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Letter from the Editor
As Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” The July 2020 issue of Blue Avocado explores building community understanding and connection. Janet Rechtman discusses how to use social capital to further your nonprofit’s …
Ask Rita: How Can I Deal with an Employee’s Offensive Social Media Post?
Dear Rita: The recent demonstrations around the country have been of considerable interest to our nonprofit’s staff. We encourage open discussions of the issues, and most of the discussions have been courteous and respectful of everyone’s views. One of …
Investing in Relationships with Donors: 5 Phases of Securing a Major Gift
Whether your organization considers $500 or $5,000 a major gift, you must take the time to invest in building a relationship with the prospective donor. If you have not started to build those relationships, the time is now. Major gifts are not just for …
Seizing Social Capital to Empower Nonprofit Leaders
Through my forty-plus years of practice as a volunteer with, consultant to, and teacher of leaders of hundreds of diverse nonprofit enterprises, I have come to believe that there is at least one universal truth about 1.56 million registered nonprofits …
Against the Current: Nihal Satyadev
For years, I’ve been hyper-interested in aging in America, and particularly the costs we as a country will have to cover as the Boomer generation roars into its 80s. Out front on the cost-o-meter: Alzheimer’s, which is projected to cost our society $1. …
Seeking Sustainability: How Can Nonprofits Survive the Pandemic?
Here in Los Angeles, leaders across the region are working to identify ways to safely reopen the economy. Some sectors are eager to get back to business, while others are worried about whether or not it is safe to return. But for the most part, the non …
Ask Rita: For What Work-Related Expenses Must I Reimburse Remote Employees?
Dear Rita: In light of the Covid-19 pandemic orders in our state to stay at home, we have made the transition to our employees working remotely from their homes. This effort has been fairly successful despite the fact that we did not have a formal poli …
Letter from the Editor
As we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, some nonprofits are carefully beginning to consider re-opening, while others are thinking about how to continue managing telecommuting staff during Covid-19. In this issue of Blue Avocado, we touch on reimburs …
The Truth, Even When Unpleasant, Can Always Be Explained: Nonprofit Pointers for Conduct in Court
In art, fiction may be the lie that reveals the truth, but in the courtroom, all that fiction ever reveals is culpability. And it never ends well. More than once in the past months, I’ve faced fiction in the courtroom. An employee of a nonprofit client …
Against the Current: Jose “Che” Ramirez
For close to 25 years, I worked in the basement of America’s largest homeless shelter, where we built D.C, Central Kitchen into the model program it is today. But no matter how efficient and impactful we were, we still operated amongst the chaos & …
