Collaboration is the cornerstone of all of OAI’s work with our nonprofit clients. We work side by side with our clients leading up to and during all engagements to ensure that we are addressing top of mind challenges and providing the most efficient and effective solutions, while always focusing on the return on investment for the client. Our commitment to partnering with our clients through our work has positioned the OAI team at the forefront of problem identification and solution implementation in the nonprofit sector. These last few years have been the hardest years our nation’s nonprofits have had to endure, and as a strategic partner to both our clients and our community, we’d like to share with you eight challenges we have heard time and again, as well as the advice that we have counseled our clients through, in order to begin to tackle them. Challenge: Competition for donations is up…and available dollars are down. Advice: Cultivation has never been more important. Don’t assume ‘no’—keep asking.

Challenge: Credit is hard to come by…banks are closing and interest rates are low.
Advice: Lock in credit lines. Ensure compliance with all reporting regulations is timely and accurate.

Challenge: Board and staff leadership is overworked and burnt out.
Advice: Offer flextime and work from home options. Do less with less (not more with less). Explore outsourcing of back office operations.

Challenge: The perception of special events can be seen as wasteful, but they are important for donor cultivation and revenue.
Advice: Scale back format and expenses (ex. move from a sit down dinner to a standing cocktail reception). Focus on the mission first, fun second.

Challenge: The talent pool for senior leaders is shallow and it is difficult to fill upper management positions (ex. COO, CFO and Director of Development positions).
Advice: Invest in aggressive and creative advertising practices. Use your networks (including the networks of your Board members) to find qualified candidates. Outsource positions to secure needed expertise.

Challenge: Benefits costs are increasing and health insurance costs are projected to rise 20%.
Advice: Divide the burden of cost between the organization and the staff. Participate in pooled benefits programs to minimize spikes in costs.

Challenge: Corporate contributions are a result of relationships…corporate dollars follow employee volunteer time and/or gifts.
Advice: Involve local and/or national corporations in volunteer projects. Offer increased visibility in publications, online and media outlets as a benefit. Cultivate and involve employee champions.

Challenge: The fallout of Sarbanes-Oxley regulations is resulting in increased costs for audits, 990s, etc.
Advice: Educate yourself on the most current requirements. Ask your current vendors (auditor, insurance provider) how you can trim costs.

Arena Stage
Development Management

Year Up, National Capital Region
Events Management

Since joining the OAI team in March of 2008, Tiffany Watkins, a Director of Marketing and Development, has had the opportunity to partner with a variety of clients, including DC College Access Program, READ Global, Lowell School, and OAI’s most long-standing client, Youth, I.N.C. (Improving Non-profits for Children). Her work has spanned across all areas of development, including strategic planning, event fundraising, campaign management, major gifts, corporate giving and foundation fundraising. Her expertise in these areas has allowed Tiffany to successfully assist her clients raise over $5 million dollars in the last few years.

Q: Before coming to OAI, you spent many years working in grassroots political campaigns. What attracted you to OAI?
A: The work that OAI does is crucial to helping nonprofits grow and survive. Throughout my career I have always been a volunteer and fundraiser for nonprofits. My family taught me from a young age the importance of serving my community and helping others. Working with nonprofits has always been a passion of mine, and OAI has afforded me the opportunity to take my passion and turn it into a profession. In addition to its mission the staff at OAI is extremely talented. Each day, I become more impressed with the team’s idea generation and work ethic.

Q: Within the last year, you’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients. What are some of your most memorable accomplishments?
A: All of my clients are doing such admirable work and I really enjoy working with each and every one of them. Some of my most memorable accomplishments have been around the events that really highlight the core mission of these organizations. Here are some of the event highlights:

DC-CAP held its 10th Anniversary Gala last year and it was a tremendous success. This year’s Gala was even bigger and better! The event features a talent competition among DC CAP students, and the best performance wins a scholarship to encourage their education beyond high school. The talents of these students amaze me! DC-CAP’s role within DC’s public school system and public charter high schools is critical to increasing college access for students.

For nearly 20 years, READ Global has been working to make rural communities viable places for people to live, learn and prosper in Nepal, and more recently in India and Bhutan. READ Global inspires rural prosperity by partnering with village members to build Community Library and Resource Centers (READ Centers) and seeding for-profit businesses in the communities to sustain and support the Centers over the long run. In the fall of last year, OAI, along with READ Global, kicked off a series of fundraising events that generated nearly $50,000 in contributions and raised awareness about the wonderful work of their organization.

This year, I was a part of the team that reinstituted Youth, I.N.C.’s 12th Annual Net Gain Tournament. The Net Gain program is a partnership between Urban Dove and Youth, I.N.C. that provides basketball court time and year-round educational and enrichment opportunities to hundreds of high school students in New York City public schools. This year’s tournament drew over 250 players and spectators for a night of exciting basketball competition! The teams consisted of students from 16 high schools and professionals from 15 corporate sponsors.

The work my clients do is exciting and I enjoy working with them to showcase their excellent work through events.

Q: You serve on the board for Trekking for Kids, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization whose goal is to organize purpose-driven treks in the world’s most remote locations to raise funds for needy orphanages in the areas in which the treks take place. What do you enjoy most about being a board member?
A: Trekking for Kids is 5 years old this year and has survived due to the dedication and hard work of volunteers. Trekking for Kids is a volunteer organization that has raised $368,000, impacted the lives of 370 orphans and leads treks on 5 continents. For the first time last year, the organization led two treks instead of one. We are lucky to be able to continue to provide two treks again this year, with treks to Guatemala and Everest Base Camp.

As a board member, I enjoy interacting with my fellow members who are from all over the world. This year is particularly exciting because I am attending my first Trek to Guatemala in June. What an honor! I will raise $1,000 to assist the orphans in Guatemala.

Sitar Arts Center
10th Anniversary Celebration & Benefit

Washington, DC • April 22, 2010

Friends of the National Library of Medicine
2010 Annual Dinner

Washington, DC • May 11, 2010

Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School
American Dream Gala

Washington, DC • May 18, 2010

Churchill Centre and Museum at the Cabinet War Rooms, London
Cultivation Event

Washington, DC • May 19, 2010

Youth, I.N.C.
First Annual Venture Forward Conference

New York, NY • May 20, 2010

Marriott Foundation
20th Anniversary Bridges Recognition Dinner

Washington, DC • June 2, 2010