Executive Issues

I constantly write blog posts for audiences with vast experience as nonprofit pros. As I was sitting at my computer recently, it occurred to me that many individuals who do not work in our profession read a variety of these blog posts...

Learn from others. Measure what matters. Start out right. Live out thankfulness. This old dog knows that it takes more than these four things to be a successful and fulfilled fundraiser, but this isn’t a bad place to begin for anyone new to the profession or looking to hit the reset button on his or her career in the nonprofit sector...

Just as many nonprofit organizations have one-size-fits-all fundraising appeals, they also tend to treat all their donors the same. “What’s wrong with that?” you say. “Are they supposed to give the big guys special treatment?” Well, yes—and no...

Leadership makes the difference! Of this, I have no doubt. Effective CEOs can transform an organization, and donors look to the CEO as a benchmark when considering a major investment. However, I believe that there is one leadership role more important to an organization—and more critical to its short and long-term success...

Women are the minority gender in the corporate world still, though in absolute numbers there are many competent and highly successful women. As a percentage these competent, successful women are few, they are often judged harshly...

Times have changed and so have the skills needed to excel in the area of marketing. If you are the head of a marketing team and/or fundraising team and you think through these five (or four primary) skillets, where is your team’s strength and where are the gaps?...

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is a federal law signed July 22, 2014. It is intended to help job seekers access employment, education, training and support services to succeed in competitive and integrated employment...

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...