[New-hampshire-students] nh board

[Marie Johnson]

Very wise advice and even some fun while we're at it. Can't go wrong there! 
Thanks.   Marie



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com>
To: "'NFB of New Hampshire Student List'" 
<new-hampshire-students at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 2:12 PM
Subject: Re: [New-hampshire-students] nh board


> Hello,
>
> I'm an outsider but follow the list carefully.  Speaking as someone who 
> does
> nonprofit development for a living, both local and national organizations, 
> I
> can pass along a few pieces of advice in the midst of a crazy work day.
>
> 1. Invest in a student division.  They're your future leaders, and if you
> don't have enough people for a division, invest in the student you do have
> at hand.  Pump them up.  Give them a scholarship, teach them all you know
> and impress upon them the various reasons why the NFB is a good thing.
>
> 2. Scrap the traditional convention format.  Gather the people that show 
> up
> and go out for dinner, drinks, coffee.  In other words, turn the gathering
> into a social, relaxed setting where you can speak intimately of the
> affiliate's problems rather than standing behind a microphone where it is
> all too likely the speaker will be full of him or herself.  The microphone
> is the enemy in this case.
>
> 3. Have every member on the board come up with 3 things they wish the
> affiliate could do in the next year.  Encourage them to be a little crazy.
> The president can always whittle down the list to something reasonable.
> Then, assign every leader and member to a specific task.  Committees can
> quickly become traps for a whole lot of nothing accomplished, but if you
> give people specific tasks, the committees will move along at a good clip.
>
> 4. Invite the state agency personnel, state school faculty, members of 
> other
> organizations to a wine tasting event, happy hour or some other neutral
> occasion where a free exchange of ideas can occur in a relaxed networking
> setting.
>
> 5. Adaptive technology is always a big seller.  If you do have a 
> convention,
> consider an exhibit hall where dealers can show off their products and 
> maybe
> even set aside a few sessions for some training.  Less talking and more
> doing is the ticket.
>
> 6. Fundraising is a whole other animal.  You're going to need a good core
> group of people to engage an effective fundraising strategy, but 
> fundraising
> itself can work several ways: A. to raise money; B. to create networks 
> among
> the general public and general businesses; C. design social settings where
> friends can be raised since friends come before funds; and D. raise public
> awareness about blindness itself.
>
> Yet, the best piece of advice in this rather impromptu list is this:
> Remember why you joined.  Convince others of the same, and have a hell of 
> a
> lot of fun doing it.
>
> If you need someone to come out and lead an interactive workshop on 
> whipping
> people into shape, let's talk.  I won't come in and tell you what to do.
> I'll just creatively help you come up with your own priorities and show 
> you
> strategies to make those priorities turn into active goals.
>
> Best of luck to you guys.  However terrible you think things are, there is
> always an organization that has experienced worse and come out swinging.
>
> Joe Orozco
>
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>
>
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