Blog Posts — Non-Profit Leadership

We’ve compiled a list of 6 powerful resolutions your non-profit can adopt for an amazing 2023.

Picture it: you’ve got some openings on your board, but you don’t know where to start looking for new board members. Don’t despair, there is a smart way to step through this challenge – AND get your organization to the next level.

When your organization has a major event and several board members attend, it is an exciting situation. However, engaging your board members as Special Events Ambassadors during events can support your organization with stewardship and fundraising efforts.

Many organizations can survive without the assistance of consultants; however, a consultant can serve as your organization’s “fourth wheel.” While not completely necessary, an expert can amplify success, build capacity, and transform your organization into the high-end SUV it was always meant to be (metaphorically speaking, of course).

There’s been a great deal of discussion recently about the effects of inflation. These price increases are not only impacting home life but also the workplace, especially for those at the helm of organizations that are responsible for budgeting and operations.

Board governance is critical to your organization’s success, as well as maintaining an engaged Board of Directors that understands its responsibilities — and what it is not responsible for. Ultimately, governance ensures everything is working as it should by clarifying and maintaining the outlined roles.

Sometimes, after long periods have passed, board members can, unfortunately, become bored. Somewhere along the way, their energy or excitement has subsided, and they stop committing mental energy to their board role and wait to term off.

As we transition into a new year, non-profit executives should take some time to lay a solid foundation for a successful and strategic 2022.

How many donors and prospects a major gift officer or other professional fundraiser should have in their portfolios is a moving target and while there isn’t an exact science to making that type of decision, for many years I have recommended development personnel consider “Dunbar’s Number.”

As we transition into a new - and hopefully better - year, non-profit executives should take some time to lay a solid foundation for a successful and strategic 2021.

While legacy practices – the things that your nonprofit does year after year simply because “that’s how it has always been done” – make for easy planning and consistency, they could be preventing your organization from thinking strategically about each initiative and hindering your ability to keep up with the needs of today’s donors.

For many professional fundraisers, especially at smaller nonprofits, the idea of a shift in focus or priority can be daunting and the ability to make that change may be out of your control. So, when nonprofit leaders think about establishing a culture within your organization where data is respected, embraced, and acted upon, it can seem like a daunting task.

With the new year upon us, non-profit organizations too often tend to use the first few weeks of the month to recover from the holiday giving season, clean out old e-mails, organize their offices, and stress about the months ahead. But during this “downtime”, non-profit executives should perform important tasks and ascertain critical information to ensure their organization is on the right path.