If fundraising is essential to your mission, your calendar should reflect that reality. For many nonprofit leaders, it doesn't, and it's understandable. You're navigating staffing challenges, growing community needs, board dynamics, and those fun operational surprises...

Most nonprofits exist, in some form, to dismantle barriers, to expand access, to reach people who have been left out of systems that were not built with them in mind. That’s the mission. And then there’s the website, with its gray text on a white background, its...

Your gala was beautiful. The auction raised a lot of money. Everyone had a wonderful time, and you are exhausted. Now: Do you know if it was worth it? Parties are fun, and I'm not here to tell you that fundraising events are bad. They're not necessarily, but I work...

Federal grantees should be aware of a proposed change to SAM.gov registration requirements titled “Information Collection; System for Award Management Registration Requirements for Financial Assistance Recipients.” The proposal would add new certifications related to...

Nobody ever said fundraising for your nonprofit was effortless, but there are a few things you can do to make it easier that are cheap and don’t require a lot of time or expertise. Here’s one of them: Adding a page on your website that removes friction for...

Everyone thinks they’re busy, but nonprofit leaders are busy. If you’re running programs, managing staff, working with a board, and putting out the occasional fire, there is very little time left for the research, subject matter expertise, and deep focus that grant...

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) have a mysterious reputation. They don’t often appear in traditional grant databases, they aren’t technically grants, and nonprofits often don’t know how to find them. They stay quiet, give generously, then disappear again. Does that make...

Most leaders of smaller nonprofits experience a classic “chicken and the egg” dilemma when it comes to grants. You know you need to bring on someone to specialize in developing and executing a grant strategy, but hiring a professional to research funders, write strong...

Every grant application will require you to submit a budget and sometimes we tend to think of them as a “side dish,” with the main entrée being the larger grant narrative, where you really tell your organization’s story in the statement of need, your client impact...

This may not be a popular opinion in every corner of the nonprofit world, but here it is: The results you get—in fundraising, in leadership, in life—start with your mindset.  Now let’s be clear: yes, there are real systemic barriers to success. Absolutely true. There...