Thoughts on Nonprofit Leadership

How to Fulfill Your Fundraising Dreams for executive directors fundraising

Do you need your board members more engaged in fundraising? Is your fundraising staff meeting your overall financial goals? Do you dream of your community readily supporting your cause?

It’s what I dreamed of as an executive director. I remember being told at my first board meeting,...

Continue Reading...
How to Raise More General Operating Monies financial management for executive directors fundraising

Are you looking for more money to pay for rent, utilities, administrative salaries, and other core operating costs? What if I told you could find it, with just a few small changes to the way you are currently fundraising?

If your agency is like most nonprofits, you have funding for programs but...

Continue Reading...
How to Hire a Good Fundraising Consultant for executive directors work relationships

Most nonprofits hire an outside fundraising consultant at one point or another in their life cycles. Some consultants assess situations and provide solutions, some facilitate trainings, and some perform specialized tasks. And, like everything, some are better than others. At least for your...

Continue Reading...
5 Fundraising Principles We Can Learn from Martin Luther King, Jr. for executive directors fundraising marketing and communications

     Martin Luther King, Jr. is best known as a prominent civil rights leader of the 1950’s and 60’s. In 1964 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent activism. He is probably most famous for his moving speeches, most notably his I Have a Dream speech.

 ...

Continue Reading...
How to Prepare Your Board to Fundraise board relations for executive directors fundraising

Is your board excited about fundraising? Probably not. They may think that fundraising and governance don’t have anything to do with one another. They may see fundraising as management’s responsibility, with their role only holding staff accountable for financial results. Or they may...

Continue Reading...
Three Fundraising Benchmarks to Use with Your Board board relations evaluation for executive directors

A nonprofit board has a fiscal duty to make sure that resources are raised and allocated to meet the organization’s missions. Often, however, boards have unrealistic expectations about how much money can actually be raised. They have no way of knowing, and thus planning for, how many...

Continue Reading...
How to Make Sure You Always Have More Money than Month financial management for executive directors

I know what it’s like - sweating the finances – when not as much money is coming into your nonprofit when it was expected to come in. Government payments are delayed yet you are still expected to run the programs they fund. Grants were submitted later than anticipated. A major gift...

Continue Reading...
The Executive Director’s Guide to Putting Out Fundraising Fires for executive directors

In any one day, a nonprofit executive director’s duties can include managing operations; satisfying funders and donors; informing and inspiring board, staff and volunteers; listening to clients; communicating your mission and accomplishments to the public; assessing community needs;...

Continue Reading...
How Much Does It Cost You to Raise Money? development planning financial management for executive directors

The usual nonprofit fundraising strategies generate revenue through individual giving, foundation requests, corporate contributions, special events, and government contracts. Each comes with its own set of financial costs and benefits.

Raising Money from Individuals

According to Giving USA,...

Continue Reading...