Nonprofits are not often viewed as hotbeds of innovation. However, the seeds of creativity are alive and well. Two months ago, I talked about Hands On Greater Richmond (www.handsongreaterrichmond.org) as an innovative concept to match volunteers with volunteer opportunities. Here are several more examples where the innovation is in the financial arena – nonprofits that generate revenues, achieve economies of scale or invest innovatively – all in a quest to accomplish their mission.

Consider Bill Strickland, founder of the Manchester Craftsman’s Guild and the Bidwell Training Center in a poor neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Funded significantly through revenue raising ventures such as an annual Christmas CD performed by the great jazz musicians of our time, Bill has developed an incredible arts, education and workforce training facility. In his new book, Make the Impossible Possible, you can learn more about his incredible story (http://www.bill-strickland.org/about-Bill).

Also, check out Mimi Silbert, founder of the Delancey Street Foundation (http://www.delanceystreetfoundation.org/president.php), which helps felons get re-integrated into society by employing them productively. I heard Mimi speak in Denver some years ago, accompanied by two of her felons. She began by taking in some of these people and doing odd jobs, eventually realizing how good they were at moving heavy furniture. A variety of business ventures ensued, all successful, culminating in building out a wharf in San Francisco and developing several other programs around the country, employing thousands of felons each year.

In the Richmond community, Boaz and Ruth (http://www.boazandruth.com/) is engaging ex-prisoners in furniture restoration. Positive Vibe Café (http://www.positivevibecafe.com/) is training the physically disabled for the food service industry. And, Feed More, Inc. (http://www.feedmore.org/) is the merged successor to the successful Central Virginia Foodbank and the equally successful Meals on Wheels. Two feeding organizations building a shared kitchen facility…what a concept!

The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia (www.tcfrichmond.org) has been innovative with its investments. While our investment track record ranked among the best of foundations our size, we aspired to achieve rates of return similar to those of the big universities – Harvard, Yale, Stanford, University of Virginia or University of Richmond – which generally have exceeded our returns by 4% or more in all time periods. An extensive study of possibilities led us into a partnership with the University of Richmond, where we now co-invest with their endowment. Thus, we get the full diversification of their approximately 100 managers investing in many more asset classes than we previously could access. And, we get the same return they do, less a fee. Other nonprofits are now signing up to join this partnership, and smaller ones participate through agency endowment funds at The Community Foundation. The long-term benefit to our community should be tremendous…if, as they say, past performance proves indicative of the future.

It is the day before your board strategy session. The finance staff is polishing off statistics to answer the board’s questions. Are we financially sound? Are we operating within budget? How many people did we serve compared with prior years? How many of them are repeat users? How many newspaper articles and television stories have covered the organization’s work?

In her book, Change Your Questions, Change your life, Marilee Goldberg Adams argues that to a great extent the questions we ask of ourselves determine our behavior. What if we were to ask different questions? Would the end result be different?

I thought of Marilee’s book when I attended a conference in Richmond, Virginia today. Leslie Crutchfield, author of Forces for Good, conducted a three-hour seminar. Amid her excellent observations about the six habits of highly effective nonprofits, she noted the difference between outputs and outcomes. Are we really interested in how many people we served (an output)? Or, do we care more about whether we changed their lives for the better (an outcome)?

By way of example, is the best measure of a good food bank how much food they delivered? Or, should we be asking about the degree to which their overall efforts have reduced hunger in our community? Beyond what the food bank accomplishes, don’t we care about whether they are leveraging their own efforts by engaging other nonprofits, private industry and government to solve the problem of hunger?

In thinking about successful and measurable examples, my mind turns to the Richmond SPCA. Notably, when the Richmond SPCA developed its dynamic facility expansion in 2002, their measure of success transcended numbers of spay/neuters or adoptions that could be accomplished at the facility. Instead, they aspired to make Richmond a “no kill” community by 2008 (http://www.richmondspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=newplan). Robin Starr, CEO, frequently appears in the local media and in the halls of local government to influence public opinion and public policy, dramatically broadening the impact of the Richmond SPCA’s own work. Read Robin’s plan, cited above, and you will see what I mean.

As givers, are we asking the right questions? Are the charities we support making our community a better place? Do they have an expansive vision that inspires? Have they demonstrated they have the capacity to lead partners in nonprofits, private industry and government to accomplish their goals? And, if the answer to these questions is “yes,” then can we help them in more ways than just writing a check?

Change the questions; change the answers. Think about it. It’s a powerful concept.

How can I get my children to become givers? How can I get my grandchildren to engage together? How can I keep my family from splitting apart through multiple generations?

Family philanthropy provides a neat vehicle for answering these questions, but you have to go at it the right way. There are some issues on which everyone can agree, and there are some that are unique to each individual. A successful philanthropic plan encourages both togetherness and individuality.

A family fund at a community foundation, or a family foundation, can be very effective to get the generations working together toward a common goal. Stating the philanthropic vision clearly is important, and you have to get everyone to buy into it.

At the same time, it is useful for each child and grandchild to have a donor advised fund for his or her family. Separate funds provide a way for them to give individually outside the framework of the larger family’s shared interests, and they can begin to establish their own traditions for their children and grandchildren.

Community foundations are great venues to manage these giving vehicles not only because they have the technical expertise, but because their staffs have worked with many, many families in these situations. Most important, they have great ideas to bring to the table in a wide variety of charitable areas.

Labor Day marks for many of us the beginning of a new year. School is back in session tomorrow. The pace at work will pick up. Social engagements will abound. Charitable giving comes into center focus due to the upcoming end of the tax year. By planning ahead and having your giving vehicles ready, you can make the best use of your year-end giving not only for charities but for your family.

“Fundraising is war!” These words chilled the board members of a local nonprofit, as one of our community’s most celebrated philanthropists talked about getting ready for a capital campaign. Everyone needs to participate. Get on board, or get off the board. Ask, ask, ask!

From a nonprofit’s perspective, these words are rife with wisdom. I have led a staff through a capital campaign, and war is an apt metaphor. Intelligence is essential to determine who will be the most likely donors. Prospects are called in sequence to line up the campaign’s lead gifts, with calling teams strategically chosen to maximize results. Committees of community leaders are formed to broaden the campaign, and strategies such as selling bricks or naming seats are executed to get the smaller givers involved. Internal and external communications keep the troops well informed and highly motivated. Managing morale through the doldrums – that period between the initial success and the final push – takes pure guts.

From a giver’s perspective, however, he or she is turf. Something to be fought for and something to be won. A hill to be captured. Oh, the promises that will be made. The sweetness of the Siren’s song. I recall one campaign from my alma mater where I was “cultivated.” Visited by the President. Asked to host a function, which I did. Communicated with regularly. After I made my gift, I never heard another word. It was on to the next conquest.

“Buyer beware” has never been a more apt expression than referring to a giver during a capital campaign. It is critical for givers to focus clearly on their own priorities and to stand firm, lest they be swayed by a good pitch. The best gifts are when the donor’s objectives and the campaign’s objectives are a great fit. I worry about older people, who may have become fuzzy in their focus and may be swayed by sweet sounds of glorious promises.

If fundraising is war, then givers had best arm themselves with a clear vision and with the fortitude to say “no,” or to confidently and forcefully say “yes” when the cause and the timing are right. If turf is to be won, then let it always be held in friendly, honest hands.