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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What Should We Do About an Employee’s Outrageous Blog?
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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?
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.
Nonprofit rebrands are tricky. Nonprofit rebranding strategies to help provide you with a roadmap to your own successful transition.
Food insecurity is not an abstract: Our friends, neighbors, and communities are struggling to thrive. The challenges of food insecurity.
Nonprofits must advance their mission by valuing their employees’ worth by providing benefits and fair compensation for nonprofit employees.
While culturally responsive leadership has usually been centered in education, its practices have value to the nonprofit sector as well.
Getting what your nonprofit needs — funding, staff, and more — means showing how working with you can be a win-win.
With more workers than ever doubling as caregivers, nonprofits must find new, caring ways to support them in the workplace.
Tap into curiosity and creativity in nonprofit leadership and enhance your ability to be a clear and confident leader.
Nonprofit grant proposal budgeting tips: Five common challenges and strategies for calculating grant proposal numbers.
Take action to protect nonprofit employee safety and contribute to a community of acceptance and support where violence is not tolerated.
By careful examination of your nonprofit’s budget, you can gain insights into your organization’s true priorities.
Leading a nonprofit can be an isolating and exhausting experience, so preventing burnout is key to an organization’s long-term success.
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.
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.
Sometimes, the continued growth and success of a nonprofit means the founder must recognize when the time is right to step aside and trust others to guide the organization and its mission.
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.
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.
Help your board members avoid dysfunction and clearly understand their roles in supporting your nonprofit’s success.