Quarterman took some time during Georgia River Network’s Weekend for Rivers to speak with the Nonprofit Snapshot about spam-mapping and small town politics.

“The song I wrote about our beautiful area was appropriately named ‘Mountain Treasure’ by Buzz Williams, the Executive Director of the Chattooga Conservancy.  This song is very special to me, and has great meaning.  It mentions many of the special attributes of our Chattooga River Watershed area, and specifically refers to several of the rivers and streams.  The theme of the song is basically how very lucky we are to live in this gorgeous place, and how blessed we are to see and be a part of this beauty every day.   I have sung this song many, many  times over the last year, for varied audiences, and it always seems to touch anyone who  takes time to really listen.”

A devoted naturalist serving on the Georgia River Network Board of Directors, Dorinda describes how the Ocmulgee River figured in her childhood in the 1950s and 60s. Far from home during the Great Flood of 1994, she could only watch as the Ocmulgee’s usually still waters rose to a torrent threatening to destroy those childhood scenes. Her essay “When the River Betrays You” reflects on the tangible and the intangible, and the power of memory.

This is a city boy’s story, but it is nonetheless a story of discovering one’s home landscape and the geography of one’s home watershed. This kind of learning might be a simple proposition in many places in the world and in Georgia, but it can be profoundly important – in fact, revelatory – in a place where urban development has, over time, almost completely obscured the native landscape.

Ben joined American Rivers in 2011 working to engage communities to secure sustainable water supplies through water efficiency and other low-impact water supply solutions. His work focuses on Georgia’s upper Flint River basin, where he works to restore and protect healthy river flows in the Flint River through sustainable water use practices.

The story begins: When I was 13, my grandfather bought a canoe and informed me that we’d be canoeing 67 miles of the Ochlockonee River together. We prepared ourselves, but, I was not prepared for what happened next . . . learning how a man faces adversity, and how a man gives of himself when there is not much to give.  A small thing for my grandfather, I’m sure. A big lesson for a boy working on becoming a man.  I’ve paddled, fished, and hunted many rivers since then, literally and figuratively, always learning, but have never learned as much as on that first trek.

John S. Quarterman was born and raised in Lowndes County, where he married his wife Gretchen. They live on the same land where he grew up, and participate in local community and government.

NPS talks with Quarterman and his observations on starting and strengthening a Withlachoochee Riverkeeper organization at  Georgia River Network’s 2012 Weekend for Rivers.

NPS and Georgia River Network’s Bonny Putney as she talks about her love of Georgia’s rivers and her conservations efforts in Georgia, including the wisdom and ease of using Rain Barrels, and her work with the Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper.

Q: Jennifer, before we talk about consulting, what kind of volunteer work do you?

A: I volunteer as a development consultant for a small children’s theatre organization, and I help a local school with graphics and desktop publishing.  As a mother of two, I see how important it is to give my time not only to my own children’s activities, but to help out all children.  So many families have two working parents or one parent, and I am very blessed to have flexibility in my career.  So many non-profits, schools and children’s organizations used to rely heavily on parents (primarily moms) as their “work force.”  And with the economy, many of those volunteers have gone back to work.  Those that can volunteer, should.

Q: Do you serve on any boards?

A: Not currently, though I have served on the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center’s board of directors, and on the board of my homeowners’ association.

There’s a funny story about how my WDRC board membership came to be:  While working as the assistant to the director of annual giving at Western Washington University, I was approached by the Executive Director of the school’s foundation.  She had gotten a generic, “all call” recruitment letter from the WDRC asking her to serve.  I’m sure that every NPO in the area tried to recruit a person of her caliber.  Anyway, she thought that I’d like to get my feet wet in serving on a board.  I was in my early 30s and was looking to expand my knowledge base.  So, she passed the board request and information form to me.  It was a great learning experience, a great confidence builder, and I made great professional connections while serving on the WDRC.  In fact, at my current job at the Whatcom County Library System, one of my colleagues is a former DRC board partner!

Q: Do you mind sharing what organizations you support with annual donations?

A: Sure!  I support a handful of places: Western Washington University, Sacred Heart Parish, Assumption Catholic School, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Action for Africa, and Lydia Place (a half-way house for displaced women).

One of the most important factors in finding and cultivating donor prospects is, “Do they have a relationship with the mission of the organization or the leadership of the NPO?”  In all cases, this is true for me.  I am an alumnus of WWU and attend Sacred Heart Church.  Those are two key organizations that I have deep involvement and loyalty to. I give to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for two reasons:  First, I had a cousin who died from Leukemia and secondly, I have several friends who participate in the Team In Training program that supports the LLS. We supported Action for Africa because a family we know just adopted three nephews and a niece (four kids!) from Lesotho, and Action for Africa was the NPO that accepted donations on their behalf.  It’s a great, local organization.  As for Lydia Place—that’s another story.  My aunt chose that organization many years ago as a place where she wanted her Christmas gifts to go.  So, I made a small donation in her name.  The stewardship and information I’ve received from Lydia Place has been stellar!  The Executive Director is outstanding, and the mission is critical to the betterment of my community.  Even though I haven’t given a recent gift, I continue to be a part of the Lydia Place family.  I feed “included.”  They do it right!

Q: What kind of consulting work do you do?

A: I like to focus on small NPOs with few resources but strong missions.  Orgs with one to three person staffs with operating budgets of less than $100,000.  I like to help with board training, direct mail, stewardship, writing, collateral creation and production, special events, and prospect identification & cultivation techniques.

Q: What’s a strong mission?  What is it about this size org that most interests you?

A: A strong mission is defined by three factors: One, are you serving a need or niche that is not cared for by another organization (including government agencies)?  Two, by fulfilling that need, is my life and/or my community better because of the NPOs work? When these two factors are met and managed well, there is strength.  And that’s the third factor—there has to be efficient management of the mission.  Merely being a “do-gooder,” while noble, is not sustainable without effective management.

With smaller shops, there is always the “too many hats” syndrome: Typically one to three paid staff, and a handful of committed, untrained, good-hearted board members. Having an outside consultant train board members, pump them up, encourage them and direct them takes the load off the director.  If I can take one or two hats off the director’s head—on an ad hoc basis, it gives the org some breathing room without needing to commit to a full-time staff position.

Q: What do you do best for your nonprofit clients?

A: Because I have often worked as a “one-woman shop”, I understand and sympathize with the DOD who wears multiple hats.  When you’re the data-entry clerk and the major-gift solicitor (and everything in between), it’s easy to get bogged down, overwhelmed or both.  With an empathetic ear, I help streamline and prioritize systems and tasks.  Additionally, I am adept at board training and really get a kick out of alleviating board members’ anxieties about the fund development process.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing nonprofits today?

A: There are a number of things: Boards that fear making “the ask.”  Organizations that concentrate too heavily on the bottom line instead of building meaningful, lasting relationships with individuals.  Orgs that “jump over dollars to save dimes” – operating from a place of scarcity rather than from a grateful, mission-based center.  Orgs that fail to hone their unique message so that the donor ultimately says, “My life and my community are better off – and cannot do without – the service that this organization provides.  I must help!”

Q: I notice none of these challenges sound like the “bad economy” mantra that still echoes throughout parts of the nonprofit sector.  What can nonprofits do to surmount those challenges?

A: Nonprofits should be very clear on their mission and their message.  Very clear.  All nonprofits must educate their staff and their board to communicate their mission effectively.  Orgs should also train their boards from the get-go about relationship-based development.

Q: Would you have a success story to share?

A: Absolutely.  In 1997 Western Washington University was in the middle of a 3-year capital campaign, I was the Assistant Annual Fund Director.  Pretty low on the totem pole.  The capital campaign was divided into five initiatives: Unrestricted, Scholarships, Technology, Athletics and International.  The first four were doing great–the communication pieces were tight, the need was “sellable” and money was pouring in.  But the last one, International, was tanking.  The case statement was vague and it didn’t have any “teeth” to it.  I think they only put a $100,000 goal to the whole initiative, and it was failing.

I had developed a relationship with an elderly lady at her 50th Class Reunion.  (I had planned the event.)  Helen and I just “clicked,” and I later learned that she was my dad’s 5th grade teacher!

Anyway, I remembered that Helen never married, lived in a very ritzy high-rise in Bellevue, WA and had traveled all over the world.  On my own, I decided to stretch my development wings, and asked permission to make a major-gift ask for the capital campaign.  (This was not normally in my job description.)  I got clearance to send Helen a proposal and made a meeting with her.

To make a long story short, she said yes to a $25,000 endowment for students who were travelling abroad for a semester of schooling.  She even made arrangements in her estate plans to make sure her pledge would be paid in full should she die before paying it off. Scholarship grants continue to this day in Helen’s name, and the International Initiative made its goal, thanks to Helen’s gift.

This was my first “major gift” ask.  The process was interesting, educational, and heartwarming.  It feels good to know that Helen’s love of travel lives on.  Students are directly benefitting years and years later from her generosity. Being a part of that process is why I do what I do.