Executive Issues

To date, nonprofit leaders have looked skeptically at the concept of compensating board members for their “volunteer” service. But the National Association of Nonprofit Organizations & Executives (NANOE) is backing the move to financially compensate board members, as well as give more oversight to those paid professionals who manage nonprofits. The movement is cause for…

J.C. Watts, former U.S. Congressman and former CEO of the Oklahoma City-based Feed the Children, is suing the organization for allegedly firing him for reporting issues and irregularities to the state attorney’s general office...

I recently had a few conversations that reminded me of one of my principles of fundraising: You may not consider your nonprofit organization a business, but if you don’t run it like a business, you will go out of business...

One of the more persistent problems nonprofit fundraising professionals face is how to increase year-over-year results when it appears you’ve explored all avenues and tapped all opportunities. In these situations, savvy professionals should consider whether they have taken sufficient steps to establish themselves as a nexus for their organizations...

It’s no secret that the social sector has been part of the front line conversation and action under the new administration. Nonprofit women leaders came together to lead the Women’s March in January; Make the Road, New York Immigration Coalition and The Arab American Association of New York organized protests against executive orders targeting immigrants at New York City airports...

In a recent survey we sent out, it was amazing how many responses we received that lamented on how you don’t have enough time to do all the work required of you and how stressed out that makes you. You talked about how there is so much pressure on you and you are pulled in so many directions that you don’t have time to actually cultivate and steward your donors...

If you are planning a capital campaign, you should develop your skills at managing conference calls. The success of capital campaigns will depend on your ability to recruit and manage great volunteers. And these days, pulling volunteers together for meetings is harder than ever...

A year ago, I stepped into a new role as director of development for a local and thriving nonprofit with a full-time staff of fewer than ten people. Previously, I served as director of communications for a national nonprofit, where development was a small aspect of the position, but not a focus. Why the jump to development?...

Regardless of where you are in the fiscal year, you should be constantly looking for new volunteers and potential board members. These individuals, if chosen correctly, can bring much needed new contacts, finances and open doors for future possibilities to your organization...

I get a lot of fundraising mail, which is good because to this fundraiser, that’s like food to a starving person. I receive great nourishment from other people’s mail (OPM)—creative stimulation, chuckles, thoughtful moments, emotional engagement, smiles and an occasional tear...