Giving season is right around the corner, and we know that, in between sips of pumpkin spice lattes, fundraising and development teams across the country are busy finalizing their plans to maximize giving opportunities. But have you ever considered that the months leading up to giving season are actually a [...]
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 [...]
Tax season is no one’s favorite time of year. Even for tax-exempt organizations, dealing with the required forms and paperwork can get quickly overwhelming. However, it’s imperative you don’t blow off this work! Your 990 is critical for your fundraising success. Pulling all of the important data included in this [...]
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 [...]
It’s no secret that nonprofit boards are essential to the success of an organization. Board members serve as both volunteers and donors gifting funds to the organization and providing managerial oversight and advocacy to help the nonprofit execute its mission. But nonprofit employees can often get so caught up in [...]
In my last post “Get a GRPI to Improve Your Nonprofit Team,” we discussed how using a Six Sigma tool called a GRPI (which is an acronym for Goals, Roles, Processes and Interpersonal Relationships) can be used to increase the effectiveness of non-profit teams. Today, let’s add more letters to [...]
Staff retention is extremely important for employers in all sectors, including nonprofits that depend on team members understanding the organization’s culture and institutional history. Staff retention is directly related to donor retention, which means it impacts donor lifetime value, which means it impacts revenue. Many camps are nonprofits and, [...]
Here’s the thing. A couple years ago I talked with a representative of an economic development program here in Portland. He focused on the big industries, Intel, Nike, Adidas. I asked him why they didn’t focus more on nonprofits. He said, “because they bring the median income of the region [...]
We’ve all been told at one point or another to “get a grip.” Well, an important tool to have in your nonprofit toolbox is a GRPI. In fact, you should have a bunch of GRPIs in there. GRPI is an acronym for “Goals, Roles, Processes and Interpersonal relationships” from organizational [...]
Shining a light on the future of your nonprofit, and how you can shape it, requires looking at big picture strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) from many perspectives. When was the last time you did a simple SWOT analysis? Charities tend to have a lot invested in doing what [...]
“By failing to prepare, you are planning to fail” -Benjamin Franklin Planning is an important aspect of any nonprofit staff member’s daily workflow. Without an effective plan in place, as Benjamin Franklin stated frankly, you’re preparing for failure. As you start considering larger campaigns and projects, planning for success becomes [...]
