Executive Issues

President Obama’s announcement this week that he plans to limit executive pay and perks at financial companies seeking federal bailout aid should send a message to nonprofit groups’ leaders and their board members.

Survey results just released by the Council on Foundations at the Family Philanthropy Conference in Indianapolis showed that family, independent, and public foundations experienced a 28 percent decline in their asset values over the course of 2008.  Many foundations have not made major changes to their investment strategies, but a substantial proportion are making changes in their investment managers, their diversification, and aggressiveness of their investment strategies.

“Diversify, diversify, diversify.”

This has been, and will continue to be, the mantra when it comes to planning and securing funding. As a nonprofit professional, you know that snapping your fingers will not make dollars magically appear. Building new, sustainable funding streams that align with your mission takes time, energy and a lot of patience, and must occur in the midst of the countless day-to-day activities keeping your organization running. Yet, to help sustain your organization for the long term, diversification is a must.

Aside from looming postal issues, the future of direct mail looks increasingly bright because of an inevitable massive expansion of your prime audience. It is well-known that among the various fundraising channels, direct mail appeals mostly to the oldest demographic. Your files typically have a median donor age of mid-70s.

If you’ve checked your 401(k) balance lately, you might have tasted that metallic tang in the back of your mouth that signals raw, animal fear. It’s not a nice feeling. It’s a feeling that can make you want to do something wild, like grab what’s left of your money and hide it in your mattress.

Don’t. Trust me — it’s totally uncomfortable. And the Mattress Plan is going to play even worse havoc with your retirement than the economy has.

Here are some useful approaches leaders I have worked with from both the nonprofit and for-profit sector are using. You may find them inspirational. Retain important human capital. * Train and empower employees. Many employees are looking for growth and development, not just money. * Invest in young, innovative minds and allow them to be creative. Innovative thinkers are not just for the technology world. Stay fresh and relevant with young talent in order to continue making a difference. Take risks. * Explore new approaches to meet your business and customer needs. These approaches may be in human resources, fundraising or even the delivery

At a time when more organizations are looking to combine resources through collaborative efforts either internally or externally, an executive director I’d been working with declared, “Collaborations, partnerships, mergers or anything else my board of directors could think of will not happen.” Basing her opinion on personal experience, she simply felt that they were a waste of time that amounted to little else but endless meetings with little agreement or result. It wasn’t that she was against working with others who have a common interest — to the contrary; she recognized the potential benefits of such relationships, but had not found a

Let’s say that your organization has just finished up its most successful fundraising year ever. You’ve hit on the perfect donor-relationship strategy and donors are practically beating down the doors to give. Things are looking great. So what’s there to worry about? Well, frankly, you’re a little nervous that today’s success is only as good as your current line-up of leaders. As today’s leadership team gives way to tomorrow’s, how can you make sure the momentum you’ve gained doesn’t fizzle out? The answer is to focus on developing consistently excellent leadership — not leaders, but leadership. Leaders will always come and go. That’s

Editor’s note: This is the third in a quarterly series of stories we’re calling “The Leadership Series,” where leaders in the fundraising sector speak to big-picture issues fundraisers need to think about, over and above the day-to-day details of their jobs.

Editor’s note: This is the third in a quarterly series of stories we’re calling “The Leadership Series,” where leaders in the fundraising sector speak to big-picture issues fundraisers need to think about, over and above the day-to-day details of their jobs.