Executive Issues

While serving as an executive for several nonprofit organizations, I noticed the issue of nonprofit sector talent was rarely discussed or pursued at the highest organizational level in the board room. Many organizations did not have an up-to-date strategic or operational plan, much less an HR plan for recruitment and retention of talented employees...

If you are contemplating a major campaign, make it a multi-year process. You will find your eventual campaign will be much more successful, more rewarding and more fun for you, your staff and volunteers, and your donors...

Online giving has added new and unique challenges to maintaining ethical practices, so it may be time to refresh your approach. As technology develops, so do many issues around privacy, communication and safety. How can we help protect donors’ rights in the online world?...

Analytics is an overused buzzword. Ask three people and you’ll get three different answers as to what analytics means to them. To some, it’s about reporting on key metrics and projecting impact on the ability to achieve budget. To others, it refers to models used for the selection of individuals to include in a fundraising campaign...

Your capital campaign’s success depends heavily on the work of volunteers. The right sort of highly capable campaign volunteers add a breadth and depth to your campaign that your staff simply can’t replace. Volunteers won’t just open doors, solicit gifts and help with all sorts of tasks, but they’ll also be generous donors to your campaign...

Is the nonprofit sector for you? If you have any doubts, do some soul-searching and due diligence. At the end of the day, I care passionately to help others, and I am purpose-driven. It is about making a difference...

Often, when the topic of sustainability arises, the focus is on money. But after several decades working in the nonprofit sector, I’ve become convinced sustainability is about so much more than money. I have developed 20 key strategies any organization can use to build long-term sustainability...

You want to develop a major gift program for your nonprofit, but you’re not sure you have enough donors to warrant hiring a major gift officer. Or you are growing your major gift program, and you’re wondering when it makes sense to hire another MGO to add to your team...

To be the best professional you can be, always strive to improve your memory and acquire new learning concepts. I have found that letter association helps me create lists around concepts. Whatever letter you use, letter association should help you in your quest to cluster concepts...

When you’re evaluating of the effectiveness of a fundraising program, you often have to look no farther than the internal language being used by the staff and volunteers who execute that program. Professional jargon is an unfortunate occurrence in just about any profession...