Double Standards
A few weeks ago, Daniel Rubin of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote a column about a woman who had spent a year tracking all of the charitable solicitations she had received – those she’d given to, those she hadn’t; how many solicitations she received from each; the “giveaways” she had received, etc. Naturally, she, and many of the readers of Rubin’s column expressed dismay over the volume of solicitations received and, more importantly, the money that nonprofits were “wasting” sending out all of these requests for Read more
Get it in Writing
How do I love thee, nonprofit sector? Let me count the ways. Well, first: Are we not a collegial sector; one tempered by mutual respect? By the presumption that we are a team, working in partnership to achieve mutually defined and shared goals?
No, I am not naïve. I’ve worked and volunteered in this sector for decades. I know the reality. And I know that those who come into the sector truly understanding and valuing the presumption I outlined above, execute that presumption–fully. Those who Read more
Board Members Gone Wild
I was recently asked, by a group of executive directors, how do you contain a rogue (my word, not theirs) board member. (Not a new or uncommon question at all.) A few days later, I got an email from a wonderful board president seeking time to speak with me for advice on how to deal with—you got it—a rogue (again, my word, not hers) board member.
If you have ever seen footage of the impact of a rogue elephant, you know the damage that one lone Read more
Own Your Reputation
How often have you heard: “The only thing we have is our reputation?” You’ve probably heard it from a parent, teacher, advisory, mentor, sales coach—you name it. As it is for individuals, so it is for organizations. The most prized possession an organization has—for profit or nonprofit, though my concern here is only with the latter—is its reputation. So, why oh why would we turn it over to others to manipulate?
It is why I rail so against most nonprofit’s conflict of interest policies, designed to Read more
Thinking CLEARly
As many readers of this blog know, one of the programs we offer at The Nonprofit Center is what we call CLEAR (Cultivating Leadership Excellence and Responsibility) Circles. These are small groups (seven to eight people per group) of similarly situation individuals—either all executive directors, all new (less than three years in the position) executive directors or all emerging leaders (people who have direct reports and who report directly to the executive director of their organization)—who meet once a month over eight or nine months Read more
Failure to Fire
Over the holidays, I was fortunate enough to see the revival of South Pacific, last seen when I was but a wee lass. Its songs are currently in that perpetual song fest in my head with one in particular: a larger “I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair.” I have, however, swapped “Man” and “Hair” with other things.
The version I am currently singing for the sector is “I’m Gonna Wash Bad Practices Right Outta the Sector.” Not nearly as catchy as Rodgers and Read more
Sometimes mother does know best
When it comes to political and nonprofit leaders coming up with interesting ideas, the United Kingdom is outshining its American child. First, this past summer, Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intention to create a Big Society Bank. (Just the name sends shivers up and down my spine!) Initial funding for this bank – to the tune of £350m to £400m (the equivalent of $544,519,104 to $622,307,547 in US dollars) – will come from bank accounts that have been dormant for at least 15 years.
But Read more
Life in 140 Characters
When I was growing up, we had a vacation home on the Potomac River, right outside of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. We used the house primarily for weekends throughout the course of the year, with a bit more time during school holidays. One of the first things we did as we drove into town on the way to our house was to stop and buy the current edition of the Jefferson County local newspaper (The Chronicle and The Shepherdstown Chronicle.
My siblings and I loved reading those papers. Read more
Maximizing Trust
This is the season of hope, so let me share some findings from recent studies that give me hope.
The recent American Express “Perspectives on Nonprofits” survey found that 71% of Americans trust nonprofits to address our most pressing issues more than they do government or industry.
Think about that for a minute. The Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy found that 94% of wealthy families believe that nonprofits can solve the world’s problems. Such confidence in our sector! Are you maximizing that potential?
And the third biennial Read more
