A Tough Hybrid to Swallow – the L3C
My intent was to write about L3Cs—low-profit limited liability companies. Five states already allow them, several more have legislation pending, and many are encouraging the congress to create such legislation. Ever heard of them?
So I went looking for a simple, yet clear, definition of just what an L3C is. In the process, I got sidetracked by a table comparing an LLC, an L3C and a nonprofit.
According to the design and intent of an L3C, it is a cross between a for-profit and nonprofit organization: it Read more
November 19th, 2009 15 Comments Can We Fix Charitable Giving?
There is so much chatter these days about what needs to be done for nonprofits do to get the resources to survive these tough economic times, from what organizations should organizations do; to what should funders do; to what individuals should do. But from what I’ve seen, with the only exception possibly being social networking, nothing is new. But that’s not necessarily bad.
Pablo Eisenberg, who I have always deeply respected, but do so even more when he plays the role of “irascible critic,” had an Read more
November 13th, 2009 0 Comment What Would Peter Do?
I understand that sometimes people just aren’t ready to hear things. A couple of years ago, received a card from a student that I’d had in class a good 15 plus years before. She was writing to thank me for something that I had, apparently, repeated multiple times throughout the courses she took with me. She finally understood why I had stressed it as I had. Why I then repeated—and continue to do so today—the important messages in hopes that someday, they will stick.
But sometimes, Read more
November 6th, 2009 0 CommentSo How’s that Recovery Treating You?
So how’s that recovery treating you? I am NOT a crepe hanger, trust me. But I am concerned that nonprofits aren’t being so smart smart about this “Great Recession.” While economics experts tell us that the recession has begun to recede, they are also telling us something even more important for nonprofits. Economists are now calling this a “double-dip recession”—meaning that the recession “technically ends” but then, before we get into true and real sustained recovery, there is another economic downturn.
According to CNNMoney.com, the 1980 Read more
The Rude Sector
When I started blogging, I was told it was ok to be provocative and controversial and I was prepared for flak and feedback. But I am not going for controversy or provocation here; here, I’m venting. Numerous recent experiences have led me to conclude that the nonprofit sector that I truly love has become down-right rude. I’ve got a collection of experiences to whine about, but I’ll share two recent ones with you that painfully contrast our sector with the for-profit world.
I was Read more
Kids and EDs – What’s the Matter with Them?
I have had a song swirling in my head for a couple of days now. It is a song from “Bye Bye Birdie” which the parents, and one younger brother, sing when they believe their teenagers are off doing the kinds of nefarious things teenagers might have done in the days (1958) of “Bye, Bye Birdie.” It is titled “Kids!” and the lines in my head are (and be glad you can’t hear me singing): “Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way? What’s the matter with kids Read more
Starting a Nonprofit is the Easy Part
I was never a big Judy Garland fan, but recognize that she had an incredible voice. But her classic, “Let’s put on a show!” comes screeching into my head every time I hear of someone wanting to start a nonprofit For reasons that are beyond fathoming, I would think, to anyone who has been in this sector for more than several years, people think operating a nonprofit is a cakewalk. And truth be told, it is not.
Starting one, as I’ve said before, is Read more
Best Practices for Nonprofit Excellence
I love the New York Times. I’m not one of those snobs who thinks that if you aren’t reading the NYT you aren’t reading a paper, though. It just does good journalism—and more.
The Times recently announced that the application for its fourth annual Nonprofit Excellence Awards[1] (to be awarded in June 2010) is now available. (By the “fourth annual” I figure this isn’t a fly-by-night deal, but something that is really here to stay. So, it is safe to sing its praises.) But this Read more
True Confessions: I Hate Being a Supervisor
During tough economic times, folks spend so much time worrying about money that all too frequently they forget to worry about people. And yet, truth be told, the most important resource any nonprofit has is its people. If we don’t worry about them, it doesn’t matter how much—or how little–money we have, we won’t be doing a good job of fulfilling our mission promises.
There is absolutely no question that the human resources at a nonprofit who suffer the most during financially Read more
There Really Are No Quick Fixes
Americans always seem to be looking for a quick fix: meals all in one box; the all-in-one dusting and polishing; matching services that find you the love of your life. Maybe these work; I honestly don’t know. But what I do know is that they take individual responsibility out of the equation.
Let’s look at what could be used as a quick fix in the nonprofit sector. With somewhere between 1.4 million to 1.8 million nonprofits in the United States, how do you Read more
