Staffing & Human Resources

As your organization works to secure support and strengthen your impact, your efforts often come down to one key element: transparency. A twofold ingredient, transparency is expected externally by donors who seek proof of your results, and internally by your staff to best understand how to drive total impact forward. Forward-thinking organizations take steps to…

A few days ago I received a phone call from a business acquaintance. In the course of the conversation, he talked about how frustrating it was to serve the nonprofit community when some organizations act so unprofessionally toward his firm. I replied that just the night before, in the final class of the semester for the graduate students I teach, I had gone over the 20 things that—if they forgot everything else—I hoped they would take from the class. One of those learnings was, “A nonprofit is not a business. But if you don’t run it like a business, you will go out of business.”...

The CEO of an animal welfare nonprofit stepped down last month after being criticized for allegedly purchasing a puppy from a breeder instead of a shelter. Former employees and volunteers have described the decision as the final straw in a series of issues with the top executive....

The great recession of 2008 hit most business sectors hard, leading to layoffs and downsizing. But according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at least one type of enterprise kept adding jobs all the way through, poor economy notwithstanding: nonprofits. The data shows that the nonprofit sector played a counter-cyclical role in…

Last week, I offered some considerations for choosing your next position. I’m not advocating change; in fact, I feel discouraged when I review the statistics on longevity of fundraising professionals. A 2013 study called "Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising" found that one in two chief fundraising officers plan to leave their jobs within two years....

Interviewing is an important part of any business. It goes without saying that the successful candidate for the job will come to the interview prepared. What is often overlooked is that the same is true for the interviewer. When interviewing for any position, plan your questions in advance and use care when addressing the following topics...

Many Wikipedia editors finally got what they wanted Thursday. After weeks of revolt on social media and Wikipedia mailing lists, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Lila Tretikov resigned amid concerns the foundation wasn’t being transparent with its community about plans to develop a search engine. Patricio Lorente, a member of the Wikimedia Board of Trustees, announced…

A recent study indicated that the average development director lasts just 19 months in his or her job. Having just passed the 19-month mark in my first development director job, it seemed like a good milestone to take stock of the factors that helped me find success and satisfaction. So, here are five things I’ve learned, firsthand, that are integral to being a successful development leader...

To achieve long-term success as a major gifts officer, you have to understand how complex your world is in reality. You are an explorer as you set sail to build new relationships—internally with staff, administration and volunteers, and externally with prospects. You must have clarity of purpose and focus as each relationship and fiscal year is different...

Whether you deliberately set out to be a fundraiser or you simply “landed” in a position, if you enjoy the work of fundraising, you probably hope to get ahead in the field. That may mean you switch organizations or that you take on more responsibility where you currently are working....