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There is plenty of wisdom and knowledge among the leaders and staff of the community-based nonprofits themselves. We just need a place through which to share it. Blue Avocado is that place.

We also believe that nonprofits can only be vibrant, healthy, and effective when they have access to financial resources and practical know-how shared by experts and peers. So welcome home.

Board of Directors

When a New Nonprofit Board Can Be a Fresh Start

How one nonprofit moved forward when the only solution to a dysfunctional board was a brand-new one.

Five Lessons for Creating an Effective (and Accountable) Nonprofit Board

Help your board members avoid dysfunction and clearly understand their roles in supporting your nonprofit’s success.

A Cautionary Tale: Overcoming Governance Nightmares in Nonprofit Organizations

Adopting solid organizational policies can help your nonprofit set expectations and avoid a laundry list of problems.

Community & Culture

Link Arms to Elevate Your Nonprofit’s Impact

Working with like-minded people and organizations can create a deepened impact, more sustainable relationships, and a stronger funding pool for your mission.

Can Nonprofits Look to the Past to Build the Future?

Nonprofits may be surprised to find that their communities have already implemented the kind of innovative, collaborative programming that their leadership — and funders — are looking for.

How Lessons Learned From Fighting Food Insecurity Can Help Your Nonprofit

Simple acts can have a big impact on the community. Learn how one nonprofit discovered the tools to fight systemic issues were at their disposal all along — they just needed to learn how to use them.

<a href="#esg">Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG)</a>

Using Philanthropy to Address Racial Harm and Inequity

Learn how the United Way of Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA) is using racial justice to inform their grantmaking efforts, and how other philanthropic organizations can help work to undo the legacies of harm inflicted upon communities of color.

Beyond the Hype: Why ESG Frameworks Miss the Mark for Small Nonprofits

When we take a closer look at what Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks actually entail, it is often not worth the time and resources for most small nonprofits to go through such a process.

How Nonprofits Can Benefit from Embracing ESG Practices

By expanding ESG efforts and communicating them effectively, nonprofits can engage new audiences and achieve greater impact. This article discusses how nonprofits can document and communicate their ESG impact and provides five steps to get started.

Finance

Nonprofit Grant Proposal Budget Calculations: A Road Map

Five common challenges for calculating grant proposal numbers — and strategies to help overcome them.

Your Nonprofit’s Budget: A Window to Finding Your Priorities

By careful examination of your nonprofit’s budget, you can gain insights into your organization’s true priorities.

Grant Management Series: Involving Your CFO throughout the Grant Application Process

Learn how your CFO can contribute to a successful grant application — and the administrative processes that follow.

Fundraising

The Best Route to Approaching Donors: Hand-Head-Heart

Simple principles can maximize the return on the time and energy put into achieving optimal fund development results.

Your Nonprofit Got its Grant — Now What?

Getting a grant isn’t just a handshake and a check — they can come with many conditions. Is your CFO ready?

Nonprofit Fundraising: Are You Choosing the Right Grants?

Grants are an important source of funds for nonprofits, but some may come with strings attached that can create more headaches than positives for your organization. A strategic approach can help you be sure you’re applying for the grants that best meet your needs.

HR & Employment Issues

Drive Your Nonprofit’s Mission by Investing in Your People

Nonprofits must advance their mission by valuing their employees’ worth through fair compensation and benefits and by celebrating their work.

Supporting Caregiver Employees in the Nonprofit Sector

With more workers than ever doubling as caregivers, nonprofits must find new, caring ways to support them in the workplace.

Increase Safety for Your Nonprofit’s Team

Taking action to protect your employees’ safety represents a tangible way that you can contribute to a community of acceptance, safety, and support where violence is not tolerated.

Leadership & Management

Measure What You Value: Designing a Values-based Performance Appraisal System

Developing and sustaining a motivated, productive, and highly engaged workforce means your employees must be measured on how they demonstrate the organization’s values.

The Critical Role of Cultural Responsiveness in Today’s Nonprofits

While culturally responsive leadership has usually been centered in education, its practices have value to the nonprofit sector as well.

How curiosity and creativity can foster self-aware nonprofit leaders.

Tapping into your natural creativity and curiosity can enhance your ability to be a clear and confident leader.

Marketing & Communications

Five Steps to Achieving a Successful Nonprofit Rebrand

Nonprofit rebrands are tricky. Your new name should represent both your work and the change you seek to create.

8 Easy Ways to Grab More Attention for Your Small Nonprofit

Getting what your nonprofit needs — funding, staff, and more — means showing how working with you can be a win-win.

Five Signs Your Nonprofit is Ready to Reach a Bigger Community

Does your nonprofit consistently reach the same group? It may be time to consider expanding your marketing efforts to reach a wider audience.

Opinion

The Realities of Living with Food Insecurity

Food insecurity is not an abstract: Our friends, neighbors, and communities are struggling to thrive.

Volunteering Alone Will Not Save Us

To fight the battle against hunger, nonprofits can advocate for meaningful change in our societal structures.

Nonprofit Lessons from Star Wars

Deepak Bhargava of the Center for Community Change channels the Force to call nonprofits to action, drawing parallels to Star Wars.

Risk Management

Rethinking Perpetuity: Resetting Endowment Expectations After the Pandemic

With endowments, let’s rethink ‘forever’ and explore new, flexible ways to ensure your nonprofit organization’s longevity and effectiveness.

Risk Management for Nonprofits: Copyright

When web designers have an email from another nonprofit saying they don’t mind if you use one of their images, are you ok to use the image?

Don’t Let Internal Controls Slip at Your Nonprofit Organization!

Internal controls are more important than ever to have in place and operating effectively in order to prevent wrongdoing and malfeasance.

Political Issues

Litigating a Path to Progress: Nonprofit Advocacy through the Courts

Legislative inaction at the state and federal level has seen nonprofits moving toward using the courts to advance their advocacy campaigns like never before.

Citizens United Unfair to One Million Corporations

What to do about the Citizens United decision allowing for-profit corporations to spend unlimited funds on electoral campaigns.

Nonprofit Staff Don’t Vote in Elections? False!

“Nonprofit staff don’t vote.” The Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits tested this. Here’s what they found.

Sample Policies & Templates

5 Best Practices for Building a Nonprofit Annual Operating Budget (with Template!)

While no two nonprofits are exactly alike, there are some best practices that all organizations should use when building their annual operating budgets.

7 Guiding Principles for a JDEI Policy That Isn’t Just Hot Air. Plus, a Free Sample Policy!

Guiding principles for organizations that want to create a binding, board-approved JDEI policy with values, action plans, and accountability.

Board Assessments with Sample Management Questions

Four reasons your nonprofit and its mission can benefit from conducting a board evaluation.

Volunteers

A Practical Process Guide to Getting and Keeping Your Volunteers

Providing your nonprofit’s volunteers with the same recruitment, training, mentoring, and appreciation as your employees can reduce turnover and create a better overall volunteer experience.

Volunteering Alone Will Not Save Us

To fight the battle against hunger, nonprofits can advocate for meaningful change in our societal structures.

Up Your Game with Skills-based Volunteering

Specialized volunteers can come from organizations that recruit those seeking opportunities for organizations in need of specialized help.

Webinars

Blue Avocado Presents: What Nonprofits Need to Know About Fiscal Sponsorships – Live Q&A

Understanding fiscal sponsorships for nonprofits. Learn about the benefits, limitations, and considerations of this arrangement in our free webinar.

Blue Avocado Presents: Copyright Concerns for Nonprofits – Live Q&A

In the digital age, nonprofits engaging in various creative endeavors must be mindful of copyright concerns.

Blue Avocado Presents: Does Your Nonprofit Qualify for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)? – Live Q&A

The ERC program has been amended several times and has officially concluded, but eligible nonprofit organizations are still eligible to file and benefit from this tax credit. Find out more about this government stimulus program.