Prospects

A new study shows—yet again—that boards are sluggish at succession planning. Can a stronger focus on its financial benefits move the needle? It’s no surprise that boards struggle to find talent. But what do we mean when we say "talent"? And just how important is it? A new study by the KPMG Board Leadership Center…

Your organization is seeking major gift success, right? So let’s look for the actual major gift secrets that will bring you success. Most nonprofit leaders are confused and not sure where to focus in order to create major gift success. It’s a complex undertaking. But it’s clearly where the money is! Amy Eisenstein, ACFRE, shared…

According to University of Toronto research, having the face of a leader may depend on whether the enterprise being led is a for-profit business or a nonprofit organization. In a paper entitled, "Predicting Firm Success from the Facial Appearance of CEOs of Nonprofit Organizations," Daniel Re, a postdoctoral fellow, and Nicholas Rule, an associate professor of…

Recently, I attended an activity for volunteers. The purpose of the event was for our volunteers to help stuff backpacks for needy children. The smiles and response following this hands-on event proved to me that this type of activity is vitally important. It is all about building relationships...

Charitable giving may be up nationally, according to new data released last week, but it's a different story in Southern California. The ground is shaking beneath 35,000-plus charities based in Los Angeles County, and it’s not because of the San Andreas Fault this time. Angelenos are giving $1 billion less per year—almost all of it…

This week the internet is awash in news about the latest number from Giving USA and the record amount given to charity. But if you are the more typical fundraiser, wearing several hats and trying to eke out enough donated income to meet your budget, you may glance at all this coverage and say, "So what?"...

With giving totals rising, many institutions are wondering if they should continue the difficult and costly work to acquire new donors. We’ve said before that this is a dangerous proposition, a perilous “head fake” that could end up destroying your future donor pipeline. While donor acquisition is costly, does the return on boosting donor participation…

Nonprofits rarely have the luxury of big advertising budgets, and it's not often they get chances to analyze whether their ads are working. But a new study may help shed some light on the kinds of ads that actually help drive donations. Market research firm Millward Brown and the Ad Council recently set out to…

Hey, fundraisers, ever wonder what your friends in the finance department think of you? That (and vice versa) is what Abila set out to examine in its “Nonprofit Finance and Fundraising Collaboration Study.” The study surveyed 1,400 nonprofit professionals to determine the relationship between fundraising and finance, and how both departments can come together to form a more collaborative nonprofit...

While every organization is different, understanding where the rest of the sector sits is critical to understanding your opportunities (and sometimes challenges)...