Responding to Memorial Gifts

What’s the best way to respond to memorial gifts? Stacey has some (non-ghoulish) thoughts. Also this week, Andy and Stacey have a minor disagreement about whether or not a nonprofit job is good for a person looking to advance in their career, and we find out how to train up a brand-new board member!

Restricted Gifts and Mergers

What happens to restrictions if our nonprofit is acquired by another nonprofit? We have some questions (and answers!) Plus, Stacey and Andy have tips for hiring for an Interim Executive Director, chat about some unconventional reporting structures, and get asked a very personal question. And we had to use the bleep button again this week — pretty soon we’re going to need a swear jar.

Running a Nonprofit More Like a Business

Is it possible to refrain from physical violence when the words “run it more like a business” fall out of the mouth of a board member? Probably not, but Stacey and Andy have some coping strategies. Also this week, we talk about how to keep the energy of a good mission, vision and values discussion, and finally, now that you’re receiving federal grant money is it time to hire a grant accountant?

Should we have elected officials on our board?

Help! We’ve entered into an agreement with a benefit corporation, and they’re not playing nice! Andy’s got some ideas for that. Also, Stacey answers a question about having elected officials on the board, and we talk about the best ways to bring a new treasurer into the organization, even if they’ve got no nonprofit experience.

Designing a Mission Statement

Our mission statement process is awful! Should we get help? (Nah, Stacey has some tips.) Also, this week we discuss whether a give/get policy will prevent you from getting an effective board, and Andy and Stacey go way off topic answering how to best fundraise for a new Executive Director position.

Preparing for a Tough Foundation Tour

How do you prepare for Foundation staff coming to tour your facility, especially when they’ve been known to ask really tough questions? Stacey has some ideas! Also on the theme of preparing, we have some thoughts on the best way to be ready to take the leap into leadership of your organization. Finally, there’s an oddly specific question about the difference between for-profit corporate events and nonprofit fundraising ones.

What percent of grants should we win?

Our board wants to know the percentage of grants a typical organization wins so they can measure us against it. Is there one? Well, we certainly have opinions on that! Also, this week Stacey has some opinions on how to figure out which programs to cut, and we talk about whether or not to rebudget when a new ED arrives.