Butterflies

Flying Manual Management Tools for a new nonprofit

Before taking off in the wide world of nonprofits, it is wise to have a structure in place that prospective

staff, volunteers and supporters can look at and decide that this is an organisation that is going

somewhere and would be worthwhile being a part of.

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Flight Briefing

Drucker suggests five

questions for

engagement with key

stakeholders:

– What is our mission?

– Who are our customers

/ clients / members /

users?

– What do our customers

value?

– What are our results?

– What is our plan?

(Drucker, 1989 )

Butterflies Flying Manual Management Tools for a new nonprofit

Table of Contents Flight Briefing ................................................................................................................................... 1

Why we need a Flying Manual ......................................................................................................... 2

What the Flying Manual will do ....................................................................................................... 2

How the Flying Manual Works ......................................................................................................... 2

SWOT Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 2

Operations Manual ...................................................................................................................... 3

Organising Board .......................................................................................................................... 3

Dashboard .................................................................................................................................... 4

Background of the Flying Manual .................................................................................................... 4

Appendix 1 – SWOT Analysis ............................................................................................................ 5

Appendix 2 – Board Member Job Description ................................................................................. 8

Appendix 3 – The Seven Division Organising Board ....................................................................... 11

Department Descriptions ........................................................................................................... 18

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 21

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Why we need a Flying Manual

We face unique circumstances because of our reliance on government, foundation

and private donor funding and largely volunteer staffing. We are in a startup

situation as a new nonprofit in Australia and face additional challenges in getting our

structure correct; getting our message in front of the correct publics; getting funding

and attracting volunteers and staff who will forward our vision and mission.

What the Flying Manual will do

The Manual will give our governing board a track to run on that will automatically

keep governance compliance in place and management aligned to the mission and

vision.

How the Flying Manual Works

SWOT Analysis

We first of all conduct a SWOT Analysis to find our Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and

Threats.

As with any business model, the reason a SWOT analysis is performed is to generate insights

about the organisation and to drive its planning efforts. There are five SWOT killers that we need

to be aware of to prevent our efforts from being an exercise in futility:

The Laundry List: A laundry list of 7-10 factors for each category is fine in the first draft.

However, only the elements with significant impact on the organisation should be kept in the

final analysis (approximately 3-5). Marshaling the mental discipline to create a tight SWOT

analysis enables one to move into planning mode with greater clarity and focus.

Generalities: There is a fine line between the factors in the SWOT analysis being brief and being

meaningless. The factors listed need to be specific enough so that someone reading the analysis

without the creator sitting next to them can understand to a reasonable degree what is meant

by the factor. Recording "job site non – English communication" rather than "communication" as

a weakness is much more helpful because it alerts the reader to the specific cause of the issue.

Special "Effects": Another common mistake is listing the effect rather than the cause of a

strength or weakness. An example of a strength often listed is "#1 market share." What would

be much more helpful is to list the cause of that #1 market share-i.e., consultative design skills of

architectural staff. Listing the cause also plays another important role by allowing managers to

more easily identify and share best practices among the group. Knowing what's driving market

share leadership can be usefully applied to other groups within the organisation.

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Mistaking Influence for Control: Despite the clearly defined lines of strengths/weaknesses being

internal and controllable and opportunities/threats being external and influenced, factors are

often mistakenly placed in the model. The rule of thumb is if one can allocate resources to a

factor and control it, it is a strength/weakness. If resource allocation can influence but not

necessarily control the factor, it is an opportunity/threat.

Not Quantifying Opportunities & Threats: In physics, the mass of an object is a relative quantity.

In the world of SWOT analysis, the size of opportunities and threats are relative quantities as

well. Quantifying opportunities and threats allows one to more confidently allocate limited

resources to those that will provide the greatest return. While one doesn’t always have all of the

necessary data to make an exact quantification of the opportunity/threat, give a rough

percentage or ratio.

Answering SWOT's "So What's?": Once one has completed the SWOT Analysis, the typical

response is "So what now? What do I actually do with it?" There are three steps to go from

SWOT Analysis to strategy. Step 1 is the SWOT Analysis. Step 2 is to use the Opportunity &

Threat Matrices to prioritise the opportunities and threats based on probability and impact. Step

3 consists of SWOT Alignment where strengths and weaknesses are aligned with opportunities

and threats to develop potential strategies. SWOT can be a powerful tool when used correctly

and can be a time sucking, snooze-fest when used incorrectly.

Operations Manual

The Operations Manual that sets out our policies and procedures is one that has been proven in

operation of the parent organisation since 2005 and 15 other overseas covenant partners since

2007. It has been adapted to Australian legal requirements.

Organising Board

The Organising Board is a resource allocation tool that was first used by Admiral Nimitz to

organise and man up the U.S. Navy during World War II. (Morton, 1989). L. Ron Hubbard who

had served in the navy under Nimitz adapted it to build the Church of Scientology and from

there it migrated into the business world. It has been adapted and adopted by the corporate

world. I personally used it while consulting in organisations such as Sony, Chick Corea/Mad

Hatter Studios, Stirling Software, Fitness Choice, Neaumann Engineering, et. al.

The Organising Board sets out every position and their relationship to each other in the

organisation. As well as management functions in Divisions 1 to 6, the function of a Board

member is also covered by a job description. See Appendix 2. Description of

The full functional description of the seven divisions and the 21 departments of an organisation

with some positions is set out in Appendix 3 – The Seven Division Organising Board

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Dashboard

The Dashboard is a software program that according to Heyman is an incredibly effective

tool for monitoring progress against established metrics. They are an holistic, though

not comprehensive, visual representation of a nonprofit’s key success indicators in a

variety of important management departments, i.e., program, finance, development

and fundraising, human resources, and governance. Three to five indicators are

chosen in each department along with what results constitute - Green (Celebrate),

Yellow (Monitor), and Red (Act Now) flags. (Heyman, 2011)

Background of the Flying Manual

This Manual has come about as a result of our board wanting to have a clear path forward with

all policies, procedures, strategies and tactics spelt out. The starting point was the Operations

Manual sent from the parent organisation. This Operations Manual is an implementation of

Carver’s Policy Governance Model (Carver, 1996). It needed “Australianising”, in that the tax

implications needed to be brought in line with the Australian Tax Office and the requirements of

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission.

The Board also wanted a visual representation of how the organisation would be set up when

fully operational, so that they could strategise a funding and growth plan. The Organising Board

has been adapted for this purpose.

As part of the operation of the Organising Board, Position Descriptions are set out with Key

Performance indicators for each position. This gives us the necessary data to feed into the

Dashboard software to give the board meaningful metrics

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Appendix 1 – SWOT Analysis

QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN DOING A SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS:

1) Do we have a deep, experienced, engaged Board of Directors?

2) What are our assets?

3) Which asset is strongest?

4) What differentiates us from others that provide similar services?

5) Do we have immensely talented people on our staff?

6) Are we debt free or have a debt structure that is manageable from cash flow?

7) What unique resources do we have?

8) Do we have specific expertise that others do not have?

9) What unique funding sources do we have?

10) Is our senior management team backed by a strong board?

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WEAKNESSES:

1) What areas do we need to improve on?

2) What necessary expertise/manpower do we currently lack?

3) In what areas do other non-profits have an edge?

4) Are we relying on one funding source too much?

5) Do we have adequate cash flow to sustain ourselves?

6) Are we balancing our budget and putting away for a rainy day?

7) Do we have a well of new ideas?

8) Are we over leveraged (too much debt)?

9) Is our mission overly broad?

10) Are our financials audited and monitored beyond the COO and CFO?

OPPORTUNITIES:

1) What external changes present interesting opportunities?

2) What trends might impact our services?

3) Is another non-profit providing services in an adjacent space that we can team up with to

increase our size and stability?

5) Is there an unmet need/want that we can fulfill?

6) Are there trends emerging that we can profitably service?

7) Can we convert from single year to multi-year funding?

8) Can we take advantage of any new government initiatives?

9) Can we geographically expand our footprint?

10) Can we identify new funding sources?

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THREATS:

1) What if our top funders don’t continue funding in the future?

2) Is there an entity that may move into our space and offer the same or similar services?

3) Are our key staff satisfied in their work? Could they be poached by another non-profit or for

profit organisation?

4) What if we are sued?

5) Do we have to rely on third parties for critical steps in our process that could possibly derail

our delivery schedule?

6) What if our website is hacked?

7) What if there is a natural disaster?

8) What if the government regulations applying to us change?

9) What if we have a client turn rogue on us?

10) What if the media turn sour on us?

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Appendix 2 – Board Member Job Description

Board Member Responsibilities and Obligations

Mission statement

The Fuller Center for Housing, Queensland, Australia, faith driven and Christ

centered, promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and

organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in

need worldwide.

Overview

The Fuller Center for Housing (FCH) is a non-profit Christian organisation

incorporated under the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit Commission. This

gives the FCHQA exemption from income taxes and makes it eligible to receive tax-

deductible contributions. The Board’s responsibilities include the following:

Setting Policy

The Board maintains the mission and integrity of the organisation by establishing

policies and setting goals that advance its purposes in accordance with its established

philosophy, method of operation and foundational principles. The Board plans for the

future and is responsible for the policies that will carry the FCHQA into the future.

Overseeing Operations

The Board works with and through the FCHQA president to ensure that policies are

carried out in a financially, ethically and legally sound manner in representing the

FCHA to the world.

Giving to Support FCHQA Activities

Board members adhere to the “give, get or get out” rule of non-profit leadership. We

aspire to have 100 percent of board members “give” by personally contributing

generously on a monthly or annual basis. Board members “get” by introducing staff

to individuals, congregations, corporations, and foundations, and by raising funds

through their personal contacts. A board member who is unwilling to support

FCHQA activities should resign or be removed.

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Serving as FCHQA Ambassadors

Board members represent the organisation to the public by serving as FCHQA

ambassadors. They help build enthusiasm for our mission, motivate volunteers and

encourage contributions. They also recommend candidates who will contribute in a

meaningful way to the work of the FCHQA to serve on the Advisory Council.

Specific obligations:

Governance

Attend all regular meetings of the Board.

Prepare to make informed decisions by reviewing minutes, agendas, financial

statements, audits and other supporting materials prior to meetings Serve on

committees, sub committees and task forces and accept other assignments.

Provide counsel and support to the President about improvements that could

be made to existing programs.

Follow conflict of interest and confidentiality policies.

Suggest possible nominees to the Advisory Council and the Board who will

make significant contributions to the work of FCHQA.

Participation

Have or develop a passion for the FCHQA mission.

Maintain a positive and optimistic attitude about the ministry.

Participate in the special builds and other significant events, and encourage

friends and colleagues to attend as well.

Attend Board and other organisational functions, including special events.

Awareness Building

Become familiar with FCHQA programs.

Serve as an ambassador to local churches, civic and social groups,

corporations and foundations.

Keep a supply of FCHQA materials on hand to share with friends and

associates.

Share email and mailing lists of friends and associates with FCHQA.

Have a FCHQA bumper sticker on personal vehicles.

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Resource Development

Financially support the FCHQA and its activities.

Help identify potential donors for monthly, annual and planned giving

programs as well as in-kind gifts and major gifts.

Commit to cultivate three to five individuals, congregations or businesses

each year to become active supporters of the FCHQA. The cultivation may

include, but not be limited to:

Hosting luncheons, dinners or other social gatherings to explain the

mission, history, current work and future plans of the FCHQA.

Inviting prospects to special builds and other events.

Seeking prospects in business and social settings and sharing about the

important work of the FCHQA.

Ask for an annual gift from at least one church, community

organisation or business, and participate with staff in making a request

for a major donation if and when appropriate.

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Appendix 3 – The Seven Division Organising Board

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Department Descriptions

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Bibliography Anheier, H. K., 2000. Managing non-profit organisations Towards a new approach. London:

Centre for Civil Society.

Berman, R., 2011. Questions to ask during a non-profit swot. [Online]

Available at: http://www.rob-berman.com/questions-to-ask-during-a-non-profit-swot/

[Accessed 20 March 2014].

Drucker, P., 1989 . Drucker, P. F. "What Business Can Leam from Nonprofits". Harvard Business

Review, Issue Sept.-Oct. , pp. pp. 88-93.

Heyman, D. R., 2011. Nonprofit Management 101. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Morton, L., 1989. United States Army in World War II - The War in the Pacific, Vol.2. - Strategy

and Command: The First Two Years. 5 ed. Fort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319: US Army Center of

Military History.