Where our people share their thoughts and advice with your people.
Meaningful community engagement doesn’t have to be fancy. It does, however, need to be strategic, consistent, and sustained. This week’s blog offers step-by-step suggestions for listening to, and learning from, your stakeholders. Their participation in your nonprofit’s strategic direction will lead to efficient use of your resources as well as more effective programming.
In an ideal world, every nonprofit board is filled with engaged volunteers working together toward a shared vision for the future. Meetings are productive and collaborative; between meetings, every member pulls their weight. In the real world however, challenging individuals can make progress difficult. In this blog I describe a few scenarios that I have observed (and that you probably have seen, too), and offer strategies for ensuring that your board stays on track.
Read MoreClose out 2023 right and set yourself up for 2024 success with a year-end checklist. These seven to-do’s are a great place to start.
Read MoreAfter a resounding GivingTuesday success, don’t let your momentum die on the vine. Maximize gifts and goodwill with these tactics.
Read MoreIf you aren’t sure how fractional teams can help your nonprofit organization advance, these short clips should help bring it in to focus.
Read MoreProcess (“how to”) documents not only prevent disruptions from sudden staff/volunteer departures; they are key tool for reaching sustainability and a state of continuous improvement. In this post I share best practices for developing and sharing them.
Read MoreEven board members committed to proactively supporting their nonprofit’s senior staff member don’t always recognize the importance of a safe, professional sounding board.
Read MoreI am constantly talking to nonprofit organizations that are trying to grow to more fully address the needs of their constituents and fulfill their missions. Whether they use these words or not, what they are seeking to do is build capacity. In this post, I’ll be sharing some key elements of successful capacity building, plus an innovative way nonprofits are building capacity affordably and efficiently.
Read MoreIf your nonprofit isn’t providing your fundraisers with administrative support, I guarantee you that either data and details are suffering or your relationships with funders are suffering. Nonprofit Virtual Assistants are an affordable way to get your fundraising back-end humming and give your fundraisers the time and tools they need to cultivate, solicit and steward.
Read MoreMTG Referral Partner Dana Snyder uses a Nonprofit Virtual Assistant (NPVA®) to streamline the production and promotion of her successful podcast.
Read MoreWhether I’m engaged to handle one or two aspects of conference planning, or I have a lead role, there are several best practices I recommend. In my experience, they’re the key to producing a meaningful and memorable event for your attendees and making the planning process a smooth one for everyone involved. These are tips you can implement with or without the support of an NPVA®.
Read MoreLearn how a fractional team — including a Nonprofit Virtual Assistant, a marketing project manager and a copywriter — helped Dare to Care launch a virtual version of their Bullying Prevention and Life Skills program.
Read MoreFractional staffing for nonprofits offers a bench of seasoned nonprofit specialists who can be engaged to join your team virtually, supplying a curated set of skills for precisely the number of hours and number of months you need them. Our clients and our team are constantly making me aware of other inherent benefits. In this post, I’ll be sharing four lesser-known benefits of nonprofit fractional staffing.
Read MoreTechSoup makes innovative technology tools more affordable for nonprofits by securing donated or discounted access. Yet many nonprofits still hesitate to take advantage due to a lack of time to implement systems, train users and fully utilize functionality. Engaging a Nonprofit Virtual Assistant (NPVA®) for as few as 10 hours/month, for only as many months as needed, can affordably address these challenges. In this post, I’ll be sharing how More Than Giving Co. clients have put this powerful NPVA® + TechSoup pairing to work.
Read MoreOur 25th Anniversary celebration continues! Last month we shared 13 pearls of wisdom from 25 years serving nonprofits, and this month I am pleased to share 12 more, including our #1 insight. If you find some new inspiration in our list, I encourage you to subscribe to The Beat (published once a week) and our eNewsletter (monthly), so you’ll receive future insights as we deliver them.
Read MoreIt has been a pleasure to be part of so many nonprofit success stories over our 25 years in business. We are grateful. As a celebration of our anniversary, we thought it would be fitting to share some of the wisdom we’ve gleaned over the years. These 25 “pearls” are designed to give you, our valued clients, something new: a curated collection of some of our best insights, organized into a road map for greater success.
Read MoreAs part of any strategic planning session, I will ask a nonprofit’s leaders, “Who is your nonprofit’s primary audience?” There is often a palpable pause. I can almost read their minds: “Of course we know the answer! Surely it is obvious?” Then they realize they don’t have an answer on the tip of their tongue. Sometimes they’ll begin listing audiences and then have difficulty narrowing it down. Or, just as common, they will describe their primary audience and then realize that they are describing their funders and not the people they serve.
Read MoreAccountability is central to nonprofit board service. After all, boards are accountable to the organization’s constituencies; boards are accountable for complying with governmental regulations; and boards are responsible for holding the CEO/executive director accountable. But beyond that, your board also has a primary responsibility for holding itself accountable.
Read MoreRecently, during a client’s 3-year strategic planning process, their Executive Director revealed her goal was to step down at the end of year two. This was a bit of a surprise and a shock to the board, but fortunately two years of notice enabled us to help them plan for a successful recruitment process and transition. Unfortunately, a two-year cushion is a luxury most nonprofits won’t have when an Executive Director or President steps down. A change of career priorities, a sudden illness in the family … there are countless reasons a leader may need or want to move on. Are you prepared for that day? You can be with a succession plan for your nonprofit’s Executive Director/top leadership role.
Read MoreLast month, I was delighted to be a guest on the Scaling Impact podcast hosted by Sean Boyce. As the name implies, Sean focuses his podcast on tools that can support nonprofits in growing their programs. We chatted about how fractional staffing can help nonprofits access the right skills at the right time to support their evolution.
Read MoreYou don’t need a complex three-year plan to reap the benefit of strategic planning. By establishing a handful of priorities and a plan to execute on them, a transformative year for your nonprofit is well within reach.
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