Oakland Chamber Non-Profit Roundtable – January 15, 2013

At its January 15 meeting, the Oakland Chamber Non-Profit Roundtable put its best foot forward by discussing opportunities and ways to achieve success in the new year.

 

In the empowered introduction, attendees talked about planning and results, sharing the various bits of wisdom learned. This wisdom included: 1) asking for help when needed; 2) partnering is mutually beneficial; 3) don’t leave things to the last minute; and 4) breathe.

Oakland Chamber VP & Director of Public Policy Paul Junge shared ways that members can network with their Chamber peers by participating in the great variety of committees, meetings and activities the Chamber hosts monthly – from joining the Ambassador Committee (the “meet and greet” leaders of the Chamber) to attending the monthly new member breakfast or Economic Development Forum. He noted that much of what the Chamber does is determined by its members needs.

Andrew Thompson, a financial planner at Merrill Lynch (www.fa.ml.com/athompson), shared planning tips: 1) the most important part of planning is the plan; 2) develop a solid vision of what is wanted; 3) coordinate the action and be flexible with planning; 4) adjust what is not working; and 4) while visions, missions and dedication are great, a solid financial plan is just as important to see them to fruition. If a person has clear goals of what is wanted, the how to achieve those goals will become more clear over time.

Following Thompson, Roundtable Co-chair Jerry Metzker, the Development & Marketing Manager of Biotech Partners (www.biotechpartners.org), led the attendees through a fundraising/outreach planning session, noting that the basic way to achievement is set a specific number of goals, both qualitative and quantitative, recommending five maximum. “I always begin with the most obvious,” he explained, “meeting the budget.” In this interactive exercise, the participants shared a variety of goals and then listed fixed monthly activities on the calendar, such as events, grant proposal deadlines, report deadlines and fundraisers. Then the group looked for places where new activities could fit in—without, Metzker noted, being overtaxing. “And,” he emphasized, “make sure you fit in your vacation!” He added that it is important to connect your activities to your goals. The final recommendation in the exercise is to determine a personal management theme, such as “Write a daily task list” or “Slow down.”

Roundtable Co-chair Âna-Marie Jones, Executive Director of CARD - Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters  (www.CARDcanhelp.org) concluded the afternoon meeting by sharing a simple yet encompassing planning exercise for teams. In the exercise, Jones handed out blank post-it notes to everyone attending. Then she devised an emergency situation and asked everyone to write on a post-it the first thing one should do in that situation. Then write down one thing to do five minutes into the situation. Then write down one thing to do to conclude the situation. She collected the post-it notes and placed them on a board at the front of the room. The group determined that some ideas were viable, some less so, but the person ultimately responsible for planning now has many good ideas to work with, and has learned more about the team. By inviting everyone to participate, Jones noted, everyone is more vested in achieving success, even if an individual’s ideas are not used. She noted that while it is true that not everyone’s opinions or experiences carry equal weight in many discussions, everyone has a perspective, it’s great to encourage thinking, and in a supportive group environment, collaborators tend to bring out the better and smarter in each other.

Setting goals, remembering successful achievements, writing plans and involving everyone--the attendees of this particular meeting left armed and ready to prosper in 2013.

 

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The next Oakland Chamber Non-Profit Roundtable meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, from 2:30-4:30pm in the Chamber Boardroom. All chamber members and non-profit organizations interested in networking are welcome.

Contacts:

Co-Chair Âna-Marie Jones, Executive Director of CARD (AMJ@CARDcanhelp.org)

Co-Chair Jerry Metzker, Development & Marketing Manager of Biotech Partners (jerry.metzker@bayer.com)

Chamber Liaison Brandon Brooks, Membership Representative (bbrooks@oaklandchamber.com)