New Year Brings New Opportunity from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program Office

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On Monday, January 3, 2011, the application period opens for the 2010 FEMA Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S) Grant program. All applications must be received by Friday, February 4, 2011.

What fire prevention education and safety needs and trends exist in your community or region? 

What organizations with interests similar to you could you work with on such a project? 

If your answers to the above questions are strong, you might consider submitting an FP&S application. Like other Assistant to Firefighters (AFG) programs, it's important to remember the following in preparing your application:

1. Avoid the use of brand names or company names in preparing your application. This leaves the impression that your purchase would be a foregone conclusion without following the federal bid requirements of the program.

2. Pay extra careful attention to the answers to your profile questions. These are used to automatically generate a portion of your application score.

3. The most concise and precise your narrative can be the better. Try preparing no more than half of the allowed narrative length.

Full, detailed grant program guidance may be found here.

Example success stories from previous award recipients in this category may be found here.

A list of frequently asked questions for FP&S may be found here.

FlashPoint Fundraising offers hourly fee/fixed cost services for preparing your FP&S grant application. No percentages apply to FlashPoint services. Contact us for a quote on your FP&S needs today.

What One Thing: An Exercise for an Even Better 2011

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As 2011 approaches, a short exercise can help make your fundraising efforts even better in the coming year:

1. Review your 2011 budget with a focus on planned purchases and expected fundraising activities.

2. What one thing does your department most need in 2011 for a safer and more prepared response to whatever the 911 call brings?

3. How will this one thing result in better training, more thorough response, safer victims or safer members? 

4. How can you enhance communication on the impact of this one thing at your planned community meal or other fundraising activity? 

5. If your one thing hasn't yet been budgeted for in 2011, what fundraising activities could you add to meet this unfunded need?

FlashPoint Fundraising offers a free one hour consultation to help you address these questions. Contact us today to start making your 2011 fundraising even better! 

FlashPoint Fundraising wishes you a safe and personally rewarding 2011. Thanks for all you do!

A Holiday Thank You

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This Christmas holiday week means people everywhere are traveling and looking forward to gathering with loved ones to celebrate. 

For every firefighter, the holidays simply bring additional scenarios to what's always required: the willingness to stop whatever you're doing, drop what had been the current agenda and roll into responding to whatever the 911 call brings. 

Yes, one of the cornerstones of youth fire safety education is also a cornerstone of the spirit of the Fire Service. 


Throughout 2010, every time you and your family stopped and dropped your current agenda to roll in response to the 911 call, you made a forever impact on an massive immediate need. Even in the calls that turned out to be not as much, you were still there, just in case. Thank you!


You will continue to focus on whatever the 911 call brings throughout 2011. Thank you! 

You see your stop, drop and roll response to the 911 call as part of the job. You and your fellow members have trained relentlessly for as many eventualities as possible. For your grateful patients and service recipients, you are the link from their immediate chaos back towards a controlled reality. 


You make our communities stronger through your holiday and year round commitment to stop, drop and roll. Thank you for the forever impact you make in your department and your community!

Study Illustrates the Potential of Holiday Charitable Giving

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The recently released Liberty Mutual 2010 Responsible Giving Survey of 1,000 nationwide adults illustrates future potential for holiday giving to your department. Among the highlights of the survey are:

1. 81% appreciate charitable donations given on their behalf in lieu of a physical gift.

2. 74% would volunteer their time to charity as a gift if they knew others would value this non-traditional giving.

3. 55% believe it is more responsible to make a donation to charity on behalf of someone than to purchase a gift for them.

You may learn more about the Liberty Mutual Responsibility Project here. 

How can you apply these insights to your department?

1. Starting in November, use your existing communication vehicles to make sure those closest to your department know they have the option of making a holiday gift in honor of or in memory of someone. Announce this option at a membership meeting. Provide clear information on how the gift will be used.

2. When you are blessed enough to receive such a gift, provide a physical letter or note of appreciation back to the donor. If the donor would like, provide the same information to the person the gift honors. 

3. Consider how you might use the holiday season to appeal to the community on the forever impact they can have if they become a member of your department. You can find a seven minute recruiting video example from the Greenwich Fire Department here. 

What holiday giving success stories do you have to share from your department? Share them in the comments below.

Women Connected to Your Department: Limitless Potential

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The role of women in most fire departments continues to expand. Congratulations to everyone on this progress!

As an October 2010 study from the University of Indiana Center on Philanthropy illustrates, the role of women in making donations to worthwhile nonprofits like yours offers limitless potential. The study analyzed the giving habits of 8,000 single-headed US households.

A couple highlights of the report: 

1. Across income levels, women give more frequently and at higher amounts to charity than men in similar circumstances. The higher the income level, the higher the gap between female and male donations.

2. Women generally spread out their donation to more charities where men tend to focus on gifts to a smaller total number of nonprofits. 

3.  Community causes are the second highest charitable sector women are more likely to donate to than men.

You may download the entire University of Indiana report at this link.

Other previously-released studies have reinforced the significant impact women have on the giving decisions made by couples. 

What lessons can you apply from this report to your fundraising efforts?

1. Women-headed households are absolutely worthy prospects for increasing your donor base with entry-level gifts for your department's fundraising campaign.

2. Never overlook using the full preferred names of the women in the households who donate to your critical public safety efforts. The listing on a check or the information entered in an online donation form are great places to verify this information. 

3. Your current or previous women donors may be a source of volunteer support for your department. If serving as a member isn't a fit, you may offer a fit for women to help in caring for and staying in touch with your existing donors.

For a more direct commentary on this topic, visit a blog from Tony Martignetti here. 

Looking for assistance in crafting your fundraising message for 2011? Contact FlashPoint Fundraising today to discuss communications services that clearly and concisely demonstrate your department's incredible impact on your community.

Planting a Tree That Provides Shade for Future Public Safety Needs

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Remember how you felt when you learned a grateful patient, victim, volunteer or community member remembered you in their will? Their legacy of support for public service lives on through your work. You were able to strengthen your department's operations with their incredible gift.  

Ever wonder how much more good you could do if more people were aware of their opportunity to forever impact your mission? LEAVE A LEGACY Iowa ^® shares your interest in this approach. 

In many cases, charitable estate bequests will remain the knowledge of the donor and his or her professional advisors until after his or her passing. Professional advisors play critical roles in helping donors balance charitable intent with family, business and other needs and desires of the client.

In a few cases, professional advisors may contact your department to work with you on bequest language and ensure any restrictions a donor may place on a gift are honored. If this happens, be sure to honor and recognize or respect the anonymity of the donor exactly as he or she desires.

You may be inspired by the video public service announcement from LEAVE A LEGACY Iowa^® here.  

LEAVE A LEGACY^® is a collaborative effort of people in the nonprofit community and professional advisors in Iowa and border communities. The project's volunteers include charitable development officers, directors of charities, attorneys, financial planners, accountants and others.

  
Your department can become a partner in LEAVE A LEGACY Iowa^® for as little as $150 a year. Your partnership investment includes being listed as an option among a strong statewide network of those most involved in estate planning. For more details on becoming a partner, click here.   

Blessed be the continued legacy of those who keep their favorite nonprofits nonprofits moving forward through their estate planning gifts. 

A Thanksgiving Lamp Oil Challenge

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Note: These remarks were adapted from remarks I gave at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Eastern Iowa Chapter National Philanthropy Day event on Thursday, November 18 in Cedar Rapids. For the full program and details on the inspiring event honorees, click here. 

It’s truly poetic that nationwide National Philanthropy Day events and the United States Thanksgiving holiday happen so close together.  

This Thanksgiving, I offer deep & abiding gratitude for all that you do. You continually train and interrupt your own lives to spring into action when someone else has their time of greatest need when they make a 911 call.

Mother Theresa once said, “To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil into it.” It is my hope that this Thanksgiving gives you a little inspirational oil to keep doing the amazing work you are doing.

Whether you're at home with your family, on duty at the station or out on a call, you might wonder how to keep the holiday magic, the attitude of gratitude going. Is there a way to all of us offer a little more lamp oil for our journeys, if you will?

In that vein, I offer a challenge for all of us. Take some time to reflect on the loved and admired ones  in your life who have inspired your own journey of giving to the Fire Service and everything you do. Who taught you by example the impact and joy of reaching out to the world around you? 

Between now and the end of this month, chose at least one of those who have inspired you to focus your gratitude. Pick up the phone. Write a note. If you can, schedule a visit.

Make sure your loved and admired one knows how they have inspired you. Remind them they are an important part of the legacy of passing on the infinite goodness and potential that exists in our world. 

In some cases, this reflection, as many of our honorees mentioned, may bring an opportunity to again appreciate those loved and admired who have gone on before us. I pray that in those cases, you feel only gratitude for how their legacy lives on in your life.

If it works for you to try the Thanksgiving Lamp Oil challenge, would love to hear more about how it works for you through the comments below. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Think Forward & Backup: Disaster Planning for Your Electronic Records

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You and your department practice dozens of potential emergency scenarios you might face when the 911 call comes during your regular training. Have you applied the same level of preparedness to your disaster planning for your department's electronic records?

If you're blessed with a detail-orientated volunteer, you probably have a spreadsheet that includes the basic history of the donors who have written you checks at your fundraising meal or through your direct mail campaign for years. What valuable information for your ongoing fundraising efforts!

In addition to fundraising records, the call reports, training materials and everything used electronically in your operations should be backed up off-site in the event of a computer crash or disaster at your department.

Services keep your data secure and ensure your information is available for restoration whenever you might need it. The two most widely used online backup services are:

1. Carbonite

2. Mozy

There are options available from each serve for single and multiple computer/computer server backups.  There are unlimited backup and size limited options. A brief installation and setup process is required. Free trials are available. You may hear offer codes in various forms of advertising to enter when purchasing the service online. 

When setting up the service, if you receive a prompt about letting the online service manage your encryption key for you, this is a good option to select. If you have videos as part of your electronic records, you may need to manually select these for backup in addition to the process that automatically takes place when you activate the service. An always-on Internet connection is required.

Any stories about backing up or lost records at your department you'd like to share? Please comment below.

Two Upcoming Resource Events Regarding Nonprofit Status

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The Internal Revenue Service is offering two upcoming seminars that may be of benefit to your department or association if you are currently a 501 (c) (3), have applied to become one or are considering doing so:

1. A Starting Off Right webinar designed for new and potential 501 (c) (3) organizations is scheduled for Thursday, November 18 at 1 p.m. Central time. This webinar will cover:

• Doing what you said you would – meeting your organization’s “operational test”
• Five ways to avoid jeopardizing your 501(c)(3) status.
• Annual filing requirements for exempt organizations
• What records should your organization maintain?
• Tools you can use for tax compliance as your organization grows

To register for this webinar, visit the link below:

http://www.visualwebcaster.com/IRS/72679/reg.asp?id=72679

2. An Organizational Records phone conference repeated several times on Wednesday, December 1 will cover:

• Why books and records are necessary
• How the IRS defines books and records
• What specific types of records are needed and
• How books and records should be maintained 

You may setup a free teleconference profile using this link or contact  nationalphoneforum@irs.gov if you have any problems registering.

FlashPoint offers project management services to help complete your IRS 501 c 3 application and assist you with any questions that come up after submission. Contact us today for a customized quote.

A Tool for Your Management Belt: 365 Volunteer Ideas

• Does your department have as many volunteers as you need? 
• Do you have an ideal response level to each call? 
• Are all of your volunteers passionate, energized and positive at all times?
• Does trying to positively impact volunteers seem like too much of an afterthought? 

If any of the above don't happen to be 100% true for you, 365 Ideas for Recruiting, Retaining, Motivating and Rewarding Your Volunteers by Sunny Fader (Amazon Affiliate link) may be a worthwhile investment for your department as you look towards 2011. 

 

This book is available in print and Kindle editions. 

Volunteers are amazing human beings who give freely of their valuable time. Fire department volunteers are a special breed who sacrifice sleep and train relentlessly to be there for others and their community during their times of emergency. Volunteer management can also feel like shoveling fog into a bucket sometimes. 

If new ideas, suggestions and approaches seem in short supply for making your volunteers' experience even better, I recommend adding this book your management tool belt. 

 What's working well for volunteer management in your department? Share your thoughts below.

Simple Acts Can Have Forever Impact With Your Donors

My husband and I recently decided to make a charitable gift in honor of the week our dog spent at his parents' house while we took a vacation. We tried a new charity this year for the gift in their honor, Little Paws Dog Rescue. Little Paws is where we adopted our dog from. Animal charities are also near and dear to my in-laws' hearts. 

Within three days of mailing the check, we received the note above in the mail. Kim is the founder of Little Paws. Her 5-10 minutes spent preparing this thank you note had a forever impact on our plans for future gifts to the organization. Kim offered clear impact information: out gift helped  a heart-worm positive dog staying with a volunteer foster family. In the same envelope was a small receipt we could easily add to our tax paperwork.

Last year when we went on vacation, we made a gift to another nonprofit close to their hearts to say thank you for dog-sitting . The check we wrote last year was promptly cashed by the charity. After that, our interest in their organization was apparently important enough to them to become lost in a black hole of no more communication. The request we made to have an acknowledgment of the gift sent to my in-laws was ignored. Eleven months after the fact, we have no idea what is going on with the nonprofit we made an investment in.

Guess which of the two organizations we will be making gifts to in the future?

Little Paws understands an existing donor is an organizational asset worth investing time and effort in to show appreciation. 

If you don't have them already, I strongly recommend investing in note cards or postcards with your department's logo. Give them to a volunteer or volunteer's spouse particularly good with following through on details. 

Some gifts may come to you completely unsolicited-what an honor! Some gifts may come to you through your annual meal at the fire station. Some gifts may come through your direct mail campaign. However they arrive, promptly and specifically thanking the donor is one of the best investments you can make in furthering your incredible mission. 

What's working well at your department in terms of showing appreciation to your donors? Please comment below. 

An Attitude of Gratitude: Outreach Ideas for Your Department

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With Thanksgiving just over five weeks away, now is a great time to think about how you can apply an attitude of gratitude to your department's overall outreach.

With Christmas/holiday cards, wishes and gifts coming in multiples each day in December, why not distinguish yourself by utilizing Thanksgiving to thank those who have strengthened you during 2010? 

A few ideas you might start working on now to apply an attitude of gratitude to this Thanksgiving and strengthen your fundraising efforts and overall operations in 2011 in the process:

1. Have your officers personally sign a Thanksgiving card for each of your volunteers. Include at least compliment for the volunteer on something they've done well with the department in 2010.
2. Prepare a note for each volunteer's spouse or significant other in recognition of the important role they play in supporting their loved one through missed meals and more. 
3. Prepare a note for the direct employment supervisor of each of your volunteers to state how grateful you are for the difference their team member makes in the community. 
4. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, gather a few volunteers at the station and call your biggest supporters for the year, just to say thank you. Leaving a voice mail is just fine.
5. Send a postcard or Thanksgiving card to your donors for the year letting them know specifically what you've been able to accomplish because of their support. Be sure to include your significant in-kind donors like the business that donated the meat for your pancake breakfast. Consider adding your City Council and/or Fire Board members to this outreach. 

FlashPoint offers communication services to assist in crafting these messages if you would like. Contact us today for more details.
What's working for your department in terms of sharing your attitude of gratitude?

What Moves Donors' Windmills in Rural Areas?

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The Association of Fundraising Professionals recently discussed a Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University study the differences between rural and urban fundraising in their September/October member magazine. For purposes of this study, rural fundraising was defined as anyone living in communities with populations of 20,000 or less.  More than 8,000 households particulate in this long term study.

Think it's hard to raise funds in rural communities? This study is filled with hope for your fundraising efforts! Findings of note include:

1. On average, rural donors contributed 3% of their income to charity. This is higher than than the 2.6% contributed by their urban counterparts.

2. Rural donors were more likely than urban donors to report being motivated to donate because of their values. 

3. Rural donors were more likely than urban donors to report they would give more to charity if they knew more information to confirm the group furthers a cause they care about. 

4. Rural residents who have attended college, are married and who itemize deductions are among the most likely donors to secular causes. 

What does this mean for your rural fundraising?

1. Despite research, a focus on those who are naturally connected to your cause is still the highest and best use of your fundraising resources.

2. If married couples are part of your fundraising outreach, be sure to address both spouses by their preferred name, instead of just addressing the man of the household. Since women have the highest giving tendencies of tender, basic donor connection starts with addressingg them by name.

3. Consider fundraising messages that appeal to your community members' sense of helping those less fortunate,  giving back based on being a grateful service recipient, and religious beliefs.

4. Consider what additional clear, concise information you can provide your community to show how your efforts towards a safer community match with your donors or potential donor's "cause they care about."

What trends are you finding in your rural communities? Share your comments below.

Your Unique Position: A Focal Point for Enhancing Your Fundraising Communications

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Significant dialog continues in the nonprofit community on how the more than 1.2 million 501 (c) 3 organizations in the United States might compliment and collaborate more. Competition isn't necessarily a positive force for nonprofit work when program overlap exists in a community. 

The case for support of a your department's mission work is strengthened by your unique position. Your immediate response to the 911 calls during times of greatest need for your residents and guests is, by and large, not duplicated. 

What other nonprofit in your community is equipped to provide firefighting services, auto extrication, storm watch, gas leak response, medical first response, and all the other types of calls you face in a given year?

Pull a copy of your department's fundraising and general community communications. How well have you reinforced your unique position to respond to community emergencies? 

The next time you write your direct mail letter, grant application or other fundraising communication, the time invested in explaining your unique position will yield a positive impact for your department. 

To discuss how to start your fundraising communications with a case statement that clearly and concisely quantifies your community impact, contact FlashPoint Fundraising today.

Fundraising Special Events: A Line in the Sand for Analysis

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Have you found a way to add 24 hours to each day? If so, your department probably doesn't struggle with the need to balance volunteer training and call demands with the time it takes to pull off a fundraising special event.

Independent Sector is a leading national organization that uses research and multiple sources to quantify the value of volunteer time. According to Volunteering in America, the state of Iowa ranks second in the nation for overall rate of volunteerism among its entire population.

When reviewing the Volunteer Sector data, $12 an hour represents the low end of the value scale for the various types of activities volunteers do every day to keep nonprofits moving forward. I feel this is a great line in the sand to draw in terms of analyzing your special event(s). Steps to take:

1. Make a list of your department's special event(s). 

2. Make your best estimate of the total  number of volunteer hours devoted to making the special event a reality. 

3. Divide the net proceeds from your special events by the total number of volunteer hours.

4. If that number is less than $12/hour, your time may be better spent on other fundraising activities. Ideas for such other activities will be discussed in future blogs.

What's working for your department in terms of special events with a net benefit to your mission greater than $12 when you get through #4 above? Add your thoughts to the comments section below.

Breaks Happen: An Opportunity to Build Stronger Community Connections

While serving your public safety mission, breaks in public trust and confidence in your department happen. In their own ways, each break is painful for everyone involved.

Perhaps one of your members didn't behave respectfully on a call or out in public. Perhaps a resident reacted emotionally to traffic being impacted while you addressed a victim's need in a car accident. The list of potential sources for breaks in public trust and confidence could go on and on. 

When was the last time you looked at those breaks as the doctor did in the above collar bone break - as an opportunity to build stronger community connections?

Think of one situation in your department you think represents a "break" for your mission. Maybe it's between members. Maybe it's with a council member or fire board member. Maybe it's with a retiree. Maybe it's with a call victim. 

Sit down face to face with the source of the break. Thank them for taking the time to meet with you. Ask them to share their perspective on why they are upset. Just listen.  

After they've had a chance to share their concerns, repeat the person's feelings about the situation back to them to confirm understanding. 

After you've listened, consider whether there is one action you could implement from that was shared because of the "break." 

An example: Let's say a resident felt one of your volunteers responded too quickly to a call with his or her blue light. Would it be proper to remind all volunteers about the responsibilities that come with the blue light at an upcoming training? 


Keep the source of the "break" informed on your follow up. Let them know you are sorry they had a negative experience with your department.

Breaks are opportunities to make your incredible service to your community even stronger. 


When "breaks" are listened to, treated with respect and kept informed,in almost all cases, community connections will be stronger. 


What break experiences have you had in your department?