Nonprofit Sustainability

Have you ever wondered what it takes to sustain an organization’s efforts?* Is it just money? Or is it something more fundamental? I’m thinking about this because we spent time at the Diaper Bank last week – our “grandchild.” There is such an extraordinary energy surrounding the work they are doing, and that feels so … Read more

Community-Driven Governance

Several weeks ago, my friend and colleague Carter McNamara asked me for a brief description of the Community-Driven governance framework we have been using with boards. And as I was just looking over that document, it is so succinct, I thought I would share it here. Here is what I told Carter: – – – … Read more

Letter from Palestine #3

I am so pleased to share another letter from Nora Lester Murad. (To read this series from the beginning, please click here.) Nora lives with her husband and three daughters in Israeli controlled East Jerusalem, in Palestine’s West Bank. In addition to her consulting work to NGOs, Nora has co-founded Dalia Association, a community foundation … Read more

The Collaboration Prize is Self-Defeating

My heart just sank when I saw that the Lodestar Foundation is offering a $250,000 prize for the most worthy collaboration. Yes, it sank. Why does the sector that should know better continue to insist on treating organizational and sector-wide symptoms? If we know that symptoms-based approaches accomplish little more in our communities than sprinkle … Read more

Debunking "Accountability to Donors" – Finale

We accomplish what we hold ourselves accountable for. In wrapping up the past week’s rant about the issues related to Donor Accountability, I want to first share what triggered that rant. And then I want to share what we can do to hold ourselves accountable in a way that makes donors happy and, most importantly, … Read more

Debunking “Accountability to Donors” Part 6

Is the Donor Accountability movement correct? Should community organizations be aiming their primary accountability squarely at their donors? Having spent the week throwing grenades at that notion, today’s is the last argument I will make before wrapping up this subject tomorrow. (If you have not read the posts leading up to this one, you can … Read more

Debunking “Accountability to Donors” Part 5

As I have noted throughout this series, the notion that organizations are primarily accountable to their donors not only misdirects organizational focus, but it is fraught with logic holes large enough to comfortably house a family of four. In my posts today and tomorrow – the last posts before I wrap this up – I … Read more

Debunking “Accountability to Donors” Part 4

In this series, I have considered the logic flaws in the argument that organizations should be holding themselves primarily accountable to their donors. So far, I have considered the following questions: 1) Are fully funded / endowed organizations with no donors accountable to no one? 2) Should different levels of giving receive different levels of … Read more