Executive Issues

5 Nonprofit Trends to Watch in 2012
January 9, 2012

I truly believe that our challenging economy offers nonprofits a real opportunity to reinvent themselves. So here are my five predictions (hopes) for what the nonprofit sector will move toward in 2012.

How to Plan to Make 2012 Your Best Year Ever
January 5, 2012

Too often, planning is relegated to the “when I’ve finished everything else” pile. We’re too busy raising money for today or tomorrow to plan what we need to do next week, next month — or even next year — to cover those as-yet-unseen needs. End results? Last-minute stress, less-than-perfect outcomes and lost opportunities.

Boo! Don’t Scare Away Your Donors
November 1, 2011

Since Halloween is approaching as I write this (and probably just passed as you read it) — and since I can't get the "Little Shop of Horrors" song out of my head — I thought I'd share some of the scariest mistakes I've seen from small 
nonprofits. My hope is that you take heed and learn from these so you can avoid them.

Meyer Foundation and CompassPoint Release Nonprofit Executive Directors Briefs
August 15, 2011

The Meyer Foundation and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services released The Board Paradox, completing a series of three briefs based on a national study of more than 3,000 nonprofit executive directors. The briefs report survey results and findings not included in the Daring to Lead 2011 main report, which was released in late June. The three briefs in the series are:

How Not to Lose a Critical Asset: Retaining Your Staff
August 9, 2011

Following are reasons (beyond money) why people leave one nonprofit for another or leave the nonprofit space altogether for work in the for-profit sector. Evaluating your organization by these measures may help you make small changes that can increase tenures of valuable team members.

Philanthropists Start Requiring Management Courses to Keep Nonprofits Productive
August 1, 2011

Many philanthropists are handing out human resources advice along with the money they give to nonprofit groups, a strategy that underscores concerns by donors and even some organizations’ leaders about the management of nonprofits. “Pretty early on, I realized that when I asked these organizations about management, the response I usually got was, ‘That’s business and we’re not a business,’ ” Peter Lewis, chairman of Progressive Insurance, said. “I told them baseball teams have managers, too, but that seemed to have little impact on their opinion.”

Hey You! Get Off Facebook!
July 1, 2011

Successful fundraisers know how to manage their priorities and protect their time so they can focus on the things that need to get done.