Benefits of Pruning
In the plants world, there are times of the year where you are and aren’t supposed to prune in order to yield more controlled and fuller future blooming. Fortunately, while pruning in the nonprofit sector isn’t limited to certain seasons, we can still reap the same benefits: a more intentional, stronger, fuller incarnation of ourselves in the future.
I regularly am told of boards’ and executive directors’ travails of working with individuals who aren’t producing as they should, are undermining the culture of the organization, are Read more
Changing a Culture of Racism and Misogyny
At some point, we all come to understand that perception is reality. For such a basic fact, so many are all too frequently caught short by this. Our failure to remember this day in and day out allows problems to develop that never should have been there in the first place.
A recent conversation about racism is proof of this. The conversations that have been swirling as the layers of the history of Harvey Weinstein’s behavior reinforces this. Let’s begin with racism. In this conversation, the Read more
3 Warning about Executive Transitions
After years of false alarms, baby boomer executive directors are actually leaving their jobs. Delayed due to the Great Recession, but the promised exodus that began last year is picking up steam. I have had three conversations in as many days with executive directors who are planning their departures within the next two years. That is great news—planning so far ahead. Or is it? After all, it is the executive directors planning their departures, not the boards and the executive directors working together.
This is the Read more
The Data Analytics Bandwagon
As more and more funders demand real data on how well promised goals are actually being met, how much social impact is actually being achieved, nonprofits better get over their fears and some portion of the public good, all our work is, therefore, good. It isn’t; and we are doing our clients a huge disservice if we don’t take the time to understand what works, doesn’t work and how we might make what doesn’t work better and protect what does work, while even there working Read more
No Such Thing as Overhead
In a comment on a recent discussion board post, a master’s student of mine commented that the three signers of the well-known “Overhead Myth” letters had taken a great risk and made great progress in doing so. I delicately questioned just what she thought the risk was and just what she saw as the progress made. I pointed out that the first letter was written in 2013, the second in 2014. Here we were, three years after the second letter hit the airwaves, and more Read more
Owning your Decisions
Sometimes, peeves are not merely annoying things; sometimes, they reveal some much bigger issues in play.
As someone who runs a master’s program in nonprofit leadership, which I also teach, it should come as no surprise that I spend a lot of time thinking about leadership: what it means to be a great leader, how leadership helps and harms, the tools of a great leader, etc. And, yes, how good leaders balance their plates.
As I’ve noted before, I really struggle with one of those time management Read more
Time and People Yield Major Donor Success
While the “2017 Major Gifts[1] Fundraising Benchmark Study: How Does Your Organization Compare?” may not be much help in benchmarking your own operations, you may find a helpful point or two.
The report’s sponsor (Association of Philanthropic Counsel) and researcher (Melissa S. Brown & Associates, LLC) note that the 80-20 rule operates in the sphere of a nonprofit’s major gift fundraising: 80% of raised income comes from 20% or less of those in the donor database. In 2015, Bloomerang put those stats a little differently: 88% Read more
All in the family
Recently, I spoke with a woman who helps the wealthy do good with their money. She’s concerned by the fact that no one seems to be paying attention to the implications of the massive wealth that is going to change hands over the next several decades. Yes, people are talking about the unprecedented $41 trillion figure. And, yes, nonprofits are talking about how they might get a share of that money. But people aren’t talking about how that portion of the $41 trillion that will Read more
Disaster Relief Monopoly
Like a tabula rasa, I believe there is no such thing as human nature; rather, each of us is encoded as we as grow and are nurtured. I do, however, believe that the majority of people are basically good. And, when people are suffering, the majority of people want to help. Unfortunately, however, helping is too often reactionary rather than thoughtful. We are seeing the truth of that statement now, in the days after Hurricanes Harvey and the forthcoming Irma.
In the past couple of weeks, Read more
New Structures in Nonprofits: Serving the Public Good?
It wasn’t that long ago that the Philadelphia legal community came up with another creative solution to preserve an historic way of doing things and an important service to the region—The Philadelphia Inquirer. To ensure this for-profit company’s continued ability to provide news to the region, Gerry Lenfest, then the sole owner of Philadelphia Media Network (owners of The Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com), created the nonprofit Institute for Journalism in New Media (aka Lenfest Institute) at the Philadelphia Foundation.
The idea, however, is not that Read more
