Last week we conducted two different workshops for board members from two distinctly different organizations on different sides of the country. One was a board comprised of medical professionals, the other was a University foundation board with diverse membership. One has an annual fundraising goal of less than $500,000 and the other has a $4.2
Change is a part of our personal lives and a part of organizational life. We asked Byron Johnson at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services a few questions about the process of planning for a change in executive leadership. What is a succession plan and why is it important for a non-profit organization to have one? Succession planning
Last week we met with the executive director and board chair for an organization that is interested in raising money so they can expand their reach to serve people they aren’t yet reaching. Their history and current successes are strong and impressive. But that’s not enough for them. In fact their focus is on “how
Last week we met with the executive director and board chair for an organization that is interested in raising money so they can expand their reach to serve people they aren’t yet reaching. Their history and current successes are strong and impressive. But that’s not enough for them. In fact their focus is on “how
Everyone has pet peeves. We are no exception. One thing we have noticed in our work is that the quality of minutes taken – or not taken – at meetings make a big impact on an organization’s effectiveness. Meetings are a valuable investment of time on the part of those who attend. We share perspectives,
Everyone has pet peeves. We are no exception. One thing we have noticed in our work is that the quality of minutes taken – or not taken – at meetings make a big impact on an organization’s effectiveness. Meetings are a valuable investment of time on the part of those who attend. We share perspectives,
Welcome guest blogger Cheryl Clarke. Here’s Cheryl’s words of wisdom on proposal writing in the age of twitter. Twitter proposals. That’s what I call those online grant application forms that ask a series of questions which applicants must answer within a specified word, or even character, count. Can a nonprofit agency effectively tell its proposal story given
Major Gifts on Limited Time: Using Research to Prioritize Prospects Presented by Barbara Pierce Friday, August 14, 2009, 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. Development Executives Roundtable (DER) Location: The Foundation Center, 312 Sutter Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco Co-sponsored by The Foundation Center With so many responsibilities, how do you decide how to use your time
We hear a lot about boards and fundraising. Below are comments and questions we hear from leadership and staff of organizations and from board members. Do these sound familiar? Take a look. Common staff comments and questions: How can we get our board more involved with fundraising? We give them a goal each year, but
“My wife and I decided to give away all our income above the U.S. median household income.” – Tom Hsieh. Do you know anyone who gives away 50% of their income? Believe it or not, people do. And they feel good.
