Do financial statements get you confused? What they are and how to read them? This short primer will give you an overview of the most common financial statements - the profit and loss statement and the balance sheet, useful to new grant professionals, executive directors, board members or anyone who does not feel comfortable with this way to understand their organizations financial position.

Here at Wastyn & Associates, we do our best to stay current with these trends so we can provide you with the most relevant advice for today’s world, grounded in well-established elements of human nature, human motivation, and basic economics.

Today, we share with you 9 trends that you and your organization might consider embracing – or at least monitoring.

Because it costs so much more to recruit new donor than to retain a current donor, how you treat new donors can make a significant difference in your bottom line. These three strategies can help you retain more donors … and raise more money.

2025 has certainly been a stress filled year so far. Nonprofit professionals have born a lot of the brunt of that stress. Try some of these tips that I have found help me reduce my stress in my days and weeks. I hope you can find something that works for you as well.

The last two blog posts talked about why you should use data to prioritize your development work and where you can find that data. This one outlines 6 ways in which you can use that data to work smarter, not harder, and raise more money in the process.

When people think of lobbying, they often envision well-funded interest groups, not local nonprofits fighting for community change. But nonprofits often serve on the front lines, helping our most vulnerable populations and deeply understanding the issues that hold people back and let them thrive. Nonprofits have every right to lobby legislators—and they should.

You may have heard people talk about different types of funds that you can raise. Learn what those are, how they differ and how to secure each type for your organization.

Too often board members and organizations define "conflict of interest" too broadly which may preclude some highly qualified board members from serving on your board. Learn what a conflict is and isn't and how you can protect yourself and your organization from a potential conflict.

Successfully engaging staff in organizational change begins with creating an organizational culture that supports change.

25-30% of all gifts come in during the month of December yet many fundraising professionals simply send a letter and wait for the money to pour in, wondering why they didn't raise more. These five strategies will help you raise more money this holiday season.

Now that you have identified the problem and the type of problem, we move to the next phase: generating solutions.

If you have a small and often volunteer-led nonprofit, the question often arises about paying your executive director. Should you? Is it appropriate? How can we afford to? Why should we take money from our mission to support a salary? Learn answers to these and other questions you may have about paying your executive director. (HINT: The answer is YES, pay them!)

Once you effectively identify the problem – the real problem, you need to categorize the type of problem you have.

November 15 marks National Philanthropy Day. Whether your community has a formal recognition of this day, you can - and should - use this opportunity to celebrate the philanthropists who make your work possible and the staff and donors - that's you - who help them find the joy of giving.

Understanding the steps of organizational change management is fairly simple; implementing them is not.

Time is not the friend of development professionals who always have much more to do than hours in the day. Time blocking is one way to stay on top of your tasks to get more done. How do you manage your lengthy to do list without going crazy?

By applying appropriate conflict management strategies, you can more effectively guide conflicts toward positive resolutions that strengthen your relationships and improve organizational dynamics.

4 ways to make new board members feel welcomed, informed, and prepared to contribute effectively to your nonprofit's mission.

When you know your organization needs to change, you need staff ready, willing, and able to implement that change. But I'm a firm believer that change doesn't happen to people, it should happen with people. Learn how and why to get your staff prepared for change and how to effectively engage them in the change process.

8 reasons why it's importance to have term limits for your board.