Regina Pinney
Executive Director
As we emerge to seek a new normal, our post pandemic development strategies must be adaptive and directive and emphasize what we have learned in the past years and what we can (and can not) control.
A first step is to recreate (or create) a development plan to attract and retain donors and ensure these strategies are cost effective and our investments of time, talent, energy, and resources are efficient and effective.
“I’m a librarian not a fundraiser,” were the words of the library director of with whom I had just signed on as counsel for a capital campaign to assist with raising funds for a new building. Two years later as we celebrated success and they moved into their new library, she confided, “I know you kept saying that this would be the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my professional career, but I never really understood and, boy, you were right.”
As my library colleague discovered, a capital campaign is a significant undertaking requiring a substantial, and possibly, unprecedented investment of organizational resources and many nonprofits have little or no experience in this area. From initial planning to wrap up to pledge collection, the effort will likely take years and should propel your organization to a new level of fundraising. So, it makes sense that time spent on education and preparation on the front end will save you time and money and help strengthen your organization in the long haul.
Nonprofit Network has several resources including our Capital Campaign Course. The 12-session virtual course is help approximately once a year and follows a syllabus designed to review all aspects of a capital campaign. Sessions will include structured conversations around assigned reading and homework and participants will gain knowledge around key topics including:
If you are interested, please click on the link to learn more and register for the next course starting Feb. 2, 2023: Capital Campaigns Course 2023 (12 virtual sessions)
If this date has passed, please check our Capital Campaigns page to learn about our next upcoming event.
Happy New Year!
We at Nonprofit Network are so grateful for all the blessings that we received in 2022 – even the ones wrapped as challenges, puzzles, and barriers. Each of us is so honored to walk and work alongside our nonprofit partners to build better communities, and most importantly, better outcomes for those you serve.
With deep gratitude, thank you for the passion you bring to your work.
We’d like to take a moment to share the impact you have had on us.
We are excited to invite you to our new Nonprofit Network website! And you're invited to join us on Zoom for an in-depth look at our new site. We'll cover how to log-in, the services available to you, and answer any questions you have. We'll also be reviewing the new member-only homepage portal. No registration is needed for these live events.
Our new website is filled with even more help at your fingertips, including:
First Step is to Login - As members and non-members (prospects) you will both need to set up a new password. To do this, [Click here]. Your Username is your email address. Once your password is updated, you can [login here] using the new password you just set-up.
Sharon Castle
Capacity Builder
Much has been written about the Great Resignation of 2022 or, as McKinsey & Company recently described it as, “the Great Attrition has become the Great Negotiation.”
In fact, according to McKinsey, 40% of employees globally are planning to leave their jobs in the next three to six months. The Great Attrition is making hiring harder. Are you searching the right talent pools?
So, what does that mean for the nonprofit sector; a sector historically known for paying low wages for demanding positions? At Nonprofit Network, we’ve been getting many questions from stressed-out Executive Directors trying to figure out how to hire and then retain talented staff.
Alyssa Turcsak
Outreach Coordinator
One of the biggest challenges in our sector we hear often is how isolating this work can be. You put so much of your heart and energy into serving clients, rescuing animals, and protecting our planet that connecting with others doing similar work feels very low on the priority list. You’re not alone. Being under-resourced and underpaid leaves nonprofit employees stretched thin.
Regina Pinney
Executive Director
Have you ever had one of those board meetings—the kind that makes you question if you are the right person for the job, if you have the stamina to continue, or if anyone in the room is on the same page about anything? The kind of meeting that makes you wonder if working at one of those 9-5 for profit jobs is fulfilling?
You know—one of "those" meetings.
Sharon Castle
Capacity Builder
Question: On a scale of 1 – 10, how important is a nonprofit board of directors?
Answer: 10+
If building a strong board is tantamount to running a healthy, vibrant, and successful nonprofit organization, how do we build a dynamic board?
While the answer is complex, there are strategies you can use to enhance your success.
Stormy Trotter, PhD.
Nonprofit Consultant
Nonprofit organizations (NPO’s) are essential to our communities and strive to advocate for causes, fill existing gaps, and provide meaningful resources. Many are successful in delivering programs and servicing needs, but are still often underrecognized and under supported.
Katena Cain, PhD.
Nonprofit Management Consultant
Starting a nonprofit organization is an exciting way to make an impact in your community. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this community of do-gooders? Well, with over 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States and roughly 52,000 (up from 49K in 2020) in Michigan, ensuring the sustainability and longevity of a nonprofit are not easy tasks. Especially with the recent decline we've seen with the pandemic.
Tom Williams
Retired Consultant
It’ been awhile since I blogged on embezzlement and regrettably, I’m feeling compelled to revisit this dark topic. The recent situation that sparked this writing is my learning of a familiar organization experiencing a valued staffer that embezzled a six figure amount of the money donated to their mission. As I shared in my previous blog, this sickens me professionally and saddens me for the work of all the great people that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars now being for naught. Disgustingly this action succeeds when we drop our complete nonstop attention to safeguards.
While I certainly encourage you to dig through our Nonprofit Network blog library and read “3 Dangerous Myths About Nonprofit Embezzlement”, today I want to share a different insight that may generate conversations within your organization.
Did you know that 93% of people who embezzled funds NEVER had a criminal record before? This fact from Marquette Report on Embezzlement is one that deserves some sincere reflection. Ponder the implications of this data about the 3,000+ embezzlers the Michigan State Police see annually (for profit and nonprofit). This means that all our safeguards are not to stop criminals from taking our organization’s hard earned money. Our safeguards are actually intended to eliminate an opportunity for a “trusted” person to take advantage of our negligence and take their first step over to the dark side.
Tom Williams
Consultant
Typically, I like to use this blog space to share eye-opening ideas and tools to build your organization’s capacity so that more good is done in your community. But today I am compelled to step away from that and reflect on the ugly side of nonprofit life that ties my stomach in knots: embezzlement. Please, let me be clear: I am driven to share this, not for any sense of sensationalism, but rather because if you are aware and informed, you will be better prepared to prevent, detect, and recover any losses in the event that your organization is victimized in an embezzlement scheme.
