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Letter from the Editor
Good things come in February—celebrations of history and love, and a surprise issue of Blue Avocado. As the wind shifts warm, we’re also seeing a shift in the sector, brought by changes in our social conscience and the legal landscape, both of which in …
#RiskyBusiness: Is Your Fundraising in Compliance with State Laws?
Blue Avocado introduces #RiskyBusiness, a column discussing the operating risks of running nonprofits, such as financials, contractors, volunteers, fundraising campaigns, expansions, M&A, contracts, board decision-making, capital projects, successi …
No Budget, No Mission: A Guide to Basic Nonprofit Budgeting
What has always drawn me to a nonprofit organization is the mission. The mission of an organization speaks in ways that numbers do not. The mission instills hope, meaningful change, and impact. It elicits images of a stronger community and evokes the p …
Against the Current: Rachel Sumekh
I am one of many. We are primarily white, often men. We have led the nonprofit sector for decades, and it’s time for us to step aside. When my last gig ended, I dedicated myself to supporting a younger generation of leaders and helping them challenge t …
What Happened to My Annual Appeal? The Effect of the 2018 Tax Overall on Nonprofit Donations and the Rise of DAFs
With the holidays behind us and budget planning around the corner, it’s a good time to reexamine the effectiveness of the organization’s revenue sources, including the end of year appeal. Traditionally, the holidays at end-of-year is the time many dono …
Letter from the Editor
As we share our first issue of the new year, we’re excited to introduce a few new additions. First and foremost, our new #RiskyBusiness column will become a fixture of future newsletters and showcase nonprofit veterans tackling a wide range of issues a …
NextGen Nexus: Election Year Messages Nonprofits Can Use
As national elections drawn near, many are looking at data and wondering: what will it take to get Generation Z (Gen Z), young Americans born after 1996 just after the Millennials, into the voting booth? Research indicates they’re as excited to …
Time to Fold: Keys to Gracefully Winding Down a Nonprofit
It looked like the Cancer Prevention Institute of California had a royal flush of a winning hand—a 40-plus-year track record of groundbreaking research, a stellar global reputation, 85 dedicated employees, a balanced $13 million budget, and one of the …
Nonprofit Tales From the US-Mexico Border
For many of us concerned with social justice, the situation that has been unfolding at the US-Mexico border is highly concerning. In this “tales from the trenches” account, we focus less on our usual practical tips and tools to hear some a-has and take …
Ask Rita: Are My Independent Contractors Actually Employees?
Dear Rita: I’m the HR manager of a nonprofit that provides music education and therapy services to underprivileged and disabled young people. We have 15 people who provide our services, all of whom are professional musicians and teachers in our local c …
