by Mike Bishop J.D.

Dear Rita:

We operate a nonprofit housing clinic for homeless persons. The pandemic, along with the holidays, has inspired some of our employees to inquire about doing extra work for us as volunteers. We don’t normally use volunteers. However, we appreciate the offers of help from our staff and could certainly use the extra help this time of year.

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What are the rules and the risks if we want to allow our employees to volunteer for us? We know, for example, that volunteers cannot be paid for the services they provide. To read more.... Click Here.

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Perhaps it’s a desire to increase your impact, success, value, recognition in your current situation/leadership role? Or maybe you want to take charge and embark on a new chapter for you or your organization?

In order to achieve those goals, we need to start at the beginning and take the time to identify what we truly “want.” Establish what kind of impact you want to have so that you can then choose the embodied actions, thoughts, and behaviors every day that will support those goals.

To access the “Take Charge and Stay Confident”……… Click Here.

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By Ethan Karp

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Nonprofits need money to make social good happen. We just need to spend all our money on our mission and can’t give it to shareholders. Nonprofits do better if they can hire better people with higher salaries. More staff leads to more outcomes. Better buildings and supplies lead to higher quality services. Just like businesses. In other words, nonprofits must consider themselves businesses first before they layer on their unique, social-good-generating challenges.

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In my journey to turn around an ailing nonprofit over the last eight years, I’ve used six lessons from good, caring business leaders I met through my previous employer and as a business-serving economic development nonprofit. Follow these and you can start elevating the good your nonprofit can do.... Click Here.

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by Dennis Walsh CPA

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More than half of the nonprofits in the United States are estimated to be all-volunteer organizations. Here is a wonderful, succinct guide for the 600,000 + treasurers of such organizations.

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My time as treasurer of a faith-based nonprofit was a labor of love.  Starting out as an all-volunteer organization with a $20,000 budget, we developed financial systems, workable budgets, and demonstrated accountability. We served families affected by incarceration and there’s no greater personal reward than seeing people realize they have real hope for a better life. In just three years the budget grew to over $330,000.

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This experience helps me appreciate one of the many unsung heroes of our time: the treasurer of the all-volunteer organization (AVO). AVOs are among the most important and most invisible building blocks of our communities. Members of all-volunteer organizations read to children, care for the dying, get clean water legislation passed, serve as volunteer fire departments, help people overcome alcoholism, bring music into prisons, and help refugees get settled.

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To do this and so much other important work, all-volunteer organizations raise and use substantial funds. And each organization has at least one volunteer leader counting the cash, writing checks, safeguarding financial integrity, and managing funds soundly. This guide is for you, Super Treasurer..... Click Here.

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by Jack Elkins

The gala attendance for your nonprofit is down, year over year. So, you ask, How can we fix our gala attendance?

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Naturally, this leads to ideas to make the gala snazzier. However, that doesn’t actually solve the shrinking attendance problem.

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Instead, ask yourself this: What was the goal of the gala? Was it fundraising, awareness, movement building? What if you had multiple goals? By asking goal-oriented questions, you will come up with better ways to achieve the desired outcome.

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To find out "How This Approach Works" ..........  Click Here

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By Celeste Frye, AICP

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Nonprofits are a critical part of our society, stepping up to help those who need it most. They feed the hungry, house the homeless, advocate for human rights and much more.

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One of the most admirable aspects of nonprofits is how dedicated they are to their core mission. But sometimes, this devotion leads nonprofits to develop a blind spot: their own organizational health. It’s hard to find the time to look inward when you’re busy helping others. Yet if a nonprofit isn’t organizationally healthy, it is much harder for it to reach its goals. Indeed, when a nonprofit overlooks its financial and administrative health, the consequences can be dire — from ballooning overhead costs to programs that don’t achieve their desired impact.

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To read more on this subject..............  Click Here.

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