Handwriting on the Wall
It is time that nonprofits lost their sense of entitlement. Listen up: you aren’t owed anything just because you are a nonprofit.
Sense of entitlement you are asking? How’s that work? Let me count the ways!
Frequently, I will hear expressions of anger when a nonprofit doesn’t get the funding it had sought. The anger isn’t at the organization, perhaps for writing a poor proposal or not following funding guidelines or having that prerequisite meeting with the program officer. Rather, the anger is towards the funder with Read more
Who Mentored You?
Even in death, my father is still guiding, teaching and showing me the way things should be done.
This past weekend was my father’s memorial. Though we did not officially invite anyone to speak at his memorial, my sister, brother and I knew well in advance that several wanted to share their remembrances. The evening of the memorial, we asked any one else who wished to say something, to please feel free to do so. And the floodgates opened.
My son, who was to be the last Read more
April 29th, 2010 1 Comment What’s your Workplace Culture?
I do not believe in coincidence; I do, however, believe that when multiple, yet disparate, sources point out the same thing, it is important to pay attention. So, when days after hearing a story on NPR about ROWE–results-only work environment–my reading of Daniel Pink’s book, Drive, brought me to his discussion of ROWE, I knew I needed to pay attention.
According to Pink, ROWE was the invention of Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, two human resources professionals. In a ROWE, employees simply have to get the Read more
April 23rd, 2010 1 Comment Heyday for Cynics
No matter how cynical you get, you can never keep up.”
-Lily Tomlin
The chant is getting louder: “Tax the nonprofits! Tax the nonprofits. It’s the answer to all our problems. They get away with everything.”
Every day I’m reading of another jurisdiction looking to tax nonprofits–all or some–from Honolulu seeking to rescind the property tax exemption of nonprofits to Pittsburgh wanting to not only rescind the property tax but put a tax on tuition paid to its numerous colleges and universities; from Kansas seeking to add Read more
Getting What We Deserve
We are our own worst enemies. We perpetuate myths, we engage in worst practices instead of best and we straddle ourselves with behavior and attitudes that can do nothing but harm us. It is time for the nonprofit sector to take control of itself and prove to the rest of the world that we deserve the respect that we so crave.
First, let’s bust the myth that our employees do NOT deserve livable, competitive salaries. They absolutely do, and you know it. While many nonprofits have Read more
Don’t Start the Revolution without me
My son recently had to write a paper either agreeing or disagreeing with the statement that went something like this: Marx preached a philosophy of freedom. As he so often does before he has to start constructing an argument, he asked me what I thought.
Well, it has been a long, long time since I read Karl Marx, but it was an easy answer for me. Absolutely! Marx was all about freedom—freedom from the systems and structures that alienated ourselves from ourselves and breaking away from Read more
Are Nonprofit Boards Antiquated?
Are nonprofit boards antiquated? I’ve give a lot of thought to this topic. There isn’t a nonprofit executive director in this country who, frustrated beyond her/his last straw, hasn’t asked that question. Or, let me correct myself, hasn’t made that question a statement: “!#$%^&*! Boards are so antiquated. Why do we even need them?”
The reality, however, is that the theory of nonprofit boards is not at all antiquated; it is the practice that that gets in the way. But, truth be told, when boards are Read more
Brain Drain
So, the IRS has added 155 new employees to its Exempt Organizations unit, bringing the total to 921; 100 of these new employees have been assigned to the division that does audits of nonprofits. Yipee! Apparently, brain drain has been happening within the Exempt Organizations unit, as many with long service in the unit are retiring. So, whether this is an overall increase in bodies or not, it is clearly a loss of knowledge, experience and an expertise that comes only with years and years Read more
Please Don’t Pick Me
Yo, Board Presidents: put aside your egos and listen up! Are you really the best person for the job?
How do I dare even ask that question of someone who has been gracious enough and brave enough to volunteer her/his time to lead the leaders of an organization? The many board members who are relieved that someone else volunteered to be board president so that they don’t have to, must be ready to ring my neck. How can I suggest rocking the boat? And how can Read more
The Power and Influence of Nonprofits
People need to listen to Nancy Kolb, recently retired President and Chief Executive Officer of the Please Touch Museum. A highly accomplished individual, who steered the Please Touch Museum through 21 years of growth and accolades, she was able to negotiate not one, but two deals (okay, the first didn’t materialize once the deal was “signed”, but through absolutely no fault of Nancy’s) with the City of Philadelphia (one is not an insignificant feat; imagine what two is!) for a new site for the museum Read more
February 12th, 2010 0 Comment 