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Succeeding When You’re Small: Lessons Learned from DonorsChoose.org
Although the Blue Avocado audience consists of community-based organizations, we can still learn from the experience of those who started a nonprofit out of their basement and grew to be nationally recognized leaders in the field. DonorsChoose.org is o …
What Millennials Really Want: Professional Development
I’m not sure about you, but professional development (PD) at my last job consisted of little more than a few forgettable webinars and a yearly training that supported my work, but not my career. While my work was challenging and fulfilling, there were …
Ego Checks, Spaghetti Sauce, and Other Suggestions for Nonprofit Collaboration
My dad is a fan of saying, “Many hands make light work,” as I’m being voluntold to help clean up after dinner. Now how does being elbow deep in burnt on spaghetti sauce relate to nonprofits? It’s hard work but collaboration makes it easier. One …
4 Things Your Nonprofit Can Do to Recruit & Retain Millennial Leadership
If a key leader at your organization left their job today, who would fill their place? Developing the next generation of nonprofit leaders is critical to the future of every nonprofit organization. Millennials now makeup the largest generation i …
Connection is Key: How knowledge Sharing Helps Organizations Grow and Prevents Isolation
“Change does not happen in silos, and we don’t want our nonprofit partners to spend time reinventing the wheel.” Linda Baker, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 2016 Does your organization send out a newsletter of key activities or good practices to …
In the boardroom: Asked to join that board?
Asked to join that board? Here’s what to look for before you sign on the dotted line Most board recruitment is relationship-based. Often a friend or colleague, already serving on a board, will recruit you to join their Community Benefit Organiza …
Data Visualization: User-Centered Design
Our partner organization, Your Part-Time Controller, offers helpful advice on how U/X and user-centered design methods can better communicate visual stories in a way that advances the mission of your organization. How to use data visualizations …
Whose Nonprofit Is It Anyway?
Call it founder’s syndrome, the succession slump, or something not suitable for work, when a nonprofit leader moves on, the process isn’t always easy. But when control of a signature program or the organization itself is on the line, questions about wh …
Yes, You Really Need One – Why Strategic Planning Matters and How to do it Better
During a recent call with a leader of a nonprofit organization, he asked a question I’ve been getting more and more. “Do we really need a strategic plan?” He continued, “It seems like a lot of work for some pie-in-the-sky document that ra …
In the Board Room: Staying In the Loop And Out Of the Weeds
Recently, a nonprofit CEO requested that I help him keep his incoming board chair “in the loop but out of the weeds.” A catchy slogan, but what does that really mean? Those who have been through board leadership changes know the de …
