Hi Reader,
This is the first "exclusive" email for subscribers, so please take a moment to pat yourselves on the back. Thank you for your trust and support.
Below, you will find five items to improve your nonprofit today:
- How to find your dream influencers to bolster and extend your nonprofit
- Asking for Google reviews
- Ensuring you have a simple expense policy
- Making it easy for media organizations to contact you, and
- Noting the value of encryption for all your electronics to protect yourselves and your beneficiaries.
We will begin, however, with the story of how one New Mexico nonprofit increased high school graduation rates dramatically.
New Mexico's "GPA" Pilot
New Mexico’s “GPA” pilot program, pioneered by nonprofit New Mexico Appleseed, is paying homeless high school students $500 per month to stay in school — and early results are striking. In a 2020–21 test, 93% of participating seniors graduated, compared to ~50–60% among homeless students typically.
Spurred by this success, state lawmakers approved $2.1 million per year to expand the program across 12 school districts (330 students) for three years. To receive the stipend, students must maintain 92% attendance, complete all coursework, and attend tutoring and counseling sessions. The cash helps cover basics like food, transportation, and housing needs so students can focus on education. Early indications show boosted attendance and engagement as the first payments roll out. Advocates call the initiative a “first-of-its-kind” model that could break the link between youth homelessness and dropout rates.
This innovation did not require major new funding per student, yet delivered dramatic results. Other states and school systems are now exploring similar “guaranteed income” incentives for at-risk youth, making it a highly replicable model for nonprofits and agencies fighting intergenerational poverty.
Today I want to focus on Safe Communities of Madison & Dane County, a Madison, Wisconsin nonprofit that one of our subscribers, my friend Tanya Lettman-Shue, has just been tapped to lead. Safe Communities does enormous good in my community Among many other initiatives, Safe Communities runs harm-reduction programs (naloxone, fentanyl test strips, MedDrop, AAOC) and firearm-safety initiatives (Gun Shop Project, lethal-means reduction in suicide).
Nationally, programs like these have been polarizing, and while Dane County is comfortably liberal, Wisconsin as a whole is reddish-purple at best. No doubt Tanya will be keeping an eye on reputation management (a discussion I look forward to), as Safe Communities has done effectively for many years. One additional aspect to explore may be to find influencers who can make sure that hospitals, law enforcement, faith communities, business leaders, and people with lived experience are regularly and publicly associated with key initiatives.
That's today's One Big Win. Safe Communities may have already done this, but every nonprofit needs to develop what I call a Greek Chorus external to the organization who believe in the mission and whose support will influence others to support the nonprofit. To do that, try this prompt in ChatGPT, deep research:
Identify Dream Influencers for a Nonprofit
Act in the role of expert in influencer strategy and nonprofit communications. Your task is to identify “shoot-for-the-moon” influencers — high-profile individuals who could authentically and credibly amplify a nonprofit’s work.
Nonprofit website: [insert full URL]
Instructions:
Research the nonprofit by analyzing its website. Identify its mission, programs, tone, key messages, target audiences, and cause areas.
Based on that analysis, identify (a) 10–15 local potential influencers (celebrities, thought leaders, journalists, public figures, or organizational accounts) who are authentically aligned with the nonprofit’s mission and values, even if they may be hard to reach AND (b) 10–15 regional or national potential influencers of the same type.
For each influencer, provide:
Name and title/role
Why they’re a good fit (alignment with mission, values, or demonstrated interest)
Platform strength (social media, books, policy, etc.)
Authenticity signal (how their voice, background, or work aligns with the nonprofit’s tone and mission)
Example of relevant action, quote, or campaign (if available)
Contact details for best accessible point of contact (i.e., who can you contact to contact the influencer, or should the nonprofit reach out directly to the influencer.)
Suggest three realistic collaboration ideas that would inspire both aspiration and credibility (e.g., podcast feature, joint video, testimonial, op-ed, challenge campaign).
Present your findings in a clear table followed by the collaboration ideas.
Additional instructions:
If the nonprofit’s website doesn’t provide full clarity on its mission or values, infer them from context and clearly state your assumptions.
Prioritize influencers whose involvement would enhance credibility, authenticity, and aspirational reach, not merely visibility.
I look forward to hearing your results!
Ask for Google Reviews
After completion of service for a beneficiary, if they are email-accessible send a short follow‑up with a direct link to review your organization on Google. Suffice it to say, they are important for your nonprofit's transparency and reputation.
Create Short Expense Explainer
Clarify allowable expenses, receipt rules, and submission deadlines to reduce back‑and‑forth among your staff. If this document takes more than one side of a piece of paper, think hard about the implications. Length = complexity = threat.
Add a Newsroom "Contact Us" Line on Contact Page
On your website's "Contact" page, list a single press contact (not directly to the ED/CEO, but someone able to make that person available swiftly). Always aim to respond within an hour to reduce missed media opportunities. Incoming media queries are free opportunities to frame issues relevant to your organization. Even if the inquiry is bad news, it pays to be responsive.
Encrypt Laptops and Phones
Enable full‑disk encryption (BitLocker/FileVault) and device PINs to protect data at rest. If someone resists, explore the underlying issue but insist that nonprofit business be performed with protection. This is a non-negotiable.
Near the top of my list of projects I will not be involved in?
Nick Le Souef, dubbed Australia’s “Spider-Man,” locked himself in a small glass room with over 400 spiders for 23 days to raise money for a children’s charity. Confined in a shop window in Melbourne, he endured venomous redbacks and tarantulas (and intense cabin fever) to collect donations for Variety, a children’s charity. Le Souef emerged unbitten – and over $16,000 (AUD) was raised for kids in need.
“Stop Bieber” School Fundraiser - probably could get behind this one
Two enterprising high school seniors found a hilariously painful way to get their classmates to donate. They looped Justin Bieber’s “Baby” over the school PA system between classes – nonstop – until students donated $1,000 to make it stop. The Illinois teens hit their goal in just three days, saving a local café and arts center and mercifully silencing Bieber’s high notes.
Please drop me a line to tell me what you liked and what you're working on! Remember, I focus future issues based on what I read in your emails.
Also, please forward this email to others who might be interested in subscribing. This only works for me if it is financially viable, and we have a ways to go. This is a high-value newsletter for any nonprofit leader, staff member, or board member. Think about the fact that it's the holiday season . . . .
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Ted
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Founder and CEO Risk Alternatives, LLC 202.758.7572 (cell) 608.709.0793 (office) Website
Author of Managing Your Nonprofit for Resilience
We help nonprofits thrive by providing practical tools and support to address uncertainty and improve risk management.
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