Staffing & Human Resources

You can easily think of a long career in the fundraising profession in terms of time, growth and opportunity. To have a career in this field you must have an interest in attributes that point you in a career direction. A long career may consist of 10 positions or more. My four-quarter career theory focuses on four major career stages...

You could argue that a nonprofit needs money, talent, publicity, gifts in kind, etc. But why does it need these things? To get its mission done. And that’s a point that most people on the inside of the nonprofit forget, that the whole effort is about the cause, not the organization. This topic is one that every major gift officer and every manager related to major gifts must get straight in order for major gifts to be successful. Here are the major areas where this goes wrong...

Donors ultimately give to successful and winning organizations. The question is: Who rates nonprofits, and how do they rate them? A number of organizations exist to rate charities. These organizations need to be transparent, honest and ethical. In addition to an organization’s sample-rating criteria, I would like to see background information and results on the following areas to provide more insight when rating the fundraising organization...

Diversity in nonprofits has multiple facets. Diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, ability and others, among board members, staff and volunteers are essential in nonprofits for three important reasons: 1. Diversity helps serve the needs of our community. Diversity among the people working in nonprofits helps ensure people being served are represented at…

“I felt disappointed.” That is what one chief development officer (CDO) said when questioned about the budget he had been assigned. This CDO had presented a revenue budget to his CEO that was reality-based, taking into account what was in the pipeline and measures for growth. What he got back was a number that was more than two-and-a-half times the 10 percent growth the organization had attained in the prior year. Why would a CEO assign a revenue budget that the person in charge of revenue feels is unrealistic?...

One of my biggest soapbox items is the opportunity and responsibility we have to shape the 
future of our sector with talented young professionals. Where are we going wrong, and why are so many recent college graduates repeatedly passing over the nonprofit sector as a serious career choice? Here are four things we can do better to promote the nonprofit sector as a career choice...

When you get a call asking for money in the name of a charity, Georgia law requires them to tell you whether they're getting paid with some of your donation. But there's a loophole to that law, one the FOX 5 I-Team discovered a local police charity knows all too well. The DeKalb Fraternal Order…

Utah branches of the Boy Scouts of America said they're feeling a financial impact following a ruling by the national office to allow openly gay scout leaders. The biggest scout branch in the country, Utah National Parks Council, is based in Orem and serves 90,000 scouts in a region that covers the entire state south of…

Chief financial officers at nonprofit agencies say interruptions on the job is their No. 1 concern. As CFOs continue to expand their roles beyond financial statement responsibilities and start to focus on operational strategy, those interruptions continue to grow. Abila, a leading provider of software and services to nonprofits, associations and government entities, launched the Nonprofit Finance &…

To celebrate Trustees Week we asked people who sit on charity boards what motivates them. From wanting to give back to their communities to meeting new people and learning valuable skills, trustees have explained why they’ve taken on their vital roles. Using the hashtag #whyimatrustee, people have been tweeting why they work in over a…