Blog
Mission Impact Begins with YOU: Three Simple Ways to Recharge
As a leader committed to transforming the lives of youth, the mission impact of your charity begins with you. The youth of today are counting on you to make good choices and take care of yourself, for the long haul. Why is it we continue to work when we are exhausted?...
Strengthen Fundraising With An Abundance Mindset
Janeal Ford, MPA, CFREIf there is one thing that can positively or negatively impact success in fundraising, it is how we think about it. If you want to get serious about raising more money for your nonprofit, and have an easy time doing it, you need to become aware...
Hiring a Consultant? Ask These Five Vital Questions
Janeal Ford, MPA, CFRE You are stretched thin and considering hiring a consultant or contractor. You are looking for someone who can provide an outside perspective and guidance. Congratulations! This is a big step and can create real success for your nonprofit....
Grant Makers Hate These 4 Things
Janeal Ford, MPA, CFRE With a career spanning two decades, I have worked with hundreds of grant making donors and prepared thousands of successful grant proposals. From the local service club wanting a one-page letter to the city government asking for a hundred-page...
The Fundraising Secret No One Talks About
Ah, the allure and mystery of fundraising. It is a topic that can evoke feelings ranging from disdain to bliss. After two decades of working in the field, my impression is most executive and board leaders are anxious about fundraising. One board member went so far as to tell me she would rather chew on glass than fundraise. I can still remember the thick tension her comment created in the boardroom as she dared say out loud what most everyone else was thinking. At the time, I remember feeling gratitude for her bravery to put her feelings on the table. Awareness is the first step to change.
Collaboration Case: Health & Healing Through Art
Let's get real, changing the world requires collaboration. It is critical to your success as a nonprofit and ensures the services you deliver are relevant and holistic to the people you are meant to serve. Fordable Fundraising is proud to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+...
Five Ways to Appreciate Your Board for National Volunteer Month
April is National Volunteer Month! This month is all about honoring and celebrating the hard work that your volunteers do for you all year round. Here at Fordable Fundraising, we are focusing on some of your most important volunteers: your board of directors! Your...
Five Ways to Foster Long-Lasting Board Engagement
 FIVE WAYS TO FOSTER LONG-LASTING BOARD ENGAGEMENT Running a nonprofit has many unique challenges, but an engaged and invested board should not be one of them. If one of your biggest problems in running your organization is engaging your board members in fundraising,...
One Gift Wonders
For every person making a gift to a charity, there is someone who quits giving. With the average industry retention rate at a dismal 45%, it appears only an elite bunch have found the winning formula for success in fundraising.  Experts tell us if we focus on...
Budget Your Nonprofit Dreams Into Reality
Your organization’s budget is so much more than an exercise in number crunching; it becomes your to-do list for the year. Your budget becomes the primary method of communicating your organization’s values. As a nonprofit leader, you know that if it makes it into the...
Volunteer for the win-win
In my blog this month, I address staff resistance to using volunteers in nonprofits. If you’re not a nonprofit ‘native’, you probably think the idea that any charity rejects free help is ridiculous! Trust me, it happens every day in nonprofits of all sizes and cause...
Six Ways to Overcome Volunteer Resistance
America’s nonprofits could not survive without volunteers and they play a key role in helping charities raise more money from the community. It is impossible to believe but nonprofit leaders can and do resist using volunteers. Volunteers give their time, talent and...