Executive Issues

When the Southeast Texas Food Bank was incorporated in 1991, it did no fundraising whatsoever, it had two donor names (the executive director and a board member) and its budget was around $700,000. Today, it has 25,000 donor names in its database and an operating budget of $1.9 million.

I am just back from an intense four days at the 48th annual AFP International Conference on Fundraising. And I listened to some of fundraising’s most brilliant — and provocative — leaders. Here’s what’s on the mind of some of our smartest thinkers.

Challenging finances cause nonprofits to re-evaluate priorities and pick up valuable lessons, focusing on what's truly important. Adhering to three positive principles will help you survive — and even thrive in — today's sluggish economy.

Challenging times — especially crises — are a great acid test for "learning leadership" — to see if you model an adaptive and flexible approach under pressure. When things go wrong and are at least partly out of their control, great leaders can show how quickly they learn and help their organizations do so ... or not.

If we do our jobs well, we will not be at our seats all the time — and that might not sit well around the office. A simple call sheet could help with your "impression management."

Fundraising pros Dane Grams and Richard DeVeau offer some general tips for small and midsized nonprofit organizations.

Do you have the guts? I have 10 ideas that might scare the daylights out of you. They're probably difficult, politically unpopular or against the rules of your organization. Furthermore, these ideas might not work for you. They could even be very, very bad for you. But I don't think so. These are good ideas that have worked for others who made them happen despite the difficulties. I dare you to try at least one.

As the nation’s unemployment rate remains at an unsettling 9.6 percent, an increasing number of 501(c)(3) organizations are taking advantage of an exclusive opportunity to opt out of the state unemployment tax system. However are all of these nonprofits benefiting?

According to a federal law enacted in 1970 (IRC Title 26, Chapter 23 §3309(a)(2)), nonprofits can instead elect to reimburse their state only when a former employee collects unemployment benefits. Many 501(c)(3)s can save significantly by directly reimbursing the state in lieu of paying into the unemployment tax system.

Collaboration is a catalyst for nonprofit growth and improvement. And the newly formed Catalyst Fund for Nonprofits was created to help foster that collaboration.

The competition for foundation grants is greater than ever with charitable service demand at an all-time high. So to ensure your organization is in position to grab the attention of grantmakers, make sure you're set up with the pre-grantseeking needs foundations look for.