Blog Archive

Posted September 9, 2019 by Al Mueller 2 comments

The best charity evaluation platform just got better, deeper, simpler, and automated. But what’s really changed? Starting in September 2019, subscribers now have 5 NEW FEATURES:

• New Member Dashboard to track the latest updates on your favorite Nonprofits
• Automated notifications when your Favorite Nonprofits have new performance data
• Simpler search results show total expenses, number of staff, and program locations
• Advanced search filters include number of Board members, Clients served, and Donors
• Discounted price on Expert Evaluations that identify strengths & weaknesses in a page

Why give money to support good intentions when our nonprofit strategy, finance, leadership, and impact data can show you who’s really making a difference? Set up one-click access on your mobile device today to search our nonprofit database and select which charities you want to get notified about new performance updates on your Member Dashboard. Monitoring and evaluating charities just got so much easier!

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Effective Philanthropy, Impact, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Performance, Strategic Giving

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Posted April 8, 2019 by Al Mueller 5 comments

Common questions asked about CEO pay:

• Nonprofit Boards: “How much should a nonprofit CEO get paid?”
• Donors: “Is that charity CEO over-compensated?”

We at Excellence in Giving have to answer this question all the time for major donors our firm advises. And we have the data to do it.

We collected 70,000 fields of detailed organizational data from February 2018 to January 2019. So our nonprofit CEO Compensation study includes data from 396 nonprofits whose CEO compensation was analyzed according to staff size, annual expenses, CEO age, donor base, Board size, and geographic location. Here are the results…

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Nonprofit Analytics, Nonprofit CEO Compensation

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Posted July 16, 2018 by Al Mueller 0 comments

With increased competition, the pressure on nonprofits to invest more in fundraising has brought about better marketing materials, more development staff, and stronger donor pitches. This trend has made it harder for even the smartest donors to tell the difference between hearing a good story and identifying the right place to make a big gift.

Tags: Charitable Giving, Nonprofit Evaluation, Nonprofit Fundraising, Nonprofit Performance

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Posted May 13, 2018 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Many nonprofits are turning to traditional business models to supplement their fundraising income or, in some cases, walk away from the donation model entirely. How are these nonprofits freeing themselves from donor dependency? And which organizations should consider doing the same?

Tags: Non profit organizations, Nonprofit Finance

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Posted March 29, 2018 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Charitable Giving in the United States reached record levels in 2016 for the third year in a row (Giving USA). It grew 16% from $335 billion in 2013 to $390 billion in 2016. How many nonprofits caught the national giving wave? Why did some miss it and others exceed it?

Tags: Charity, Nonprofit Finance, Nonprofit Fundraising

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Posted February 5, 2018 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Guidestar announced in January 2018, “Around 50 percent of the nation’s nonprofits are operating with less than one month’s cash reserves.” That headline makes it sound like a half million charities could close if people stopped giving for a month. Oliver Wyman and SeaChange Capital Partners analyzed Guidestar’s archived 990s from 2010-2014 to make this claim. Suzanne Coffman, Guidestar’s editorial director, summarized the data from this study of nonprofit financials in a simple article (admittedly designed to market a Nonprofit Quarterly webiner): “Half of U.S. Nonprofits on Financial Precipice, New Report Finds.” That’s scary news. The good news is that Guidestar’s information is both old and incorrect.

Tags: Guidestar, Nonprofit Finance, Nonprofit Performance

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Posted January 15, 2018 by Al Mueller 2 comments

Common question asked by nonprofit Boards: “How much should a nonprofit CEO get paid?” Common questions asked by donors: “Is that charity CEO over-compensated?” We at Excellence in Giving have to answer this question all the time for major donors our firm advises. And we have the data to do it.

Since we collected 75,000 fields of detailed organizational data over the last 2 years, we can now release an excerpt of our nonprofit CEO Compensation findings in 2018. Our study includes data from 372 nonprofits whose CEO compensation was analyzed according to staff size, annual expenses, CEO tenure, and geographic location. Here are the results…

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Nonprofit Analytics, Nonprofit CEO Compensation

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Posted September 3, 2015 by Al Mueller 0 comments

Are you wasting your time attending leadership development conferences?

130 years ago, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus devised several experiments to measure how fast we forget. He concluded the majority of information we hear is forgotten within one hour, and 75% disappears in a week. To be sure, his simplified conclusion doesn’t take into account varied teaching methods, experiential learning strategies, or learning styles. Not all educational strategies are created equal. But it raises the question: Do leadership conferences leave a lasting impact after a couple days of talks?

Tags: Charity Evaluation, Impact, Nonprofit Evaluation, Outcomes Measurement

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Posted July 9, 2014 by Al Mueller 9 comments

“The kingdom path links success to obedience rather than outcomes.” That is the mantra from ECFA’s new book The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes. Hoag, Rodin & Willmer have been publishing articles in multiple outlets (like OUTCOMES magazine) to push this message to faith-based nonprofits. Since Excellence in Giving clients fund many faith-based nonprofits, we care about the accuracy and consequences of this message. Unfortunately, the baby is being thrown out the door with the bath water.

Tags: Effective Philanthropy, Impact, Nonprofit Performance, Performance Standard

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Posted January 21, 2014 by Chasity Cooper (Introduced by Paul Penley) 0 comments

#GivingTuesday analysis represents our first-ever guest blog. Chasity Cooper, from the MPA@UNC program at UNC School of Government, explores how 2013 #GivingTuesday results compare to 2012. I, Paul Penley, have yet to find any analysis of how increased donations on #GivingTuesday may produce decreased giving at year-end (and therefore no net gain in giving), but Chasity highlights valuable year-over-year trend lines. Check out below how the new “Giving Day” has rapidly grown in just one year. Thanks for this contribution Chasity…

Tags: Annual Reports, Generosity, Online Giving Contests

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