No-sweat Boot Camp for SDSVP Partners & Guests

By Cathy Yarbrough

No one had to perform pushups, drill or stand in formation at SDSVP’s first Boot Camp.

Instead the Partners and guests, including several San Diego nonprofit agency leaders, underwent eight hours of training in strategic and annual outcome planning, fund and revenue development, finance, legal affairs, information technology, marketing and public relations, and board development and governance.

The goal: to maximize Partners’ efforts to help SDSVP’s Investees and other San Diego nonprofits to become more effective and sustainable.

Partners who missed the inaugural Boot Camp can register for the repeat sessions on Saturday, Feb 7, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and Thursday, Feb 12, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., at AMN Healthcare, 12400 High Bluff Dr. To register, please contact Mandy Sherlock at mandy@sdsvp.org or (760) 269-3836.

Boot Camp instructors were Partners skilled in applying the commercial sector’s performance standards, metrics and practices to SDSVP’s outcomes-based venture philanthropy.

At the inaugural Boot Camp, Duane Trombly reminded attendees that “SDSVP is leading the way” in applying strategic outcomes-based investment to nonprofit agencies. Philanthropic giving, Trombly pointed out, is shifting from giving based solely on the worthiness of a cause, to giving that holds nonprofits accountable for achieving long-lasting, measurable social change.

Outcome planning begins with the end in mind and defines success measurably and quantifiably through pre-defined performance targets and milestones.

In the commercial sector, success is measured by market share, revenue and profits, Trombly said. In the nonprofit world, it’s measured by impact: “what we boldly aspire to occur”.

Sherri Neasham emphasized the importance of “keeping what you’re measuring very simple” and adopting easy-to-use tools, whether they be Excel or Salesforce.com to track outcomes. “Milestones are clearly defined steps to achieve outcomes. They are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-driven,” she pointed out.

Neasham used Volunteer San Diego as a case study in developing a strategic plan with bold initiatives and measures that will enable the agency’s board to monitor its success.

Ray Ellis and Joyce Ross spoke about nonprofit boards. Members of these boards must “educate, motivate, be part of the sales team,” said Ellis. Ross reviewed the 10 key enablers for board performance, with number one being, “Board clearly understands its roles and responsibilities and acts upon them.

”Unfortunately, “most board chairs don’t know what their responsibilities are, and most board members don’t know either,” said Ross. Many attendees agreed.

A good board must have timely and accurate financial reporting. “In the quickly changing economic times we live in, it is critical to evaluate current information,” said JoAnne Berg, who spoke about the basic concepts, skills and assessment tools of accounting and financial management.

For attendees who might view information technology as a foreign language, David Lynn introduced the grammar and punctuation of his career. He emphasized the importance of IT support and security, and backups and disaster recovery to “business continuity,” the ability of the nonprofit – or the for-profit -- to maintain its momentum.

Based on the post-event evaluations, the Boot Camp helps Partners and other volunteers to firm up their volunteer muscles. The workshop, attendees said, provided "concentrated instructions in key nonprofit areas" along with a "good overview of subjects with good insights from experienced people in their field."