Executive Issues

There are lots and lots of very good, very worthy nonprofit organizations out there. But how many truly "great" charities are there? You know, nonprofits that run efficient programs, maximize fundraising and operate as a unified, holistic organization?

Well-meaning commentators needlessly snipe back and forth while espousing their analyses of the pros and cons of either the traditional nonprofit model or those more aligned with a business-oriented approach. Nonprofits must continuously strive for innovation. We must constantly review methodologies and find areas for improvement—just like any nonprofit. Above all, in our specific field, we must find ways to put treatments into the hands of those who need them. Commentators can call it what they want; we call it effective drug development success.

To get a handle on what’s in store for 2015, NonProfit PRO rounded up some of the nonprofit industry’s finest, who were kind enough to share their nonprofit trends for 2015. Here are eight trends on nonprofit leadership and boards of directors.

Nationwide, donor retention has dropped to just under 40 percent for one-year renewals. Compare that to 95-plus percent for commercial firms. Sense a disconnect?

A sad situation I observe very frequently is a major gifts manager whose primary skill set is major gifts but finds him- or herself in a management position where the up-line managers, even the CEO, are critical of his or her "lack of management ability."

Here are three ways the qualities of millennials, often seen as negative, can be leveraged for nonprofit success.

Data has long been at the heart of direct marketing. In the nonprofit world, data allowed us to rent lists of people who had shown a propensity toward giving to causes similar to ours. On the cultivation side, data permitted us to choose which donors to mail based upon previous history and tailor messages to their interests. This smart use of data let us provide donors what they wanted rather than cluttering up their mailboxes with irrelevant offers. And it allowed nonprofits to raise more dollars at a lower cost to more efficiently and effectively feed hungry children, cure life-threatening cancer and support our wounded veterans.

More and more, you hear about how nonprofit organizations either are or should run more like for-profit businesses than they have traditionally. It's a hot topic in the nonprofit sector today, and the conversation continues to pick up steam, particularly with technological advances changing the way donors/consumers engage with brands — both in the business world and nonprofit world.

If you ask most senior-level nonprofit professionals they would admit succession planning doesn't exist or the plan sits and gathers dust.

Volunteers want you to succeed. These true believers will be more than happy to provide financial resources if you ask them. They do so at a rate 50 percent higher than non-volunteers and in amounts 50 percent higher than those who don't give their time.