15
2020
Board Transformation for Nonprofit Organizations
By Jim Toscano & Dania Toscano Miwa Board members have many responsibilities: decision-making, planning, hiring and overseeing the executive, making their own generous gifts, bringing peers to the table, serving as ambassadors to the community with some members actively serving on the development committee helping to raise funds. Many nonprofits do not have such board helping to raise funds and it is at their peril not to. The ideal situation is to gradually move to an organizational culture of philanthropy, a culture of constituent development. This starts with the Board leadership but envelops all in the organization, including staff, volunteers…
14
2014
Creating a Culture of Philanthropy
Everyone these days appears to be using the concept of a “Culture of Philanthropy” to get the point across that nonprofit organizations rely on resources and relationships for their sustenance, if not their existence. When googled, the concept receives 461,000 entries, seemingly mostly from consulting firms seeking business. The phrase is a great summary of what nonprofits are all about, especially in a procedural way. Substantively, we research, we teach, we feed, we exhibit, we heal, we preach, we tinker—we do many things benefitting civil society. Procedurally, we’re being told that our culture—our beliefs, opinions, values, orientations, relationships, and interactions—needs…
18
2011Constituency: They May be Sitting Right in Front of You
Post by James V. Toscano As part of a group organizing a development office for The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra years ago, I ran a number of mailing lists by the committee. Certainly all agreed that season ticket holders were clearly a prime constituency. When we got to the single ticket buyer list, derisive comments emanated from staff about a “dog list.” “If they can’t even afford season tickets, they’re nowhere near giving us money” went up the dismissive cry. “Wait a minute.” chimed in the volunteer fundraising consultant, “Who’s to say that not buying a season ticket disqualifies them?…