Staffing & Human Resources

As a former finance chief of four public companies, including mortgage giant Fannie Mae, David Johnson knows about investments. “When I think about investment, I immediately think about hurdle rates, return on investment and return on equity,” he said. At International Rescue Committee, the refugee-aid charity that Johnson joined last March, the term investments refers…

Many nonprofit executives are lucky if they can spend 10 percent of their work year on vacation. This 10 percent could easily affect the 90 percent left on the job. Be sure to take your vacation and try to take it the right way. How? Focus on body, mind and spirit...

Nonprofits are messy. It’s true even for the best nonprofit organizations out there. Not enough money. Too many cooks. An abundance of passion. Often on this blog I write about what nonprofits are doing wrong and how to fix it. After all, “nonprofits are messy” is more than just my tagline—it’s my mantra. And my…

I got to spend time in Omaha this week, one of America’s great philanthropic cities, and was happily reminded of the force for good that is a high-functioning fundraising department. Show me a focused group of professionals devoted to donor relationships and revenue targets, and I can anticipate world-class results. We have had a fond…

Last week, I wrote about the importance of firing people faster. Some employees are not effective, and sometimes they’re downright toxic, and we need to let them go. However, often it’s not the employee who is incompetent or toxic, but his or her supervisors. So, to bring balance, this week I am writing about horrible…

For more than a decade, the blogosphere has touted the power and promise of social media (this blog included), but there is also a downside to using social media for your nonprofit. Granted, the positives do outweigh the negatives, but it is important to step back occasionally and take a critical look at how social…

In an online forum for nonprofit professionals, a recent post struck a chord. A group member described sitting in her office over a long weekend, working on a grant proposal in her underwear. The air conditioning in her office was turned off until the next business day, and it was hot. Surprisingly, the post came…

As an attorney and advocate for people with disabilities, I often hear questions like these: “If I return to work, I could lose my Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. So, what happens if I find out that working is more than I bargained for? Can I return to my benefits? If so, how difficult is that?”...

The post was a little tough for me to write. Because I love the people in our sector, 93 percent of whom are amazing, dedicated, wonderful individuals. Getting a chance to work with them every day is one of the biggest reasons I love doing what I do. Knowing they are out there makes it…

I believe there is a crisis amongst major gift officers (MGOs) all over the world. It’s a crisis that is causing good people, like you, to struggle and lose faith in their skills, and causing donors to question the mission of organizations they either support or want to support. This crisis is about a lack of confidence MGOs exhibit in their work...