Executive Director Colleen O’Keefe of the Sauer Children’s Renew Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, embarked on a listening tour to inform the foundation’s work on behalf of the state’s foster care children and youth. Colleen blogged about the tour, and, recently, our Senior Program Director Sara Beggs interviewed her to learn even more, including what... Read More
Let’s say you own a company that makes energy bars. You wouldn’t dream of releasing a new product line without seeing if your fitness-focused target buyers liked it. Similarly, a foundation should not launch a new grant program without checking in with the intended recipients to see if it’s what they really need. Why don’t... Read More
At some point in our life and work, we ask ourselves, Is there more to know? Is there more to experience? Is there more impact or change we can make? It’s not that we’re ungrateful for what we have. It’s that we get restless, frustrated, fatigued. We heard somewhere that philanthropy was about taking risks,... Read More
The Buhl Regional Health Foundation is a new health conversion foundation in Western Pennsylvania, situated on the Ohio state line. We convened a daylong community health forum last fall to connect community leaders and organizations, explore our evolving region, and identify opportunities to improve the region’s well-being. Over the past 30 years or more, our... Read More
Many nonprofits across the country struggle with financial viability, according to a recent report based on data provided by GuideStar. The majority have less than one month of operating reserves, and 30% face potential liquidity issues. Nonprofits in the education and health and human services sectors, typically reliant on government contracts and fee-for-service-revenue, operate with... Read More
How does a nonprofit organization operate effective programs and also run a successful social enterprise? How does its enterprise generate both earned revenue and significant benefits to the organization’s target population? Balancing these two goals is harder than it looks, requiring adept leadership that is mission-focused and skilled in resource management and clear messaging. Some... Read More