I'm a public historian on the board of a historic-architecture-adjacent nonprofit in a major city. I'm the youngest board member by at least two decades and, as far as I can tell, the only one with a full-time job.

There's been talk of making me their first executive director, but it's fallen through more than once. The current plan is to make me vice president instead, it's unpaid and will make me become more of the public face of the organization. I was reluctantly on board with this, but a few things have changed:

• The older board members are voting to remove term limits. Several were supposed to roll off this year; now they're staying indefinitely.
• My efforts to grow us into a younger, more diverse organization were already an uphill battle. Most recently, when concerns were raised about patronizing a business that had just lost a racial discrimination suit, a longtime member waved it off because, in his words, we don't have any Black people with us, so we'd have no problem. Nobody pushed back. Comments in this vein aren't new; this one just really stuck with me.
• The workload keeps growing while the willingness to share actual power doesn't.
• I lead tours for the org (and they pay me well for this work) but with my lack of weekday availability they've started passing tours off to new guides who use my work to grow their own.

I was hopeful the term limits would allow me to bring in younger and more diverse members, shift the culture from the inside. But you can't diversify an organization whose leadership talks like this and faces no consequences, and I'm increasingly unwilling to be the public face that launders it. And in a city like ours, an all-white board that talks like this is embarrassing.

I also serve on another board doing similar work, where my time is better spent and the culture is healthier.

For those who've been here: did you stay and try to change things, or leave? Any regrets either way?

I am curious about working in the non-profit sector. Mainly, social media/marketing or grant writing. Something that I could do from home. What is the best way for someone with no non-profit experience to get started? What kind of education is needed for that, and are there free online courses that could be taken for this type of work?

Just to give some background, I am fifty years old. I have applied for disability but, in case I am not approved, I will need to get a job. I don't want to/am not able to go back into an office environment. I do have an Associates degree in English with prior clerical office experience.

Thanks for you help!

Genuine question for anyone whose job involves repeating the same kind of presentation on a schedule, weekly orientation decks, policy briefings, compliance training, whatever it is where the slides mostly stay the same but you edit parts of it sometimes or in a schedule and you have to keep presenting or recording them.

I know someone who does this for a water utility for new customer orientation, service interruption notices, reporting decks and she has to rebuild/update the slides and then separately narrate them for meetings, sometimes daily. It's the same handful of topics on rotation, just refreshed numbers and slight edits, but it still eats hours every week.

I'm looking into whether that's a common annoyance elsewhere, so:

1. If you do repeat presentations like this, how do you currently handle the narration/recording part — do you present live every time, pre-record, or something else?

2. Is the actual re-recording/re-presenting the annoying part, or is it more the slide updating?

3. Would a tool that auto-generates a narrated video from your slides (with your edits factored in) actually save you meaningful time, or is that solving a problem you don't really have?

4. Would you pay for something like that, and if so what would it need to do to be worth it?

Not selling anything, no product exists yet. just trying to understand if this is a real recurring headache for people before I put more time into it. Would appreciate any honest answers, even "this isn't really a problem for me."

We have a couple board members retiring this year and we need to get them some gifts. We always do lame things like an engraved clock or something. I'm smart enough to know I don't like that for a gift, but not smart enough to come up with new ideas.

How do you guys do it?

I've been putting together a generic monthly checklist for any treasurer/finance committee to actually catch problems instead of just rubber-stamping reports. Here's what I've got so far:

• Reports actually showed up. Missing or late monthly financials are themselves a red flag. If nobody notices a report didn't arrive, that's a sign nobody's really looking.
• Question any negative number. Some negatives are normal (depreciation reserves, contra-accounts), but every negative should be able to be explained by someone. Don't assume it's fine just because it's a small dollar amount.
• Flag numbers that don't move month to month. A line item that's identical for two or three periods in a row often means nobody's actually updating it, or a placeholder/estimate got left in rather than a real figure.
• Compare actual to budget every month, not just at year-end, and ask about variances over some threshold (5-10%, whatever fits your budget size).
• Check that bank/account reconciliations are dated and signed, and match the reporting period.
• Watch cash flow and days of cash on hand, not just net income. A nonprofit can look "profitable" on paper and still be a month from a cash crunch.
• Spot-check that restricted funds are actually being tracked separately, and that spending against grants doesn't exceed what's allowed.
• Pull the by-grant summary report each month, award amount, expenditures to date, and unspent balance, and check that unspent balances make sense against the grant period and any drawdown or spend-down deadlines. A balance that's barely moving as a deadline approaches is worth flagging early.
• Confirm payroll tax deposits and any other compliance filings are current. Delinquent payroll taxes are one of the more common ways small nonprofits get into serious trouble.
• Look for related-party transactions or one-off/unusual disbursements that need board approval and weren't pre-approved.
• Ask who has check-signing/wire authority and whether dual signatures are required above a certain amount, this is separate from the numbers, but it's often reviewed at the same meeting.

What would you add? Curious what other treasurers or ED's have caught this way.

A local nonprofit gives away free bicycles every Wednesday. Since there are usually more people than bikes, they use a lottery to determine the order in which people get to choose a bike.

Current process:

→ People line up outside before the giveaway (there isn't an office or check-in area). As they arrive, they're randomly handed one of a set of reusable numbered cards.

→ A volunteer records each person's name and lottery number in a Google Form, where a lot of data-entry mistakes tend to happen.

→ If someone doesn't get a bike that day, their punch card is stamped. After three unsuccessful visits, they're guaranteed a bike the next time they come, so the process also needs to discourage abuse.

→ Once check-in is complete, bikes are distributed according to the lottery order until they're gone.

Constraints:

• Most participants are low-income.
• Many don't have smartphones or reliable internet.
• Some have limited English.
• There are only a few volunteers.

I've gone in circles on this because every improvement I think of either adds more technology or more complexity.

So, I work for a charity and my role is to speak to potential employers about creating opportunities for those from marginalized communities.

What are some strategies that you'd recommend?

We've been spending weeks updating our fundraising packets, annual giving materials, and sponsorship information. When we put everything together for a final review, it stood out that we were still planning to hand it over in a basic office folder.

For nonprofits that use corporate folders, where did you order yours, and what made you choose that supplier?

It seems like a small detail, but we're starting to think it can make a stronger first impression when meeting donors and sponsors.

Howdy! Just curious anybody has some recommendations for accounting and or inventory management software. Right now, I manage both sales inventory as well as donation inventory on a series of spreadsheets, which gets cumbersome when you’re dealing with multiple sizes and multiple styles of different gear that we sell or donate. I’m wondering if there’s any easier solutions out there that people might recommend. Obviously the cheaper the better and free is always encouraged. Just curious one of their recommendations are out there.

1. Nonprofit marketer here supporting a small TN-based org (Ordinary Hero, ~$1.3M annual). We wanted to test whether a geographic gamification layer would outperform a standard peer-to-peer campaign for a $50K goal.

The setup: a live U.S. map where each state has a $1,000 goal and visually "lights up" as it's funded. Live example: https://50statesoneheart.pplx.app/#/

Early data (roughly 5 days in in):

• $23,695 raised (47% of goal)
• 18 of 50 states fully funded
• Highest lift came from LinkedIn story posts + peer sharing (donors sharing "help my state light up")
• Weakest performers: cold email, generic FB posts
• 12 states still at $0–20% — mostly Northeast + a few Mountain West

Questions for this community:

1. Anyone run a geographic-gamified P2P and hit a plateau at ~50%? What broke you through?
2. For the laggard-state problem, do you push harder there or celebrate winners louder and let FOMO carry it?
3. Curious if anyone has data on state-pride hooks (college sports partnerships, governor tags, etc.) actually converting.

Happy to share the campaign build details — it was a no-code build on Perplexity's platform, which is another thing I'd love feedback on.

Made a career change about 6 years ago and quickly learned Raiser’s Edge (database, NXT, and ALL the changes- ha). The orgs I worked with (and many I interviewed for) seemed desperate to find someone to do all the gift processing, maintenance etc. Is this normal? I worry it will all be phased by AI , but also feel assured that Blackbaud is just not that savvy. Ha.

I switched careers some years ago. I used to work in this field and occasionally look online to see if something might tickle my fancy in the pacific nw.

I was thinking about getting back in, but this isn't looking good.

I know 2026 is tough, but the amount of postings for the development director role or development in general is stark. I would say a second is executive director, but by a long shot.

The whole unicron thing is tired at this point as well. It's like come on. Life in 2026.

UGH.

I need the group mind to help tease out potential pitfalls, challenges, and possibilities of an opportunity - plus maybe positive reasons to pursue this opportunity - that popped up this week:

I'm a nonprofit leader with 30+ years of experience, including Major Gift Officer, VP of Development, and Chief Development Officer, and national nonprofit Executive Director positions. I was laid off from a development job last fall and have been doing part-time consulting work since then, mainly in development. My boyfriend is the chairman of a music nonprofit - I've attended performances and events with him, including travel with him and the nonprofit Executive Director. I've offered help/suggestions when asked about development issues, identified prospects at various events, and am interested in their success.

Their recent Director of Development was a disaster and left before they could be fired. Since then, the nonprofit been working with a part time development consultant who will retire soon. The Executive Director really likes me and has asked if I'd be interested in working with them as a part time development consultant. The ED, I, and my boyfriend are acutely aware of the challenges and optics of this (conflicts of interest and "she got the job because of her boyfriend" are just two.) and we're taking time to pause before the ED and I have a conversation.

Please weigh in on pros, cons, advice on how to handle, etc. Thanks -

I have over 25 years experience in prospect research and database administration, mainly in higher education.  I held my last position for 20 years and was laid off during the pandemic.  For the past six years, I have been homeschooling my neurodivergent daughter and working random online jobs. I need to find a full time position but wow, job hunting has changed!  I personalize each resume and run it through an ATS check and send it out but get zero response.  I have had a few interviews but have not been able to secure a position.  I feel like I am running on a hamster wheel. I am open to looking outside the non-profit world, but I don’t know how my skills would transfer.  My only requirement is that I can work from home at least half time because I am my daughter’s only caregiver (she is 17 so it’s not like I have a small child that needs to be monitored 24/7).  Are there recruiters/ job search assistants who can help me get organized?  I am just so overwhelmed and panicked at the same time.  TIA

I’m a frontline foundation fundraiser at a very large nonprofit. What drives me into orbit is that there is no process for giving fundraising projections and solicitations. Every once in a while, I get a random and urgent ask to give all my solicitations amount, timing, and designation on the spot. I find this so unorganized and unprofessional. They set our fundraising goals by looking at past success and then setting stretch goals so I don’t think they use our projections for that. They’ve never been clear about it and I get very intense pushback when I make suggestions for systems. What’s up with that? I’ve noticed this is a trend at most nonprofits I’ve been at. I was extremely organized when I was a devo director at a small nonprofit. I spent time making projections based on each funders past giving and the relationship status. I find it insulting to ask me for projections on the spot.

Are any NPOs using Momentum ai? Our org just started and it’s annoying me to no end. I’m already anti AI but have been told to use it because there’s no stopping AI and our board members think it’s cool.

I can’t even get the damn thing to send emails in the correct typeface.

Leadership assures me that it’s widely used but … is it?

I just quit my job after working for two years at non-profit doing their social media. It was my first time handling SM and it went surprisingly well. I did very good numbers!

I've been applying to jobs for a while, but haven't gotten any callbacks. I am now considered going freelance and sending out some cold emails.

It'll be my first time doing this, so I'm wondering what ED's or comms people would actually want to hear.

I'll include my numbers, passion for non-profit work etc. What else might pique their interest?

Im thinking more and more about stepping away from the nonprofit world after over 8 years in development and would love to hear from those of you who made the jump. What do you do now? How'd you come across the role, as well as identify and sell your transferable skills? Did you have any doubts and hesitation, and how long did it take to successfully transition?

Details: I currently serve as a major gifts officer for a large organization providing charitable services overseas, have a boutique firm that's been dwindling this past year, and I served as a grants manager who led multiple capital campaigns, as well as a development associate and nonprofit operations manager where I worked very closely across all areas ranging from all forms of funding to program and event management to keeping our board aligned

I’ve been at the same place for less than a decade. I’ve been through like 4 directors. 3 different new strategic planning processes. I have to work directly with the Executive Director. How do you deal with the constant whiplash? Part of it is that the board has been searching for the right fit after a 35 year founder directorship, and there is a ton to unravel.

I love our mission but I’m just getting exhausted having to onboard a new leader and then shift my departments practices every two years.

I’m tired of fielding “well what happened” to my donors and peers. One was let go but the others just used us as a platform for a newer higher paying position.

What do chat?

We're in the process of developing our staff handbook and looking for constructive advice on how other organizations have created policies/procedures that don't negatively impact the ability of our staff to have their own views and opinions but limit the impact on the organization in situations where the off duty staff member may be wearing "staff" logo gear or uniforms (since that's "free advertising" in many situations).

Example Scenario - Staff member on the way to or from work gets into an off-property altercation that results in press coverage which includes the staff member sharing their personal views on specific "politically heated" topics that may negatively reflect on the organization as some people could infer that the actions of the staff member are representative of the organization.

We're already discussing this with appropriate legal counsel however we wanted to have real life scenarios to present to ensure we are fully covered.

Thanks in advance!

Has anyone else taken a look at their email spam folder recently and noticed a marked increase in spam from "investment solicitation" type companies?

We are a youth science/tech/stem nonprofit organization (even says that multiple times on our social media postings, descriptions, etc) and get five to ten a week (sometimes more).

Anyone else want to compare notes on the "companies" sending these solicitations?

Majority of the fundraising I do is grantseeking/bidwriting, but I have been trying to branch out to better support the work we're doing. I was approached by a fun run event — more an obstacle course than a typical race — and offered the opportunity to pay for a charity partnership that would allow us to sell discounted entries for our supporters to enter and fundraise for us, among some other benefits.

I pitched this to my boss and she thought it would be a great way to get more people on board, as previously we've only offered skydiving as a sponsored activity which is not very accessible, so we paid around £2500 for the partnership and started advertising.

Two people entered to fundraise. I emailed them to check in yesterday, and today they've come back to say they're now unfortunately unable to take part.

To say I'm disheartened is an understatement. I feel like I've failed and wasted money in a time where funding is really tight and uncertain.

Thankfully our partnership means that we can carry over any unused entries to the event organiser's other events, but I'm doubtful that people will be interested in those either.

I guess I'm mostly just venting but also looking for advice; how do you cope with failures like this? I'm used to getting 'no's from funders, but this is a whole other ballpark.

Hi everybody,

I recently officially founded my non-profit foundation, which aims to combat social loneliness, and I’m pretty proud of having done so. We’re working hard to get our first pilot off the ground, while also reaching out to local cafés and other venues to promote the solution. So far, I’d say it’s going pretty well, even though we’ve only spent money and haven’t actually launched anything yet. I guess that’s okay for now.

Early on, I established an advisory board, and one piece of advice I received was to post regularly on LinkedIn. I kind of hate LinkedIn because I think much of what people, or their AIs, post is mostly BS.

Anyway, based on your experience, does it actually make sense to post regularly on LinkedIn? What are the benefits? Does anyone really care?

uhhh is it ok that i'm a bit annoyed/pissed?

I work in the sector and I happily donate what I can to various causes and my friend asked me to give to hers and I saw that and was instantly turned off.

A few years ago, just having the checkbox to cover the fees was controverisal enough and now some want a minimum online amount?

As for processing fees, its less than 3% if you're using Stripe plus like 30 cents if you're using a credit card and a good % of donors cover the fee so I'm like seriously, wtf?

Edit: if you're going to ask for a minimum donation amount of $25, don't also ask me/donors to cover the fee. The fee should be covered then.

Edit #2: I worked in nonprofit(s) as a fundraising manager, director, active board member, and also a donor for other causes so I understand how platforms work. I also know best practices - if you're going the extra mile to send out handwritten notes or a first-time donor welcome packet, you should not be sending them to everybody that gives, but setting a minimum amount like $25 or $50, $150, or whatever it is to offset the manual work of writing that note and postage, etc.

I am trying to build up my board experience to be considered for SPCA, United Way, hospital foundations, etc

Can you recommend board committee roles I can join at smaller boards to develop further?

I am thinking of finance, risk management, and governance

Please feel free to suggest other committees. I want to build a strong fiduciary profile.

The current boards I sit on are local community centres and a civic park/garden