Executive Issues

I'm amazed at how often organizations with experienced fundraising professions veer off track. As fundraising professionals, we do no good for those we serve and for our profession by wavering on best practices. What does this mean? It means having a professionally developed fundraising plan that leverages the most effective and efficient methods in order to achieve fundraising goals...

Nonprofit HR surveyed 362 nonprofits on staffing, recruitment and retention practices for the “2015 Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey.” With 49 percent of nonprofits reporting an increase in staff size in 2014 and 50 percent expecting to create new positions in 2015, the survey projected nonprofit growth in 2015 that could outpace the corporate sector. However, this growth could aggravate some already pressing issues...

It’s not every day that Yale University gets an offer like this: Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) invited the 315-year-old Ivy League institution to move to the Sunshine State. The Connecticut legislature has a proposal to impose a tax on some investment profits from the university’s $26.5 billion endowment, and Scott seized on the opportunity…

The top 10 U.S. charities combined for more than $59 billion in revenue in 2015 alone. Chances are, your nonprofit isn't quite on that level. According to Independent Sector, just 4 percent of nonprofits top $10 million in annual revenue, while 75 percent of charities have annual expenses of less than $500,000. The majority of the sector is the little guys: small organizations trying to do big things on a small budget. But that doesn't mean you can't look and operate like the big guys...

Building your nonprofit’s board of directors can be challenging for a variety of reasons. First, board members are volunteers, yet much is expected of them. Second, board members have a great deal of responsibility, and not everyone you approach about the role may be up for all that’s involved in being an active, contributing board member. Third, a good board takes time to develop and may require a lengthy search process...

An Army veteran has been named to the position of interim chief operating officer of the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) after a major shakeup at the nation's largest veterans charity in the wake of investigations into allegations of questionable spending and a culture of fear at the Jacksonville, Florida-based nonprofit. Former CEO Steven Nardizzi and former Chief Operating…

The business of improving the world can be a tough place to build a career. Our boards and leadership often ask us to accomplish more with less. From providing services to building relationships with volunteers and donors, the nature of our work is demanding. Many of these activities must happen outside of standard business hours...

The payday loan industry generates $11 billion in revenue. It is also a hated, predatory sector that uses its size to influence legislation in order to keep it alive and growing. It goes where banks are afraid to tread and preys on the "unbanked"—nearly one-third of the U.S. population is "unbanked" or "underbanked." That’s a lot of people in need of affordable financial services. Much of this population is also the population that the nonprofit sector serves...

This week, I was at the Association of Fundraising Professionals International Fundraising Conference in Boston. Many sessions were worth the time away, but there was one, in particular, to remember. Three people took the stage. These three helped launch, build and grow organizations such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace International, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, Heifer International and more...

Charity Defense Council, the nonprofit-advocacy organization founded by Dan Pallotta, on Thursday issued an 11-page media advisory detailing the preliminary findings of its investigation into the allegations CBS News and The New York Times made against Wounded Warrior Project. The organization found "major errors" in the two news outlets' reporting, including "significant factual errors" and "the possibility of material bias."...