It’s fairly common knowledge that in the nonprofit sector the relationship between funders and nonprofit leaders is often fraught. A power imbalance between those with the purse strings and those without can sometimes lead to poor decisions about a nonprofit’s future direction. The other day I was advising a nonprofit leader — let’s call him […]
fundraising plan
5 Questions Nonprofit Leaders Should Ask About Money
One of my predicted “5 Nonprofit Trends to Watch in 2017” is that we will see “More Analysis of What Nonprofit Financial Sustainability Requires.” In other words, I think (hope) in this new year that nonprofit leaders and their funders will work to figure out how to make nonprofits more financial sustainable. Financial sustainability means that both […]
Why Nonprofit Boards and Fundraising Must Mix
I recently received a note from a blog reader who disagreed with my argument that a nonprofit’s board of directors should be charged with raising 10% of their nonprofit’s budget. Not only did this reader disagree with the idea of setting a 10% board fundraising goal, but he disagreed with linking board governance and fundraising at all. As […]
A Nonprofit "Culture of Philanthropy" Is Not Enough
The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, a foundation on the forefront of investing in nonprofit capacity and one of the few foundations funding nonprofit leadership development, released a new report this week Beyond Fundraising: What Does It Mean to Build a Culture of Philanthropy?. While I applaud the Haas Fund for taking a pioneering interest in, as […]
5 Fundraising Mistakes Nonprofits Make
Fundraising is such a misunderstood enterprise. And it’s not just misunderstood by nonprofit leaders in the trenches. I was talking to a normally very savvy foundation program officer the other day who wondered if one of his struggling grantees should think about launching a new gala event to raise some additional money. I swallowed my […]