In this digital age, it is very easy to hold on to documents indefinitely – correspondence, memos, bank statements, employment applications, expired insurance policies – you name it.  The steps go something like, “Read.  File.  Forget about it. Repeat.”  Many of our files will end up in the paper graveyard, never to be retrieved again.  The likelihood of being able to quickly find something we really need quickly becomes harder as we amass more and more files. But how can we decide what to keep,[…]

Fall brings the start of a new academic year and a set of fresh beginnings for many students, parents, and even charitable nonprofits.While you are taking advantage of the terrific sales on school supplies and other back to school items, why not take some time to review your organization’s investment policies?  The Standards for Excellence:  An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector® encourages all nonprofits to have written financial policies—including investment policies as[…]

As colleges around the country are opening their doors for fall semester, many nonprofits will turn their attention to recruiting student and faculty researchers to assist with special projects.  There is no shortage of areas in nonprofit management, governance, fundraising, marketing, and operations where representatives of higher education may be able to provide assistance to nonprofits.  Program evaluation is one area where student and faculty researchers may be in high demand. Nonprofits can[…]

Many nonprofits are asking for concrete steps to take to manage during these uncertain and tough economic times.  And there’s no lack of good advice floating around.  Most experts will say that managing in uncertain times requires you do to a number of things, including reflecting, visioning, and most of all, planning.  As Lewis Carroll wrote in Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”The Standards for Excellence® code emphasizes the board’s[…]

Nonprofits that operate with a volunteer executive director are often faced with the conundrum—should this person undergo an annual evaluation in the same way that a paid executive director would be assessed?  Or, should the evaluation be skipped because the salary adjustment issue is off the table?The issue of evaluating the executive director is more complicated than simply being a precursor to providing your leader with a salary adjustment.  Even in the best of times, some nonprofits evaluate[…]

Whenever I ask someone who works for a nonprofit if their organization engages in lobbying, they cringe at thought.  We don’t lobby; bBut we educate our legislators about our cause.  We don’t lobby; but we provide comments on the governor’s budget.  We don’t directly lobby; but we belong to a coalition that lobbies on our behalf .   Is it just a game of semantics? According to OMB Watch’s, “Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project,” a study of over 1700 nonprofits revealed that charities are[…]

Summer time brings many things—baseball, summer vacations, and for our organization, summer is typically the season for annual performance evaluations. Truth be told, it is hard to take the time to complete a meaningful staff evaluation process for all paid staff. The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector® states, “Organizations should have a system in place for regular written evaluation of employees by their respective supervisors, which should[…]

Each summer, thousands of students descend on the nonprofit sector in hopes of doing something meaningful.  We welcome them with open arms, knowing that volunteer labor can be a valuable resource if managed properly.  It’s often said that a volunteer today is a committed donor tomorrow.  We love our volunteers.But ever so often, we must handle problematic situations that involve volunteers -- poor performance, a lack of team work, or clash of personalities with employees or clients.  Would your[…]

The power of compounded interest never ceases to amaze me.  Invest a dollar today and in 10 years, it could grow to be much more than that.  Who knows how much I would have accumulated by now had I started investing the money earned from my first job as a teenager.  Fortunately, I am wiser now. My personal “financial policies,” direct my spending, saving, and investment activities and keep me from spending all of my money on things which I’ll regret later.Small and large nonprofit organizations[…]

Earlier this month, we suggested that the challenging economic climate may provide the impetus for you to hire a fundraising consultant to handle a new development approach or project.  Perhaps you are trying to raise the resources to match a grant. Or, perhaps you are launching your first direct mail campaign.  At any rate, if you choose to engage a fundraising consultant to assist or lead the effort, during the pre-engagement phase, you should inquire not only if the individual is properly[…]