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I left Hong Kong after three weeks in China on January 6^th.  Days later the epidemic arose.  Still in Hong Kong were my wife’s parents, two sisters, and their five children ages 13 years to 18 months – all hunkered down. And in the last 50+ days of isolation, we’ve video-called them several times a week and learned from their experience. They worked from home, their schools went on-line, mandatory social distancing, and on and on. In an international, multi-cultural city of 7 million, life changed overnight.

UPDATED: Link here to free consultation, resources and samples from other non-profits. Updated daily.

These are unprecedented times. So many of you have reached out to us, wondering what to do about your campaigns, your communications and more.

We’re coming into the summer months and as usual, we want to make the most of these fleeting months. One of the biggest complaints I hear from staff I work with is that they have no control over their work/life balance. I wish to disagree.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with nonprofits in crisis. These are challenging times when the powerful mission of an organization runs into the financial realities of delivering that mission.

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with the president of a large family foundation. We had a great dialogue regarding the value of feasibility studies today. He was quite wary of studies that didn’t involve the not-for-profit staff or studies that only tested the viability of the campaign goal.

Many of our clients across the country are preparing for the start of their annual or year-end giving campaigns. Among one of the most important “to-do’s” is to get the right campaign volunteers in place before a single dollar is raised.

In their eagerness to get a building opened, or as a result of calamitous economic changes, too many nonprofit boards have found themselves with more debt than their organization can bear. When your “customer” becomes the bank rather than the community, it’s time get serious about reducing debt.

As I look at our feasibility study data over the last several years, I see a theme emerging. Many of the nonprofits we worked with used to be supported by “Class A,” powerful boards. These boards represented the best leadership their communities had to offer. But over time, the sands have shifted and their boards are no longer as effective as they used to be. Why is that?

Part of any fundraising campaign involves the solicitation of gifts from board and staff. Sometimes we call this the “family campaign.” It often comes at the beginning of an annual effort or during the “quiet phase” of a capital campaign.

An article from the December 30, 2013 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy suggests an unconventional approach to New Year’s resolutions for nonprofit leaders. Instead of providing a list of things to add; it recommends things to stop doing. The list was compiled with input from experts in the nonprofit field and provides some thought provoking ideas for consideration.