A nonprofit’s image or brand does matter

The question isn’t whether or not to brand, but is the current brand as good as it can be? Unless the answer is yes, branding and image should be on the strategic agenda of your organization. Every organization has a brand; some are very poorly defined or communicated. Whether or not you have consciously developed it, it exists and can be helpful to you or not. Every charity should be actively managing their image; the right image can make an organization more effective in delivering its goals.

Nonprofits can learn things from the commercial sector but we are unique as the constraints on a nonprofit organization are very different from the commercial sector. The images and brands of many charities are often created more by accident than design. Such images have evolved over time and were not the creation of a particular strategy.

Unfortunately, the importance of and need for charities to have a coherent brand is still disputed by many leaders in the sector. Branding is something that many organizations are still not comfortable with because it’s seen as navel-gazing or self-centered. As nonprofits we are supposed to be focused on our beneficiaries; we’re supposed to be selfless.

But can we be effective if we don’t have a solid brand?

People recognize certain brands – for example, the panda used by WWF is well known and recognizable – but can people really articulate what the organization does or stands for? Should WWF care that they may not be known well?

Having a well-known brand can allow you to change your mission and still keep your supporters. The Red Cross for example, has gone through a number of challenges and changes but people still look to them as the number one relief agency. So those are important things to keep in mind when working on your brand – What do you want? How will you achieve it?

For many people it is the language and terminology of branding that is something they do not want to deal with; it may be better to think of the brand of an organization along the lines of a “personality” of a person. It’s friendlier, understandable and can be more easily articulated. Use ideal words and phrases such as trustworthy, honesty, hard working, and results-oriented.

Organizations are really the product of a desire to change the world: to cure diseases, tackle poverty, stop animal cruelty and so on. This means their personalities are far deeper than those of most commercial brands. To use commercial techniques for such powerful brands may be expensive and unnecessary. We can learn something from the commercial sector but have to make it our own.

The development of the right image is not just for a few rich groups. Every charity, community group or voluntary organization can bring clarity to its key audiences, messages, values, and mission. Doing this can be done for free or next to nothing if you’re pushed to that – though unquestionably it will take up people’s time.

A powerful nonprofit’s brand is based on its values

Most voluntary and community groups are started because of the passionate beliefs of a few individuals. While this original idea or passion can be diluted or distorted over the years, there is probably still something there to discover and uncover – beliefs and values.

The brand is not usually what an advertising agency designs; instead it’s based on what lies at the heart and soul of an organization. You need to learn how to take those beliefs and values and make them shine within your brand.

Nonprofit organizations are rooted in a set of beliefs. You exist because you have a view about how you would like the world to be and how it currently is. These beliefs can be very small scale and local – i.e. Dovercourt Boys’& Girls’ Club – “we provide a safe alternative for the youth in the community” – or very all embracing and global – i.e. Unicef – “the children around the world are entitled to basic education, and basic health care”. Using these beliefs can create an organization and drive it forward. These beliefs should form the basis of your brand or personality.

Beliefs, mission, vision and values are critical. Defining why an organization exists, what it is trying to achieve, what it believes and the way in which it will work is one of the most important tasks any organization has. In a world competitive for funds where services can rarely meet the demand, defining the role that your organization will play is critical.

You cannot or should not go through any kind of marketing or branding without knowing who you are, what your mission and vision are and why you exist. You should determine what you would put in your ‘bell jar’ –what’s untouchable about you – before you start into anything because branding can take you in a number of different ways, and the process needs to be managed and clear.

Do you know who your audience is?

You know who you are, and what you’re about. Now who are you going to appeal to? This idea may not be easily understood – but it’s important.

Do you really know who your audience is? It is hard to be everything to everyone, so why try? How about choosing quality over quantity? We spend a lot of time putting the brand on the messages and the materials, but do we think it through to the audience enough? Agencies, volunteers – they can all drive you to the BHAGS – the Big Hairy Audacious Goals!

All audiences are important, but some audiences may be more important than others. Too many charities have a target audience, which is “the public”. The general public is a hugely important audience, but it’s a hugely BIG audience. The resources needed to create or change the image of an organization in the eyes of the public is really beyond all but the largest of groups.

It might be much more potent to have a limited number of target audiences who are clearly defined and hopefully easily reached. Target key demographic groups rather than the public as a whole.

Perception is reality

You work really hard on your branding, logo, colours and tagline and you’re done. Right?

Wrong! You can work on your brand and try and influence, but at the end of the day, you do not define your brand. Your brand is defined by what your constituents think about you. All you can do is try to influence their perception or be open to receiving their influence and going with it. It’s not a discreet piece of work –it has to live in everything you do.

Brands are influenced by everything you do and say, and what other people say about you. Be aware of this and try to manage it. Brands are influenced by awards or media articles about your organization. However brands are also influenced by things that may not be so rational or obvious– the way you design your materials, what your website says, how much your organization mails out materials and even right down to the way your receptionist answers the phone. Everything you do influences how people perceive your brand and everyone in the organization has a responsibility to drive the branding.

An image of an organization is created in people’s minds in a myriad of different ways. Even more difficult is that two people can have an identical service from an organization but come away with entirely different perceptions. How do you manage that? Every experience a supporter or prospective supporter has with your organization contributes to their image of it. A person will often have a number of specific experiences which are critical in creating a perception in their mind. So brands cannot be one-dimensional, based on name and packaging, but must be multidimensional and cross everything you do.

Ensure that the messages and images you’re communicating are clear, and key messages are developed and shared with everyone. Perception does not just create reality externally about the brand, but internally as well. Few things are a bigger turn-off for staff than seeing a discrepancy between what the organization says its brand stands for and what it does.

You need to be ready for success

You work at your brand, you get it right – and good heavens – it works! People talk all the time about preparing for hard times, disasters, and failure, but it is just as important to get ready for success.

It is necessary not simply to have a strategy, but to have a strategy that addresses the tasks that need to be done and the ability to live up to the brand that you create. Someone needs to be the champion of the brand and work in-house to ensure it happens. You must be prepared to manage a great brand and the success that might go with it. Ideally this is the President or Executive Director because then it permeates into the whole organization.

Maybe the right analogy here would be physical fitness. Being physically fit helps people do their everyday activities with greater ease and more effectiveness. Fit people will have less illness, live longer and recover more quickly when problems strike. Organizations with the right image will be better placed to attract the best staff, win contracts, generate income and overcome setbacks or difficulties that the outside world throws at them. Physically fit organizations will also be ready to accept and change and flow with success.

Successful branding can bring scrutiny, attention, demands, expectations, and stressed out staff. So prepare yourself for success. Look at what successful branding might mean for you and your organization, including the budget, staff, structure and strategic plan. Think about how flexible and adaptable you could be, want to be and are willing to be. And think about all of that before you get into the branding exercise, then work hard, have fun – and be successful!

Remember branding takes time and patience. It is probably only when key messages become thoroughly nauseating and boring to the people who have to say them every day that they are percolating through to the audiences for whom they are intended!

Five Good Resources

• Brand Hijack, Alex Wipperfurth, Penguin Group, 2006
• Purple Cow, Seth Godin, Portfolio, 2003
• Made To Stick, Chip & Dan Heath, Random House Publishing Group,2007
• Moments of Truth, Jan Carlzon, HarperCollins Publishers, 1989.
• Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Jim Collins, HarperCollins Publishers 2005.

What is “shared services”?

Shared services is the consolidation of certain business functions on an enterprise (e.g. company), sectoral (e.g. various children’s aid societies) or community (e.g. geographic) basis, and the transfer of these business functions into specialist centres under shared management. These shared functions are then operated as free standing “businesses” accountable to clients for the purposes of:

• driving down costs: often between 10%-40% savings
• sharing scarce resources
• eliminating redundancy and duplication
• redeploying savings to mission critical areas
• increasing service quality

Typical shared services functions include:

• contact centres
• financial processing and accounting
• payroll and benefits
• legal and other professional services such as labour relations advice
• strategic and common procurement services
• utilities acquisition and management
• facilities management
• insurance and risk management
• information technologies services
• program services

The shared services model typically has three characteristics:

1. Pooling or consolidating similar activity in as few locations as possible
2. Standardizing and redesigning business processes
3. Deploying common information management tools

To make a shared services model run like a business there are four basic building blocks to consider:

• Baseline Measurement — benchmarking your starting point in order to measure future progress.
• Service Level Agreements — formal contractual relationships with your shared service provider to ensure basic accountability mechanisms are in place.
• Pricing/costing/ and all other metrics such as service standards — particularly important for a nonprofit business context.
• Governance and Customer accountability — to make it “all sing,” governance and accountability structures are needed to optimize a service culture.

A shared services model attempts to strike a balance between benefits that typically can be achieved through a highly centralized service delivery model and those that typically characterize what might be called a distributed model, where each organization independently provides all its support functions. Most often the shared services model is confused with centralization, yet it is fundamentally different:

Governance – In a centralized model one organization sets the policy and the direction for the service. In a shared services model, the direction is provided by a board of directors representative of clients or customers.

Accountability – In a centralized model the central corporate goals take precedence; in a shared services model the customers’/clients’ needs shape priorities.

Flexibility – In a centralized model all services are mandatory; in a shared services example, there is usually a moratorium at the beginning, and after which customers can withdraw from some or all of the service offerings if there is dissatisfaction with the service quality or customer responsiveness.

Performance – In a centralized model corporate goals drive performance; in a shared services model performance is evaluated against the service level agreement defined by customers, and against external benchmarks.

Funding – In a centralized model services are paid through direct allocation or general “taxation”, whereas in a shared services mode, once a pricing structure has been established, customers are charged based on usage.

Shared services are usually adopted as a strategy for modernization, integration, transformation and capacity building. When a shared services model is implemented, there can be significant and positive cultural changes such as the creation of a “one company” mindset with enterprise or community-wide benefits. In order to realize benefits, there needs to be sustained commitment to the shared services model, at least for a few years, while investments are made in people, processes and systems.

For most governments and larger organizations, it is at the transactional level where the earliest benefits are gained. For example, multiple financial, payroll and IT systems are pulled together, redesigned and leveraged. For nonprofit organizations, early “wins” can also be achieved in program delivery. Welcome services, facilities management and training are good candidates for a shared services model, as are back office functions such human resources and other professional advice, and information technology support.

Consider shared services as a strategy for capacity building

Have clear and unambiguous goals that integrate shared services within a broader vision for your organization or sector and seek respected and trusted leadership from within your sector to articulate and lead the change.

Engage your sector’s leadership and stakeholders

Engage your sector’s leadership and stakeholders in identifying the project scope, i.e., services that are amenable to shared solutions. Start with early “wins”.

Manage your shared services implementation like a project

Articulate your “from/to” story and prepare an action plan to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Baseline the current situation and identify financial and non-financial benefits that are measurable. Prepare the business case and plan.

Remember to leverage modern service delivery strategies

Remember to leverage modern service delivery strategies such as contact centres, service agreements, portal technology and sector best practices. The investments in your shared services journey will be transformational!

Get governance right

Be thoughtful about defining your sector. Enlist the leadership and define the rules of engagement. Have a shared understanding of goals and outcomes. Effective governance will ensure that investments are made, milestones are met and wins realized.

Five Good Resources

• Implementing Shared Services in the Public Sector, The Pillars of Success. Carolyn Farquhar, Jennifer Fultz and Andrew Graham, The Conference Board of Canada, 2006.
• Shared Services, Mining for Corporate Gold, Barbara Quinn, Robert Cooke, Andrew Kris, Prentice Hall, 2000.
• Shared Services, Adding Value to the Business Units, Donniel Schulman, John Dunleavy, Martin Harmer and James Lusk, John Wiley, 1999.
• Conference Proceedings, Public Sector Shared Services 2006: Transforming Service Delivery, The Conference Board of Canada, November, 2006.
• Conference Proceedings, Public Sector Shared Services: How to Deliver Value for your Organization, The Conference Board of Canada, November, 2005.

I began my journey full of passion and energy to achieve a goal, but as the Framework Foundation’s Timeraiser went from dream to reality, I began to feel like television icon, Captain James T. Kirk, of the famous 60s sci-fi show, Star Trek. Like Kirk, I was setting out on a challenging mission, with a faithful crew aboard my ship, traveling through vast and endless space toward a faraway place. And like Kirk and crew, we were driven mainly by emotional energy and a deep desire to make a difference in the world.

Though the Timeraiser has been incredibly successful – more than 20,000 volunteer hours have been contributed to the not-for-profit sector by Timeraiser participants – the emotional stress of the mission has been at times overwhelming. I often felt we were going where no one had gone before, and all without a map of the galaxy. When I recently expressed my feelings to a mentor, she said: “If being Captain Kirk isn’t working, be more like Mr. Spock.”

The conversation sparked a new way of thinking about my mission to reinvigorate volunteerism in Canada. By applying Spock’s cold, hard logic, instead of being drawn into my instinct to change the world through pure passion, things started to come together. So with this new clear-eyed outlook, I began to see recurring patterns and a set of Five Good Ideas began to emerge.

There are roughly six million 20-30 year olds living in Canada’s major city centres; 33% or 1/3 are actively involved in nonprofit organizations. What is the potential if we try to help more young people find the connections to get more involved in their community? If we increase their participation rate by 5-10%, we can generate over the course of their lifetime 9.65 billion volunteer hours by the time these young people retire from the workforce.

Imagine planning for your civic involvement the same that way that you plan for retirement. Imagine if you could measure your contributions to your community the same way you can calculate your RRSP contributions. Imagine if you could watch it grow.

In its broadest term ‘Civic Footprint’ is the impact the combination of your time and money has to causes and communities that are important to you. The bigger the footprint, the more impact you will have.

We can marry the same logic that goes into financial planning, monthly contributions and periodic adjustments to calculate a Canadian’s civic involvement potential.

The table below approximates one example, Rasha’s Civic Footprint. There are a total of four time horizon check points. Spanning 45 years from the starting point of age of 20 until retirement at 65 years old (see column A), Column B displays the amount of time each year that Rasha contributes her time to causes. Over the 45 year time span, Rasha is able to contribute 6,625 hours to the community at a value of $367,500 (column D). This value is determined by multiplying the hourly rate of her annual salary by the average number of volunteer hours she contributes annually. Column E is the average value of charitable gifts she gives annually. Over the span of 45 years, Rasha’s personal financial contributions reach $171,500 (see column F). Adding the two values together (Time and $), her Civic Footprint is $539,000.

An important observation drawn from this calculation is the ratio between the value of time and money at each interval. Over the 45 year period, the value of her Time is double the value of her $ contribution (ratio of 2 to 1). Additionally, and equally important, this ratio decreases as Rasha gets older. The implication is that her time is of more value earlier in her work career than it is later.

Focus on Long Term Engagement

Long term engagement of volunteers is essential in building the capacity of nonprofit organizations. Promoting long-term engagement helps young Canadians think through the type of impression that would like to leave with the communities that are important to them.

Civic Footprint – It has always been about time and money; donors or volunteers is the wrong lens

For young adults who are just entering the workforce, the contribution of time to the nonprofit sector is tenfold that of the money they are able to contribute. Therefore the civic footprint of young volunteers is huge! Often organizations place too much emphasis on fundraising and do not put enough time, attention and energy into recruiting and engaging volunteers. Both time and money can assist in planning for long-term involvement in the community and have a lasting impact.

Citizenship 2.0

Citizenship 2.0 is derived from Web 2.0. It is an interconnected core set of principles to maximize a citizens’ civic footprint. Citizenship 2.0 is about citizens working collaboratively to solve society’s problems. Retooling the language around civic engagement is needed. The old notion of a donor giving money and a volunteer giving time as a separate idea is changing. Donors/volunteers are interconnected.

Citizen-First Organizations

If it can be measured, it can be managed: capture “the music” citizens make in nonprofits. First and foremost, think of your paid/unpaid human resources in your organization as your core work stems from it. For example, you fundraise based on the type of mobilization you need to accomplish your organization’s mission. This mobilization can be paid staff or citizens who want to contribute their networks, time and energy. People want to get involved and help out in their community, however there is a perception that there is not enough money to hire all the people to accomplish the goals of the organization. This warrants a reorganization of your human resources structure so it can harmonize people who are coming in and out of the organization on a full-time basis or just for a day of work. (see A People Lens, Colleen Kelly, Volunteer Vancouver, 2006).

If I had $15 million dollars…

Ideally resources should be directed to help nonprofits ‘play’ like an orchestra – where all the instruments/staff are playing/working towards one goal. It is important to assess if the addition of a staff member makes the organization more or less able to engage citizens. We often know the financial implication but neglect examining the human resource side. Nonprofit organizations must be more citizen-friendly and not less. The sector is doing a lot of good work however it often comes at the expense of its staff/volunteers.

Five Good Resources

• From Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Jim Collins, Harper Collins, 2005
• Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, Edward O. Wilson, Vintage, reprint 1999
• A People Lens, Colleen Kelly, Volunteer Vancouver, 2006
• History of Progress, Ronald Wright, House of Anansi Press, 2005
• Wired Magazine

1. Remember minority governments are inherently more political

All government in a democratic society is political; democracy is about organizing public opinion to gain a political position. But understand that minority governments are particularly political. In a minority parliament the government has to depend on at least one other group to sustain its position. Any failure to do so on a number of important matters terminates the government immediately.

By definition, the lifespan of a minority government is relatively short and even if it turns out to be longer, it is expected to be short which drives the decision-making process. People know that it can end very quickly. Sometimes it can end by accident. More importantly, how will the opposition behave because in a minority government every vote counts. In a parliamentary environment where you have long periods of majority government, in most circumstances the opposition is not “unimportant”, but generally not the decisive factor in determining which issues are introduced. In a minority context every head counts regardless of political stripe – for example this occurred with Prime Minister Joe Clark, the minority conservative prime minister in 1979 who lost office because some of his own supporters were annoyed about being excluded from cabinet or were just absent for the critical vote. As a result the Clark government was defeated.

If you are attempting to advocate with the federal government in 2007 understand that it is a minority government; it is the second one in two successive runs and if there was an election tomorrow it is likely there will be another one. It is amazing how some people think that because the election is over it doesn’t matter. It does matter!

Also remember making national policy changes requires you to think nationally! Find allies in the current government – who are they, what are they saying. If they are on the other side of the country find a way to connect with them – they may be on your side! Maintain key relationships with the public service such as executive assistants, policy advisors and civil servants in the Privy Council office. For example the executive assistant to the deputy minister is a key ally and he/she can often help you with key relationships within a department and provide information on the political process regarding your issue.

2. Québec matters

Québec matters because it is a political calculation that opens the door to some policy opportunities. Mr. Harper is the current minority prime minister but he definitely wants to become the majority leader as it is a more stable and predictable environment. Winning in Québec is an opportunity for Mr. Harper to fulfill this goal. Even though he won 10 seats in the last election there are still gains to be made. Therefore there are opportunities for nonprofits in Ontario to partner with sister organizations in Québec to work towards changing national policies on issues such as social housing and community health. Keep these strong partnerships focused on a couple of issues. The sharper the focus, the more disciplined the approach, the greater the success in advocating for change!

3. Cities matter

Six out of ten Canadians live in large cities. Five out of 10 Canadians live in Greater Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary-Edmonton. The current government has a poor electoral standing in these city regions and needs to improve in these areas if they are to have a majority government. Even though this government is labeled as an “Alberta-based administration” there are opportunities to make real policy change within an urban context. Increase this opportunity by ensuring that you are focused on urban issues that can potentially bring the country together. However be cautious about getting caught in the inter-governmental tangle that is at the core of Canadian federalism. A lack of seats in the 416 is not sustainable for this government. If this is not changed it is unlikely the current government will be in power.

4. It is a capital “C” Conservative government

This government is unlike other past Conservative administrations as it has links to neo-conservative elements of the U.S. and the U.K. They have very clear views on the role of government and the nature of the Canadian federation. It is not like the Brian Mulroney era or the Bill Davis era.

5. Stephen Harper’s view of federal/provincial relations

Prime Minister Harper made a speech to the Quebec City Chamber of Commerce in which he outlined his distinct views on “classical federalism”. The constitution matters as it clearly outlines the federal and provincial government’s responsibilities. A fair measure of disentanglement is expected and this is within the context of less government and more emphasis on the voluntary sector to fill the gap. Harper has made some very colourful comments about federal spending power being too overarching, interfering, and troublemaking. Federal spending power is a process that affects many areas of the social policy field. Therefore it is a speech that you should read and reflect on because Harper is an intelligent, definitive and pragmatic leader whose views will define his government’s direction. Expect less federal activity in some areas that have traditionally relied on federal government spending.

Five Good Resources

• Harper Announces Conservative Platform for Québec, December, 2005
• Privy Council
• IRPP Policy Options
• Rebuilding the Mulroney coalition – welcome the ‘New Harper Conservatives’ by Jamie Watt, IRPP, Policy Options, March 2006.

We generally think of risk as financial but of course it is much more: risk to reputations, risk to organizations, and risk to personal employment. Risk is often seen as negative as it is coming from events or actions beyond the control of an organization. The concept of managing risk implies that risk can be controlled and negative impacts mitigated. However, risk is also an essential ingredient when an organization sets out to address systemic issues faced by its operations and/or environment, accelerate positive changes and achieve desired outcomes.

Risk is an essential ingredient of change. Without risk it is difficult to foster a climate of organizational innovation. When innovating we can look at what other organizations have done and learn from them. But each organization will face unique circumstances when making similar changes and you will never know exactly what you will face. The risks are different because of the organizational capacity, the financial ability of an organization and the people who are charged with making the changes.

At Toronto Community Housing we set out four years ago on an agenda of transformation, and accepted that risk would be part of what we did. We knew we had to embrace risk. What we were not as prepared for was just how to do it. We learned as we moved ahead with our plans. I often hear that we embrace innovation and support risk at Toronto Community Housing – but in reality, we are often more comfortable with old ideas and fear failure.

1. Understand what is a risk for you and your organization (or try to bite off what you can chew)

It is impossible, by the nature of risk, to identify all of it ahead of time. But it is possible to frame it in a deliberate manner. Force yourself to acknowledge what might not work and why.

• Do you know the risks you will face?
  A good friend of mine once told me that all of the problems sitting on his desk started life as good ideas. Taking the time to think through each new idea and understand whether it’s something that has risk, and that the idea may fail to achieve the result you intend, may help you understand what can go wrong and prevent it. We often jump to a solution without fully understanding what it takes to get there.
• Can you afford to invest in an initiative and not succeed? Will this jeopardize your ability to deliver programs and services?
  This is the simple test of whether the price of failure is too high for your level of tolerance. It’s easy to assess financial risk but more difficult to assess whether there is organizational resilience to failure. Boards are particularly hard to read in this respect as they are more sensitive to the organization’s reputation and potential impacts on funders.
• Does your Board understand the risks you are taking?
  Your board must fully understand the risks involved in delivering a program. What are the ups and downs? It’s often tempting to paint a glossy picture of outcomes, but this inevitably introduces high risk for organizational leadership when things don’t work as planned.
• Are you taking risk to deliver on an organizational priority?
  Anyone in an organization has a limited amount of non-financial “capital” – so if you are the champion of an initiative or the sponsor of something that is identified as a risk, this capital should be reserved for what is a priority of your organization.

2. Support risk taking – really!

Embarking on something that has been identified as a risk to the organization needs the full support of that organization. Support starts with leadership – whatever the initiative, it must have the attention of those who have power and authority to keep things on track. This includes both the board, the senior management team, and in some cases, your funding partners. Support is also providing sufficient human and financial support to achieve a successful outcome. Launching an initiative with great hope and little sustainability is likely a risk strategy with little reward.

3. Pay attention

Getting an idea off the ground is simple. But inevitably there is the day-to-day work to keep in mind while dealing with the dual distractions of being over-worked and under-resourced. Achieving some success requires sufficient attention to the key initiatives you launch, and making sure that others in the organization are doing the same thing. There is no set formula for this; some prefer rigid project management systems, others less formal reporting. The key is that leadership is exercised throughout the process, and if staff or others are asked to implement an idea that they have the authority and support to do so. It is also important that in this process, error and failure is recognized as it is happening – and where success is not being achieved, pulling the plug is an option.

4. Don’t fall for your own story

We are almost all by nature defensive. When we are deeply invested with a new idea, we often do not hear what is said around us. When you’re engaged in something that you think carries risks for you and the organization, listen particularly carefully to those who disagree. Deliberately seek advice from those who have different points of view. Draw from the experience of others. You want to know when you’re headed off the cliff! As an executive director or senior manager, it will ultimately be your job to make the decision on the course of action to take but be critical and reflective. Do not always believe your inner voice, or those who depend on the success of an initiative. Falling for your own story compounds risk and is often a quick path to failure.

5. Celebrate success and failure

This is the most obvious idea, but inevitably the one that is most often missed. If you are in an organization that is willing to take risks, then there is an absolute need to recognize your successes. Celebrating these is a big reinforcement which encourages further innovation and supports risk-taking as part of your organizational culture. More importantly it makes sure people learn from failures and provides them with the assurance that failure does not mean pulling back from further risk-taking down the road.

Derek Ballantyne, CEO, Toronto Community Housing Corporation

Derek Ballantyne has been Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, the largest social housing provider in Canada and the second largest in North America, since 2001. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Housing Company and prior to that was General Manager, City Living, City of Ottawa Non-profit Housing. Derek has also worked in the sector in a number of volunteer roles, including that of founding Board member of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association, and Chair of Raising the Roof, charitable organization dedicated to finding solutions to homelessness. He currently sits on the Board of Ontario’s Social Housing Services Corporation.

Five Good Resources

• Best Practices in Risk Management: Private and Public Sectors Internationally
• Enlightened Risk Taking: A Guide to Strategic Risk management for Nonprofits by Melanie L. Herman and George L. Head. Unpublished but adapted from the article Strategic Risk Management: Looking at Both Sides Now
• Exposing the Elephants: Creating Exceptional Nonprofits, Pamela J. Wilcox, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York 2006.
• Improving Quality and Performance in your Non-Profit Organization: An Introduction to Change Management Strategies for the 21st Century, Gary M Gobman, White Hat Communications, Harrisburg, 1999.
• Act on Facts, Not Faith,by Jeffrey Pfeffer & Robert I. Sutton, in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2006.

1. Be clear about the value and the limitations of a policy to address racism

An anti-racism policy should begin with a statement that recognizes that challenging racism benefits and strengthens an organization. The statement should not be phrased as a problem. Acknowledging the skills and expertise that racialized and aboriginal communities bring to an organization creates a vision that members of an organization will support.

Work plans with timelines and deliverables should be attached to an anti-racism policy so that it becomes a “living document” and not simply a list of commitments that are ideal or that identify a set of problems. Clearly outline the steps to implement an anti-racism and anti-oppression framework in the policy so it becomes a reality in the organization.

2. Ensure that there is a clear connection between your organization’s mission, programs and services, and the commitment to challenging racism

Many organizations have excellent mission statements and visions but anti-racism policies are not incorporated in these statements. It is essential to connect how challenging racism is relevant to the every day work of an organization. This connection can be achieved by building an anti-racism policy into a strategic plan. Once this policy is an embedded as a strategic priority, often resources will be allocated to this anti-racism work.

Do not over rely on training to fix problems of racism. While training is useful, it can be used as a one-time solution which does not address the reality that organizational and individual behaviours change gradually. Embed anti-racism policies in your mission statement and strategic plan to ensure an equitable workplace. And at every opportunity – from an annual general meeting to a board meeting or even a staff meeting – organizational leaders must clearly explain the importance of challenging racism in relation to the agenda of each particular event.

3. Build the skills and competencies to address racism into daily supervision and into performance reviews

Challenging racism is a core competency of a workplace in a racially diverse society. As a core responsibility addressing racism needs to be built into job descriptions, daily supervision duties, and performance reviews. Boards should hold executive directors accountable for how they are implementing anti-racism policies. Staff members need to understand that challenging racism is not something that they can opt in and out of. During staff meetings have proactive discussions about how different identities affect the organization’s work. Encouraging different forms of leadership is an important way of recognizing that people in “different bodies” work in “different ways” and that these “ways” are relevant, necessary and beneficial to the work that is being accomplished.

Too often racism becomes a problem because people view co-workers who are “different” as being a problem because they have a different workstyle. It is more constructive to look at the ways people work differently and learn from them, to transform and improve the mission of the organization.

4. Provide support to internal change agents and communicate their value to the entire organization

Internal change agents are often viewed as troublemakers because they raise issues of discrimination. Leaders of organizations can reverse this trend by providing opportunities for these staff members to meet and discuss issues of racism. These internal change agents are willing to provide valuable information to management about what is working and not working in an organization and therefore their voices need to be heard to improve the overall work of the organization.

5. Establish connections with community groups and agencies who will advocate for your organization’s commitment to challenging racism

Nonprofits must maintain connections with community organizations that champion issues of anti-racism. These organizations will provide an important perspective on how the organization is living up to its anti-racism commitments.

On a large scale, the Federal government’s apology to the Chinese-Canadian community about the head tax is an example of how to exert concerted pressure over a long period of time to challenge racism. Organizations such as the Chinese Canadian National Council led the way in demanding for an apology and redress of the head tax. On a small scale give staff the opportunity to network and establish meaningful collaborations with community agencies that advocate on issues of racism and other forms of discrimination.

Five Good Resources

• The Colour of Democracy: Racism in Canadian Society. Henry, Tator, Mattis and Rees, Thompson, 1998.
• Canada’s Economic Apartheid. Grace-Edward Galabuzi, Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2006.
• Becoming an Ally: Breaking the Cycle of Oppression. Anne Bishop, Fernwood Publishing, 1994.
• Expanding the Circle: People Who Care About Ending Racism. Ann Curry-Stevens, Centre for Social Justice, 2005.
• Dancing on Live Embers: Challenging Racism in Organizations. Tina Lopes and Barb Thomas, Between the Lines, 2006.

All of us, in one way or another, are searching for our source of oxygen. Unlike on a plane, it’s not clearly described as this yellow mask hanging in front of you, so you have to search for it. I’d like to share my search for oxygen. Hopefully there are elements that you can use in your own life in your own quest for oxygen.

I believe that that need for renewal among leaders is made even more pressing today than at any other time in human history because of the accelerating pace of change. The rate of change is putting huge pressures on both material and human capacities in all segments of society, whether in the for-profit world or in the not-for-profit world.

I personally have been in a hurry from the time I was born. My parents laugh to this day as they say I was born with three teeth. My Uncle Vito used to say, “Rocco, he was in a hurry to eat! He came out with teeth. He was ready to go.” I was in a hurry to get through school, to become a VP, to buy the biggest house I could in Forest Hill and the best car I could. I was fortunate and things came my way; I was able to transfer academic success into business success. I thought that I pretty much had it made. I had all of the things I was supposed to have at a very young age.

But then I got a huge wake-up call. I was at Labatt’s at the time as senior vice-president. The CEO, Don, and I were visiting our board in Belgium as the company was about to go public. We had put some pieces in place that made that possible, which were going to make all of us very wealthy. So you can imagine the huge celebration. Don and I were to have breakfast the next morning. He died in his sleep of a massive coronary aged 44 – two sons in school with my son; we live around the corner from one another. The very first event in the house that he and his wife Linda had spent the last two and a half years renovating was the wake. It was absolutely life-altering.

I found myself incapable of staying at my job. The company wanted me to move to Belgium but I wasn’t prepared to move my family out of Canada; this was my home, this is where I intend to stay. But I wasn’t sure what I would do next, so I went travelling. I came back and the flesh being weaker than the spirit, I immediately got roped into yet another deal. I helped turn around a software company that was going bankrupt, and was then offered a whole bunch of opportunities to do the same again.

The thing about turnarounds is that they involve a lot of cutting, a lot of displacement of people, and a lot of broken dreams. While it may be an excellent way to make a living, it’s a horrible way to live. So I went on what I think of as my “real-life MBA”. I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

The Camino, in north-western Spain, is a thousand-plus year old Christian pilgrimage that began in the mid-800s when a hermit found the remains of St. James the Greater, the apostle of Christ and the first apostle to be martyred. St. James was beheaded and his body, legend has it, was spirited away to Spain and found by this hermit.

A chain of monasteries and fortresses was quickly built across the north of Spain to accommodate pilgrim travel to Santiago. This travel was sponsored by the church in Rome and by the Benedictine monks in Cluny, France. The monks were one of the most powerful forces in Catholicism in the Middle Ages and rallied Christendom to come and re-conquer Spain. The remains of St. James could not be allowed to fall under the evil Saracens since most of Spain at that time was controlled by the Moors.

The Camino de Santiago journey starts in different parts of Europe. There are four traditional starting places in France, for instance. I decided to do the Camino Francés, which is the route inside of Spain. It’s roughly 760 kilometres from the French border to Santiago. I decided to add the optional package of going to Finisterre which is another 100 kilometres to the Atlantic. You stay in monasteries and church basements and hostels along the way and meet the most extraordinary people. Most importantly, there is a chance to reflect in silence and quiet, something that, as a society, we have tremendous difficulty doing.

Out of this experience, I have distilled five good ideas.

1. Focus on the journey, not the destination

An interesting thing about the Camino de Santiago is that, unlike other major pilgrimages certainly in the Christian world, and like the Hajj in Islam, the journey is not overshadowed by the destination. When you do the pilgrimage to Rome or the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, it’s all about the destination; it’s about walking in the footsteps of Christ along the Via Dolorosa; it’s about seeing where the martyrs are buried in St. Peters. On the Camino de Santiago, it is all about the time that you spend getting there; it’s the thoughts, development, prayers, laughter and crying and the rest that you do in the journey. It’s very similar to what we do each and every day, whether in the for-profit or the not-for-profit world.

The one person who put this into huge relief for me was one of the fellow pilgrims that I met. His name was Jesus, a youth counsellor from Malaga. He had spent the better part of 18 years day in, day out counselling over 1,000 at-risk youth who had been abused themselves, abused substances, and abused others. He told me that he woke up one day and he couldn’t do his job anymore; he was just overwhelmed. He had started with the notion that he was going to eliminate the problem of at-risk youth in Malaga. In a contained area over a period of time, he and his organization, he thought, could do that. “Rocco, I couldn’t achieve that. I had nothing left to give.”

He had forgotten all of the lives that he had affected along the way. He’d forgotten the journey; he was only concerned about the destination. If he couldn’t get to the destination, if he couldn’t solve the problems for every youth in Malaga, it wasn’t enough for him. It was so amazing to meet him 500 kilometres later in another town – he was ready to go back to Malaga. He now recognized that the journey is every bit as important as the destination. The lives that he had saved and had an impact on were so powerful it helped to renew his energy as a leader. It is a lesson that you can overlook as you focus exclusively on the goal.

Goals are important, they’re necessary for forward motion, but they cannot overwhelm the sense of what you are doing on a day-to-day basis. This is absolutely critical to keep in mind.

2. A journey of one thousand kilometres begins with one step

My second idea is an old cliché and it’s a cliché for a reason as there is a powerful truth to it: the journey of a one thousand kilometres, or in my case, 900 kilometres, begins with one step. It’s good to have ambitious goals, but it’s easy to be overwhelmed by them as Jesus found with the “I’m going to eradicate it in Malaga”. By taking the problem and breaking it down into individual steps, it is incredible what we can and do achieve on a regular basis.

The distance of 900 kilometres is roughly the distance between Toronto and Quebec City. So if any one of us were to turn to our spouse or significant other and say, “Well, honey, I’m just going for a walk to Quebec City,” they’d think we were nuts. People don’t walk to Quebec City; they take a plane, a train, or a car. And yet, it can be achieved step by step by step. So break down those problems into manageable portions.

3. We need to let go of excess baggage in our lives

The third idea is drawn from two key symbols on the Camino: the backpack and stones. The backpack reminded me each and every day everything I owned in the world was on my back for 30 to 45 days. I met a man who started in Jerusalem and walked for five and half months through Jordan, Turkey and Greece — with his backpack. And each and every night, every pilgrim goes through a reassessment of what is in their backpack to determine what is actually necessary for the journey. There are some crazy examples of that.

I met a man who decided to cut the handle off of his hairbrush to save the four ounces. Along the way there are piles of clothing and people deciding, “I don’t need that fourth shirt. I don’t need that sixth pair of pants. I need what I’m wearing and a change of clothes because I have to wash from time to time. Beyond that I really don’t want any excess weight because that is not going to help me get where I want to go. In fact, it’s causing my blisters, it’s causing my pain.” We carry a lot of that material baggage with us. It was certainly a message for me who was wrapped up in wealth-creation at the time. But it is a lesson that all of us can revisit.

Beyond the backpack is the story of the stones. Two-thirds of the way across the Camino there is a wonderful place called the Cruz de Ferro, which is a large iron cross at the top of a hill. At the base of the cross is a massive cairn of pebbles and stones – thirty feet in diameter, 20 feet high, literally millions of pebbles and stones that vary from the tip of your pinky to four and five pound stones. Each one of these pebbles and stones have been carried by a pilgrim, in some cases hundreds if not thousands of kilometres. During the pilgrimage people consciously consider the mental baggage they are carrying. Some came from childhood, some unforgiveness, some act of contrition, some act of their own, some words said by a parent or friend or spouse who has held them back from fulfilling themselves as human beings.

Thoughtfully, the pilgrims spend the time leading up to the Cruz de Ferro working that pain into the stone. At the Cruz de Ferro they drop their stone and leave their pain with it. Each of us needs to learn to let go of that excess baggage – both mental and material – because it detracts from the energy that we need to lead.

4. Never underestimate the generosity of other people nor the pleasure from providing service to others

The fourth idea that I was reminded of time and time again over the course of the Camino is never to underestimate the generosity of other people nor the pleasure that can be received from giving service to others. Along the way, people literally come out of their homes to give pilgrims fruit and bread and water without asking for payment.

I met this one wonderful woman in a totally run-down town in the Meseta which is a very dry, poor part of northern Spain. If you can imagine Saskatchewan with less water, that is the Meseta. It’s miles and miles of heat, wheat and sore feet. There I met Gloria who provided me with food and water and directions to a building that I wanted to see. At the end of our meeting she said, “No, no. I don’t want any payment. When you get to Santiago pray for me. My name is Gloria.” So along the way you become a champion for these people.

Each and every one of you, each and every day, is a champion for the community that you represent and that you’re trying to serve. You are doing things that they cannot do for themselves. It is essential to understand it is not simply giving back but that you are also receiving so much. It is so important to reenergize your spirit to take on the challenges that you face.

I ended up going back a second time to do the Camino. Originally I had been inspired by a reporter from the Toronto Star who had written a story about the Camino and I contacted him. He had just talked to a couple, Harry and Mary Catherine Kimpton, who were going and that I might want to connect with them and spend the first couple of days on the Camino together. We tried to connect prior to leaving but were never able to.

When I returned from my first pilgrimage I went to see my friend at the Toronto Star and told him about what an amazing experience I had and asked how Harry and Mary Catherine had made out. He told me that on the fifth day out (this was during the 2002 World Cup and Spain had won a game that day) they were crossing the road and a young drunk driver hit and killed Mary Catherine right in front of Harry.

There’s a tradition in the Camino, that the church in Santiago gives a pilgrim a written blessing called the Compostela. In the Middle Ages wealthy people would employ “professional pilgrims” to buy an indulgence for them. Thankfully there is not a professional class of pilgrims anymore, but you are still able to get someone else’s name on the Compostela. I resolved to go back because Mary Catherine and Harry were very devout; I’m very much a lapsed Catholic. I think of myself as very spiritual, but not devout in the way that they were. I had the Compostela done in her name and brought it back to Harry. The pleasure I felt in seeing his reaction was greater than just about any other thing I’ve done in my entire life. It’s given me so much energy to move forward and to lead.

5. Being alone is not the same as being lonely

Finally, the fifth idea is one that we have a tremendous amount of difficulty dealing with in the West – the notion that being alone is not the same as being lonely. The only times I’ve ever been lonely in my life have been in crowds. I have never been lonely on my own because it takes being surrounded by people who you do not share any sort of commonality with to feel loneliness.

I did not go to the Camino for any specific spiritual exercise. But I did go to think about it. I was brought up in a very devout home and my favourite Psalm growing up was the one that begins, “Be still and know that I am God.” I spent a lot of time studying philosophy and, of course, Nietzsche was very famous for writing that God is dead. I know that Nietzsche got it wrong. It’s not that God is dead, but that in the West, stillness is under such attack that we have no time to touch the divine because we’re trying to get through an incredible cacophony of noise, change and distraction.

And yet, having that time walking — or as I did this summer, paddling for a long distance — gives you an incredible feeling that the West Coast Indians express so well. They believe and teach that a human being should never go faster than the speed they can walk or paddle, because if they do, they separate from their soul. Their spirit takes time to catch up and in that interval there’s disorientation, disease, illness, depression and loneliness. It is critical to have time when we sit back and are able to walk and move at a human pace, and to have a dialogue with ourselves. Whatever our sense of the divine is, it is incredibly powerful to renew our energy and our passion in order to be able to lead in the future. May you all be blessed.

Five Good Resources

• Man’s Search For Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl, Beacon Press, 2000.
• The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream, Paulo Coelho, Harper Collins, 2006.
• The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient Wisdom, Paulo Coelho, Harper Collins, 2000.
• My Camino, Sue Kenney, White Knight Publications, 2004.
• Desperado, The Eagles, CD, 1973.