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The Board Just Fired Me . . . and I’m the Founder!
We usually don't publish First Person Nonprofit articles anonymously. But in this case we know the individual and corroborated the key points of her story, and we understand why she has asked that her name not be published.Four weeks and five days …
America’s Dirtiest Job: Nonprofit Telemarketer?
So many people hate telemarketing calls that there are whole websites devoted to ways to torment and infuriate the people making those calls. Are telemarketers evil fiends who should be despised and tortured whenever possible? We asked Blue Avocado rea …
The Board Told Me I Had to Join Rotary
If you’ve wondered how to break into the traditional civic leadership networks, Joan Dixon of the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois explains why the Rotary may be the unexpected solution: At one point I was the PR director for a large …
Through the Valley of the Shadow of Failure
Cate Steane is the executive director of Family Emergency Shelter Coalition (FESCO), a nonprofit for families between homelessness and a home. With 60 people — most of them children — in its care every night, she went through a harrowing organization …
Switching Careers at the Worst Possible Time
Edie Boatman left a for-profit career for fundraising just as the economy crashed. With irony and humor her First Person Nonprofit essay reflects on her sense of timing and what she’s learned so far. August of 2008: Just one month before th …
The Volunteer Who Couldn’t
Martin Gorfinkel retired from the technology company he started and ran for 30 years. He is the legendary "retired and willing volunteer" but has run into roadblock after roadblock. We seldom hear from the would-be volunteer who never ended u …
Fundraising Confessions of a Former Camp Fire Girl
Carrie Avery is both a foundation president and a volunteer fundraiser. In this First Person Nonprofit article she looks at fundraising from both angles: Growing up in Southern California, I loved being a Camp Fire Girl: the beac …
A Board Leads an Organization Out of the Ashes
Perhaps the least-appreciated aspect of nonprofit boards is their role as a safety net. Even boards that don't seem to be doing much, or that may even have contributed to deep problems, rise up and do heroic work to fix things. Here is a First Pers …
Laid Off From a Nonprofit: Me!
A First Person Nonprofit story:Nearly two months ago, I joined the ranks of laid-off Americans. It almost makes me feel Patriotic, somehow Special, to be counted among the group considered most newsworthy, 24/7. The news is filled with stories about us …
George W. Bush’s Legacy: A Dramatic Increase in Volunteer Spirit
While Torie Osborn makes a case in this issue of Blue Avocado for the fresh start she thinks nonprofits can and should make in the wake of the Obama campaign, Carol Stone argues that we would be well served to appreciate nonprofit strides made since 20 …
