Strategic planning answers the question where do we want to go and how do we want to get there for your organization. Note I emphasized the “we” because this is a decision-making process that the entire leadership of an organization needs to make together. This process can vary in length and intensity. As a consultant and facilitator, I really enjoy working with the leadership of organizations to make these key decisions to chart an organization’s future. These decisions often include:

Mission: Describes what the organization will do, who it will do it for and how it will achieve the vision. Your mission guides your work. Usually a mission is one to three sentences. (click "read more" below to read rest of post)

Guest Blog Post from Aurisha Smolarski, Ron Milam Consulting’s newest Associate specializing in Mediation

Are you tired of those same tensions playing out at every meeting? Is your organization or board loosing momentum? Unresolved tension between co-workers, board members or board and staff gets in the way of productive meetings, wastes valuable time and energy and creates unpleasant office environments. These tensions often come from stress, misunderstanding, lack of communication or follow up, differences of perspectives, changes in leadership, and/or interpersonal resentments. Oftentimes when Ron facilitates retreats, some tension arises between participants. In his role as a facilitator, Ron can manage any conflict that arises within a group but in order to truly transform the conflict, Ron recommends the parties in conflict work to resolve their differences outside of a retreat during a mediation session. Click the "Read more" link below to view the rest of this post...

I recently facilitated my 14^th Winning Campaigns training for the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking in my hometown of Los Angeles. This fast-paced, interactive training focused on developing a strategy to win a local campaign. I’m thrilled with how the movement for livable streets has grown in Southern California and that so many dynamic leaders have emerged to work on these issues. I’m especially excited that the LA County Bicycle Coalition has taken a leadership role in supporting local affiliates. Check out this great blog post the LACBC wrote on the training. If you’re interested in attending a future Winning Campaigns training, meet me in South Carolina for the next one coming up soon (November 4-6). If you can’t make that one, the Alliance recently released the training dates and locations for 2012.

 

I recently led a 1 1/2 hour training on teamwork for staff from Boys and Girls Clubs throughout Southern California. After facilitating a dialog about best practices, challenges and potential solutions for building strong teams, we practiced some team building of our own (with balloons!). We had a lot of fun with the "Boys and Girls Club Soul Train" (pictured above) where the 20+ participants had to work as team to stay together and keep the balloons from dropping to the ground. Afterwards, we had a great discussion about team building and how to take best practices back to their own work environments. Thanks to the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership for asking me to lead this workshop. If there any organizations out there that would like their own customized team work trainings (with or without balloons), please contact me. Thanks. 

The East LA Netsquared Group invited me to present at their Sept. 27th meeting and I invite you to attend. Below is the talk description and more info on the Netsquared Community.
 
How to Facilitate Nonprofit Boards to Engage with Innovative Social Technologies
Learn about various decisions a board makes such as undertaking a strategic planning process and discuss ways in which to insert technology into the discussion. You’ll also explore various low-tech methods to engage Boards of Directors such as putting an issue on the board agenda, allowing for time for discussion during a board meeting, working to build consensus and ultimately making a decision. Practice what you learn during a mock meeting that Ron Milam will facilitate followed by a group discussion.

Every month, the NetSquared community comes together offline at events to mix, swap stories and ideas, build new relationships, and collaborate. These gatherings provide a chance for all those interested in the intersection of social technologies and social change, whether you're part of a nonprofit organization or a for-profit organization, a funder or a consultant, a developer or an entrepreneur. Subscribe to our email newsletter here: http://bit.ly/N2LAemail

To RSVP, check out the Facebook page for this event. 

 
I recently had the privilege to facilitate and participate in Liberty Hill's Wally Marks Leadership Institute for Change's Convening. The photo above is my view surrounded by inspiring, grassroots leaders working on social change throughout Los Angeles. A leader from each organization shared the story of how they became an organizer. They also shared how their organiation grew over the last seven months as a result of the three-day training they attended, coaching they received throughout the process and peer convenings. Pictured giving his presentation is Zach Hoover, Executive Director of LA Voice, the organization I coached for the last seven months. Zach celebrated the organization's first ever house party hosted by a board member that brought in 15 new donors to the organization and raised nearly $5,000. I'm thrilled to have played a role in making this year's Leadership Institute a success. I appreciate Liberty Hill's investment in its own grantees by developing a dyanmic learning environment that also builds a stronger movement for social change here in Los Angeles.  

I remember first hearing the term sustainability while a student at the University of Oregon in 1994. I directed my urban planning studies towards the implementation of sustainable practices and have actively worked to make the vision of a sustainable Los Angeles reality every since I returned here in 1997.

Over the last 16 years, I have watched the term sustainability migrate from the margins into the mainstream of society. I have also witnessed numerous organizations emerge to work on this issue. Over the last six years, I’m proud to have consulted for a wide variety of these organizations that play a key role in transforming LA into a sustainable city with alternative transportation, parks, community gardens, affordable housing, revitalized rivers and so much more. 

Here is what I have learned: meaningful change transitioning LA towards sustainability is made by effective organizations. Effective organizations start with strong leadership. The leadership needs to achieve consensus on where they will collectively focus the organization’s energy. They need to use their time wisely in meetings and make decisions. They need to follow through on their commitments.

Successful organizations are intentional about building their own capacity. They recognize the value of having an outside facilitator work with their leadership to develop a retreat agenda and then facilitate the meeting. They support their leaders with training and coaching. They invest in building their own organization in the areas of fundraising, board development and strategic planning.

While there seems to be general agreement that this type of capacity building work should occur, too often organizations fail to prioritize this work or lack the resources to implement it. Yet, when organizations to invest in this work in my experience, it leads to improved results. The good news is that it doesn’t cost that much to invest in this sort of work (most of my facilitation, training and coaching projects with clients designed to enhance their organization’s effectiveness fall between $1,000 and $10,000).

If you’re affiliated with an organization working on sustainability (whether as staff, a board member, volunteer or donor), I encourage you to assess your organization. Is it as effective as it can be? Are there any issues or challenges holding it back? Are you achieving the results you want at the pace you need them to occur? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then I encourage you to contact me so we can discuss ways in which I might be able to support your work. 

Last month, I co-wrote an article on the subject of planning successful retreats. Over the course of the next couple of months, I want to write a follow up article that focusses on the retreat itself and ways in which to make it memorable, transformative and valuable. 

I'm guessing many of you have spent time participating in a retreat. I would love to hear elements of retreats you attended that made a positive impact for you and/or your group? Was it informal time around a campfire? An innovative problem-solving technique? A fun ice-breaker? A beautiful setting? Delicious food? An afternoon break? Play? Singing? Story-telling? Visualizing information? Post-it notes?

Whatever it was, I would love to hear from you in the comments section below (which I know is a little clunky so I appreciate you bearing with me). Thanks!

Having served as the Executive Director for the LA County Bicycle Coalition, I learned a great deal about what it takes to lead an organization. For the last eight years since I left the Bike Coalition, I have further developed my own skills in fundraising, board development, strategic planning, facilitation and leadership development. One area of my consulting practice that gives me great fulfillment is serving as a coach for Executive Directors.

I work to provide my coaching clients a safe space for them to reflect on the challenges they face, set goals and support them as they work to implement solutions. The results of coaching for my clients include greater confidence, increased effectiveness, better understanding and renewed passion.

Because Executive Directors spend so much time in the office and in front of their computer, I encourage my coaching clients to spend their coaching time with me outside, especially since the weather in LA is great year-round. I also find that people are more mentally alert when they engage in some sort of physical activity while meeting with their coach, instead of just sitting down.

So if you’re interested building your capacity as a leader and want a coach, here is where I propose we go:

-Surfing: Whether you’re a pro or a novice, spending time in the Pacific refreshes your spirit and helps clear your head. You’ll learn about patience and the art of being present in addition to chatting about whatever challenges you face as a leader.

-Biking: One of my favorite places to ride with clients is Griffith Park. There’s a lovely car-free loop with spectacular views of the city below. You get a great workout while also discussing whatever challenges you face. You also get a great perspective on putting your challenges in a larger context when you’re looking down at the city below.

-Hiking/Walking: Griffith Park also has an extensive network of dirt fire-roads that wind through the beautiful terrain while also giving two people the space to walk side by side and enjoy a conversation with each other. 

Just the simple act of leaving your office and getting away from all of the distractions makes a big difference. Combine that with some physical activity and a coach who has experienced the challenges your facing first hand will help you take your leadership to the next level. 

If you’re interested in discussing this further, please contact me at (323) 793-0591. Thanks.

I’m happy to celebrate my sixth year as a Consultant. The milestone for me with six years is that it is the longest job I have ever had, longer than the five years I served as Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition from 1998 to 2003. One common theme emerges for me during my tenure both at the LA County Bicycle Coalition and with my consulting practice: leadership development.  

While at the LA County Bicycle Coalition, I prioritized leadership development with my staff, board and volunteers. I recruited volunteers, trained them, gave them the space to lead, supported them and thanked them for their work. Eight years after I left the organization, I’m thrilled that the LACBC has grown with a dedicated staff, board and volunteer base (check out their new website to learn more and consider becoming a member and/or donor like me).

Since I launched my consulting practice in 2005, I’m proud to report I have served 52 organizations like the LACBC. I have facilitated their retreats, led trainings on a variety of topics and coached numerous leaders. I help groups and leaders figure out where they want to go and how they want to get there. I support them to develop plans to make their dreams reality. I love it working with a diversity of leaders working on a variety of related issues.

Organizations I have consulted for have created parks, community gardens, bicycle lanes, community film centers, restored watersheds, community bike repair spaces, clean ports, leadership development programs, protections for birds, sustainable communities, community on Skid Row, museum education programs, alternative transit, civic engagement, cooperative economies, land trusts, Bikestations, affordable housing, social movements, progressive schools, social services and more! All of this collectively has helped build a more livable, sustainable Los Angeles and Southern California.

To all of my existing clients, thank you for bringing me on and for all of your work. To all of my associates, friends and family, thanks for all of your support. To celebrate my sixth year of consulting, please join me at my next happy hour on June 14th. 

Here's some blog posts sharing stories from some of the retreats I facilitated: 
LA Poverty Department
Echo Park Time Bank
Beverly Vermont Community Land Trust
Green LA Coalition
Public Matters
Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition
Alliance for Biking and Walking
LA Urban Rangers (pictured above)

More and more, I’m leading customized trainings for the leadership of nonprofit organizations. Recently, I led an interactive training for an innovative transnational human rights organization – Centro Derechos de los Migrante as part of a board retreat they hosted in Los Angeles.

Having quickly grown from an idea with seed funding from the Echoing Green Foundation into a thriving organization with offices both in the United States and Mexico, they’re dedicated to improving the working conditions of migrant workers in the United States. 

Yet given the scope of the issues they work on, this organization could quadruple in size and still have plenty of work to do which is why they brought me in to lead this three hour training designed to help them and their board develop the skills and tools needed to ensure organizational sustainability.

As always, my trainings give participants the opportunity to practice and then space to reflect together as a group (pictured above). Board members and staff had the opportunity put theory into action, then learn from each other and learn some best practices. This group had one of the key ingredients for leadership – passion for their organization and its mission. By sharing their passion, they will continue to build a base of supporters – an essential ingredient for continued growth. 

I recently started facilitating a planning process for a new client, Clifford Beers Housing, a developer of affordable, supportive housing in Los Angeles. When I recently attended their board meeting to review the planning process, I drafted up a simplified version of it on a piece of poster paper. Board members asked questions and four of them eventually volunteered to serve on the planning committee. 

Working closely with this planning committee, I will first conduct an organizational assessment, share findings with the group, facilitate a board retreat and then develop a draft and eventually a final plan for board approval. It's a relatively simple process that will lead to consensus on a set of new five-year goals for the organization. I highly recommend any organization go through a process like this. When everyone in an organization's leadership agrees what the primary goals are, there's a much higher chance of them actually coming to fruition.  

Working together with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (a leading environmental justice organization in Southern California), I’m thrilled to take my trainings to a new level, directly to the leadership of their organization during their actual meetings. 

It’s an exciting new format for me where at the start of four Steering Committee meetings over the next several months, I will present a 15-minute training that reviews best practices in facilitation. In each presentation, I go over specific tools a facilitator brings to help support productive meetings, such as facilitating a brainstorm or evaluating a meeting. I then ask for some folks to volunteer to practice what they learned during the meeting. 

I attended my first Steering Committee last week and gave my 15 minute presentation. After that, I observed their meeting and took notes. One member of the group facilitated a brainstorming process that yielded a bunch of great ideas. Two other members facilitated a process at the end of the meeting to evaluate what went well during the meeting and what could be improved (pictured above).  I asked each of the folks who facilitated to share how it went for them and also asked the group to give feedback. I then gave some feedback. Altogether, we all experienced a dynamic, hands-on learning experience where participants immediately put theory into action.  

I recently facilitated a strategic planning retreat for LAPD (that’s the L.A. Poverty Department in case you were wondering). For the last 25 years, LAPD has engaged community members in Skid Row to create performances that address issues within the community.

Since I started this project late last year, I facilitated a board meeting to begin the planning and interviewed 10 external stakeholders from the community, arts leaders and supporting foundations. Most recently, I planned and facilitated a day-long retreat with the organization’s leadership in Yucca Valley, near Joshua Tree. 

With an inspiring landscape all around us, the organization’s leadership made progress developing its vision, values, five-year core strategies and goals. We spent some of the time discussing items as a group such as prioritizing core strategies and other times in smaller groups to draft out initial goals (pictured above). We had some lively discussions and used a variety of methods to prioritize and make important decisions. I look forward to working with LAPD’s leadership to finalize and ultimately approve a new plan for moving forward.

Throughout the process, I have enjoyed learning more about the issues surrounding the community and how the creation of art plays a critical role in building community and raising awareness. I attended LAPD’s recent State of Incarceration performance and would highly recommend you check out their work.

Having just returned from facilitating a Board retreat, I can tell you first hand there’s something very powerful about assembling your organization’s leadership to make important decisions.  Here are ten tips to make your retreats in 2011 a success:

1. Designate a Planning Lead or Committee:  The Executive Director, Board President and ideally another Board member should meet a couple of times before the retreat to plan a successful gathering. If you bring in an outside facilitator, they should also be involved in this planning process.  

2. Decide a Location:  Ideally, you want to choose a location that feels “far away”. Of course, you have to balance far away with what all of your leadership has the capacity to make it to. Here’s a link to 12 sites in Los Angeles.

3. Decide Who to Invite:  Will it just bet your Board of Directors or will you invite staff, volunteers and/or other community stakeholders? If you bring in non-Board members, be clear up front their role in the decision making process will be.

4. Engage Participants Before the Retreat:  Ask for their input in developing the agenda.  Run the draft agenda by them before the retreat and make modifications based on their input.

5. Develop an Agenda:  While there’s a time and place for informal chatting during a retreat, it’s best to develop a clear agenda with goals and outcomes.  Prioritize the three or four biggest decisions you need to make and give time for them in the agenda.  Here’s a link with more info on planning a successful agenda. 

6. Use Retreats to Make Big, Long-Term Decisions:  Retreats are great for strategic planning – developing your mission, vision, values, strategies, goals and objectives.  They are also good opportunities to discuss/resolve big issues your organization faces.  Avoid routine business at retreats.

7. Plan for Engaging Activities:  Don’t just plan one long group discussion – mix it up with small group work, one-on-one work, various team building activities, games and fun.  Tailor these activities to the folks that will attend.  I’m a big fan of two-day retreats that include an overnight, giving more time for folks to deepen their relationships with one another.

8. Plan for Meals and Movement:  Some of the most valuable time at retreats occurs during informal discussion during meals or physical activities like walks, bike rides or games.  Avoid “working lunches” and instead give folks the opportunity to chat.  Remember to take a 10 or 15-minute break after working for 90 minutes.

9. Allow for Flexibility:  Inevitably, some agenda items take longer and others take less time.  If you’re making good progress on something valuable to your organization but haven’t finished it yet, give yourself the option to work more on it.

10. Designate a Facilitator:  Either designate one or multiple people within your own organization to facilitate the actual retreat. Or, if you have the capacity to hire an outside facilitator, that would give everyone in the organization's leadership the opportunity to fully participate in the decision-making process. Professional facilitators bring a variety of tools and methods designed to provide a space for everyone to participate in the decision-making process. Even more valuable, a facilitator can help your group navigate through the sometimes-challenging territory of making tough decisions. Here’s a link to seven reasons why a facilitator can be of value to your organization. Please contact me if you’re interested in having me facilitate your upcoming retreat.  Thanks and happy retreating!   

In 2010, I served as a coach to six grantees of the Liberty Hill Foundation as part of their Wally Marks Leadership Institute.  On January 26, 2011, Liberty Hill hosted an event to celebrate the first year of this successful program.  When they asked me before the event if I wanted to introduce one of the leaders I worked with, I responded with an emphatic “absolutely”. 

I introduced Dawn Sanders, President of Black Women for Wellness, one of the organizations I coached for the Board Development track.  I briefly shared how I was impressed with her passion, commitment and leadership.  Dawn then shared how the coaching helped their organization take some important next steps in enlisting new board members. 

I found so many people in the room inspiring and enjoyed connecting with leaders from other organizations I coached as well.  I’m thrilled that Liberty Hill actively supports the leadership development of the organizations it funds.  I’m also excited to continue serving Liberty Hill grantees this year not only as a coach, but as the lead trainer for an intensive, three-day Board Development training.  

(Planting a the "Susie Forest" at the Alliance Retreat)

I recently spent four days in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking Leadership Retreat, attended by over 100 leaders from state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations. 

Having attended this retreat annually from 1998 to 2003 as Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, I really enjoyed reconnecting with some old friends and meeting a whole new generation of dynamic leaders from both the United States and Canada. 

During the retreat, I led an Advanced Fundraising session, facilitated a 1 ½ hour conversation with the entire group discussing engaging communities of color and provided one-on-one coaching to 15 leaders to discuss issues within their organizations in more detail.

I’m so impressed with how the bicycle and pedestrian movement continues to expand and am thrilled I could contribute to this through my work as a consultant. 

To close the retreat, we planted a tree in honor of Susie Stephens.  Susie helped launch the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking as its first Director.  She also played an enormous role in my life as a mentor and friend during my time at the LACBC. I still think of Susie all the time and this tree planting memorial meant a great deal to me.  I’m happy her spirit lives on!

I invite you to my friend Tom Johnson's art opening tonight (who recently snapped some photos of me that I plan on using as part of my new website...stay tuned!).  Here's a link to a blog that has several of his Lakewood photos.  Here's another link to a recent story that appeared in the Long Beach Press Telegram about Tom along with more information about the opening:

For those of you not on my email list, here's a link to the recent monthly email update I just sent out.  In it, I share some lessons from Mexico City, tips for starting a nonprofit and updates on my consulting work. Enjoy!  If you would like to receive future monthly news updates sent directly to your inbox, please contact me and let me know. 
Thanks, 
Ron

The Liberty Hill Foundation continues to fund progressive, social-change oriented organizations working to transform Los Angeles into an equitable, livable city.  This year, Liberty Hill established the Wally Marks Institute for Leadership.  When Liberty Hill called me to ask if I could provide personalized coaching for some of their grantees participating in their Leadership Institute, I immediately said yes.

Since then, I have enjoyed working with three of their most dynamic organizations – CHIRLA, CLUE and LA Voice.  My role as a coach is to work with the leadership of these organizations to enhance their capacity around board development issues.  For each organization, we developed a series of goals and are now meeting on a regular basis between now and December to make their goals reality.

As always, I enjoy learning about the issues these organizations work on, ranging from human rights, economic justice and health care.  

1. BUILD YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Recruit a diverse group of people that believe in your mission

2. DECIDE THE “BIG PICTURE” OF YOUR ORGANIZATION
Have the Board decide the organization’s mission, vision, values and long-term goals (I recommend doing this at a weekend retreat).

3. DEVELOP YOUR WORKPLAN
Based on your long-term goals, develop a plan – What actions will you take? Who will lead them? When will they occur?

4. DECIDE HOW WILL YOU FUND IT
Develop a plan to raise money - Who might want to support this effort? How will you cultivate these funders? How/when will you solicit these funders?

5. DECIDE YOUR LEGAL STRUCTURE
Some choices: 1) Become your own legal nonprofit  2) Go under the umbrella of an existing nonprofit  3) Go under the umbrella of a nonprofit incubator

Ways in which I can help:

-I’m a skilled facilitator and can work with your organization’s leadership to make important decisions during a retreat

-I’m an experienced fundraiser and can help your organization create a fundraising plan

To discuss further, please contact me.

Having already served 15 clients this year, I decided to bring on some talent to assist me with my consulting work.  After initially bringing Bob Mckechnie on as an intern earlier in the year, I recently promoted him to my first associate here at Ron Milam Consulting. 

Bob McKechnie is a writer, educator and counselor.  For most of his life Bob served as an English and journalism teacher, counselor, and administrator at the secondary and university levels in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Coachella Valley.  Recently Bob turned his attention to raising funds for programs that help the working poor, food insecure, homeless, and youth.  I first met Bob while leading a training at the Center for Nonprofit Management.  His eagerness to learn about fundraising caught my attention.

As an excellent writer, Bob assists me with my work providing fundraising services to clients.  Bob has provided a valuable second set of eyes to me to help my clients develop strong grant proposals.  With attention to detail, Bob has also assisted me as I have researched potential funding sources for clients using resources like the Foundation Center database.

Outside of consulting, Bob serves on two non-profit boards, and works in leadership positions in the recovery community. Bob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in social science and journalism from the University of Oregon, Eugene, and a Master of Science Degree in counseling from California State University, East Bay.  

As I mentioned in a previous post, five years ago this month I launched my own consulting practice.  To celebrate that, I'm hosting a happy hour on Tuesday, June 22nd at Silverlake Wine (2935 Glendale Blvd.), from 5:30pm to around 8:30pm.   I invite you to join me.    For more info on my happy hours, below is some info from a previous blog post:

A small group of LLA Members meeting with the
Executive Director of Clinica Romero

Last Friday, I planned and facilitated a thought-provoking seminar for the Southern California Leadership Network's Leadership Los Angeles class.  Below is a description of the day SCLN wrote for their newsletter.  This week, I'm working on putting together another seminar for SCLN's Leadership Southern California Class focussing on Land Use, Transportation and Housing.  

Having participated in the Leadership Southern California Program, I would recommend the program to anyone interested in engaging more with regional issues and building a stronger professional network.  Right now, Leadership Southern California is recruiting applicants...check out their website for more info.

Leadership L.A. 2010 evaluates the impact of national healthcare reform on Los Angeles
The Leadership L.A. Class of 2010 continued its nine-month program with a session on Friday, June 11 focusing on health care in Los Angeles. The Fellows met at LAC+USC Medical Center with Dr. Hector Flores, Director, Family Care Specialists Medical Group to discuss the impact national reform has had on Los Angeles' local health care providers and practitioners.  As part of the day, Fellows also met with Jennifer Ybarra, Program Manager, The California Endowment, and toured the Legacy LA facilities and Ramona Gardens neighborhood.  Ybarra stated "it's not enough to have health insurance. A healthy community shapes an individual's quality of life. Lou Calanche, Executive Director, Legacy LA, highlighted key issues that still inhibit quality of life in Ramona Gardens, such as air quality and access to quality food. Excursions moderated by Pete Delgado, President & CEO, LAC + USC Healthcare Network, among others, gave the Fellows the opportunity to analyze three different systems used to provide medical services in LA: public hospitals, private hospitals, and community clinics. Read more@SCLN. View photo gallery.

Five years ago this month, I launched my own consulting practice.   Since then, I’m pleased to report I have consulted for over 40 nonprofit organizations primarily in the areas of facilitation and fundraising. 

I love my work.  I get to work with dynamic leaders working on a variety of issues throughout Southern California.   With each project, I learn about my client’s work to create parks and open space, develop affordable housing, transform streets into bicycle-friendly places, create sustainable communities and so much more.  I also learn more about how to make meetings even more effective and how to engage staff and board members around successful fundraising strategies. 

To celebrate, I plan to hold another happy hour on Tuesday, June 22nd, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at Silverlake Wine.  As always, my happy hours are places where I invite all of my clients and friends to share a drink and discuss the issues of the day.   I invite you to join us.

We’ll see what the next five years bring.  I hope to serve even more organizations that are working to transform Southern California into a sustainable region.  Thanks for all of your interest and support.

I'm excited to attend a fundraiser for the Liberty Hill Foundation, and invite you to join me.  Below is more information about their signature fundraising event.  I'm pleased to continue serving the Liberty Hill Foundation as a Consultant.  Having led many fundraising trainings for their grantees over the last few years, I'm currently serving as a coach for four of their grantees to build their capacity around board development issues.  Both Liberty Hill and their grantees they fund continue to inspire me with their work for social change in Los Angeles. 

Outside of Consulting, I'm pleased to serve as an LA Urban Ranger.  Earlier today, I met with some of my fellow Rangers and prepared for our final Malibu Public Beach Safari, which we are hosting this Sunday.  I invite you to attend.   Below is information the LA Urban Rangers emailed out about the event.

I just returned from a fantastic three-week vacation in Sri Lanka and Thailand.  I learned a great deal about the people, history and cultures of these two fascinating places.

In Thailand, we kept a safe distance from the protest zone, but discussed the current political unrest with locals during our travels.  The most inspiring place I visited in Thailand was the Elephant Nature Park, where I met the founder Lek (pictured in the photo).  She’s a real visionary who’s developed an engaging institution that not only rescues abused elephants, but inspires and engages visitors and volunteers in the process.  

Sri Lanka was another country recently torn by long-standing strife between its peoples, which we had the opportunity to learn about through conversations with various locals.  We toured Trincomalee in the north that until very recently, was a warzone, but has now returned to some level of normalcy.  The most inspiring place I visited in Sri Lanka was Sigiriya, an ancient Buddhist monestary built into a giant boulder (also pictured).

I hope both countries move forward towards a path of peace.  Altogether I return to Los Angeles refreshed and inspired.  I come back with a greater appreciation for the world’s diversity and my own city of Los Angeles.  I highly recommend international travel to local leadership here in Los Angeles. 

 Here's a link to my March Newsletter with tips + updates

Boards of Director’s play an essential role in building a donor base for any nonprofit organization.

One Board I’m working with recently made an important step in this direction by each making a donation to the school.   Now they were taking the next step in fundraising and discussed ways in which they could each play a role in building a broader donor base for their organization.

In general, each Board member needs to think about people they know in their own networks that might be possible donors.  To help narrow down the list, the following three traits make someone a good prospect:  they believe in the cause, they have money to give and the Board member has a good relationship with them.

Once identified, Board members need to think of ways to introduce their organization to potential folks – whether it be an email, phone call or conversation.   Over time, Board members could find other ways to introduce their organization to potential donors and potentially involve potential donors at the organizations events, with volunteering, or other activities.   Over time, after Board members have cultivated relationships with potential supporters, that Board member needs to find a way to ask that person to support their organization, with a face-to-face ask having the highest likelihood for someone actually saying yes.

Building a donor base takes time, but plays a very important role in ensuring a diversified and sustainable funding stream for a nonprofit organization. 

I’m thrilled to be working with several clients right now on this very topic, including SOAR Charter School, SCANPH and LA Voice. 

Like many, I signed up for a Twitter account and invite you to follow me.  I write about what I'm up to as a Consultant and also retweet posts from others that look interesting.  

One of the "occupational hazards" of twittering, as my friend Mud put it last night, is that there are risks of having your account hacked.  That's exactly what happened to me last night as I was at an event for the LA Neighborhood Land Trust.  

It was actually funny, one of the Board members of the LANLT who I worked with on a regular basis last year as a consultant, showed his phone to me with a suggestive direct message I certainly did not send.  I then quickly got some texts and emails from others with folks who figured out my account got hacked.  It was both alarming and a bit hilarious.  

Anyway, moral of the story is be aware of the risks, and change your passwords every now and then.  Happy Twittering!

I'm excited to lead three of the upcoming "Winning Campaigns" trainings for the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking in 2010 (Burlington, Columbus and Asheville): 

• New Orleans, LA: April 16-18 (Hosted by New Orleans Metro Bicycle Coalition)
• Edison, NJ: June 4-6 (Hosted by New Jersey Bicycle Coalition & East Coast Greenway Alliance)
• Burlington, VT: July 9-11 (Hosted by Local Motion)
• Columbus, OH: Aug 6-8 (Hosted by Bike! Walk!Ohio & Consider Biking)
• Oakland, CA: October 15-17 (Hosted by Walk Oakland Bike Oakland)
• Asheville, NC: November 5-7 (Hosted by Asheville Bicycle Coalition)

I’m excited to be working with the leadership at LA Voice to create a fund development plan.  LA Voice is an interfaith organization engaging congregation members on a number of social change related issues in Los Angeles, including affordable housing, homelessness and health care.  For an inspiring video about the organization’s work, click here.

Over the years, I’ve worked with many organizations to create a fund development plan, including having recently developed a plan for SOAR Charter School.  A fund development plan helps chart a future fundraising course for a nonprofit organization and contains the following: 

• An assessment of the organization’s current fundraising generated from a fundraising audit and leadership survey
• A review of the organizations fundraising materials, including past grant proposals, cover letters and appeal letters
• Development of an overall goal targeting specific strategies to achieve that goal
• A timeline/workplan to implement plan
• A list of possible funding sources
• A staffing plan
• An appendix with additional resources. 

If you or your organization would like more information about how I may be able to assist you with the creation of a fund development plan, please contact me.

I recently completed a consulting project that took several months for the Green LA Coalition.  Green LA works to build a strong movement to win campaigns that can transform Los Angeles into a sustainable city.

For this project, I collaborated closely with another consultant, Beth Steckler.  For this project, we interviewed over 30 people within the Coalition’s leadership and outside the organization, along with surveying the entire membership with an online survey.  Based on this work, we developed an assessment report and later facilitated a day-long strategic visions retreat for the Coalition’s Steering Committee.  From all of the information we gathered through these efforts, we presented a final report with recommendations for how the Coalition could strengthen itself as it moves forward so that it could have the greatest possible impact in making Los Angeles a more sustainable city. 

I’m pleased to report the Steering Committee approved the majority of our recommendations and has asked Beth and I to continue consulting for them to help them implement our recommendations. 

I also look forward to attending Green LA’s upcoming awards fundraiser on March 15^th, from 6pm to 9pm, and invite you to attend.

Many years ago, I benefitted from the work from an intern while directing the LA County Bicycle Coalition (my intern, Andrew, currently teaches in Mexico City and will someday be the Mayor of Detroit).  I later worked closely with an intern while working for Enterprise Community Partners in New York City (that intern, Matt, is currently in Law School and will someday be the Governor of Florida).   As Principal of my own consulting firm with a lot of work on my plate, I'm once again looking to bring on an intern to help me with my work.  In turn, I look forward to working with whoever I bring on to build their capacity as a leader in the nonprofit sector.  Here's the job description.  Please forward to anyone who you think might be interested:

Intern Job Description

 
Ron Milam Consulting is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Intern.  Ron Milam has 12 years of successful experience in the non-profit sector and has consulted for 40 nonprofit organizations since 2005.  His mission is to provide capacity building support for leaders working to transform Los Angeles into a sustainable region.  Ron specializes in the areas of fundraising, strategic planning and leadership development.  He’s a skilled facilitator, presenter, coach and project manager.   For more info, check out www.ronmilam.com.

This position is ideal for someone wanting to gain real world experience as a consultant working for some of Los Angeles’ leading sustainability oriented nonprofit organizations.  It’s also a good place to build your skills as a leader in the nonprofit sector, particularly as a fundraiser and/or facilitator.  As part of the internship, Ron will identify areas in which the intern wants to build their capacity as a leader and discuss it weekly with the intern.   This part-time position is ideal for current graduate students wanting to gain some real-world experience and additional income on the side.  Specific responsibilities of the intern are as follows:

Fundraising

• Research potential donors for Ron’s clients
• Develop/write/review grant proposals
• Copy-edit proposals Ron develops
• Assist with logistical details of fundraising work Ron does for clients (fundraising assessments, leadership surveys, draft plans, etc.)

Facilitation

• Record notes for meetings Ron facilitates
• Facilitate portions of the agenda
• Assist with logistical details related to meetings Ron facilitates

 Marketing

• Help research and identify new consulting clients
• Assist with social media marketing
• Assist with the development of marketing and training materials
• Data-entry

There may be other projects that come up outside of the areas of facilitation, fundraising and marketing, depending on the needs of Ron Milam and his clients.

Desired Skills and Experience:

• Passion and energy for implementing urban sustainability in Los Angeles
• Experience and/or interest in the nonprofit sector
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Detail-oriented
• Strong leadership ability and an entrepreneurial spirit that thrives in a start-up environment

Compensation:

$15/hour.  Part-time.  Flexible hours.

Application Submission – Deadline February 26^th, 2008:

Please email your cover letter and résumé to rpm@ronmilam.com.

I have a family member who did well running a successful company.  When I asked him why he succeeded, he said “I’ll tell you what everyone will say – work hard, never give up, have vision, etc.”  He paused for a moment, smiled, and looked at me and continued sharing “There was one thing that played a key role in our success.  Once a month, I would invite everyone in my company for a drink, from the most senior staff person to the most junior.  We’d spend the first part just mingling and socializing.  Once everyone had two drinks, I would bring out a note pad and we would brainstorm solutions to whatever problems we faced.  That’s where we generated our best ideas!”

In that spirit, I’ve hosted/facilitated a monthly happy hour for the last year which are not only a place to generate great ideas to improve the quality of life in Los Angeles, but also meet great people as well.  As a consultant, I interact with phenomenal leaders working on a variety of issues all throughout LA.  This is one way in which I bring everyone together and I welcome you to attend. 

My next happy hour is tonight, February 2^nd, starting at about 5:30pm at 7 Grand in Downtown LA.  The question I’m asking folks to consider is “what will you do to make LA a better place in 2010?”  We generally go until about 8:30 or 9pm. I’m looking forward to seeing who attends tonight and introducing some great people other folks they don’t already know.

Here's a link to my most recent email newsletter I sent out.  Enjoy!

Enjoy a great holiday season.  I hope our paths cross in 2010.
Peace,
Ron

Here's a link to my December 2009 Newsletter.  Enjoy!
Happy Holidays,
Ron

I'm staring to plan what trainings I will lead in 2010 and would love to get your input.  Please take a few minutes to fill out my short survey on this.  I really value your input and will do my best to tailor my trainings to your needs. Thanks!

For a listing of the trainings I currently lead, check out my Workshops page.  For a listing of my upcoming tranings, checkout my Calendar page.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Here's a link to my latest newsletter where I give some general updates on my work. Enjoy!

Last week, I led another fundraising workshop at the Center for Nonprofit Management focusing on creating a strong successful fund development plan.  We had a really good discussion as I went through the various elements necessary to develop a fundraising strategy that will yield the highest results.  I'm leading several upcoming trainings on fundraising and invite you to attend.

It turns out information regarding fundraising is what local nonprofits need most, according to a recent study by the Center for Nonprofit Management.  Their recent State of the Nonprofit Sector report provides a general overview of what current nonprofits are experiencing given the current economic downtown. 

Roughly half of the consulting work I do deals directly with building my clients capacity to raise money.  I've helped multiple nonprofits, including:

• assessing their fundraising capacity
• creating fund development plans
• researching potential funders
• engaging their boards in fundraising
• writing grant proposals
• coaching executive staff
• providing general and customized trainings

Last Friday, I facilitated another seminar for the Southern California Leadership Network.  This time, we looked at a specific neighborhood:  Koreatown.  I really enjoyed putting this seminar together, which invovlved developing the day's agenda and recruiting the speakers.  I especially enjoyed facilitating the afternoon debrief where participants talked about their experiences exploring various aspects of the neighborhood.   Here's a summary of the day that the Southern California Leadership Network just emailed out:

Leadership L.A. focuses on neighborhood development in Koreatown
The Class of 2009 learned how neighborhoods grow and develop in Los Angeles on Oct. 9 with Dr. Fernando Guerra of the Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University, who discussed the DNA of neighborhoods in the city and his "5 Ds" that have driven what L.A. has become: decentralization, democratization, deindustrialization, development of land and demographic shifts. The case study focused on Koreatown, where Fellows met with Korean-American leaders, including Leadership Southern California alumnus Hyepin Im, Korean Churches for Community Development; as well as local business owners, developers, community organizers, historians and neighborhood councilmembers. The class closed the session at the new Solair Wilshire transit-oriented development with L.A. City Councilmember Tom LaBonge. Read more about the day on Twitter by following @SCLN. View photo gallery. 

Ever wonder what the life of a consultant is like? Well, now you can get a taste for that life by following me on Twitter.  Not only will I share some of the interesting work I'm doing, but I'll also occassionally update you where I'm doing that work (like right now, as I update this blog, I'm sitting on the beach in Venice where groups of pelicans keep flying by in beautiful formation).   If there are interesting events that I'll be attending, I'll also post some of those too. 

I'm leading another "What's your Message" media workshop this Thursday at the Flintridge Foundation in Pasadena and welcome you to attend.   Here's more info about it:

"How can people choose to donate to your organization if they don't know you exist?

Media visibility about your organization and work increases your credibility in the community, helps you to obtain financial, in-kind, and volunteer support, and also plays an important role in shifting societal perceptions and moving your organization's mission forward. If you had one minute with a reporter, what would you say? How would you pitch that story to get media coverage in the first place? In this workshop, you'll learn how to craft your message to pitch to media. You'll have the opportunity to practice and receive feedback from both the instructor and your peers in the workshop. The workshop will explore what's newsworthy and discuss various strategies for securing media, including the development of an effective press release.

This workshop is designed for nonprofit professionals with no or only moderate amount of media experience."

I recently facilitated a day long planning session for the Beverly Vermont Community Land Trust, an organization working to exercise land stewardship as the basis for creating pedestrian-centered neighborhoods that emphasize sustainability-oriented affordable housing.

We had an especially productive retreat.  As a facilitator, I helped create a space for the Board of Directors to decide their organization's long-term goals, short-term goals and the beginnings of a 2009/10 workplan. 

At the end of the retreat, one of the participants shared a list she had been making throughout the day of “Ronisms”: little things I said to encourage the group as they made tough decisions throughout the day. 

Here are some of the things I said:  “Nice”, “Excellent”, “Good work”, “Awesome”, “That’s Great”, “Huge”, “Amazing”, “Lets Rock and Roll”, “Give yourselves a hand of applause”, “You folks have chosen well” and “We have less than 40 minutes people”.

I laughed as I heard this list and was reminded that part of my work as a facilitator is to help ensure full group participation in the decision making process, which is done in part by encouraging and affirming participation throughout the process.  By the end of the day, everyone was very happy with the results of their hard work and thanked me for my hard work as a facilitator. 

I’m here at LAX waiting to catch my plane to Toronto, Canada, where I will lead another “Winning Campaigns” training for the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking.  This highly interactive, fast-paced and fun workshop gives participants the opportunity to develop their own campaign strategy to win improvements in their local bicycling or pedestrian environment.  This will be the eighth training I have led, having also led trainings in the following cities over the last couple of years: Denver, Albany, Louisville, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Flint, and Philadelphia.

As always, I’m excited to meet local advocates and have the opportunity to bicycle around a new city to gain inspiration for ways in which we can make Los Angeles a better place to bicycle. Later in the year, I’ll lead the same training in Denver and Little Rock.  If you’re interested in learning ways in which to make your own community a better place to walk and bicycle, I encourage you to attend.

(Here's a link to some photos from the training)

This week, the LA Times reported on the exciting work Public Matters is doing to engage the community around food-related issues through the use of media.  Working with high school students and other community members, Public Matters has generated some exciting media content that takes on the issue of the Food Desert in South Los Angeles.  You can watch some of these videos on Public Matters’ Vimeo Site.  The Associated press also recently wrote about Public Matters. 

I’m excited to be a part of the Public Matters team.  Working with the founders, I have been working on helping grow Public Matters so we can engage with more communities. 

“Public Matters generates innovative, artistic, place-based projects that build creative, civic and social capital in communities. Our projects develop creative community leaders. We engage residents in the creation of media-based neighborhood narratives that illuminate its history, character and conditions and integrate the results with broader civic processes, advocacy efforts and community initiatives. Our work addresses social issues through long-term educational projects. Our interdisciplinary approach is creative and analytical, left-brained and right-brained. We establish long-term sustainable programs that evolve beyond our initial involvement and are ultimately shaped by the community and its needs.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Public Matters, or are interested in partnering with Public Matters on a project, please contact me.  Thanks.

I’m really excited about the upcoming Los Angeles Bike Summit on March 7th and encourage you to attend.  “The Bike Summit will bring together bicycle advocates, advocates for healthy communities, and others to network and to plan a bikable healthy future for Southern California.”

The Summit features four keynote speakers from New York City, Portland and Mexico, all with stories and experiences that Southern California can learn from.  I used to have the pleasure of working with one of these speakers – Noah Budnick from Transportation Alternatives in New York City, and am excited he’ll be in town. 

I’ve been working hard to leverage the impact of the Bike Summit by planning a series of meetings on the Thursday and Friday before the conference where I will introduce the Summit’s keynote speakers to staff from local elected officials, transportation agency staff, advocates working on transportation reform, the media and public health professionals.  At each of the five meetings we have scheduled, I will facilitate a forum for the keynote speakers to share best practices, take questions and then have a conversation where we can learn from each other.  Because for as much as Los Angeles has to learn from New York City, Mexico City and Portland, there’s quite a few things we can teach them about like implementing the Orange line dedicated busway/bikeway in the San Fernando Valley, which we will also be touring. 

Then Friday night, we’ll ride in the “Root Down Ride Around”, which will tour important sites of bike advocacy/culture in Los Angeles.  I’ll be presenting at one of the stops to talk about some of the work I did while directing the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. 

I’m really excited about the Summit.  Not only will we be inspired from the keynote speakers, but there will also be over 20 workshops on a variety of topic.  I will be leading one of these workshops: Overcoming the Barriers of Bicycling through Social Networking.  The workshop will explore the BikeSage concept and launch our effort to begin recruiting a larger community of BikeSages in Southern California.  I hope to see you there.

One of the things I appreciate about being a Consulant is having a flexible schedule.  I'm excited to spend the four days before the national election in Nevada working to get out the vote for the Obama campaign.  I encourage you to vote for Barack Obama.  If you're planning on voting for Obama, then I encourage you to contribute to his campaign or volunteer some hours and make some phone calls to swing states.  Or, if you'd like to join me and the campaign in Nevada, please let me know.  The more we can all pitch in to help elect him president, the higher chances he has of winning the election.  Thanks.

Greetings,
Welcome to my new website! In addition to describing the services I provide, background on my experience and my past clients, I’m excited to launch a blog where I will share with you valuable lessons I’ve learned about nonprofit management over the last 11 years.  Every week, my goal is to capture a bit of wisdom I’ve learned that will hopefully be a resource to you and your organization.  Over time, I hope to build an online library that you can access anytime, on a series of different topics.  If there are certain areas you would like for me to address, or questions you have, please email them to me.  If you would like to discuss any of these areas in greater detail, please contact me.  Thanks and keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Ron

Ready to launch a nonprofit organization? What’s the most important ingredient? Passion. When I launched a nonprofit at age 22, passion fueled my work.  When challenges arose, my passion for the organization’s mission helped me navigate through the tough times. With it, I learned everything I needed to success at leading a nonprofit – strategic planning, fundraising, board development, budgeting and so much more. So ask yourself, how passionate are you about the mission of your nonprofit? If your answer is “I’m extremely passionate about the mission of my new nonprofit”, then you’ve got what it takes to make your dream reality.