In nearly every nonprofit boardroom or coaching conversation, financial constraint is the first—and often only—frame for decision-making. “Can we afford it?” becomes shorthand for “Should we do it?” Whether it’s adding a staff position, launching a new initiative, or investing in technology, the conversation tightens around dollars and decimals. It’s understandable. Money feels measurable. It […]

When you think about sustainability, you probably think about money: how to raise more of it, diversify where it comes from, and make it last. But your organization’s sustainability also depends on something less visible and just as powerful: your ability to build agency inside your team. That agency grows out of intellectual capital—the collective […]

It was garbage pickup today. Usually, it’s a pretty ordinary chore in my house. This week, though, we let go of a futon that my husband had been gifted from a friend when he was very, very broke. It symbolized the relationship. It memorialized a specific part of his life. There was definitely a struggle […]

I had a lot of new questions after analyzing the survey data. I wouldn’t be able to answer them quickly, so I spent some time thinking about how my experience as a manager in the nonprofit sector could help me chip away at big questions. I had staffed committees of the board for every organization […]

I was a fundraiser for 15 years. The implications of my survey’s findings on who funds, owns, and benefits from intellectual property created by nonprofits was always lingering in the back of my mind. Fundraising is not a new activity or new profession. I remember one of my grad school professors showing us a direct […]

My pre-survey reading opened my mind to the number of ways that intellectual property assets are used to expand market opportunities. Intellectual property is one asset that can be leveraged to grow or scale a nonprofit organization. It is something I have seen done by previous employers and clients. I wondered how prevalent it would […]

My pre-survey reading enlightened me to the myriad ways that intellectual property assets are used to expand market opportunities. Partnering with other brands or companies is one strategy for market expansion. I had worked at nonprofits that sought a variety of partnerships and I wondered how prevalent it would be within this sample. The 19 […]

I was also curious to know if nonprofit organizations were using their intellectual property assets to generate revenues through their own work as fee-for-service or other fees. At the time it seemed silly because fee-for-services represents about 80 cents of every dollar received by nonprofits. But, as that same article points out, that statistic is […]

All of the nonprofits were asked who is authorized to make decisions regarding the use of organization’s Intellectual Property on behalf of the organization. This question is distinct from the one asked earlier about the day-to-day management because it gets at the strategic, rather than tactical, usage of IP. The nonprofits shared that: Comparing this […]

As I’ve written about previously, one facet to IP rights is the right to exclude others from using intellectual property that your organization owns. When I wrote this survey I didn’t know how applicable this question might be for the small sample group. I was actually pleasantly surprised that more than half opted to answer […]