Though they possess innate fundraising instincts and a passion for their nonprofit missions, Kristin Priscella and Annet Ruiter admit they weren’t necessarily born fundraisers. Priscella, Arizona Science Center’s chief operating officer for external affairs, started within her organization in a marketing capacity. Ruiter, vice president of external affairs for Planned … [More]
The Value of Professional Interim Management
Nonprofits that have lost a leader — to retirement, a career move, or even termination — often feel an urgency to find an immediate replacement. This is, in many cases, a misguided strategy, says Linda Lyman, nonprofit consultant and retired president and CEO of New Pathways for Youth. “For a board that is feeling pressured to hire immediately, interim managers can provide a … [More]
The Importance of Market Research
It’s no secret that corporations reap great dividends by conducting market research. They use facts and figures and focus-group results to develop products, explore new markets, test messaging and establish brand positioning. Nonprofits, however, haven’t typically been as quick to embrace market research, often relying instead on tradition, assumption, staff experience and … [More]
No More Fundraising Excuses
It is official. Philanthropic giving in the United States is not only on the rebound, it has fully recovered since the recession, marking the highest levels of giving in the country’s history. Yes, even despite weak and uneven economic recovery. According to the Giving USA 2015 report, charitable giving has risen 7.1 percent over the last year, totaling $358.38 billion. … [More]
Make Room for Millennials
It might seem an odd fit: a nonprofit aligning itself with 20- to 32-year-olds who, at first blush, appear to have little in common with such institutions. But successful nonprofits believe such a pairing is simply good strategy, especially considering that half the U.S. work force by 2020 will consist of this young demographic known as millennials. They are 80 million in … [More]
Harnessing the Power of Volunteers
Volunteers are everywhere — sorting donations at food banks, tutoring children at local schools and greeting visitors at the zoo. They play an integral role in nonprofits across America, guiding tours at museums, visiting the sick at hospitals and wielding hammers for Habitat for Humanity. They also are active behind the scenes, serving on boards and committees, and even … [More]
The Real Impact of Impact Investing
The Desert Botanical Garden of Phoenix relies heavily on one critical natural resource: water. For years its plants were nurtured with the same high-demand, potable drinking water running from residents’ taps. The environmental and cost-saving solution: non-potable water from the adjacent Salt River Project canal, offered to the “turf” industry at a 60-percent discount by the … [More]
P3s: Partnering for the Future
A $600-million convention center expansion. Scientific, medical, research and educational collaborations in the heart of the city. A state-of-the-art automated Sky Train … Indeed, today’s downtown Phoenix is markedly different from what it was even a decade earlier. So how did this transformation take place in such a short span of time? It was due, in part, to public-private … [More]
Building Better Fundraisers
Asking for money seems to induce the same sweaty-palm anxiety associated with daring acts such as skydiving and swimming with sharks. Yet fundraising is a key responsibility for executives who serve as nonprofit board members. Some nonprofit board members don’t realize that fundraising encompasses much more than “the ask.” Board members can contribute in plenty of ways: … [More]
Evaluating the Nonprofit CEO’s Performance
Nonprofit boards are notorious for dragging their feet when it comes to evaluating the leaders of the nonprofits they serve. For starters, the process is perceived as a time-consuming endeavor. But mostly, boards aren’t really sure how to conduct the evaluation. Nonprofits are, after all, measured beyond profit margins to their community outreach efforts as well as their social … [More]
The Psychology of Giving
Do people give to philanthropic causes out of a sense of responsibility or guilt, for tax breaks or prestige? Do they give to provide for the public good or for personal pleasure? Individuals open their wallets for plenty of reasons, but a handful of motivations consistently rise to the top regardless of a donor’s income level. According to the Indiana University Lilly … [More]
Leading and Elevating Arizona
On Sept. 19, more than 600 of the state’s most influential leaders — nonprofit executive directors and board presidents, corporate CEOs and elected officials — convened at the Phoenix Convention Center to learn about some of Arizona’s recent successful public-private partnerships and discuss the critical role of leadership in the state’s future. The third Arizona Leadership … [More]
Measuring Nonprofit Impact and Performance
As corporate social responsibility initiatives and social entrepreneurship have continued to grow in popularity — along with high-impact giving (giving aimed at making a social change in the world) — philanthropy has seen a worldwide upswing. With this increase in billions of dollars of philanthropic support has also come pressure on the nonprofit to measure the impact of its … [More]
The Nonprofit Board: Financial & Legal Best Practices
Remember Enron? Fallout from the company’s corporate abuse and accounting fraud can still be felt in corporate America more than a decade later — namely through the passing of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) by Congress, which aimed to rebuild public trust in the corporate sector. While SOX is almost exclusively aimed at corporations, a number of the law’s provisions have … [More]
‘Giving USA 2014’: Dispelling Myths about Philanthropy
Giving USA 2014 isn’t a magical handbook with superpowers, but the figures and historical insight contained within the report do dispel long-held myths about fundraising. Those executives sitting on nonprofit boards who understand the implications of the report’s facts and figures — and how to use them to their advantage — can optimize their organizations’ philanthropic … [More]
Coffee to Cash Flow
Coffee beans. Espresso. Fresh-baked goods. Granola. Garden-grown vegetables. Herbs … It may come as a surprise that these items are synonymous with the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center. Sold in SARRC’s Beneficial Beans® Cafés and through its catering programs, these products represent a growing trend among nonprofit organizations to diversify their revenue … [More]
Knowing and Doing: The Board Member’s Key Responsibilities
Being a board member — like being a business executive — boils down to two key responsibilities: knowing and doing. “Knowing the organization, believing in (and even being passionate about) its mission — that’s a primary responsibility for a board member,” says Shelley Cohn, board member of the Arizona Community Foundation, Childsplay and the Desert Botanical Garden. “Then … [More]
Shared Leadership
Corporate executives who find themselves sitting on the board of a nonprofit might initially wonder — in a boardroom filled with so much leadership talent — Who’s in charge? What role do I play? What role does the CEO of the nonprofit play? The answers have changed dramatically as nonprofit organizations have been forced to serve more people in need with fewer resources (due … [More]
