Jennifer E Goldman, Nonprofit Consultant

Somewhere in time it became standard practice for nonprofit organizations to plan a balanced budget for their upcoming fiscal year. I don’t know where that came from, but can we please send it back? Ask any small business owner and they will tell you that the bottom line matters. They’re looking to be profitable in their year. They want their budget to indicate sustainability and growth. They’re ok with expenses going up as long as income increases even more. I encourage nonprofit organizations to adopt this mindset as well. How will your nonprofit be able to serve your community next year if you aren’t making money? Your annual budget should be a reflection of your growth plans, your program development , and the increased impact you plan to make in your community. Here are a few examples of things I encourage you to STOP doing to your nonprofit budget: ·         Stop purposely making your income and expenses equal – for two basic reasons. If y...

  I hear from several of my nonprofit clients that board engagement is a challenge; getting board members to do more than just show up once a month for board meetings has proven more difficult than they expected. I like to work from the assumption that community members who agree to join a nonprofit board do so with the best of intentions of giving back, making a difference in their local community. And I do believe that’s true. What I’ve also come to believe, however, is that the average community member doesn’t really understand what being a board member for a small nonprofit organization entails. So, how do we get our board to be more engaged? The bigger question for me is: how can you get board members who are already engaged? People who understand your nonprofit, your mission, the expectations you place on board members and what ‘engagement’ looks like to your particular organization? I’ve talked in several of my presentations and seminars/webinars about what I call the ...

Everybody likes free stuff, right? Well...maybe. It depends on the stuff. If I were to give you the choice: a free new car or a free mud pie, which one would you choose? What if I never offered you the car, just the mud pie? Would that seem like an awesome gift to you? Maybe if you’re three. But as a nonprofit leader, what are you going to do with a mud pie? Ok, so all of that is me being silly and playing devil’s advocate, but how many of you have given consideration to the value of in-kind contributions offered to your organization? Not the stated monetary value of the item; the value of that item to YOU. When is a gift not a gift? In consideration of the in-kind contributions you’re being offered, ask yourself (or your board if you need additional input): Is the service or item you’re being offered of benefit to your organization? Is this something you would have sought out and paid for even if it hadn’t been offered? Is this something you know exactly what to do with, or will it ta...

November tends to be a month of practicing gratitude. And who would argue that? Gratitude is never a bad idea. Gratitude, however, is a concept that is applied to the past and the present, typically. But what about the future? Personally, at this time of year, I’m preparing for the holiday season – time with friends and family, expressing gratitude, love, charitable giving, and my not-so-warm feelings about cold weather. Professionally, however, I’m thinking about my business and how I’d like it to perform next year. Not just how it will perform, but what types of projects I want to work on and who I want to work with. I hesitate to call it goal setting because that just seems so cliché. And I refuse to think of my goals as being SMART (if you haven’t heard that one yet, Google it). Plus, goals are for sports. I’d rather set a whole plan in motion. This is a time of year to be intentional. But more than that; it’s a time of year to be real with yourself. There’s a brand spankin’ new ye...

I’m blaming it on summer fun! I’ve been teasing you about the eBook on events that I’m putting together...and it’s not finished yet. :(  So to help ease the pain, I’m going to give you a fun, outside-the-box idea that I’ve come up with that can be a great supplement – or maybe even a substitution - for your nonprofit fundraiser ticketed event. In all honesty, I didn’t invent this – it’s an idea that I heard of several years ago that I believe should become a bigger idea, so I’m adding a new level to it. Back in the day, I caught wind of an organization holding a “plateless” dinner. And, wow, was I jealous! Here I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off organizing a black-tie fundraiser gala - spending more and more hours of my week on just this one thing as the end of September neared – while some genius was raking in the money and planning nothing!? To explain further, the plateless dinner was a fundraiser for this particular nonprofit organization. They sent out fa...

Funding Planning seems to be on a LOT of minds right now. Perhaps you're feeling a bit squeezed dry from all we've been through in the past 2.5 years. Maybe it's just a 'holy moly the new fiscal year is starting...NOW!' bit of anxiety. Whatever the reason, if you're stressing about moolah, here are a few things you can do to get yourself a bit more organized and ready to make money this fiscal year: Determine your income goal for the next fiscal year and compare it to what the organization brought in last fiscal year. What's the difference? Talk to board members and current funders about possible ways to bridge that gap. Make a list of funding you know is guaranteed this fiscal year. Make a list of current income streams that you feel you can increase this year. Dust off last year's donor solicitation letter, update it with juicy data and stories of success and compelling statements about your new plans. Send the new draft of your letter to your board an...

The end of the year holidays are a busy time for everyone, personally. But while some businesses are doing double-time to keep up with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, others are woefully slow. Regardless of which type of business you own, there are several ways that you can capitalize on your time during the season that will benefit your business. I’ve compiled a list of ideas to share with you – some will be perfect for your business and others will be perfect for someone else. Increasing sales 1. Give away a gift with each minimum purchase or signed contract 2. Create a digital marketing campaign around a competition or drawing 3. Donate a portion of sales to a charity of your choice For your current customers 4. Send hand-written thank you/holiday cards 5. Create and share holiday gratitude videos 6. Share your personal 2021 story in an email Just for fun 7. Decorate your storefront. Extra bonus points if you get your neighbors to do the same. Super ext...

By Jennifer E. Goldman, President of Resonance, LLC       Very few nonprofit organizations get years down the road and decide to change their mission, but sometimes it’s a great idea to change your mission statement. And while you’re at it, take a hard look at your vision statement, too.   Here’s why: Did the board that set up the organization know the difference between a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement? The vision statement should exhibit what the world would look like if your organization accomplished its mission. (Think “In a perfect world...”) The Mission Statement should say HOW you plan to accomplish your vision. How old are these statements? After many years a Vision and Mission Statement can get old, stale, dated. Your organization my seek to accomplish the same thing, but the language may need a refresh. How old is your board? Not the ages of your members; the length of time the members have been with ...