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.
Recent Nonprofit Articles
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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
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Nonprofit Love
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What is Micromanagement and What Isn’t?
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Six Easy, Nearly-Free Ways to Be More Disabled-Accessible
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America’s Dirtiest Job: Nonprofit Telemarketer?
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The Easiest Way to Raise Money: Register with CFC
“You need to have an insatiable tenacity to learn, and willingness to understand how things come together.”
Four recommendations that will radically improve the strategic planning process at nonprofit organizations.
Arguments for & against legislation that prohibits churches & other charitable organizations from direct or indirect political campaigning.
When information is part of the board directive as a whole, organizations reinforce the importance of shared responsibility and governance.
When searching for how new members fit in, look at your strategic plan. Does the board reflect the skill set you need to get there?
“Take every opportunity that’s offered and consistent with your mission and let the artists lead the way.”
Advocates for nonprofits tout the importance of diverse communities and social safety nets. A new study suggests it’s also good for business.
There is so much potential out there to dramatically move the needle on social issues and drive impact, no matter the external environment.
Kevin Davis explains how nonprofit journalism organizations are working to gain donors’ trust by being community-powered.
Alice Rossignol puts her pen to paper about a big professional first. She decided to leap – or maybe she got pushed.
How to help your banker to give your nonprofit organization as much credit as possible.
Results of a survey of 500 nonprofits on their organization’s financial outlook in 2017.
What does it take to be entrepreneurial? Anika Stephens talks about young leaders who have already made a positive social or economic impact.
Ron Kratofil shares tips and resources for nonprofit mergers. Mergers are a lot like dating, relationships and marriage.
The story of a nonprofit board member going through the turmoil of divorce. How divorce made it difficult to serve on the board.
Robert Egger on advice to young nonprofit leaders, how the sector has changed, and why it’s more important than ever that we take risks.
A drug-free workplace policy can specify that the term “drugs” includes marijuana (and its derivatives and all related cannabinoids).
Some of the hardest moments we face happen during nonprofit leadership transitions. Nothing is ever as neat as it looks on the surface.
Is your nonprofit considering raising funds and investing in building or renovating a piece of property? Save time, money, and headaches.
How can a group of talented people, grouped together for a positive purpose, create an environment of discord, frustration or inefficiency?
How does an employer document ADA compliance? Let’s go through each element of the ADA analysis and identify helpful documentation.
Moving board diversity from a ‘problem to solve’ to ‘something to practice.’ Staff and board talk common hurdles and how to overcome them.
Misclassifying a contractor can cost big dollars for your nonprofit, so march forward, but make sure you proceed with care.
Your nonprofit should have a written Conflict of Interest policy that Board members review and acknowledge annually.