Staffing & Human Resources

Part of good succession planning for your nonprofit should include the following question: What should we do if a longtime CEO is planning to leave? An exit agreement may be a good answer for your organization. There generally are four reasons nonprofit boards explore an exit agreement. These reasons correspond to the type or focus of the agreement...

At some point, usually after dealing with a seemingly uninformed (dare I say "stupid"?) request from someone who is higher than you on the organizational chart, you probably have fanaticized about being in charge. Maybe your ultimate goal is to manage the complete fundraising program, or you may have your sights set on the "corner office."...

It is midway through the year. I am in disbelief! Next week, I will share a midyear checkup list for your fundraising. You are in the trenches. This is noble work—a great calling. But I have yet to meet a fundraising professional who did not feel a bit overwhelmed. The average tenure in our profession—well, it’s less than three years...

We often are asked our opinions on the ideal relationship between the leader of the development department and the major gift officer (MGO). Here is what we think, organized by category of work on the left and the two roles to the right...

About five months after CBS aired harsh criticism of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), which led the nonprofit to fire its CEO and chief operating officer, the organization has announced its hiring of a new leader...

Turnkey digs deep into the psychology of motivation. We use recognition with our clients to install and grow intrinsic motivation. If I am intrinsically motivated it means that I perform a behavior because I believe it is the right thing to do. If I am extrinsically motivated, however, I perform a behavior in hopes of a reward, typically a monetized reward...

Those of us who were able to go to college have it pretty well off in the United States these days, with unemployment levels for graduates holding at less than 3 percent, which is to say full employment, or pretty close. Listening to the news and our presidential candidates, it certainly does not feel that way. But…

A nice, fat paycheck is all well and good, but new research has revealed a surprising price tag on the job satisfaction that comes with working at a nonprofit organization: almost $40,000! The study, which was published in the Journal of Economic Psychology, compared the happiness levels of people who worked at nonprofit organizations with…

Believe it or not, an understanding of what causes post-traumatic stress disorder tells us a lot about what motivates people. How? We in nonprofit can make people feel necessary. We can give them purpose. We can give them ways to show competence, and to be part of something bigger than themselves. We can make them happier than they were before while accomplishing important goals for humanity...

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...