BLOG

Oftentimes, nonprofit professionals like Executive Directors, Program Managers, and other program staff are hired into an organization to manage an existing program. Time is always a constraint – so you just jump in and start doing. While simply keeping things moving may feel like progress, the harsh reality is that the hurried movements and decisions void of pausing for any real strategy are likely doing your organization more harm than good – and most likely cost money, too

The rise of outcome oriented grantmaking in the U.S., paired with the common ‘ proposal → grant → report’ pathway, left us with the unintentional consequence of reinforcing the faulty belief that running a program and measuring the outcomes of a program are two different things. This separation occurs naturally when you think about the idea that you collect different data to report to different funders during different times in the cycle of your program. The more funders you

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

Your organization probably has its tried and true favorites when it comes to fundraising and volunteer opportunities for supporters. But what if there was a way you could maximize engagement among your stakeholders while increasing your revenue? Building an effective membership model can help you do exactly that! Nonprofits have membership models for many reasons—fostering a community in support of your mission, incentivizing long-term relationships, and increasing donations

Strategy is essential for successful (and timely!) completion of our goals. For nonprofits, strategic planning is especially critical. An effective strategy ensures the decisions being made and actions being taken are supporting the mission of your organization, allowing your nonprofit to provide the greatest impact on the communities you serve. But, you know, we’re busy. Setting and achieving long-term goals allows an organization to carve out a strategic future. But as any

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