Circle Dance

The Adventure of The Glass Window Bridge « Gertiecranker's Weblog

2012-01-15T15:32:00.001-05:00

Latest adventure from Gertie Cranker....

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From Policy Hysteria to Best Practice:Recognizing AE Influence : Off Stage

2011-12-19T12:08:00.001-05:00

Last week, Inman News released its annual list of 100 of the Most Influential Real Estate Leaders of 2011. This is a pretty prestigious list in the industry, as befits a significant real estate voice and commentary.

I think AEs should fully recognize and celebrate the names of our peers in Realtor association management who are on the list*:

Mark Allen, CEO, Minneapolis Association of Realtors, and 10k Marketing

Bob Bemis, CEO, ARMLS and MLS Domains Association

Russ Bergeron, CEO, MRED, Ltd.

Art Carter, CEO, CRMLS, Inc.

Dave Charron, CEO and President, MRIS

Merri Jo Cowen, CEO, MFRMLS and Chairperson of CMLS

Bob Hale, President and CEO, HAR

Rebecca Jensen, CEO and chair, UtahRealEstate.com MLS

That these names are included is important to all AEs: it means that the larger industry recognizes the importance of the work we do as association MLSs and the contributions those associations make to the industry. I know I can look at each one of these people and respect their individual contributions to the success of our members. They are, in the eyes of the world, some of the practitioners of Best Practices of real estate trade association management. As commentator Bill Fowler recently observed in his blog article “MLS in 2012”, “Creating something vital to REALTORS in MLS technology requires leadership in our organizations.”

Inman has recognized many of these leaders.

However, without detracting one bit from the applause due these individuals, I’d also like to kick the Inman group in their collective kneecaps. Why? Because the MLS isn’t the only area of successful performance by association execs: there are other areas of management leadership and influence besides MLS and its derivative products, the only criteria seems to Inman recognize. Other programs are equally influential in the world of organized real estate: let’s salute the AEs involved in the RAMCO development work and the successful implementation of some of the great Game Changer programs. Let’s look at a collection of stunning association professional education innovations, international real estate outreach programs, cooperative infrastructure efforts between associations to produce better services and efficiency, and some outstandingly innovative state association programs—all influential real estate accomplishments in 2011.

Perhaps Realtor AEs need to do a better job of recognizing our own innovators and leaders. How about an annual collection of best practices? An AE Innovator recognition program? Another Game Changer program?

And for the benefit of all, let’s make our judgments not only on the program or product, but also highlight answers to the following questions as key learning opportunities for all association managers:

·         How did you foster overall management focus on results?

·         How did you create a governance structure to move your organization forward?

·         What techniques did you use to back your programs with strong, accountable, transparent financial management?

·         How did you motivate and structure available human resources?

·         What communications program and technology did you employ?

·         How did you manage resource development and fundraising to support the project?

Congratulations to the Inman honorees. You’ve moved beyond IDX policy hysteria to develop practical programs for real estate professionals. My hope for real estate in 2012 is that AEs continue to recognize skillful leadership and expand our opportunities learn from each other.

*Note, I didn’t include the NAR or ISC staff—they are also well represented on the Inman list.

via realtown.com

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Making Lemonade: Building capacity in changing times : Off Stage

2011-12-10T22:04:00.001-05:00

ec. 10, 2011 - Making Lemonade: Building capacity in changing times

Well, this is interesting: the ever-optimistic NAR economist Lawrence Yun recently observed that 2012 won't see a robust recovery in the housing market. In fact, Yun says that as rents climb in the multi-family housing market and as the stigma of renting is disappearing, it will be the commercial real estate sector which will see the greatest increase in activity.
And noted economic commentator Barry Ritholtz states that the slow motion crash in housing will continue for another 5-10 years and predicts that the US are only in the 5th inning of a 9 inning game in which values may continue to drop. Additionally he says that"following a debt crisis, consumers spend a decade or more deleveraging, and tend to downgrade purchases that involve taking on more credit - like a mortgage."
What does this predicted trend indicate for real estate association managers? It's an uncomplicated answer: it simply means that our more aggressive members will go where the money is. And in turn, that means the association needs to provide those members with adequate support services to get them there.
Even the smallest real estate associations need to sit up and take note: if we are to remain relevant as trade organizations, we must understand that our membership no longer consists of 90% used home salespersons. In order to make a living in the real estate market, members need to respond to consumer trends-and according to the observations of Yun and Ritholtz, the markets are trending toward commercial real estate. That's where the action will be.
So how must real estate associations react? Most Realtors won't become full-fledged commercial specialists flashing their CCIM designations-a majority of US real estate market areas simply won't support many exclusively commercial specialists. What members will want to do is gain the skills and the tools to support an increase in their commercial activities, particularly in the rental property market for multi-family housing. And fortunately, there are some pretty robust existing programs that associations can use to build capacity to support these emerging member needs. Here are some suggestions for the association executive:
1. Encourage members to participate in a commercial overlay board. Many existing support services are already in place in these organizations-- you don't have to reinvent them and spend down your association resources. Becoming a secondary member in a commercial overlay board is a good answer for many Realtors who don't want to exclusively specialize but do want additional education and marketing networks.
2. Form a commercial marketing group in your own board. It could begin as an informal 'haves and wants' meeting over coffee and doughnuts. If the need is there, it will grow on its own-with the association acting the incubator.
3. Examine NAR's Commercial Services Accreditation program for local associations. While your association may not wish to pursue the actual accreditation (which may seem unnecessarily elaborate for your immediate purposes), this program does offer some very useful ideas on how to develop association support capacity in the commercial services area. Think about
a. A dedicated commercial page on your association website. It might feature member's commercial listings, statistics, and useful information about topics of interest-even some data from the local economic development organizations.
b. A website link to NAR's commercial home page, its commercial advocacy page, and the commercial education page. And don't forget NAR's commercial blog, "The Source.", as well as the Commercial Research department--members need easy access to this information.
4. Ask your commercial marketing group what kind of education programs its members need and develop an education series using local or regional experts-commercial developers, economic development corporation representatives, taxing authorities, and others. Again, remember that your target member market is probably not interested in becoming specialists in commercial real estate-but they do want information which will help them expand some specific skills in new areas. (There's a difference.)
a. Offering a regular (monthly?) commercial education program followed by an informal marketing session is one of the best ways to develop member awareness in the commercial area, assuming your association doesn't have the audience for anything more elaborate.
b. This activity might be one which could be shared with neighboring associations as well. Commercial real estate practitioners aren't always productively confined to geographical boundaries-a commercial program will possibly be more successful if your board can partner with other associations in this effort.
The take-away point here is that the changing real estate market is influencing member needs-and our associations must respond, even if only in a modest way. Most Realtors don't want the Commercial Member Golf Outing, or even a commercial ethics process or trade show (as the NAR Commercial Services certification application suggests). Reinventing the association model with the word "Commercial" attached to it is not what most of our members need or even care about-nor is that something that probably two-thirds of local Realtor associations have the resources to provide.
What members do want is practical, efficient access to the skills sets and useful information which the changing real estate marketplace is demanding. It's our job as AEs to start with what the member needs, and set about providing those tools.
(PS: How do you fund this stuff? Try charging the members to showcase their commercial listings on the association website, soliciting underwriting from developers of rental income properties, advertising sales, commercial affiliate member programs, to name a few ideas.…The opportunities are endless.)

via realtown.com

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Creating Communities: the Future of the Real Estate Association : Off Stage

2011-11-04T10:57:00.001-04:00

Nov. 4, 2011 - Creating Communities: the Future of the Real Estate Association

Associations have a primary purpose: to create a community. In a real estate association, the primary purpose is to create a business community centered on the business of property ownership and transfers. It’s really that simple.

Let’s examine that word ‘community’. In many Realtor associations, the community is really quite limited: it consists of brokers and salespeople involved in the transfer of pre-existing homes. Oh, I know: lip service is often given to other groups—commercial specialists, appraisers, property managers, and a small number of affiliated business interests—but by and large the emphasis is on license-holding real estate practitioners. (Of course it goes without saying that the community is further limited by geographical restrictions, in many cases.)

Realtor associations build most of their programs and services around that limitation: licensed salesperson or broker, located in an assigned geography.

Frankly, there’s a problem here: in reality the real estate community is much more extensive and the desire to be a part of that business community much more far-reaching than the current operating definition would have us believe. In addition, our existing membership is becoming specialized in other areas besides used-home sales: members are finding business in the rental and rehab market and personal investments for themselves and their clients. They are becoming more conversant in online marketing techniques, technology tools, foreign transactions, and finance.

The real estate community is also expanding well beyond the current limits of license holders, with a second tier of bankers, mortgage companies, and title companies. As members expand their interests and activities, they are partnering with an array of business interests never before included in real estate circles—marketing specialists, technology experts, website designers, foreclosure experts, and economic and development analysts.

It’s easy to say “Not MY members—they just want to make sales. And, the Realtors I know don’t read, anyway.” That’s a familiar litany, of course. And of course, in many cases it’s true: statistics show that well over half of current members don’t make a living at real estate. They are dilettantes, retirees, and folks who also have a ‘real job’ and just want to make a little extra income on the side.

The caution here is in thinking that these are the sum total of members, that this is the real estate community our association must serve. If we as trade associations fall into that trap, we are contributing to the erosion of our industry as surely as if we ourselves were the lions coming over the hill (“We have seen the enemy, and they are…).

Certainly this class of member is real and currently accounts for over half of our association dues income. “Ah,” you say, “doesn’t that make the non-productive majority our association’s target market? They are a majority of the association members. If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t exist. So let’s continue producing remedial level education programs, keep our dues and costs low, and direct our collective energies and resources at servicing these members.

I think there’s another answer: if the members in your community by and large don’t make a sustainable income from real estate activity, enlarge the community. Think about it: if your association is to become ‘The Voice for Real Estate’, for whom would they speak? Professionally, your organization would speak for all your industry partners—builders, remodelers, community planners, environmentalists, financial partners, attorneys, estate planners, and property owners. These are some of the areas of the real estate business community who share an interest in the business climate relating to real property.

There are many opportunities to enlarge a reasonably small and circumscribed audience and build a powerful community voice. These doors don’t necessarily depend on an MLS presence, either—they open onto a larger world of business interests, shared knowledge, and valuable networks and coalitions. It’s here that the real estate organization will find its future direction, I believe. There’s not a lot of reason to waste much more effort in locking the barn door after the MLS horse has gone elsewhere, but there is much to be gained by thinking about the kind of community that can be built through a real estate organization which is inclusive rather than exclusive, and which involves using technology tools and other resources to transcend the current limited organizational structure.

It also means assuming that the target market for a real estate association is based on skilled practitioners with skill and commitment to the many facets of the real estate business.

via realtown.com

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MLS Questions? Who has the answers? : Off Stage

2011-10-19T16:01:00.001-04:00

ct. 19, 2011 - MLS Questions? Who has the answers?

Sometimes I feel like I'm standing in an empty room and all I hear is the echo of my own voice. This is one of those days.

Two MLS-related news stories are bouncing around the internet this morning-one is about the NAR IDX policy proposed changes, and the other is about FSBOs.

(Well, let's face it; they're pretty much about the same thing…)

In a nutshell, the NAR IDX issue is this: "The big news, as many have already heard, is that the Franchise IDX policy will be repealed in its entirety. The overall thrust of the proposal appears to be one aimed at restoring the status quo ante." The quotation is taken from this morning's blog post by one of my regularly-read industry voices, The Notorious Rob. Rob proceeds to examine what this proposed policy change will mean, and then asks the question, "just what percentage of the Directors of NAR, who will be voting on this proposal on Monday in Anaheim, understand the issue? How many will have studied the issue? How many will have thought about it at all?.... Could someone explain to me how hundreds of NAR Directors are not in violation of their fiduciary duty as a director of nonprofit organization?"

The other topic has to do with what's happening in the world that exists outside of the pre-meeting hysteria of an NAR convention. In this case I'm referring to Zillow's recent announcement that it has added 45,000 'for sale by owner' listings to its database of existing FSBO web and mobile real estate shopping , allowing independent home sellers to distribute their listings free of charge. Zillow obtains these listings through individual home sellers as well as listing feeds from ForSaleByOwner.com™, HomesByOwner.com®, owners.com® and Postlets® . The latter is a Zillow company, by the way, which allows home sellers, real estate agents and landlords to generate one listing and dispense it to Zillow's more than 24 million monthly unique web and mobile users, as well as 13 other sites including Yahoo!® Real Estate and craigslist®.

We're not talking peanuts here--Yahoo Real Estate is a formidable challenger to realtor.com. But what really set me back was the association manager who, upon hearing of the Zillow announcement, shrugged and said (somewhat disdainfully), "I don't keep track of Zillow."

Holy leaping ostriches! How can you disregard the competition with such insouciance? Oh, wait-I know! It's because you're busy word-smithing the following NAR proposal:

Associations of REALTORS® and their multiple listing services must enable MLS participants to display aggregated MLS listing information by electronic means. Electronic display subject to this policy includes display on participants' public websites, displays controlled by participants on other websites, display on social media sites used by participants, RSS subscription, and applications for mobile devices. All electronic display of IDX information conducted pursuant to this policy must comply with state law and regulations, and MLS rules. Any display of IDX information must be controlled by the participant, including the ability to comply with this policy and applicable MLS rules.

And I bet you're thinking: "Now how am I gonna enforce THIS on a budget that has been shrinking as members are dropping away?"

Well, don't worry about real estate buyers and sellers: they may be looking elsewhere. As Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff says, "Our integrated approach to marketing all types of real estate listings, creates the most comprehensive and data-rich shopping experience for web and mobile."

Oh, and don't worry about the MLS subscribers either. They want to be where the consumer goes. That's where the money is.

via realtown.com

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A conversation with Zingerman’s Ari Weinzweig | SmartBlog on Leadership

2011-10-19T10:33:00.001-04:00

Ari Weinzweig co-founded Zingerman’s Delicatessen in 1982 with a $20,000 bank loan. Today, the company is an Ann Arbor institution, and Weinzweig has branched out into a number of other businesses. We approached him recently to learn more about his leadership philosophy and his approach to innovation.

Describe your leadership philosophy.

There are many elements to it, but above and beyond all else, it’s centered around Servant Leadership. It’s the philosophy we learned from reading the work of Robert Greenleaf. The approach is based on the belief that our responsibility as leaders, first and foremost, is to serve the organization, not the other way around. One key element of it here is that it means that we—the leaders—view the staff as our customers. We need to give them great service every day to the people who work in our organization. The service that the staff gives to our front line customers will never be better than the service we give to them.

via smartblogs.com

A great article....

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CMLS Conference Conversation : Off Stage

2011-10-15T20:40:00.001-04:00

As you may be aware, I serve on the Board of Directors for the MLS Domains association—because it’s a cause I believe in (well, ok, I have several causes…and I’m not very quiet about my enthusiasms). But as an association exec I was always frustrated by the ‘MLS thing’: the public appreciated an MLS but couldn’t define the term, and our members were equally confused—and thought every collection of housing information was ‘the MLS’. Whatever an MLS was, everybody knew they wanted one, including all the folks who weren’t an MLS but appropriated our name—like ‘FSBO MLS’ or ‘luxury home MLS’.

The 2012 opportunity to introduce new top level domains into the world wide web seem to me to be an ideal method to define the term ‘MLS’ and to control who can use it. If the MLS Domains Association is granted the exclusive use of .mls by its members only, we will have come a long way to stabilizing the use of the term and protecting our organizations’ investment in being the source of the most accurate and timely data available in the US housing market.

Dot MLS (as I fondly call it) is an idea whose time has come—but not necessarily because the organized real estate is ready for it. The urgency was introduced by outside events: the international internet naming association has set January 2012 as the date that applications for new top level domains (TLDs) will be considered, “Big corporations, nonprofits, and governments are expected to scramble to claim the new TLDs,” says the Washington Business Journal.

The MLS Domains Association will be standing at the head of the line, application and check in hand.

But getting there is a bit of a battle. The biggest problem is that top level domains aren’t on everybody’s radar screen—and by the time the opportunity becomes clear, it may be too late to be considered by the great domain naming authority in the sky (ICANN). The second TLD round may not be available for several years—opportunity lost!

The point of this long introduction is to set the stage for my comments on the recent Council of MLS conference held in Tucson. The conference itself was outstanding in its speakers, its format, and its opportunity to meet vendors and have meaningful hallway (and lobby bar) discussions. To my delight, the issue of ‘MLS branding’ was center stage during many sessions and informal conversations..

“What’s ‘branding’ mean?” my friend JoAnn asked me. “I’m an MLS financial person—I don’t know these things.”

The clearest answer is in this quotation: “…understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.” To that point, it was clear at the conference that in a world where real estate information is everywhere, the MLS brand is increasingly important as a way to tell our audience (members and the public) that our information source is timely, accurate, and as trustworthy as they’ll find anywhere.

If the CMLS agenda is any indication, the topic of branding is under consideration of MLS leaders across the country. They are asking, “How will we help the public understand that housing information from the MLS is the most reliable source? How can we motivate our members (who are the collectors of the data) to do the best job possible in conveying accurate data to the MLS in a timely manner? How can we repackage our data products so that they are valuable to the real estate community and their clients and customers?”

These questions formed much of the substance of the conversations at CMLS—and the work of the MLS Domains Association was often cited as one of the obvious solutions.

To explore this topic further, CMLS is hosting a half day session on branding on November 9 at the NAR Annual Conference in Anaheim. MLS CEOs and decision-makers should make every effort to attend this important education event.

You can be sure the efforts of MLS Domains Association will be on the agenda.

via realtown.com

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Last in the Series: The Interim AE Job Description : Off Stage

2011-09-23T08:21:00.001-04:00

Sep. 23, 2011 - Last in the Series: The Interim AE Job Description

I recently attended a meeting of several association execs and MLS CEOs where we spent a couple of days brainstorming and fantasizing about our jobs, our roles in organized real estate, and the state of the industry in general. At the end of the session, we asked each other the question “What will you take back with you to the Real World? How has this two day discussion influenced you professionally?”

I had to think about that for quite a while. What I know about my position as a retired AE/current consultant is that I don’t have the power to make the Big Changes in the real estate industry. I am never going to make the Forbes list, or even the Inman list. What I can share is some practical knowledge and a perspective that comes from the outside looking in on the association’s daily management activities. What I can do is drop a few breadcrumbs here and there and hope that they will be helpful to you on your path to your goals.

During these most recent think tank meetings, one of the participants turned to me and asked, “So Judith, what’s behind these last couple of blogs you’ve written? Why are you thinking about interim association managers?”

Good question. In part, it’s because I was recently asked if I would consider being an interim AE for three months and I had to answer the question, “If I were to do this, how would I go about it?” The other part is that my church just engaged an interim minister, and I began to understand the value of a well-defined breathing space for an organization which is undergoing some significant transitions.

What this latter process also taught me is that ‘interim’ doesn’t mean ‘placeholder’. It suggests using the transition period to regroup, get healthy, heal wounds, find direction, and move forward. An interim minister in our church setting is a specialist at being ‘interim’. He or she is not expected to fill the permanent position—the interim is a trained expert in the techniques of transition and the job description is clear.

With that in mind, I wrote a hypothetical job description for a transitional AE. The following is just meant to be a template—feel free to use it and/or modify it to suit your needs.

INTERIM ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE

SAMPLE POSITION DESCRIPTION

Sample Job Description

I. POSITION

Interim Association Executive (GM)/Chief Executive Officer)

II. JOB SUMMARY

Serves as interim general manager/chief operating officer of the association on a temporary basis. The interim AE is responsible for all aspects of the association including its activities and the relationships between the organization and its members, employees, community, government and other tiers of the Realtor organization. Sustains and administers the association’s policies as defined by its bylaws, policies and direction of the board of directors. Directs the work of all department managers; monitors the budget; oversees the quality of the association’s products and services and ensures maximum member satisfaction unless otherwise directed by the board of directors. Secures and protects the organization’s assets, including facilities and equipment.

III. JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Implements general policies established by the organizations Board of Directors, and directs the implementation and execution of those policies. Plans, develops and approves specific operational policies, programs, procedures and methods in concert with the general policies of the NAR and/or the association’s local board of directors. Coordinates the development of the association’s operational plan, and prepares a 90-day transitional action plan in concert with the board of directors prior to the hiring of a permanent AE. Develops and administers a sound organizational plan and initiates operational improvements and structures a plan for their implementation. Monitors policies relating to personnel actions and training and professional development programs. Conducts a human resources audit. Ensures that the association’s current policy handbook covers all necessary topics such as sexual harassment, conflict of interest, and whistleblower policies. Maintains an active and informed relationship with the State and National Realtor organization, and oversees the implementation of appropriate mandated policies and activities. Attends conferences and professional education sessions as approved by the Board of Directors of the Association.

Coordinates development of operating and capital budgets according to the organizations calendar, and monitors monthly and other appropriate financial statements.   Takes corrective action as required. Upon arrival, the interim AE evaluates all budgets to ensure that they are supported by appropriate details, and conducts an audit of existing organizational resources such as buildings, equipment, and financial reserves.

Coordinates and serves as ex-officio member of the board of directors and of association committees.

IV. SAMPLE JOB DESCRIPTION

·         Provides advice and recommendations to the president and appropriate committees about materials, supplies, equipment and services not provided in approved plans and/or budgets

·         Ensures that the organization is operated in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws

·         Oversees care and maintenance of all the organizations physical assets and facilities

·         Coordinates marketing and membership relations programs to promote the associations services and programs to present and potential members

·         Develops a membership marketing program for members and affiliates

·         Ensures the highest standards are met in enforcing professionalism within the organization

·         Monitors compliance with state and national Realtor organization policies

·         Analyzes financial statements, manages cash flow and establishes controls to safeguard funds, if needed.

·         Reviews income and costs relative to goals and takes corrective action as necessary.

·         Attends meetings of the organization’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee

·         Participates in other activities judged appropriate and approved by the board of directors to enhance the prestige of the organization

·         Broadens the scope of the association by fulfilling its public obligations

·         Serves as liaison between the staff and the board, as appropriate

·         Implements policies concerning employee-employer relations

·         Develops and maintains a basic management philosophy to guide association personnel toward optimal operating results, employee morale, and member satisfaction.

·         Prepares reports and other supporting material for committee and board use.

·         Negotiates and recommends Board approval for contracts

·         Establishes and approves workloads, work methods, and performance standards

·         Gives direction to and works closely with vendors, outside contractors, firms and individuals providing service to the association.

·         Directs the association’s communications programs

·         Performs other duties as directed by the president and the board.

·         Assists in the search for a permanent AE

V. REPORTS TO President and Board of Directors

VI. SUPERVISES All Staff

via realtown.com

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Part Two - Localized Solutions To The Housing Crisis

2011-09-22T06:46:00.001-04:00

Perspective On The Housing Market – Localized Solutions Needed (Part 2)
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by Donna Robinson - 21 September 2011

As I noted in part one of this two part commentary, the U.S. Housing market is not one big market, but rather a large collection of individual markets with individual problems which will respond best to individual solutions customized for a specific local market.

With this fact in mind, I’d like to list some ideas for how to address housing problems at the local level. Ideas which can be implemented locally by the local groups who are most affected and have the most to gain by implementing these solutions.

Local solutions for housing © Andy Dean - Fotolia.com

First, let’s address the over arching government solutions being attempted now, and from there we’ll move into a localized approach.

As I write this, media reports indicate that the Federal Reserve is considering taking action that will reduce interest rates further. While low interest rates have been the traditional way to spur housing sales in the past, the problems this time are much more systemic. Unemployment and under-employment are preventing a housing recovery. Lowering interest rates further is not going to make any significant difference in housing sales, if buyers can’t afford to buy or don’t qualify to begin with.

The low interest rates are taking a different toll this time, by eroding the income of seniors and those who expected income from savings and investments to carry them into retirement. We are seeing a big trend towards reverse mortgages for seniors above the age of 62, who thought income from their savings would carry them through retirement.

Low interest rates have wiped out that income to a great degree, and as a result, we are seeing a new wave of reverse mortgages as seniors “pawn” their homes to the bank, to generate additional income. This trend will soon become another housing crisis waiting to happen if it continues unabated.

Further, the secondary mortgage market has little incentive for new investment when interest rates are virtually at zero. The risk is simply not worth the paltry rewards. While I realize that there would be some near term pain to allowing rates to increase slowly, I believe that housing would benefit in the long term, because rising interest rates would provide seniors and other savers with more income from their investments, and would generate more investment in the secondary mortgage market, which would make more capital available for mortgage lending. This could in turn, lead to more sales in housing, leading to more jobs, and help speed an economic recovery without unhealthy increases in housing prices. But this is highly unlikely under Ben Bernanke, so the local players are left to take constructive action to help their local markets.

Realtors must take more of a lead role in helping identify local market problems, and develop local market solutions. No single group has more “boots on the ground” than the National Association of Realtors. Real estate agents are the one group that has the data and the man-power to address local real estate market issues throughout the entire U.S. Yet they don’t take advantage of this power. Most agents are kept busy worrying about the latest rule changes related to earnest money handling or fair housing laws. But it’s agents who know their local market better than anyone else. They know what is selling and what isn’t. They know where the problem areas in their market are.

Local Realtor boards should be organizing a local task force to identify their local market issues, and come up with creative solutions for those local problems. Then coordinate their efforts with the lenders, attorneys, builders and local government development authorities or planning and zoning boards in their local market to help formalize real solutions at the local level.

Builders are another group that has suffered tremendously from the housing down turn, yet their lack of attention to fundametals in supply and demand, as well as median local income was one of the primary problems leading to the housing crash. Uncontrolled building without regard for buyer demand and local affordability is a recipe for disaster.

Local builder's associations need to act more responsibly © nenovbrothers - Fotolia.com

Local Home Builder Associations should make an effort to keep their members abreast of the key market fundamentals that will directly effect builder success. Primary among those are the overall supply of new homes available for sale, relative to buyer demand, and local income levels, which will dictate what local buyers can actually afford to pay for housing. Builders must learn to maintain a balance between supply and demand, and build homes that their local market can afford to buy.
Otherwise, they will be doomed to repeated boom and bust cycles.

The last building boom was a feeding frenzy that got out of control and left a stripped out, dead carcass of half finished neighborhoods in it’s wake. If the local builders take a more balanced approach to building, and manage the supply of new homes more effectively, they won’t have to worry about going belly up and taking their local bank with them. The supply-demand-affordability fundamentals must be managed to insure that the construction industry does not have a continuing boom-bust cycle every few years.

Real Estate Investors can contribute as well, by taking up the over-supply that exists now in the form of foreclosed homes and distressed properties that are sitting on the market. Investors should act responsibly as well, by not engaging in shady or questionable tactics that may be taught at high priced seminars, but are simply not beneficial to their customers or their overall business stability.

Investor Associations should focus more on investing with integrity and honesty, and a customer service attitude fitting of any american business enterprise that wants to be successful for the long term. Allowing seminars that promote big money at the expense of distressed sellers and ignorant buyers is not only irresponsible, but it contributed significantly to the housing market crash. I know. I’ve been a member of a number of investor associations and I know first hand how many seminars there were that encouraged irresponsible behavior for the sake of quick profits. Millions of investors went broke follow the so-called “gurus”. Many of the biggest gurus themselves have gone bankrupt with the schemes they were allowed to teach to others.

Real Estate investing is a great way to build a small business, contribute to employment in the construction sector, and build real wealth when it’s done correctly. Investor Associations should emphasize the fundamentals of the housing market, so that investors can make better investing decisions and build stable businesses. Promoting get rich quick schemes may “sell better” but it was the investors following the irresponsible advice of greedy gurus and promoters who were the first to feel the effects of the housing market crash.

Today investor association participation is at an all time low, and it’s primarily because they ran their members into the ground with shoddy investment advice and gimmicks that simply did not work while ignoring the market fundamentals. There are still investor associations in virtually every large city in the U.S. They have the capability to influence investors for good, but the question is, will they do it?

Finally, if Congress really wants to do something to help the entire U.S. Housing market, they should reinstate the home buyer tax credit, with NO requirement to pay that credit back. The one bounce we’ve had in housing sales data was during the months when the home buyer tax credit was in effect. As soon as it expired, housing continued it’s downward slide. It’s funny how the government can’t seem to get rid of bad programs that waste taxpayer money, but when it comes to a tax credit that actually did help, they have no problem at all with getting rid of it.

While there are many other potential ideas for helping generate a housing recovery, the bottom line is that the fundamentals will always dictate the best choice of strategy for maintaining a healthy and vibrant housing market. The long term solution is to pay attention to the local market fundamentals and make adjustments to your business or investing strategy accordingly. Ignoring the fundamentals is what got us here. Knowing the local market fundamentals and working with those fundamentals is what will get us out of this funk, and keep us out.

The old saying is true, pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered. The housing market crash was nothing more than a slaughter house for real estate hogs in lending, building, investing and buying, who tried to take more than their local market fundamentals would allow.***

via realtybiznews.com

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Part Two: The Interim AE--A Case Study : Off Stage

2011-09-16T13:52:00.001-04:00

ep. 16, 2011 - Part Two: The Interim AE--A Case Study

"I'm sorry," Al said. "I really am. But my wife has this great offer for a three-year work assignment in Paris, and I'd like to go, too. It's an offer she can't pass up, and I want to be with her. I hate leaving the association high and dry, but...."

The leadership looked at each other, bewildered. There was no transition plan, needless to say: a transition roadmap was something that the board had on its 'to do' list, but had remained fairly low as a priority while other concerns attracted resources and energy. Now what would they do? Al planned to leave them in just a few weeks, and time was running short.

To make matters worse, the association was in the middle of a strategic planning activity. It has become clear to leadership that the industry profile was rapidly changing: the real estate brokerages had become leaner and more dependent on technology, the sources of income from MLS operations had diminished due to a regionalization program, and the focus of the organization was becoming more directed to providing support services for consumers as well as members. All of these trends were requiring a restructuring of the association's resources and direction. It was a time of significant change.

Al could not be leaving at a worse time. How would the association replace his knowledge and leadership? And how could the leadership find someone of a senior executive level to guide them through finalizing and implementing the strategies to accommodate the dramatic changes that were taking place in the real estate industry?

The National Association of Realtors provided the association with an answer: the Human Resources department suggested hiring an interim Association Executive to manage operations until a permanent hire could be put in place. "We've experienced the retirement of several successful CEOs," NAR told the association president. "Why not consider hiring a professional to lead you through this transition?"

NAR presented the board with several resumes, and the association was able to secure the temporary services of a seasoned AE with 25 years of Realtor association management experience. The interim AE came to the association with a clear understanding of the temporary nature of the appointment and of the work which the association needed: to continue operations of current programs and services, to guide the organization through the remainder of the strategic planning process, to organize and train staff to better serve the new directions the association was taking, and to assist in revamping the internal organizational structure to increase its capacity to meet new challenges. And the over-riding mission of the interim AE: to guide the group through a successful search process resulting in a permanent hire for the top management position.

What did the association gain from this solution to suddenly losing its Association Executive?

1. The association bought time in which to make a considered decision in hiring the right person. It did not expend volunteer resources in trying a do-it-yourself solution, and it did not spend unnecessary time and political capital in hiring the wrong person in haste.

2. The association brought the right skill set to the job at hand, which was to manage the transition period and prepare the way for the permanent AE.

3. The new permanent AE was positioned for success. The association had defined its goals, written a clear job description for the new CEO, implemented a fair and thorough search process, discussed with staff the need to meet the requirements of new goals, and instilled confidence in the members.

4. The association benefited from the advice of an objective and experienced short term manager.

5. The association (and the interim manager) were able to focus on key priorities. Because there was a clear 'end date' to the relationship, and an established set of benchmarks, the association did not get bogged down in side issues and unimportant disruptions. It was a very productive transition time for all concerned.

Granted, this article is billed as a case study--your organization may not fit this exact description. But there are many situations when an interim AE may be an excellent solution:

When a long term, well-loved AE is leaving the association, and distance is needed (There's an adage for that: “I don't want to follow Bud. I want to be the person who follows the person who follows Bud");

When there is significant political disruption accompanying the departure of an executive;

When immediate leadership is needed, and it is clear that the hiring process will take a long time;

When the association is evolving and the long-term needs are unclear, as are the extent of the organizational resources needed to meet those needs.

In recent years the Realtor organization has experienced the loss of many seasoned AEs, often baby-boomers who have reached retirement age. The Realtor organization can use these people as resources in many ways: as consultants, as mentors, and as interim association executives who can share their knowledge, leadership and experience at times when local and state organizations most need these qualities.

(If your organization needs help in developing a transition plan for planned and unplanned replacements of your chief staff executive, I can help. Contact Judith@judithlindenau.com. If you need further information on an interim AE program, contact NAR's Human Resource Department for more information. Fee-based consulting services are also available from NAR: contact Donna Garcia, Director Human Resource Services, at dgarcia@realtors.org, or at 312-329-8311. )

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Important Tools In The Domain Name Search Process | Business 2 Community

2011-09-05T07:36:00.001-04:00

Important Tools In The Domain Name Search Process

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Jenna Levy | Sep 05, 2011 | Comments: 0

Many great men and women have been there — a life-changing idea for a website, but the domain name is out of your control. Luckily Mr. Dmitry Davydov over at Pickydomains   was able to offer up gems of wisdom. After helping to name over 1500 online businesses since 2007, I figure he’d have a few tricks up his sleeve. Here’s what he suggests-
1. Nameboy
Nameboy.Com is a free domain suggestions tool that uses keyword algorithms to automatically create domain names and check them for availability. Since all domains are generated by machine, most of suggestions are outright unusable, however you can get some ideas by using NameBoy. Free is free.
2. PickyDomains
Unlike Nameboy, PickyDomains.com is powered by humans. This service is inexpensive ($50) and you pay only if you decide to register one of the suggested domains. If you don’t like anything, you don’t pay anything. If you are good with words, you might want to try it on the contributor side, as 40%-60% of that client fee is paid  to the contributor who made the winning suggestion.
3. Stuckdomains
There are a number of services in this niche both free and paid. Expired domains are domains that have been previously registered and have since become available. The advantages and disadvantages of buying expired domain are the same – you inherit all the history, which could be free type-in traffic and existing backlinks, but it also could be banned from search engines for violations.
4. US Government
If you need a domain name for commercial purposes, it might be worthwhile to see if related trademarks have already been registered. Uncle Sam gives you antiquated but free online service for that.
A great name won’t make or break the success of your venture – indeed, “Google” and “Accenture” have done quite alright, even with kinda goofy names. However, it never hurts your chances of success to have a great name that immediately says what your companies offers – like Groupon   or Facebook. Taking advantage of the above tools will increase your audience and simplify the creation process.

via business2community.com

And while we're talking about top level domains, let's look at domain names in general. Does your organization's domain name say what will stick in consumer's minds? Is it uniquely yours?

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

The Answer Site: a Social Media Tool for Successful Real Estate Communities : Off Stage

2011-09-04T12:14:00.001-04:00

Sep. 4, 2011 - The Answer Site: a Social Media Tool for Successful Real Estate Communities

“Not another social media column,” you grumble. “I am Facebooked and GooglePlused and Tweeted to boredom and back. And I haven’t got any new satisfied customers to show for it. Social media is hype—all Stetson and no horse.”

“Now just a minute,” I reply. “Social media is not about Tweeting your breakfast cereal preference. And it’s not about finding new buyers for your product or dropping breadcrumbs of information in front of your members. Social media is about creating a community—a group which shares interests, beliefs, or knowledge. It’s about bringing people together, enabling them to bond through shared interests and information. It’s not about YOU, Bucko, it’s about the community you create or join.”

In real estate, the community is about buyers, sellers, and property owners. As real estate association managers, we often think our community is our members—but that target market definition is expanding and shifting as we speak: as our members become more and more aware that the consumer’s interests will direct their business structure, so must associations realize that public demands will shape the future of the association.

In a recent blog   from the WAV group, the author observes that traditional MLSs are focused on communication with their members. However, “More aggressive MLSs are putting themselves in the center of the conversation about real estate issues by communicating to consumers. They do this with public facing websites, publishing market trends, issuing press releases to local media outlets and hosting real estate related events. In this regard, the MLS is an advocate and connector between consumers and the professional real estate family.”

I know, I know—there are still the foot-draggers who mutter imprecations about the MLS that competes with the broker business—but those are the folks who don’t know a whole lot about current consumer interests (“give me efficient, anonymous access to all the information I need in one place”) and search engine optimization (“eighty percent of house hunters begin their search on Google or a similar search engine, so you need to get mentioned ‘above the fold’, i.e. in the first eight responses”). These are, of course, results which a large group such as an association or an MLS organization can produce better than a single company can.

Cooperation, after all, extends to areas far greater than individual property sales. And a cooperative community is what a trade association is all about.

As the WAV group blog points out, there are many ways to cooperate in building a consumer community which is supportive of the real estate business, and which is knowledgeable and informed about property and property transactions. The creation of such a community does, of course, benefit everyone—brokers and salespeople, buyers, sellers, and the real estate business periphery as well.

The bottom line for associations and MLSs: adopt building such a community as one of your goals. Be direct and proactive about it—ask yourself, “WWCW” (“What would consumers want?”).

One thing we know without much additional research is that consumers want trustworthy, complete information. In my many years as a real estate association executive, I came to dread The Cocktail Party. Invariably I would be cornered by some member of the public with a real estate question (“What’s a good price for waterfront property?”) or a horror story (“MY agent never told me about that perfect house on Sycamore Street and somebody else bought it before I had a chance!”). I had a great deal of sympathy for my doctor friends, who admitted that they studiously avoided those same parties because someone always needed an on-the-spot diagnosis, or wanted to show them a surgery scar.

My question to Associations and MLS organizations is, why not create a consumer conversation site as a part of your web presence? These sites have become increasingly popular in recent years: perhaps the most well-known popular one is the Yahoo! Answers   site, which encourages community questions and encourages a game-like atmosphere of building points for answers.

There are more specific real estate answer sites you can look at as examples: take a moment to browse the AllExperts   site or RealEstateABC.com.

Most real estate answer sites would most likely be simpler than these examples: such a website could be limited to real estate-related questions, particularly as they involved the local or regional marketing area. It could be set up with a bank of ‘experts’ providing answers and resources—and including zoning administrators and others, as well as invitees for specific issues. Of course you might want to build some controls into the answer providers: avoiding liability, wrong answers, and blatant sales solicitations are pitfalls to avoid.

As far as the technology is concerned, a Q & A site that is narrowly focused will probably have a manageable amount of traffic, and can have a simple format: give the public a place to post questions, and give your organization a column to answer them. If you want more elaborate interface, explore the online answer site providers like AnswerBase   or QHub  . The Q&A Script   program will look a lot like the Yahoo! Answers format, if that better suits your site, or you can explore the possibility of the Wordpress Plugin   for a blog: for an $89 investment you might turn a blog into a wealth of information (and generate a little cash and a few more visitors) in the process, or there’s a geographically specific Wordpress Real Estate   plugin which incorporates real estate answers for your specific zip code area.

The benefits of a Q&A site:

·         Your organization becomes an authority on the subject.

·         Generally Q and A sites have good public relations value

·         Q and A sites index quickly on search engines

·         Traffic can be instant, even less than a minute if it's a fresh question.

·         You are creating a stronger, more positive and helpful real estate community

It’s time to move our thinking to creating more dialogue with the public—with using our MLS and association websites to move beyond our members as a target market. In so doing, we can indeed create a better environment in which our members can flourish.

via realtown.com

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What if the MLS industry does not apply for .MLS? | MLS Domains Association

2011-08-31T17:59:00.001-04:00

What if the MLS industry does not apply for .MLS?

2011 August 30

by dotmlsadmin

This post is from guest contributor, Brian N. Larson, Larson/Sobotka Business Advisors LLC

Our client, MLS Domains Association, is planning to obtain .MLS as a new top-level domain (TLD) on the Internet. Common among the current 22 TLDs are .COM, .NET, and .INFO; but ICANN , the international organization that governs the domain name system on the Internet, is expecting to permit hundreds of new top-level domains. ICANN adopted its final timeline for the new TLDs in June 2011: The application period will open January 12, 2012, and will close in April 2012.

If MLS Domains Association applies and is successful, only legitimate multiple listing services would have domains at .MLS.

Failure to apply during this window means (a) giving up the domain to anyone else who claims it during this window or (b) waiting until the next application window, which industry leaders expect not to come until 2014 or 2015, to apply for .MLS. Both of these alternatives are bad for our industry. If MLSs don’t apply during the 2012 window, it’s likely some entrepreneur will. If no one applies during the 2012 window, the ‘MLS brand’ will continue to be eroded by brokers and third parties for another couple years until the industry can apply. Given the comparatively small cost of applying and operating the new TLD, the industry would be foolish to pass up the opportunity.

First, the costs

For MLS Domains Association to apply for and obtain the .MLS TLD will cost less than $1,000,000. To operate it will cost less than $500,000 per year. Compare that to the costs of other national industry initiatives. I would hesitate to call the amounts trivial, but a one-time expense of less than $1 per MLS subscriber and less than $0.50 per year per subscriber seems a pretty small price to protect the MLS brand. But how will MLS Domains Association’s efforts ‘protect the MLS brand’?

The business case for someone else to seek .MLS

We don’t know who will apply for TLDs in first quarter 2012. But there is good reason for many applicants to keep their plans secret. Imagine that DomainSpec, Inc. (an invented name) is waiting to see whether MLS Domains Association applies for .MLS. Imagine that MLS Domains Association does not apply and that DomainSpec applies for and receives the .MLS TLD. DomainSpec then takes the names of the 500 largest cities and towns and 200 most populous counties in the U.S. (think ‘Chicago.MLS’, ‘DadeCounty.MLS’, ‘Springfield.MLS’, etc.); it approaches real estate agents in each of those markets and offers one broker or agent exclusive use (i.e., domain registration) of her town or market name, plus .MLS, for an average cost of $1,000 per year. The cost would probably be higher for bigger cities and lower for smaller ones, but we can take $1,000 as the average. The resulting revenue of $700,000 per year would be more than enough to operate the registry (especially since DomainSpec could get economies of scale from operating a couple other TLDs) and make a tidy profit. Don’t you think there’s at least one agent in each of these cities and towns who would be willing to pay that price to ‘own’ ‘Chicago.MLS’, ‘Houston.MLS’, etc.?

Even if an MLS participant uses one of these domains to deliver an IDX site (with the necessary disclaimer that the site is not ‘actually an MLS’), the result is that the value of the term ‘MLS’ will be eroded. A site at ‘LosAngeles.MLS’ would be a broker’s site, leaving the visiting consumer confused about what an MLS is. If you think your local brokers now don’t like sites like ‘YourMLSOnline.COM’ and similar pseudo-MLSs, wait until they get a load of ‘Cleveland.MLS’ or ‘Boston.MLS’ operated by one of their competitors.

Because MLS Domains Association is applying for the new TLD as a “community,” it would win over the hypothetical DomainSpec in the ICANN process. But if MLS Domains Association does not apply or fails to reach the thresholds of support required for a community application, I believe someone like DomainSpec will get .MLS.

The business case in the absence of a speculator

Your brokers already dislike the pseudo-MLS websites at domains like ‘YourTownMLS.COM,’ ‘YourMLSOnline.COM’ and the like. MLSs generally cannot prevent such sites from existing, as misleading as their names may be. But with a .MLS TLD available only to MLSs, in time the value of those pseudo-MLS domains would erode. This is true whether or not your local MLS operates a consumer-facing listings website:

On one hand, if your MLS operates a consumer-facing listings website, it will certainly not hurt for it to be at ‘YourTown.MLS.’ And sites like ‘MLSYourTown.COM’ and others will become less relevant to consumers.

On the other, if your MLS does not operate a consumer-facing website, it could still operate an ‘IDX clearinghouse’ site, optimized for search engines, that your MLS could use to link out to broker IDX sites. In time, this could take traffic from national aggregators and ‘faux MLS sites’ and redirect it to local IDX sites.

Gathering enough support

Though the costs to obtain and operate .MLS are relatively small, we need to round up as much financial and community support as possible before making the application if we expect to be successful. Despite success in membership recruitment, MLS Domains Association’s fund-raising efforts are somewhat limited because the Association has sought grassroots support as a non-profit organization rather than for-profit investors. You can help now:

If you are an MLS, join the MLS Domains Association (the cost is $500 or $1500 per year, depending on your MLS’s number of subscribers). Fifty MLSs are already members, representing more than half the MLS subscribers in the U.S.

If you are a member of MLS Domains Association, claim a domain (or claim a second, third, or sixth). You put up $800 per domain claim, and half that amount remains in escrow until the Association’s ICANN application is approved. Leading MLSs have already claimed more than 250 domains–is your town one of them?

If you are a partner to the industry (e.g., a provider of MLS, lockbox, or other product or software solutions), become a sponsor of the Association to aid it though its first few years of operation. We expect to be able to announce in September final agreements with two industry partners to be Platinum Sponsors, with one agreeing to provide $50,000 per year for four years and the other providing a $400,000 line of credit for the first five years of operations. (Other levels of sponsorship are available; contact info@MLSDomains.org for details and sponsorship benefits, etc.)

I’m impressed by the shows of support this effort has received so far, but without more help from the community of MLSs and their business partners, I think we will fall short. I don’t want to wake up some morning next May and hear that someone else applied for .MLS.

I welcome your comments. If you have questions about the Association, contact info@MLSDomains.org or reach me directly.

-Brian

via mlsdomains.org

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3 weeks of summer in Eleuthera - a trip report (sort of) - Eleuthera Forum - TripAdvisor

2011-08-22T08:21:00.001-04:00

“ 3 weeks of summer in Eleuthera - a trip report (sort of) ”

Aug 21, 2011, 12:58 PM

July 23 - August 13, 2011

We aren't new to the island; this was our third time on Eleuthera this year, but never had we been there in July and August, a time when the pace is even slower, people even friendlier and certainly more talkative, and the wild summer fruits flourish in the hot sun and warm rains.

This time we never ventured to swim at any other beach than the one in front of Endless Summer at Double Bay. We started each day with a swim and probably made two more dips into the warm, nearly hot water each day. The Atlantic was mostly calm and the "Caribbean" was mostly rough in an interesting switch. No shark or ray sightings this time, but many sea turtles passed by the house.

I really don't know where to begin, perhaps I should write separate entries about the amazing things we saw and felt. Now it seems like a summer haze. Does anyone want to know about these things? Mrs. Nottage at the Highway Department Store in Tarpum Bay? Donovan and Diane at the D&D Bar? Kino the bushman fisherman of Deep Creek? Scraps the Double Bay potcake that we could barely leave behind? The fruit: sugar apples, soursaps, sapodillys, cocoplums picked still wet from the rain (and the kids and people swarming over the bushes with their cheeks puffed out with them in their mouths,) guineps (pronounced locally as "ka-naps,") sweet watermelon, and mangos? How about buying fresh lobster from the deaf mute fisherwoman? Spider crabs anyone? The humour of Mate at Mate and Jenny's (there is a guinep tree right next to it, by the way.) The rare opening of Cigatoo for a wedding, also serving as the stand in kitchen and dining room for the Buccaneer Club during "cleanup week.?" Sky Juice? The Blue Room? (I wrote a review of it here.) Conversations with Hesley at Windchimes and Kevin at Kel-D's? Doctor Seabreeze sitting in for Elliot in the band with Cisco at Tippy's? The magnificent sight of Elliot in a mourning suit? The hospitality of Chantel at Ship to Shore in Wemyss Bight? Land Crabs in the sun after the rain? My wife feeding toast to a rooster who took it from her hand? The little kids who scampered away to search for and return giggling after picking me one more branch of guineps?

Oh those warm memories of sweet summertime in Eleuthera don't even scratch the surface of what we saw and felt this time.

via tripadvisor.com

I didn't know what I was missing....

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AE on the Verge: 24 thoughts for Association Execs - picked up virtually from #ASAE11

2011-08-20T18:51:00.001-04:00

24 thoughts for Association Execs - picked up virtually from #ASAE11

Here's an assortment of tips and thoughts that I picked up on Twitter during the ASAE 2011 Conference ... that I did not attend in person. Note: Tried to credit the original person who posted a tweet or picture. Info in brackets is my additional comment.
3 New Words/Terms:
1. "Associationize" (@PBBsRealm)
2. "Procedural Justice" (@MDsnowpro)
3. "Sacred zombie cow" - project simply exists, consumes staff and resources, and far harder to kill than your average sacred cow (@MDsnowpro)
3 Banquet/Event Ideas:
1. Edible centerpiece: cake pops, cupcakes, chocolate covered pretzels (@markbledsoe)
2. Put lunch in a keepsake box [see pic] (@tfec)
3. Make your presenters marketers. Use them to promote event in advance. Give presenters incentives to promote. (@bkpitman)
8 Notable Thoughts:

1. Ethics: You need courage to address lapses in judgment (@GregWilsonCAE)
2. Mission Statement: If you can't fit it on a t-shirt, people are not going to remember it. (@ashleyhodak)
3. Board: Be consistent with your communication to your Board, it helps them to expect, understand and be engaged. (@bkpitman)
4. Board: If you want your board to be strategic and not operational, they need to meet less. (@ashleyhodak)
5. Board: A good board needs to be able to say no. (@healthywrtr)
6. Value: We create value in 3 ways for members - make them smarter, save them money, make life easier (@Lowellmatthew)
7. Change: No one was ever extraordinary by keeping things the same. (@hospicedave)
8. Change: The "leave no member behind" mentality is killing us. (@BillSheridan)
8 Technology/Social Media Tips:
1. Ask members to link back to your site to improve your linkability (help them if aren't sure how) (@ljunker)
2. Polls on your site can improve SEO because they are content that naturally evolves and changes (@ljunker)
3. Save your PowerPoint presentation as a PDF. (@adamsharkwebb)
4. Mobile friendly emails should be 1 column, no photos, stories short & sweet (@LaurenMangnall)
5. 64% of e-mails are opened on a smart phone so we must design e-marketing for them. (@marianazario) [Design e-newsletters anticipating smart phones too]
6. People will accept bad video but not bad audio. (@prbrian)
7. Poll Everywhere provides real time audience response system. (@gfinecae)
8. Member outreach - send onesie with association logo to members with new baby - have them send pic back for association Facebook page (@Lowellmatthew)
2 Fundraising Ideas:

1. Add “donate” button or “donor wall” to website (@DrakeCo)
2. Share and win campaign. Have them share on social networks and offer a prize drawing. (@bkpitman)
Thanks to all who tweeted meaningful content this year!

via cindyae.blogspot.com

Some real gems here!

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RE Technology Portal - RE Technology Portal - RE Technology Portal

2011-08-17T06:55:00.001-04:00

What .MLS TLD will mean to the real estate industry and the Internet

An Article from the MLS Domains Association

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Guest Contributor
Published: 08/16/2011
Posted by: RET Staff

We pulled the following article from the MLS Domains Association website.

Now that the ICANN process and timeline for new TLD applications is finalized (see ICANN's press release after its June 2011 meeting (PDF) or check out ICANN's press page for more details), MLS Domains Association can kick its activities back into high gear. Two current issues the Association is exploring are (a) how the .MLS TLD will fit into the real estate industry and (b) how .MLS will fit into the broader Internet.

MLS Domains Association board member Judith Lindenau has provided a great overview for MLSs trying to understand the first question: ABCs of TLDs: Domain Name Basics for Real Estate Pros offers the basic vocabulary every MLS leader and leading real estate broker should have.

via retechnology.com

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The ABCs of TLDs: Domain Name Basics for Realtors : Off Stage

2011-08-15T15:26:00.001-04:00

Aug. 15, 2011 - The ABCs of TLDs: Domain Name Basics for Realtors

It was just a few short years ago that we were all struggling to understand the complexities of internet addresses: Realtor.com? Realtor.org? What’s the diff? And what’s with this ‘http colon backslash backslash’ stuff? It’ll never catch on….

Well, it appears you now have a few new alphabet clusters to learn, and they will become as important to your professional success as those internet addresses you struggled to learn not so many months ago. They’re called Top Level Domains—TLDs.

The TLDs are what you know as ‘.com’, ‘.org’, and ‘.gov’, as well as others. TLDs are the two or three letters that follow the last dot in an internet address: Dale@realtor.org is an example, with ‘.org’ being the TLD in the address. These TLDs are a part of the world wide Domain Name System (DNS) which helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address - just like a telephone number - which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its "IP address" (IP stands for "Internet Protocol"). IP Addresses are hard to remember. The DNS makes using the Internet easier by allowing a familiar string of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead of the arcane IP address.

There are two basic types of TLDs: the gTLD (which stands for generic top level domain—like .com) and the ccTLD (awarded to a country, a country code TLD like .us). What you need to know is that every domain name around the world ends with a top-level domain, and that each total address is unique.

And it goes without saying that every address of every domain is registered, just as is every house address or vehicle license plate. That’s a complicated process, of course, and you really don’t need to know how it works—just that it does!

That’s the terminology. Here’s how things are changing, and will change—dramatically—in the next year or two.

The organization that handles the registration and assignment of the top level domains is called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. There were 8 TLDs when ICANN was started in 1998, and only 13 more have been added since then. This year, after months of discussion, ICANN announced that it had approved a new program, an initiative that will enable the introduction of new gTLDs into the domain name space.

Why? ICANN says, “One of ICANN's key commitments is to promote competition in the domain name market while ensuring Internet security and stability. New generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) help achieve that commitment. Soon entrepreneurs, businesses, governments and communities around the world will be able to apply to operate a Top-Level Domain of their own choosing.”

And what will that mean for the real estate business community? Again, let’s look to ICANN for the answer: “The increase in number of gTLDs into the root is not expected to affect the way the Internet operates, but it will, for example, potentially change the way people find information on the Internet or how businesses plan and structure their online presence. “

Our group*, the MLS Domains Association, recognized a great opportunity here in the US, an opportunity to create name recognition and consumer confidence for real estate professionals. “If we can organize,” reasoned some major MLSs, “we can apply for a domain of our own, one that can be used only by recognized multiple listing services. The public, and other MLSs, will recognize the .MLS top level domain and the consistently high quality of information it represents.”

Is this a simple goal to achieve? Of course not. ICANN’s fees alone will discourage all but the most stable applicants: The application evaluation fee is estimated at US$185,000. Then, under the agreement, there are at least two additional fees: (a) a fixed fee of US$6,250 per calendar quarter; (b) and a possible added transaction fee.

The MLS Domains Association firmly believes, however, that the benefits of acquiring the .MLS top level domain, and limiting its use only to multiple listing services, will be of great service to the real estate industry. ICANN has declared that “The applicant is responsible for setting the business model and policy for how they will use their gTLD, so long as the registry is in compliance with the terms of the registry agreement.”

If our application is successful, the association members will be able to benefit from brand name recognition, as well as manage the continued use of the term “MLS” on the internet.

That will be very good thing.

*the author serves on the association board of directors

Answer to the Puzzle:

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StumbleUpon Launches Program to Help Nonprofits | GoodWorks - Advertising Age

2011-08-15T09:40:00.001-04:00

StumbleUpon Launches Program to Help Nonprofits

Stumbling for Good Works With Organizations to Expand Awareness

By: Karen Egolf Bio
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Published: August 10, 2011

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StumbleUpon is officially launching Stumbling for Good, a new advertising program to help nonprofits increase awareness and site traffic. The San Francisco-based company started the program earlier this summer, initially running a campaign for the World Food Programme, and is now opening up the effort to include more organizations.
StumbleUpon, a discovery engine that recommends web and mobile content for its more than 15 million users, will help nonprofits reach users most likely to respond to their messages and engage with them via its new Paid Discovery social media brand ad platform. World Food Programme credits the StumbleUpon campaign for helping it feed more than 5,000 people, making a video to thank the company for its work.
"Fundamentally, advertising is all about getting discovered," says Marc Leibowitz, VP-business development and marketing, for StumbleUpon. "We thought about how we could help nonprofits get discovered. That's one of the biggest challenges nonprofits have -- how do they generate awareness which results in people lending their time or money or other resources to help them reach their goals.
"The idea behind this program is the same as the idea behind the paid version of Paid Discovery: introducing people to organizations that they might not even have known to look for," Leibowitz says. "That's the premise behind StumbleUpon."
StumbleUpon plans to run campaigns for three nonprofits a month, working with each to promote specific assets of the organization and to drive people to a specific URL, anything from videos to blog posts. It plans to select organizations from those that its employees are passionate about as well as nonprofits that approach it.
"There are obviously some great causes out there," Leibowitz says. "Over time we're trying to canvass the universe of issues and be even-handed in how we select … and give them enough oomph to give them a significant boost.
"We wanted to introduce [our users] to causes that they might not otherwise have known about or known to look for," he says. "We're glad that we can put some nonprofit organizations into that stream of users if we can make the world just a little bit better by sending traffic to people who might take action based on something they saw."

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It's Complicated: MLS Questions : Off Stage

2011-08-10T16:14:00.001-04:00

ug. 10, 2011 - It's Complicated: MLS Questions

The celebrated (read “Notorious”) blogger Rob Hahn proposed a solution to the problems facing the Multiple Listing Service. In his most recent column, Rob said, “The MLS should cease collecting payment from the agent/member; it should, instead, collect payment directly from the broker, and only from the broker.”   No more nickel-and-diming the sales associates and whoever else may have access to the MLS, no more collecting a thousand checks from subscribers when a single check from each broker/owner/Participant will do.

What this means, says Rob, is a more clearly delineated target market for the MLS: “the real issue will become whether the MLS’s own innovations deliver value to the broker, who pays the bills.” After all, the listings belong to the broker, as does the real estate company. Let the brokers decide what products to adopt and fund because the brokers know what makes sense to develop cooperatively and which should be left to individual brokerages to invest in: this way there will be no generalized ‘leveling the playing field’.

Hahn concludes, “I think this relatively simple change would go a long way towards restoring order while lowering conflicts in the real estate industry. Frankly, I don’t see a huge amount of downside. And it would be relatively easy to implement: some changes to billing practices are what’s required.”

A modest proposal indeed! Certainly not as complicated as boiling up a tasty Jonathan Swift stew instead of a constant diet of bland and mealy potatoes, eh Rob?

The question in my mind is, would that simple change in the billing structure really portend massive reforms? I once worked for an MLS that was not only quite small, but also slow to jump on the bandwagon of fads: hence it always billed the brokers for their use of MLS services based on the number of users in each individual brokerage. The Bake Sale Board of Realtors never quite caught on to the trick of billing each subscriber individually. “Too expensive and time consuming,” the business manager sniffed.

The BS Board even put it the issue to the brokers. One large broker thought it a grand idea, but when asked if he would pay a little extra to support salesperson billing, he wasn’t too receptive. Another large broker resented the MLS ‘coming between’ him and his sales staff. “And I don’t want competition for their money,” he said. “Salespeople pay me, and I pay the MLS.”

Oooookay. Changing to billing the individuals was not a good plan, the BS MLS decided. But as I re-read Rob’s article, I thought, “That was then, this is now. Wonder if MLSs today think Notorious Rob has a solution?” So I asked them.

The response was a fairly resounding yawn. One industry analyst wrote, “I did read this (article) earlier, but I didn’t have a lot of interest in commenting on something that the industry talked about quite thoroughly 15 years ago or more.” An MLS manager said, “I wrote an essay on this topic back in 2004…nothing has changed.” A former colleague reminded me: “I’m sure you can remember when many more MLSs were billing brokers rather than agents – we’ve been there, and we’ve done that and I don’t remember it making MLS more complicated when it changed. And brokers putting increasingly more responsibility on the agent for costs has been a trend that has only increased – a trend entirely initiated by brokers.”

Another voice, again an industry observer rather than practitioner or staff person, says the Hahn’s answer is too simple--that asking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could simplify the problem of who the customer is? But that question isn’t very useful. Note also that this wouldn’t change anything for many participants – one or two person shops. It would only screw up the cash flow for the largest brokers.”

One of the main reasons for the weakness of the broker-as-customer solution was stated this way:”The ‘Don't Level the Playing Field’ problem requires a process for its solution, not a project. In other words, you need to keep solving the problem over and over again, because it arises from a natural tension between individual brokers and the collective organization working on their behalf. (It's a little like "How much should government do?" The answer depends on the time and place and other factors.)“

Restated, this quotation means that it’s difficult to craft a static solution against the decision-making dynamic of competitors trying to cooperate in the best interests of all. The answer has to be re-invented each time a problem arises.

Bob, an MLS CEO agrees that the problem isn’t easy: “Fiduciary responsibility of an MLS is not as easy an issue to grapple with as it is in a traditional business. An MLS has many masters, all of whom must be served, sometimes to varying degrees at different times.

(1)                          Most are owned by associations, some of which expect a dividend payment (in a wholly owned subsidiary situation) or at least financial support (in a committee situation) from the MLS so they don’t have to raise dues;

(2)                          Brokers are the business owners that rely on the MLS to maintain a modicum of arm’s length control in an environment of cooperation between competitors;

(3)                          Agents on the street are the consumer of the lion’s share of the services the MLS provides; and

(4)                          Consumers are the beneficiaries of those services since ultimately they are the ones writing the checks (either to buy the house or to pay the commission). “

Bob’s final observation is one that all MLS administrators fully understand:” It’s the brokers who have the capacity to take their ball and bat and go home if they don’t like how the game is going. Because if they don’t like the practices of the MLS and no longer see a benefit but instead a liability, they will find another way to stay in business.”

“Ok,” my friend Matt challenges. “What do you think, Lindenau?” (No fair, Matt. Writers are allowed to hide behind the quotes of others….. )

Well, I’ll summarize my thoughts. Here they are:

1.       It doesn’t make any difference who pays the bills, Rob. MLSs will never act as an efficient technology-based business service as long as the decision-makers (i.e., the board of directors) are neither business oriented (as opposed to being guided primarily by the profit and loss statements of their individual companies) nor technology proficient. User groups and technology-based business decision-makers are not the same thing.

2.       There are only so many resources in any one organization’s bucket. We’ve spent most of our resources chasing after diversionary issues like this one. Real Estate is an industry in peril. Get used to it and address what we can of the real problems we’re all facing. Examine the dead elephant in the room—the corpse is getting smellier and smellier.

3.       The current MLS dependency on single vendor relationships is one of our biggest weaknesses. Our vendors need to stay in business, sometimes at the expense of innovations which members require and technology makes possible. Data collection and information extraction, interpretation, and presentation are different things. It’s best if MLSs are not tied to a one solution provider for all of these functions.

4.       As MLSs, some of our most pervasive problems come from the NAR organization itself. The issues of who should be members of the real estate business community is tied to licensing structures and job descriptions which are outdated at best, and NAR’s insistence on antiquated geographical boundaries for servicing members’ professional needs has consumed an inordinate amount of our collective resources.

I wish there were easy answers. I wish we could just change the billing system and solve all the issues. The pure fact of the matter is, most of these problems are very solvable—but maybe it will take an organization which can invent the answers without cumbersome politics and governance.

Hey! Maybe we could just appoint a bipartisan committee, and lay the responsibility in its collective lap….
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It's Complicated: MLS Questions : Off Stage

2011-08-10T16:13:00.001-04:00

ug. 10, 2011 - It's Complicated: MLS Questions

The celebrated (read “Notorious”) blogger Rob Hahn proposed a solution to the problems facing the Multiple Listing Service. In his most recent column, Rob said, “The MLS should cease collecting payment from the agent/member; it should, instead, collect payment directly from the broker, and only from the broker.”   No more nickel-and-diming the sales associates and whoever else may have access to the MLS, no more collecting a thousand checks from subscribers when a single check from each broker/owner/Participant will do.

What this means, says Rob, is a more clearly delineated target market for the MLS: “the real issue will become whether the MLS’s own innovations deliver value to the broker, who pays the bills.” After all, the listings belong to the broker, as does the real estate company. Let the brokers decide what products to adopt and fund because the brokers know what makes sense to develop cooperatively and which should be left to individual brokerages to invest in: this way there will be no generalized ‘leveling the playing field’.

Hahn concludes, “I think this relatively simple change would go a long way towards restoring order while lowering conflicts in the real estate industry. Frankly, I don’t see a huge amount of downside. And it would be relatively easy to implement: some changes to billing practices are what’s required.”

A modest proposal indeed! Certainly not as complicated as boiling up a tasty Jonathan Swift stew instead of a constant diet of bland and mealy potatoes, eh Rob?

The question in my mind is, would that simple change in the billing structure really portend massive reforms? I once worked for an MLS that was not only quite small, but also slow to jump on the bandwagon of fads: hence it always billed the brokers for their use of MLS services based on the number of users in each individual brokerage. The Bake Sale Board of Realtors never quite caught on to the trick of billing each subscriber individually. “Too expensive and time consuming,” the business manager sniffed.

The BS Board even put it the issue to the brokers. One large broker thought it a grand idea, but when asked if he would pay a little extra to support salesperson billing, he wasn’t too receptive. Another large broker resented the MLS ‘coming between’ him and his sales staff. “And I don’t want competition for their money,” he said. “Salespeople pay me, and I pay the MLS.”

Oooookay. Changing to billing the individuals was not a good plan, the BS MLS decided. But as I re-read Rob’s article, I thought, “That was then, this is now. Wonder if MLSs today think Notorious Rob has a solution?” So I asked them.

The response was a fairly resounding yawn. One industry analyst wrote, “I did read this (article) earlier, but I didn’t have a lot of interest in commenting on something that the industry talked about quite thoroughly 15 years ago or more.” An MLS manager said, “I wrote an essay on this topic back in 2004…nothing has changed.” A former colleague reminded me: “I’m sure you can remember when many more MLSs were billing brokers rather than agents – we’ve been there, and we’ve done that and I don’t remember it making MLS more complicated when it changed. And brokers putting increasingly more responsibility on the agent for costs has been a trend that has only increased – a trend entirely initiated by brokers.”

Another voice, again an industry observer rather than practitioner or staff person, says the Hahn’s answer is too simple--that asking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could simplify the problem of who the customer is? But that question isn’t very useful. Note also that this wouldn’t change anything for many participants – one or two person shops. It would only screw up the cash flow for the largest brokers.”

One of the main reasons for the weakness of the broker-as-customer solution was stated this way:”The ‘Don't Level the Playing Field’ problem requires a process for its solution, not a project. In other words, you need to keep solving the problem over and over again, because it arises from a natural tension between individual brokers and the collective organization working on their behalf. (It's a little like "How much should government do?" The answer depends on the time and place and other factors.)“

Restated, this quotation means that it’s difficult to craft a static solution against the decision-making dynamic of competitors trying to cooperate in the best interests of all. The answer has to be re-invented each time a problem arises.

Bob, an MLS CEO agrees that the problem isn’t easy: “Fiduciary responsibility of an MLS is not as easy an issue to grapple with as it is in a traditional business. An MLS has many masters, all of whom must be served, sometimes to varying degrees at different times.

(1)                          Most are owned by associations, some of which expect a dividend payment (in a wholly owned subsidiary situation) or at least financial support (in a committee situation) from the MLS so they don’t have to raise dues;

(2)                          Brokers are the business owners that rely on the MLS to maintain a modicum of arm’s length control in an environment of cooperation between competitors;

(3)                          Agents on the street are the consumer of the lion’s share of the services the MLS provides; and

(4)                          Consumers are the beneficiaries of those services since ultimately they are the ones writing the checks (either to buy the house or to pay the commission). “

Bob’s final observation is one that all MLS administrators fully understand:” It’s the brokers who have the capacity to take their ball and bat and go home if they don’t like how the game is going. Because if they don’t like the practices of the MLS and no longer see a benefit but instead a liability, they will find another way to stay in business.”

“Ok,” my friend Matt challenges. “What do you think, Lindenau?” (No fair, Matt. Writers are allowed to hide behind the quotes of others….. )

Well, I’ll summarize my thoughts. Here they are:

1.       It doesn’t make any difference who pays the bills, Rob. MLSs will never act as an efficient technology-based business service as long as the decision-makers (i.e., the board of directors) are neither business oriented (as opposed to being guided primarily by the profit and loss statements of their individual companies) nor technology proficient. User groups and technology-based business decision-makers are not the same thing.

2.       There are only so many resources in any one organization’s bucket. We’ve spent most of our resources chasing after diversionary issues like this one. Real Estate is an industry in peril. Get used to it and address what we can of the real problems we’re all facing. Examine the dead elephant in the room—the corpse is getting smellier and smellier.

3.       The current MLS dependency on single vendor relationships is one of our biggest weaknesses. Our vendors need to stay in business, sometimes at the expense of innovations which members require and technology makes possible. Data collection and information extraction, interpretation, and presentation are different things. It’s best if MLSs are not tied to a one solution provider for all of these functions.

4.       As MLSs, some of our most pervasive problems come from the NAR organization itself. The issues of who should be members of the real estate business community is tied to licensing structures and job descriptions which are outdated at best, and NAR’s insistence on antiquated geographical boundaries for servicing members’ professional needs has consumed an inordinate amount of our collective resources.

I wish there were easy answers. I wish we could just change the billing system and solve all the issues. The pure fact of the matter is, most of these problems are very solvable—but maybe it will take an organization which can invent the answers without cumbersome politics and governance.

Hey! Maybe we could just appoint a bipartisan committee, and lay the responsibility in its collective lap….
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
View more entries tagged with: Mls, Nortious Rob, Realtor, Broker, Target Ma

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Nonprofit Tax Quiz | Blue Avocado

2011-08-10T13:14:00.001-04:00

Nonprofit Tax Quiz

Feature Articles • By Kim Klein and Jan Masaoka • August 8, 2011 • Email Print

Everyone talks about the weather, but how many of us actually know what a lenticular cloud is or what the dew point means? In the nonprofit sector we throw around tax opinions, but here's a chance to learn something (uh oh). We loved working with Kim Klein of "Talking About Taxes" on this fun quiz.

We advise you to take this 17-question quiz with your friends or co-workers before looking at the answer sheet. (Hint: it's easiest if you print out the Quiz.) At the end of this article is a link to a print-friendly pdf of the quiz, the answer sheet, and the scoring guide.

1. If you give a nonprofit 501(c)(3) $10,000, how much less will you pay in federal taxes (assuming you itemize and are in the highest tax bracket)?

a. $10,000
b. $3,500
c. $1,500
d. $10,000, but only if you get a receipt within 60 days of the donation

2. In a group of ten people, seven of them filed the short tax form, and three filed the long form. All ten of them gave to a nonprofit. How many of them will reduce their taxes as a result of their donations?

a. Five. The other five gave their money to churches or religious institutions, and giving to religion is not deductible because of separation of church and state.

b. All ten -- that’s only fair.

c. Only the group of three. The other 7 are part of the 70% of Americans who file a short form, so they receive no tax benefit for their giving.

d. Eleven of them. One is filing two tax returns under different names.

3. Which of the following paid the least in U.S. taxes for 2010?

a. You
b. Sierra Club
c. General Electric (net profit $14.2 billion)
d. Willie Nelson

4. If you die and leave your son an estate of $3 million, how much in estate taxes (also called inheritance taxes) will be owed on the $3 million in income he is given?

a. $0
b. 15% which calculates to $450,000
c. 35% which calculates to $1.05 million
d. 15% on real estate inherited and 35% on non-real estate inheritance assets

5. Who said the following: "The estate tax -- our nation's only levy on accumulated wealth -- is the fairest and most important tax we have"?

a. Karl Marx
b. Theodore Roosevelt
c. Bill Gates, Sr.
d. Pope Paul VI
e. Thomas Jefferson

6. A "progressive tax structure" means:

a. It is supported by "progressive" people.

b. It is part of Obamacare.

c. People with higher incomes pay a higher percentage in taxes than people with lower incomes.

d. Taxes increase with inflation.

7. In the United States, if you live in a household with a total gross household income of $250,000 or more, what percentage of U.S. households have less income than yours?

a) 98%
b) 70%
c) 40%
d) 32%

8. If Michael, an attorney whose billing rate is $300 per hour, donates 3 hours of legal counseling to a nonprofit, how much can he deduct from his taxable income?

a. $0

b. 15% = $126 ($300 * 3 = 900, then 14% of 900 is $126)

c. $900 if he itemizes

d. Three hours at the average attorney billing rate in his state

9. Which of the following is legally a restriction on 501(c)(3) nonprofits:

a. Nonprofit staff cannot donate blood.
b. Nonprofits cannot borrow money, except from board members and staff.
c. Nonprofit board meetings must be open to the public.
d. Nonprofits cannot divvy up the surplus at year-end and distribute it to staff.
e. b and c

10. If you buy $20 worth of raffle tickets (for a new car) from a nonprofit as a fundraiser, you can:

a. Deduct $20 from your taxable income.

b. Deduct between 15% and 35% of the $20 from your taxable income depending on your tax bracket.

c. You can deduct only if the ticket says, “Donation requested” and indicates how you can get the tickets for free.

d. $20, but only if you win the car.

11. True/False: Thank-you notes to donors are required by law.

a. True

b. False, but you must send a receipt (acknowledgment letter) to a donor for any donation of $75 or more.

c. False, but you must send a receipt (acknowledgment letter) to a donor for any donation of $250 or more

d. Thank-you notes are only required for donors who are intending to list the donation on their tax returns.

12. To be officially poor according to the federal government, a family of four can have a total annual income of no higher than:

a. $22,350
b. $31,700
c. $42,000
d. the salary of the governor of Wyoming.

13. Median household (not individual) income: you live in a household that makes more money per year than 50% of American households. Your total household income is:

a. $31,000
b. $48,000
c. $94,000
d. More than Scrooge McDuck makes in a year.

14. If you paid $10,000 last year in federal income taxes, how many of your tax dollars went to conservation and the environment?

a. $100
b. $120
c. $370
d) $610

15. If you paid $10,000 last year in federal income taxes, how many of your tax dollars went to military and defense?

a) $1,000
b) $2,000
c) $5,000
d) $6,100

16. Sally Stockowner received $50,000 in income last year as profit from selling stock (that she owned for more than a year). Tanya Teacher is a school teacher with a salary of $50,000. Assuming they have no other income and they both take the standard deduction, which of them paid more in federal taxes?

a. Sally and Tanya both paid the same.
b. Sally Stockowner paid more.
c. Tanya Teacher paid more.
d. I don't like word problems.

17. If you pay at the highest individual rate for federal income tax in your country, in which country would you pay the highest amount in taxes?

a. Angola
b. Sweden
c. United States
d. Cuba

Answer sheet and scoring guide

Congratulations! You're done! Now: to download the free answer sheet and scoring guide (and the quiz without the answers to make it easy for you to photocopy for a group), please click here.

Our thanks to tax accountant Hank Levy, CPA, and to Paul Rosenstiel for assistance with this article.

Kim Klein is a legendary fundraising trainer, writer, and advocate for grassroots organizations. Among her five books is the classic Fundraising for Social Change, a must for nonprofit bookshelves. She is part of the "Talking About Taxes" work of the Building Movement Project, and she writes a blog on their site; click here to go there.

Jan Masaoka is editor of Blue Avocado.

See also in Blue Avocado:

Attack of the Tax Exemption Killers

Tax the Rich? More? Or Less?

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Blue Avocado Nonprofit Tax Quiz.pdf 715.03 KB

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Board of Directors Checklist Tool for Realtor Associations : Off Stage

2011-08-01T08:40:00.001-04:00

Aug. 1, 2011 - Board of Directors Checklist Tool for Realtor Associations

I hate to remind you, but it's August 1 and time for the annual Realtor association identity crisis we celebrate: the election and installation of new directors and officers. And if that weren't enough, most Realtor associations are also billing dues, setting budgets, and orienting and training new leaders. Members themselves may be getting a little testy as they take stock of the successes (and lack thereof) of the summer selling season. In my area of the country, at least, it won't be all that long before the real estate inventory will be covered with snow....

In the midst of the mayhem, it's time for reflection and planning. In an earlier blog I mentioned the need for an annual calendar. Here's another tool which may help AEs focus on strengthening their associations and ready them for the challenges of the coming year.

Checklist to Evaluate a Realtor® Association Board of Directors*

Rating
*

Indicator

Met

Needs
Work

N/A

E

1. The roles of the Board and the AE are defined and respected, with the AE delegated as the manager of the organization's operations and the board focused on policy and planning

R

2. The AE is recruited, selected, and employed by the Board of Directors. The board provides clearly written expectations and qualifications for the position, as well as reasonable compensation.

R

3. The Board of Directors acts a governing trustee of the organization on behalf of the membership while carrying out the association’s mission and goals. To fully meet this goal, the Board of Directors must actively participate in the planning.

R

4. The board's nominating process ensures that the board remains appropriately diverse in the areas of gender, ethnicity, membership status, and skills and/or expertise.

E

5. The board members receive regular training and information about their responsibilities.

E

6. New board members are oriented to the organization, including the organization's mission, bylaws, policies, and programs, as well as their roles and responsibilities as board members.

A

7. Board organization is documented with descriptions of the board and board committee responsibilities.

A

8. Each board member has ready access to a board operations manual.

E

9. If the organization has any related party transactions between board members or their family, they are disclosed to the board of directors, the Internal Revenue Service and the auditor. Conflicts of interest are articulated and documented.

E

10. The organization has at least the minimum number of members on the Board of Directors as required by its bylaws or state statute.

R

11. If the organization has adopted bylaws, they conform to state statute and NAR policy and have been reviewed by legal counsel.

R

12. The bylaws should include: a) how and when notices for board meetings are made; b) how members are elected/appointed by the board; c) what the terms of office are for officers/members; d) how board members are rotated; e) how ineffective board members are removed from the board; f) a stated number of board members to make up a quorum which is required for all policy decisions.

R

13. The board of directors reviews the bylaws and operating policies.

A

14. The board has a process for handling urgent matters between meetings.

E

15. Payment to board members should be documented and conform to an approved policy identifying reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses.

R

16. The association maintains a conflict-of-interest policy and all board members and executive staff review and/or sign to acknowledge and comply with the policy.

R

17. The board has an annual calendar of meetings. The board also has an attendance policy such that a quorum of the organization's board meets at least quarterly.

A

18. Meetings have written agendas and materials relating to significant decisions are given to the board well in advance of the meeting.

A

19. The board has a written policy prohibiting employees and members of employees' immediate families from serving as board chair or treasurer.

Indicators ratings: E=essential; R=recommended; A=additional to strengthen organizational activities

This checklist has been adapted from the Greater Twin Cities United Way.

As always, feel free to contact me for additional help, or post your comments and questions to this website!

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A Game-changing Opportunity for MLS Survival : Off Stage

2011-07-30T23:30:00.001-04:00

Jul. 30, 2011 - A Game-changing Opportunity for MLS Survival

A July 29 article in E-Commerce Times addressed some issues that have been on a lot of minds since the MLS Domains Association announced its intention of seeking a top level domain (.MLS) which will be used only by certified MLS organizations (imitators and MLS wannabes need not apply!)

The question being asked by MLSs is, “Will new domain names really work? Everybody knows .com, .gov, and .org—the existing top level domains. The consumer will never understand this stuff.” And the unspoken conclusion is, “So let’s not join this movement right now. Let’s wait and see.”

The E-Commerce Times begs to differ with that attitude. . “The gTLDs (new top level domains) are not just about trademark filing and battle posturing or cybersquatting. They are about the potential to create unusual global intellectual properties offering multiple opportunities for rapid image expansion and -- most importantly -- the achievement of market domination via name identity.”

That’s pretty heady global thinking from experts on this topic. The Times goes on to say that the ICANN’s new domain name program is about “massive customer acquisition and the creation of intricate layers of customer access.”

Translate the rhetoric of this article into layman’s terms: “Yes, internet users will respond to ICANN’s far-reaching relabeling of information and products. And if you participate, you’ll find seismic new ways to reach your audience and draw them into your world.”

However, the Times article cautions, not everyone will successfully navigate the complicated process that goes with obtaining a TLD. To begin with, there’s the money. The application fee per name starts at US$185,000, and each new name can cost up to $500,000 to integrate. The Times observes: “This investment is no more than the price of large single-highway signage over a 10-year lease. However, it permits thousands of such luminous cyberstructures over high-density information highways.”

Done correctly, the article says, a TLD offers the fastest way to create hypervisibility and global presence, and a game-changing opportunity to depart from traditional marketing and branding.

In the US, the MLS Domains Association is working hard to spearhead the TLD effort in the world of real estate sales. Association chairman Bob Bemis says, “We know that consumers recognize the term “MLS” as a source of accurate and reliable information. We want to capitalize on our name recognition and protect it from the many imitators who use the reputation of ‘MLS’ to draw traffic to websites that are neither owned by nor operated by MLSs. Only recognized MLSs will be able to use the top level domain administered by the MLS Domains Association.”

The MLS Domains Association is a non-profit corporation founded by some of the largest MLSs in the US. Over the past two years the members have been actively soliciting new members and building start-up funds. The Association has formed bylaws and operating policies, commissioned legal infrastructure work, and studied the massive ICANN policies. “We’re confident in the work we’ve done,” said Bemis. “We’re finalizing our contracts with our funding partners now, and we’ll be ready to make our application in early 2012, when ICANN opens up the process.”

In my last two blog entries, I've mentioned the importance of having an MLS which can act decisively and knowledgeably, if in fact the MLS organization is to survive and serve our members and their customers. One of the AEs who contributed insight to my last blog specifically mentioned this opportunity of supporting the MLS top level domain program. You'll find a list of organizations which have joined the MLS Domains association as well as the domain names they've already reserved. Visit the association website: if your MLS isn't there, now is the time to act!
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Another voice heard from... : Off Stage

2011-07-28T09:04:00.001-04:00

Jul. 28, 2011 - Another voice heard from...

I have this friend, a Realtor Association exec, with whom I share an important personal habit: we both get up very early in the morning. So early today when I staggered over to my desk, clutching my iPad to my chest and gripping my coffee, there was an email waiting--no surprise. My AM pen pal had already been at it, thinking about my blog post from last night.

He had written the following:

When an MLS does innovate—such as the launch of a public website—some large brokers become very angry because in their words “Once again, you are leveling the playing field.” Since no brokerage has all of the listing data—nor will they ever---the MLS provides the vehicle for brokerage collaboration but the large brokers do not want MLS providing a way to make the smaller-than-them brokerage look large to the consumer. They assume incorrectly that consumers do not already understand that fact.

Another area to which the large brokers are currently blind is their inability to understand that collaboration with consumers is the new normal. Listing information is ubiquitous. Brokers should be improving the consumers experience with the listing information while driving them to experts who understand what it all means and where to get the best information.

I go to a physician’s assistant for check-ups. We were talking about real estate websites and I was explaining why some had great looking tools but bad data. He laughed and said too many patients were showing up with “medical” advice garnered from a website and a list of prescription medicines that must be prescribed to cure them. He was spending more time with patients explaining what the site they visited was--a university where they were doing research—and why the drugs could not be prescribed—because the drugs were not approved for the use in treating a particular disease—the university had permission to conduct trials but doctors could not prescribe!

My AM penpal's letter was written in confidence, but I asked him if I could share it anonymously because I think it makes some important points that we all need to think about:

1. The consumer public is well educated--sometimes much more so than we imagine. They understand and value accurate and complete information, and when they don't receive that information, they will go find it in some other way.

2. Witholding information, or making it difficult for a consumer to find and access, is not the answer. Consumers want complete listing inventories, valuations, and sales histories. They want to know about the quality of service they will be receiving for the dollars they are paying to the Realtor. Consumers expect to be answered when they ask: they've been trained by websites like Amazon.com and Ebay to expect compete information, and to share their experiences with others.

Often, Realtors shoot themselves in the foot by thinking that they can change consumer behavior or ignore the need for convenience and completeness. "Let's not have a cooperative public website," they say. "Let's not even mention that there are quality issues and/or differences among our salespeople." "We don't want to level the playing field," they say. Have they not shopped at one of Amazon's 'partners' or clicked on a 'Buy it used' feature of the bookstore? There's a reason why consumers begin their shopping experience at Amazon--because they go for the transaction satisfaction, not the product itself.

3. But having researched and discovered the information, consumers still need an experienced guide to help interpret and analyze what they've found, particularly as the product gets more expensive or the purchase process more complex.

Let's face it: there are things which we can do more successfully in cooperation, than we can do alone. One of them is to create a satisfactory transaction environment for real estate buyers and sellers. As my morning correstpondent says, "Collaboration is the new normal." When MLSs recognize that it's collaboration, and not competition, that creates a comfortable environment for buyers and sellers, and that its the consuming public which will judge our success, we will be able to move forward with confidence.

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Let There Be Lions : Off Stage

2011-07-27T20:03:00.001-04:00

Jul. 27, 2011 - Let There Be Lions

Kim Prior created a bit of a buzz last week in the MLS world. Kim, who is the Director of MLS Market Operations at Onboard Informatics and has had a ten year career in real estate sales, posted a blog titled “MLSs Taking Control of Destiny—a Plea, an Observation, a Call to Arms.” The post was reprinted and commented on at some length: let’s examine why.

Prior’s premise is that change is happening on the outside of the MLS world much faster than it’s happening on the inside, and ‘we’ (I presume that word encompasses MLS managers, leaders, and vendors) are facing a crisis: the end is in sight.

The main reason for Prior’s statement: “We are reticent (and at times nearly obstinate) to lead survival-level change.” Ultimately, Prior says, “We avoid game-changing decisions…leaving our destiny in the hands of outsiders.”

In her mind, there are four strategies in developing a solution and regaining control of the future of the MLS: (1) regaining full control of our product (including distribution, terms, usage and price), (2) appropriate dissemination of external power and appropriate control of outside relationships, (3) eliminating the middle man from our relationships with our consumers, and (4) enabling opportunities, innovations, and job growth.

Doom is ahead if we don’t grapple with these issues, she tells us. And she ends with a call to action: “We can tip the scale of change, but the time is now.”

OK, I am curious about Prior’s post. People who have been listening to me for the last 15 years know I’ve been predicting the imminent demise of the MLS; my not-so-secret nickname is “Chicken Little.” The sky is falling:! My early whispers became shouts, and still the sky didn’t fall—the storm moved on through, and the lions were still snarling on the other side of the hill.

Well, I thought, Kim Prior must know something I don’t know. I think I’ll ask some people I really, really respect about their response to this post. What’s your reaction to Kim’s observation and call to arms? I emailed.

Marilyn Wilson posted her own call to action on the WAV Group Blog : “Enough Analysis Paralysis! Time for MLSs and Associations to make it happen!” The problem, Marilyn says, is that the real estate industry is focused on the needs of agents and not consumers. “Any company that worries more about its own margin and sales commissions more than the long term satisfaction of its customers is writing its own death sentence. “ And that attitude of protectiveness means that third party vendors offer more information to consumers than the real estate industry does. The industry hasn’t, Wilson claims, evolved property search methods in 20 years, for example.

And then she hits on MY personal hot button: “The governance structure of MLSs and Associations makes it even more difficult to get things done quickly and decisively. “ Governing boards made up of brokers and agents hunkered down in a survival mode are simply too risk-adverse to think broadly and act creatively.

I asked a prominent MLS administrator what she thought about this lack of leadership and she agreed with Marilyn. She wrote, “As a side note, I have (and still am) been on the road this week speaking to brokers about their data, about syndication, about other issues -- many are shocked, more are exactly as Kim said – reticent – not overly concerned, just hoping for that one (BIG) lead…… “   And a recently retired AE of a large Realtor and MLS operation says, “We won’t be able to deliver what the consumer wants until we transform…(ourselves)…into true, well-educated, fee-based, professional advisors. The ‘bar’ that should be above our heads is instead firmly lashed around our knees and nobody seems willing to make the first move to raise it—not the Realtors, not the big brokers, not the state licensing agencies.”

My wise friend Bob, who manages a giant-sized MLS in the Southwest, chimes in, including even more culprits in his analysis: “I don’t know of an MLS executive anywhere who is willing to put his/her job on the line defending a course of action that may be right but that will get him/her fired,” he writes. MLS executives do exactly what the title implies – they execute. “

Bob comments further on the governance issue: “(MLS Executives) executives execute on the wishes of their association owners that hopefully reflect and are based on the business interests of their broker participants. That’s the difference between a ‘corporate success’ which for a business usually is measured by return on investor’s equity and the non-profit world…. Failure in a corporate environment usually is followed by a change in management. Failure in the MLS business puts thousands of brokers and their agents out of business.”

In the end, Bob concludes, “the measure of success according to the brokers is, ‘Did it make the phone ring?’ Even if the decision of where and how to distribute listing data is a bad one, it will seldom be seen as such if the (broker’s) phone is ringing.”

When I ask one of the NAR staff to comment on Kim Prior’s article, she grumbled, “Not much substance, and (Prior) criticizes more than she advises.”

Of course she does! As they say on Facebook, “it’s complicated.”

So what to do? How does the MLS sector respond to Prior’s call to action? Here are some suggestions, culled from those who responded to Kim Prior’s article:

1.       Jim (a seasoned Realtor exec and consultant) says: Get over the turf wars and politics. This is a world of collaboration and listing syndication. If your MLS is unwilling to share data and support initiatives like RPR and other collaboration efforts, someone else will build a nationwide—or even global—property database. That’s what the consumer wants.

2.       David, the CEO of a megaMLS, observes that Prior’s ‘call to arms’ “is about listing syndication and compliance. Kim is right. We need to understand where the content is going and make sure the recipients play by the rules….This is simply about ensuring that the brokers’ content goes where it is supposed to go. If someone profits from it, then the broker wants to know and if appropriate, be reimbursed.”

3.       The retired Realtor CEO I mentioned earlier says that maybe the problem is a little more far-reaching and encourages MLSs to take leadership and decision-making to a more professional and business-like level. To me that suggests not only ‘raising the bar’ on our own members, but perhaps expanding the MLS decision-making body to include non-members who bring needed skills to the table—people who understand technology, investments, education.   Develop a leadership pool of skills, not just a glorified users group.

4.       This CEO also observes that “One small step the industry COULD take right now would be to wholeheartedly embrace the .mls domain idea. “At least,” he says, “That might hold the wolves at bay for a little while.”

5.       Choose your business partners wisely. Bob says, Sometimes MLSs need ‘middle men’ because “Most MLSs don’t have the resources (money or staff) to determine what the consumer wants, or to deliver on that challenge effectively. All facilitators (middle men) should not be lumped into the same category and condemned because of their position or their profit motives.” But, he cautions, it’s important to carefully select your partners, because ‘a poor selection can damage your reputation for years to come.”

6.       Finally, as Marilyn Wilson so eloquently writes, base your MLS organizational decisions on the demands of the people who purchase homes, not the people who sell homes. “Until we address the needs of consumers in real-time (getting over our own insecurities), the industry will continue to be dominated by outside parties who will ultimately take it over.” Marilyn reminds us that third parties already offer more in depth information to consumers than most brokers and MLSs do, and these same third parties offer consumers information about agent performance and property valuation, and they extend user-friendly and innovative property search tools. “It’s the people that give us checks for real estate who need to be at the center of every decision,” she concludes.

When I work with clients on strategic plan development, I teach them how to use a ‘strategy screen’. Not all decisions can be anticipated and incorporated in to a long-range plan, I tell them--you need a tool to use in order to evaluate your leadership actions and judge them in light of your organizational mission.

How about if our mission, as MLSs, were to give our members the tools which would enable them to best serve their customers, the consumers who pay money for real estate? If every tool we offered, every service we provided, were carefully evaluated in light of its contribution to the success of that mission of satisfying consumer needs, would MLSs increase in value and usefulness?

I think so.

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The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Destroy Your Executive Committee, Part 2: 5 False Rationales

2011-07-26T20:22:00.001-04:00

Destroy Your Executive Committee, Part 2: 5 False Rationales

June 10, 2011
Simone P. Joyaux

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Simone P. Joyaux, ACFRE is recognized internationally as an expert in fund development, board and organizational development, strategic planning, and management. She is the founder and director of Joyaux Associates. Visit her website here.

First, read my previous column. I’m on a worldwide mission to destroy all executive committees. Staff – and yes, even board members – are joining me in this mission.

Here’s the rationale. Here’s the response to every one of the reasons people say.

1.   The executive committee meets in case of an emergency, in lieu of the board. Because it's hard to get the full board together.

Excuse me? It's an emergency, something vital to the organization. And you disregard the full board and bring together the executive committee. Ask the rest of your board members how they feel, giving this emergency power to a subset of the board. And in this day and age with conference call capability and email? Please. A true emergency belongs to the board.

2.   The CEO needs a small group to talk with about very confidential items; a kind of think tank or kitchen table cabinet.

Stop right now! Nothing is confidential to a subset of the board. If any committee of the board knows something, it's the right and responsibility of the full board to know it. Governance is the legal and moral authority of the board. The board cannot delegate that to any single individual or entity.

If a CEO wants a smaller group to chat with first, and then of course chat with the full board, pick the people who have the expertise. If the issue doesn't fall within the purview of any committee, e.g., governance, finance, fund development. (Because if it fell within a committee's purview, you'd take the issue to that committee.) So you bring together board members who have expertise and particular insight about the issue.

Or, let's say you have a personnel issue. It's actually a management issue and you won't take it to the board since it isn't governance. But you want to chat with a couple board members. This isn't governance work so it isn't board committee work. Call (or bring together) a few board members (and outside experts, too, if you wish) to chat with you.

Remember, the CEO can chat with any board member she wishes. The CEO doesn't need to get permission from the board chair. The CEO doesn't need to pass everything by the board chair.

3.   The executive committee includes the officers and committee chairs and sets board meeting agendas.

Seems to me that's a waste of time. (Wow, lots of time. Imagine you are the treasurer. You chair the Finance Committee and go to those meetings. You serve on the Executive Committee and go to those meetings. And you go to board meetings. Ugh.)

I recommend that the CEO and Board Chair together develop board meeting agendas. The CEO should know what's happening in every single committee. Either the CEO is the staff person for a particular committee. Or another staff person staffs the committee (e.g., the chief development officer staffs the Fund Development Committee) and keeps the CEO informed.

4. The Executive Committee does the performance appraisal of the CEO.

You don't need an executive committee to do that. You need an ad hoc task force that

includes the right people. For example, someone with experience in personnel / human resources.

Perhaps a couple of board members who chair committees that have worked closely with the CEO recently. The current board chair. Perhaps the immediate past board chair or the incoming board chair.

Put together a task force that lasts for the few months of the appraisal process. Then terminate the task force.

5.   Processing information over and over till you lose the edge

So a committee discusses an issue. Then refers it to the executive committee. Then the executive committee takes it to the board.

It would be great if the issue deserved lots of discussion. And sometimes, issues do, indeed.

But beware. Repeat discussion may not add value. And by the time the issue gets to the board, some people have already talked themselves out. They're kinda bored. They're kinda impatient. They act like that. So the full board - some of whom were not on the previous committees - feel like the discussion is getting short shrift. There's nothing quite like trying to have a discussion when others say, "Oh yes, we already talked about that and . . . " Exclusionary!

Executive committees are just too dangerous.To me, their danger far outweighs any particular benefit. There's nothing an executive committee does or might do that cannot be done by another existing committee or an ad hoc task force.

(And by the way, an executive committee by any other name... If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck! I worked for an organization that used its Finance Committee as an executive committee. I know an organization right now that is using it's Governance Committee as an executive committee.)

Most of what an executive committee does should be done by the board itself. Quit disempowering the board! Quit creating a shadow board. Join my worldwide mission to destroy all executive committees. And start with your own.

via nonprofitquarterly.org

Absolutely correct! Just one more layer of delay...

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$75 Rule for Auto Expenses, clarified

2011-07-21T13:35:00.001-04:00

IRC section 280F(d)(4) states the "listed property" includes any passenger automobile and any other property used as a means of transportation.
Explicitly, this means that your vehicle is listed property; therefore, you do not need a receipt for a vehicle expense that is less than $75.
Keep one key point in mind: Tax law requires proof even when the law says you don't need a receipt. So, always think proof. If you don't have receipts, do your gas expenses help prove your mileage and does your mileage help prove your gas expenses? Do you jot down the cost of gas on a timely basis? The IRS gives you up to one week for this timely test.
Sincerely,

W. Murray Bradford, CPA
Publisher
Tax Reduction Letter
www.bradfordtaxinstitute.com

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Measuring Website Success : Off Stage

2011-07-12T15:14:00.001-04:00

Jul. 12, 2011 - Measuring Website Success

“Ok”, you say,” I am getting the message. Websites are about building customers. Social media works because visitors become followers. I am building my personal or association brand. My website markets content and interactivity with my brand.”

“Yup”, I reply, “You’re catching on. You’ve got a blog now and a place for your readers to leave questions and make contents. Good job!”

Of course, now the job is to measure the effectiveness of your social media strategies. You can toss up a website for a few bucks and make some pithy remarks once or twice a week in your blog titled “The Specialist Speaks”, but are your efforts really paying off? How do you know? How does one measure the effectiveness of what we term ‘Content Marketing’ and ‘Social Media Channels?’

In yesterday’s world, techniques for measuring return on advertising investment were pretty standard: we looked at a publication’s readership, the ‘drive time’ of a radio ad placement, or maybe an answer to the question “How did you hear about us?” In our associations, we counted the number of newsletters sent or the number of reservations for the training seminar we announced on page one.

But that was then, this is now. What should be doing to measure the ROI on our websites? How do we know not only how many visitors our site experienced, but can we measure how meaningful their experience was to them? Or to our organization or business?

A good website is more than an electronic brochure: it is a dialogue. As website owners our job is to create the conversation, to involve a visitor, to strengthen our bond with the member or customer.   How will we know if we’ve achieved those goals with any degree of success?

Website success measurement is more than counting visits. In the world of social media website design, here are some tools which are good indicators of your website success:
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Facebook ‘likes’: "Like" is a way to give positive feedback or to connect with things you care about. About a year ago (April, 2010) Facebook introduced the ‘Like’ button for non-Facebook websites, so that visitors anywhere on the internet can indicate that they are fans of a particular site or of a content article. Their support is then shared with their social network on Facebook and their name associated with the site they like. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Share on Linked In: LinkedIn.com is another social network, perhaps with a more professional intent. Relationships, user groups, and content are built on occupations or business specialties. This is typically how a user will experience the LinkedIn Share link on a blog or website: a user reads content on your site and wants to share it; you provide a Share link on your website article; your user clicks that link and shares the content with her network of professionals.

3.      Tweets and Re-Tweets: Twitter is one of the 10 most visited sites in the world. Its users comment in short statements to their followers (called ‘tweets’ or ‘micro blogs’). Their tweets are also re-tweeted by others who see them and wish to share the original tweets. When a user identifies website content through a tweet, she is sharing that content to her followers who may, in turn, retweet the content to theirs. Tweeting is an important means of leveraging content support. A twitter icon on your website content makes it easy to share, and it will count the number of times the item is shared by your site visitors.

4.      Backlinks: Backlinks are incoming links to a website or web page. The number of backlinks is one indication of the popularity or importance of that website or page (for example, this is used by Google to determine the PageRank of a webpage). Outside of Search Engine Optimization, the backlinks of a webpage may be of significant personal, cultural or semantic interest: they indicate who is paying attention to that page.

5.      Reblog is just what it sounds like: the reader of the original blog may want to share a part or all of a blog with her readers. Blog sites like Wordpress have a reblog feature making it easy to share blogs, again expanding the readership of the original post. How many times is your blog re-blogged? The answer is a sign of your popularity.

6.      Comments: blog comments are what make a blog interactive and social. The most popular blogs have a very interactive community where members frequently voice opinions on posts—an important conversational component of a website. There are, of course, tools allowing control of content and comment writers to protect your blog from spam and slander—but the important lesson here is to encourage blog comments whenever possible.

7.      Followers: developing and retaining followers is an important component of social networking and provides the tools which allow readers to follow a blog writer, a website, a Twitterer, or a blog conversation. RSS feeds are an important tool to add to a website. How do you sign up and track followers for your blog? Most blog hosts like Blogger and Wordpress provide what are called widgets, which enable readers to become your followers. “There are apps for that,” as they say.

8.      @Mentions: A Mention is any Twitter update that contains @username anywhere in the body of the Tweet. (Direct replies to Tweets are also considered Mentions.) On the homepage of your Twitter account, you’ll be able to easily track the comments that Mention you. Make the process easy with the easily available Twitter gadgets.

The important message in this article is not that you are taking away a specific number of direct ‘hits’—social media measures aren’t based on the number of superficial glances you get from the audience eyeballs--but on the depth of the relationship that audience has with the content on your website. Do visitors care enough to leave a comment or to sign up for further conversation? These measures are called ‘proxies’—indication of the use of tools which deepen the relationship between website and visitor.

Good websites provide the tools to continue the conversation, both blog comments and applications for sharing content. Measuring the use of those tools by your site visitors, particularly the growth of aggregate trend data (how many more tweets-reblogs-comments-followers are you finding in July than you found in April?) is an important and meaningful measurement of the increasing momentum of your website.

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A Crash Course in Landing Pages : Off Stage

2011-07-05T11:43:00.001-04:00

Jul. 5, 2011 - A Crash Course in Landing Pages

A landing page? Say what???

We’re talking internet marketing here. No matter whether you own a website as an association, MLS, or brokerage, if you don’t know about landing pages for your web site, you’re missing a huge marketing opportunity!

Here’s an example: your association has taken a position on a local political initiative—let’s say the county wants to establish a new real estate transfer tax.   Realtors agree this is a very bad idea and will bring great harm to the real estate business, so they’ve issued a position paper which analyzes the impact of the proposed destructive legislation on homeowners and businesses in the community. The paper is available on the association website: the question is, how does is the public directed to the website so they can easily read and download the whitepaper?

The organization can do one of two things: it can direct the public to its website homepage and let the visitors find and click on the appropriate link, or it can create a landing page. Simply put, a good landing page will be targeted to a particular stream of traffic – in this case from an email campaign advertising the whitepaper - and, because traffic is targeted, and because the page contains an interesting offer (leave your email address to receive the informative whitepaper as well as further updates on the progress of the legislation) the association will convert a higher percentage of website visitors into interested members of the public (leads) with whom it can follow up for this or future public campaigns.

The secret question in using this technique is —as always—“What do you want the consumer to do?” Many associations (and brokerages, for that matter) never ask this question as they design their web pages. “Well, that’s a nice site,” I tell them. “Lots of information on ethics, reasons to use a professional, and why your organization is great. But what do you want the visitor to DO as a result of knowing all of this?” Too often, the answer is a blank stare.

“Well, if you don’t know what you want them to do, how do you measure your effectiveness?”

There are two general types of landing pages—one is a reference page, and the other is known as a ‘call to action’. In either case, the landing page shows the visitor how to do what you want them to: in our example, we want the visitor read the legislative impact study and become informed about our position on the topic. (And leave her contact information so we have a database of interested local residents for future use.)

The association not only advertised the landing page, it asked all of the members to provide a link on THEIR websites, thus leveraging the interest and cooperation of the member community.

What’s the recipe for a good call-to-action landing page? A few simple ingredients:

1.      Have a compelling product or offer. “Become informed about how this new legislation affects you and impacts our community! Read this complimentary two-page, clear analysis!” (Or, receive an invitation to attend this exclusive champagne open house for this luxurious residence. Or whatever.)

2.      Make it easy to share.   This rule is, of course, a necessary component of a blog, a newsletter, a flyer, an article or press release: always add the buttons for Facebook, Twitter, email, and other sharing options. Again, leverage your efforts by making it easy for others to spread the word.

3.      Limit the options for the reader to navigate away from your landing page. Direct them where YOU want them to go—to your homepage, to your listing inventory, or wherever seems logical. But don’t confuse them: keep the attention on what you want them to do (leave your email address—that’s called ‘capture the lead’).

4.      Be simple and direct. The best landing pages focus on the task at hand, perhaps adding a relevant and dynamic graphic and – again – ask the visitor for a simple, effective action like “leave your email address and we’ll tell you how to get complete information on the properties for sale on this lake as well as a ticket for boat tour to see these listings from the water.”

5.      Make sure you have a statistical analysis component to your page. A visitor who takes the desired action is referred to as a ‘conversion’ and the efficiency of a call-to-action landing page is measured by its conversion rate (the percentage of visitors who complete the action). The conversion rate is easily tracked because the desired action is isolated to a single page. It’s also simple to find out where your visitors came from, how long each one spent on the landing page, and where they went when they left the site.

“Ok, you’ve convinced me: landing pages are important to web marketing. How do I get one?”

A simple landing page isn’t difficult for an experienced web site designer: you might even try making one yourself. There are excellent informational videos on YouTube: one is by an organization called NextLevel Profits. Google also has some easy to follow instructions for creating mobile phone landing pages .

And, going back to our opening example, the association found that adding the landing page to its arsenal of mobilization tactics really worked by uniting members in a common strategy, creating an informed voting public, and leveraging the social media communications tools.

Not a bad return on investment.

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Gmail - Google for Nonprofits Newsletter - June 2011 - gertiecranker@gmail.com

2011-06-30T16:41:00.001-04:00

Q: Why is online marketing important for nonprofits? Online marketing is a perfect way for nonprofits to connect with consumers who are doing research about which charitable causes to support. With Google Grants (http://www.google.com/grants/), many nonprofits can place free ads on Google’s search results pages and find new donors or spread the word about their cause. Because AdWords is a cost-per-click (CPC) advertising system, it removes a lot of the potential budget risks... you only pay when we deliver a click and send someone to your website where you’ll have a chance to convert them into a member or supporter.

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Good news for Some NonProfits

2011-06-30T15:52:00.001-04:00

Check out this website I found at mail.google.com

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In the Beginning was the Leadership : Off Stage

2011-06-30T10:22:00.001-04:00

un. 30, 2011 - In the Beginning was the Leadership

from theartdontstop.com

One of the clients of my consulting business is a large community foundation with lots of money to give away. In their eyes, the money has been a curse as well as a blessing—this foundation has pounded many resources into non-profit organizations requesting funds, often without much of a measurable return on its investment.

Often, requesting organizations are like that: they are well-meaning, and often comprised of folks who are passionate about a cause. They have energy and ideas—sometimes even brilliant ones. What they frequently DON’T have is the organizational structure to implement the ideas and the long-term vision to keep those initiatives going until the goal has been met.

Let’s say an organization has a game-changing idea, gets some funding, and happily scampers off to bring electricity to the light bulb. Maybe for a short time the bulb even glows. Then, gradually, it dims. Who thought about paying the ongoing power bill? Or changing the bulb when it dies? Was there a budget for needed long-term resources? A sustainability plan?

Probably not. A year or two later, we find it’s dark in here, and people are stumbling up and down the stairs just like they did before the light bulb was installed.

My client with the money said, “This isn’t good. We are not making a difference with our resources. Nothing has changed.” In response, the foundation built in some requirements for getting the money:

1.       There had to be a demonstrable need

2.       Nobody else was filling that need

3.       The requesting group had to have performed a structural evaluation. Did it have the capacity to fill the need being described? Did it have a clear mission and a strategic initiative?

4.       The project needs a business plan.

5.       The requesting group needed leadership skill and commitment.

Then the foundation said: if an organization needs help meeting those requirements, we’ll provide that, too. We’ll help community organizations get stronger, and then we’ll give them some money to do their work. Our real mission won’t be the money, though: it will be helping the groups get stronger. Our money is just an incentive for building a strong service sector.

The take-away point here is that the foundation recognized its true mission statement—not to give away money, but to grow strong organizations. Having declared the mission, the group could then move ahead to carry it out.

The second lesson is that in planning to build strong organizations, the foundation began with training the leaders of the organization. I know, I know: in the Realtor organization, every level has a leadership session-- States, some regions, the NAR, many local boards. Incoming leaders are shipped off to conventions, retreats, seminars, and motivational ‘tent meetings’. Their heads spin.

I’ve been to more of these meetings than I care to think about—usually with new leaders who are enthusiastic and committed to ‘making MY year a memorable one’. Unfortunately, leaving one’s stamp on the association’s passport isn’t really what it takes to create an exceptional organization or carry a long-term game changing project to completion.

The training my client requires for leadership of organizations requesting funding involves specific leadership skillsets:

·         An introductory seminar which covers assessing and building an organization’s capacity, management roles, effective meetings, legal responsibilities of boards, life cycles of the association, state and federal law and IRS requirements, income sources and expense measurements, best practices in similar associations, and 10 basic responsibilities of board members;

·         An online assessment of the capacities of the organization, and a discussion of the results;

·         Development of an association mission statement, business model, and strategic plan.

It’s only then, says the funding foundation, that an organization can begin to apply for our financial support. Envision, if you will, a community which has many non-profits (my small rural area has over 2,000), and the majority of these organizations have leaders and staff with access to the training and resources I’ve outlined.

The interesting part of this solution, though, is that the foundation’s process begins with a trained leadership and staff—not with the money or the strategic plan. Many of us have had the experience of hiring a consultant to conduct an audit, present findings, and write a plan. We’ve spent a lot of money to acquire some dusty pages on our bookshelves and we’ve subcontracted out the process to a distant ‘expert’. As a result, the Mission and The Plan are relegated to a checklist of ‘to-do’s’ managed by a paid assassin (the CEO), and far from the hearts and minds of the organization’s leadership resources and energy.

Leadership recruitment and training is the most important investment an association can make.: it should appear as a line item in an association’s budget and an entry in its annual calendar. Without good leadership, no project or program will be successful and no association will become exceptional (or even satisfactory). Good leadership skills are not a gift from God, either: they are a collection of tools and techniques which can be taught and learned.

Get busy.

via realtown.com

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Opportunity Knocks : Off Stage

2011-06-29T13:36:00.001-04:00

Jun. 24, 2011 - Opportunity Knocks

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

On June 20, 2011, ICANN (the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the Non-Governmental Organization that coordinates unique web identifiers/addresses across the World Wide Web) announced that it had approved a plan to increase the number of domain endings which can be used by websites as unique identifiers. At the time ICANN made its announcement, there were 22 identifiers and about 200 country codes, which are known as ‘top level domains’. A few are familiar to us: .com, .gov, .org, .edu and so on. These endings are known as Top Level Domains (TLDs).

The ICANN decision is huge, and will change the way the internet operates. The internet will go from 22 major web address categories to an infinite number. Imagine if every community in the entire world could have a zip code! That’s what the ICANN decision will mean for the internet.

The Chairman of ICANN put it best “Today’s decision respects the rights of groups to create new Top Level Domains in any language or script. We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind”.

Pretty lofty stuff, eh? What it means that every country in the world, every language, and every brand name or product category will be able to apply for a top level domain. A soft drink company will be able to have .pepsi, for instance—and of course there will be a .apple and a .microsoft.

However, these TLDs will be regulated: the application process is thorough and rigorous, and the cash investment is steep--$100,000 or more to apply, and a $25,000 annual fee to maintain the domain rights. Clearly the corner grocery won’t be making a top level domain investment on its own. The new TLDs will be limited largely to large corporations and trade associations.

In addition, ICANN has stated that besides offering these new TLD's, it will also be in charge of enforcing trademark and cybersquatting issues to ensure that a business or individual doesn't take ownership of a rightful entity's name.

So why is there a gleam of opportunity in my eye? As a part of the Realtor organization for over 30 years, I’m familiar with our issues of brand recognition. The term “MLS” is the most troublesome—it’s never been registered or legally defined, and so it’s frequently misappropriated: “ByOwnerMLS.com” is a good example. “No fair,” Realtors cry. “We pay MLS fees, and invest in accuracy and credibility. Why can someone else use our name?”

The recent ICANN decision gives organized real estate the opportunity to solidify its brand. If a .mls top level domain is available ONLY to recognized MLS organizations, and if organized real estate invests in obtaining and enforcing the appropriate use of the MLS tld, the real estate profession could go a long way toward consumer awareness and brand recognition. Let’s face it: buyers begin their search on the internet. They want reliable data which is accurate and timely. In this scenario, a visit to a .mls site will assure consumers and inspire their confidence. Further, a top level domain address like .mls is very likely to improve search engine ratings of those organizations which can use it.

With all this in mind, two years ago a group of MLSs from around the US formed an organization to obtain the .mls top level domain. They pooled money, hired professional organizational management and recognized legal advisors, and began to solicit members and raise funds. You can read the story of their progress on their website, and you can check there to see if your MLS (and your MLS vendor) is supporting this effort.

The slogan of the MLS Domains Association is “Take Back MLS!” Says the website, “Consumers have come to understand that those three letters represent the gold standard for accurate, up-to-date property information.” Real estate needs to control its brand and its reputation, and the June 20 decision by ICANN give us an unprecedented opportunity to do just that!

via realtown.com

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

SEO Tip: Use "The Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors" to Improve Your Site - Web Building - Welcome to the TechSoup Community - TechSoup

2011-06-28T19:05:00.001-04:00

SEO Tip: Use "The Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors" to Improve Your Site

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Posted by yann
on 16 Jun 2011 2:07 PM

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SEO Tip: Use "The Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors" to Improve Your Site

How does your site measure up against important SEO ranking factors?

Search Engine Land recently introduced a useful Periodic Table of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Ranking Factors. You can download the PDF of this table for free.

As covered in the chart, site owners should pay attention to these 4 major groups of ranking factors:

On-Page Ranking Factors

Off-Page Ranking Factors

Violations

Blocking

Why should you care about these factors?

Because search engines like Google and Bing use these criteria (in their complex "search algorithms") to determine the quality of your site and where the site should appear within the search results.

The Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors will help you understand what areas of your site are doing well, and more importantly, what areas need improvement. For example, maybe your site is missing good descriptive HTML titles or it lacks quality content. Identifying your site's weak spots and putting your focus on improving these areas will help boost your visibility in the search engines, and this will also drive more visitors to your site.

Be sure to read the accompanying guide which explains all the factors in the table and more.

Got a question or comment about these ranking factors or SEO in general? Please post them here!

Yann Toledano, Web Marketing Strategist
YTConsulting.com
Host, Web Building Forum, TechSoup.org

via forums.techsoup.org

Excellent Resource!

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Better Association Websites : Off Stage

2011-06-27T11:49:00.001-04:00

Jun. 27, 2011 - Better Association Websites

Most organizations have a website these days. Probably they’ve had one for several years—somebody told them it would be ‘cool’ to have a site, and so they found an inexpensive (or even free) way to create their presence on the web. These days, it might even be a Facebook page that satisfies the requirement of entry into the digital age and the need to have a ‘social network’.

“Visit us on the web,” you can say to members. Or, if you’re really really cool, you can say “Follow our QR Code to learn more!” and other cool people are directed to your website via their cell phone app.

However, the real problem is this: the website in question really sucks (that’s a well-recognized technical term). It’s a digital brochure. There was little reason to visit it in the first place, and there’s even less reason to go back. But who cares? There’s a website, a Facebook page, a QR code. We’ve seen our duty, and we done it! We may have even spent a lot of money making it visually interesting with slide presentations and things that flash and bounce.

But websites aren’t just passive electronic brochures, and social media is much more than an occasional tweet or (heaven forbid!) a sales pitch on a Facebook page. Today’s communication depends on the dimension of interactivity, of real time call and response, of dialogue.

A successful website features interactivity. Here are some suggestions for building that dimension into your organization’s online presence:

1.       Blog. People want the backstories, the insights, and the conversation. And they don’t want to be talked to; they want to talk back, to share ideas, to rate usefulness of information, to contribute their own insights. Remember, blogs are a two-way street.

2.       Make use of networks. One of the best users of Twitter I know is a state AE who is constantly reporting on real estate legislative matters—he’s faster than newscasts, and more reliable. The final measure of his success: he has well over 2500 followers!

3.       Ask. Ask people to guest post to your site. Did a member go on a trade mission to another country? Attend an interesting seminar? Go to a state or national meeting? Ask them to write a personal account. Ask people to ‘like’ your Facebook site, and follow your tweets. Make it easy for them to subscribe to your blogs through FeedBurner and/or an RSS feed.

4.       Feature products. Set up a regular product review feature on your website: your readers want to know about books (link to Borders or Amazon for easy purchase), software, new mobile applications. Give readers an opportunity to post their own experience with products. Of course, your association has many products for members and for the public: offer special sales and discounts, merchant coupons for affiliate members’ services. Finally, think about setting up a service quality rating program which allows the public to give input on member service or the members to give their reaction to association initiatives.

5.       Make ‘contact us’ your theme. Set up your site so visitors—members and the public—can easily ask questions with the idea that someone will respond by the end of the next business day.   I’ve even been on websites where it’s easy to speak to a representative online during business hours. And tracking consumer questions provides ideas for future seminars, blogs, or other content.

The point is this: websites are about the conversation, not just about the information. It’s important to weave conversation into the web design, and to respect and encourage both sides of the dialogue.

via realtown.com

New blog post

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Opportunity Knocks : Off Stage

2011-06-24T12:09:00.001-04:00

un. 24, 2011 - Opportunity Knocks

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

On June 20, 2011, ICANN (the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the Non-Governmental Organization that coordinates unique web identifiers/addresses across the World Wide Web) announced that it had approved a plan to increase the number of domain endings which can be used by websites as unique identifiers. At the time ICANN made its announcement, there were 22 identifiers and about 200 country codes, which are known as ‘top level domains’. A few are familiar to us: .com, .gov, .org, .edu and so on. These endings are known as Top Level Domains (TLDs).

The ICANN decision is huge, and will change the way the internet operates. The internet will go from 22 major web address categories to an infinite number. Imagine if every community in the entire world could have a zip code! That’s what the ICANN decision will mean for the internet.

The Chairman of ICANN put it best “Today’s decision respects the rights of groups to create new Top Level Domains in any language or script. We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind”.

Pretty lofty stuff, eh? What it means that every country in the world, every language, and every brand name or product category will be able to apply for a top level domain. A soft drink company will be able to have .pepsi, for instance—and of course there will be a .apple and a .microsoft.

However, these TLDs will be regulated: the application process is thorough and rigorous, and the cash investment is steep--$100,000 or more to apply, and a $25,000 annual fee to maintain the domain rights. Clearly the corner grocery won’t be making a top level domain investment on its own. The new TLDs will be limited largely to large corporations and trade associations.

In addition, ICANN has stated that besides offering these new TLD's, it will also be in charge of enforcing trademark and cybersquatting issues to ensure that a business or individual doesn't take ownership of a rightful entity's name.

So why is there a gleam of opportunity in my eye? As a part of the Realtor organization for over 30 years, I’m familiar with our issues of brand recognition. The term “MLS” is the most troublesome—it’s never been registered or legally defined, and so it’s frequently misappropriated: “ByOwnerMLS.com” is a good example. “No fair,” Realtors cry. “We pay MLS fees, and invest in accuracy and credibility. Why can someone else use our name?”

The recent ICANN decision gives organized real estate the opportunity to solidify its brand. If a .mls top level domain is available ONLY to recognized MLS organizations, and if organized real estate invests in obtaining and enforcing the appropriate use of the MLS tld, the real estate profession could go a long way toward consumer awareness and brand recognition. Let’s face it: buyers begin their search on the internet. They want reliable data which is accurate and timely. In this scenario, a visit to a .mls site will assure consumers and inspire their confidence. Further, a top level domain address like .mls is very likely to improve search engine ratings of those organizations which can use it.

With all this in mind, two years ago a group of MLSs from around the US formed an organization to obtain the .mls top level domain. They pooled money, hired professional organizational management and recognized legal advisors, and began to solicit members and raise funds. You can read the story of their progress on their website, and you can check there to see if your MLS (and your MLS vendor) is supporting this effort.

The slogan of the MLS Domains Association is “Take Back MLS!” Says the website, “Consumers have come to understand that those three letters represent the gold standard for accurate, up-to-date property information.” Real estate needs to control its brand and its reputation, and the June 20 decision by ICANN give us an unprecedented opportunity to do just that!

via realtown.com

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Instructions for Form 1023 (6/2006)

2011-06-22T17:09:00.001-04:00

Instructions for Form 1023 - Additional Material

Appendix A: Sample Conflict of Interest Policy

Note: Items marked Hospital insert - for hospitals that complete Schedule C are intended to be adopted by hospitals.

Article I

Purpose

The purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to protect this tax-exempt organization's (Organization) interest when it is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the Organization or might result in a possible excess benefit transaction. This policy is intended to supplement but not replace any applicable state and federal laws governing conflict of interest applicable to nonprofit and charitable organizations.

Article II

Definitions

1. Interested Person

Any director, principal officer, or member of a committee with governing board delegated powers, who has a direct or indirect financial interest, as defined below, is an interested person.
[Hospital Insert - for hospitals that complete Schedule C
If a person is an interested person with respect to any entity in the health care system of which the organization is a part, he or she is an interested person with respect to all entities in the health care system.]

2. Financial Interest

A person has a financial interest if the person has, directly or indirectly, through business, investment, or family:

a. An ownership or investment interest in any entity with which the Organization has a transaction or arrangement,

b. A compensation arrangement with the Organization or with any entity or individual with which the Organization has a transaction or arrangement, or

c. A potential ownership or investment interest in, or compensation arrangement with, any entity or individual with which the Organization is negotiating a transaction or arrangement.

Compensation includes direct and indirect remuneration as well as gifts or favors that are not insubstantial.
A financial interest is not necessarily a conflict of interest. Under Article III, Section 2, a person who has a financial interest may have a conflict of interest only if the appropriate governing board or committee decides that a conflict of interest exists.

Article III

Procedures

1. Duty to Disclose
In connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, an interested person must disclose the existence of the financial interest and be given the opportunity to disclose all material facts to the directors and members of committees with governing board delegated powers considering the proposed transaction or arrangement.

2. Determining Whether a Conflict of Interest Exists
After disclosure of the financial interest and all material facts, and after any discussion with the interested person, he/she shall leave the governing board or committee meeting while the determination of a conflict of interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists.

3. Procedures for Addressing the Conflict of Interest

a. An interested person may make a presentation at the governing board or committee meeting, but after the presentation, he/she shall leave the meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the transaction or arrangement involving the possible conflict of interest.

b. The chairperson of the governing board or committee shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement.

c. After exercising due diligence, the governing board or committee shall determine whether the Organization can obtain with reasonable efforts a more advantageous transaction or arrangement from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest.

d. If a more advantageous transaction or arrangement is not reasonably possible under circumstances not producing a conflict of interest, the governing board or committee shall determine by a majority vote of the disinterested directors whether the transaction or arrangement is in the Organization's best interest, for its own benefit, and whether it is fair and reasonable. In conformity with the above determination it shall make its decision as to whether to enter into the transaction or arrangement.

4. Violations of the Conflicts of Interest Policy

a. If the governing board or committee has reasonable cause to believe a member has failed to disclose actual or possible conflicts of interest, it shall inform the member of the basis for such belief and afford the member an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose.

b. If, after hearing the member's response and after making further investigation as warranted by the circumstances, the governing board or committee determines the member has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action.

Article IV

Records of Proceedings

The minutes of the governing board and all committees with board delegated powers shall contain:

a. The names of the persons who disclosed or otherwise were found to have a financial interest in connection with an actual or possible conflict of interest, the nature of the financial interest, any action taken to determine whether a conflict of interest was present, and the governing board's or committee's decision as to whether a conflict of interest in fact existed.

b. The names of the persons who were present for discussions and votes relating to the transaction or arrangement, the content of the discussion, including any alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement, and a record of any votes taken in connection with the proceedings.

Article V

Compensation

a. A voting member of the governing board who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the Organization for services is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member's compensation.

b. A voting member of any committee whose jurisdiction includes compensation matters and who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the Organization for services is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member's compensation.

c. No voting member of the governing board or any committee whose jurisdiction includes compensation matters and who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the Organization, either individually or collectively, is prohibited from providing information to any committee regarding compensation.

[Hospital Insert - for hospitals that complete Schedule C
d. Physicians who receive compensation from the Organization, whether directly or indirectly or as employees or independent contractors, are precluded from membership on any committee whose jurisdiction includes compensation matters. No physician, either individually or collectively, is prohibited from providing information to any committee regarding physician compensation.]

Article VI

Annual Statements

Each director, principal officer and member of a committee with governing board delegated powers shall annually sign a statement which affirms such person:

a. Has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy,

b. Has read and understands the policy,

c. Has agreed to comply with the policy, and

d. Understands the Organization is charitable and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.

Article VII

Periodic Reviews

To ensure the Organization operates in a manner consistent with charitable purposes and does not engage in activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status, periodic reviews shall be conducted. The periodic reviews shall, at a minimum, include the following subjects:

a. Whether compensation arrangements and benefits are reasonable, based on competent survey information, and the result of arm's length bargaining.

b. Whether partnerships, joint ventures, and arrangements with management organizations conform to the Organization's written policies, are properly recorded, reflect reasonable investment or payments for goods and services, further charitable purposes and do not result in inurement, impermissible private benefit or in an excess benefit transaction.

Article VIII

Use of Outside Experts

When conducting the periodic reviews as provided for in Article VII, the Organization may, but need not, use outside advisors. If outside experts are used, their use shall not relieve the governing board of its responsibility for ensuring periodic reviews are conducted.

The following states have adopted legislation satisfying the requirements of section 508(e) relating to private foundation governing instruments. Information derived from Revenue Ruling 75-38, 1975-1 C.B. 161.

ALABAMA — except where otherwise provided by a decree of a court of competent jurisdiction or by a provision in the private foundation's governing instrument which in either case has been entered or made after October 1, 1971, and expressly limits the applicability of State law.

ALASKA — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of Alaska law do not apply to them.

ARKANSAS — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of Arkansas law do not apply to them and except in the case of trusts where otherwise provided by decree of a court of competent jurisdiction.

CALIFORNIA — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

COLORADO — with respect to trusts that are private foundations except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

CONNECTICUT — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

DELAWARE — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of Delaware law do not apply to them.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA — except for such corporations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of District of Columbia law do not apply to them and except in the case of trusts where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction. (For purposes of this statute, corporations include corporations organized under any Act of Congress applicable to the District of Columbia as well as corporations organized under the laws of the District of Columbia.)

FLORIDA — except for such trusts which file a proper election not to be subject to the applicable provisions of Florida law and for such corporations as to which a court of competent jurisdiction has otherwise determined.

GEORGIA — except for such private foundations which file a proper election not to be subject to such law.

HAWAII — no exceptions.

IDAHO — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of Idaho law do not apply to them.

ILLINOIS — except for such corporations which have express provisions to the contrary in their articles of incorporation and except for trusts where it is otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

INDIANA — except where otherwise determined by a court of competent jurisdiction with respect to private foundations organized before January 1, 1970.

IOWA — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of Iowa law do not apply to them.

KANSAS — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

KENTUCKY — except, with respect to corporations in existence on July 1, 1972, to the extent that such a corporation provides to the contrary by amendment to its articles of incorporation adopted after July 1, 1972, and, with respect to trusts in existence on July 1, 1972, where action is properly commenced on or before December 31, 1972, in a court of competent jurisdiction to excuse the trust from compliance with the requirements of section 508(e) of the Code.

LOUISIANA — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of Louisiana law do not apply to them.

MAINE — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

MARYLAND — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

MASSACHUSETTS — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

MICHIGAN — with respect to trusts that are private foundations except for such private foundations which file a notice of inconsistency under Michigan law.

MINNESOTA — except for private foundations that have been held by a court of competent jurisdiction not to be affected by such State statute.

MISSISSIPPI — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

MISSOURI — except for private foundations that have been held by a court of competent jurisdiction not to be affected by such State statute.

MONTANA — except in the case of trusts where otherwise provided by court decree entered after March 28, 1974, and except in the case of a corporation which has an express provision to the contrary in its articles of incorporation.

NEBRASKA — except for such trusts which effectively elect to be excluded from the applicable sections of Nebraska law, for such corporations which have governing instruments expressly providing to the contrary, and except as a court of competent jurisdiction has otherwise determined in any given case.

NEVADA — no exceptions.

NEW HAMPSHIRE — except where it is otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

NEW JERSEY — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of New Jersey law do not apply to them.

NEW YORK — except where such law conflicts with any mandatory direction of an instrument by which assets were transferred prior to June 1, 1971, and such conflicting direction has not been removed legally.

NORTH CAROLINA — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of North Carolina law do not apply to them and except for trusts that have their governing instruments reformed by a decree of the Superior Court of North Carolina.

NORTH DAKOTA — with respect to trusts that are private foundations except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

OHIO — except in the case of trusts where it is provided otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction and except in the case of corporations in existence on September 17, 1971, which expressly adopt contrary provisions in their governing instruments after September 17, 1971.

OKLAHOMA — except for such private foundations which file a proper election not to be subject to such law.

OREGON — no exceptions.

PENNSYLVANIA — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

RHODE ISLAND — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

SOUTH CAROLINA — except for private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of South Carolina law do not apply to them.

SOUTH DAKOTA — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

TENNESSEE — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

TEXAS — except for such private foundations which file a proper election not to be subject to such law.

UTAH — with respect to trusts that are private foundations except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

VERMONT — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

VIRGINIA — except for private foundations whose governing instruments contain express provisions to the contrary or which have filed a proper election not to be subject to such law.

WASHINGTON — except for such private foundations which expressly provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of Washington law do not apply to them.

WEST VIRGINIA — with respect to trusts that are private foundations except for such trusts which provide in their governing instruments that the applicable sections of West Virginia law do not apply to them.

WISCONSIN — except as may otherwise be provided by decree of a court of competent jurisdiction.

WYOMING — except where otherwise provided by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Adjusted net income (for Schedule D) Adjusted net income includes: gross income from any unrelated trade or business; gross income from functionally related businesses; interest payments received on loans; amounts received or accrued as repayments of amounts taken as qualifying distributions for any tax year; amounts received or accrued from the sale or other disposition of property to the extent acquisition of the property was treated as a qualifying distribution for any tax year; any amounts set aside for a specific project to the extent the full set aside was not necessary for the project; interest on government obligations normally excluded under section 103 of the Code; net short-term capital gains on sale or other disposition of property; and income received from an estate if the estate is considered terminated for income tax purposes because of a prolonged administration period.
It does not include: gifts, grants, and contributions received; long-term capital gains or losses; net section 1231 gains; capital gain dividends; the excess of fair market value over adjusted basis of property distributed to the U.S. or a possession or political subdivision, a state or its political subdivision, a charitable trust or corporation for public purposes, or income received from an estate during the administration period.
In computing adjusted net income, deduct the following: ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred for the production or collection of gross income, or for the management, conservation, or collection of gross income (includes operating expenses such as compensation of officers, employee wages and salaries, interest, rent, and taxes); straight-line depreciation and depletion (not percentage depletion); and expenses and interest paid or incurred to carry tax-exempt obligations. Do not deduct net short-term capital losses for the year in which they occur (these losses cannot be carried back or carried over to earlier or later tax years); the excess of expenses for property used for exempt purposes over the income received from the property; charitable contributions made by you; net operating losses; and special deductions for corporations.

Advance ruling A written determination by us on your public charity status that treats you as a publicly supported organization during a 5-year period beginning, generally, from the date of your formation. At the end of the 5-year period, you will qualify for a definitive ruling (defined below) if you were publicly supported based on the support you received during the 5-year period.

Affiliated Created by, controlled by, or closely related to a governmental unit, including a State, a possession of the United States, or any political subdivision of a State or a possession of the United States, or the United States, or the District of Columbia.

Arm's length A transaction between parties having adverse (or opposing) interests; where none of the participants are in a position to exercise substantial influence over the transaction because of business or family relationship(s) with more than one of the parties.

Authorized representative By submitting Form 2848, an attorney or certified public accountant who is permitted to represent you before us regarding your application for tax-exempt status.

Bingo A game of chance played with cards that are generally printed with 5 rows of 5 squares each, on which participants place markers to form a pre-selected pattern to win the game. Bingo is gambling.

Business relationships Employment and contractual relationships, and common ownership of a business where any officers, directors, or trustees, individually or together, possess more than a 35% ownership interest in common. Ownership means voting power in a corporation, profits interest in a partnership, or beneficial interest in a trust.

Bylaws The internal rules and regulations of an organization.

Certification of filing Articles of incorporation for your organization showing evidence that on a specific date they were filed with and approved by an appropriate state authority.

Charitable risk pool An organization described in section 501(n), which is organized and operated to pool insurable risks (other than medical malpractice) of its section 501(c)(3) members.

Close connection A relationship between organizations that may include: control of one organization by another through common governance or through authority to approve budgets or expenditures; coordination of operations as to facilities, programs, employees, or other activities; or common persons exercising substantial influence over all of the organizations.

Common control You and one or more other organizations have (1) a majority of your governing boards or officers appointed or elected by the same organization(s), or (2) a majority of your governing boards or officers consist of the same individuals. Common control also occurs when you and one or more commonly controlled organizations have a majority ownership interest in a corporation, partnership, or trust. Ownership means voting power in a corporation, profits interest in a partnership, or beneficial interest in a trust.

Community The local or regional geographic area to be served by an organization.

Compensation All forms of income from working, including salary or wages; deferred compensation; retirement benefits, whether in the form of a qualified or non-qualified employee plan (for example: pensions or annuities); fringe benefits (for example: personal vehicle, meals, lodging, personal and family educational benefits, low interest loans, payment of personal travel, entertainment, or other expenses, athletic or country club membership, and personal use of your property); and bonuses.

Conflict of interest policy A conflict of interest arises when a person in a position of authority over an organization, such as a director, officer, or manager, may benefit personally from a decision he or she could make. A conflict of interest policy consists of a set of procedures to follow to avoid the possibility that those in positions of authority over an organization may receive an inappropriate benefit.

Controlled by disqualified persons As a section 509(a)(3) supporting organization, you may not be controlled directly or indirectly by disqualified persons. You are controlled if disqualified persons can exercise 50% or more of the total voting power of your governing body. You are also controlled if disqualified persons have authority to affect significant decisions, such as power over your investment decisions, or power over your charitable disbursement decisions. You are also controlled if disqualified persons can exercise veto power. Although control is generally demonstrated where disqualified persons have the authority over your governing body to require you to take an action or refrain from taking an action, indirect control by disqualified persons will also disqualify you as a supporting organization.

Cooperative hospital service organization An organization described in section 501(e) is organized and operated on a cooperative basis to provide its section 501(c)(3) hospital members one or more of the following activities: data processing, purchasing (including purchasing insurance on a group basis), warehousing, billing and collection (including purchasing patron accounts receivable on a recourse basis), food, clinical, industrial engineering, laboratory, printing, communications, record center, and personnel (including selecting, testing, training, and educating personnel) services.

Cooperative service organization of operating educational organizations An organization described in section 501(f) is organized and operated to provide investment services to its members. Those members must be organizations described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) or (iv), and either tax exempt under section 501(a) or whose income is excluded from taxation under section 115(a).

Corporation An entity organized under a Federal or state statute, or a statute of a federally recognized Indian tribal or Alaskan native government.

Definitive ruling A written determination by us on your public charity status that classifies you as a publicly supported organization if you have completed your first tax year, consisting of at least 8 full months, and you meet one of the public support tests. A definitive ruling may also be issued at the end of your 5-year advance ruling period if you were issued an advance ruling and you meet one of the public support tests.

Develop Develop means the planning, financing, construction, or provision of similar services involved in the acquisition of real property, such as land or a building.

Disqualified person Any individual or organization that is:

a. A substantial contributor to you (see substantial contributor).

b. An officer, director, trustee, or any other individual who has similar powers or responsibilities.

c. An individual who owns more than 20% of the total combined voting power of a corporation that is a substantial contributor to you.

d. An individual who owns more than 20% of the profits interest of a partnership that is a substantial contributor to you.

e. An individual who owns more than 20% of the beneficial interest of a trust or estate that is a substantial contributor to you.

f. A member of the family of any individual described in a, b, c, d, or e above;

g. A corporation in which any individuals described in a, b, c, d, e, or f above hold more than 35% of the total combined voting power;

h. A trust or estate in which any individuals described in a, b, c, d, e, or f above hold more than 35% of the beneficial interests; and

i. A partnership in which any individuals described a, b, c, d, e, or f above hold more than 35% of the profits interest.

Earmark Donations or other contributions given to you to assist particular individuals or specific identified groups.

Economic development Organizations formed to combat community deterioration by assisting businesses located in a particular geographic area whose economy is economically depressed or deteriorating. Economic development activities include grants, loans, provision of information and expertise, or creation of industrial parks. Economic development organizations may also be formed to eliminate prejudice and discrimination or lessen the burdens of government through involvement with business development.

Elderly housing Generally, the primary beneficiaries of the tax-exempt housing are age 62 and older. The elderly are treated as appropriate charitable beneficiaries for certain purposes regardless of socio-economic status because, as a group, they face many barriers to their basic needs as they age. The elderly, as a class, face forms of distress other than financial, such as the need for suitable housing, physical and mental health care, civic, cultural, and recreational activities, and an overall environment conducive to dignity and independence.

Expenses Financial burdens or outlays; costs (of doing business); business outlays chargeable against revenues. For purposes of this form, expenses mean direct and indirect expenses.

Fair market value The price at which property or the right to use property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy, sell, or transfer property or the right to use property, and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.

Family Includes an individual's spouse, ancestors, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, siblings (whether by whole or half blood), and the spouses of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and siblings.

Foreign country A country other than the United States, its territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia.

For-profit A business entity whose activities are conducted or maintained to make a profit (e.g. revenues greater than expenses).

Foundation manager Officers, directors, or trustees, or an individual having powers or responsibilities similar to those of a foundation's officers, directors, or trustees.

Fundraising The organized activity of raising funds, whether by volunteers, employees, or paid independent contractors.

Gainfully employed Employed or actively looking for work.

Gaming The term gaming includes activities such as Bingo, Beano, lotteries, pull-tabs, pari-mutuel betting, Calcutta wagering, pickle jars, punch boards, tip boards, tip jars, certain video games, 21, raffles, keno, split-the-pot, and other games of chance.

Gross investment income As defined in section 509, gross investment income means the gross amount of income from interest, dividends, payments with respect to securities loans, rents, and royalties, but not including any such income to the extent included in computing the tax imposed by section 511.

Gross receipts For purposes of Part IX-A. Statement of Revenues and Expenses, gross receipts includes monies earned from activities related to your charitable or other section 501(c)(3) activities, such as selling admissions or merchandise, performing services, or furnishing facilities.

Handicapped Persons with physical or mental disabilities with special needs for suitable housing, physical and mental health care, civic, cultural, and recreational activities, transportation, and an overall environment conducive to dignity and independence.

Hospital Hospital or medical care includes the treatment of any physical or mental disability or condition, whether on an inpatient or outpatient basis. A hospital includes:

a. Hospitals and rehabilitation institutions, outpatient clinics, or community mental health or drug treatment centers if the principal purpose or function is the providing of medical or hospital care or medical education or research.

b. Medical research organizations, if the principal purpose or function is the continuous active conduct of medical research in conjunction with a hospital.

Independent contractors Persons who are not treated as employees for employment tax purposes.

Influence legislation The act of directly contacting or urging the public to contact members of a legislative body for the purpose of proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation. You are also attempting to influence legislation if you advocate the adoption or rejection of legislation.

Intellectual property A type of property (distinct from real or personal property) which includes:

a. Patents (for inventions).

b. Copyrights (for literary and artistic works such as novels, poems, plays, films, musical works, drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, architectural designs, performances, recordings, film, and radio or television programs).

c. Trade names, trade marks, and service marks (for symbols, names, images, and designs).

d. Formulas, know-how, and trade secrets.

Joint ventures A legal agreement in which the parties jointly undertake a transaction for mutual profit. Generally, each person contributes assets and shares risks. Like a partnership, joint ventures can involve any type of business transaction and the “persons” involved can be individuals, groups of individuals, companies, or corporations.

Limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC) combines attributes of both corporations and partnerships (or, for one-person LLCs, sole proprietorships). The corporation's protection from personal liability for business debts and the pass-through tax structure of partnerships and sole proprietorships.

Low-income housing Rental or ownership housing provided to persons based on financial need.

Mailing address Address where you wish all correspondence to be sent.

Manage Manage means to direct or administer.

Medical care The treatment of any physical or mental disability or condition, whether on an inpatient or outpatient basis.

Medical research organization An organization whose principal purpose or function is the continuous active conduct of medical research in conjunction with a hospital.

Net income (for Schedule D) See adjusted net income.

Non-fixed payments A non-fixed payment means a payment that depends on discretion. For example, a bonus of up to $100,000 that is based on an evaluation of performance by the governing board is a non-fixed payment because the governing body has discretion over whether the bonus is paid and the amount of the bonus.

Organizing document The organizing document depends on the form of the organization. For a corporation, the document is the articles of incorporation. For a limited liability company (LLC), the document is the articles of organization. For an unincorporated association, the document is the articles of association or constitution. The organizing document of a trust is the trust agreement.

Political You participate in a political campaign if you promote or oppose, through political literature, brochures, pamphlets, hosting or participating in events, etc., the candidacy of an individual for public office. Debates and nonpartisan voter education are not considered political.

Predecessor An organization whose activities or assets were taken over by another organization.

Private foundations Organizations that are exempt under section 501(c)(3) are private foundations unless they are: churches, schools, hospitals, governmental units, entities that undertake testing for public safety; organizations that have broad financial support from the general public; or organizations that support one or more other organizations that are themselves classified as public charities.

Private operating foundation A type of private foundation that lacks general public support, but makes qualifying distributions directly for the active conduct of its educational, charitable, and religious purposes. “Directly for the active conduct” means that the distributions are used by the foundation itself to carry out the programs for which it is organized and operated. Grants made to assist other organizations or individuals are normally considered indirect.

Public charity Organizations that are exempt under section 501(c)(3) and are not private foundations because they are: churches, schools, hospitals, governmental units, entities that undertake testing for public safety; organizations that have broad financial support from the general public; or organizations that support one or more other organizations that are themselves classified as public charities. Public charity status is a more favorable tax status than private foundation status.

Reasonable compensation Reasonable compensation is the amount that would ordinarily be paid for like services by like organizations under like circumstances as of the date the compensation arrangement is made. Reasonable compensation is important because excessive benefits in the form of compensation to disqualified persons may result in the imposition of excise taxes and jeopardize the organization's tax-exempt status.

Related The family or business relationships between persons.

Relationship A relationship between you and the recipient organization includes the following situations:

a. You control the organization or it controls you through common officers, directors, or trustees, or through authority to approve budgets or expenditures.

b. You and the organization were created at approximately the same time and by the same persons.

c. You and the organization operate in a coordinated manner with respect to facilities, programs, employees, or other activities.

d. Persons who exercise substantial influence over you also exercise substantial influence over the other organization.

Revenue Revenue means gross revenue amounts.

Revenue Procedure An official statement of a procedure published in the IRS Cumulative Bulletin that either affects the rights or duties of taxpayers or other members of the public under the Internal Revenue Code and related statutes, treaties, and regulations or, although not necessarily affecting the rights and duties of the public, should be a matter of public knowledge.

Revenue Ruling An official interpretation by the IRS of the Internal Revenue laws and related statutes, treaties, and regulations, that has been published in the Cumulative Bulletin. Revenue Rulings are issued only by the National Office and are published for the information and guidance of taxpayers, IRS officials, and others concerned.

SS-4 Application for Employer Identification Number.

School A school is an educational organization whose primary function is the presentation of formal instruction and which normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly enrolled body of pupils or students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on. A school may include a:

a. Primary, secondary, preparatory, or high school.

b. College or university.

c. Trade or technical school.

d. Nursery or preschool.

e. School that you operate as an activity, such as school that is operated as an activity of a museum, historical society, or church.

Similarly situated Similarly situated organizations means tax-exempt or taxable organizations of a comparable size, purpose, and resources.

Substantial contributor Any individual or organization that gave more than $5,000 to you from the date you were formed or other date that your exemption would be effective, to the end of the year in which the contributions were received. This total amount contributed must also be more than 2% of all the contributions you received. A creator of a trust is treated as a substantial contributor regardless of the amount contributed.

Successor An organization that took over:

a. More than a negligible amount of the activities that were previously conducted by another organization;

b. Twenty-five percent or more of the fair market value of the net assets of another organization; or

c. Was established upon the conversion of an organization from for-profit to non-profit status.

Trust A trust is an entity that may be formed by a trust agreement or declaration of trust. A trust may also be formed through a will.

Unincorporated association An unincorporated association formed under state law must have at least two members who have signed a written document for a specifically defined purpose.

Unusual grants Substantial contributions and bequests from disinterested persons that by their size adversely affect classification as a public charity. They are:

a. Unusual;

b. Unexpected; and

c. Received from an unrelated party.

via irs.gov

A sample conflict of interest policy for organizations...no need to reinvent the wheel.

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Wild Apricot Blog : SEO Keywords for Small Non-Profits

2011-06-21T09:58:00.001-04:00

SEO Keywords for Small Non-Profits

Your non-profit website is supposed to help new people – prospective donors, members, and advocates – find your organization online. But what if it’s not showing up in the search engines?

I just spoke to someone yesterday - new website, doesn't show up for any of the obvious keywords in google search
~ Beth Brodovsky @bethbrodovsky

A new website may take a little time to get indexed by the search engines and to build up some backlinks – those incoming links from other websites that help the search engines know your site is a valuable source of information in your area of expertise – but there two other reasons why any site, new or established, might not show up readily in the search results pages:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Keyword Choice

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t magic or mysterious. It isn’t even particularly hard to do, once you learn the ropes. At root, SEO is simply a matter of helping the search engines, such as Google and Bing, decide when one of your web pages should by highly ranked as a relevant result for a specific search query.

You’ll find a lot of great resources online to help you learn more about SEO, but here are few aimed specifically at the not-for-profit sector :

Some time ago, Wild Apricot posted a 30 Day Guide to Search Engine Optimization, a 4-part series by Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson; most of the information you’ll find there is still current.

Google’s own 32-page SEO Starter Guide [PDF] has been updated for 2011, making it much easier for the layperson to read, understand, and take action on. If you prefer to get your information “straight from the horse’s mouth,” this guide’s for you.

Aaron Wall’s SEOBook.org is a comprehensive online Non-profit’s Guide to SEM that covers the basics of SEO and keyword research, then delves into broader areas of using “search engine marketing” and social media to connect – cheaply and effectively – with your donors and supporters.

Or, if you prefer to learn in audiovisual mode, Ventureneer offers a free recorded webinar that you can access online at your convenience: Search Engine Optimization (SEO): What Every Small Business and Nonprofit Needs to Know.

Too much information, and not enough time to take it all in?

Get a jumpstart with SEO CHecklist for Local Small Business Websites by Rae Hoffman-Dolan (@sugarrae) – equally appropriate for small local non-profit websites–or Jonathan Colman's 4-page Quick Guide to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Beginners.

View more presentations from Jonathon D. Colman

You can “optimize” your site to the hilt, however, and still not get found in the search engine results pages. Why? As Keith Holloway (Why SEO? A primer for association and non-profit web sites) explains:

[S]earch engine optimization is an extremely valuable marketing device for any organization with an online presence. The key to making it work effectively is to choose your keywords carefully, and blend it in with a strategically sound content development plan that addresses the information needs of your organization's primary audience...

Keyword Choice

“Keywords” are nothing more than the words and phrases that people type into search engines – questions in search of answers – so Job #1, in choosing the specific keywords for which to optimize your non-profit’s website, is to get into the mind of the person who’s doing the searching.

Large non-profits may have the budget to hire professionals for keyword research, but smaller member-driven organizations usually will have to take the do-it-yourself route. Fortunately, small non-profits – especially a local community-based group with a very specific mission and constituency – can actually have a bit of an advantage in search engine optimization:

You don’t need to compete with the whole world for attention.

You just have to reach the right people.

What keywords are working?

Check your website analytics reports (we like Google Analytics and Clicky, both free, but any comprehensive tracking tool will do) for the keywords that are bringing in the most traffic to your site. Ask yourself:

Is it important that this piece of information ranks well?

Is this what we want to be known for, first and foremost?

And is that search query bringing in people who really want to know more about your group and its cause?

(One client was getting big traffic to his association’s website, briefly, because its online Annual Report included a detailed write-up of a celebrity look-alike contest, held as a fundraising event. As you can imagine, the people who came to the website looking for Lady Gaga were very quick to bounce away again!)

Coming at it from the other angle -- search engine, versus searchers -- you can enter your URL in Google Adwords’ free keyword tool to check what your site appears to be all about in the eyes of the search engine.

Do the suggested keywords seem to be on-topic and appropriate for your organization?

Who are the people you want to be able find your organization online?

Odds are that your primary target is not your board members or colleagues! Of course you want your existing donors and supporters to be able to find your website easily, but the real challenge for most non-profits is to attract new people – prospective supporters and advocates for your cause – by way of search engine traffic.

If your keywords don’t seem quite on target to draw the right audience – especially if your analytics show a high “bounce” for search engine visitors – it’s time to brainstorm for better keywords and tweak your web content accordingly.

3 Tips for Nonprofit Keyword Research

Brainstorm for Fresh Keywords

SEObook’s free, web-based keyword list generator lets you quickly generate a large number of keyword phrases by mixing and matching a set of individual keywords you enter.

And, again, Google’s Adword keyword tool can help out with suggestions – type in a promising keyword phrase to see what related keywords come up. If you like, you can also take a look at the search volume numbers in the Adwords tool, to get a rough idea of how many people are actually using those keywords in search queries. Filter by country and language, to get a slightly more useful gauge of who’s doing the searching – but don’t get too concerned about search volume. Small non-profits have an advantage here, remember: we don’t need to reach the whole world.

Location, Location, Location

“Children’s charities” has a higher search volume than “children’s nonprofits” – more people per month are searching for the first of those terms, according to search engine traffic tools. But if you’re running a local branch of the Boys & Girls Club – a nonproft organization that serves children – does that mean you should “target” either of those keyword phrases in your website content?

The competition for such broad keyword phrases is very stiff, and almost anyone could be typing in those search terms for any purpose. For the local branch of a youth group, it makes much more sense to go after the local crowd. And the same applies to any location-based organization:

You may be the Association of Widget Professionals, but where are you located? If you're in Toronto that's great news for me because I am too! But, if I'm searching for "widget professional networking events in Toronto" and you haven't put "Toronto" in your event title or description, I may not find it among the many other widget professional networking events taking place across the globe.
~ Jay Moonah: 3 (more) Search Engine Writing Tips for Associations

Watch Your Language

In its funding proposals, your animal rescue group may talk about “population control in feral cat colonies” in its funding proposals – but how do your volunteers talk about your mission to their friends? Are you “fixing stray cats,” in the real world?

For purposes of SEO, as Katie Powell (@phillypowells) pointed out in a recent #smnpchat Twitter chat, “nonprofits need to learn what words visitors associate with your agency, don't just rely on inside-agency lingo”!

Snoop around on Facebook and Twitter, take a look at outside press coverage of your organization, and read through some of the emails and letters you get from members, supporters, and the general public.

What kind of words do people outside the organization use to talk about your organization, its mission, the work you do, and the community you serve? Nail this down, and you’ve got “keyword research” pretty much licked – because those are the very terms that prospective supporters are most likely to type into the search engines, when they’re trying to find your non-profit online.

via wildapricot.com

Excellent Article!

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Untitled

2011-06-16T08:48:00.001-04:00

Your_Nonprofit_Website.docx Download this file

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Bottom Line Briefing: Archive Article

2011-06-15T16:52:00.001-04:00

Association Exec Sciolaro Volunteers His Thoughts on What Makes a Good Volunteer

Special to Bottom Line Briefing

Longtime association executive Don Sciolaro has had extensive experience collaborating with volunteers and volunteer leaders at the various associations he has worked for. Currently a free agent, his past credits have included a stint as Chief Executive and Director of Member Services for the National Kitchen & Bath Association, as well as a variety of leadership roles with the National Association of Manufacturers. He volunteers his thoughts on the art of volunteering in the association world:
BOTTOM LINE BRIEFING: What makes a good volunteer leader?

DON SCIOLARO: A good volunteer leader has to have a real passion for what they are involved in. Most of the good ones that I’ve come across over the years seem to have that passion. They don’t necessarily need a long tenure. They don’t necessarily have to be involved with the organization for a long time. But there is something about the organization that they feel really strongly about.

BLB: Especially in this economy, can you talk about the importance of association management working with volunteers?

DS: This is a tough economy for volunteers. People are spending more and more time focused on their business. A lot of their businesses have downsized, especially in the small and medium-sized operations that really makes up the volunteerism in a lot of associations. They just don’t have the time to put in. But what you try and do as the professional staff is to make it as easy as possible for them to volunteer. You take the kinds of things that they might have spent time on in the past doing and try and help them along so it doesn’t take them as long. Whether it’s organizing a meeting, an agenda, or a whole program, you’ll want to do as much for them as possible.

BLB: What are some basic strategies that association leaders can implement to better recruit volunteers? How can you get people not just interested in volunteering but excited to volunteer?

DS: We’ve talked about that a lot over the years. We’ve decided that no matter what motivates a volunteer, the one thing that has to happen at some point is that they have to personally be approached and asked to volunteer. Even if it is a person like me who likes to volunteer for everything, I don’t generally like to volunteer until I am asked. You need to figure out why a particular person might get value out of volunteering and use that in your pitch. We just had this discussion at a board meeting recently, and we concluded that some people volunteer because they want to give back. Some people want to be a leader in their industry. But it all came down to … they were asked. Very infrequently does somebody volunteer who wasn’t asked to do so.

BLB: In your experience, can you point to some common mistakes that you have seen in associations reaching out to volunteers?

DS: I think some organizations make the mistake that everyone feels the same way about either the organization or its mission, and people don’t. Different people belong to their association with something different in mind, whether it’s for business reasons or community reasons. I think one of the mistakes we often make is people who have volunteered with an organization for 20 or so years, served on every committee, and put in 10 or 20 hours a week, that everybody is going to do that. And they don’t. People volunteer at different levels, and you have to keep in mind that not everybody is going to be the same kind of volunteer. Some people might want to do one event or be involved in one committee, and others might want to have a larger presence and a much greater involvement.

BLB: Can you point to an association that you think does a really terrific job of recruiting their volunteer leaders and getting them all on the same page?

DS: I think the smaller organizations do that really well! They are able to make it more personal. There seems to be better camaraderie among the volunteers. I think it also motivates them more, because it makes it more personal. I’ve only worked at national organizations where you have a high turnover in your leadership every few years. You have new board members. Some of these smaller organizations don’t have term limits. They don’t have a large pool of people to draw from as volunteers. It really becomes a very nice fit where you have the same volunteers over a period of time. Some of the regional or state-based organizations really do it well. They take the time to get to know the volunteer leader and to know where they can play a role.

BLB: Are there some things that larger, national organizations can do to improve their work with volunteers?

DS: I think that goes back to your other question of what do associations do wrong? I think they try and make everybody the same kind of volunteer leader, and they don’t figure out what that volunteer may be passionate about and give them a chance to be involved where they really want to be. With larger, national organizations, there is so much going on at one time, and it’s difficult to personalize. I think it would be really worth the time to do that. Go to some potential leaders and say, “Look, if you run this committee, what would you want to accomplish? Why would you do it?”

BLB: Has new and emerging technology helped in the role of volunteers?

DS: I think it has helped because it has become a time saver. Depending on what the various committees and task forces were working on, in-person meetings are time consuming and expensive. Sharing documents meant you were either faxing or over-nighting things. With the technology available today, you can have very effective virtual meetings. If you want to share documents, there are different levels of sharing with the technology available now. Technology gives you a lot more flexibility, and it actually makes volunteering easier. If you’re in Chicago, our most centralized point, you are still going to be out of the office for a day if you are traveling for a meeting. But by not having to travel for every meeting an association or an organization has, it makes it so much easier. You get a lot more done in a lot less time.

via bottomlinebriefing.com

I particularly like the last two paragraphs: (1) all volunteers are not the same, and (2) use technology to utilize volunteer time efficiently!

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Wild Apricot Blog : Should You Offer a Member's Forum?

2011-06-15T09:36:00.001-04:00

Should You Offer a Member's Forum?

In our efforts to offer blog readers tips for member communication and engagement, we've talked about refreshing your e-newsletter and whether you should have a blog . But have you considered creating a member's forum?

Every communications channel or tool serves a unique purpose. For example, e-newsletters offer updates on activities and issues and a blog provides information and encourages discussion through comments. But a forum can bring the conversation down to a personal level.

What is a forum?

A forum is an online discussion site where you and your members can post messages, start conversations, offer and receive information and advice. It can help build your online community by providing a place for your members to virtually congregate, collaborate, discuss and share ideas. Along with membership benefits, forums can help your organization by:

attracting members or supporters to your website

offering an additional means of interacting with members/supporters – e.g., asking their opinion or highlighting new resources

enabling insightful feedback and information that you can use in your planning or decision-making

increasing member satisfaction and retention

Is a Forum Right for You?

First you need to figure out if a forum can help with your engagement or communications goals. If, for example, you’ve realized that many of your members or supporters are having lively discussions through LinkedIn groups, Facebook or Twitter, a forum might allow you to move the conversations over to your own website. The ability to actively participate in a lively forum might be seen as a valuable member service. Like any communications channel, be sure to establish clear and measurable objectives before you get started.

Do you have the resources?

Another key consideration is whether you have the resources available to create and maintain a forum. There are moderated forums where posts are submitted through and approved by a moderator (or administrator) and non-moderated forums, where visitors post messages directly. Obviously one requires much less admin time than the other.

However, since this forum will reside on your website, you’ll want to have someone monitoring the forum regularly to remove inappropriate messages and ensure all is running smoothly. There are administrative options you could consider, such as having one volunteer act as administrator and/or having a group of volunteers act as “community moderators” starting online dialogue and monitoring discussions.

What’s Involved With Creating a Forum?

Technology:

If you are a Wild Apricot client, you can easily create or add as many forums as you need, as part of your Membership Management Software. For organizations who are not using Wild Apricot, check to see if there is a compatible software add-on. You can check out options through a software review website such as this Forum Comparator.

Establishing Forum Policies:

As with all social media, you need to establish clear policies for all visitors/users of the forum. Most forums have a “terms of use” or “forum rules” document that new visitors are asked to review. In addition, your forum administrator will need to have clear direction on process to follow regarding problem postings.

Ongoing Forum Management:

As noted above, you’ll need to identify a forum moderator or administrator who will be responsible for regular forum monitoring and maintenance. And since your members or supporters may be a little shy or reluctant to participate at first, you may need to initiate conversations and encourage participation to build a robust online community through your forum. Your moderator and/or forum team can identify topics to engage members and get the forum started or you can consider asking your Board members to get involved.

Forum Promotion:
Don't assume your members will stumble upon your forum – it needs to be promoted:

On your website - clearly label the Forum on your Home Page and/or in your navigation menu

In your e-newsletter – promote the forum and remind members to ask questions or comment on an article through the forum and offer dirct link so they can find it quickly.

On your blog – write a blog post based on a forum conversation or conversely, start a forum based on a blog post and/or its comments

In targeted emails – promote your forum in your email footer or signature Once your forum reaches a critical mass of participants, you can step back and simply keep an eye on discussions.

Once your forum reaches a critical mass of participants, you can step back and simply keep an eye on discussions.

So - do you think a forum is right for your organization?

via wildapricot.com

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

zillow.com Launches Loan Shopping App | Property Portal Watch

2011-06-07T21:32:00.001-04:00

via www1.propertyportalwatch.com

Cool!

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

QR Codes for Non Profits | Admin eSolutions

2011-04-29T14:43:00.001-04:00

QR Codes for Non Profits

Posted by: Antoine Dupont on Monday, April 25, 2011 at 2:28:52 pm

Seen one of these codes? It's called a QR code. It's a kind of bar code -- so just like a grocery checkout bar code, a computer can scan it to automatically receive information. In this case, though, it's coding a website address, and it can be scanned by smart phones.

If you have a Droid, for instance, you can simply take a picture of this code with your camera, or use the bar code scanner app and it will automatically take you to the Admin eSolutions homepage on your phone. Nifty, huh? This will work with most smart phones, though for some of them you'll need to download an application to be able to read the code.
We're seeing more of these codes in public these days -- they're being used especially on billboards and in magazines, essentially taking the "click for more information" idea and turning it into "snap with your phone for more information."

For instance, I can potentially take a picture of a QR code on a movie poster in the subway in order to go to a website that has more intriguing information about the movie.

Nonprofits organizations are starting to use QR codes as well. There's some interesting possibilities -- not just in ads, but also for direct mail and to create virtual tours.

They're free to create-- do a google search on "QR codes" and you'll find half-a-dozen websites that will generate the code for you for free for a particular website address or piece of text. So the only cost associated is the printing, and if you're creating an ad or direct mail, you're likely printing anyway. I used Kaywa QR Code to create this one (http://qrcode.kaywa.com/)

So for instance, you could add the image of code to your newsletter that would allow people to easily get to a webpage to sign up for your eNewsletter instead. Or a direct mail piece code could provide easily access to your online donation functionality. A museum could put a QR code next to each displayed piece to allow people to view much more detailed online than could practically be displayed.

Of course, your members and constituents will need to have a smart phone to use it, and will need to have some idea what the QR code is and what to do with it. It's still not particularly mainstream for that reason -- it's only going to reach a particular segment of the population. But as the population becomes more likely to have a smart phone and be savvy with it, it's likely to grow in usage.

via adminesolutions.com

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Wild Apricot Blog : 100 More Online Tools for Non-Profits – Part 1

2011-04-22T09:35:00.001-04:00

via wildapricot.com

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Jumpstart 2012: Plan now for next year! : Off Stage

2011-04-20T11:09:00.001-04:00

Jumpstart 2012 is an annual leadership program designed specifically for local Realtor Associations by Judith Lindenau, RCE, CAE. Included in the Jumpstart experience:

·         A pre-event planning call with your association staff executive and/or incoming president

·         A one-day personally facilitated planning session with association staff and leadership

o   A presentation on current trends and best practices in Realtor Associations throughout the US

o   A discussion of your association’s strengths and weaknesses

o   Development of strategies and action plans for your association in 2012

o   Template Tools for Strategic Decision-Making and mini-Business Plans to help leaders and staff make better decisions

·         A follow up telephone coaching session with the association executive and/or Board President

·         A written report from the facilitator

What’s the cost? Costs are minimal: the Jumpstart 2012 complete package is direct travel expenses (coach airfare, food, and lodging) and a $1000 facilitator fee.

Judith Lindenau is a Realtor Association Executive with 30 years’ experience managing local boards. She has been awarded the William R. Magel award (the highest honor which can be given to a Realtor Association Executive, and she was named a charter member of the Almon R. Smith AE Leadership Award. She was a founder of the RCE Designation, holds the Certified Association Executive Designation, and a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from the University of Chicago. Lindenau has worked for NAR as a consultant in local association strategic planning. Currently she works for the International Real Property Foundation with assignments in East Africa and for the NorthSky Non-Profit Network.

via realtown.com

Posted via email from Judith's posterous

Rating *	Indicator	Met	Needs Work	N/A
E	1. The roles of the Board and the AE are defined and respected, with the AE delegated as the manager of the organization's operations and the board focused on policy and planning
R	2. The AE is recruited, selected, and employed by the Board of Directors. The board provides clearly written expectations and qualifications for the position, as well as reasonable compensation.
R	3. The Board of Directors acts a governing trustee of the organization on behalf of the membership while carrying out the association’s mission and goals. To fully meet this goal, the Board of Directors must actively participate in the planning.
R	4. The board's nominating process ensures that the board remains appropriately diverse in the areas of gender, ethnicity, membership status, and skills and/or expertise.
E	5. The board members receive regular training and information about their responsibilities.
E	6. New board members are oriented to the organization, including the organization's mission, bylaws, policies, and programs, as well as their roles and responsibilities as board members.
A	7. Board organization is documented with descriptions of the board and board committee responsibilities.
A	8. Each board member has ready access to a board operations manual.
E	9. If the organization has any related party transactions between board members or their family, they are disclosed to the board of directors, the Internal Revenue Service and the auditor. Conflicts of interest are articulated and documented.
E	10. The organization has at least the minimum number of members on the Board of Directors as required by its bylaws or state statute.
R	11. If the organization has adopted bylaws, they conform to state statute and NAR policy and have been reviewed by legal counsel.
R	12. The bylaws should include: a) how and when notices for board meetings are made; b) how members are elected/appointed by the board; c) what the terms of office are for officers/members; d) how board members are rotated; e) how ineffective board members are removed from the board; f) a stated number of board members to make up a quorum which is required for all policy decisions.
R	13. The board of directors reviews the bylaws and operating policies.
A	14. The board has a process for handling urgent matters between meetings.
E	15. Payment to board members should be documented and conform to an approved policy identifying reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses.
R	16. The association maintains a conflict-of-interest policy and all board members and executive staff review and/or sign to acknowledge and comply with the policy.
R	17. The board has an annual calendar of meetings. The board also has an attendance policy such that a quorum of the organization's board meets at least quarterly.
A	18. Meetings have written agendas and materials relating to significant decisions are given to the board well in advance of the meeting.
A	19. The board has a written policy prohibiting employees and members of employees' immediate families from serving as board chair or treasurer.
Indicators ratings: E=essential; R=recommended; A=additional to strengthen organizational activities