Are you successful? How can you tell? Isn’t it great, to look back on a recently completed fiscal year, and say, “yes, we did it! We were successful!” But many fundraisers can’t ever experience that little bit of euphoria. Nor can their chief executives or their governing boards. It’s not [...]
Every nonprofit should be consistently asking its board members for gifts. 100% of your Board giving is a critical number for long-term sustainability. Your board should be your most rabid supporters -- they need to put their money up as well. Assuming you're getting 100% giving from your Board, are [...]
Understanding what a budget is and its importance is crucial for every organization because it can be a way to achieve financial sustainability. But what is a budget exactly? Some people see it as a forecast, meaning a prediction in the future. Others see it as a target or even [...]
Why sustainability? The modern consumer is savvy and shrewd, and today’s donor is no different. Whether they’re an individual, a foundation or a corporation, donors never have been more judicious about who they give their hard-earned dollars to. Unfortunately, many nonprofits lack similar information demanded of those who might consider [...]
I've helped to manage my fair share of events: from small intimate dinner parties to galas that raise $200K. For the effort that goes into planning and executing any event, a nonprofit needs to be very pointed about what they are looking to achieve. My favorite ones are those that [...]
As much as I harp on the need for nonprofits to have their boards engage with elements of the strategic plan, it should be no surprise that many fundraisers ask me what they should do if no strategic plan is in place. Obviously, my first answer is always to implore [...]
After attending nonprofit board meetings for the last 30 years with organizations ranging from brand new 501c3’s to larger established ones, it surprises me to say that the best board meeting I ever attended was my first board meeting ever. It was a cold Saturday in January. The organization was [...]
Once any person associated with the nonprofit world reads the extremely revealing and recently released Oliver Wyman report entitled: “The Financial Health of the United Stated Nonprofit Sector,” they will be seeking actions to alleviate most, if not all of the key findings outlined below if any of them apply. [...]
Many fundraisers are aware that, in light of the new tax law, donor advised funds (DAFs) should become a bigger part of a typical nonprofit fundraising operation. What may not be as well known are the ways in which some individual financial firms go beyond just setting up accounts. The [...]
Beyond a few standard items, the criteria for how grants are awarded varies widely. A quick search of Google asking what foundations are most looking for when deciding on future grant recipients does not produce a definitive list. Perhaps that is why the profession of grant writing is considered more [...]
A dear friend by the name of Kent Stroman recently authored and published what I consider a must-read book for every nonprofit CEO and Board Member: “The Intentional Board - Why Your Board Doesn’t Work and How to Fix It.” Kent covers so much extraordinary ground regarding board governance. However, [...]
Multiple-year pledges have traditionally been used as a payment tool for large gifts for unrestricted use, capital needs, or endowment, allowing donors the flexibility to spread their gift over multiple tax years, for example. But multiple-year pledges for an annual gift have traditionally been regarded as a bad idea, either [...]