Executive Issues
July 17, 2015 at 2:06 pm
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards delivered a stern reply on Thursday to a controversial undercover video that purports to show the reproductive health organization profits from selling tissue from aborted fetuses. In her video response posted to YouTube, Richards said the “heavily edited” footage was intended to make “outrageous claims” about the nonprofit’s programs to…
July 17, 2015 at 2:01 pm
The Oregon Department of Justice has filed an unusual state bar complaint against prominent Republican activist Kevin Mannix, charging that the lawyer violated ethics rules when he represented a veterans charity that funneled $1.1 million to his political and business activities. The bar complaint says that Mannix, the 2002 GOP nominee for governor and a…
July 16, 2015 at 12:36 pm
At last week’s Bridge conference, I was struck (again) by the many choices facing today’s fundraiser. Having a robust direct mail program and major gifts program, with a little planned giving and maybe an event tossed in, is no longer enough. Now, we need a website that is informative and optimized for mobile, and that has a user-friendly donation page. We have to frequently update our Facebook page and post a steady flow of videos on YouTube...
July 16, 2015 at 8:50 am
I had the opportunity to speak with the marketing director of a federated health-related charity in Australia last week. Claire reached out to me to ask about jumpstarting donor acquisition in her organization. She told me of recent changes in her national organization. A number of individual local chapters were recently combined in a federated arrangement under a national umbrella...
July 14, 2015 at 2:18 pm
If the June cyber attack that affected an estimated 18 million government employees tells us anything, it's that cybersecurity is now more important than ever. We've seen that small nonprofits are at risk, but now it's clear that no organization, large or small, is invulnerable to hackers...
July 14, 2015 at 12:30 pm
Take a look at your nonprofit’s branding strategy. If it’s an afterthought—or even if it’s already high priority but in need of a refresh—it might be time to make it an integral part of your donor engagement strategy. It might be time to rebrand. Here’s what you need to know before you do...
July 13, 2015 at 1:08 pm
The job of the program person in a nonprofit is, in my opinion, one of the most critical functions in the organization. It is also one of the most thankless jobs a professional can have. I think program people are often the most misunderstood people in a nonprofit. It is no easy job to craft a solution to a need either right in your hometown or thousands of miles away. Yet, often, major gift officers think these folks can just turn on a dime and churn out a meaningful offer for a donor...
July 13, 2015 at 12:56 pm
Whether you’re an executive director, board member, funder, staff member or even a volunteer in a nonprofit, chances are you feel frustrated with the inefficiency of your organization’s decision-making processes. It’s not surprising. With the veritable maze of interlocking decisions nonprofits face and the relative lack of clarity about who has power and who makes decisions, the mere act of making a decision can be time-consuming and inefficient...
July 9, 2015 at 2:33 pm
I had a delightful conversation with Cyndy recently. Cyndy is the executive director of an environmental nonprofit in the Southeast. She reached out to me ostensibly to get direction on how to execute a reverse auction at an upcoming event. I say “event” because, as Cyndy described her situation, it sounded much more of what I’ll call the “un-event.” When I hear a charity is doing another fundraising event, my mental images are of auctions, table sponsorships, and overpriced and over-cooked meals, all in an atmosphere just this side of a circus. Throw in a rock band and uncomfortable chairs and the description is complete...
July 9, 2015 at 2:03 pm
The Tennessee secretary of state’s office is investigating a cancer nonprofit with family ties to four other charities that were sued in May by the federal government on allegations they bilked donors of $187 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. The group being investigated, the American Association for Cancer Support Inc., of…
