From the President's Office
Dear Friend:
My column last month on nonprofit governance struck a chord with many of you. Not surprisingly, readers had different takes on both the topic and my comments. I'd like to share some of their thoughts with you.
In general your comments emphasized not only the importance of a healthy governance process to a well-functioning nonprofit organization but the necessity of investing time and energy to make it happen. As one writer put it, "In my experience, executive directors usually get the board they deserve. If staff do not work at board development, then boards do not develop. Conversely, behind almost every well-run and productive board are hard working executive and development staff." ... Read more
Coming Soon: GuideStar Premium 2.0
We're adding the ability to download nonprofit information and a people search to GuideStar Premium.
GuideStar Premium users, your voices have been heard. We'll soon launch GuideStar Premium 2.0, an upgrade featuring two new tools that you've asked for. The upgrade will automatically be incorporated into your GuideStar Premium subscription—at no additional cost to you.
Organization download. With GuideStar Premium 2.0, you'll be able to download information directly from a nonprofit's GuideStar Report (or from several GuideStar Reports) into an Excel compatible file. ... Read more
What to Ask Every Prospective Board Member
A few simple questions can help you find out if a prospective board member is a good fit for your organization.
Often, in our haste to meet a deadline for recruiting board members, we whisk through the interview process or skip it entirely, relying on what we know about individuals through other connections or information about them.
Even when we do a proper interview, we tend to focus only on the obvious—expertise, experience, interest in serving on the board. ... Read more
The Future of Fundraising
Some hints for bringing your fundraising efforts into the 21st century—
and beyond.
Technology is changing so fast it has become almost impossible to keep up. Every year something new hits the market; whether it's the coolest gadget or the next version of a critical software application, nonprofits are not immune to the changing societal landscape. Technology has fundamentally altered the way people interact, and nonprofit organizations need to adapt to the changing conversation in order to maintain and advance fundraising efforts.
Nonprofits should look at both their messages and the mediums they use to convey them to determine the viability of their fundraising efforts for the future. ... Read more
How to Design a Bad Presentation
Avoid these eight "worst practices," and your audiences will thank you.
If you've ever prepared a presentation for your nonprofit, chances are you've used (or considered using) a slide show. Whether conducted via old-fashioned slides, transparencies, or on software such as OpenOffice Impress or Microsoft PowerPoint, a good slide show can enhance your presentations, allowing you to underscore key points and support your statements with visual aids such as charts and graphs.
A poorly created slide show presentation, however, can often have the opposite effect, leaving your audience confused, apathetic, or even frustrated with the topic at hand. ... Read more
Blocking Terrorist Funding:
Treasury's Risk Matrix for the Charitable Sector
The Department of the Treasury has developed a resource to help nonprofits ensure that their money funds charitable works and not terrorism.
Since September 11, 2001, the U.S. government has investigated and developed programs to prevent the use of charitable organizations to finance terrorist operations. To support these efforts, in November 2002, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) issued voluntary guidelines for charities working overseas; revised guidelines were released in September 2006. This past March, OFAC released a Risk Matrix for the Charitable Sector outlining possible security threats.
The risk matrix is intended to help charitable organizations that deliver aid in high-risk areas understand and comply with U.S. sanctions programs. ... Read more
GuideStar on the Road
Although we have no engagements scheduled for August, GuideStar staff members will be back on the road in September. Click here to learn more.
- Sept. 10: CNI (Council for Nonprofit Innovation) 2007 Foundation and Nonprofit Performance Conference, Arlington, Va.
- Sept. 20: GuideStar International Assembly, London, Eng.
- Sept. 24-26: InfoCommerce Conference, Philadelphia, Pa.
- Sept. 26: Tampa Bay Resource Center, Tampa, Fla.
- Sept. 27: Collier County Community Foundation, Naples, Fla.
In This Issue
Coming Soon: GuideStar Premium 2.0
What to Ask Every Prospective Board Member
How to Design a Bad Presentation
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