Ask Not What Your Nonprofit Can Do For You
Though President Obama (that feels so good to say and write!) wasn’t specifically addressing members of nonprofit boards of directors in his inaugural speech, I hope they were listening. “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works …. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend Read more
January 23rd, 2009 0 Comment Passing the Smell Test
What makes a nonprofit a nonprofit? There are so many ways that people answer this question, most of which are incorrect. There is, however, little argument that for many, it is the IRS 501(c)(3)designation is the determinant. Technically speaking, I’d agree: IRS approval is essential in announcing yourself as a nonprofit. But does that really make a nonprofit a nonprofit? I’d have to say no. All it means is that you have passed the paper review by the IRS. Theoretically, in order to be Read more
January 16th, 2009 0 Comment Very, Highly, Truly, Rather, More Unique
It seems like such a platitude to start out the new year with a blog about new year’s resolutions. So, I’m putting out a suggestion, planting a seed for folks to consider. And that is this: get over yourself! You are only hurting your organization and the client base you profess to want to serve. No exaggeration, but conservatively, 80% of nonprofits we work tell us they are unique. Their challenges are unique, their situation unique, their issues unique, etc. “It is hard for us Read more
January 9th, 2009 0 Comment The road not taken?
For the record, this will be the last blog post for 2008. The Nonprofit Center and I are taking a two week vacation to relax, re-energize, and come back afresh. Rather than end the year being all philosophical and pollyannaish, I thought I’d try being practical and positive. The hard reality is that many people are going to be looking for jobs in the new year. (And why, when the economy is already running roughshod over us, do we have to have scoundrels like Read more
December 18th, 2008 1 Comment Hark! Are those Angels I hear?
I’ve only just learned of using the term angel as part of the explicit label of some investment companies. I just thought that all venture capitalists and investors of whatever ilk were angels to someone or some organization by the very nature of what they did. But as so frequently happens, I’ve since heard/read the term a trillion times in the weeks since.
Angels in the nonprofit world, that’s another story. We all have been looking for them since our inceptions, I’m sure. Unless, Read more
December 12th, 2008 0 Comment My Aching Head
My doctor says I need to ease up on the head banging. I’d actually let up a little until I received a response to my recently published Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed. The commentary suggested that those laid off from for-profit jobs should look to the nonprofit sector for satisfying employment: their skills and talents are needed and will be valued and they can feel good while doing good. The responses to this piece was phenomenal and all extremely positive, with many saying, “Thank Read more
December 5th, 2008 0 Comment The Mother of All Sins?
Greed. I am not the only one to put at the feet of greed the current financial mess in which America currently finds itself. Larger lifestyles, larger profits, larger risk. All to get more. Greed, greed, greed. As a result of these voracious appetites —which most of us were taught is not a trait to be coveted or embraced—folks are actually being rewarded. We have bailouts in the works for greedy homeowners, greedy bankers, greedy insurance companies, greedy mortgage companies, even greedy car manufacturers. Read more
November 21st, 2008 0 Comment A Lost Art
During tough times, be it the current one effecting all of us and brought on by the seeming collapse of our economic system or those more idiosyncratic to a particular organization, it is important to pay attention to our most valuable asset—people. So, what are you doing to express loudly and clearly just how much you appreciate all of the good work your paid and volunteer employees do for your organization and the clients it serves?
And before the “but” escapes Read more
November 7th, 2008 1 Comment One of these things is not like the other
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If ever there were a time to be reminded that all nonprofits are not alike, now is it. Independence Blue Cross is not the same as a health clinic in a poor neighborhood. A university is not the same as the local literacy or GED Read more
October 31st, 2008 1 Comment Teach Your Children
One of the most important lessons of economic downturns gets lost in the panic of the moment, allowing too many to miss the lesson. I don’t want that happening. The lesson is quite simple: prepare now for a healthy financial future. If we are always preparing for the future, the present will be taken care of as well. Instead, far too many organizations, and individuals, take care of the present, never thinking about the future.
While many things go through my mind in thinking about the Read more
October 24th, 2008 0 Comment 