Recent Posts
Navigating the nonprofit world can be challenging. Blue Avocado offers expert guidance on a range of topics — from building strong boards to maximizing your fundraising impact. Explore our latest posts for practical tips, strategies, and solutions to common issues facing nonprofit organizations today.
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Nonprofits: How to Have a Board Meeting By Telephone
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Ask Rita in HR: Do we really have to do performance evaluations?
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Getting to 100% Board Giving
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How to Recruit Terrible Nonprofit Board Members
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Charity Rater Reviews: Charting the Bad and the Bad
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Matrix Map Part Two: The Strategic Imperatives
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How to Keep the Board Under Your Thumb
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The Matrix Map Approach Part One: How to Create the Matrix Map
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What Are My Nonprofit’s Obligations Under the Affordable Healthcare Act?
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Nonprofit Funding: Buying a Cake and Restricting it Too
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The Founding Fathers Write a Grant Proposal
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Ten Biggest Mistakes Boards and Executives Make
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Kirk Kramer: An Uncomplicated Path for Developing Leaders
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In the Swirling Dust of Change, Life Still Goes On for an ED
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Conflict of Interest… or Conflict of Loyalty?
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How to Schedule a Nonprofit Meeting: Point of Vu
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Hiring Job Candidates with Criminal Convictions: Unlock the Possibilities
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New Sitcom: Nonprofit Life
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Dress for Nonprofit Success?
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Deconstructing Nonprofit Sustainability
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A Board Member Crosses the Line
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A Gay Activist is Conflicted about the Marriage Equality Campaign
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Collective Impact: Resistance is Futile
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Citizens United Unfair to One Million Corporations
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Stuck Between a Financial Crisis Wrought by the Founder and a Hard Place
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Twelve Ways to Get a New Executive Director Off on the Right Foot
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All Hands on Board: The Board of Directors in All-Volunteer Organizations
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Donor-Advised Funds: Non-Transparent Tax Shelters for Good
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Ditch Your Board Composition Matrix
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Donor-Advised Funds Background
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Is Coming to Work Required to Keep My Job?
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High Pay for Nonprofit Execs? Analysis of 100,000 Salaries
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And Now for a Different Type of Board Agenda
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Stance: The ED’s Role and Attitude in Strategic Planning
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Coming Out as a Christian
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Board Support Position: Sample Job Description
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What’s the Right Size for the Board?
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Getting Real About Real-Time Evaluation
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Take A Fresh Look at Scrip Fundraising
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Organizing the Board to Support Nonprofit Revenue Strategy
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How To Use Text Messaging for Nonprofit Outreach
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Questions to Ask Prospective Board Members
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Vanguard Foundation Update: With Leader Pleading Guilty, “Truth and Reconciliation”?
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Nonprofits: How to Survive an IRS Audit
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The Automatic Nonprofit Salary Calculator
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Executive Director Evaluation Survey Form
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Vanguard Foundation Update
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The Philanthropic-Consultant Industrial Complex
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Evaluating the Executive Director
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Contract Wizardry: Conjuring Impact from Government Contracts
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Nonprofit Staff Don’t Vote in Elections? False!
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Only Bad Restaurants Go to Scale
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Social Media for Nonprofits: 6 Do’s and Don’ts
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Are Social Workers Exempt or Nonexempt? Help!
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The Governance/Support Model for Nonprofit Boards
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Get the Most Value from Your Audit
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When Kids Volunteer: Liability Basics
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Nonprofit Tax Quiz
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How to Get a Job at a Foundation
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Nonprofit Personnel Files — A Guide from Ask Rita
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Foundation-Nonprofit “Partnerships” — Fact or Fiction?
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Should Staff Contact with the Board Be Restricted?
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12 Ways for New Nonprofit Executive Directors to Succeed
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Firing My Friend, the Founder
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Sample Drug-Free Nonprofit Workplace Policy
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Can We Fire Someone Who Comes to Work Drunk?
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Nonprofit Lessons from Star Wars
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Regrets of a Former Arts Funder
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Ten Myths About Nonprofit Boards
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Outsource Your Bookkeeping!
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The 7 x 7 Board Member Briefing
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The Board Just Fired Me …and I’m the Founder!
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Four Ways to Remove a Board Member
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Standing on the Shoulders of Movements
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Should You Be Considering a Nonprofit Merger?
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The Trouble with Turkey
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Board Insurance: Do You Really Need It?
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Endorsing Candidates. Illegal. How to Do It.
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Three Instant Improvements for Board Agendas and Accountability
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Nonprofit Job Sites Reviewed and Rated
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Can I Be Held Personally Liable for Misclassifying an Employee as Exempt?
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Benchmarking and Analyzing Salaries: A Fast How-To
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Blue Ribbon Nominating Committee for Your Board
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Lucky 7: The Casino Industry and Philanthropy
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Alternatives to Strategic Planning at Nonprofits
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In Defense of Strategic Planning: A Rebuttal
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Ask Rita: Can We Discriminate in Favor of People with Disabilities?
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Court-Ordered Community Service: Volunteers or Prison Labor?
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Strategic Planning: Failures and Alternatives
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Firing the Executive Director
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Get Thy Nonprofit Self Into Therapy!
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Where Should the Board Chair, the ED, the Staff Sit?
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Ask Rita: The HR of Nonprofit Romance
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How to Hire Your First Development Director
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Grantseeker’s Guide to Foundation Affinity Groups
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Finding the Right Nonprofit Board to Join
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Nonprofit Bookkeeping Test
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Meaningful Budget Work by the Board
Nonprofit leaders and Blue Avocado readers answer the question, “What is the secret to successful grant writing?”
With some creative thinking, a nonprofit’s board member was able to forge a nonprofit partnership that advanced two causes that she cared deeply about.
A guide to effectively manage volunteers, from recruiting to appreciation. Keep volunteers engaged and your organization thriving.
As the planet faces a climate crisis, inequality emerges as a new threat coming to face the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofit leaders answer the question, “What are the key qualities and skills you look for in potential board members?”
A nonprofit strategic planning process that includes human factors that improves the chances of successfully implementing the plan.
Here is a wonderful, succinct guide that provides help for the 600,000 + treasurers of all-volunteer organizations (AVOs).
Fundraising Fuels Your Nonprofit’s Mission. We’ve distilled the best practices and innovative approaches to help you secure the funding you need.
This photo contest for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations offers $5000 in cash donations for 25 winning photos, with a $1000 grand prize.
Nonprofit leaders share their most successful fundraising strategies with other nonprofits.
Insider newsletters give your board members upbeat news in quick, regular bites — so your work will stay present to them between meetings.
Accounting Procedures Manual Template in Word. Download the Word document, and everything you need to fill in is in red.
What you need to know to meet your foundation’s tax requirements and the 990-PF.
Nonprofit leaders share examples to answer the question: How does your nonprofit measure success? Strong staff, data, satisfaction, and more.
Good communication about common objectives can prevent dissatisfaction and go a long way toward preventing board member resignations.
Donor challenges in giving money? Consider the donor’s point of view. Create a productive pathway from initial interest to the donation.
Nonprofit leaders reveal the biggest mistakes that new nonprofits make: Finding identity, losing focus, board issues, and more.
An executive director shares the story of a nonprofit’s first five years, and her process of building sustainable nonprofit collaborations.
Effective donor engagement strategies: Consider and articulate how supporting the mission benefits your donors too.
Developing and sustaining a motivated, productive, and highly engaged workforce means your employees must be measured on how they demonstrate the organization’s values.
Nonprofit leaders and Blue Avocado readers answer: “What is one tool or strategy you wish your nonprofit had implemented sooner?”
Nonprofit collaboration strategies: Working with like-minded people and organizations can create a deepened impact, more sustainable relationships, and a stronger funding pool for your mission.
Getting a grant isn’t just a handshake and a check — they can come with many conditions. Is your CFO ready?
How one nonprofit moved forward when the only solution to a dysfunctional board was a brand-new one.