In the fall, many nonprofits are gearing up year-end fundraising campaigns for December, a traditional strategy with proven results. On this show, my guest is Kim Klein who turns that idea on its head. Kim is a principle of Klein and Roth Consulting (http://www.kleinandroth.com)and an international speaker and author about fundraising. She was kind enough to come on the show to offer tips on boosting your 2013 results right now and we have a lots of fun talking about campaigns and...

This week, I’m happy to have back Sherry Truhlar of Red Apple Auctions to talk about Fund a Need, a fundraising tactic that takes advantage of an event where you have a number of people in attendance. Do you have an item you need to buy, like a bus to transport kids, or a specific […] The post Nonprofit Spark – Seven steps to a successful non-profit Fund A Need appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

This week, I'm happy to have back Sherry Truhlar of Red Apple Auctions (http://www.redappleauctions.com)to talk about Fund a Need, a fundraising tactic that takes advantage of an event where you have a number of people in attendance. Do you have an item you need to buy, like a bus to transport kids, or a specific program you want to give special attention to? Fund a Need can be a great way to focus people's attention, raise money, and you don't have all the fuss of getting items for a live...

I look at a lot of nonprofit websites every month and I have become concerned that too many of you are not encouraging planned gifts. If you have a solid base of individual support, then you need to present these donors with opportunities for greater levels of giving. You don’t have to have a law […] The post Nonprofit Spark – Five things to know about starting a non-profit planned giving program – 09/23/13 appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

I look at a lot of nonprofit websites every month and I have become concerned that too many of you are not encouraging planned gifts. If you have a solid base of individual support, then you need to present these donors with opportunities for greater levels of giving. You don't have to have a law or finance degree to encourage memorials or bequests. My guest this week is Tom Glass, the Director of Planned Giving for the University of St. Thomas (http://www.stthomas.edu), the largest private...

Ever feel frustrated that local nonprofits are doing similar things but aren’t working together on an issue, like literacy? Have you ever wondered what it’s going to take to solve problems you’ve been hearing about for years, like homelessness or improved graduation rates for low-income teens? It turns out, effective collaborations among all kinds of […] The post Nonprofit Spark – Making nonprofit collaborations work – 09/16/13 appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Ever feel frustrated that local nonprofits are doing similar things but aren't working together on an issue, like literacy? Have you ever wondered what it's going to take to solve problems you've been hearing about for years, like homelessness or improved graduation rates for low-income teens? It turns out, effective collaborations among all kinds of community programs address these concerns. My guest this week is Mark Langseth, the president and CEO of I Have a Dream Foundation Oregon...

Do you ever grapple with whether you should spend more on your finance department or buy new accounting software? Do you know if the work the staff is doing could be done more efficiently? Well, you’re not alone. My guest this week is Tim Warren, a partner with the national accounting firm of CliftonLarsonAllen. The […] The post Nonprofit Spark – Solving common non-profit finance department problems – 09/09/13 appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Do you ever grapple with whether you should spend more on your finance department or buy new accounting software? Do you know if the work the staff is doing could be done more efficiently? Well, you're not alone. My guest this week is Tim Warren, a partner with the national accounting firm of CliftonLarsonAllen (http://www.claconnect.com/nonprofit). The company has been hosting roundtables about Creating the Ideal Accounting Department in locations throughout the country and so on this show,...

Get out the Kleenex. In this week’s interview, you’ll hear remarkable stories about deep sea fishing expeditions for wounded soldiers, many who’ve lost their limbs. I encourage you to give your undivided attention to my interview with Michael C. Branson, the president of Saltwater Soldiers. You’ll be moved to tears by the sacrifice of soldiers […] The post Nonprofit Spark – Saltwater Soldiers gives thrill of deep sea fishing to wounded soldiers, vets – 09/02/13 appeared first on...

Get out the Kleenex. In this week's interview, you'll hear remarkable stories about deep sea fishing expeditions for wounded soldiers, many who've lost their limbs. I encourage you to give your undivided attention to my interview with Michael C. Branson, the president of Saltwater Soldiers (http://www.saltwatersoldiers.org). You'll be moved to tears by the sacrifice of soldiers and by Michael's relentless commitment to them. Saltwater Soldiers provides offshore fishing trips and financial...

I’m on a break this week so I’m replaying a show that really woke me up, even though I managed people for years! In this interview, I speak to two attorneys, Jeff Tenenbaum and Dave Warner of Venable LLP, a law firm based in Washington, D.C. We talk about common pitfalls they see nonprofit managers […] The post Nonprofit Spark – Common pitfalls of hiring and managing nonprofit staff (replay) – 08/26/13 appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

I'm on a break this week so I'm replaying a show that really woke me up, even though I managed people for years! In this interview, I speak to two attorneys, Jeff Tenenbaum and Dave Warner of Venable LLP (http://www.venable.com/services/industries/ServiceDetail.aspx?service=136&view=events&SortBy=Topic&TopicGuid=45990960-b2ac-4455-9927-a1bac92e6fab), a law firm based in Washington, D.C. We talk about common pitfalls they see nonprofit managers fall into when hiring and managing...

Can you imagine one-hour board meetings? Is it even possible? Your nonprofit would become a magnet for the best and brightest leaders in your community. On this show my guest, Marilyn L. Donnellan, describes the key components of effective one-hour meetings, like training board members to facilitate them. Marilyn is the founder and president of […] The post Nonprofit Spark – The one-hour non-profit board meeting! 08/19/13 appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Can you imagine one-hour board meetings? Is it even possible? Your nonprofit would become a magnet for the best and brightest leaders in your community. On this show my guest, Marilyn L. Donnellan, describes the key components of effective one-hour meetings, like training board members to facilitate them. Marilyn is the founder and president of Nonprofit Management Services (http://www.nonprofitmanagementservices.com), which builds capacity and management excellence through consulting,...

This week's episode is about counting and using what that data reveals to tell stories about people and programs. It took me years to figure out that counting people, sales, test results, donors and dollars, partnerships, visitors and the like is worth every bit of effort. First, you get grounded in what's actually happening so you can build on what works and eliminate what doesn't. Second, it makes your communications and fundraising powerful. My guest this week is Jinna Halperin...

When you decide which charity to contribute money and time to, do you check out how much it spends on administration or overhead? If it spends 20 cents on the dollar for administration, is that okay? How about 30 or 40 cents? For years, donors have been told by leaders in the nonprofit sector to use the overhead ratio as the guide for determining whether a nonprofit is a safe bet. Well, that turns out to be a poor way of judging whether your money will be well spent and my guest this week,...

Videos can be very convincing and are well-suited to non-profit web sites. On this show, David Johnson of Silent Images (http://www.silentimages.org)and I review ideas for planning your video and working effectively with a videographer so you end up with exactly what you need. There's a lot more to producing a great video than pointing and shooting! Silent Images is a non profit in Charlotte, North Carolina with a mission to provide charities and churches with professional photography and...

If you want to create a new non profit web site or start all over again with an existing one, this show will be very helpful. My guest is Eileen Webb, a founder of the web development firm, webmeadow (http://www.webmeadow.com), which works with non for profits and is based in Littleton, New Hampshire. Eileen discusses identifying goals, a budget, a timeline, choosing a web development firm, and the post-launch phase. We've done a number of shows about web sites on Nonprofit Spark because...

So how are your social media doing? Is your online community growing and are you having fun? Or have you discovered that you can't make much happen with Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube? On this week's show, I speak with Eric Facas, the founder of Media Cause (http://www.mediacause.org). His non-profit helps other non-profits with marketing and communications including search marketing and social media. Eric knows that most nonprofits have made the mistake of setting up social...

A show from a few weeks ago focused on Making your nonprofit a welcome place for young professionals (http://http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/2013/06/04/nonprofit-spark-making-your-nonprofit-a-welcome-place-for-young-professionals-060313-3/); thousands of you downloaded it. My guest on that show, Keenan Wellar of LiveWorkPlay, really got me thinking about how we can better manage a multigenerational workforce and so I sought out my favorite expert on human resources and nonprofits....

This week, Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4th so I'm taking the week off. And in the spirit of breaking free from tyranny, I'm replaying a show from 2011 called Overcoming Nonprofit Board Dysfunction! Gee, you've never had to deal with that have you? There are two interviews. The first is with Susan Mogenson of Brown Dog Consulting (http://www.browndogconsulting.com). She's an expert at non-profit governance. The second interview is with Allan Techiman who, at that time, was...

We focus the show this week on building relationships with donors so they stick around, and become more invested in your organization and eventually your true partners in fulfilling your mission. My guest is Andrew Shoaff, the interactive strategy manager of Blackbaud (http://www.blackbaud.com), the leading provider of software and services to nonprofits. Andrew works with a team to build something called "constituent engagement campaigns" for clients and he recently wrote an article for...

This week, we look at the way one 90-year-old agency is transforming how it impacts the lives of women and families who are homeless and in recovery from addiction and/or mental illness. Emma Norton Services (http://www.emmanorton.org)is based in St. Paul, Minnesota and my guest this week is Executive Director Roxanne Condon. She has been with the organization since 2010. On the show, Roxanne explains the thoughtful and intentional way the staff and board determined program outcomes -...

Last week, the show explored how to keep high performers happy and this week, we look at young professionals. What do you need to do to attract and keep them? Are you willing to try something new? My guest this week is Keenan Wellar, a co-leader and director of communications for LiveWorkPlay (http://www.liveworkplay.ca), a nonprofit in Ottawa, Canada. It supports people with intellectual disabilities in having a good life. He founded the organization with his wife, Julie Kingstone, in 1995...