A New Book For Non-Profit Organizations!

I’ve worked professionally in the non-profit sector for more than 20 years. I started my non-profit career at an agency called Altro Health and Rehabilitation Services in Manhattan and The Bronx as their director of public relations and development. I was there for nearly five years. After that, I went to work for Professional Service Centers for the Handicapped (PSCH) in College Point, Queens. Both agencies helped people with disabilities get job placement and housing.

After getting my Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Baruch College with a concentration in non-profit management, in March 1992, I opened HJMT and represented many non-profit organizations.

Through the years, I have also served on many non-profit boards. So when Writer, Benjamin Parris approached me to review his newest book, The Non-Profit Breadwinner, I was very excited.

As many of you know, I love business books and reading about non-profit organizations has always been my passion. Ben’s book is not published yet but will be soon available on Amazon.com.

Yesterday, I was sitting in a diner in Long Beach with a friend and co-board member and we were talking about the make up of our board. I was saying that a non-profit board should act as advisers and be the fund raising arm of the organization. In The Non-Profit Breadwinner, it confirms that!

Ben Parris discusses the role of the founder, the Executive Director (ED), Board of Directors (BOD) and staff. He also talks about the role of a fund raising consultant and public relations practitioner. He writes that the fund raising consultant is not there to bring in the money. “The most important thing to know is that the fund raising consultant may lend support at a meeting with a potential donor but cannot be expected to make the primary approaches in place of leadership, board member, or the Executive Director.”

What’s interesting about this is that the ED and oftentimes, the BOD, expect the consultant to bring in all the money through their contacts.

At HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, we get hired by many non-profit organizations to help them with their fund raising efforts by organizing and coordinating special events. Even though we tell the client that we are there to advise and work with them on bringing in sponsorships, many think that they don’t have to do the work and that we will bring in the money! This does a disservice to them because even if we do engage our community, if our community has no connection to the non-profit organization, they won’t donate in subsequent years.

Ben talks about the importance of building life long donors. In addition, he writes about annual campaigns, endowments, capital campaigns and unrestricted funds. He offers four valuable points to memorize:

• It’s possible for one person to “found” an organization
• It’s possible for one or two people to do a tremendous amount of work
• It’s possible to find 20 or more people who wish their name associated with your project.
• It’s impossible to create a viable and lasting entity without a functioning team.

My .02 Cents:

Ben Parris is a dynamic writer who has numerous years experience as both a Board Member and an Executive Director. In his book, The Non-Profit Breadwinner, Ben takes the reader to new heights by discussing thought-provoking topics in the non-profit world! If you needed one book on non-profit organizations on your bookshelf, The Non-Profit Breadwinner would be the book! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has or will serve on a non-profit board or work for a non-profit organization.