Featured as a Nonprofit Expert
Our founder, Vicki Burkhart, is a member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council. She’s regularly featured in their expert panels.
Nine Key Actions To Financially Safeguard Your Nonprofit
“Institute strong internal controls by establishing clear separation of financial responsibilities, implementing transparent processes, and completing financial reviews and audits. Include financial controls in your risk management plans. Establishing a culture of responsibility within the organization will safeguard it against fraud and fiscal mismanagement, thereby protecting the reputation of the nonprofit.”
How Nonprofit Organizations Can Diversify Their Financial Resources
“Make sure each funding source is no more than 40% of your annual revenue. This will require exploring other funding sources, including individual donations, corporate engagement and sponsorships, private grants, events, merchandising, donor advised funds and more to provide balance throughout your fundraising and revenue generation functions. This is easier said than done, but you need to start somewhere.”
13 Ways Revamped Nonprofits Can Attract And Retain Loyal Stakeholders
“To attract and retain loyal members, don’t guess what they value—ask. Engage your target audience to understand their needs, then design benefits that deliver that specific value. To ensure lasting investment in your mission, create a continuous feedback loop of consistently listening, adapting and refining your offerings to meet their evolving priorities.”
12 Ways To Effectively Recruit Nonprofit Volunteers
“Match volunteer roles to their interests and skills while simplifying the application process and offering flexible schedules. This will help to align the right volunteer to the right job. Inspire potential volunteers with compelling stories about the impact of volunteering and showcase real-life examples of how volunteers make a difference. Always recognize the contributions of your volunteers.”
How Nonprofit Leaders Can Maintain Team Focus In The Midst Of Change
“Share communications on a weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule, and include news on issues of necessity for your internal community. A weekly emailed “bulletin” that includes policy changes, staff news, a calendar of events and upcoming meetings, highlights from the previous week, and operational updates will keep the team, including leadership, well-informed and engaged.”
How Nonprofit Leaders Can Fight Donor Fatigue With Connection, Not Campaigns
“Be mindful of your donors’ giving patterns. Avoid sending frequent reminders early in the year to donors who traditionally give later. Segment your outreach based on historical data to identify when and how your key donors give. Plan your campaigns strategically, even adopting quarterly approaches if necessary. Ensuring alignment with donor habits can maximize engagement and contributions.”
10 Data-Driven Ways To Boost Volunteer Engagement
“If you are going to collect data, then make it available. If you have exceeded your volunteer recruitment goal, let people know. If your nonprofit logged more volunteer hours than in the past, share the news. If you have compelling data that indicates volunteer involvement had a significant program impact, don’t just hide that in your annual report. Instead, make sure you deliver that message loudly.”
18 Essential Steps When Developing A Clear Nonprofit Roadmap
“Surveying a broad range of stakeholders ensures your achievements align with their needs. Often, strategic planning occurs among top leaders, but the best plans incorporate wide-ranging input from every level of the organization, including vendors, partners, donors, volunteers and those you serve. This ensures your strategy is built through a wide lens with thoughtful contributions.”
14 Ways New Nonprofits Can Find Their Footing
“Focus on the basics. Start by creating a strategic plan, building a strong board, delineating clear financial and fundraising processes, and measuring and evaluating your success in meeting your mission. A shared vision, strategic direction, committed leadership and the resources needed to support programs and initiatives will provide a strong foundation from which a successful nonprofit can grow and prosper.”
How Nonprofits Can Build A More Predictable Revenue Stream
“There is no guarantee, but a more intentional, vetted pipeline of potential donors will help your nonprofit build and sustain funding. This is true whether they are individuals, corporations or foundations that you cultivate, solicit and steward toward consistent year-to-year giving. A sustainable funding plan will lead to financial security.”
Nonprofits: 11 Crucial Steps To Take After A Data Breach Or Cyberattack
“The first step toward minimizing damage and maintaining trust happens before a data breach occurs. A risk assessment leading to a crisis management plan will address the damage a potential data breach or cyber attack can cause. The plan outlines what happens first, second, third and so on. It will also delineate key players to contact and work with to navigate the situation and reach a solution.”
12 Ways To Reduce Nonprofit Recruiting Costs And Maintain The Hiring Experience
“Fractional staffing allows nonprofits to access high-level expertise at a lower cost. It offers the flexibility to obtain the specific experience and skill sets nonprofits need for as long as they are needed, and fractional staffing can grow and be modified to support a growing organization. Augmenting your team with fractional nonprofit experts will not only ensure momentum but also quality.”
11 Traits To Look For In Nonprofit CMO Candidates
“A CMO ensures consistent messaging and collaborates with the team to enhance branding opportunities. Everyone contributes to promoting the nonprofit's message, making the CMO a marketing partner for each team member. With that partnership comes the responsibility of educating the team on how to communicate most effectively on behalf of the organization and how to advance the brand.”
18 Skills Nonprofit Pros Should Develop For Long-Term Career Prospects
“Nonprofit professionals would benefit from strong management skills. Efficiently managing resources like people, time and tools greatly impacts your ability to meet goals and keep the organization on track. Management is a broad term and can be applied to anything from managing calendars and tasks to service delivery and navigating staffing or volunteer issues. Strong managers will grow strong nonprofits.”
How Nonprofits Can Get More Involved In Philanthropic Advocacy
“Advocacy campaigns provide awareness of your cause and inspire others to get involved. Provide opportunities for people of all ages and skill levels to pitch in. While you have their attention, turn volunteering into an educational opportunity, as volunteers are great spokespeople. What better way to create advocacy ambassadors than by educating them about your cause?”
16 Ways Nonprofits Can Attract Diverse Funders
“While it always seems obvious, a diverse funding base isn't easy to achieve but it can be done. Identify new sources by exploring available networks through your board and key stakeholders. Could they, for instance, open corporate partnerships or business annual giving? Will they make warm introductions? Success requires a concerted effort to build upon current relationships within your nonprofit.”
How Nonprofits Can Boost The Fundraising Team’s Commitment To The Mission
“We always talk about the need to have our donors experience the value of their contributions—to see and feel the impact—and the same is true for our fundraising team. It can be a thankless job with long hours and mediocre pay. Fulfillment, which is a critical retention factor, comes from seeing the fruits of those labors. Make sure your team feels the impact they are making on those they serve.”
18 Insights And Actions For Evaluating Program Effectiveness
“Be sure you have identified the metrics you want to track and evaluate, as well as a system to collect that information. Make sure your metrics align with your mission and vision. Use the collected information to tell your story and measure your impact, and then highlight your successes in your annual impact report or donor solicitations.”
20 Tips For Nonprofit Marketing, From The For-Profit World
“For marketing to be effective, it cannot be a “hit or miss” effort. There must be a commitment to the marketing plan. This includes consistent messaging and brand alignment, from the entire organization and even volunteers. That will provide a unified voice and a brand identity that will serve as a cornerstone for all marketing outreach and collateral.”
Cost-Effective Ways A Nonprofit Can Expand Its Funding And Donor Base
“Building a base of prospective donors should be everyone’s job, including the executive director, team members, the board, committee members, program volunteers and key stakeholders. Define the donor profile, encourage everyone to scour their networks for prospects and provide a format for the return and easy upload of information to your database. A seamless approach will save money and time.”
Making The Right Connections: 16 Tips For Young And New Nonprofit Professionals
“Prepare before events by reviewing the attendee list and targeting those who you want to be sure to meet. Review their LinkedIn profiles and, if appropriate, connect with them in advance to let them know you’re looking forward to seeing them at the networking event. This will ensure that you make the right connections at the networking event and your time, as well as their time, will be well-spent.”
20 Nonprofit Leaders Share Impactful Lessons To Bring Into 2025
“More attention needs to be paid to the general operations of nonprofit organizations. Program delivery and fundraising will often take precedence, but without a strong operational foundation, fundraising and program development will suffer, be delayed, not reach strategic goals, etc. Incorporating operational expertise in your staffing plan will go a long way to addressing this need.”
15 Strategies To Adopt When Navigating Nonprofit Crisis Management
“Nonprofits should complete a risk assessment. Often, they do not realize where their vulnerabilities may lie or where external threats may arise. Completing a risk assessment will help nonprofits identify and then address and/or mitigate weaknesses within the organization, thereby reducing risk and avoiding crises. It will also serve to outline the steps needed to be taken should a crisis arise.”
16 Questions To Ask When Planning Nonprofit Fundraising Events
“Nonprofit leaders should ask if this event is a good fit for the audience they are trying to attract. Event fundraising can be very profitable. It can also serve as a megaphone for your organization with the right people but you need a good fit. Golf tournaments may attract corporate support through foursomes, hole sponsorships, etc., but if you don’t have an audience of corporate players, this may not be the right event for you.”
18 Factors To Consider When Setting Annual Nonprofit Goals
“Consider doing a year in review. Identify lessons learned through both your successes and failures. Goal setting is as much about the past as it is about the future. To determine the “why,” evaluate what went well and what missed the mark. The “why” is what you want to capitalize on or change. Build upon those very valuable experiences from this year to establish goals and benchmarks for the upcoming year.”
17 Ways To Refresh Your Nonprofit’s Marketing And Comms For 2025
“Marketing assets need a makeover every now and then but be sure to stick to your brand. The latest and greatest, flashy version of your materials may “pop” to you but it may appear to your community that you’ve transformed into a different group. Don’t let an effort to refresh and revive communications inadvertently lead you astray from the very branding that allows supporters to know it’s you.”
17 Strategies To Build Donor Trust And Increase Giving
“Be transparent about how you spend donation revenue and how it creates impact. Don’t just highlight the information on your website and in your annual report; incorporate key success metrics in your appeals. Share your finances and measurable data points with organizations like GuideStar and Charity Navigator, which rate nonprofits. This will build not only confidence among your donors, but also pride.”
Social Media Strategies For Small Nonprofit Teams To Maximize Impact
“Social media is driven by content. To create a strong online presence, you’ll need plenty of content to release on a regimented schedule. Plan carefully how you and your organization are going to generate enough content to keep the social media machine “fed” on a weekly basis, and who will have the responsibility of making sure that content is prepared for the best results in an online release.”
20 Ways Nonprofits Can Prepare For Increased Holiday Competition
“Create a compelling story told in the words of those who are the beneficiaries of your program. Develop those testimonials into content and visuals—especially videos—that can be sprinkled into every communication you release in the months leading up to the holidays. Nothing catches the attention of a donor more than a heartfelt message from someone who has benefitted from their generosity.”
20 Useful Storytelling Techniques And Tools For Nonprofits
“Hearing the story directly from those who have been served is the most effective way to communicate your message to key stakeholders like donors. Learning about how their contributions are making a difference in the lives of others, particularly those directly impacted, is a recipe for continued support. Personal testimonials, especially videos, are effective storytelling tools.”
20 Essential Strategies When Creating A Nonprofit Succession Plan
“An organization’s succession plan would not be complete without adequate leadership preparation and training. We assume our leaders have strong nonprofit skills and background but that’s not always the case. Training on best practices and nonprofit leadership coaching can be valuable tools to ensure a smooth transition and to strengthen the relationship between volunteers and leadership.”
How Nonprofit Teams Can Prioritize Mental Health And Prevent Burnout
“Downtime is critical. Nonprofit professionals understand that certain times of the year will be stressful. Between the annual gala, the seasonal golf tournament, year-end giving campaigns and so on, they rally, expending more time and energy than their workweek may allow. So, when those high-stress times subside, downtime is critical in order to refuel and refresh. It should be required, not just suggested.”
20 Ways Nonprofits Can Better Understand Their Stakeholders
“Stakeholders who believe in the mission will invest in the organization, whether they be participants, volunteers, vendors, partners or donors. You need to learn why they are committed to your organization to gain a better understanding of how to best engage their support. Why did they get involved and why do they stay? Everyone’s “why” can be different, so personal outreach is the key.”
17 Ways Nonprofits Can Bolster Their DEI Efforts
“Nonprofits should develop and adopt a clear, well-articulated DEI statement and policy that reflect the organization’s values and align with the mission. Then, measure each and every program and delivery system against the statement and policy to ensure they are compatible with the organization’s position with regard to DEI.”
11 Ways Nonprofits Can Maximize Tech To Reach More Donors
“If you are going to invest in technology, whether free or through subscriptions, be sure you have an assistant with technical expertise to realize the full value of your tech stack. Tech assistants can ensure your technology will provide the desired outcomes and apply necessary integrations to be sure your technology is aligned for efficiency, ensuring data integrity and utilizing the tech to its fullest.”
14 Strategies For Creating An Effective Nonprofit Internship Program
“Internships can be more work than they are worth to a nonprofit. To reach a win-win outcome, design a position description that outlines the specific responsibilities of the intern and the desired deliverables. Make sure there is adequate onboarding so that roles and expectations on both sides are clear. Assign a mentor or lead that will answer questions and provide direction when needed.”
Nine Strategies For Building A Successful Nonprofit Endowment
“To prepare for an endowment, create program guidelines and investment policies and procedures. These will determine how endowment funds will be invested, how they will ultimately be used to support the nonprofit, who will manage the funds and where the responsibility for monitoring and decision making will live within your organization.”
20 Ways Nonprofits Can Build Capacity With Small Teams
“Nonprofits can secure the skill sets and expertise they need to build capacity and scale operations by engaging fractional staff members who will be laser-focused on the deliverables needed to strengthen infrastructure and grow the organization. Fractional staffing can be flexible, budget-friendly and targeted to where you need it the most.”
15 Ways To Motivate Nonprofit Teams When Salary Increases Aren't Possible
“We provide professional development opportunities to strengthen the skill sets and proficiencies of all team members. These may include in-house workshops on issues suggested by the team or individualized proficiency training on various technical platforms, ensuring that individual team members receive what they need to continue to grow professionally, at no cost to them.”
20 Solutions For Navigating Nonprofit Board Member Conflicts
“Reaching an outcome and decision is the best way to manage conflict. Conflict is natural. Board members bring different points of view to the table, and that’s a good thing. However, unmanaged conflict can lead to long-term difficulties. When disagreements occur, weigh the pros and cons against the goals stated in the organization’s strategic plan to manage conflict and reach an acceptable result.”
19 Strategies For Nonprofits To Keep Overhead Costs Low
“Rather than investing time and energy into position descriptions, advertising the opportunity, screening and interviewing applicants and onboarding your selected candidate, consider engaging fractional team members. They are accessible, can be strategically placed on your team and bring seasoned experience and expertise that can almost immediately address the needs within your organization.”
20 Strategies To Navigate A Nonprofit Rebrand
“Make sure the need for rebranding is clear. A major impediment to rebranding comes from those stakeholders who don’t believe it's necessary. They are loyal to the current brand, don’t like change and consider it bad for the mission. Provide the reasoning behind a decision to rebrand and how it impacts the sustainability of the organization. If you win that argument, momentum will be on your side.”
20 Strategies For Recruiting The Next Generation Of Nonprofit Volunteers
“Creating a pipeline of fresh volunteers is a step to ensure the sustainability of your nonprofit. When board membership doesn’t change or leaders are recycled, it's a sign of the nonprofit's decline. You want your nonprofit to survive for generations, so cultivating and engaging those younger volunteers and building a strong pipeline should be a priority for everyone within your organization.”
20 Expert Methods To Make Your Grant Proposal Stand Out
“It's critical to align your mission and vision with the strategic focus of the grant funder. Too often, nonprofits apply for grants with guidelines that are clearly not consistent with the organization’s mission or the project’s deliverables. Your argument strengthens when you can bring together the goals and values of both the nonprofit and the funder to deliver a win-win outcome.”
20 Ways Nonprofits Can Demonstrate Impact Beyond Numbers
“Use testimonials to tell your story. Stakeholders want to be assured that their contributions to your nonprofit are making a difference in the lives of those you serve. Testimonials, especially those done through video, are one of the best ways to share impact and let your donors and stakeholders hear directly from those who’ve benefited from their generous support. Stories demonstrate impact.”
20 Warning Signs A Nonprofit Is Headed For Failure (And How To Save It)
“You know you are in trouble when the board becomes weak. This means there is a lack of leadership and no strategy for building a strong pipeline. The organization recycles board members and presidents and there is no commitment to recruiting new leadership. A lack of leadership will cause the decline of a nonprofit. Some find term limits and mandatory rotations harsh, but fresh and motivated board members keep organizations growing.”
20 Tips For Unlocking Corporate Philanthropy
“The benefits you provide to the corporation for making a nonprofit donation should involve their employees. More often, the decision of which nonprofit to support with company funds is based on the desire of the company’s employees to be actively involved in philanthropy. Designing corporate partnerships that directly engage employees will see greater success.”
14 Factors Nonprofits Should Consider When Setting Fundraising Goals
“Involve your board of directors. Too often, organizations depend solely upon the staff to raise the funds necessary to operate the nonprofit and programs and service delivery around the mission. Without the direct involvement of the board providing personal contributions, soliciting key stakeholders, opening networks to engage new prospects and more, fundraising goals can seem unrealistic and unreachable.”
18 Essentials Nonprofits Shouldn’t Skimp On
“Don’t skimp on hiring and retaining the right team to do the job. In tough times, I would argue that having talent and expertise in the right places can help steady the ship and provide confidence to your board and donors. Make sure you’re compensating your team appropriately, and recognizing the value and contributions they bring to the organization. This will help you reduce turnover and build a sustainable team.”
15 Proven Strategies To Build A Loyal Volunteer Base
“We all want happy, fulfilled volunteers. Try to match volunteers to committees and tasks that reflect their interests, skills and background. Don’t ask volunteers to do more than they can handle, whether that be with time, resources or experience. Finding the right fit for a volunteer so that they can make real contributions to the organization will make them feel valued and part of your success.”
20 Ways Nonprofit Leaders Can Support Younger Employees' Professional Development
“Provide younger team members with an opportunity to create and oversee initiatives. This is professional development by “doing.” Leading, building and implementing projects will enhance confidence and impact careers. Be sure to provide the tools needed for success, and enable these younger professionals to report that success to the team, leadership and even the board. That’s truly empowering.”
20 Barriers Standing In The Way Of Potential Nonprofit Donors
“Be sure your donor experience is user-friendly. Nothing is more frustrating to a donor than trying to make a gift online only to experience difficulties with the process. Sometimes what looks intuitive to you is totally foreign to a donor, especially one who doesn’t make a lot of online transactions. Make it as easy as possible. Perhaps include a video of the process, as that may be helpful.”
18 Strategies For Onboarding Public-Facing Staff And Volunteers
“Introduce new staff members to key external stakeholders in a meet and greet activity. Those supporters who are critical to the health and well-being of your nonprofit will feel valued because they are invited to spend time with new staffers. In an informal and social manner, the new team members have an opportunity to meet and get to know many of the key individuals with whom they will be working.”
16 Desirable Qualities Of An Ideal Nonprofit Volunteer
“A pleasant disposition should be a required trait for volunteers. Very often, volunteers provide frontline engagement for the community being served, and no one likes a grouchy volunteer (trust me, I’ve met some). You can teach volunteers to use your registration software or to display silent auction prizes, but you can’t teach them to do it with a smile. That’s the most valuable volunteer contribution.”
Considering An Overqualified Candidate? How To Gauge Whether They’ll Stick Around
“True passion for nonprofit work can be seen not only in careers but also in the choices individuals make with their volunteer time. Applicants often express a desire to help people and make an impact. Evidence of this passion is usually seen in volunteer and family activities. It's no guarantee, but those who can show how the desire to “give back” has changed their lives are often the best candidates.”
13 Effective Tips To Generate Free And Positive Press For Your Nonprofit
“Create an award appropriate to your mission that can be given each year to a notable member of your local or national community. The awardee may have access to a public relations team who is engaged to drive PR around them, and you may get access as well. The press loves to cover community leaders who are giving back and making an impact. Your organization stands to benefit from the buzz.”
Nonprofit Trends That Will Dominate 2024
“The introduction of generative AI last year will snowball in 2024 within the nonprofit sector, adding to the growing menu of technology available to help nonprofits increase their efficiency and their ability to contain costs. As more nonprofit professionals learn how to utilize AI effectively, it will become an integral component in the tech stack that supports many nonprofit organizations.”
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