Fundraising maven Pamela Grow has presented her followers with a daring challenge: for one whole year, cease donor acquisition activities. “What if you made 2013 the year of the individual donor and got off the acquisition treadmill, once and for all?” she asks. (Read more here.) I get her point, despite my aversion to either/or [...]
Data even donors can love
May 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Previously I referenced research that claims donors aren’t much impressed by outcomes data. It’s heart-warming stories givers want, we’re told, not bone-dry facts. But not all data points are tedious. Some are as interesting and as encouraging to the folks writing checks as the best told tale. Consider, for example, findings from a recent study [...]
Two strategies for improving your board’s fiduciary behavior
May 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Once upon a time, minding your board’s fiduciary P’s and Q’s consisted of dotting organizational I’s and crossing legal T’s and little more. But no longer. Or so say the members of an august panel of governance veterans featured in the March/April 2013 issue of Trusteeship magazine. As they tell it, fiduciary stewardship stretches well [...]
Helping the CEO isn’t job one for the board
April 3, 2013 By 4 Comments
“Unless we’re certain that what we do is helpful to our president, I won’t waste my time coming back.” The board member’s comment and the vehemence with which she delivered it, took me by surprise. From where I sat, it had seemed a productive meeting.
7 deadly sins of grant seekers
April 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
For the faith-based nonprofits with which I work – and in fact, for the majority of small to mid-size 501(c) 3s – foundation-funded grants are a tiny fraction of total gift income. Yet invariably, “write more proposals” is the first suggestion from organizational leaders when money is tight. I spend a lot of time talking [...]
Monkeys see, monkeys do. But not in the boardroom, please.
March 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
My apology for casting dispersion on the good folks sitting on boards of nonprofit organizations. But hey, I’m one of you. And if I’m willing to confess my share of monkeying around in the boardroom, so can you. So put down that banana and listen up. Stop aping other people’s best practices and start thinking [...]
Move your fundraising beyond the insanity of the same-old, same-old
March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I gave up CNN or any other of the myriad news channels this past week. Not for Lent, but because the debacle unfolding in Washington, D.C. was simply too painful to watch. I’d like to think that the trauma of the last fiscal cliff experience would have knocked a little compromise (I stopped hoping for [...]
Get governance or get off
February 27, 2013 By 2 Comments
I feel the pain of nonprofit CEOs and development staff who rail about board members’ reluctance to step up to the fundraising challenge. I’ve served on the development staffs of three Christian colleges, including a short stint as a VP for Advancement. For the past 15 years, I’ve provided development counsel to faith-based nonprofits. I’ve [...]
Advice for making the most of your organization’s birthday
February 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The nonprofit organization for which I serve as board chair turns 40 this year and that has me on the hunt for advice about how to make the most of an anniversary celebration. Okay, four decades of ministry outreach isn’t Guinness World Records material. But we’re proud of how far the organization has come. Now [...]
