Executive Issues

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...

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...

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...

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…

Foundation staff and major donors may not hear much direct criticism of their foundations or giving, surrounded as they are by grantees and grant seekers. But it seems like everyone has a point of view on what philanthropists should be doing: You can’t flip through more than a few pages of The Chronicle of Philanthropy…

A major nonprofit closed another branch. It had jettisoned several branches and many programs over the past two years. Financial, cultural and other issues had plagued this organization for some time, though the issues just became widely apparent due to the visibility of closing locations and programs. Here are eight lessons to be learned from the nonprofit's struggles...

Regardless of the fiscal year, summer seems to be a transition time for many—time to work feverishly to achieve fiscal-year financial targets while creating an organizational and operational plan for the next fiscal year. Many of us start putting on the brakes to a hectic year and begin the brief process of trying to finally take time off. (I have not taken one day off this calendar year or played a round of golf. Shame on me.) ...

I’m stumped on a particular challenge. I want you, my reader, to help me solve it. In fact, I believe you’re the only one who can. Game? What I enjoy most about what I do is the opportunity to provide clarity and direction to someone who wants it and to see the result of that counsel borne out in the life and work of the person coached.

Advocacy can be an essential piece of a nonprofit organization's ability to meet its mission. It's about embracing and promoting a particular point of view. And while it may seem like some of the most successful nonprofits excel at championing a single issue or cause, in reality, the long-term work of building change is made up of a series of smaller gains (and losses) done behind the scenes over a long period of time. You’ve probably heard the saying—change doesn’t happen overnight. It involves a cycle of advocacy, policy efforts and building support from the inside out.

There appears to be a popular misconception that the only thing that needs to be done to have a copyright is to place the designation © or a notation that “All Rights Are Reserved” on materials for which copyright protection is sought. While that may be true—at least in part—one cannot sue under the federal Copyright Act for infringement unless the copyright is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.