Otis Fulton, Ph.D.

In nonprofits, trust and belonging are two sides of the same coin. Here’s how to build — and rebuild — trust with your supporters.

Using the psychological theory of “reactance” in your nonprofit’s strategic messaging can supercharge your fundraising efforts. Here’s how it works.

Here are three unconscious biases and mental shortcuts seen in boardroom relationships, their impact and strategies to manage them.

The Supreme Court has killed the one thing that measurably helped diversify institutions: affirmative action. But because good intentions don’t work against unconscious preferences for in-groups, we need laws that ensure diversity and inclusion.

Whether you are a CEO trying to form a partnership with a board chair, a development director trying to work more closely with the marketing director or a major gifts officer trying to build a relationship with a donor, the relationship is everything. But for some of us, it’s hard.

Similar in some ways to our for-profit counterparts, “selling” our missions is no different than selling consumer goods. In both cases, what we’re after is a satisfied customer that comes back for more. Here are some tips on how to build your nonprofit community.

Charities rightfully spend lots of time thinking about their brand and how supporters and the public perceive them. Here’s why I believe humility should be a part of every nonprofit’s brand.

Getting good at saying “thank you,” and doing so regularly and meaningfully is something every nonprofit must do. This simple act is the key to retaining supporters, and retention is crucial to the financial health of charitable organizations.

Year-end revenue is essential to the well-being of many nonprofits. It’s important to communicate with supporters in such a way to maximize not only short-term income but subsequent giving as well. A feature of most year-end campaigns emphasizes the tax benefits of charitable giving.   

There’s a potential silent killer of nonprofit revenue out there, going largely unnoticed. It’s income inequality, and we’d be wise to start paying attention.