Creating Our Future with Organizations by Design

  This may be a Scandalous Post in the Nonprofit Sector! I came home from my state's nonprofit conference yesterday energized by the work of the organizations and downhearted by the repeated complaints about weak and disengaged boards. These complaints are nothing new - as nonprofit organizations strive to address complex social issues with limited resources, the need for effective governance structures has never been more pressing.  It’s time to rethink how nonprofit boards function, particularly the assumption that board members should act as fundraisers rather than focusing on oversight and compliance. Can we do this? The Current State of Nonprofit Boards Traditionally, nonprofit boards have been tasked with a mix of responsibilities: providing legal oversight, shaping strategy, and ensuring financial sustainability. In practice, this often translates into board members being expected to secure funding—a role that many are neither equipped for nor inclined to fulfill. This ...

  During a meeting of a cherished Development Committee I work with, the topic of the ‘Spring Ask Letter’ came up.  The meeting leader shared that they were thinking of writing an update of what has happened over the past few months and what was planned for the future. It became clear to me that my colleagues had forgotten that when they were cultivating  donors, they should cultivate. When they’re briefing donors, they should share information. And when they are asking , they should ask .   Let’s review. Here’s the cycle: Cultivation is the period of time following donor qualification (ensuring that they are interested in what your organization does and determining that they might be interested in providing support) where you find out your donors’ passions, motivation and goals for philanthropy. To cultivate, you might offer the donor a variety of engagement opportunities: Inviting donors to connect/ follow the Social Media channels related to the campaig...