You want me to think about whaaaat? Yep, take stock now for year-end success

You want me to think about whaaaat? Yep, take stock now for year-end success

By Jen Pendleton, vice president-Indiana, Aly Sterling Philanthropy

Fall is just beginning and now is the perfect time to take stock of your annual goals and progress to meeting them, as well as your plan and budget for 2019.

Why? Our friends at Bloomerang tell us that 50% of nonprofits receive a majority of their donations between October and December.

Preparing to plan: how a stakeholder assessment can help develop good strategy

Preparing to plan: how a stakeholder assessment can help develop good strategy

By Jen Pendleton, CFRE, Vice President – Indiana, Aly Sterling Philanthropy

Whether you’re doing it yourself or working with a consultant, any good strategic planning process should begin with a short stakeholder assessment. By conducting this assessment prior to writing (or renewing) your plan, you will gain…

Fantastic board members (and how to be one)

Fantastic board members (and how to be one)

By Jen Pendleton, Vice President-Indiana

I’ve worked with a lot of boards in a lot of capacities. I’ve been a staff member, a staff leader, a board member and even a board chair before becoming a nonprofit advisor. After 23 years of working in the nonprofit sector, I know that each role is challenging for different reasons. However, the most consistent question I hear is from board members asking, “What should I really be doing?” 

Is American Generosity really on the decline?

Is American Generosity really on the decline?

Three tips for counteracting recent charitable headlines. You’ve probably seen these headlines recently:
Giving USA 2017: Total Charitable Donations Rise to New High of $390.05 Billion; How America Gives Special Report: Breaking the Charity Habit; and, American Generosity Declines in the 21st Century, Report Suggests

As you can see, the recent and somewhat contradictory charitable headlines can be confusing to all of us…

Don’t just onboard your board, evolve!

Don’t just onboard your board, evolve!

How many of us have joined a nonprofit board and felt clueless initially, assuming things would change over time? And a year later, we were still wondering how best to contribute in our role! It’s fairly typical unfortunately. This can lead to frustration on the part...