All of you who are struggling to get your next foundation grant application pulled together and those of you who work earnestly as foundation staff or trustees may want to…
I ended my last blog post on a cliff-hanger, saying that I would reveal what the 99% of the nonprofits without a designated planned giving officer can do to bring…
For a small place, my home state of New Hampshire puts up some pretty impressive numbers. For example, we have 424 members in our state legislature, the fourth-largest English-speaking legislative…
As you may know, I’m a bit of a skeptic about the efficacy of traditional endowments. In an earlier blog post, “THIS is the Rainy Day,” I urged nonprofits with…
First, a story about my mother. It’s the kind of story I can tell, but you can’t, because she’s my mother, not yours. My mom, who recently turned 87, is…
I was visiting with the staff of a small human services agency the other day. I asked them how they liked their board of directors, and they were generally positive,…
Those of you with an oil-burning furnace may be familiar with efficiency percentage tags. If you don’t heat with fuel oil: When the oil company maintenance crew comes at the…
I helped wrap up a successful capital campaign in December, one in which we asked supporters to give significantly more than they ever had before. One thing that strikes me…
I’m an avid reader of the Patrick O’Brian seafaring novels, featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin. People either love these books, or they don’t “get” them, looking on…