A vivid imagination allows us to envision or mentally rehearse future possibilities. As nonprofits nationwide consider how they can return from the torment inflicted by the coronavirus, reimagining the nonprofit board and governance provides an opportunity to refresh, recover, rebuild, and rethink. We all realize the importance of organizational governance, [...]
Organizational agility has been a hot success topic for a few years, and it’s more relevant now than ever. As we face COVID-19, a raging global pandemic, many organizations have had to figure out how to pivot to sustain and thrive while business is not as usual. Agility is an [...]
Lining Up To get a coronavirus test. To receive a food box. To get a vaccine. To buy toilet paper. To await one’s turn to enter a grocery, pharmacy… Lines today are everywhere. What if you could add lining up to give to your charity to the list? It’s possible [...]
Get out there and ask -- don't stop fundraising! Some nonprofits I’ve talked to have told me they’re toning down their year-end campaign this year. Maybe it’s because… they’re short staffed due to pandemic-related lay-offs. they’ve cut back on their programming and don’t feel ‘worthy’ of making a philanthropic ask [...]
As we continue to think about 2020 events and how nonprofits are adapting to the ongoing changes, an important topic that keeps coming up centers on building nonprofit sustainability. What exactly does sustainability refer to in the nonprofit setting and why should this be top of mind? To be clear, [...]
A confluence of a global pandemic, growing social unrest and a totally bifurcated economy is testing the capacity and potential of American philanthropy as never before. The stark reality is that already huge gaps between the haves (primarily the affluent and those who can adapt seamlessly to the contact-free economy) [...]
Do you want your nonprofit to emerge strong and healthy from the pandemic? Understanding the difference between frugal and cheap will help you in any year, but it has increased urgency as you start with 2021 pandemic budgeting. A culture of cheapness American culture, and our nonprofits, have deep roots [...]
Times are tough. Full stop. There’s something about nonprofits and crisis, right? But right now it’s more, more, more. It’s exhausting. So… what to do? I happened to listen to a ‘Tough Times, Tougher Nonprofits’ webinar with nonprofit leadership guru Joan Garry last week, and was inspired to write this [...]
2020 has been a year for the ages. Not only are we dealing with a global pandemic, but also civil unrest, a shrinking economy, partisan politics, and environmental disasters, leading to uncertainty about 2021. Not only does this create unease in our personal lives, but also professionally, and across all [...]
“We’re 100% volunteer-run!” That may not be the good news you think it is. It’s not that volunteers aren’t valuable. They absolutely are! It’s just that eventually most roles outgrow the duties and reasonable time commitment of a volunteer position. That caps your growth. But how do you get from [...]
Sometime in your career you’ll likely be approached by a donor who wants to give you a gift you probably shouldn’t accept. It may be due to the fact it comes with strings. Or liabilities. Or expenses. Or you’re just not staffed up to do the work required to comply [...]
In Parts 1 and 2 of this four-part series I introduced a ‘4-Step Strategy to Cure Your Current Fundraising Headache.’ Because the times we’re in are trying. Donors, however, are still giving. You can succumb to the crisis, take two aspirin every four hours for the rest of the pandemic, [...]