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Why You May Need to Delete Half of Your Email List
When Facebook changes its news feed algorithms, it’s all nonprofit communicators talk about. But much more important changes are underway elsewhere: Over the last few years, big email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo! have been changing the lin …
In the boardroom: Asked to join that board?
Asked to join that board? Here’s what to look for before you sign on the dotted line Most board recruitment is relationship-based. Often a friend or colleague, already serving on a board, will recruit you to join their Community Benefit Organiza …
Divorce and the Nonprofit Board Member
Over the course of seven years, I have served on the boards of two nonprofit agencies and on the education committee of a third. I’m a professional academic, with the organizational skills and the flexible schedule that make me valuable as a vol …
If Your Board Looked Like Your Community
Moving Board Diversity from a ‘Problem to Solve’ to ‘Something to Practice.’ Staff and Board Members Weigh in on Common Hurdles and How to Overcome Them. This story is part of New Faces New Spaces, a series by the Irvine Foundation exploring how …
I Followed A Founder: a First Person Nonprofit Tale
Too often the focus on nonprofit executive transitions is about the departing executive. We’re in the middle of interviewing 58 executives who followed founders or long-time leaders. Here’s just one of their stories; we’ll call her “Amanda”: The …
Getting to 100% Board Giving
Having 100% of board members make personal donations is a cliché we don’t like. It’s not a meaningful measure of board member commitment, and typically creates a situation where even the best board members have to be nagged. BUT, if you do have this re …
Ditch Your Board Composition Matrix
You know the board matrix: it has a list of skills and competencies that are “supposed” to be on the board, such as legal, marketing, HR, fundraising, finance. And typically there are also demographic qualities, such as gender, race, age. The boa …
Organizing the Board to Support the Revenue Strategy
Instead of focusing only on how board members can raise individual donations (or not!), think more broadly (and effectively) about how board members can support the key aspects of your organization's business/revenue strategy:In the quest for funds …
What is an Advisory Board and Should We Have One?
Recently several Blue Avocado readers have written to say their organizations are considering creating advisory boards or advisory committees of one kind or another. At the same time, others write to ask how to disband troublesome or obsolete adv …
Nonprofit Conflict of Interest: A 3-Dimensional View
Most nonprofit discussions about conflicts of interest are similar to those in the for-profit sector: they focus on financial benefit to board members or staff to the detriment of the nonprofit organization. The classic examples: the nonprofit buys som …
