Staffing & Human Resources

I talk to many major gift officers, development professionals and nonprofit executives every week. Perhaps it’s the time of year, or the stage in their careers, but I’m hearing from a high percentage of them that they are burned out, stressed out and contemplating a move to do something else. Take some time and take a breath. Reflect on where you are in your work. Here are some ideas on how to avoid burnout and reduce stress...

The new overtime regulations may be implemented or repealed in the coming months. How will nonprofits handle the situation if the regulated overtime pay is no longer required? If they have implemented an overtime-pay-for-extra-work model, how do they then undo it without crashing employee morale and inciting the mass exodus of disgruntled employees that could follow? I talked to several nonprofits to see how they have been preparing...

Yesterday, a federal judge blocked President Obama's rule to amend overtime rule regulations, which was set to take effect next Thursday, Dec. 1. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant agreed with the 21 states and a group of businesses, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that the rule is unlawful, Reuters reported...

Thirty years is a long time to devote to any pursuit, and Karen Cragnolin, the oft-honored founding mother of RiverLink, can attest to that. During that time, she says she held every job in the organization, and was planning to finally move on this year when, during surgery, she suffered an aneurysm that robbed her…

Because many nonprofit leaders do not take the time to thoroughly examine their organizations' management, small mistakes happen often—and large disasters are just around the corner. Here are some skills and techniques to help us recognize problems before they occur, and build a culture to address them...

Sometimes, you’re in that ideal place, one where it feels like everything has come together full circle. You’re sailing along in your dream development director job. You love your work, your coworkers, your commute. The benefits far outweigh the shortcomings. What’s more, you’re getting great results. And then it happens...

It’s a common frustration for nonprofit communications directors who are trying to work collaboratively with staff: getting people to meet their deadlines. This is a hard first step, but one that’s essential: If you want someone to meet your deadlines, they have to believe it’s important to do so. And that means that they understand…

I asked a few readers to tell me why they hated meetings. Here’s one: I have a quarterly meeting with a funder. I travel 250 miles to get there. When I get there, it’s clear that no one has read the report I spent hours putting together. I essentially recite the report and then travel…

The other day, I was thinking about what the perfect resource-development job is like. In this complex society and profession, there are many moving parts in play. In my mind, however, I thought, "Wouldn’t our jobs be easier if we created our own organizational vision of the perfect nonprofit organization?" Here's what my dream organization would look like...

Our sector seeks to achieve impact at scale on some of society’s greatest and most persistent challenges. For today’s nonprofit CEO, the key to success is collaboration—striking a balance between making decisions from the middle and leading from the front. Nonprofit CEOs who do this effectively see their organizations accomplish their missions. We need more CEOs like that...