OUR TRIPLE C APPROACH IN SUPPORT OF THE VITAL ROLE OF WOMEN IN NGOs

Did you know that 70% of NGO sector staff are women, but only 30% of those women reach the top of their organisations, according to Fair Share? That means understanding the opportunities and constraints faced by women’s NGOs in multiple-stakeholder projects is increasingly important.

Founded in 1915, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is one of the world’s longest-standing women’s peace organizations. At its core, WILPF holds the beliefs that women matter, that equality matters, and that gender construct is the product of unequal power structures. When those structures change we can have real equality and the possibility of sustainable peace: a feminist peace. WILPF builds coalitions and partnerships, shares knowledge, and convenes women from all around the world to create bridges and spaces for discussion so that women can play their rightful role in decision-making and help shape the responses that affect their lives and communities. WILPF members come from all over the world. They get together, inspire each other and coordinate actions to eradicate the root causes of war. WILPF currently has 32 Sections and 13 Groups across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the MENA region.

At NMA, we have recently had the pleasure to provide our tailor-made Triple C services around Project Cycle Management to a female only team from WILPF.

Our Project Cycle Management course offers comprehensive training that will equip you with the essential skills, tools and good practices from the field to successfully manage development and humanitarian projects, from needs assessment, through planning (analysis and design) to monitoring the implementation of the project. Our Triple C sessions encompass three possible pathways and a combination thereof to achieve the expected results: Consultancy, Coaching and Courses. Learn more about our Triple C approach here

The participants have been reactive, motivated and enthusiastic and we were thrilled to read their feedback: “This training provided me with a comprehensive overview of project cycle management at an introductory level; I found the sessions dynamic and the information easy to understand; and appreciated that the trainers’ brought concrete examples throughout the different topics presented.” Sara, WILPF. Participants were particularly happy about the “participatory approach” and the “concrete examples and exercises”

We recommend to read the 2018 WILPF Guide to Feminist Political Economy, which deals with the question how can feminist understanding of political economy in conflict or post-conflict contexts help advance peace-building processes. It provides, amongst others, a list of useful questions to analyze such contexts.

At NMA, we seek a world where non-profit organizations have the leadership and management capacity to maximize their contribution to social justice and human rights. We recognize that women's involvement is vital in the NGOs sector, and we are proud to have collaborated with WILPF during this course.

Soft skills in NGOs: they help you to make a difference

SOFT SKILLS VS HARD SKILLS

While hard skills are easily measurable abilities, such as writing, reading, math or ability to use computer programs, soft skills relate to how you work.

Soft skills include interpersonal (people) skills, communication skills, listening skills, time management, and empathy, among others. Hiring managers typically look for job candidates with a high level of soft skills because they make someone more successful in the workplace. Someone can be excellent with technical, job-specific skills, but if they can't work within a team or manage their time, they may not be successful in the workplace.

MOST REQUIRED SOFT SKILLS IN THE NGO SECTOR

What is the soft skills role in getting a job focusing on the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) sector? NGOs are characterized by multi-stakeholder work environments, with staff consisting of people who have different certifications skills, origins and nationalities.

A 2017 study* from the Universities of Palermo (I) and Pardubice (CZ) shows that soft skills are very important to get involved in the NGOs. The study also shows that having a university degree is often required in NGO jobs, however most positions are not limited to one specialization and require a multi-facetious skills.

NGOs operate like any other organizations; they have staff working in accounting, project delivery, management, fundraising, etc. and share a common objective in initiating and operating social development and service activities. The study examines the importance of soft skills needed and required for the NGO jobs. In order to achieve the purposes of the study, the researchers collected the data from various sources. A questionnaire was sent by email to 35 European NGOs, asking their employees to rate the level of importance of each of the mentioned soft skills depending on their daily work activities.

Here is the ranking of the top 10 most requested soft skills in NGOs positions.

1. Ability to work in a team

2. Ability to communicate with people at all levels

3. Ability to manage time and prioritize tasks

4. Ability to meet deadlines and complete tasks

5. Ability of multitasking

6. Networking with stakeholders and organizations

7. Ability to work under pressure

8. The ability to actively listening to others

9. Ability to speak at least one additional language. Managers and project coordinators normally need to have good English skills

10. Ability to plan strategically and creatively to meet specified objectives

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

At NGO Management Association (NMA) we provide a results-based course program and consultancy for NGOs and their employees to help them achieve their potential. We follow action-learning principles using case studies, games and role play, addressing real-life problems in a participatory and interactive learning environment to find solutions for issues you are facing in your daily work.

Whether your NGO requires a new communication strategy, a review of your governance or support in complex projects, NMA's proven Triple C approach (Consultancy, Coaching and Courses), tailor-made to your specific needs, translates your urgent matters into effective results.

Do you have specific requirements to improve or develop your soft skills? Do you need personalized coaching ? Try our individual courses tailored to your needs.

Soft skills are a hot topic and we will be proposing new courses and opportunities in the near future. Stay tuned and keep an eye open for our next courses.

* Soft Skills Importance in NGOs’ Positions (2017) : Ola Hajjaj (University of Palermo, Italy) and Ivana Mandysova (University of Pardubice, Czech Republic)

Must-read trends to shape your 2022 fundraising plan

With the pandemic still ongoing, digital marketing remains often the only strategy to acquire new and engage with existing donors reaching your organization’s fundraising objectives.

Conceiving a digital Marketing Strategy starts with a deep knowledge of your target audience, which in Marketing is often translated into persona. Personas are fictional persons who represent the human characteristics of a particular segment of your audience.

A donor persona defines the characteristics, likes and dislikes, needs, expectations, motivations, demographics, attitudes and behaviors of a segmented group of donors. Donor personas are always based on real people and real donors that engage with your organization.

Hereafter an example of what a donor persona could look like.

Source: kindful.com

Once you have identified your different donor personas, we would recommend taking into account the following 2022 digital marketing and fundraising trends to help you conceive an effective donor-centered fundraising strategy.

1. EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

Email messaging resulted in 19% of all online revenue in 2020 (up from 14% in 2019). For every 1,000 fundraising messages sent, nonprofits raised $78. This marks a 35% increase over 2019. Source: https://mrbenchmarks.com/

We recommend you keep growing your distribution lists by adding “sign up to your newsletter” into your website, blog and social media.

Most importantly, invest in creating highly relevant content, ideally segmented according to your donor personas, and appealing “subject lines” for your emailings. Your donors will love it!

2. QUARTERLY IMPACT REPORTS

According to the Fidelity Charitable Overcoming Barriers to Giving Report, 65% of donors would give more if they knew the impact of their donations.

Writing, publishing and distributing your quarterly impact results will not only strengthen your engagement with existing donors, but also motivate new ones to donate.

Your quarterly impact report should be available via a landing page on your website and distributed via emailings, social media and print media. Donors will appreciate seeing the impact of their donations in a shorter timeframe than in the yearly report.

3. TECH-DRIVEN EVENTS Between 2020 and 2021, live streaming platforms became valuable tools to virtually connect with donors when in-person events weren’t possible. In 2022 hybrid events will benefit both in-person and virtual attendees with advanced, tech-driven experiences; here are several examples nonprofits should be exploring this year:

• Native streaming to host live or existing content through Zoom, YouTube, or Vimeo as part of an engaging speaker experience during event..Text communication to chat, poll or update attendees throughout the event.

• Instant engagement through push notifications before, during, and after an in-person event to capture every moment

4. SOCIAL MEDIA & STORYTELLING

Storytelling through videos is a hot trend that is here to stay. A whole new generation of donors – Millennials and Gen Z - wants to be entertained and they love videos. Create videos of volunteers sharing stories, produce videos of how your organisation impacted your community, design videos of people working together to make an impact. Videos shared on social media, email marketing and your website will establish a connection with donors, build lasting relationships and create emotional connections.

5. FLEXIBLE GIVING OPTIONS

Donors are completing more donations on their mobile devices than ever before. There’s also growing enthusiasm around giving through QR codes, smartwatches, and wearables.

Donors will respond well to flexible donation options including:

• Convenient digital wallets, like Google Pay and ApplePay

• Cryptocurrency donations

• Trusted payment apps, like PayPal

Nonprofits will ultimately need to be adaptive, flexible, and fluid to use technology to shape enhanced experiences. Generosity is unlocked when donors feel fulfilled, understood, and connected before, during, and after the donation journey. To do this, nonprofits need to give donors the choice of how they want to donate and how they want to be engaged with.

Our new "Social Media and Storytelling" course together with NMA's "Strategic Communication for Non-Profit Organisations" class will provide you with the theoretical knowledge as well as the practical know-how to make positive impacts to your organisation's objectives from the get-go. Furthermore our unique individual coaching at the end of the courses will help you making your strategies and tactics even more effective and impactful. Contact us if you want to know more.