Devotion to a cause - can you help?

NPTech or Leap of Faith or The Cara Program - Help me support these causes.

This is a unique point in my life, with many highs, but some very real challenges. My personal financial situation is a very tight one, mostly due to my own past choices. There are countless things which need repair and attention in my life, which I don't have the resources to act on. But at the same time, my blessings are overwhelming! My job is everything I could ask for, I get to focus on IT Alignment, I am surrounded by a mission driven, passionate team and it is all for a great cause! My family life is full of laughter and good times with a loving wife and great kids (even if they are getting too old, making me feel old). Not to mention blessings in friends, spiritual life, improv team and so many more.

As I reflect on my life, I see countless highlights and some challenges. The challenges all seem to be the result of my choices in life. That is where I am turning to my community and friends. Will you help show your support for some causes\orgs I have made sacrifices to be a part of?

Any small or large donation will help me feel I have made the right sacrifices and choices. I am really hoping to find 25 donors across the causes, please join me.

CHALLENGE- If I hit 25 donors across these 3 causes, I pledge to write a song based on suggestions from my donors and create a fun thank you video. So anyone who makes a donation can send me a special message to include in the video, maybe a shout out to friend, your org's name, a love note to the special someone or just a random mention of a squirrel. You can email me your suggestion, leave it in the comment or send it on your preferred social media channel.

NPTech

For years I have been an avid NPTech (nonprofit tech) community member and champion! I even wrote abook on Meeting your Mission with Technology with NTEN and countless resources on IT Alignment! This is more than a hobby, getting nonprofits the technology they need is a cause I stand behind and fight for constantly.
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As I have grown in my experience and involvement in NPTech, I am now in a place to give back some of the knowledge shared with me. I have been presented with a number of opportunities over the last year to connect with some newer staff and have enjoyed it. I always learn something new too!

So this year, I am an NTEN Champion looking to raise funds to help other nonprofits get access to the nonprofit tech community to assist them in meeting their mission!

Please go view my video and read my story on my page to support the NPTech community!

And a HUGE Thanks to Table XI for offering to match the first $250 for my NTEN campaign!  

I had the honor of working with Table XI on a website project and it literally changed the way I viewed websites and website developers. Their approach of starting with questions, designing for the audience and understanding of content creation makes their work stand out! Plus they are deliberate in the staff they hire to balance the team. And we can not forget the awesome workplace and innovative culture they continuously sculpt and cultivate.  I appreciate everything they have done through speaking at events, offering services and sharing their expertise through content for nonprofits.

Leap of Faith

Watching your kids succeed is one thing, but how do you instill the right values, build their self esteem and ensure strong spirituality as a foundation for life? I think a key to this is to avoid isolating spirituality to church on Sunday. My daughter is a different person because of her involvement with Leap of Faith. As a father, I don't seem as worried as others about how my daughter will behave as a teenager. I am proud of who she is becoming, her self image, confidence and spirituality shine through. When faced with peer pressure and life's challenges, she has leaned on her Faith.

Leap of Faith is building more than great artists, they are equipping youth through spirituality outside of church to live a life to the fullest! And as some of the first students of Leap of Faith have left for college or have grown up and moved on, they talk about the friendships and spiritual lessons having huge impact on their life.

Leap of Faith is on the edge of the next big step. Several new opportunities and new staff backed by an invigorated board have paved the way for new programming, good growth and deeper impact! Leap of Faith needs some people to step out in Faith and give them the resources to make some needed investments necessary for growth. Operating with a budget around $60,000, any donation today will lead to exponential return and have huge impact.

Donate Now to Leap of Faith or visit the website to learn more or check out the programs!

The Cara Program

Homeless is a serious issue and I have never experienced an org making such a real, lasting impact on individuals, as I have seen at The Cara Program. We prepare and equip our students for entry level jobs and provide a full year of retention support once they are on the job. But don't take my word for it. Take a few minutes to visit The Cara Program website to see the very transparent metrics which try to show the impact.

Or find time to come visit us in Chicago to see our morning Motivations! You will experience our mission first hand and learn about who we are and what we do. We do Motivations Mon-Thurs at 8:25 am till 9am. We are 2 blocks West of Union Station. Just let me know when!

But to see the real impact of The Cara Program, you have to also see the social enterprises we run:

1. Cleanslate provides our students much needed work experience by providing litter abatement, snow removal, recycling and other neighborhood beautification services.
2. TCP Staffing is a temp staffing agency which employs our students.
3. Chapter 2 collects book donations to be resold, redistributed or recycled,.

Consider a donation to The Cara Program

Clothing Donations: we also accept professional clothing donations. We need women's and men's suits or interview quality clothes, ties, belts and shoes. (Often we struggle with enough women's clothing). If you get the clothes to me, I will get them downtown.

Book Donations: send your book donations over to me as well, I can get them downtown.

Hire us! Or if you work for a company in Downtown Chicago and you have entry level jobs, hire our students!

Hire Cleanslate! If you work for a company Downtown Chicago, consider using Cleanslate services where possbile!


I hope you will consider some sort of donation to one of these causes to show your support!

Discover the Passion in your #NPTech Career (Opening Post)

As of late my blog has been derailed with posts about career and jobs in nonprofit technology. But it has seemed to be interesting to a few people. So I am going to continue on the topic for a bit. This one will focus on Networking, but not between electronic devices. rather between people.

I have been in conversation with a bunch of different nonprofit tech staff, some early in their career and others much more experienced. One of the more interesting topics has been how we network. We have so many new opportunities to network, but are we using them for our careers?

Follow These 6 Steps to Network Like a Pro is a great post with some terrific advice and good links.

1. Be ready with your elevator pitch
2. Complete your profiles on every platform you have an account
3. Introduce yourself to people who you’d like to connect with
4. Follow up with people who you meet
5. Connect through social media channels
6. It doesn’t stop at hello, continue to build the relationship

If I was to add one thing though, it would be about personal branding.  Just like marketing for your organization, you need to have a brand. And there are tons on good articles and sets of information about personal Branding, here are a couple as examples:

• HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
• Personal Branding for Introverts
• Five Personal Branding Tips for Solopreneurs
• Or if you don't what personal branding is, Wikipedia even has some info: Personal Branding

But what I see missing in many of these and I think is most important is finding your passion and investing in it.  Over the next few posts I will explore some of what I have tried.

• Find your passion - here is where it is different in nonprofits, you have to pick a career passion and a cause passion.
• Invest in your passion - find time outside of work to learn about and participate in your passion
• Share your passion - there are so many easy ways to share, so just do it
• Mix personal and professional - be yourself

So my blog will stray a bit for a few more weeks. But I hope it proves useful and interesting to someone out there.

1 Yr. Anniv. at The Cara Program - Nonprofit Workplace Reflections

Excited is an understatement of what I felt when I got the call for a job offer at The Cara Program! The HR team was probably making some jokes about my giddiness on the phone. And here I am a year later and none of the excitement has worn off. Sure, my job has challenges and so does every workplace, but looking over the last year, I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity.

Tech Work Tied to Mission. From the first day I have been immersed and involved in the strategic process and mission discussion. There is a strong understanding about the potential for technology to deeply change the way the staff and org works to meet the mission. This is what I was searching for. I have had a passion for IT Alignment with mission for years! You can see this in the IT Alignment resources on this blog.

Leveraging volunteers. The Cara Program incorporates volunteers in the expected ways including mock interviews, training, sorting donated clothes, etc. But it goes much deeper than that. We are always using volunteers in much deeper and strategic ways. They have helped us create our SROI calculations, plan new social enterprises and run events, plus we can't forget our Tech Advisory Board (TAB). The TAB has helped us find tech resources, review our RFP process, plan governance systems and offer unending advice and support to our tech team. People willing to give their time, support and advice like Lance Russell, David Krumlauf, Rich Whitney and Jonathan Cook have taught me so much and are there when I need them.

IT's about People. The best experience and strongest learning has come from learning from the other staff at The Cara Program. Depth of knowledge, dedication to mission and passion are in such abundance it is impossible not to get swept up into it. What continues to surprise me is how much of my job and the role of technology revolves around people.

Personal Growth. It is common for an org to do an annual review and performance plan, The Cara Program does it also. Where it is different for me is the empowerment and meaningful involvement for staff across the org. Everyone is pushed to grow and do more, while encouraging a true work\home balance. Affirmations is core part of everything, we all take time to affirm other staff for their honor, passion, achievement, innovation and integrity. Yet at the same time, we are all encouraged to give feedback and go directly to other staff with questions, concerns or even to push back a bit.

So what would I share as advice to staff in nonprofits?

Find the Fit. Look for a cause you believe in and a job which fits your skills. But here is where I learned somethings. Just because you love an org, love the cause and can do the job, it still may not be the right one for you. Personality and culture make a huge difference. Does the org culture allow you to be who you are and shine?

Don't be afraid to change! So many of us get attached to an org and feel like if we leave they will never survive (or maybe we won't). This is NOT TRUE! Sometimes staff turnover forces an org to address problems it didn't know existed because you were so good at hiding them. I am not saying you should become an job hopper and ditch out when things get hard. But if you have hit a career ceiling, don't enjoy the role, you can see your role isn't helping or it looks like the org won't grow any more with you in this role, don't be afraid to move on. There is life in the next job and other orgs doing amazing work! You need to take care of you, because sometimes the org isn't.

Size Matters. Having worked for at the National Office and Metro Office of a large org, then moving to a smaller mid-size org, I can tell you size makes a big difference. The types of challenges, resources, staff and work effort are radically shifted.  I can not say which is better, you have to experience it to understand it. A large org has more staff and resources but 6 people have to approve the color of the donate button on the website. A small org may have limited staff and resources but one person can drive the website without 6 people debating fire engine red versus apple red. I love the energy, passion and the depth of involvement of ALL staff in a small org, every staff person is important. At times, I felt like a nameless cog in the bigger setting.

Anyway, this post was meant to celebrate my one year anniversary at The Cara Program. Since taking this job, many parts of my life have improved and changed. It is amazing what a positive, passionate work place can do to change your life and career. Don't settle for a job making a difference for others and not for you. I have had more calls, emails and connections in the last few months about nonprofit careers, jobs and such than ever before. My genuine excitement for my org and job has led people to ask about my journey. I am happy to share, if you want to connect with me. NPTech rules!

Song lyrics (lesson in engagement)

I have heard the song “Even Flow“ from Peal Jam so many times. I sing along, I like it!

But it never connected emotionally until I was sitting in church listening to a message about "getting off your Donkey", where they incorporated the song.

The message at church was all about how to turn empathy into action through compassion tied to your Faith. We all know the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus uses this story to illustrate the need for all of us to STOP and be the hero. There are moments in our lives where we have the opportunity to STOP and help, make an impact, change a life.

But how often do we let the moment pass because we are too busy? I was intrigued and spurred to thought by the message, I know there have been countless times my life, my busyness, made me miss an opportunity to be that HERO!

My thoughts drifted to my work at The Cara Program. I love working at a place making a real and lasting impact on homelessness and poverty. I feel like I am making a difference and giving back! Just as I was connecting emotionally and understanding intellectually to the church message, the band came out. They started playing "Even Flow" from Pearl Jam.

Suddenly it hit me, the song is about a homeless man. As the lyrics appeared on the screen, each one connected with me and dug deeper. The context provided by the church message, combined with the power of the song, really connected with me.

I didn't just hear the lyrics, I connected with them:

Freezin', rests his head on a pillow made of concrete, again

Oh, Feelin' maybe he'll see a little better, set a days, ooh yeah

Oh, hand out, faces that he sees time again ain't that familiar, oh yeah

Oh, dark grin, he can't help, when he's happy looks insane, oh yeah

Even flow, thoughts arrive like butterflies

Oh, he don't know, so he chases them away

Someday yet, he'll begin his life again

Life again, life again...

The song had real meaning, brought clear visuals and spurred new thoughts.

• How many times had I heard "Even Flow" and missed the message? 
• How many other songs have deep meanings drowned out by my humming along? 
• Even though I work at a nonprofit, do I miss opportunities to be a Hero? How many times do I walk by a student at Cara and not talk to them?

This led me to think about engagement overall.  I wonder how many of the powerful stories we share about our orgs, our impact, or our work get missed just like song lyrics.

• Do people listen, hum along and enjoy it, but miss the impact? 
•  Does the way we tell our stories cause people to just walk on by just like the first two people in the story of the Good Samaritan? 
• Do we provide enough context and framework before talking about our work? 
• Do we work to engage people in understanding why we do what we do before showing out impact?

So how do we shift our song lyrics from something we sing along with to something that connects and spurs to action?

Please no #twerking for my birthday. Rather #TwerkingWWJD.

Sure everyone is talking about Miley Cyrus and her VMA performance (if you call it a performance). But I just get flustered when I think about it.

Why do women have to behave like that and dress like that to be a star?

By giving Miley and others who came before her attention, what are we teaching our little girls?

If we only talk about female performers who misbehave, are we only encouraging our daughters, nieces, granddaughters or any other little girls to follow in their path?

A little background, my daughter loves Dance! But I must admit, I was hesitant to let her get involved in Dance. So many of the costumes girls are encouraged to wear are just inappropriate. period. I don't even want to talk about the makeup and dance moves.

So we were excited to find a Dance program for our daughter through our church which integrated Faith and Worship into the experience! Little did I know the dance program would become a separate nonprofit and my wife would end up being the Executive Director! But that is besides the point.

My daughter blossomed and loved dance, even though her first performance was more singing and clapping than real dancing. Dancing as a form of worship has been an enormous part of my daughter's life and it has impacted countless people. My daughter has been able to share her faith through her artistic talent, what a gift!

So when we attended our early competitions, my fears were realized. Girls across so many of the other dance teams were encouraged to wear the costumes, cake on the makeup and resort to dance moves to win while sacrificing harder choreography, complex dance moves and simple enjoyment of Dance. I was not comfortable at these competitions.

Now I see so much of our media and entertainment focused on shows stressing how little girls can only succeed in arts if they participate in this #Twerked up behavior. We have Dance Moms or Tiaras and Toddlers teaching parents all about how to win in arts competition and how to push their children. sad.

I am saddened to see all of this.

What would have happened if Miley and those that went before her had the chance to learn their art as art? Or if they did learn it as an art where did it go wrong? If they had included Faith and worship in their expression of art, who would they be today?

But at the sametime, I am encouraged by the set of parents involved with Leap Of Faith Arts Ministries where my daughter dances. These parents get it. They talk about values, modesty and encourage dance to be as worship! They see their kids enjoying the arts as it is meant to be, a way to express yourself.

The parents at Leap of Faith have supported the org as it worked to find a location, secure its 501c3 nonprofit status and now face a staff transition. It is so amazing to see these parents put their kids first and grab on to a mission.

Leap of Faith is more than a building, a staff person or an org, it is a statement to the world saying we believe there is more to Art than winning a competition or becoming famous. Our artistic talents are a gift from God and should be used to worship Him.

So for my birthday, I want the attention moved from #Twerking to #TwerkingWWJD. What What Jesus Do about Twerking?

To show your support, either share this post, leave a comment, create your own blog post or just tweet using #TwerkingWWJD in September (my birthday 9/9).

We would also appreciate any support for Leap Of Faith Arts Ministries, visit the website or donate now.

I will leave you with this video which wraps up my thoughts about Dance Momz. Enjoy at your own risk.

Go BIG or go home (is mission the price for BIG though?)

As a teen every summer I spent a week at a camp meant to build values and leadership. My first years we had about 60-75 people. You had the chance to meet everyone. It was a close knit group and there was no hiding. This small group of people changed my life. I fit in.

But leadership wanted bigger impact and more kids! They had big plans and the only way to get there was more money and more kids.

My first few years, we had to earn our way to camp. We had to complete volunteer hours, attend fundraisers and be active in our local club.  But since we earned our way there, it meant so much more. We felt a sense of ownership in making the camp the best possible experience.

To get the bigger numbers quicker, you no longer had to earn your way. The hope was to get kids there, then show them the way. But the kids were not invested, they were there to have fun.  Suddenly there were more problems, which led to more rules. This of course led to more kids trying to get around the rules. All sense of trust and responsibility was lost.

With the rapid growth also came crowd mentality over individual expression. With the increase in attendance came a shift of ownership, now the staff had to be in change, just to keep control. It was no longer our responsibility to have a good experience. The staff now had to entertain us and if isn't fun, the staff were blamed.

In my opinion, mission was the price we paid for growth.

I often wonder if this is a common challenge for nonprofit technology staff. 

Do we look to increase efficiency, build capacity, innovate, help staff, and expand our organization through technology without considering the impact on our mission?

As technology staff are we connected enough to the mission to know the impact of our projects and plans?

NPTech Career Thoughts

For my 15 year anniversary, I pictured some celebration, some recognition. I looked forward to a lifelong career with a big retirement celebration. I had seen so many of my mentors achieve this.

I grew up attached to a cause, an organization I loved. I believed in the mission (and still do, just not sure they do), I put my career in the hands of the org.  My career plans centered on how I could best serve the organization and the best role available for me to have the most impact.

Lesson learned the day I was laid off for a second time within days of a vacation and only weeks from my 15 year anniversary. And not just me, over the years it was other family members, friends and colleagues.

Here is the trap I see so many nonprofit staff end up in. We are part of a cause we are truly devoted to. We love our organization. We have a meaningful and real relationship with our co-workers. Saying we are like family is an understatement. So we do everything in our power to make an impact. We roll with the punches and our job morphs, shifts and changes. We adapt and do whatever is needed from us. But often it requires us to ignore our own career and only focus on our job.

When you are hired, there is often a fairly clear job description and set of expectations. But as time passes, you pick up additional work, your role blends with others, your duties may completely shift from where they started. You become a jack of all trades just to fill any holes in your org, you step up and make it happen! You are an integral part of the org and you have no idea what they would do without you.

But while you are becoming the jack of trades for your org, you may be losing your career path and your ability to get the next job.

The first time I was laid off, my job was unique, different and had a title which didn't represent what I did. So when I started to look for a new job, my resume was hard to follow and understand. I didn't have a clear brand for myself. My experience and job title meant very little to the hiring nonprofits. I had made myself valuable in my job, but not my career. I had not taken time to take care of myself. In the end, my work was only valuable to the org, it was not transferable.

So my job search was a long one. And each time I got close, it was always the same  thought, "we like you and have an awesome set of experiences, but it just doesn't fit our opening."

There seems to be a disconnect around expecting staff to fill needs in our org and mission as needed, while hiring with strict qualifications. We want existing staff to pitch in across the org or grow with the org. But then when we hire, we look to fill a position, we look for a set of defined experiences and skills to fill a specific purpose. 

So on one hand we push staff to work beyond their job description, but we only hire people with experience specific to a job description? So we often wouldn't hire the staff we have doing the job they have?

When I did get my next job, I was very deliberate about building a network, a personal brand and getting experience in a skill set which was transferable and valuable in the job market. Since I knew I couldn't trust the org to look out for me.

You might be thinking, Steve, you seem so bitter. But you couldn't be more wrong. I am so thankful for where I am and what I have experienced and learned. It is sort of like the country song, unanswered prayers.

 I could not be in a better place in my career! I love where I work, all of my past experience is proving valuable every minute of every day. I am diving in again, head first. I am more than uber excited to be a part of a cause I have a heart for, poverty and homelessness. I am immersing myself in my job and giving it everything I have. In less than a year on the job, I am more at home here than any job before it. I completely trust that the org is as interested in me and my career as they are interested in the mission and org.

But I think it is important for me to be open and honest about my nonprofit work experience. I have met numerous people entering the nonprofit career track and countless more who have been in nonprofits longer than me. But I cringe a little when I hear them talk about their job, I just wish they could see what I see now.

Don't let your job turn into a string of sacrifices and become so focused on daily needs causing you to ignore your own needs. This isn't good for you or your org, neither of you will be happy in the long run. 

So a word of advice, things happen, are you in a place to take care of your career when it does?

(behind the scenes - my faith and trust in God played a large role in this journey and my success, however, that is a post for another day. I know He had a hand in guiding me in this direction and getting me here.)