Articles
I post articles with insights about non-profit growth that may be helpful to your efforts. The following is a collection of those articles.
IF YOUR ORGANIZATION IS NOT GROWING 7% A YEAR, YOU’RE FALLING BEHIND OTHER NON-PROFITS
Tess Richey
Non-profits have enjoyed substantial growth over the past five years. In fact, on average, annual growth rates are 7%, double the rate of the economy at large. While revenue growth rates vary from sector-to-sector, if your organization is not keeping pace, we have a diagnostic tool that may be helpful in understanding why. It can organize thinking about your growth strategies.
Read MoreTogether or separate: the conundrum of marketing and development departments
Terry Richey
In the same week, we were asked twice for advice about whether marketing and development departments should be combined or separate. Ironically, one of the organizations had three staff in marketing and development and one had more than two hundred. The question of what works best persists despite the size of the teams. Many organizations move back and forth between models over time.
The right answer to this common question is elusive because it really depends on your revenue strategy and the culture you want to establish. However, the decision is often made on personnel, political, or budget reasons without a clear picture of the strategy underlying the decision. We do have some thoughts on how you can evaluate whether to combine these disciplines or manage them separately.
Read MoreAnother day. Another good idea. The same old budget.
Terry Richey
All nonprofits have an excess of good ideas. A management reality is that nearly all good ideas take staff time to execute. And every nonprofit has limited staff capacity. So how do you decide which ideas to run with and which to set aside? How do you make “fair” decisions among the internal competition for resources? How do you evaluate how much capacity an idea takes to develop?
Consider creating and “Idea Matrix”
Read MoreFish where the fish are biting. (How smart fundraisers can use micro-branding.)
Terry Richey
Fundraising is challenging enough…fundraisers who need to begin a donor conversation by explaining what their organization does are at a distinct disadvantage. Strong brand recognition helps strong fundraisers become even more successful. But does poor brand awareness do the opposite? What can be done to build brand awareness? How can fundraisers help with brand building?
Yes, there is a correlation
Read MoreShades of Green
Terry Richey
One of the most misunderstood, misreported, mistaken, or simply missed factors at many nonprofits is how much it costs to raise a dollar. In our series of posts about the five dimensions of fundraising, the final and often most confusing dimension is “cost.”
Read MoreIt’s not a gift, it’s a vote of confidence.
Terry Richey
Today, there are 1.5 million nonprofits competing for the attention of donors. Giving a donation is a signal of interest, and act of trust, and a vote of confidence. The second gift is even more so. Yet many fundraising organizations make the assumption that once a donor, always a donor, and invest their resources in acquiring new donors rather than stewarding past donors.
Read MoreLet’s do more than mop the floor.
Terry Richey
Perhaps you’ve heard the old adage about spending so much time mopping the floor that you forget to turn off the faucet. Running faster and faster, you lose track of what is going on around you. It’s about managing time and priorities. This is a nearly universal problem of fundraising organizations. Unfortunately many non-profits consider time as an enemy rather than an ally. “Time” is the third of the five dimensions of fund development. We are covering all five in this series of posts (Time, Scale, Adaptability, Renewal, and Cost) that affect how funds are generated.
Read MoreSuffering from “The Gates Paradox”
Terry Richey
Nearly every organization we see has the Gates Foundation on its wish list of donors. The notion is “if we could just get Gates to fund us, we would be on the road to success.” We call that the “Gates Paradox” because if the wish came true, it could spell disaster.
Read MoreWhat Color Are Your Dollars?
Terry Richey
One of the best fundraisers we know says: “All money is not the same color of green.” By that, she recognizes that fundraising is not simply about how much you can bring to your mission but about a balance between funding types so that you have sufficient operating income.
Read More