The high cost of expecting miracles – and who pays the bill The sector just hit a record $617 billion in charitable giving. Donor participation fell again. Both of those things are true, yet most nonprofit leaders are paying attention to only one of them. That’s not an accident. That’s a choice. The Setup I’ve … Read more
The box has never been the problem The problem is the development director who hasn’t made a thank-you call in three weeks because she spent the afternoon in a meeting about a tool that costs more than her stewardship budget — a meeting she was in because her executive director wanted to know why they … Read more
At the start of 2025, I made six predictions about where the nonprofit sector was headed. Now, halfway through 2026, it’s time to hold myself accountable — and tell you what I see coming for the rest Original article here: https://foundryfundraising.com/2025/01/03/what-i-am-watching-2025/ Nobody in this sector likes to be wrong. And I REALLY don’t like it. … Read more
It is June. For most organizations operating on a calendar fiscal year, that means one thing: the gap has arrived. Not the gap between what was planned and what was possible. That one has always been there. The gap between what the board approved in January and what the organization actually needed to make it … Read more
The nonprofit sector has been using a word for decades as a substitute for thinking. The word is sustainability Ask a board member what it means. Diverse revenue. Ask a funder. Reducing reliance on grants. Ask an executive director working her third straight weekend because payroll is three weeks away. She won’t have an answer … Read more
How’s That Working Out? Let’s start with what you got right. You already know the number: $1.5 trillion. You found it, you put it in your pitch deck, and you used it to make the case to your board that the nonprofit sector was an underserved market worth entering. You identified 1.8 million U.S. organizations … Read more
A quick note before we start: this is the third piece in a series. The first two — Well-Being Theatre and The Sector Has a Language Problem — It’s Just Not the One You Think. This one says the things people have been waiting to argue with. There is a conversation happening in this sector … Read more
This piece is the second in a series. The first, Well-Being Theatre, made the case that the sector’s language around rest and sustainability is exactly that—language. The title was not an accident. Neither is the word “theater” in this one. If you haven’t read it, the argument that follows will make more sense if you … Read more
What Nonprofits Get Wrong About Tech — and How to Fix It (Especially When You’re Small and Stretched) Most nonprofits think they have a technology problem. They don’t. They have a decision problem. I’ve spent more than three decades in this sector. I started in organizations that tracked donors on 3×5 cards — literal boxes … Read more
The nonprofit sector talks about rest. What it rarely does is build the conditions for it The nonprofit sector has become very good at talking about burnout. It has been far less willing to stop causing it. Over the past several years, the nonprofit sector has become remarkably articulate about burnout. Conference sessions on sustainable … Read more