profits in Dallas:

United Way gives more than $46 million to 93 area charities

I am proud to say that Central Dallas Ministries received the largest increase of any of the 93 agencies, increasing its allocation to over $800,000 this year.



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Urban Village Newsletter

Central Dallas Ministries' May 2008 Urban Village Newsletter

Central Dallas Ministries just posted an online copy of its May 2008 Urban VIllage Newsletter. You can download a copy here:
http://www.centraldallasministries.org/uv/

I would welcome your comments, advice and critiques!

Grant Central Station for North Texas

Thanks to Murray L. Covens, Principle, and Sherri Barrett, Associate, at Dallas Nonprofit Resources for joining the development team at Central Dallas Ministries. I look forward to working with you over the coming months!

Looking to hire a contract grantwriting team? Check out Dallas Nonprofit Resources:
http://www.dallasnonprofitresources.org/aboutusservices.html

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DoGooderTV is about to get... gooder

I received this announcement from DoGooderTV:

DoGooderTV is excited to announce that we're switching to a new web video provider beginning June 1st... This new and improved platform increases our ability to provide metrics and better services to everyone who is registered with DGTV.

It's been a long time since I posted CDM's videos, but the process was fairly easy from what I recall (no more difficult than doing so through YouTube).

See CDM's DoGooderTV page here:
http://www.dogooder.tv/Orgs/cdm/default.aspx

See CDM's YouTube page here:
http://www.youtube.com/cendalmin

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The Opening of "the Bridge"

Congratulations to the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance for today's wonderful announcement: the grand opening of The Bridge, Dallas' homeless assistance center. The event drew hundreds of neighbors together to celebrate this wonderful step forward.

But let us remember: this is a mighty step forward, but we have not reached the end of our journey to end chronic homelessness. The road ahead is long, and we must walk it hand-in-hand with our neighbors... those who are homeless and otherwise.

I was greatly encouraged by the editors of The Dallas Morning News, who made a similar statement in their editorial this morning: Editorial: A step toward ending homelessness.

Ending homelessness in Dallas is a marathon event, not a 100-yard dash. Today's opening of The Bridge homeless center in downtown marks an innovative change in the way this city confronts the homeless problem. But it's important to remember that this is still just an initial step in a long and arduous slog.

Thanks also to one of The Dallas Morning News' finest reporters, Kim Horner, for prefacing the event with this piece: $21 million downtown Dallas facility will focus on chronically homeless

The Associated Press also covered it here: New homeless center opens in Dallas

It was also good to see Our Girl Friday, Catherine Cuellar, at the event for Pegasus News, which covered the event here: The Bridge, Dallas' new homeless assistance shelter, opens Tuesday. PegNews is a gracious host of Larry James' Urban Daily. In fact, one of his recent blogs that they cross-posted was "The Business Case for Ending Homelessness".

Again, congratulations to the MDHA for this momentous event.

And congratulations to Judy Noble, wife of my dear friend and college mentor Peter Noble, for launching the MDHA's new Web site:

http://www.MDHADallas.org/

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Green Giving

At Central Dallas Ministries, we just launched a "Green Giving Program" to promote Monthly Bank Drafts as a way to:

1. Save our donors' time;
   
2. Save us money;
   
3. Save the environment.

We launched this program after determining that monthly bank drafts were the most efficient method for donors to support us. Not only do donors switch bank accounts less often than credit cards (making it less likely for them not to fulfill their pledge), but this program also requires less overhead since our monthly credit card program includes processing charges.

In fact, the monthly bank draft program is even more cost-effective than donating by check, since that requires significantly more staff time.

Beyond that, we've also portrayed this program as an environmentally conscious effort to reduce waste: it does not require envelopes, stamps or paper (hence the "green" part of the name).

Compare the following:

One-time Check Donation by mail	One-time Credit Donation by mail	Monthly Credit Program	Monthly Bank Draft Program
Donor must fill out check every time they want to give Donor must use an envelope and stamp Receptionist has to open the envelope Accountant has to manually process check Development Officer has to manually process thank you letter Organization must pay to print and mail the receipt for each gift Executive Assistant has to drive to the bank to deposit the check	Donor must fill donation form every time they want to give Donor must use an envelope and stamp Receptionist has to open the envelope Accountant has to manually process credit charge Organization loses at least 3-5% of donation through processing charges Development Officer has to manually process thank you letter Organization must pay to print and mail the receipt for each gift	Donor only fills out donation form once No envelope or stamp necessary No staff involvement other than Development Officer processing all monthly cards in a single batch (i.e. one click) and exporting data for accounting software Organization loses at least 3-5% of donation through processing charges Only one thank you letter at the end of the year	Donor only fills out donation form once No envelope or stamp necessary No staff involvement other than Development Officer processing all monthly cards in a single batch (i.e. one click) and exporting data for accounting software No loss of funds to processing Only one thank you letter at the end of the year

Monthly donation programs -- whether through credit card or bank drafts -- are significantly more cost-effective than donating by check or by a single credit transaction. The monthly programs use significantly less paper, stamps, staff time and even fuel (i.e. driving to the bank).

Best of all, this form of "green giving" helps our organization to plan better by providing us with a more clear outline of projected revenues than a system based on praying that envelopes arrive with love offerings.

More about this program here:
http://www.centraldallasministries.org/green/index.htm

I would love to get your feedback, or to hear about how your organization is using recurring giving in its overall program.
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The Wages of Vice and Virtue

If the wages of vice is death, then the wages of virtue -- in the form of community service -- is apparently a better life. A new study finds the following:

Alumni of AmeriCorps are more civically engaged, more likely to pursue public service careers in government and the nonprofit sector, and more likely to be happy and satisfied with their lives than those who do not serve in AmeriCorps, a new report from the Corporation for National and Community Service finds.

The full article is here.

FYI, Central Dallas Ministries runs its own AmeriCorps program (the largest in Dallas). More info on that here:
http://www.CDMAmeriCorps.org/

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