Jennifer E Goldman, Nonprofit Consultant

  Another new year is staring me right in the face. It’s like a blank canvas just waiting to be colored in. Only, I’m no artist. I’m an entrepreneur. My brushes and paints are ideas, strategies, methods and actions. It’s a whole year to accomplish all the exciting things I’ve been mulling over in my mind the past two months. It’s time to scale this ship! I launched my company in 2015, on April Fools’ Day. Foolish? Maybe, but it’s been a fabulous adventure. As my experience expanded my business evolved from community relations to management consulting to nonprofit management consulting. I’ve cultivated a niche for myself that’s fun and comfortable, fairly unique but in good company with other professionals who are passionate about advancing nonprofit organizations. I love everything about my business. I love the quiet moments alone in my home office; blogging, creating videos, publishing content and resources of value for nonprofit leaders. I love the business networking oppor...

When was the last time you got an appeal letter at home that included a self-addressed, stamped envelope...so you ran for your checkbook? I can’t remember either. It may have been enough to get you bonus donors back in our mothers’ day, but today the extra money spent on double the envelopes and double the postage is just an added expense to an already low-netting fundraiser. On average, fundraising appeal letters see a return of around 5%. That’s not a lot. To put it into perspective, here’s a little math I did for you. You’re welcome ;)      100 = number of letters you sent out          5 = the number of donations you receive If your ask in the letter was $100, then you may (or may not) have grossed $500 for that fundraiser. Total. And here’s likely what you spent on this “fundraiser”: 5-10 hours of your time creating, composing, collating, and mailing out – if you make $30/hour that’s $150 - $300 of your time $126 on posta...

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...

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...

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 ...