From Black Panther to Nonprofit CFO
Norma Mtume is my hero. As a college student she joined the Black Panther Party and went on to serve as director of the Alprentice Bunchy Carter and the George Jackson People’s Free Medical Clinics. She also co-founded a nonprofit in a broken-down trai …
Why is Fundraising More About Leadership Than About Skills? editor notes #93
Fundraisers never lack for advice. One board member tells you that foundations should be giving you money, while another thinks we should talk to Bill Gates. The staff thinks you should raising money from corporations. And the friend you run into at th …
First Person Nonprofit: A Day in the Life of a Major Gifts Officer
So exactly how do you lead someone up to a $1 million ask? The director of major gifts at a large regional environmental organization agreed to tell us everything… as long as we didn’t reveal her name or organization. And best of all: post you …
Adding It All Up: Nonprofit CFO Study
This survey of 906 nonprofit finance professionals reveals some surprises about these crucial-but-often-overlooked staff, looking at questions ranging from educational backgrounds, workload, board and CEO understanding of finance, and CEO compensation: …
Nonprofit Funding: Buying a Cake and Restricting it Too
Blue Avocado’s humor columnist Vu Le dreams about restricted funding for cakes: For the past few months one of our staff has an eye that’s been twitching. “It’s this grant!” she says. “It’s for our after-school program. It pays for instructo …
Vanguard Foundation Update
An update on Vanguard CEO Hari Dillon and major donors involved with businessman Mouli Cohen and a series of get-rich-quick schemes.
The Philanthropic-Consultant Industrial Complex . . . editor notes issue #74
You’ve probably heard of the 5% payout requirement for foundations . . . but most people mistakenly believe this means that foundations must grant out 5% of their assets each year. Actually, foundations must spend 5% of their assets each year . …
Nonprofit Staff Don’t Vote in Elections? False!
“Nonprofit staff don’t vote.” When the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits (SVCN) heard this from a speaker, they decided to test it among their members. Here’s what they found. In a survey of 560 staff at health and human service nonprofit …
The Trouble with Turkey
If there’s one day when socially conscious do-gooders can be excused for letting the cares of the world slip away in a haze of tryptophan, it’s Thanksgiving. As major holidays go, Thanksgiving is remarkably worry-free, its main focus n …
Korean American Nonprofit Implodes Diversity Myths
Koreatown Youth and Community Center and Program Director Sam Joo defy assumptions about nonprofits serving people and communities of color.