I learned so much from Olivier Blanchard’s writings on ROI. When I saw this contest promoted on the Zoetica site with Principle Beth Kanter giving the pitch, I had to respond. It was a pretty rushed posting as it was a contest. Here is my post.. I’m still waiting for my call. Yahoo, I got my call today. I’m a winner and will receive my book from Amazon any day now.

Here’s my winning post.

ROI will never die because people (especially those who live in tight budgets) by nature are careful with their spending. Organizations involved in social causes are often top heavy with emotional reasons for supporting their cause and reach out to donors with similar emotional appeals. This does not mean that organizations have forgotten to be prudent in their allocation of financial or human resources in pursuit of their cause.

That said, non profits are increasingly recognizing that it takes money to drive causes and enable the myriad number of solutions their charity is trying to achieve. Knowing how much money they need to stay alive or sustainable is a bottom line matter so measuring how they are going to stay alive is a matter of survival.

ROI is like an oxygen tank when your diving in deep waters. You need to feel somewhat confident that your oxygen tank (or ROI system) will keep you in the water. So it’s an integral part of an organizations operations to have an ROI system. It’s integral because they need a means to navigate (or breathe) so they can handle the many other complex factors affecting their operations.

With a well planned ROI metric system, the organization can move forward confidently in the path they have created. They can measure their progress so they can stay on their path, learn from their milestone progress or lack of progress and determine if they are achieving their non financial relationships etc.)and financial goals – that enable all the wonderful things the non profit set out to achieve.

Another loop in the ROI cycle is the value ROI plays when the non profit demonstrates its business acumen to their donors, be they government, foundations, business or private citizens. When the ROI metric system is showcased to external partners, it adds credibility and respect for role of the non profit in the community. This can result in increased donations and closer partnerships with financial resources that can further the Mission of the non profit.

So in a nutshell, ROI will never die because people and organizations have learned that ROI is the primary tool that will keep them sustainable, focussed on results and an integral pillar for the organizations success.

Brent Uncategorized books, non profit consultant, non profit consulting, nonprofit, roi

I really enjoy reading books about emerging technologies, social media, learning and professional development. I also read plenty of fiction, especially fast paced, well written crime fiction in settings I’m not too familiar with such as South East Asia, Britain, South Africa, the far north etc.

I’m very pleased with the books I bought this summer and I few that I’ve received as gifts.  I’m reading these books simultaneously and employing many of the ideas in projects I’m involved with.  Perhaps in the fall when I’ve digested theme properly, I’ll take the time and write a post about what these books meant to my learning and work. Here are a few of my summer reading books with a few comments to go with each book.

Community: The Structure of Belonging: Peter Block – This book has changed my thinking about community and community work. I’m finally recognizing (after all these years) that you can’t problem solve your way to building community. I sailed into uncharted territory when I read this book, but by doing so, it’s awakened my sense of discovery and personal commitment towards building a community that I want.

Trust Agents:Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, Chris Brogan and Julian Smith - Lessons about trust as the cornerstone of your practice. A very timely book to guide my work with non profit organizations.

The Diamond Cutter: The Buddha on Strategies for Managing Your Business and Your Life, Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally – My daughter Meghan gave this to me on Father’s Day. She knows how much I enjoy Buddhist teachings and this one promises to be an excellent read. It’s about an ancient book based on the diamond industry and how you can practice your business successfully by following key life principles. I’ve put it aside for now but I keep it close by for quick references and inspiration.

Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead,  Charlene Li - Charlene’s book, The Groundswell introduced me to social media strategies for engaging your communities and stakeholders. Her newest book takes the next step and is helping me understand the changing role of leadership in the world of the social web.

Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone is Connected – Connect Your Business to Everyone, Mitch Joel – Understanding the changes brought about by the social web and how the businesses (other sectors as well) are  implementing successful strategies to survive and thrive.

The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighbourhoods, John McKnight & Peter Block – This book is deepening my understanding of communities and the strengths of residents to change  their lives and their communities. Like Peter Block’s book on Community, the Structure of Belonging, this book will be a constant reference for me in my social media work.

Drupal for Dummies, Lynn Beighley – Drupal is the platform of choice for my partner Alain Hurtubise (iAutomate) and I’m glad he chose Drupal. I’ll never be a web design and developer but with this book I can learn the basics of supporting Drupal based web sites and teaching staff and volunteers how to manage their web site – without paying costly outside experts who don’t know anything about your business.

P.S. The bookends are core samples taken from the mines in Sudbury Ontario, my home town. Having worked in the mines before starting my career in community & social media work, the bookends remind me of the lessons learned from growing up in a mining town.

Brent Uncategorized books