Now is the time to re-engage with your clients both virtually and in person. Your organization can re-engage with your clients by making introductions, being present, listening, acting, and inviting.
Basics of Nonprofit Finance
It’s that time of year again. Many nonprofit leaders like yourself are in the process of crafting their budgets for the upcoming year. Nonprofit finance is about maintaining the practices and policies that build a strong financial future and help nonprofits achieve their mission. Even if you are the most seasoned administrator, it is sometimes necessary to review the basic foundations. Below are some tips for understanding nonprofit finances.
Tips for Making Most of #GivingTuesday
Start your countdown to the biggest day of generosity, GivingTuesday, which falls on November 30, 2021, this year. More than 33 million Americans participated in GivingTuesday and donated nearly $2.5 billion in 2020. All hands on deck! Here are some tips to help your organization make the most of GivingTuesday.
Strategic Planning: It Takes a Team!
As the executive director of a small nonprofit, you are likely in the habit of wearing many different hats at your organization – often multiple hats at the same time. It’s time for your organization to set goals for the upcoming year through a strategic planning process. While some organizations bring in outside consultants to lead this process, you are confident the strategic planning process is one more task you are ready to handle. So, where do you begin?
Turning Your Volunteer Management Into A Natural System Of Your Organization
Volunteers play a vital role in a nonprofit organization. Volunteers play a role in most organizations’ governance, administration, fundraising, programming, promotion, and advocacy. Therefore, volunteers are a huge part of an organization. However, volunteer management can often feel clunky and piecemealed. To turn your volunteer management into a natural system of your organization, you should focus on the four areas of volunteer management: recruitment, tracking, engagement, and retention.
Office Re-Entry and Conflict Drivers
A few years back, I wrote a blog entitled, Four Types of Conflict that Arise with Stakeholders and How to Avoid Them, the most viewed content on our website. People still view this blog almost 10X more than any other content.
What this tells me is that nonprofit leaders are searching for tools to resolve conflict. In the piece I’ve linked above for you, I focus on four conflict drivers, Interest-Based, Cognitive, Emotional, and Structural, and offer tools for resolution. Today I want to apply that information to our current reality.
The Simple Year-End Appeal Plan You Need to Start Now
Donors generously give to many different causes during the last three months: October, November, and December. While December remains the largest month of charitable giving, you should begin planning your year-end appeal in September. We’ve provided some helpful steps to get you started on planning your year-end appeal campaign in this blog.
Back to School and the Nonprofit Sector
The back-to-school season means that summer plans are coming to a close, excitement and emotions are high, and nonprofits are gearing up for their fall programming and fundraising operations. Here are tips for working with your internal teams, clients, and donors regarding back-to-school campaigns.
Beyond Brainstorming Basics: Tools and Techniques for Boosting Your Brainstorming Sessions
These past 18 months have shown us that we have to think of out-of-the-box ideas in order to pivot. We have had to think of out-of-the-box ideas for program development, fundraising, outreach, publicity, workshops, and events. Coming up with new ideas can be challenging. Maybe you feel the tools that you have for brainstorming ideas are not enough. I would like to share some tools and techniques to help in your next brainstorming session.
How to Research Statistics for Grants
Grant applications generally require statistical data to provide evidence of need or as justification for the grant ask. For example, a typical 'ask' in the narrative section of a grant application might look something like this:
"[Grantor Name] strongly emphasizes the use of data and evidence in policymaking and program development."
In other words, the grant reviewers expect to see lots of data, references, and evidence that justify how and why dollars should go to your project, program, or organization.
To produce good evidence, you must spend time researching and collecting data.
Grant writing professionals will tell you that usually the actual 'writing' of the grant is really only about 20% of the grant writing process.
Therefore the other 80% of the grant writing process -- the bulk of time spent dedicated to grant writing -- is time spent researching and finding the data necessary for creating a compelling, evidence-based narrative.
That data and evidence can come from a number of different sources.
Safeguard Your Organization Against Future Crisis with Monthly Sustainers
Tomatoes, wheat, parsley, lemons, and onions. These are some ingredients for a delicious Mediterranean salad. There are plants that you can grow all year round or harvest once a year. Fundraising is like farming; there are sustainers (donors that commit to monthly giving) and annual donors. Find out why your fundraising portfolio should include a program for monthly sustainers.
Strategic Planning Vs. Operational Planning
Nonprofit leaders are very familiar with the need and benefits of strategic plans. We hear about them all the time and likely engage in a strategic planning process within your organization on a regular schedule. However, fewer of us in the sector are aware of the term “operational planning.”
Three Questions to Consider As Your Organization Returns to the Workplace
Many organizations are moving back into the workplace. There is a lot of information about re-entering the workplace. After reading several articles, I came up with three questions to consider as you move back.
Google Ad Grant: Everything you Need to Know
There has been a lot of buzz lately on nonprofit boards and networks regarding the Google Ad Grant. “What is it?”, “How do I apply?” “Is it worth the time?” In the following article, I will walk you through everything you need to know to put your mind at ease.
Planning Accessible Events for People with Disabilities
According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey, an estimated 1.4 million people with disabilities live in Michigan (or 14.3%). So, in a group of twenty people, at least three may have some type of disability, which can be visible or non-visible.
Planning your events to be accessible to the disability community is not only the right thing to do. You also demonstrate your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by incorporating accessibility in your services, programs, and events..
Program Evaluation and SMART Goals
SMART Goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, and Timebound. It’s useful to think of evaluation as part of a cycle. This allows us to consider the evaluation process at the start of a program cycle. There are many benefits to approaching evaluation this way – the most important being that gathering data and information becomes so much easier throughout the program cycle.
Fundraising 101: Got Approval for Tax-Exempt Status, Now What?
You did it! Congratulations on receiving your 501(c)(3) Determination Letter. Let’s review some fundraising fundamentals before your organization can begin accepting donations.
Strategic Planning and your Organization's Life Cycle
All organizations go through three different stages—Growth & Maturity, Decline, and Rebirth. In this article, I will walk you through the various stages to help you determine which fits you best.
Pride & Pronouns
What better way to celebrate Pride month than to take inventory of your organization and ask – are we doing everything we can to ensure inclusivity towards members of the LGBTQIA+ community?
A good first step to take (or second step, or third step…) is to consider your organization’s use of pronouns.
Building Diverse, Equitable, & Inclusive Boards
If diversity, equity, and inclusivity are your organization’s values, it is essential to have a diverse, equitable, and inclusive Board of Directors. The community and funders are paying attention to your Board of Directors, and they want to see that the board reflects those values. A diverse, equitable, and inclusive Board of Directors can also lead to a more creative and effective governance body. The key to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive Board of Directors is to analyze your organization’s recruitment, requirements, responsibilities, and recognition of board members.