Jennifer E Goldman, Nonprofit Consultant

There's a good chance that if the nonprofit you're part of is small in terms of employees, budget, and programming it was set up to have what's known as a 'working' board. And if you don't have any previous experience with small community nonprofit organizations, your only impression of what board membership means may have come from the silver screen. While you may have visions of being chauffeured to prestigious meetings where you state your opinions and cast votes on various matters of import the reality of board service looks very different and somewhat less glamorous, although (hopefully) highly more satisfying on a personal level. If your organization isn't staffed sufficiently to carry out its mission-related programs, AND raise funds, AND take care of all administrative requirements then it's up to the Board of Directors to roll up their sleeves and perform the work of the organization alongside the staff. It's imperative that board members un...

And start funding planning for your programs, your overhead, your growth. When I was the Executive Director of a small nonprofit, I can remember feeling like I spent all of my time either fundraising through special events or running the special events. We needed the event to add money to our bank account to keep us afloat until the next special event. Essentially, each event was paying for the overhead and event expenses. It was a vicious (and exhausting) cycle. I’ve been working on two basic things with my clients recently: Proving your value by showing the impact your organization has on its community Raising the funds you need to sustain and grow your nonprofit in a way that allows you to focus on your mission and your programs. By fundraising through events, nonprofits are rarely introducing people to their organization, their mission, their impact and importance. It’s the equivalent of a retail shop having a sale or hosting a pop-up. You may get a bunch of people excite...

If you’re struggling to find support for your nonprofit organization, you may want to begin tracking certain data to help you build a more compelling narrative. The more you understand what your organization has accomplished, in specific quantitative measures, the more your stakeholders and prospective supporters will be able to grasp the magnitude of the importance your nonprofit has in the community. Nonprofits that aren’t able to show their value, in both quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (narrative) ways often find support lacking in the following ways: Board member disengagement and/or dysfunction Not enough volunteers signing up Volunteers who step forward but don’t commit or follow through Donations waning in number and/or amount Grant applications rejected Partnerships dissolved or waning in commitment The more data you can collect during your fiscal year, the easier you’ll find it to tell your organization’s story. The method of data collection isn’t important – it can be...

Board retreats are a fantastic way to create meaningful engagement between staff and board, board member to board member and to solidify the commitment your board has to your nonprofit organization. Unfortunately, sometimes after a retreat, board members go back to status quo and that’s not ideal. Typically, a board retreat is put together with the hopes that board members will be re-energized, re-connected and renewed in their zeal to help lift an organization to a higher level of success. Here's a list of things I’ve found to be helpful in creating a retreat that will have a positive, lasting impact on your organization and the people you count on for its success: Decide what challenges you want to work through at the retreat and what outcomes/goals/deliverables you’ll be working toward. Make it a full-day or 2-day retreat. Eight solid hours if it’s only one day, six hours each day for 2-days. The best times of year for 2-day retreats to get the highest level of attendance (appr...

Have you ever been invited to an event coordinated by a nonprofit organization and thought, "That's strange. Why would  they  be hosting something like  this?"  If so, then chances are that the organization didn't think about their mission when they planned the event. There's no alignment there.  The main concern with events that don’t align with an organization’s mission is that it dilutes the understanding of what that nonprofit was set up to do. It’s Branding 101 – be consistent in your messaging. Always. I’ve seen private schools who boast instilling education, values, and citizenship for its students and then hosts a Monte Carlo Night with cigars, booze and gambling. I’ve seen historic preservation organizations coordinating Halloween parades for children. I’ve seen community small business support organizations create a haunted forest event out in the middle of nowhere. The allure for nonprofits is the idea that creating super big, fun events will give the...

The most common question I get from nonprofit leaders when they hear about my business is “Do you do grant writing?” I used to say yes, but then the conversation typically continued like this: Nonprofit: Great! There’s a grant we’d like to go after and applications are due in two weeks. Me: Ok. Tell me about the program this grant will be funding. Nonprofit: {crickets} Me: Ok. Then tell me what you’d like to use the grant money for. Nonprofit: General operations. Me: Did you read through the grant to see if they allow for their funds to be used that way? Most don’t allow for use of funds to pay for payroll, rent and other operational expenses. Nonprofit: {crickets} Me: I could help you try to find funding to help with specific programs that you have, or even see if we can find a funder who has a particular interest in helping nonprofits with a mission like yours who will allow funds to be used for operational funds. What is your budget? Nonprofit: How much can you get us? And it’s ok i...

By Jennifer E. Goldman, President of Resonance, LLC I have a soft spot in my heart for nonprofit organizations. And a huge understanding of how they work…or don’t work, as is too often the case. There are so many things that can endanger the success of even the best-intended nonprofit. A poorly defined mission tops the list.  In some cases, as the organization is formed, a definitive mission is never clearly defined and the organization never even gets off the ground. In other cases, the mission is strong at the beginning as founding board members have a clear vision and purpose, but eventually erodes as new board members, who aren’t as personally tied to the original mission, attempt to redefine it over time. Recently, I met with the leader of a 6-year old organization who wanted my company’s help with fundraising through community events. When asked what type of event she had in mind, her only response was, “The one that will bring in the most money.” As I ...