Category Archives: Strategy & Management

Are You Leading Your Nonprofit Backwards? How to Change

Philanthropy, Not Fundraising

More than ever before nonprofit leaders must lead from vision, not mission.  Why?  The world is moving really, really fast.  Blame it on the digital revolution if you wish.  But why waste time laying blame?  It is what it is.  Instead, get into the 21^st century. Now.

The present (what you’re doing) is nothing more than a springboard to the future (the change you’re endeavoring to bring about). That’s what folks want to invest in. Positive change.

Nonprofits have tended to forget their visions in order to justify continued existence.  Sometimes founders and other leaders become too wedded to the status quo.  They can’t let their babies grow up. 

Old MacDonald’s Theory of Outstanding Fundraiser Qualities: E-I-E-I-O

Philanthropy, Not Fundraising

I’m about to reveal my Old MacDonald’s Theory of the qualities of outstanding fundraisers (you know how they say “the farmer is *out standing* in his field”)? Ahem.  Well… the outstanding farmer is surrounded by a chorus of E-I-E-I-Os.  The outstanding fundraiser is similar in many ways. S/he sings a similar tune and also works in a nurturing, productive space that enables cultivation and growth.

And that’s why I developed my E-I-E-I-O paradigm. Forget about all the nasty business of “it’s a jungle out there.” No, YOU (the fundraiser) work on a farm.

Less is not Enough:Why Your Nonprofit Needs to Spend More on Fundraising

Philanthropy, Not Fundraising

“Incremental Change is Not an Option.” 

What if this was your charity’s mantra? This is so different than “We keep overhead super low.”  The first means dreaming on a large scale, and reaching for true solutions to social problems.  The latter, not so much.

For years donors have been taught to look for low overhead as a sign of effectiveness. When you stop to think about it, it makes little common sense. Who cares if you spend only 5 cents on the dollar if you only net $71 from your bake sale?  Will this solve your problem? Whatever resources are needed to solve the problem, those are the resources that must be spent.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Who Else Wants to Feel Successful? The Problem with being Jack of All Trades; Master of None

Why don’t I feel serenity? Do you feel successful? Think a minute about what you and/or your organization do. Does it feel like enough?  Too much? Does it make you and/or others happy? Fulfilled?  Do you feel successful (or not) based on what other people say and do? Based on how much money you make…

Long Weekend SMIT: Stop Hunkering Behind Your Desk

Here comes this month’s *SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you).   The next time you have the urge to utter “I don’t have time for this,” stifle it. Usually the things we think we don’t have time for are precisely the things we should most be doing. Like taking some time off. …

10 Keys to Solving the Right Problems – Part II

If we solve the wrong problem, then who cares? In Part I we talked about taking a positive attitude towards the endeavor of solving problems: (1) clarifying that problems aren’t ‘bad’ and there’s no one right way to solve them; (2) people can have different perceptions of the same issue; (3) problems are often in…

Why You Must Stop Putting Out Fires: the Urgent Disrupts; the Important Erupts

Preventing beats fighting Remember:  Only YOU can prevent [forest] fires. Do you find yourself spending most of your time responding to other people’s crises?  Is your day consumed with disruptive activities? Answering e? Responding to texts and voice? Are you constantly reacting, with little time left for acting? If so, you (and most likely your…