Executive Issues

Why the High Employee-Turnover Rate?
March 24, 2017 at 8:17 am

It’s no secret that nonprofits have an alarmingly high employee-turnover rate. Why are there new faces around the office so regularly? Many have brushed it off as “burnout,” but what does that really include? Tech Impact took a closer look at the causes of nonprofit turnover in this infographic...

Creating Compelling Success Stories for Your Nonprofit
March 23, 2017 at 8:27 am

Generating compelling success stories won’t happen by magic. In order to get the stories, you need to help your staff understand the importance of stories in the organization’s marketing and fundraising efforts and to feel comfortable asking clients for their stories...

Why Your Nonprofit Needs a Development Plan
March 22, 2017 at 8:31 am

You wouldn’t leave your house and drive your car aimlessly hoping you’d eventually find your great aunt Marge’s house in Tucson, even though you’ve never even been to Arizona. So as a nonprofit professional or volunteer, why would you just start doing random things to try to raise money for your organization and hope that the outcome is enough money?...

Why Good Nonprofit Fundraisers Are Hard to Keep: Part 1
March 17, 2017 at 8:33 am

If you’re a fundraiser, does this sound like you? Show me my money! According to 5 years of research by Penelope Burk (culminating in her book, “Donor-Centered Leadership”), as well as a much-talked-about study by CompassPoint and the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund, half of chief development officers plan to leave their jobs in 2 years or less and 40 percent plan to leave fundraising entirely...

3 Key Factors to a Successful Meeting
March 15, 2017 at 3:45 pm

Be sure that the meetings you hold are needed. If so, take a few steps to ensure that you have the right people at the table, you have the right agenda to achieve your goals and you guide the meeting to keep the discussion on point and on schedule...

Culture of Philanthropy: Are You Ready?
March 15, 2017 at 3:45 pm

More and more often, we hear this catchy phrase "culture of philanthropy" and how essential it is to high levels of nonprofit fundraising success. Having worked as a staffer for many years, I’m a firm believer. If you want to raise more money and retain more donors, start by looking at your collective mindset toward philanthropy—a culture shift doesn’t start with strategy...

Now Scammers Want to Steal Your Nonprofit’s Employee W-2 Records
March 10, 2017 at 10:16 am

In early February, the Internal Revenue Service and various tax agencies issued an alert warning employers of a Form W-2 email phishing scam. The scam was well known among private-sector businesses—the Democratic National Committee famously fell for a similar version—but the IRS updated the alert to include school districts, health-care providers and, yes, nonprofits...

Keeping Nonprofit Overhead Cost Low Comes at a High Price
March 10, 2017 at 9:22 am

Early indications do not favor the Trump administration throwing more money toward human services. So, it appears that people living in the superpower that we call home are going to rely increasingly on the work of nonprofits. The inconvenient truth, though, is that those doing the good work are being "systematically starved," as highlighted by…

Is It Time to Reassess Donors’ Rights?
March 9, 2017 at 9:29 am

Is it time to urge the AFP to launch a formal effort to update the Donor Bill of Rights, incorporating donors from offline and online sources, into a single, updated and relevant document? I argue it is, and that part of this effort should be to invite—and consider—input from the fundraisers in the trenches...

How You Can Cause Deep Gladness in Your Donor
March 6, 2017 at 10:05 am

I suppose all of us are trying to make deep gladness happen in our lives in some way or another. I know I am. I have discovered there is direct correlation between my happiness and serving others. It goes up when I am giving myself away. It goes down when I am focused on me. It’s counterintuitive, I know. But it’s true...