Staffing & Human Resources

Nonprofit executive directors need to know what can make their organizations thrive. Think about what personal skills you need to improve, especially if you are interested in enhancing your job performance or if you aspire to the position of executive director.

The difference in time spent in the office leads to concerns ranging from decreased career mobility for those who spend less facetime with their supervisor to resentment building up against the staff who have the most flexibility in where to work. So why haven’t nonprofit leaders addressed proximity bias earlier?

If you’re a frontline fundraiser who wants to resign or has already quit, your nonprofit organization does not care about you. If it did, you either wouldn’t be thinking of leaving right now, or it would have retained you instead of losing you to greener pastures. Unfortunately, those greener pastures are an illusion. Because, on average, you are leaving for another position every 15 to 18 months in search of an even greener, more lush pasture.

If you work in the fundraising profession, over time, you will find this job gratifying and energizing. You will also find your job tiring, demanding and frustrating. During my career in the fundraising profession, I experienced a sustained high and periods of lows when I thought seriously about quitting my job.

While some major donors are helping to boost overall giving in terms of dollars, the number of donors is shrinking. There are some nonprofit leaders who take shortcuts. Some shortcuts include not building capacity — the fuel to fund their mission and the people to whom they serve.

For several decades, I worked in the charitable sector. In fact, at one point, just out of undergraduate school, I received offers to go into either government, business or the nonprofit sector. I chose the nonprofit sector as I wanted to give back to help others. 

A new year is a new opportunity for nonprofits to think and act anew. Take, for instance, attempts by the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union and the Office and Professional Employees International Union to unionize all nonprofits.

For too long, nonprofits have desired to make social impact while often neglecting to center diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging for their staff. But as our national conversation about the impact of race in every facet of America continues, employees are seeking inclusive workplaces that allow for them to show up authentically, bringing their passions and desire to make a social impact into their day-to-day work.

Despite the initial awkwardness, succession planning is an important topic for tax-exempt organization boards to discuss. It is a risk-management process and one that often gets overlooked until it is too late and an immediate need arises.

You cannot generate a consistent flow of dollars without an experienced and dynamic resource development staff. Unfortunately, for many of us in the profession, keeping qualified and trained development officers is easier said than done.