Strategic Planning

Too many organizations create impressive strategies for growth, which they then fail to implement. Here are 5 principles.

It’s rare to have a conversation with a fundraising professional today where the term “integration” isn’t interjected at least once.

It can take a lot of work for a nonprofit to pull off a great peer-to-peer fundraising campaign or event.

I hope you're as excited about artificial intelligence in the philanthropic sector as I am. While I'm not saying that artificial intelligence is the end all be all, it's impressive to experience the dawn of this new age. Things we never thought possible have become a reality.

In this episode of the Nonprofit Chatter, Nhu Te and Taylor Shanklin are joined by Luis Ramirez of Rebuilding Together and Ryan Carpenter of Pursuant to address the need for impact reporting and to offer advice for nonprofits that are looking to show their impact in a more impactful way.

Having interacted with all types of organizations over the years as donor, employee and consultant, I can say that many nonprofits encounter similar challenges to strategic planning, fundraising and board leadership. While it’s comforting to know that you’re not alone, you’re still left with the ultimate dilemma of how to address these issues. 

A nonprofit has the same needs as any other business. If you want to attract donors and patrons, then you need to constantly build buzz and awareness about what you do. The interest you build moves people into the top of your sales funnel, so they can become donors by the time they reach the bottom.

I’d like to put a notion out on the table: The fundraising models that drive most of today’s nonprofits were designed for a world that no longer exists. The ways in which people communicate, connect, relate and learn has changed dramatically over the last 20 years.

Nonprofits can take advantage of performing a competitor analysis when developing their messaging or outreach strategies to position themselves for success. After all, it’s a very noisy world, and there are many good causes out there.

If you inspire, trust and lead your staff well, you can and will retain fundraising staff. If our missions deserve increased philanthropy, the teams we’re asking to attract that philanthropy deserve attentive and effective leadership.