The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed on March 27, 2020 includes a number of provisions designed to rescue an economy being decimated by a pandemic the likes of which the world has seldom, if ever, seen. With plenty of news coverage of this legislation, little light has [...]
How will you and your nonprofit make it through these difficult times? Two words: EMPATHY. INNOVATION. These are the two qualities most needed in today’s topsy-turvy world. I’d like you to think of them as your newly essential communication and fundraising strategies. Apply them to everything you do for the [...]
In Part 1 of this two-parter we discussed why you need to build a culture of philanthropy as a management system. You can’t simply pay lip service to ‘culture of philanthropy.’ It has to become the air in your nonprofit that you breathe. When culture becomes the air in your [...]
This article was originally published during the 2008 financial crisis. It has been republished here with permission from the Panas estate. It's a puzzling phenomenon. It may seem counterintuitive, but in tough financial times people actually give more. But they give to organizations they care greatly about. Those organizations that [...]
I once had a boss who insisted employee morale didn’t matter. She even sent me articles from Harvard Business Review purporting to prove this (if you read them closely, they didn’t). Her insistence on this was directly related to her management style. Top down. Holding information close to the vest. [...]
I remember as a young girl, my father would have church in the living room of my home. After my father finished his congruous sermon he would occasionally say “sister or brother so-and-so is not doing well. Be sure to keep them in your prayers.” He would then pass around [...]
I almost included this among my new year’s resolutions articles last month as “Resolved: I Will Help My Board Members Feel Happy.” Is that a daily mantra for you? Regrettably, too many nonprofits have the unfortunate tendency to demonize their board rather than love and support them. We whine and [...]
In Part 1 (Boards Need Staff to Support Scary Fundraising Role) of this two-part series about helping nonprofit board members overcome their fear of fundraising, we looked at reframing ‘yucky’ fundraising with ‘loving’ philanthropy. Since it’s the role of staff to step up to the plate to help donors understand [...]
Embrace reality. Board members are busy. Unlike you, they don’t live and breathe your organization. They want to help (really, they do), but they need your support. Because… They’re busy. They don’t have time to figure out what you want and need. You have to tell them. Specifically. You know. [...]
Humans spend lots of time contemplating names for things. Need proof? Ponder the quotes below: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” (quote from Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet) “A wife should no more take her husband’s name than he should hers. My name is my identity and [...]
Let’s talk addiction. That’s something we think is related to the brain, right? We think some folks have “addictive personalities,” while others may simply enjoy something so much – like chocolate – that they’ll say they are addicted. Guess what? Philanthropy is addictive too. Yup. MRI data show us when [...]
Nonprofits tend to wring their hands a lot about fundraising. We don’t have enough. It’s so difficult. Our board won’t help. Our staff isn’t sufficiently skilled. It’s so distasteful. It’s a necessary evil. We have more important things to do with our resources. All of this hand-wringing comes from a [...]