Thoughts on Nonprofit Leadership

This article is about how we, as nonprofit leaders, can ensure staff perform at their best. Leadership is fundamentally about facilitating performance, getting others to do their best, and to do their work effectively and efficiently. One of the most robust, consistent findings in the social...

This article stresses the importance of self-care for busy nonprofit leaders who are working sixty-hour-plus workweeks, have no time to tend to personal needs, and want to spend more time with family and friends.  Although there may seem like no way to do it, you must set aside time to take...

This article is about finding the money for nonprofit training and professional development. While many nonprofits understand the importance of investing in continuing education, many of them still underinvest. After all, budgets are tight. And professional development is not a core expense....

     Today, we’re talking about how to approach your relationship with your development director. As I state in my book The Sustainable High ROI Fundraising System:

     “Often, the executive director-development director relationship is somewhat...

     So, how do you afford to hire development staff who are skilled, qualified, and experienced, especially if you are a small to midsized nonprofit? Don’t these types of candidates apply to the jobs that pay well, usually found in big organizations?

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     In today’s job market, it’s not easy to replace lost workers. Fifty-three percent of nonprofit executive directors say they cannot find enough qualified employees to fill their open positions. You need the job opportunity and recruitment experience to be...

     In addition to a decreased capacity in service delivery, nonprofits are paying a high financial price because of The Great Resignation. On average, it costs 90-200 percent of an employee's salary to replace them.

     The first line of defense is to...

As I explain in The Sustainable High ROI Fundraising System, “Although your fundraising staff are responsible for implementing specific fundraising activities, you also bear some responsibility for how well your development staff performs. You work in tandem as a team. You, the executive...

This week, I give you excerpts from my book The Sustainable High ROI Fundraising System to guide you in hiring fundraising staff.  

The Development Director’s Role

“A development director is a fundraising generalist with skills and experience in a wide variety of revenue...