Vigilance . . . An appropriate word to describe how those of us who work to strengthen nonprofit organizations should view the future.  Why vigilance?  Well, bear with me.  

Diana Leon-Taylor said recently that, “The nonprofit community serves as the glue that solves a lot of problems in a community.”  Leon-Taylor, the President/CEO of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington, was referring to the current government shutdown. “Statistics show that any community that has a strong nonprofit sector has a strong economy,” she continued. […]

Answered questions. What if…you could find out which fundraising methods were working in organizations like yours?  Are events up or down? What about direct mail? Should you invest in more proposals to corporations or invest in web site development?  These are real questions affecting nonprofit organizations of all types in the U.S. and Canada daily. […]

Many of the organizations we work with are colleges and universities, and many of these play intercollegiate football at some level.  Several of our current clients are prominent NCAA FBS schools. In fact, 5 of the AP top 10 are current or former clients of Alexander Haas. So what, you ask.  I thought this was […]

In September, Sarah Cahan, a senior insights supervisor with Cone Communications’ Research and Insights team, wrote some interesting observations about consumers, companies, charitable causes, and the impact perception gap in the world of CSR. CSR is Corporate Social Responsibility, aka “cause marketing,” where companies and charities partner to create opportunities that allow consumers to feel good, […]

In his post last week, our friend Jim Paglia discussed his experience and work with nonprofit boards. As I reflected on his words of wisdom, I began to review an assessment we recently wrote for a client, and was shocked by some of the findings! Why? Let’s take a look at their board’s statistics:

One billion-dollar campaign at a university printed a book, and cradled it in handmade wooden box… Another produced a glossy, four-color, seventeen-page document on 14x 17 card stock as its case for support… Still another used hand-made paper bolted between copper plates… The collection of case statement materials in our office runs the gamut from […]

The headline of this article is an expression I’ve used for over thirty years. Relying on volunteers can lead to misunderstanding, sluggish performance, disappointment, and oftentimes, negative outcomes. Or, volunteers can be the measure that propels a nonprofit organization to its greatest success. In my travels, I meet Executive Directors and CEOs of nonprofits on […]