Executive Issues

Escaping the Grip of Callousness
August 21, 2017 at 10:08 am

I want to talk about how callousness reduces us to mere cogs in a fundraising machine vs. the caring individuals we want and need to be. And then I want to share with you how to deal with this very common dynamic in the life of a MGO...

Bloomberg Charity to Fund Center Assisting State Attorneys General Targeting Environmental Regulatory Rollback
August 17, 2017 at 10:16 am

The NYU School of Law plans to launch a new center funded by Michael Bloomberg's charitable organization to assist state attorneys general that oppose moves by the Trump administration to eliminate and scale back environmental and energy regulations. The charity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, which was founded by the former mayor of New York City, will donate…

VC Fundraising on Pace to Exceed $40B for 4th Consecutive Year in North America and Europe
August 17, 2017 at 10:10 am

Venture capital firms certainly have no shortage of cash to invest in startups. PitchBook released its 2017 PE and VC Fundraising report today for North America and Europe. Through July, $27.5 billion has been raised across 165 firms as venture fundraising is on pace to exceed $40 billion for the fourth consecutive year. It’s also…

The Theory of Change: A Tool for Bringing Board Members Together
August 17, 2017 at 9:27 am

Passion for mission, also known as the dissatisfaction with the status quo, is often described as the driver for what brings individuals to a nonprofit board. But remember, a board consists of individuals, and while years of service can often result in an aligned board being clear about values and interests, a “Theory of Change” exercise is an efficient and effective process and resultant tool for developing a collective “term of agreement...

Beware of the ‘Cult of Personality’
August 16, 2017 at 11:21 am

The term “cult of personality” tends to conjure dramatic images of political or religious leaders influencing the masses. It seems grandiose and powerful. Cult of personality has varied definitions, but they all basically boil down to this: The situation that arises when an individual person gains intense loyalty from a group of people from the sheer force of his or her personality...

What Fundraising Entrepreneurs Know About Raising Money
August 14, 2017 at 11:26 am

“Fundraising is both a science and an art,” says M. Gasby Brown of Bridge Philanthropic Consulting, one of the nation’s foremost fundraising firms. “It is great to give strategy,” adds her partner, Dwayne Ashley, “but an organization needs money coming in the door. If you don’t drive that result, nothing else matters.” Before Brown and…

The TED Talk Contribution to Major Gifts
August 7, 2017 at 10:02 am

If you have ever experienced a TED Talk, you know that every single speaker consistently presents a topic in a fascinating and engaging way. A friend of mine recently told me that he had wondered why each presentation was so good. So he researched the subject and discovered that TED Talk organizers actually have specific guidelines for each of their speakers...

Practice What You Teach
August 4, 2017 at 11:06 am

I have just returned from teaching a weeklong Salvation Army Continuing Education Program class with my instructor partner, Mike Rowland. Mike is the director of community relations for The Salvation Army Indiana Division...