GuideStar Blog

Storytelling today is “hot.”

And why not? It’s the fundamental human activity—we even talk to ourselves!

We tell ourselves stories all the time to inspire, goad, cheerlead, and persuade.

Whether your organization is huge, tiny, or in between, there are a number of ways to strengthen the loyalty of your donors. In my book Retention Fundraising, I describe literally dozens of strategies for retaining your donors for 5 years, 10 years, perhaps for life. Here, I’ll focus on four of the easiest. 

Employment practices in all industries offer numerous lessons. The nonprofit sector is no exception. There are takeaways in how to correct the weaknesses of certain practices and how to amplify the success of certain strengths. Plus, comparing nonprofit and for-profit practices contextualizes what the nonprofit sector does well and why it does it well. The benefits to the sector expand when individual nonprofits contribute what they have learned from their own practices, allowingt other organizations to apply these lessons to their own practices.

Taking the 2017 Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey is a great way to share your organization’s experiences.

We need to talk about a serious problem that’s been ignored for a long time. No, not the lack of gel pens given out by vendors during conferences. (Seriously, vendors, get better pens! Ballpoint is so cliché!) I’m talking about job postings—they suck. They have sucked for a long time. I bet when aliens dig up remnants of the human race, they’ll encounter our job postings and go, “……” which is alien telepathic language for “these documents suck; no wonder their civilization collapsed.”

We’ve been using the same format, the same tired language, and the same archaic requirements. We need to do better.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the publication of a new report, “21st-Century Tools for 21st-Century Community Foundations.” You can download the report for free from the GuideStar website.

On an organization’s GuideStar Nonprofit Profile, visitors can view Third Party Ratings, Accreditations, and Awards. Here, potential donors, volunteers, and others interested in nonprofit performance can learn if an organization has received recognition other than the GuideStar Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum Seals of Transparency. The Standards for Excellence Institute, a national accreditation that supports organizations in implementing nonprofit best standards, is one of the accreditations listed. Established in 1998 by Maryland Nonprofits, Standards for Excellence accreditation is available to any 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) nonprofit that undergoes an independent third-party review of its policies, procedures, and practices.

Do your board members say they’ll do something ... and then don’t? Does it drive you crazy? Have you ever calculated the amount of time you spend nagging them to follow through?

Stephen Colbert introduced the word “truthiness” as something that feels true but isn’t based in fact.

Is your nonprofit reporting truth or truthiness? Are you getting the facts of your progress and outcomes out there for your current and potential donors to see?

Start with a good database, add proactive maintenance, and automate the process

As the number of nonprofits has proliferated—adding to the competition for mindshare and money—even organizations that are household names must adapt to appeal to a new generation of donors. Their strategies to do so are varied and can serve as inspiration for other organizations. 

If your organization needs some quick ways to increase donations this month, here are five relatively simple tactics that we’ve seen deliver fast results for many of the nonprofit organizations we work with. 

The following article is cross-posted with permission fromAlliance magazine blog. Based out of the UK, Alliance magazine is the leading global magazine on philanthropy and social investment.

Gaping divisions have opened in unlikely, once unthinkable places: in our families, communities, and countries and across the world. It would be understandable if you at first thought that upsetting political argument you had over a family dinner or on Facebook or with your neighbor were all one-offs just about you or your community. I don’t think they are. Instead I think we are trapped in a worldwide web of pain, division and confusion of our own creation.

This month we’re celebrating the one-year anniversary of our Platinum Seal of Transparency. Platinum is GuideStar’s highest level of recognition and an opportunity for nonprofits to share their progress in a meaningful way.

We can’t believe it’s been one year since GuideStar debuted the Platinum Seal of Transparency.

Most organizations exempt from tax under Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 501(a), including charitable, religious, scientific, and other organizations described in IRC Section 501(c), may be subject to tax on unrelated business income (UBIT), depending on the nature of the activities producing that income. It is important for an organization to distinguish between its tax-exempt purpose and its business activities.

When it comes to mobile giving, your nonprofit is likely already familiar with the many advantages of providing your donors a convenient option for giving on the go.

Live-streaming video on Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, etc., is all the rage for nonprofits who want to up their digital storytelling game. This exciting new storytelling device involves filming an event live and broadcasting it via social media and other digital channels.

A new survey by Exponent Philanthropy shows the vast majority of its members (82%) expect the institution of philanthropy to play a more important role in society as a result of recent changes in Washington, DC. Issued in late March to Exponent Philanthropy’s members—foundations with few or no staff, philanthropic families, and individual donors—the informal “Pulse Check” survey looked at how changes today in politics may impact philanthropic behavior in the year ahead, both in terms of giving practices and investments. Results were tabulated from 324 respondents representing a 17% response rate.

I recently taught several leadership development workshops at the Rutgers Institute for Ethical Leadership based on my new book, The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout. One of the workshops focused on technology wellness in the nonprofit workplace, more specifically on how to avoid collaborative overload.

I’m thrilled to announce that GuideStar’s newest tool—GuideStar Local Nonprofit Directory—is now available. By combining our powerful search functionality with in-depth information from our Nonprofit Profiles, we developed a community-based nonprofit directory that could be tailored to any region and hosted on any website.

Just as the stamp on the bottom of a silver vase indicates it is made of first-class materials, the hallmarks of a good grant writer signal to one and all that the grant writer is the real deal. Each step in the grantseeking process has its own identifiable hallmarks. A good grant writer …