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As an industry, nonprofits aren’t used to understanding, measuring, and communicating the value of their program -and this last part is key – in service of their staff and clients first. In part, this is because historically we’ve tied data collection to accountability. When nonprofits set up infrastructure for data collection, 99% of the time it is for the purpose of giving it away in the form of grant reports, annual reports, or board updates. This isn’t just unique to nonp

It’s all too common for nonprofit leaders and staff to dread evaluation, and who can blame them? It would be hard to get excited about something that has historically been an overwhelming and resource-draining headache, and that’s exactly what you can expect from poorly planned and executed evaluation. The good news is that program evaluation can be easy – and even exciting! You’re probably passionate about your organization and excited about the impact it makes on your sta

The first question I ask every nonprofit I work with is – What makes your organization stand out from the rest? I’ve heard hundreds of nonprofit leaders, program managers, and development directors struggle to answer this question. This is the single most important question any nonprofit can answer for themselves, the people they serve, and the donors and funders who support their work. The only way to truly answer this question is to build the infrastructure to understand, m

As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis continues to unfold, people, businesses, and nonprofit organizations around the globe are scrambling to make lightning-fast adjustment, with little time to consider what happens in 6, 12, or 18-months down the road. Okay, you’ve covered all the immediate bases: all non-essential employees are working from home; all gatherings are canceled; all meetings are either rescheduled or moved to conference or video calls; in-office employees are m

Last up in our Rethinking Nonprofit Revenue Series is moving money. If you’re new to this series, start at Part 1: Making Money here! Now that you’re saving time, and saving and making money, how you distribute your revenue can make or break your efforts up to this point. A budget is important to keep your organization on track with its mission, but it’s equally important to make sure that budget is optimized. You know one of the biggest challenges in the nonprofit sector

Part 3 in our Rethinking Nonprofit Revenue Series is saving time. If you missed Part 1: Making Money or Part 2: Saving Money, find them here! Many for- and nonprofit business alike believe that money is the most important resource for their organization. It’s simply not true. While cash certainly plays a part in what your organization is capable of at any given time, money can always be regenerated. Time, on the other hand, can’t be bought, borrowed, gotten back, or saved

Next up in our Rethinking Nonprofit Revenue Series is saving money. If you missed Part 1: Making Money, start here! If you are walking into the grocery store and someone is standing outside offering a 50% off coupon with no strings attached would you take it? Of course you would! Rest assured, that happens to no one, anywhere, ever. Saving money is hard – it takes shopping around, comparing prices, and determining the best way to fill a need. The top 5 largest expenses of no

Rethinking Revenue for Nonprofits: Introduction When was the last time you thought deeply about the funding model for your nonprofit? Many small-to-medium sized nonprofits rely mainly on grants and government reimbursements to pay their bills. It’s a never-ending cycle of balancing what’s coming in with what’s going out, and when a grant runs out or isn’t renewed at a previous level, it causes big issues! Understanding the type of funding model you currently have is the first