Cyber Security Questions To Ask
Is your camp/retreat ministry's data secure? Are we protected against ransom attacks like those we've seen in recent news? What questions should we be asking our software providers? View the list
Is your camp/retreat ministry's data secure? Are we protected against ransom attacks like those we've seen in recent news? What questions should we be asking our software providers? View the list
Is Your Staff Crumbling in 2021? With Fraying, We Must be Braiding
I have a feeling that many of us running summer camps have seen and experienced elements of this fraying — and practiced braiding — in the last month.
People are exhausted, mentally and physically. Expect the crumble. It’s coming, if it hasn’t already. Plan for the crumbling and consider new ways to braid people, yourself, and your community back together.
What have you learned? Leave a comment here.
I have a feeling that many of us running summer camps have seen and experienced elements of this fraying — and practiced braiding — in the last month.
People are exhausted, mentally and physically. Expect the crumble. It’s coming, if it hasn’t already. Plan for the crumbling and consider new ways to braid people, yourself, and your community back together.
What have you learned? Leave a comment here.
What 'Likeability' Really Means In The Workplace
Alicia Menendez is a journalist, podcast creator and the author of The Likeability Trap.
She says likeability is a moving target — an invisible scorecard that we internalize but that those around us fill out for us. And the stakes of that scorecard are even higher in the workplace.
Alicia Menendez is a journalist, podcast creator and the author of The Likeability Trap.
She says likeability is a moving target — an invisible scorecard that we internalize but that those around us fill out for us. And the stakes of that scorecard are even higher in the workplace.
4-day workweeks can boost happiness
At non-profits, and camps, and church organizations, we’re used to doing more with less. What might that look like with actual work days?
Some companies have started exploring shortened work weeks, and not noticing a drop in productivity.
When employees are given a good reason to work harder, they often focus more ruthlessly on their most important tasks. Barnes found that even though weekly working hours were cut by 20 percent, employees’ time spent on nonwork websites fell by 35 percent. It also helped that employees had more time outside of work to manage the rest of their lives, so nonwork responsibilities were less likely to intrude on the workday.
What could this look like in your setting? And what ramifications could a shortened work week have on our retreat centers or camp programs?
At non-profits, and camps, and church organizations, we’re used to doing more with less. What might that look like with actual work days?
Some companies have started exploring shortened work weeks, and not noticing a drop in productivity.
When employees are given a good reason to work harder, they often focus more ruthlessly on their most important tasks. Barnes found that even though weekly working hours were cut by 20 percent, employees’ time spent on nonwork websites fell by 35 percent. It also helped that employees had more time outside of work to manage the rest of their lives, so nonwork responsibilities were less likely to intrude on the workday.
What could this look like in your setting? And what ramifications could a shortened work week have on our retreat centers or camp programs?
Six reasons it pays to trust your employees
One survey found that employees in a trusting environment felt 76% more engaged than those in “low-trust workplaces”: Trusted employees generally feel happier, and happy people are more likely to go the extra mile for their employers. Here are six other benefits to practice trusting your staff:
Enhanced employee engagement
Increased productivity
It enables flexible working
Improved communication
It helps to build team spirit
It encourages employee advocacy
One survey found that employees in a trusting environment felt 76% more engaged than those in “low-trust workplaces”: Trusted employees generally feel happier, and happy people are more likely to go the extra mile for their employers. Here are six other benefits to practice trusting your staff:
Enhanced employee engagement
Increased productivity
It enables flexible working
Improved communication
It helps to build team spirit
It encourages employee advocacy
One way to build trust is to practice flexibility: Get tips on doing that here.
How to Be an Antiracist Supervisor: Start with Changing What You Call Yourself
This article from Nonprofit Quarterly asks an essential question: What would we call ourselves if we were not using terms rooted in oppression? What would we do differently?
European management thinkers are credited for identifying the function of supervisors into five roles: to plan, organize, coordinate, command, and control. This mechanization of labor and unrelenting drive for production led to long work hours, unsafe working conditions, low wages, and exploitative child labor…
Recently, that narrative has been shattered by documented accounts of violently sophisticated business practices originating on the slave plantations of the Caribbean and in the Southern states of America.
This article from Nonprofit Quarterly asks an essential question: What would we call ourselves if we were not using terms rooted in oppression? What would we do differently?
European management thinkers are credited for identifying the function of supervisors into five roles: to plan, organize, coordinate, command, and control. This mechanization of labor and unrelenting drive for production led to long work hours, unsafe working conditions, low wages, and exploitative child labor…
Recently, that narrative has been shattered by documented accounts of violently sophisticated business practices originating on the slave plantations of the Caribbean and in the Southern states of America.
Request for Proposals: Interim Director Training 2022
The Outdoor Ministry Connection (our partnership with other outdoor ministry associations across the mainline Protestant denominations) will hold an Interim Director Training, September 26-30, 2022 in the southern or south-central part of the United States. This event will be for 25-30 attendees, and we are seeking an Episcopal host site. Please review the criteria and submit your site for consideration by Junw 15 here.
The Outdoor Ministry Connection (our partnership with other outdoor ministry associations across the mainline Protestant denominations) will hold an Interim Director Training, September 26-30, 2022 in the southern or south-central part of the United States. This event will be for 25-30 attendees, and we are seeking an Episcopal host site. Please review the criteria and submit your site for consideration by Junw 15 here.
New round of Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advances:
The U.S. Small Business Administration is launching a new round of Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advances:
Targeted EIDL Advance provides eligible businesses with $10,000 in total grant assistance. If you received the EIDL Advance last year in an amount less than $10,000, you may be eligible to receive the difference up to the full $10,000. The combined amount of the Targeted EIDL Advance and any previously received Advance will not exceed $10,000.
Supplemental Targeted Advance provides the smallest and hardest hit eligible businesses with a supplemental payment of $5,000. Even if you have previously received the original EIDL Advance in the full amount of $10,000, you may be eligible for the Supplemental Targeted Advance if you meet eligibility criteria. The combined amount of the Supplemental Targeted Advance ($5,000) with any previously received EIDL Advance or Targeted EIDL Advance ($10,000) will not exceed $15,000.
The eligibility criteria for the Targeted EIDL Advance and the Supplemental Targeted Advance are slightly different.
Businesses eligible for the Targeted EIDL Advance must meet ALL the following eligibility criteria
Located in a low-income community, as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. The SBA will map your business address to determine if you are in a low-income community when you submit your Targeted EIDL Advance application.
Suffered economic loss greater than 30 percent, as demonstrated by an 8-week period beginning on March 2, 2020, or later, compared to the previous year. You will be required to provide the total amount of monthly gross receipts from January 2019 to the current month-to-date.
Must have 300 or fewer employees. Business entities normally eligible for the EIDL program are eligible, including sole proprietors, independent contractors, and private, nonprofit organizations. However, agricultural enterprises, such as farmers and ranchers, are not eligible to receive the Targeted EIDL Advance or the Supplemental Targeted Advance.
Businesses eligible for the Supplemental Targeted Advance of $5,000 must also meet ALL the following eligibility criteria:
Located in a low-income community, as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. The SBA will map your business address to determine if you are in a low-income community when you submit your Targeted EIDL Advance application.
Suffered economic loss greater than 50 percent, as demonstrated by an 8-week period beginning on March 2, 2020, or later, compared to the previous year. You will be required to provide the total amount of monthly gross receipts from January 2019 to the current month-to-date.
Must have 10 or fewer employees. Business entities normally eligible for the EIDL program are eligible, including sole proprietors, independent contractors, and private, nonprofit organizations. However, agricultural enterprises, such as farmers and ranchers, are not eligible to receive the Targeted EIDL Advance or the Supplemental Targeted Advance.
Before You Apply: To help applicants determine if they are located in a low-income community, as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code, the SBA is making available a mapping tool at https://sbaeidl.policymap.com/app.
Executive Director Coaching
ECCC is partnering with Bishop Brian Prior to offer an Executive Director Coaching Course. “Coach approach” leadership provides both focus and accountability. This ECCC Coaching Course is an opportunity for camp and conference center Executive Directors to work on their specific areas of desired growth, and acquire the fundamentals of coaching to use with their staff. We will learn together as a group while individual coaching will also be available. Please contact Patty if you are interested and would like more information.
ECCC is partnering with Bishop Brian Prior to offer an Executive Director Coaching Course. “Coach approach” leadership provides both focus and accountability. This ECCC Coaching Course is an opportunity for camp and conference center Executive Directors to work on their specific areas of desired growth, and acquire the fundamentals of coaching to use with their staff. We will learn together as a group while individual coaching will also be available. Please contact Patty if you are interested and would like more information.
What Data Can't Do
This in-depth article in The New Yorker looks at how we count and evaluate data, and what we might be missing. What can we learn for our own data-gathering practices at camps and conference centers?
In a year of uncertainty, numbers have even come to serve as a source of comfort. Seduced by their seeming precision and objectivity, we can feel betrayed when the numbers fail to capture the unruliness of reality…
Those who do the counting have power. Our perspectives are hard-coded into what we consider worth considering. As a result, omissions can arise in even the best-intentioned data-gathering exercises.
This in-depth article in The New Yorker looks at how we count and evaluate data, and what we might be missing. What can we learn for our own data-gathering practices at camps and conference centers?
In a year of uncertainty, numbers have even come to serve as a source of comfort. Seduced by their seeming precision and objectivity, we can feel betrayed when the numbers fail to capture the unruliness of reality…
Those who do the counting have power. Our perspectives are hard-coded into what we consider worth considering. As a result, omissions can arise in even the best-intentioned data-gathering exercises.
Charitable Giving in Times of Fear and Uncertainty
This article is exactly one-year old. What has proven true? What else have we noticed or learned? Share your 2020-21 fundraising insight in the comments.
This article is exactly one-year old. What has proven true? What else have we noticed or learned? Share your 2020-21 fundraising insight in the comments.
Thirteen ideas to keep boards effective and cohesive in a remote environment
This article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review offers thirteen ways to build board effectiveness, virtually.
Succeeding in a virtual environment takes hard work and a willingness to experiment. But many of the board members we interviewed have been pleasantly surprised at the results, including better attendance at virtual meetings, more willingness among members to speak up, and deeper personal connections.
…
Pandemic-induced isolation and virtual technology have sparked some great ideas that give every board an opportunity to be more inclusive, more connected, and more productive than before. Boards that seize this opportunity will emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever.
This article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review offers thirteen ways to build board effectiveness, virtually.
Succeeding in a virtual environment takes hard work and a willingness to experiment. But many of the board members we interviewed have been pleasantly surprised at the results, including better attendance at virtual meetings, more willingness among members to speak up, and deeper personal connections.
…
Pandemic-induced isolation and virtual technology have sparked some great ideas that give every board an opportunity to be more inclusive, more connected, and more productive than before. Boards that seize this opportunity will emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever.
Registration is Now Available for the Compass Points Classes in September
The certificate program courses that were scheduled for April will now be held on September 12-18. Pilgrim Center in Wisconsin will be the host site for the Articulating Our Mission, Role, and Value course and the Nonprofit Business Management course, which will be offered back to back. Only seven rooms remain, so please register as soon as possible. You can learn more about the program and these courses by going to www.compasspointsprogram.org.
The certificate program courses that were scheduled for April will now be held on September 12-18. Pilgrim Center in Wisconsin will be the host site for the Articulating Our Mission, Role, and Value course and the Nonprofit Business Management course, which will be offered back to back. Only seven rooms remain, so please register as soon as possible. You can learn more about the program and these courses by going to www.compasspointsprogram.org.
6 tips for approaching grant deadlines with grace
As we seek funding to continue or expand our programs, grant opportunities can be overwhelming to meet. Here are six tips for preparing and approaching those deadlines with grace.
As we seek funding to continue or expand our programs, grant opportunities can be overwhelming to meet. Here are six tips for preparing and approaching those deadlines with grace.
Demonstrating appreciation to employees
We’ve shared resources before around the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace; similar to the 5 Love Languages, this is a tool for communicating with people in the ways that connect and are meaningful for them. This quick video talks about how to be effective with communicating appreciation to employees, in a world where 56% of senior managers think they are, and yet only 12% of employees feel appreciated.
We’ve shared resources before around the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace; similar to the 5 Love Languages, this is a tool for communicating with people in the ways that connect and are meaningful for them. This quick video talks about how to be effective with communicating appreciation to employees, in a world where 56% of senior managers think they are, and yet only 12% of employees feel appreciated.
Six Ways to Make 2021 the Year of the Volunteer
Volunteers can be valuable assets to any organization; a volunteer program can also be inefficient or time consuming. Here are six ways to make the most of your volunteers.
Volunteers can be valuable assets to any organization; a volunteer program can also be inefficient or time consuming. Here are six ways to make the most of your volunteers.
How to be Angry
Like any emotion, [anger] includes a physiological response (including increased heart rate and muscle tension), typical thoughts (such as blaming others or wanting revenge), and predictable behaviour (such as a desire to lash out either verbally or physically). Importantly, even though there is often a desire to act in this way, most people don’t.
This article on Psyche.com includes three steps for understanding and using your anger productively.
Like any emotion, [anger] includes a physiological response (including increased heart rate and muscle tension), typical thoughts (such as blaming others or wanting revenge), and predictable behaviour (such as a desire to lash out either verbally or physically). Importantly, even though there is often a desire to act in this way, most people don’t.
This article on Psyche.com includes three steps for understanding and using your anger productively.
Compass Points: A Love Story
Perhaps you have considered taking a course (or 8?) as you develop professionally as a Camp & Retreat Ministry leader. Maybe God is calling you to go deeper as you devote yourself to this specialized ministry field. Rev. Jennifer Bingham Hampton, Director of Tekoa Foothills in Western NC, explains what the Compass Points program has meant to her personal and professional journey. Read the blog post
Perhaps you have considered taking a course (or 8?) as you develop professionally as a Camp & Retreat Ministry leader. Maybe God is calling you to go deeper as you devote yourself to this specialized ministry field. Rev. Jennifer Bingham Hampton, Director of Tekoa Foothills in Western NC, explains what the Compass Points program has meant to her personal and professional journey. Read the blog post
6 Mega Trends in 2021 Every Nonprofit Should Know
In 2021, nonprofits will need to focus more than ever on online programming and digital marketing as COVID-19 remains a lethal public health threat.
Virtual Events Are Here to Stay
Video Content Is No Longer Optional
Think Mobile First or Risk Losing Your Audience
E-commerce Is Ripe With Opportunity for Nonprofits
This Is the Year to Prioritize Foundation Funding’
Public-Private Partnerships Will Be More Pivotal Than Ever
In 2021, nonprofits will need to focus more than ever on online programming and digital marketing as COVID-19 remains a lethal public health threat.
Virtual Events Are Here to Stay
Video Content Is No Longer Optional
Think Mobile First or Risk Losing Your Audience
E-commerce Is Ripe With Opportunity for Nonprofits
This Is the Year to Prioritize Foundation Funding’
Public-Private Partnerships Will Be More Pivotal Than Ever
How to Balance Hard Work & Pleasure for Happiness
There are two kinds of happy people: Some of us strive for a virtuous life. Others strive for a pleasant one. We could all use a better balance.
(It’s a long read, but interesting!)
There are two kinds of happy people: Some of us strive for a virtuous life. Others strive for a pleasant one. We could all use a better balance.
(It’s a long read, but interesting!)