Anecdotes are Cute, but They Don’t Prove Success
I will never forget the first face-to-face meeting I had with a program officer at a major national grantmaking foundation. It was 2002 and I had flown to New York City with my boss for a three-day...
Categories: Best Practices Fundraising Program Evaluation No comment
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Leveraging Your Nonprofit’s Major Milestones for Fundraising
Most small and midsized nonprofit organizations run on shoestring budgets. Their primary fuel comes from the passion, care, and a sense of community service that seems innate in the people who start and work...
Categories: Annual Gifts Best Practices Fundraising Major Gifts No comment
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Donors Behaving Badly?
I’ve written before about the importance of avoiding mission creep and other alignment issues when seeking funding for your nonprofit. I know, it is certainly easy to fall into the “any funding is good...
Categories: Best Practices Donor Relations Fundraising Major Gifts Nonprofit Ethics No comment
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The Ever-Elusive Unrestricted Dollar
One of the biggest sources of stress and uncertainty in the nonprofit sector is ensuring sufficient funding to cover operational costs. Operational costs, or “overhead”, are all of the costs associated...
Categories: Best Practices Fundraising Nonprofit Finance No comment
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Have You Checked Your Conflict of Interest Policy Lately?
Friends….Can we please talk about conflicts of interest for a few minutes? This won’t take long. We’ve all seen stories in the news about some of the more egregious examples of conflicts of interest....
Categories: Best Practices Nonprofit Governance Nonprofit Leadeship No comment
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Organizational Culture – Good or Bad, You Choose.
I have been doing a lot of reading lately about organizational culture. The topic is certainly not new to me, but I’ve been fascinated by it for many years, dating back to my banking career and subsequent...
Categories: Best Practices Nonprofit Leadeship Nonprofit Management No comment
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This is (supposed to be) Serious Business
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been subjected to this type of nonprofit board recruitment conversation: “Hey, L. I’m on the board of XYZ Organization and I’d really love...
Categories: Best Practices Board Development Nonprofit Governance No comment
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You Think You’re Making a Difference…But Are You?
Nonprofit leaders and volunteers are passionate, busy people. There is so much to be done and in many understaffed and under-resourced organizations, not enough time or money with which to do it. Clients...
Categories: Best Practices Nonprofit Management Program Evaluation No comment
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On Gardens & Donors: Great Relationships Take Work!
I spent last weekend outside in my back yard, toiling in my garden and getting it ready for spring and summer planting. The front of my home is completely xeriscaped and filled with beautiful yet...
Categories: Best Practices Donor Relations Fundraising Major Gifts Nonprofit Leadeship Nonprofit Management No comment
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Yep…That’s Your Job, Too.
What did your road to executive directorship look like? Where did it begin? Did you start as a staffer and work your way up? Were you recruited from a different sector, and what made you decide to make the...
Categories: Best Practices Nonprofit Leadeship No comment
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