Last month, in preparation for sending out her end-of-year appeal to obtain donations before the tax year closes, a client asked for advice on where she could go to purchase a list of email addresses of suitable donor prospects. While there are indeed vendors that... Continue
Nonprofit Matters
A colleague recently told me that last year he had made a donation to a local nonprofit organization for a specific purpose. He has since learned that the leadership of the nonprofit has now determined that the project for which his donation was given is... Continue
Although a nonprofit’s bylaws form the foundation for the governance of the organization, most of its board members and staff have never laid eyes on the document…or at least not lately. Bylaws are originally created (and required) when a nonprofit organization is formed. While it... Continue
In this election season, we've been hearing the word ‘trust’ thrown around quite a bit. We have become a society looking for leaders we can trust. So, it got me thinking about the importance of trust in the nonprofit world, and especially about the importance... Continue
Recently an executive director of a nonprofit organization lamented to me, "I just don't know what to do about our board members. They show up for board meetings, but that's all they do. I wish I could get them to help me attract new donors...or... Continue
When I sat down to have dinner at the bar of a local Sonoma restaurant last month, I noticed a sheet of paper laying directly in front of me on the bar. It didn’t appear to be the menu, so I assume it had been... Continue
Recently, a leader of a Sonoma Valley nonprofit organization identified a serious community problem that her organization has the ability to tackle. Then, she immediately suggested that she and her staff could create a program from scratch to help solve this problem, which is not... Continue
Many leaders in the nonprofit sector have noticed that the landscape has changed significantly regarding the results donors and other external constituents expect from them. The days are long gone that the public naively assumes that nonprofits are doing an effective job with real community... Continue
Last week a friend asked me this simple, yet poignant question, "Do you really think my little $100 donation that I give to each of a few Sonoma Valley nonprofits really makes that much of a difference? I hear all the time that big donors... Continue
Impact investing is "a pretty radical departure from how we've funded nonprofit organizations in the past," said Ian Galloway, Senior Research Associate with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. During Galloway's recent presentation to the Association of Fundraising Professionals Wine Country Chapter, he explained... Continue