5 Steps to Make Your Board More Involved and Effective at Fundraising

This blog post originally appeared on the National Executive Service Corps (NESC) blog on nonprofit board fundraising. NESC and ESC are affiliates of ESC-US.  Great nonprofit boards don’t just focus on governance and strategy.  They recognize the connection between financial resources and program delivery, and therefore play a key role in fundraising. You are not alone if […]

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Are Your Board Meetings Time Traps?

This blog post originally appeared on the National Executive Service Corps (NESC) blog on nonprofit board meetings. NESC and ESC are affiliates of ESC-US.  Do people arrive late? Skip meetings? Do members come unprepared? Is precious meeting time spent on unproductive items? With board meetings at the center of most members’ nonprofit experience, efficient and […]

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Building Your Nonprofit Board

Board recruitment and renewal is a constant challenge for many nonprofits. It can be hard to find the right person, and too often Boards fall into one of two camps. They either: Hold out for the “perfect” candidate Take in anyone that expresses interest. Neither ends up advancing the mission or strengthening the nonprofit. The […]

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Is Twitter right for your organization?

Nonprofits have a variety of social media platforms at their disposal to aid them in advancing their mission and connecting with the community in which they serve. It is important, however, for nonprofits to pick and choose which platforms will work best for them and invest time and energy to develop strategies that will allow […]

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Combating Survey Fatigue

Surveys have been, historically, a great way to get information from a large group of people. However, as data driven decision making has grown in popularity, the number of surveys sent out to collect that data has skyrocketed, resulting in what has been termed “Survey Fatigue”. Survey Fatigue can result in lower response rates or […]

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Setting Nonprofit Board Term Limits

“I think we want to see new voices and new ideas emerge- that’s art of the reason why term limits are a really useful thing.” – Barack Obama The number one problem I see with nonprofit boards is a failure to have, or enforce, term limits. Good board members are hard to find, and feel […]

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Using Stories

Last month we found ways to collect narratives that tell your organization’s story and today we discuss the best ways to use them. Client stories, quotes, and testimonials are extremely important pieces of information that should be shared with anyone who supports your mission.  How, when, and where you use client stories can be just […]

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Why You Should Set Nonprofit Board Policies

Nonprofits often grow organically, beginning with a charismatic founder and a good idea. As they evolve and the board begins to take shape there is inevitably a debate over the adoption of official policies and procedures. On one hand, no one wants to over complicate things. Board members are friendly and trust one another, the […]

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Collecting Stories

“The stories we tell literally make the world. If you want to change the world, you need to change your story. This truth applies both to individuals and institutions.” – Michael Margolis Personal stories can be powerful tools for advocacy. They help encourage understanding, build bridges, and advance a cause.  Curated correctly, stories can be […]

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Immigrant Advancement in a New Political Landscape

This week we feature a guest post from Ashok B. Boghani, ESC of New England’s Board Chair. I attended a Forum at The Boston Foundation on April 19th. Titled “Our Shared Future: Charting a Path for Immigrant Advancement in a New Political Landscape,” the program provided a platform for discussing many issues related to this […]

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