December 2007 Partner Meeting

YES Meetings

Y.E.S. PROJECT
MINUTES OF MEETING
DECEMBER 11, 2007

The Y.E.S. meeting was held at the NIWHRC Annex from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Kim Poindexter was the guest speaker who gave us insight in working with the paper and preparing press releases. A traditional Christmas dinner of ham and turkey with all the trimmings was catered by Mary Kay’s Kitchen.

Old Business:
Heather is continually adding new materials to the www.yesproject.org website. Be sure to check it. We have added a press release from CASA, announcing their holiday fundraiser as well as an upcoming partner meeting in January, a “Save the Date” reminder for a poverty simulation, and links to the four resource documents discussed during the previous meeting’s “Management Minute.”

Reminder, if you need Tech Support for the free Fundraising Software which was distributed earlier, please call or email Robin for scheduling. Staff can be available after the first of the year.

New Business: The end of Year One Report is due December 31, 2007. The form can be found in your Memorandum of Understanding as Attachment A, pages 5 and 6.

Pam Moore presented an innovative fundraising idea. The idea is to build a quilt that depicts a meaningful building in your community such as the old Cherokee Courthouse. You can sell advertising brick-by-brick rather than selling raffle tickets for $1.00 each which is usually not a large return. For example, a company may buy the tower for $5,000 while the front steps may net $1,000. Pam asked the Partners to look at fundraising differently this year and to use the funds wisely since this is a one-time project.

Guest Speaker, Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah Daily Press

Kim explained how newspapers operate and what the media is facing. She explained that the bigger newspapers lose touch with the local news and it’s all about the local news. The newspapers need our help. They are short staffed, under paid, and watching the profit margin for the owners. It is up to you to give yourself what you want. Write and prepare the press release that you want printed, complete with photos.

Basic rules:
- Don’t call if it’s not local; stick with news within your county.
- Don’t call and ask for the head honcho; call and ask for the newsroom clerk or press release person.
- The paper does not charge for press release; they will not pay for press releases.
- Sending an e-mail is not the best transmittal method until you are established with the paper.
- Don’t come unannounced; make an appointment to speak with someone.
- They do like press kits. Press kits are good public relations - they explain things. Example: NSU Riverhawks baskets to promote the new mascot. Logo items must have a value under $500.00.
- Use the correct format; most papers use Apple computers, not Microsoft. This means that they do not use Word. Call and ask what image file type and image color mode they prefer (RGB, JPG.) It is best to paste your information into the e-mail instead of sending an attachment.
- Get to know the reporter you’re talking to. Introduce yourself, who you’re with, etc.
- You have to be willing to take your own photos; most schools have better cameras than the paper.
- Familiarize yourself with the paper’s deadline. Don’t ask to run something on a certain date. Articles get “buried” in the big editions such as the Sunday and Wednesday editions.
- Follow-up with phone calls to the clerk to see if your press release was received.
- Know your target audience. (Readers in the Tahlequah area are in their late 40’s; the average age is 63.)

Pam interjected, capacity building is having or creating the image that you are an important organization and deserving of donations. Image should be a part of your capacity building. A well established relationship with the local print media is primary in development of image.

- It is the paper’s job to help you and get the information out to the public.
- Pull the heartstrings; people will respond.
- Write to the 4th grade level; don’t use big words.
- Add detail; what’s in it for them: fun, live bands, event, etc.
- The more pictures, the better. Show the kids preparing for the bean dinner, don’t just write you’re having a bean dinner xx date. If you’re raising funds for a child with cancer write child with cancer diagnosed 2 years ago; hospitalized 5 times, . . . add the detail.
- Familiarize yourself with the equipment the paper has.
- Add a subject line; use Associated Press (AP) style. Obtain a AP style book.
- Don’t initial capitalize everything nor bold, underline, use italics or exclamation points.
- Use the 4 W’s and H: Who, What, When, Where and How. Put the most important news at the top. In numbers everything over ten should be spelled out.
- If you can’t read out loud in one breath – it’s too long.
- It is correct to say Boys & Girls Club is having a bean dinner; not There is going to be a bean dinner by the Boys & Girls Club.
- Use correction punctuation and grammar; periods and commas always go inside quotation marks.
- Use active verbs-not superlatives
- Don’t toot the horn of some business. You have to pay for ads to thank someone. (I want to thank Reasor’s for donating . . .)
- Always run spell check, however, don’t rely solely on it.

Pam Iron, National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center (NIWHRC), did a Management Moment on information she recently learned from the Sarkeys Foundation.

- The new buzz word is strategic “thinking” rather than strategic planning. It is now recommended to plan out 3-5 years instead of 10 years due to environmental (electronic) changes.
- Adopt and use a consensus agenda. There is where the board agrees to all 3 items on the agenda at once. You don’t waste mundane time on approving individual items.
- Succession planning – how long do you as the Executive Director plan on staying onboard? This is something the Board does – not the Executive Director who is leaving.
- 990 Review – make sure the 990 reflects the organization. Keep in mind Guide Star can be reviewed by anyone; especially prospective donors. This is an opportunity to educate donors about your work and its importance.

- Good Governance Practices for 501(c)(3) Organizations. There are nine recommendations from the IRS for effective management, they are:
1. Have a clear and concise mission statement.
2. Establish/adopt a code of ethics and a whistleblower policy and protocol.
3. Board members should be fully informed about the organization and should exercise due diligence in decision making and always represent the organization’s best interests.
4. All staff and directors owe a duty of loyalty to the organization. Conflicts of interest should be reported from the beginning and there should be written procedures governing the disclosure and actions dealing with conflict of interest.
5. Charitable organizations should be transparent in all of their business and transactions.
6. Charitable organizations should keep their fundraising costs reasonable and should refrain from using paid, professional fundraisers.
7. Audits should occur annually and auditing firms should be changed every five years or so.
8. Staff should receive reasonable compensation.
9. Charitable organizations should retain documents for a period no less than seven years or as provided for by the IRS Publication 4221 on document retention.

There was a discussion on compliance for 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations regarding Charitable Organization Registration in Oklahoma. If you solicit or get non-government funds, in Oklahoma you must register.

Upon researching, an organization is exempt “. . . which collects from charitable solicitations less than $10,000.00 per year.” For complete information and instructions, please see the complete form available here and/or in the Resources section of the website. (Note: To view this form, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This is a free download from the Adobe website, located here.)

Lastly, Debi Bear commented on Pam Moore’s presentation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Debi was surprised to see Pam at the conference and said her presentation was very professional and well done. Way to go, Pam!



YES Meetings December 2006 Meeting February 2007 Meeting Building a Safer Future Post Award Conference, July 2007 November 2007 Meeting December 2007 Meeting January 2008 Meeting Y.E.S. PROJECT MINUTES OF MEETING DECEMBER 11, 2007 The Y.E.S. meeting was held at the NIWHRC Annex from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Kim Poindexter was the guest speaker who gave us insight in working with the paper and preparing press releases. A traditional Christmas dinner of ham and turkey with all the trimmings was catered by Mary Kay’s Kitchen. Old Business: Heather is continually adding new materials to the www.yesproject.org website. Be sure to check it. We have added a press release from CASA, announcing their holiday fundraiser as well as an upcoming partner meeting in January, a “Save the Date” reminder for a poverty simulation, and links to the four resource documents discussed during the previous meeting’s “Management Minute.” Reminder, if you need Tech Support for the free Fundraising Software which was distributed earlier, please call or email Robin for scheduling. Staff can be available after the first of the year. New Business: The end of Year One Report is due December 31, 2007. The form can be found in your Memorandum of Understanding as Attachment A, pages 5 and 6. Pam Moore presented an innovative fundraising idea. The idea is to build a quilt that depicts a meaningful building in your community such as the old Cherokee Courthouse. You can sell advertising brick-by-brick rather than selling raffle tickets for $1.00 each which is usually not a large return. For example, a company may buy the tower for $5,000 while the front steps may net $1,000. Pam asked the Partners to look at fundraising differently this year and to use the funds wisely since this is a one-time project. Guest Speaker, Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah Daily Press Kim explained how newspapers operate and what the media is facing. She explained that the bigger newspapers lose touch with the local news and it’s all about the local news. The newspapers need our help. They are short staffed, under paid, and watching the profit margin for the owners. It is up to you to give yourself what you want. Write and prepare the press release that you want printed, complete with photos. Basic rules: - Don’t call if it’s not local; stick with news within your county. - Don’t call and ask for the head honcho; call and ask for the newsroom clerk or press release person. - The paper does not charge for press release; they will not pay for press releases. - Sending an e-mail is not the best transmittal method until you are established with the paper. - Don’t come unannounced; make an appointment to speak with someone. - They do like press kits. Press kits are good public relations - they explain things. Example: NSU Riverhawks baskets to promote the new mascot. Logo items must have a value under $500.00. - Use the correct format; most papers use Apple computers, not Microsoft. This means that they do not use Word. Call and ask what image file type and image color mode they prefer (RGB, JPG.) It is best to paste your information into the e-mail instead of sending an attachment. - Get to know the reporter you’re talking to. Introduce yourself, who you’re with, etc. - You have to be willing to take your own photos; most schools have better cameras than the paper. - Familiarize yourself with the paper’s deadline. Don’t ask to run something on a certain date. Articles get “buried” in the big editions such as the Sunday and Wednesday editions. - Follow-up with phone calls to the clerk to see if your press release was received. - Know your target audience. (Readers in the Tahlequah area are in their late 40’s; the average age is 63.) Pam interjected, capacity building is having or creating the image that you are an important organization and deserving of donations. Image should be a part of your capacity building. A well established relationship with the local print media is primary in development of image. - It is the paper’s job to help you and get the information out to the public. - Pull the heartstrings; people will respond. - Write to the 4th grade level; don’t use big words. - Add detail; what’s in it for them: fun, live bands, event, etc. - The more pictures, the better. Show the kids preparing for the bean dinner, don’t just write you’re having a bean dinner xx date. If you’re raising funds for a child with cancer write child with cancer diagnosed 2 years ago; hospitalized 5 times, . . . add the detail. - Familiarize yourself with the equipment the paper has. - Add a subject line; use Associated Press (AP) style. Obtain a AP style book. - Don’t initial capitalize everything nor bold, underline, use italics or exclamation points. - Use the 4 W’s and H: Who, What, When, Where and How. Put the most important news at the top. In numbers everything over ten should be spelled out. - If you can’t read out loud in one breath – it’s too long. - It is correct to say Boys & Girls Club is having a bean dinner; not There is going to be a bean dinner by the Boys & Girls Club. - Use correction punctuation and grammar; periods and commas always go inside quotation marks. - Use active verbs-not superlatives - Don’t toot the horn of some business. You have to pay for ads to thank someone. (I want to thank Reasor’s for donating . . .) - Always run spell check, however, don’t rely solely on it. Pam Iron, National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center (NIWHRC), did a Management Moment on information she recently learned from the Sarkeys Foundation. - The new buzz word is strategic “thinking” rather than strategic planning. It is now recommended to plan out 3-5 years instead of 10 years due to environmental (electronic) changes. - Adopt and use a consensus agenda. There is where the board agrees to all 3 items on the agenda at once. You don’t waste mundane time on approving individual items. - Succession planning – how long do you as the Executive Director plan on staying onboard? This is something the Board does – not the Executive Director who is leaving. - 990 Review – make sure the 990 reflects the organization. Keep in mind Guide Star can be reviewed by anyone; especially prospective donors. This is an opportunity to educate donors about your work and its importance. - Good Governance Practices for 501(c)(3) Organizations. There are nine recommendations from the IRS for effective management, they are: 1. Have a clear and concise mission statement. 2. Establish/adopt a code of ethics and a whistleblower policy and protocol. 3. Board members should be fully informed about the organization and should exercise due diligence in decision making and always represent the organization’s best interests. 4. All staff and directors owe a duty of loyalty to the organization. Conflicts of interest should be reported from the beginning and there should be written procedures governing the disclosure and actions dealing with conflict of interest. 5. Charitable organizations should be transparent in all of their business and transactions. 6. Charitable organizations should keep their fundraising costs reasonable and should refrain from using paid, professional fundraisers. 7. Audits should occur annually and auditing firms should be changed every five years or so. 8. Staff should receive reasonable compensation. 9. Charitable organizations should retain documents for a period no less than seven years or as provided for by the IRS Publication 4221 on document retention. There was a discussion on compliance for 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations regarding Charitable Organization Registration in Oklahoma. If you solicit or get non-government funds, in Oklahoma you must register. Upon researching, an organization is exempt “. . . which collects from charitable solicitations less than $10,000.00 per year.” For complete information and instructions, please see the complete form available here and/or in the Resources section of the website. (Note: To view this form, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This is a free download from the Adobe website, located here.) Lastly, Debi Bear commented on Pam Moore’s presentation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Debi was surprised to see Pam at the conference and said her presentation was very professional and well done. Way to go, Pam!