For Nonprofits Change Will Do Them Good

The 2013 State of the Sector Survey, conducted by the Nonprofit Finance Fund, has a wealth of data regarding where nonprofits are today – and more importantly – where they are heading. Today I want to focus on the survey question pertaining, “Finance & Operations Actions in the Last or Next 12 Months," and in particular the 39% which answered yes to “Change the main ways in which you raise & spend money” in the last or next 12 months. While 39% is impressive, what I found even more striking was the year-over-year change – 15%. Clearly nonprofit leaders are getting tired of doing the same things and being disappointed when they don’t get different results. What kinds of changes can we expect? A clue is the number one answer – “Attend conferences or network to build relationships.” People are hungry for answers, but they are also looking for fresh ideas and perspectives (or at least 58% of them are). The 46% planning...
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Donor Retention Begins at Home

Reading Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising was a sobering event. I have heard all of these complaints over the years, but seeing how truly pervasive they really are transformed them from anecdotal stories into systemic problems. It was certainly disturbing to learn how many development directors want to leave their jobs:   But this chart was downright terrifying:   Even in high performing organizations a culture of philanthropy is only present in 36% of organizations, and for everyone else 12%. It looks like we have created a culture of unhappiness, and it’s coming through to donors as they stop giving, or don’t start at all. No matter how good you are at compartmentalizing your life, if you are unhappy then your donors (and prospective donors) will pick up on it. This is why we included a special session on the topic at our upcoming Donor Retention Bootcamp: It’s Coming Through!  Politics, silos, dysfunctional teams, and demanding donors are just a few of the reasons...
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Prospects Most Likely to Go MGO

A list of companies most likely to go IPO came across my Facebook wall the other day, and this list was created by Goldman Sachs. Now, most of you will say, “Well, so what, it’s another list.” But something caught my eye in this piece, as the companies listed are STARTUPS: “So why hold a conference for early stage companies if you’re an IPO underwriter? Well, the event basically functions as an extremely foresighted form of lead generation. According to multiple people I spoke to, these are the 30 or so startups Goldman has designated as potential IPO candidates. And it wants to make a relationship as early on as possible, in case some of them actually do and need Goldman’s services in the process.” Oddly enough, nonprofits might be able to learn a thing or two from GS… What are your organization’s steps to identify who, amongst your constituents, members, and prospects, are most likely to go MGO (major gift offering)? Has your organization developed...
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