Back in the 1930s, a series of movies starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland popularized the notion that you could solve big problems… by putting on a show. The orphanage…
I often speak with clients about the virtues of hosting open houses, annual celebrations, and other events that bring people into closer contact with their organizations. And I’ve come to…
There are few places in public life where there is a greater imbalance of power than between a private foundation and a nonprofit grantee. I’m not saying that a foundation…
So here’s the scene: You’re approaching a donor for a gift to your nonprofit organization. She responds enthusiastically and wants to help with the project. According to conventional wisdom, this…
It turns out that my last post, “Deluge,” really hit a nerve. I received triple my usual number of blog hits, four times the usual number of on-line comments, and…
The bad news about commercial donor-advised funds is getting worse. As my loyal readers know, I’ve been giving attention here and in national journals to the negative impact that the…
Management would be pretty simple, if there were no people involved. You can never underestimate how challenging it is to lead a team, whether in a business or a nonprofit.…
There are some things that people love to complain about. Dealing with difficult relatives around the holidays. Drivers weaving in and out of traffic. The slow line at Motor Vehicles.…
Given that I am neither a policy analyst nor an economist, I am surprised by the number of people who ask me (as though I possess some special knowledge) about…
Do nonprofits give their donors a little too much credit? I’m not asking if nonprofits give their donors too much recognition. It’s fine to carve donors’ names into bricks, put…