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.
Otis Fulton, Ph.D.
Similar to for-profits, “selling” our missions is no different than selling consumer goods. Here’s how to build your community.
Here are some reasons why I believe humility should be a part of every nonprofit’s brand.
Showing gratitude is 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.
Trust is your nonprofit’s most valuable asset. Donors support your mission so you will make something they think is important happen.
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.
Turnkey runs many peer experience sharing groups for C-Suite social good executives. In those private rooms, leadership talks about struggles with workforce issues regarding where and how people work. Here’s what we’ve heard.
The Great Resignation has hit the C-suite — maybe yours. This phenomenon had been slowly percolating for years. Millennials, Gen X and Gen Z put “happy” at the top of their priority lists even before the pandemic. And, let’s be frank, we made fun of them.
The motivation that gets someone to take the first step to support an organization (donating or volunteering) is quite different from their motivation to continue to be engaged. We do not need any further proof of this than the lousy retention rates that nonprofit organizations suffer year after year.
Our Groundhog Day conversation starts this way: “What activity should we pivot to right now?” We are going to make several arguments, most of which you will probably hate.
Chapter or affiliate, disaffiliations happen for several reasons that are spoken aloud. Typically, some significant change is a catalyst for the conversation. Often the change is toward unification, streamlining in some way, or a significant program change.
Community building is the climate change of social good. Building a community delivers future value as rewarding as the survival of humankind. Building and nurturing a community ensures your mission’s success.
The ultimate expression of transactionalism is assuming that people will not support your mission with their money or time if they are not directly impacted by whatever it is your mission fights.
Lack of alignment can happen at any level because subordinate employees do not have the tools to see if their work aligns with the strategic plan. They may know their nonprofit needs to raise $14 million, but not the organizational goal of retaining more event participants and transitioning them to sustaining donors.
