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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Unicorns Found: Meet Two Grantwriters
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Word on the Street from the Council on Foundations Conference
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The Unrecognized Value of Community Nonprofits, Hiring Grantwriters, Extended Warranties, MTV
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In Search of Unicorns: Finding & Hiring Grantwriters, Part 1
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Nonprofit Budgets Have to Balance: False!
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Don’t Drive, Chew Gum and Use the Phone at the Same Time
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Meaningful Acts of Appreciation for Nonprofit Boards and Staff
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Nonprofits and the Media
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Pay Off My Student Loan or Pay Into a 401K?
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Why is it called Blue Avocado?
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Abolish Board Committees?
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Reasons to Have (& Not to Have) an Attorney on a Nonprofit Board
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Can We Require An Employee To Take Her Meds?
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Promises, Promises: Rural Advocates vs. Big Philanthropy
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Five Ways to Let Government Money Run You Over
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Good Management vs. Good Leadership
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What Do I Say to a Donor or Funder?
If you are a part of a nonprofit organization, consider directors and officers (D&O) coverage as a “must have.”
Discussing restrictions on nonprofit 501c3 organizations that prohibit them from supporting or opposing candidates running for office.
Three instant ways to improve meetings simply by what you put on the piece of paper titled “Board Agenda:”
Where are the best nonprofit job sites, both to post and look for nonprofit jobs? A review and rating of 31 sites across several criteria.
Individuals can be personally liable for unpaid wages and other remedies under the FLSA and possibly also under state law.
Analyze salaries by charting salary ranges, adding benchmark salaries, and two ways to review individual salaries.
A detailed method for your nonprofit’s nominating committee to recruit board members.
Is it worth going all-in on casino philanthropy? Only if you know when to lay the odds and when to take the odds.
By staking too much on strategic planning, nonprofits often neglect other tools for making decisions, moving organizations, or learning.
Consultant Mike Allison provides a defense of strategic planning for the nonprofit sector in rebuttal to a prior Blue Avocado article.
Ask Rita’s HR experts review Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and ADA rules.
Court-ordered volunteers perform a wide variety of roles in nonprofits. Susan Ellis discusses when to accept them, and how to do it right.
When recessions happen, many nonprofits can’t move forward on strategic plans. Jan Masaoka explores what nonprofits can do instead.
Sometimes a board needs to fire an executive director. Sometimes it’s clear, more often it’s a little fuzzier. So when and how do you do it?
The same things that motivate nonprofit workers can also create unnecessary personal and psychic suffering. For some, therapy may help.
Where everyone sits reflects organizational philosophy, and is a strong message to all about authority, participation, and the board’s role.
Many sample handbooks have policies which ban employees from dating with co-workers. Is it legally required to prohibit office relationships?
The only thing worse than not having fundraising staff is having bad fundraising staff.
Foundation affinity groups can appear to be secretive at first. Let Rick Cohen show you how to navigate them to help your nonprofit.
Questions to ask yourself before seeking a board, and then how to find the right next opportunity for making a difference.
In the age of social media, Holly Minch dares to defy the Twitter evangelists and make the case for the power of traditional print and radio.
This 21-question quiz samples from general bookkeeping knowledge as well as nonprofit bookkeeping and compliance matters. Use this assessment test as part of your hiring toolkit as well as for identifying staff training needs.
The board has some important perspectives to bring to the discussion of the budget. Here some questions that take advantage of the board’s diverse community perspectives and the finance staff’s knowledge and skill.
We asked about your experiences with romance in the nonprofit workplace, and the common thread was passion — for your work and each other.