Living Philanthropically
Recently, I pulled out an old tried and true “ice breaker” for a group with which I was working. I am not a big fan of ice breakers, as I am a very private person and not the touchy-feely type. I don’t want to pull something personal out of my bag and tell you its significance or tell you three things that no one in the room—a room full of either total strangers or vague acquaintances—knows about me, or play some cute game, etc. You Read more
Handwriting on the Wall
It is time that nonprofits lost their sense of entitlement. Listen up: you aren’t owed anything just because you are a nonprofit.
Sense of entitlement you are asking? How’s that work? Let me count the ways!
Frequently, I will hear expressions of anger when a nonprofit doesn’t get the funding it had sought. The anger isn’t at the organization, perhaps for writing a poor proposal or not following funding guidelines or having that prerequisite meeting with the program officer. Rather, the anger is towards the funder with Read more
Life at the Bottom
Does the nonprofit sector have a mind of its own; or a backbone? Consider the 9/22/11 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy. This issue was consumed with exposing—and it did feel like a tabloid expose–the data on high salaries for nonprofit leaders.
In so doing, it helped do the homework for those attorneys general around the country who want to “do something about exorbitant salaries” for nonprofit executive directors. In so doing, it pandered to the concerns of these attorneys general, the media and the donors Read more
How many is enough?
Recently, I’ve felt a lot like I am watching a great tennis match, say one between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal: he’s up, he’s down; he slammed it, he lobbed it. Except the “he” is nonprofits and the up and down, slammed and lobbed are coming and going: that nonprofit is closing its doors, this nonprofit is expanding to Philadelphia. Unlike a tennis match, though, I’m not sure there are always winners.
On top of that, a few weeks ago, I got into a very public, Read more
Better Living For All of Us
I recently facilitated a board discussion in an effort to help the group reach consensus on a very divisive issue that had been consuming their time, energy and good will. far longer than it. The clock was ticking down to the allotted time of reckoning, and despite my greatest attempts, I did not see the group getting any closer to resolution. Literally, at the 11th hour, a thought came to me and I proposed it as a third option for them to consider.
The room went Read more
Opportunity Lost
I’m frequently asked if I think the fundraising horizon is looking better. Depending upon whether you believe the economy is in recovery, is doing a double dip recession, is spiraling out of control, nonprofits most likely have at least one—or several–more tough years.
So, as harsh as this sounds, now would be a good time for funders—from individuals to foundations—to review their giving goals and make sure their strategies align with those goals. And it would be a good time for nonprofits to honestly assess their Read more
Executive Excess
It seems that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has painted a bulls-eye on his state’s nonprofits. He recently announced the creation of a task force to audit nonprofits that receive state funds. Not a bad idea in and of itself. But these audits won’t be assessing the general financial health and well-being of the nonprofits; they won’t be looking for misappropriated tax dollars.
They will solely be about determining whether the salaries of the executive directors/CEOs is “appropriate.” See, Cuomo thinks that heads of nonprofits are Read more
Money Talks, Ethics Walk
I do NOT believe for a moment that breeches of ethics and displays of questionable to unsavory to downright illegal behavior are more plentiful in the nonprofit sector than the for-profit sector. But they do evoke a very different response for me. Sad to say, whenever I read of an ethics violation in the corporate world—of which there have been far too many examples in the last 10 years—I now just shrug my shoulders, and admit to saying, “That’s to be expected,” and then move Read more
