Executive Issues

There’s quite a bit of noise out there in the major gift world on management—what next step to take, how to approach the donor, how to frame the ask, etc. And still, with all of that information, Jeff and I find hundreds of major gift officers frustrated in their jobs...

By now, you know the tremendous power monthly donors have. You know how it can help improve your donor retention to much higher levels. We typically see monthly donor retention rates between 87 percent and 95 percent—that’s double that of one-time donors...

The importance of a high-functioning and accountable nonprofit board of directors has never been greater. An effective board can mean the difference between expanding mission objectives and failed initiatives, between meeting constituent needs and shrinking programming, and between hitting financial goals and worrying about meeting payroll...

We see mergers in the business world as a tool to promote efficacy and productivity within the organization, but does this hold same for nonprofits, too? According to the “Chicago Merger Study,” it does! If you think about it, nonprofit organizations work almost the same way as for-profit business do; the difference is that nonprofits are generating funds to go directly to their mission and cause...

Outside the obvious red ink or even absence of financial reports, what might be the indicators for the board to reference that all is not right with their nonprofit?...

It’s still one of the chief complaints among nonprofit CEOs: Board members not engaged enough in fundraising. It’s frustrating to have the responsibility fall back on you. It’s too hard and demoralizing to think you’re in this alone. It detracts from the rest of the competing priorities you need to address...

The harsh reality of fundraising is that boring is often best. Viral video, Instagram Live, Tinder (OK, maybe not Tinder)—there’s a steady stream of cool, new, exciting channels on which fundraisers can get creative. These channels promise big short-term returns, but they’re not without risk...

It’s no surprise that many nonprofits turn to the Internet to meet fundraising goals and connect with potential donors. But, does using the Internet for fundraising pose any legal issues? For example, if you have a nonprofit in Pennsylvania, but your online fundraising post reaches a donor in California, is your nonprofit now conducting business in California?...

We are big on not attending the same professional conferences year after year. Take a break from your routine and attend a new conference—maybe one outside of your nonprofit sector. This year, I’m taking a break from AFP to attend a different conference and I plan to be back at AFP next year...

When we look at the people who serve on volunteer leadership committees for nonprofit peer-to-peer fundraising, we assume those people are our highest fundraisers and that’s how they came to be on the committees. Or we assume that these folks have a strong mission connection and that is why they are on the committee...