Executive Issues

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently finalized a rule forcing businesses to share data with workers that expose how much more their chief executives make than they do. In that spirit, let’s take a look at the compensation of the chief executives of three very large education nonprofit organizations heavily involved in standardized testing—the College…

Earlier this month, the Berkeley Labor Commission in California proposed to raise that city’s minimum wage from its current level of $10 an hour (which will rise by local ordinance to $12.53) to $19 an hour, jumping over most of the minimum wage discussion in the nation which has typically focused on $15. It is…

Since I joined as CEO almost three years ago, Smile Train has revamped its brand, expanded staff significantly, taken steps to make key regions self-sustainable and reached the incredible milestone of transforming one million lives through cleft repair surgery. Along the way, there have been three key common underlying practices to our evolving management system: hiring hard workers, breaking down barriers and operating like a business...

Three former H.J. Heinz employees are suing the Kraft Heinz Co. because the company ended a program that would have made large donations to charity in those employees' names. The H.J. Heinz Co. in 1989 offered the Key Employee Charitable Award Program, in which eligible top employees could donate money each year for five years…

Many events or activities will be completely out of our control. In the majority of cases, events have placed us in a situation of transition where we have to ride the storm out and move on. The good news with bad outcomes is we learn to cope and adjust to transitions and try to understand it...

Have your board members lost their enthusiasm? Have they lost their energy to create change and make a difference? Have they checked out? Nonprofit boards can’t run on fumes. You have to keep their motors primed or they will run out of steam. But keeping that energy level up isn’t as difficult as you might think. Here’s my recipe for creating change, renewing enthusiasm and firing up these lovely people who care so much about your cause...

The headline hasn’t changed. Salaries for women continue to lag behind men in comparable positions at nonprofits of all sizes, according to a new report from GuideStar. The gap is most pronounced for women chief executives at groups with budgets of $2.5 million to $5 million, who take home 23 percent less than male peers.…

Although I am now a fundraising consultant, I worked for about three decades for three different nonprofits. That’s long enough that it left an indelible imprint on me, and I still react like an organizational fundraiser when I hear stories on the news that directly or indirectly impact nonprofit organizations. The truth is it’s impossible to keep up on everything that matters, or potentially could matter—and that’s not for a lack of opportunities...

As more organizations leverage cloud-based solutions and services, cybersecurity for nonprofits has become increasingly complex. How can nonprofits face the challenges of the evolving threat landscape? By employing a holistic approach to cybersecurity that continually accounts for financial, human and physical resources, along with outreach/oversight and politics/standards...

I learned the hard way and made a lot of mistakes during my first management roles. I didn’t have any formal training on management; overseeing a team came with my first fundraising position. I might have been good at managing a project and making the tough decisions, but understanding how to build and motivate a…