If you’re a donor, executive director or team member at a nonprofit, I have a question for you. Do you think the current philanthropic model works and empowers those you serve in deciding how and what benefits them most? Although I believe that charity is necessary for some instances, I don't believe our current philanthropic [...]
Not too long ago I saw a nonprofit professional complaining on a social media platform that we should put an end to conferences. This person was talking about how they’re a “waste of time and money,” and found it annoying to have to talk to people who just wanted the “free stuff” as she repeated [...]
Last month my social enterprise posted an article about choosing the right social media network for your nonprofit organization. The response from organizations was great, and it made me realize that I should include it in a piece for those of you who are kind enough to follow my blog. Social Media is the Great [...]
Guest Post by Jeremy Silverstein, Vice President of Operations and Vehicle Dispatching, Goodwill Car Donations. Silverstein has handled tens of thousands of donated vehicles, becoming quite an expert in the industry in the past five years he’s been with the organization. The landscape for nonprofits changed a lot in 2016, not only due to the [...]
2015 was a great year for fundraising. Over $373.25 billion was given to charity. And, 25 percent of the U.S. population volunteered for charitable work from September 2014 to September 2015. So, why is it that a lot of nonprofits, schools, churches and others have it so hard in raising money for their groups? Ask [...]
In 2015, Bloomerang reported findings you can review by clicking here, that fewer than 20 percent of nonprofits had someone actively working major donors. I realize that many organizations simply don't have the staff to hire fundraisers dedicated to cultivating and soliciting major donors. However, every nonprofit—large or small—should be in the business of getting [...]
Have you ever heard of a fundraiser fired who was just about to secure a gift for $1 million? That’s what happened to a professional I’ll call Tom. Houston, we have a problem A few weeks ago, I was reminded of Tom's story when someone called me in a similar situation. Tom didn't last six [...]
We know that the majority of nonprofits have limited resources. Social media tools are great resources, but one of the ones you may be missing is email. I know. Email’s been around for a long time. It’s much cooler to engage with you donors and prospects on Snapchat or Facebook, but you can’t minimize email [...]
Finally, it seems that the insanity around the “nonprofit starvation cycle” is coming to an end. For those of you who may be new to the world of philanthropy, the nonprofit starvation cycle happens when donors have unrealistic—and absurd—expectations regarding the costs of running an organization. For a long time, donors have been restricting their [...]
Last week I published the first part of my conversation with Neil, a strategist and fundraiser, which you can find by clicking here. This week I’d like to continue our discussion as the talk shifted to nonprofit leadership, management and donors. You’ve spoken a lot about the changes and investments nonprofits need to make. Do [...]
