Executive Issues

I felt the potential donor’s pain. It was very clear, and their level of frustration high. A friend had long been involved with a college at a major university. Over nearly a decade, the college’s chief development officer had become a good friend to the prospective major donor and their family...

As a nonprofit organization, it is important to be engaged and relevant to the community that you are located in. By becoming an active member in the local area, not only can you increase the recognition of your organization, but you can also meet the people that make up the very community you operate in. These people…

Tell me what you think is wrong with this picture: There is a major gift officer (MGO) who has a caseload, and he is also charged with doing events for the organization. He has three staff members who work with him on this agenda...

No matter the organization, some amount of risk leadership needs to be assumed to move forward and take on new and exciting initiatives. For nonprofits, risk is more complex and takes on another dimension as there is more to lose in terms of social impact and social value. Risk leadership needs to be assumed but…

Recently, one of our client managers for Veritus told me a story about one of our clients she is working with. When I heard this story, I was not shocked. Richard and I hear this kind of stuff all the time. This happens with major donors, because many nonprofits clearly have no structure in place for their major gift program...

The problem with any single metric is, as either or both of Karl Pearson and Peter Drucker have said, “That which is measured, improves.” My corollary to this is, “What isn’t measured is sacrificed to improve that which is measured.”...

This week, I was having breakfast with an incredible leader. He owns three significant businesses in a metropolitan area and is one of the region’s most respected leaders, fully engaged in the civic affairs and direction. One of his affiliations is with a university. He was sharing with pride the caliber of the university’s current and past presidents and how, while with different leadership styles, they have taken the university to another level...

CEOs of nonprofits have been talking with me a lot about three matters that are weighing heavily on their minds: financial challenges, regulatory change and expansion. It is not news that nonprofits face financial challenges, but the challenges have been gradually exacerbating. They are seeing increased competition for donations, time and attention...

I recently made a presentation to a group of fundraising professionals sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. During the presentation, I asked the class many questions. Some of these questions dealt with aspects of using volunteers to seek time, talent and treasure on behalf of their institution...

A nonprofit board’s fiduciary duty of care—aka risk prevention, management and compliance specific to program, finance and governance—can be effectively achieved by a nonprofit board through three activities: planning, policy-making and evaluation...