Thoughts on Nonprofit Leadership

Board members may resist fundraising. They may see raising money as solely management’s responsibility, not knowing their proper role. Or they get caught up in all operational details involved in planning and executing fundraising activities and don’t understand why the development...

Your board is the most valuable leadership asset your nonprofit has. Board members teach your community how to interact with your nonprofit. And you want your community to be excited about your cause and financially support your mission. You need board members who carry your message to the world....

Is your board excited about fundraising?

Mine wasn’t. When I first became an executive director, one of the first things my board said to me was, “We are not a fundraising board. That’s why we hired you.”

Ugh. I knew I had my work cut out for me if finances were going to...

Is your board excited about fundraising? Probably not. They may think that fundraising and governance don’t have anything to do with one another. They may see fundraising as management’s responsibility, with their role only holding staff accountable for financial results. Or they may...

A nonprofit board has a fiscal duty to make sure that resources are raised and allocated to meet the organization’s missions. Often, however, boards have unrealistic expectations about how much money can actually be raised. They have no way of knowing, and thus planning for, how many...

Morale has waned as staff and board struggle to cope. Staff may feel insecure in their jobs, Board members may fear organizational nonexistence. Trust has eroded amidst layoff’s and downsizing. Staff are angry. Board members feel helpless. Emotions are high. Productivity is down. Customer...