National Non-Profit Resource Center

05/25/2026

163 Years Ago, Abraham Lincoln dedicated a cemetery to the fallen soldiers of a battle at Gettysburg, to those who “gave the last full measure of devotion.” It is only fitting that we remember this on Memorial Day, a day dedicated to the memory of those who fought and died for this country. But Lincoln reminded his audience, and I remind us today:

“𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬 -- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 -- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐧 -- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 -- 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡.”

As we honor and remember those who died to protect and defend this nation, may we dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work of making this nation a place for freedom and justice for all.

06/14/2025

June 14, 2025

Dear Non-Profit Leaders

I have a burden to pray for you today, to pray for our communities, to pray for our community leaders, to pray for peace.

There will be demonstrations today, and counter demonstrations, and military parades, and protests. There will be angry people in the streets, angry people shouting against them, and I have a burden to pray for them all.

Our nation is greatly divided. But I am reminded that throughout history that kings, and leaders, and presidents, and militaries are not in control. Ultimately, God is. And ultimately, he uses ordinary people like us to effectuate change. I am praying for you, our nonprofit leaders, that God would use you to be a voice of concern, to call for peace, and to bring healing and peace to others.

The struggles we face as community leaders are very real, but often hidden, skirted, tucked away. Today, I fear, many of those raw and broken pieces may be exposed in unseemly ways. I pray I am wrong, or that my prayers and yours will prevent the worst from happening.

So I share with you my burden for today. Pray for peace. Pray for protection. Pray for hope. It’s not too late to cover our streets today with prayer.

In obedience,

02/07/2025

𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀!

As it is already, 80,000 children a week die in Africa due to malnutrition, disease, and trauma. There are water-born illnesses in unsafe drinking water, lack of food, war and forced migration, and more. 43 million people are displaced within Africa due to armed conflicts across the continent.

Now the U.S. government has stopped the flow of aid where it is desperately needed.

You can help us help others by establishing strong, independent, sustainable nonprofits who can work to build brighter communities across Africa.

Leaders from the African diaspora who live in the U.S. are sending aid back to their home countries, but need guidance, training, and support to do more. Building Brighter African Communities provides the coaching and training these leaders need to succeed.

Join us in building brighter communities across Africa, where children and families can have access to clean water, food, healthcare, jobs, and more. Click our link below for the opportunity to bring hope to those in need.

Africa is a continent of more than 1.3 Billion people, a third of whom are at or below the international poverty line of $2.15 a day. That's 460 million people (UNCTAD)!

09/29/2024

Trying to check-in as safe, but we don't have power or internet. In the middle of severe weather alert with flash flooding in the area. We're on the top of a ridge, so wind is pretty strong and 150 foot tall trees are swaying heavily.

09/20/2024

Thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes!

I have resisted asking for donations on my birthday. It's popular, but I represent so many different non-profit organizations that I have felt conflicted about choosing one.

But today, I have announced the start of my own nonprofit to provide training, coaching, and support to non-profit leaders meeting the needs of underserved communities across Africa. Please visit our website, www.BrighterAfricanCommunities.org to learn more about Building Brighter African Communities, or visit my brand new page, www.Facebook.com/BBAfricanCommunities .

In just 2 weeks we have gotten our organization incorporated, recruited 5 new board members, gotten the IRS EIN, applied for 501c3 status, developed donors, raised $2,000, and started working with new non-profit leaders serving the needs of refugees in Uganda and children in Liberia. You, too, can help make a difference in the lives of people with urgent needs. Thank you for your consideration!

Building Brighter African Communities (BBAC) exists to guide, train, and support non-profit leaders who are helping build brighter African communities.

04/08/2024

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Philadelphia held an Instant Gratification Run a few years ago. The starting line was the finish line. The race participants showed up for a photo op, with some on crutches and others clearly dressed for cold weather rather than a race, followed by an after-race “shindig.” For participating, they all got T-shirts, a race bib, commemorative medals, and a big party – all without having to work up a sweat.

I’ve said this before in so many words, but if you want instant gratification, lower your expectations. However, if you want to plan something big that will last years, will help others, and will be strong and sustainable, embrace that overwhelming feeling!

I met with some clients for a rare, in-person meeting yesterday. I’m in Southern California visiting family, and carved out a couple of hours for lunch with a few friends. The takeaway I got is that those who succeed in running a nonprofit or business are those who embrace the tough tasks, accept the challenges of growth, and who understand this is a marathon not a 0.0 mile fun walk.

So, to repeat myself, if your strategic plan or business plan isn’t at least a little overwhelming, it’s too small. Coaching and guidance can help make it more manageable, and you can focus your limited time and resources on the things that will be productive right now. But like with a marathon, there’s training and preparation that goes into running the race, and we all need the mindset that this is not an instant-gratification shindig.

03/11/2024

𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 - 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑫𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑾𝒂𝒊𝒕

Doing nothing takes as much time as doing something. Think about it. If you waste a day doing nothing, you haven’t saved any time. It’s still spent and gone. Spending the same amount of time doing something worthwhile may take more energy or more mind power, but the sense of accomplishment more than makes up for it.

I like to tell my clients, “You’ll be a year older a year from now anyway, might as well spend it building something that will last.” Over the past month, I’ve spent a lot of time on the phone with prospects with whom I’ve spoken before – months ago. They are no closer to fulfilling their visions and dreams now than they were months or years ago.

So, what’s the difference? If time passes regardless of how we spend it, how do we spend it more wisely? Focus. Eliminate distractions. Make your central purpose the most important mission and spend time doing that.

Even when I do have an emergency that takes my time and attention, afterward I like to reset and refocus to give my attention to what really matters. So, do that! Turn off the email. Unplug from social media. Put the phone on silent. And spend time doing what matters to stay on top of the mission you were called to do.

For more help and advice on how to spend your time, join me for a coaching call this week.

Watch This Video To Discover The 7 Strategies For Successful Fundraising Even If You Don't Have A Large Donor Base... WITHOUT burning out your board, volunteers and donors.

01/15/2024

Today's Coaching Call on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a snapshot of how the Heroes Program can help an organization with strategic planning, program creation, partnership development, and even board organization and agenda preparation. The story at the beginning about how I'm not "walking yet" is a literal story about how I tore a muscle in my leg and haven't been able to walk on it for a few weeks. But the beginning of this video is also about how no matter what, keep moving forward. This story may inspire your own organization's mission, vision, and strategic planning process.

01/15/2024

Monday Morning Motivation – Keep Moving Forward

As I did last year, I am honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day with this quote from Dr. King: “If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

My best clients are the ones that even when it gets tough, even during the struggles, they keep moving forward.

Today, I’m crawling, almost literally. I have a torn muscle in my leg and haven’t been in my office since before Christmas (upstairs). I cannot walk or drive, so I’m very dependent on others. I’m working from the living room couch. But I’m making forward progress.

We cannot always be at 100%. Sometimes our best effort will be 60% or 70%. But whatever our ability is to make progress, we need to keep moving forward. I encourage you to make progress today and this week on your mission and vision, and keep your goals in mind as you continue the first steps of a New Year. Need help? Join us today for a coaching call.

11/28/2023

Live Coaching Call from 11/27/23 - Part 1. We had a lively discussion about what you all should be doing with Giving Tuesday, including what type of content to create, where to share it, and more!