By David Beecher As I began drafting a piece on the value of board retreats—a highly visible and strategic element of good governance—I found myself continually returning to the quieter, often overlooked aspects of board governance. While retreats and officer elections are headline-worthy, effective governance is equally rooted in foundational practices that rarely make the
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With many nonprofit health systems already operating on thin margins, philanthropy is one of the few means to close the gap to providing the very best care. Hospital and health system foundations across the United States seek donations from patients and families who have received care, and they have been successful. According to the latest
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As a nonprofit, knowing where you stand compared to your peers is crucial for both operational and philanthropic success. Benchmarking allows organizations to evaluate their current position, identify opportunities for improvement, and set clear, actionable goals for the future. In this blog, we’ll discuss the purpose of benchmarking, walk through key indicators, and explore how
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By Cindy Albert Link and Michelle Hurley When planning a capital campaign, a key approach to ensure its success is creating a thoughtful and compelling donor recognition strategy. In this blog, we explore how to establish the strategy, structure opportunities, discuss campaign-specific milestones, and guide your own recognition levels with a sample chart to offer
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By David Beecher In the independent school world, the Head of School is obviously a critical and substantial position. In addition to being the educational leader of the school, she or he is the moral compass for the community, establishing and maintaining the core values of the institution. She is also responsible for financial management,
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Board meetings can quickly lose focus as discussions meander and multiple participants share opinions. Adopting Robert’s Rules of Order can help maintain attention, improve efficiency, and encourage participation by providing a clear structure for discussions. This article offers a simplified overview of how to use Robert’s Rules of Order. It is important to note that
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Successful strategic fundraising is not built on the number of solicitations you undertake. It’s rooted in building and nurturing long-term, genuine relationships with donors. Many nonprofits fall into the trap of transactional fundraising, focusing only on an endless cycle of short-term gifts. But the most successful organizations take a donor-centric approach, prioritizing relationships over one-time
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During this past year, I have attended a number of seminars and professional development events that highlighted a simple but “Why not?” truth. Fundraisers should talk about and encourage gifting of assets in a client’s estate plan and many times, in capital campaigns or transformational endowment gifts. Why not educate prospective donors about the possibility
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Hiring the right nonprofit leader for your nonprofit is one of the most important decisions your organization will make. To ensure success, you need to be sure you’re going past a great resume and practiced interview responses. Strategic questions are designed to dig deeper and unearth how a candidate’s leadership style, values, and vision aligns
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In today’s increasingly competitive environment, independent schools and higher education institutions need more than traditional fundraising approaches to thrive. Enrollment and philanthropy are the lifeblood of institutional success, yet many advancement teams, athletic directors, coaches, deans, and program leaders still operate in silos, cultivating their own networks of donors, alumni, and supporters independently. The result?
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