Executive Issues

The chief executive and president of Livestrong resigned Tuesday after less than a year on the job, another blow to the cancer foundation that has struggled with sharp declines in donations and revenue since founder Lance Armstrong's performance-enhancing drug-use scandal. Chandini Portteus said she wanted to focus on her family. She was brought in to…

Struggling professional sports franchises are well-known for seeking out coaches who are “turnaround specialists.” These individuals have a track record of coming into an organization and implementing a system that results in some significant level of improvement, measured in wins.

I know many of my blog readers are senior marketing and fundraising folks, and with this comes the need to be good leaders and take on leadership roles. And, as you read this, I am sure we can all come up with examples throughout our careers where we have been “less than stellar” leaders and when we have had “less than stellar leaders” in our midst....

Today we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The man embodied many things, but perhaps among his most notable identifiers was that he was a man of remarkable vision. Vision is crucial to inspiring others to give, volunteer and participate. However, many nonprofit leaders spend countless hours writing a compelling vision statement,…

The Second Mile filed a petition last week to dissolve itself and give its remaining $800,000 in assets to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State University assistant football coach who in 2012 was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse of 10 different boys and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison, founded the 39-year-old nonprofit based in Bellefonte, Pa. Sandusky also supported the nonprofit as an active fundraiser...

Over the course of the coming year, many of you will be either placed in the executive leadership role of a charity or looking to enhance your performance as an existing leader. I have had the privilege of working for and with many of the best leaders in this sector since 1983. Perhaps it is…

Kyle Kosior thought his job as the Red River Valley Habitat for Humanity's executive director would be mostly made up of administrative duties and helping construct homes. "After three years here, I found out I spend most of my time on the funding just to keep the lights on," he said. "In order for us…

When fundraising isn’t going well, the budget is in jeopardy and a nonprofit needs a miracle, the conversations seem to start the same way. “Our organization needs to raise a lot of money, more than we’ve ever raised before, and as soon as possible. Can you help?” Over the years I’ve received far too many…

Sue Desmond-Hellmann has worn many hats over the course of her career. She's the rare executive who's spent time in private practice, worked for two major U.S. pharmaceutical corporations, served as chancellor of a top university and now, helmed the world's largest private foundation. As CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since last…

Is your social venture losing its homegrown talent—often to other social ventures? In the past two years, only 30 percent of open C-suite positions in the nonprofit sector were filled by an internal candidate (the rate at for-profits is 60 percent of positions). And almost half of their replacements came from other nonprofits. This comes at…