We’ve all been there: you’re busy with the day-to-day work of running your programs and keeping your nonprofit functioning, when all of a sudden, a grant opportunity pops up that is perfect for your organization! 

But then you look at the proposal requirements… yikes. Do you have all of the documents and information they’re asking for? And if you do, when was the last time they were updated? As you look at the quickly-approaching proposal deadline, you wonder if it’s worth it to drop everything and scramble to put together a proposal, or if you should just let this golden opportunity pass you by. 

Creating an accurate, achievable, and realistic budget for your nonprofit is incredibly important, as the budget creates the financial backbone of the entire organization. However, with so many ever-changing costs to factor in, plus the sometimes-unpredictable fluctuation of funding, budgeting can feel like a guessing game, and even the tidiest itemized spreadsheet can become an intimidating puzzle. Here are some tips to make the process easier and avoid the pitfalls that often come with creating a complex budget.

As you’re examining new ways to get funding pumping through the metaphorical veins of your nonprofit, the options are myriad. On the flip side, potential donors have many choices when it comes to methods of giving, and one increasingly popular selection, especially among older, high-income Americans, is a donor-advised fund (DAF).

Fundraising is the core of any nonprofit; it’s the lifeline needed to energize your business and keep it afloat, the key to keeping the metaphorical blood pumping through your healthy organization. While fundraising may seem simple on the surface – an upfront way to get money to your nonprofit via financial contributions – it’s actually quite complex. Understanding fundraising is imperative to the success of a nonprofit.

If you are in the early stages of starting a nonprofit and thinking, “Why is this so hard?” You are not imagining it. Running a nonprofit is hard.

As your nonprofit progresses over time, stagnation becomes the enemy. To reach more clients, you’ll need to widen your net in a variety of ways: expand your reach, broaden your plans, and hire more employees. Before you can focus on these facets of your business, however, you’ll want to look closely at scaling up your budget.

In today’s nonprofit world, numerous groups and organizations have started to include a tool in their toolbox called digital advocacy. Advocacy is probably a word you as a nonprofit guru are aware of. Advocating for a cause, a demographic, etc., is your jam. While it’s simple to add the word digital in front of that and call it a day, technically digital advocacy has more of a political spin.

Fundraising and development are part of the core work that makes nonprofits sustainable. Established nonprofits will consider a Capital Campaign to secure funding for a tangible goal at some point in their life cycle. Capital campaigns are fundraising plans to raise money for specific large ticket items like buildings, properties, remodels, and to start endowments. These campaigns are usually carried out over longer periods of time (think multiple years).

Government grants are a tricky area of expertise and for most small nonprofits they are not always a good fit in terms of time expended and opportunity. Knowing some basics about government grant writing can save you hours of staring at your screen making your eyes go dry as you scroll aimlessly through a government database. We’ve all been there. Here is a quick list of facts you need to know before applying for federal grant money: 

There are many MANY social entrepreneurs taking root in today’s startup culture. For those out there looking for tax-exempt status and to file as a 501(c)(3) here is our Beginning Guide to Starting a Nonprofit. 

In every business sector, there is that white whale story that floats around and encourages everyone to throw pragmatism overboard and chase the near-impossible fundraising dream. Maybe you heard of a nonprofit getting a million-dollar donation from Tyler Perry after he saw their story on the news. Or that a social startup received 10 million in initial funding in their first year. Well nonprofit Ishmaels, this blog is your wake-up call that the myth of cold calling the likes of Jeff Bezos (or better yet his ex-wife) and getting funding as a startup, or receiving 1 million funding from a foundation within your first year is like a siren song. It sounds too good to be true and chasing after it is going to waste your time and shipwreck your crew.

More often than not, we have many people starting in nonprofits that seek consulting services for board recruitment. Everyone wants to know how to engage and get community leaders to back their agenda. While of course, this is the obvious first step for board cultivation what often goes unnoticed is board training after they have signed on. After recruitment, how can you take your board beyond their basic responsibilities and into roles that are established with clear expectations and open communication?  

How grant writing consultants work?

Fiscal sponsorship is sort of like a big brother or big sister lending their bike to a younger sibling who wants to bike over to a taco stand. The older sibling (fiscal sponsor) lets their younger sibling take their bike out so they can get to the tacos more quickly. However, the older sibling is the owner of said bike and liable for all repairs and what happens to it. The older sibling also might request that the little sibling bring them back a taco (a small fee for services). This is the simplified way to explain fiscal sponsorship.

In 2020, Salesforce bought Slack-an online communication and document channel system. Slack was perfectly in keeping with Salesforce’s endeavors to provide one-stop software for communication and data, so if you were already using Slack, welcome to the Salesforce family. You are now a part of it. 

Now that you’re in the family, maybe it’s time to meet the matriarch: Salesforce herself, the most popular CRM for nonprofits and small businesses.

When someone new joins a nonprofit team there is always a moment in the first few weeks where they have questions about data, financials, or programs. They probably swivel over to a colleague and ask for help, and without a doubt, they always end up hearing “you can look in last year’s annual report”.  The annual report is the gatekeeper of knowledge. The pdf of public relations. A grant writing must-have. From the American Heart Association all the way down to a tiny nonprofit startup of two people, every nonprofit needs to have an annual report. Not convinced?

Every nonprofit, startup and small business needs a plan. That seems like common sense, and in fact, it is common sense among most professionals. Yet, there is a difference between a quick meeting out of the blue that turns into a long unstructured brainstorming session, and a structured three-part strategic planning session among stakeholders that provides valuable year-long insight. 

Erica Young - The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Welcome to part two of our Thought Leadership series on building sustainable and forward-thinking HR departments in the social sector.

As the current workforce continues to churn and find its footing in the new not-so-normal, Mockingbird reached out for a two-part interview with Innovation Catalyst Erica Young whose background in nonprofit work and strategic business partnerships at The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) places her at the intersection of people management in today’s nonprofit world.

In early 2025, one thing became abundantly clear across the nonprofit sector: uncertainty is no longer the exception. It is the operating environment. How do we fund our work responsibly when the rules keep changing?