Yes, Nonprofits Have Customers: How to Prioritize Mission-Driven Customer Service
We’ve all been there. A sales associate starts explaining their return policy before you’ve even had a chance to speak. A service provider begins promoting the latest product without knowing what you need. Or a medical professional makes assumptions about your health before asking you how you feel. Customer service is about four simple words: […]
How to Silence Your Inner Judge: 4 Ways to Stop Negative Self-Talk
Being the last person picked for team sports as a child was an excruciating experience. I still remember the anxiety waiting to hear my name called, watching my friends go to the right or left to join a team as I remained rooted in place. Never good enough. Never chosen. Unwanted. In the small crevices […]
Corporate Sponsorships & Partnerships: Funders Share Advice on How to Engage Corporate Partners
Companies gave more than $21 billion to charities during 2021 (Giving USA), representing a critical revenue source and strategic partner for nonprofits. With 8 in 10 Americans expecting businesses to positively impact society (Cone/Porter Novelli, 2018), gone are the days of companies merely being satisfied with visibility and their name on an event T-shirt. Today, […]
Four Critical HR Policies for Nonprofit Organizations
How you run your nonprofit organization determines its success, from the employees you hire to the policies and practices you adopt. When it comes to HR policies for nonprofit organizations, there are four human resource practices every nonprofit should have in place to operate ethically and with excellence. Even if your organization already has these […]
7 Traits of Emotionally Intelligent Leaders
What does it mean to be an emotionally intelligent leader? Emotionally intelligent leaders possess seven important qualities that spell out the word LEADERS. L is for listening. Emotionally intelligent leaders place a higher value on listening than they do talking. E is for equipping. Emotionally intelligent leaders equip their employees with the tools and resources […]
When It’s Not Good to Be a Great Storyteller — How to Reject the False Stories in Your Head
One of the best gifts I received during 2020 was reconnecting with a long-lost friend on the final day of that challenging year. Time melted away as we spoke on the phone for more than an hour, catching up on nearly two decades as if no time had passed at all. While the reason we […]
How to Recruit Nonprofit Board Members
The Nonprofit Leadership Center recently asked our community of nonprofit leaders to share the most significant challenges they face related to board governance. How to recruit nonprofit board members is a resounding pain point we hear. As someone who has the great pleasure and privilege of working with nonprofit board members and CEOs to navigate […]
Leaders Who Authentically Embrace Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Believe These 8 Things
Everywhere you turn, organizations are posting diversity statements on their websites and hiring leaders to oversee diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. But “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DE&I) is not a corporate buzzphrase or leadership trend; it represents the non-negotiable pillars on which strong cultures must be built. How do you know if you and your […]
7 Hopes & Expectations That Nonprofit CEOs Have for the Nonprofit Sector in 2021
We recently asked nonprofit leaders to share their hopes and expectations for the nonprofit sector in 2021. Their wise perspective encourages all nonprofit leaders to think more strategically and collaboratively to strengthen our sector and communities. “2021 is and will be a time of great challenge but also great opportunity in the nonprofit sector. To […]
Three Things Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Say
If someone asked you to name your all-time favorite leader, who would it be? What about your least favorite leader? Chances are your reasons for choosing these leaders have little to do with their cognitive abilities or technical skills and much to do with their emotional intelligence — how they treated you as a person. […]