Each quarter the Fundraising Effectiveness Project releases their latest findings from billions of dollars donated through the participating donor database companies providing anonymous data from the majority of their customers. This allows the philanthropy world to establish metrics in a similar fashion to all of the key industries within the [...]
“What’s keeping you from growing your nonprofit’s funding?” That was the first question on a survey I conducted before I spoke at a workshop for nonprofit Executive Directors earlier this year. I wasn’t surprised by the answers -- they were the same things I hear from leaders all over the [...]
In a recent Bloomerang webinar, one nonprofit leader asked an important question: What if working from home did not work out? This person writes, “Working from home is something staff is requesting. Huge trust factor is necessary for this. The agency tried this once before and was burned (staff posted [...]
You look around the room at your fundraising committee meeting and wonder why so many people seem disengaged. Seriously. Each one of them agreed to work five pledge cards, right? Now, four weeks into the campaign, you feel lucky that they have their first solicitation meeting scheduled. Sigh - or [...]
Have you ever wondered who these ‘expert’ speakers are that you see presenting at nonprofit conferences? How did they get in that position and how, when you’re ready to push yourself out of your comfort zone, can you get there? It’s not just about testing yourself and doing something different. [...]
It’s not personal, it’s business. It’s not about you, it’s about our goals. It’s not about getting along, it’s about getting the job done. These are all interesting phrases I’ve heard thrown around in the living rooms of leaders...aka...the conference room. These are the phrases leaders like to use to [...]
Let me start by saying I did not do track and field (but maybe I should have) Track stars understand the concept of the finish line. When you cross it, you’re done. You actually get to fully rest. Every day are you racing towards an imaginary finish line? When you [...]
A mentee of mine reached out to me the other day for advice about a role she was applying for in the near future. She shared the job description with me, and friends...friends…that job description was 2.5 pages long, and it had everything in it except solving world peace. I [...]
Each quarter the Fundraising Effectiveness Project releases its report based upon the data collected that year. It is one of the only such reports based upon actual data from over 176 million transactions across more than 20,000 nonprofit organizations. Here is the latest report from the 2nd quarter of 2019. [...]
I had the urge to bite my nails during a meeting. Don’t look like that. It’s a habit I haven’t quite been able to conquer. We all have bad habits. For some of us, it might be biting our nails. For others, it might be chewing with our mouths open. [...]
More and more, the nonprofit sector is having conversations about equity and inclusion. Conference keynotes, webinars and trade publication articles are prompting fundraisers to broach the subject within their own organizations. In a recent Bloomerang webinar, I touched briefly on the topic, and in the chat one person wrote: “I've [...]
Do you have a culture of philanthropy at your nonprofit? You either do or you don’t. There’s no in-between. All it takes To destroy your nonprofit's reputation as a force of goodness in the world is: One rude receptionist. One program staffer who doesn’t return phone calls promptly. One harried [...]