A Different Kind of Risk Management
Reputational risk. Maybe not the term commonly used, but a topic that should be on everyone’s minds. While there isn’t a business that doesn’t rise or fall on its reputation, it’s is even more salient for an organization, like every nonprofit, that lives or dies on the basis of its reputation. To a very great extent, our reputation is livelihood.
When nonprofits ask a donor—be it a foundation, corporation, individual—for money, they do so in exchange for a promise backed by the organization’s past success in Read more
Model Missteps
Recently, a dear friend (who is both beautiful, charming and witty, all of which I promised to say whenever I reference her in a blog), asked me if we should have a female model for fundraising. She had been talking with another friend about fundraising for women’s organizations and causes and had begun wondering whether we weren’t using a male model for fundraising, akin to our earlier understanding of heart attacks, built solely by studying males.
I had two immediate reactions, though seriatim. My first was, Read more
CEO Loyalty Test
Leaders come and leaders go, but it is the way that they come and go that can be truly telling about an organization, the leader and the board.
I read with sadness about the removal of Cornell William Brooks as president of the NAACP. It isn’t because I have strong feelings about Mr. Brooks, as I don’t as I don’t know much about his three year tenure in that role. What has engendered the sadness is what seems to be the “read between the lines” message Read more
Nudging the Wealthy
Like most people, one of my pet peeves is the declining politeness of American drivers: you let someone into a long line of cars or pull out from a parking lot and wait for the thank you wave that most likely doesn’t come. A little act of kindness that could easily be reciprocated, but goes unacknowledged.
A call from a local reporter prompted me to think about who I see as the worst culprits and led me to some old research by social psychologist Paul Piff Read more
Disruptive Innovation and Puppies
Have you ever come across a nonprofit and wondered why something similar doesn’t exist in every community? That was my thought when I read about the Building Goodness Foundation (BGF) in Charlottesville, Virginia. BGF connect “skilled volunteers from the design and construction industries with opportunities to use their professional skills for a good cause.”
In other words, they design, build, renovate and repair facilities for their nonprofit partners.
They’ve provided nonprofits with everything from playscapes to handicapped-accessible outdoor recreational space to community centers and waiting rooms, and Read more
Purposeful Philanthropy and Political Consumerism
What do these phrases have in common? Philanthropy is not a zero sum pie, purposeful philanthropy, too many facts may not be good and political consumerism.
There has been much talk in the wake of the election and incidences of binge philanthropy about the zero sum pie that is philanthropy, with a lone voice claiming it is not. Seriously?
The ACLU receiving six times as much in on-line donations in one weekend than it did in the entire previous year means that other nonprofits won’t be seeing Read more
In Search of Cognitive Diversity
While nothing new, diversity is an increasingly hot topic in popular culture and no less an issue in nonprofits. Funders want diversity on the boards of its grantees; nonprofits want their boards to reflect their constituencies; everyone wants diversity of staff. There is, however, no common understanding of diversity, as it is, to a very great extent dependent upon where you are, what you do, etc. There is one guarantee, however: most people’s concept of diversity tends to rest on those things that are easily Read more
$1000 Board Paydays
Those of us who have long subscribed to best practices in nonprofit governance have reason to be appalled by the National Organization for Nonprofit Organizations and Executives pushing out its own version of best practices for nonprofits. It is difficult to know anything for sure about this less than two-year-old organization, as its website provides very little information unless you sign up.
But apparently this group has managed to get followers, as there are pictures on its website of its convention and expo. And it is Read more
Information is Power (Especially in a Nonprofit)
One of the most frequently asked questions I received during the Great Recession was, “Should we tell staff that ____________?” You may fill in the blank with such things as, “we have spent down our reserve” or “we are going to have a cut a program” or “we are going to have to lay off staff” or similar disquieting scenarios. I’m reminded of these times for two reasons.
First, more and more folks are already likening the current development climate for nonprofits to those starting in Read more
