What We’re Reading
Should Your CEO Serve as a Board Member?
The Nonprofit Ethicist weighed in on the question of executive directors serving as board members of the nonprofits they lead. In short, the Nonprofit Ethicist didn’t like it.
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What We’re Reading
12 Reasons Why You Should Gracefully Resign from a Nonprofit Board
Are you a valuable and valued board member for a nonprofit? If not, a graceful resignation and reassignment may be good for you and the organization.
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How College Towns Could Benefit More from Throngs of Student Volunteers
Millions of college students volunteer at soup kitchens, animal shelters and other nonprofits near where they go to school. The arrangement gives these young adults valuable experience that…
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This Nonprofit Job Board Requires Decent Wages
“If we want to talk about living wage, we have to do more than talk; we have to actually do something.” This statement may sound like it comes from a nonprofit…
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Where Have All the Donors Gone?
Not every trend is worth wringing your hands about. And one of those is how much money people give globally or nationally. This article is about the trend everyone in the social benefit…
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Watching “When They See Us”: Reflections as a White Woman in Nonprofit Leadership
When we watch a truly great film, especially one about real, unspeakable events that happened in plain view, like Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us, our watching…
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How Reverse Mentoring Can Lead to More Equitable Workplaces
To establish more diversity, equity, and inclusion across sectors, we need to reimagine the traditional mentor and mentee relationship to shift power to younger and less experienced colleagues who possess…
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Tito’s Vodka Gives Its Employees the Power to Choose Charities
The company gives each worker a budget to support nonprofits. It has limited its marketing budget in favor of giving more away to good causes.
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The Nascent Nonprofit Organization—What Happens Before a Nonprofit is Born
Is thinking about starting a new nonprofit organization enough to say that a new nonprofit has been created? Is gathering information or talking to people about starting a new…
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Vacation Tips For Nonprofit Professionals Who Suck at Vacationing
If you are terrible at relaxing and recharging on vacation, perhaps some of these tips may help. Or not! Thank you to the colleagues who provided them, some while they…
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Giving Drops Despite Advisors Pitching it More
Almost every metric monitored by the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) decreased during the first quarter of 2019, leading to concerns about the growth of charitable giving for the rest of…
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How Philanthropic Collaborations Succeed, and Why They Fail.
Funders need to push past politeness and hammer out expectations for how their collective action will create value—for beneficiaries, grantees, and themselves—beyond what they could do alone.
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11 Ways to Make the Most of the Summer Slump
Summer is an exciting time of year for outdoor activities, family vacations, and backyard BBQs. There are also plenty of opportunities for fundraising, but many nonprofits still struggle with…
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What is Community and How Do We Measure It?
What makes a community a place where you want to live? What can a community do to promote growth – beyond investing in economic development? With all the areas…
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How to Transition Social Solutions to Government
“Sustainability” has long been a buzzword in the development community, but the road to long-term social impact is not always clear. Success often depends on an organization’s ability to support governments as…
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Giving USA 2019: Most Nonprofits Will Need to Work Harder for Their Money
Giving USA released its report on charitable giving in the United States for 2018, and few are likely to find any reason for enthusiasm in the…
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Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Big Green Nonprofits: Negotiating the Challenges
Equity, diversity, and inclusion is the topic du jour across disciplines and sectors. Writ large, these themes pertain to increasing the access and power of people and population…
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Navigating the Complex Nonprofit Revenue Landscape
The author adds to previous articles regarding the critical success factors for board members wishing to lead nonprofits that go big and truly deliver substantial social impact. It takes a high-performing team; a…
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5 Questions to Ask Before You Join a Board
What We’re Reading
At Nonprofits, the “Reward” for Work Still Isn’t Money
One of the classic refrains about nonprofit work is that those doing it will feel so rewarded. As in, emotionally—not financially. “Most of us who entered the nonprofit field didn’t…
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Asking and Listening: Key to Social Change Communications is Focusing on the People We Serve
When college students who need financial aid don’t know how to get it or children eligible to get food benefits don’t receive them, it’s imperative…
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One Austin Neighborhood and Its 40-Year Battle against Displacement
In 2000, Austin’s Guadalupe neighborhood—a 14-block area just across the interstate from the city’s downtown—was 85 percent Mexican American and 15 percent African American, with a median family income of…
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How to Know When to Dissolve Your Organization
It’s never fun to think about the worst-case scenario. And if things are going well for your organization, it might seem to make little sense to do so. Often it’s clear…
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Instagram Unveils a New Donation Tool for Stories
Instagram users will now be able to help their favorite nonprofits raise money using a “donation sticker” embedded in the platform’s stories feature.
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Best Sustainer Retention Rates Are Online
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has been in the monthly giving business a long time. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit started its sustainer program, Partners, during the 1990s with 2,000 members. Today, it has…
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