Executive Issues

Back in the 1950s, when a reporter asked the notorious Willie Sutton why he robbed banks, he supposedly responded, “That’s where the money is.” Proponents of the business of philanthropy should heed this simple wisdom and cultivate relationships with the wealthiest prospects — those with the most capacity to give.

I have used the phrase, “We’re building the plane while we fly it,” as part of my mantra. Initially, I thought it was a professionally acceptable way to say, “We have no idea. We’re making it up as we go and we will get there with a solid outcome,” but most recently I realized what it means, and I discovered why it is a good line of thinking in the current landscape for nonprofit leaders.

A nonprofit organization is created with the best of intentions. It is a way to address the service gaps in the marketplace and to uplift the planet. When we forget the key element, that this is a business, we can do more harm than good for those we can be helping.

If you find strategic planning boring, you’re not alone. Here are top reasons why you’re struggling to get your plan off the ground.

I realized that each Hogwarts House has admirable traits and that they could be combined to create some truly stellar teams. If we look at the descriptors of each house, we’ll see that the nonprofit arena needs Hufflepuffs as much as it needs Gryffindors. Let’s check out the Nonprofit World Houses.

The overwhelm can seem close to immobilizing. Leaders always need to make decisions. But this year, the amount of decision-making required to lead feels crushing. So much so that many nonprofit leaders are delaying big decisions.

It’s increasingly important for nonprofit organizations and their advisers to assess gifts holistically and engage in donor vetting practices to minimize financial, legal and reputational risk.

Picture this: A funder is about to sign on the dotted line, but they ask to see your financials. You pull numbers from your system only to realize they don’t look quite right. Upon investigation, you realize they’re not correct and discover the root of the problem is issues with your finance process — employees are tagging expenses with the wrong codes.

When I stepped into the leadership role at Chicago Scholars more than a year ago, I began searching for other nonprofit leaders of color so we could share and learn from our common experiences in navigating the nonprofit landscape. I knew I’d have to look far and wide for these peers, as it’s common knowledge in our world that diversity is lagging at the highest levels.

Keeping hope alive describes what the nonprofit sector is about. Humanitarian relief to Ukrainian refugees and in-country citizens has been extraordinary. We see hope alive in the surge in charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations.