A blog by nonprofit professionals sharing reflections, resources, tips, and ideas about the art and science of nonprofit practice
Our Latest Notes
Turn and Face the Strange
Unlike most of my articles for Nonprofit Notes, this one is not for my colleagues who are nonprofit professionals or experienced volunteers. This article is for you if your career has taken a different path, but you are wondering if a job in the nonprofit sector might...
Staff Involvement in an Executive Director Search
If you’ve ever been on a nonprofit Board during an ED transition, one of the first questions you are likely to tackle is whether and how staff members should be involved in the search. At Clover Search Works, we get asked about this a lot, and we do have a point of...
Cultivating A Culture of Learning
Some of the most effective leaders I know make learning a priority: for themselves, for their teams, and for their organizations. Skillful leaders tend to be naturally curious about new ideas and different perspectives. They have vision and opinions, for sure, but...
De-Mystifying Donor Engagement Strategies
One of the first questions I ask my non-profit clients who want to strengthen their major gift program is this: “Tell me about your current donor engagement strategies? What do you offer your donors in terms of meaningful experiences to inspire them to increase their...
The Essential Development Dashboard
Throughout my time as a fundraising consultant, I’ve found that many nonprofit organizations only use the bottom line to measure their fundraising success. Whether you’re using a development revenue report, or simply the monthly financial statements, relying solely on...
Please don’t ask me to fundraise from my friends
You’ve joined the Board of an organization you care deeply about that is addressing an issue, problem, or opportunity in a way that you think is absolutely vital. If only the development director wasn’t pestering you all the time to fundraise from your friends. You...