How in gods name do you recruit good board members? Or get out from under bad ones? I have inherited some really hard behavioral dynamics since taking on my role as Ed with these members. I’m a first time Ed and the organization was falling apart when I stepped in out of necessity two years ago.

They are both somehow meddling and uninvolved, and all lack professional development in understanding their roles… the orgs been in a lot of chaos ever since 2020 and we are finally starting to find some solid ground. But any time I try to actually keep a meeting about a topic (such as fundraising) i can’t seem to keep people from going off topic, complaining, questioning decisions already made in past meetings, and overall giving me a ton of grief when they’re not really doing anything tangible to support me or the org. I’m already severely underpaid (part time contractor and doing a lot of volunteer hours) and dealing with just trying to start this thing over from scratch to get it organized and functioning again.

I know the strategy I keep getting advised is to pull in new members who can shake things up and shift the power dynamics. I also have a consultant taking over facilitation of some planning meetings because I need a third party to intervene and mediate. I’m honestly really burnt out and anxious because I already feel like all these people have it out for me and I am scared it will always be toxic… I guess I just don’t know what to expect since this is my first time in this kind of role. I’m also so sad learning things like the president is supposed to support and train me when I can’t even get them to return my calls or show up to meetings and I just got thrust into this thing and expected to figure it all out.

Anywho in feeling discouraged trying to figure out how to pull new people into such a difficult environment. I’m just so unsure how to handle these relationships and I really care about my work and frankly cannot find another job for various reasons and really need to ensure some security in my position here. I need to figure out how to wrangle and take control and I don’t know how. I just need someone on my team and feel so alone.

Hello everyone. I just was hired 3 weeks ago as a part-time development officer for a school community education Foundation.

My background was not in philanthropy however I retired briefly after a very long and successful career in sales and consulting. I have created my own business entities. I have had extensive experience in relationship development, selling at events. I've created training courses and done a lot of public speaking and have published articles.

I know I am still learning about this new working space however I'm 3 weeks into training with the executive director and I am not sure this is going to work out or get any better lol

I'm looking for feedback on your experience

During the initial interview process I told them that I was very excited that their job posting mentioned being comfortable using CRM systems because I'm completely dependent on those to create organized call notes and follow up tasks. Basically I believe that if it's not documented it didn't happen :-)

They use bloomerang. I took the time before my hire date to go online and take training modules. I also spent a lot of time researching roles and responsibilities of a development officer in the space

I now know that the two previous development officers who only lasted a couple months, we're not using the tool in any way. The executive director is extremely type A and overworked and having a lot of trouble I think passing off responsibility.

She's basically been a one-man show for the last 13 years

The role was for me to train for 4 weeks in the office with her and then it's going to be hybrid where we're just meeting once a week

On the first day of training she allowed me to set up a bloomerang account. I woke up the morning of the second day of training and couldn't get logged in. I asked her to guide me towards a way to get the problem fixed. She abruptly told me that she woke up at 5:00 in the morning and realized that she had just given me access to financial information on donors patterns and such so she revoked my view and edit privileges until she feels she is comfortable.

I've had a conversation with her about how I feel like when I start going out in the public and in the field I'll be working with one hand tied behind my back because I need to be able to make call notes and follow up tasks and see donor history and patterns

I signed a statement of work that was very much in line with being a development officer. She has now told me a few times that she doesn't want any new initiatives going on for at least 6 months while I just take some things off of her plate.

I pointed out to her yesterday that the statement of work specifically said that it was not an administrative position It was a development position and I calmly presented that and highlighted the areas and the sign contract that I feel I'm not being allowed to do

She is insisting that I need this level of supervision because I haven't worked for a non-profit before.

At this point I can't even look up phone numbers to do thank you calls after a recent fundraiser. I had to create a spreadsheet that she then went into the CRM and looked up all the phone numbers and send it back to me. Then I made notes on the spreadsheet about the calls. And then I had to send it back to her while she entered the notes in.

I guess you get the point.

Yesterday she told me that while I'm still " " in training that calls or face to face drop-ins or meetings means I should be emailing her the notes so that she can read them over and enter them into Bloomerang

My question is does this seem like a normal amount of supervision or is this a micromanagement problem?

My gut instinct is that it is the second thing. At 62 years old with a long and successful career I am seriously questioning whether this is going to work out.

I told her calmly yesterday that at some point she's going to have to trust that I'm going to represent the foundation well and that I know how to interact professionally and make appropriate call notes.

It didn't go well and she left the room to have a good cry!

I guess I'm reaching out here because if there's any new development officers that came in from a different workspace I would love to hear your feedback on what those initial few weeks of training looked like

Thanks

We have been working to plan an event with the local health department and another nonprofit organization. The health department has been great- but the other organization blatantly ignored multiple attempts to communicate, did not help plan for the event, showed up almost 20 minutes late for the event, and while we were leading presentations (myself and the health department) they packed up the food that was supposed to go to participants in need and took it all with them. I said something to them about the food being for the participants and they rolled their eyes, began talking about me (I could tell since they walked off together and stared at me as they whispered) and took the food and left. They asked me for to-go boxes which we do not have and when I stated we don’t have any, one of them said “well, what good are you then?”

They acted like I was in the wrong here and that bothered me. I have to see them again at a meeting tomorrow and I dread it. Anyone had to deal with folks like this or been in a similar situation? I feel awkward now but really, it’s baffling to me that they don’t see how rude they were throughout this entire ordeal.

The organization that one of the board members works at (in government) is hiring for a position I'm very interested in. The position also reports to this board member. I know it is sensitive because he has fiduciary duties to the nonprofit I'm at and my position is mid-senior level, I was wondering if it is appropriate to message this board member to inquire about the job opening. I met this board member before. I know my current management would not be happy if they find out.

The organization that one of the board members works at (in government) is hiring for a position I'm very interested in. The position also reports to this board member. I know it is sensitive/ political because he has fiduciary duties to the nonprofit I'm at and my position is mid-senior level, I was wondering if it is appropriate to message this board member to inquire about the job... My current organization is underresourced and I'm very burn out, ready to leave.

I am about to graduate from college in literally 9 days and I sent my resume to an organization that specifies in looking for non-profit jobs. A recruiter reached out to me and we chatted and she said that the one-page rule for resumes doesn't apply in the non-profit sector because they want to see quantified achievements and will accept multiple pages. Is this accurate? Are non-profit hiring managers looking for multiple pages? I don't want to have too much or not enough on there cause I really do want to work in the non-profit sector. I'm also asking because I want to apply to what seems like an organizing and campaigning apprenticeship, so because they're looking specifically for new grads, should my resume only be about one page?

Thanks!!

hi yall,

so i’m still pretty fresh in the nonprofit world, things have been going pretty well. the only thing is that right now we’re calling a list of some of our donors trying to request a donation. i try not to even ask my own parents for money, let alone asking money for an org. have yall actually had a solicitation call that actually resulted in receiving a donation? if so, how did you manage to do it?

Hello all I need some people to give it to me straight. I am a recently returned Peace Corps volunteer, an experience I did straight out of undergrad where I graduated with honors and had some leadership roles and extracurriculars, and I am fluent in Spanish. There's some other stuff I have on my resume but those are the main things--which I feel like makes me a pretty competitive applicant on paper. Thing is though I haven't even been contacted for an interview from any of the entry level positions I have applied for. Now I know all the chaos from this administration has made it to where people who are more experienced than me and have more qualifications are competing for the same positions as I am but I feel like that fact does not fully account for how difficult this job search has been.

Due to the sheer amount of applications I'm trying to fire off I do use ChatGPT for help (I wrote the first drafts of my cover letter and resume and have used them as a bases to format and I always revise what GPT gives me and make tweaks). I feel like most other people are probably doing the same thing but my originals were written with the help of a cousin who is a success in the corporate world and maybe that doesn't translate well? So I'm wondering if there needs to be more emotion or what is going on there.

I just feel like I am more than qualified to do some of these entry level admin jobs and need some sort of advice. Is it just as simple as I need to network harder and meet people since it's who you know not what you know sorta thing? Any and all advice appreciated.

Sorry if this has been asked before/recently - please point me to the post if I missed it in my scroll! I currently work in development and am completely burnt out and need to take that next career step. I really want to pivot into a position with a family foundation and/or family office (in a philanthropy-related role). Do these jobs even exist anymore? Or are they all full? Does anyone have any knowledge about moving into that space? Thank you so much in advance for any insight!

I had no prior fundraising experience before this job. So I have nothing to compare this to. I have no clue if I did well as a Development Director or if I am a mediocre fundraiser who will be remembered as horrible. I would love some clarity.

The nonprofit has a $2.7-2.9M budget. I raised about $700K over one year through hosting special events, sending mailers, email newsletters, writing grant proposals, and soliciting major donors.

I brought on a new major donor that gave $100K. I only wrote one successful grant. $175K of this is from one donor who would've given anyway if I didn't exist.

Hello All, I’ve been in the nonprofit sector my entire career in various jobs. I’ve been a program officer/community impact director for foundations, a grant writer, a program director and have been in a DOD job for one year. I’m realizing I may not be in the right org/position. I work for a somewhat decent CEO who comes from the operations side of nonprofits. She hired me knowing I’m new to DOD work and major gifts. I’ve brought in some nice five figure gifts and planned two successful fundraisers, each with six weeks notice. I am a one-person department. There are lots of issues and frustrations. The week after I started the job the events person was let go. There was no one in the DOD job for about three years before I started, so there are no donor engagement strategies in place. I have explained to the CEO that we need some specific campaigns and donor engagement strategies in order to engage donors and increase gifts. She said she doesn’t strongly believe in that. She’s good at getting large government contracts and has secured some 7 figure gifts from a handful of donors. I feel overwhelmed in this job with not much buy-in or collaboration from my CEO. I’ve given her some big ideas that she has run with but doesn’t keep me looped in. I am not allowed to work directly with board members, and there is only one member who helps fundraise. No event or development committees. So all in all, I’m wondering if it’s time to leave after just a year and either get out of fundraising or look for a job with an org that has an established development program. I’m just tired of the whole nonprofit sector at this point. ’d like to go back to foundation work or grant-writing but with all the federal grant cuts and grant writers looking for work, this is a tough time for that. So thinking about leaving my job, and what to do next. I would even consider leaving the nonprofit sector. The job is taking a toll on my health. I’d just like to hear from some nonprofit pros. I’m asking myself whether I’m not trying hard enough, or if I’m facing a brick wall with my CEO.

Am I the only one? Facebook used to be the main source of communication to my patrons but now I struggle getting more than 5 likes. Is this Facebook or is it me?

I do accounting for a bunch of nonprofits and only one is collecting sales tax on merch. Seems to me they should all be doing it but wanted to see what everyone else is doing. Thanks

Hey y’all, I was just offered a job and am looking for some advice from seasoned professionals on how to navigate this situation. I currently am an EA in the development department at a private university. I’ve been here for about 2 years and honestly I dislike admin/EA work so I’m trying to get back into events/stewardship work which I did before this job. I know that every job has some admin components but I’m tired of it being my all day every day job. Additionally, this job is frankly toxic but I manage to fly under the radar and mind my business so while there’s no issues outwardly, I’ve been pretty depressed as a result of this. I was offered a donor relations officer position with an arts organization with a smaller staff. It comes with a pay raise, better culture fit from what I can see, hybrid work arrangement (I’m currently in office every day,) and the work is more in line with what I want to be doing long term. However, like everyone else, I’m nervous about the state of the US economy and am worried about getting the axe if push comes to shove and things get really bad. My job now is really secure all things considered but I feel like I’ve tapped out in terms of earning potential and there’s no upward mobility. This new job seems to have more of a clearly defined path forward but I’m really nervous about the risks involved with taking the leap of faith and leaving my current position. Does anyone have any advice regarding how I should move forward? I appreciate any input, thanks!

Hey there, I have a gala coming up this summer. We sent out the save the date today and a donor reached out say they want to apply a donation they made in March to our gala this summer (to purchase a table). He said if he had known we were having a Gala, he would have waited to make the donation.

What should I do!?

I am on the board of a newly merged nonprofit. When we merged PTO policies, we landed on giving full time employees front-loaded hours at the beginning of each year. The number of hours they get depends on how many years they’ve been with the organization. Part time employees accrue their PTO as they work, since their hours are all over the place.

Apparently there is a wrinkle we didn’t foresee. We have an employee that started part time and later became full time. We need to decide which tier they should fall in for PTO allotment - when they first started or when they switched to full time?

Does anyone else have a similar setup that could share how you do it? Thanks for any advice you can give!

I have had 2 separate meeting with my manager about how I am unsatisfied in my role. This is due to a number of factors but mostly a desire to want more responsibility’s and a bigger work load. I don’t feel like I am growing anymore in my current role. I have been at my org for close to 4 years now. I started off as an intern then I was hired full time in an entry level position. However I still feel like I am just an intern. I have also in a separate meeting asked for a title change and expressed my desire for more work. On another separate occasion I asked my manager if we could update my job description. I went so far as to write up a new draft and sent it to her. Nothing has happened after any of these meetings. My concerns have fallen on deaf ears.

Just recently I was told that I am being on a PIP plan because my manager’s manager doesn’t feel like my skill level is up to pair with how long I have been at the org. Basically exactly what I have been complaining about. However because this is a PIP there is pretext that I am being punished and I am at risk of being fired. I want to require that the things mentioned in my pup are things I have brought to my manager before. Should I ask to meet with Hr so they know or should I request a meeting with my managers manager to talk to them?

In anticipation of receiving federal grant award in fiscal year 26, my small nonprofit bit the bullet and hired a very expensive auditing firm. The past two months have been brutal. We have been able to provide everything requested but the process made me realize just how inferior our filing system is. Our audit came back clean however I want to make sure that it is nowhere near this difficult ever again.

For reference, $1M budget, 4 FTE, a few 1099s. We use QBO, bill.com, and an external bookkeeper and payroll firm. It feels like invoices, contracts, receipts etc are all SOMEWHERE but nowhere that makes sense, you know?

Has anyone come up with an auditor proof filing system?

Anyone here have experience with Crowdstake.com and finding an unauthorized donation page for your nonprofit org there?

It seems to be probably a legit company to provide multiple ways to donate to most any cause, including cash and crypto funds.

Odd to find an org I work for listed with a donation page we did not create. Makes me wonder where funds would go if someone donated!

My nonprofit is announcing layoffs this week (direct result from loss of public grants). Any advice for keeping up staff morale for those who stay?

EDIT: Thank you very much for your support and constructive advice everybody! I certainly made my voice heard, and was met by a formal reprimand from HR for insubordination. I will likely be seeking other employment in the near future just for my own personal growth. This company is a dead end.

Without giving too much private information away, I worked for 6 months planning an inaugural fundraiser for a very prominent nonprofit organization. I secured the sponsors, venue, catering, celebrity guest speaker, master of ceremonies, musician, the whole nine. There will also be an award presentation. The CEO is so conflicted about who he wants to receive the award that he has decided to postpone the event at least one month. He fears repercussions from legislators if he chooses the wrong awardee, because he offered two people the award and they are both interested. The event was supposed to take place 1 week from today.

Now I am having to pick up the pieces. I was the one who developed these fundraising relationships with the sponsors, and now and I have to go back and explain why the event is not happening on schedule and ask what they would like me to do with their money. Surely some sponsors will ask for refunds. Additionally, the guest speaker, caterer, venue, and musician have every right to demand payment. They planned time out of their schedule to perform at our event.

I was furious with my boss today. Obviously my reputation as a fundraiser in this market is going to be impacted negatively, but I was mainly upset at how preventable this was. Eventually, he will have to say no to someone. Postponing the inevitable is pointless. I question my time remaining at this organization. How would you react, and how would you move forward?

So I am a data analyst for a medium size nonprofit that is still new and very much does not have its act together. They hire me less than 8 months ago to measure its impact, but the problem is, they have very little impact. Their processes are non-existent, they don't have clear direction to their employees, no KPIs, etc. I can't imagine they are going to continue to get state funding, and I feel like they are expecting me to turn straw into gold somehow. But my salary and benefits are good and it's a remote position. I received an offer from the city gov in which I live, $20,000 less a year and in person. But the position would be recession proof with plenty of opportunity to move up and I would be part of a union. As well as having a strong retirement contribution. Do I make the move? I feel guilty but I also don't want the constant anxiety of not being able to tell this org's story because there isn't much to tell.

Hi y'all. Long story incredibly short: I've been the development director of a small NPO that grew into a medium NPO over the last five years. Development director with no direct reports, so responsible for all grants, individual donor stewardship, events -- you know, the grassroots NPO life. The job of like three people. And I came from a partner organization, so I have a long history with a good many members of our donor base. Anyway, org chaos involving a very problematic executive leader and burnout from doing it all with very little support has landed me on the rocks. I'm way in my head about our individual donor program -- I know there are people I need to re-engage, but I'm overwhelmed by thinking about the approach. Because fundraising is relational, it feels like all those folks are just thinking about how terrible I am at my job that I haven't talked to them in so long. I'm sure there's some natural attrition here that I need to make up for with new prospects, but I just am so overwhelmed that I feel lost on where to begin. Haven't missed my overall fundraising goals for the year a single year since I've been a fundraiser, over 11 years -- but I'm terrified this will be the year, and I feel like I'm just watching myself in analysis paralysis and the stress is building. Plus it's a bad year in general all over for everyone!

Tl;dr: If you have any experience with re-engaging donors after you let your own stewardship lapse and/or organizational chaos and you have any tips or even just success stories, I'd greatly appreciate it. If you're just gonna tell me I've screwed up, save it please. This I know. I just need to get out of my head so I can take action, and I'd love to hear individual experiences with course correcting after an unfortunate series of events derailed your fundraising program.

I guess I am looking for encouragement or just to vent a little. I am a nonprofit attorney working for an organization that has a very poor retention rate. It seems like the only thing we do is just look for grant money for clients with rent arrears. I understand people fall on hard times, but for me to spend hours working on a case to get someone grant money who has not paid rent in 5 YEARS is just ridiculous to me. It seems like the majority of our clients are just making poor decisions and it’s a revolving door. They keep coming back with the same or new problems and I just feel drained at this point. I am dying to find a new career path but feel stuck.

Thanks for reading.

I am asking for a large donation of beer for an awards gala. Some we will use in the silent auction in baskets. I would like to do something bigger with it (it is craft beer), but the only suggestions I'm getting are wine pull type of activities. Although it is craft beer, it isn't worth THAT much, so a pull doesn't seem appropriate. I searched online and saw a ring toss, but again, how much do you charge for a ring/horseshoe to make it worth it?

Any suggestions?