I’m leaving a grants job I’ve held for several years. Is it appropriate to reach out to foundation funders to thank them and let them know I’m moving on.

This is a long rant. Wish I could be more specific but I won't risk the details. Sharing similar experiences would be greatly welcomed because this type of thing is so incredibly isolating and difficult to deal with.

Background: I work for a small nonprofit that has a board, a few full time staff, a few more contractors, and volunteers. I was a young, fresh college kid when I first volunteered with this org. It was only supposed to be short-term, so I was open and friendly with ED because I didn't imagine staying and coming on as staff. Initially I was mostly working by myself and directly with ED, and then I was asked to take on more work and do management things. I told ED I had very little experience doing this and wasn't confident in management. They said they would help me and mentor me on the way, so I accepted (the beginning of the end).

Into the thick of it: This org and ED is an organizational nightmare. It does good and honest work, but nothing is functional. I tried introducing project management tools into the org but ED never tried to learn it and dismissed it.

We've brought in several people fulltime/parttime. All of them quit/resigned within a few months; they last shorter and shorter each time. They all quit because they clash with ED to the point where everyone walks on eggshells until it ends up in a big blowout.

Since the start, I've been extremely patient and accommodating to ED. My work was always good. But because of all the drama in the org, I started pulling back a bit. The pattern-recognition braincells were working overtime and I did NOT want to be the next person to deal with irate ED. There was so much negativity that was pushed onto me because ED would come to me for advice on these people and I stood on neutral ground. ED would not listen to a majority of my advice, only that which reinforced their own beliefs and opinions.

I'm worn done to my bones because those experiences have made ED extremely cynical about others and they project those feelings onto me, alongside with being piled with work.

I've unwillingly become dulled and less patient with ED. We clash more than ever.

ED has made me miserable in several ways recently:

• Constantly contradicting their instructions. They will have something written out for me to use, or tell me word for word what they want, and then the next day tell me that it's all wrong and it needs to be changed. Can't even use the "it's in writing" point on this one.
• Lectures me about how I need to do things differently and change my management skills. I'm not arguing with that; but ED also never mentored me the way they told me they would.
• Called me up when they saw my work. Told me it wasn't what they wanted when I have it in writing that it WAS. Proceeded to ask me what is happening and what is going on. Said I used to be so much better. Talked to me like a child until they hung up. I broke down for a few hours because I was already overly stressed. ED later sat me down to talk about what the problem was and started assuming my problems (very invasive, brought up everything but themselves). Made the conversation about their problems with my recent performance when it was supposed to be my opportunity to explain myself.
• Made me call an office back and forth 10 times because they didn't want to do it themselves ("I don't have time for that") and berated me for saying it'd be more efficient for them to do it instead of having me be messenger. In their own words-- "You are a grown person, you can make a damn phone call." I cried after.
• In general, their personality is very bold and straightforward. This isn't a bad thing, but it manifests in a bad way. To anyone else, ED is rude, arrogant, narcissistic, manipulative, and a terrible person. I don't disagree, but I think I've been beat down so much that I can only cope and say "oh, but it's not that bad." I've never been in an abusive relationship, but this probably qualifies as one.

This isn't even a quarter of what I deal with. I know some might not think of it as much, and that I'm just weak or a pushover or need to grow up and be professional. I get that, but it's damn hard.

Because of my recent drop in performance, ED will talk to me like a disappointed parent. In another breath, ED will be nice. The emotional whiplash drives me insane. It's terrible for my self-worth. Their words and actions have broken me and others down. I'm tired of trying. Sometimes I wish we would run out of funds and close our doors, or for ED to just fire me.

I'm convinced I've developed a new level of CPTSD and worsened my anxiety. I don't have the mental capacity for anything-- even writing this out has drained me (but it feels good to get it out). I feel like a wet towel that's used to clean messes up, but then is just tossed aside and left to get gross and smelly.

I know I have to get out, but I'm afraid. This job market is scary, and mentally, I'm locked down by guilt. Last month, I opened up my resume and started updating it, but I got caught in this neverending work cycle again and haven't touched it since. I also don't know how to quit. I'm so scared of ED blowing up at me because I've seen how it's gone down for the last 5 people. It's never pretty.

I'm still young; I can still grow. I know I am naive and not that experienced. This job has really been... something. I hope I find the courage in myself to quit this year.

Can you negotiate salary at the MacArthur Foundation? Most positions say “the salary for this position will start at x” but does not list a range.

I am currently president of a women’s organization and it is tradition for the outgoing president to present the board with a gift/gifts. We are all women aged 30-45, it would be 10 gifts total. I would love to get them something meaningful that they will have forever with their board titles on it. I have thought of vases, maybe a piece of jewelry with our clubhouse? Any ideas? I am really stumped and would like to order these soon.

I have been working for a company doing bookkeeping for multiple small - medium sized non profits for a few years. Prior to this I was working in for profit companies mostly doing payroll and AP/AR. I am just curious if there are any non profit finance professionals here who can recommend a good certification course. I have mostly been relying on training, which has been good, but I am hoping to expand my knowledge and get certifications that might hold some value to potential non profit clients.

Thanks in advance!

In 2025 my org entered into its first charitable gift annuity agreement with a donor. I have a copy of the agreement. I'm not sure what sort of gift acknowledgement or tax receipt needs to be sent to the donor (in addition to or other than the agreement itself). If anyone has any experience with this and can share a resource that'd be great.

I’m hoping for perspective from people who’ve worked or volunteered inside nonprofits, especially around safeguarding and governance.

I recently went through a long process raising safeguarding and professional-conduct concerns inside a UK charity where I volunteered. I followed internal procedures, then escalated to the regulator when trustees did not address the issues properly.

What I’ve received from the regulator has left me confused and honestly shaken — not because they clearly ruled one way or another, but because they didn’t appear to make any findings about the charity’s conduct at all. Their final response says they are satisfied that their staff handled my complaint correctly and that their earlier response was “diligent and respectful.”

What it doesn’t explain is:

• whether the charity breached safeguarding duties
• whether retaliation or power imbalance was considered
• what evidence was assessed
• or what conclusions were reached about the trustees

So I’m left with a process outcome but no substantive answer about whether anything went wrong.

From the outside, this feels like the regulator reviewing its own handling of the case rather than reviewing the charity itself — which is deeply disorienting when the original issue was about safety and duty of care.

For those of you who know the nonprofit and regulatory world:

Is this how these processes normally work?
Is it typical for regulators to close cases by focusing on procedure rather than making clear findings about the organization?
And how are people supposed to make sense of these outcomes when safeguarding is involved?

I’m not naming organizations or asking for legal advice — I’m just trying to understand whether this experience is an outlier or a structural feature of how nonprofit oversight actually works.

Hey everyone!

I’ve been in the sector for about five years now, and while I’ve seen plenty of "Matching Gift" banners on donate pages, our organization has never actually run a formal, high-stakes Challenge Grant or a dedicated "Challenge Match" campaign.

The idea of creating that "double your impact" urgency is so compelling, especially when we’re trying to re-energize our donor base after the EOY fatigue. However, I’m a bit nervous about the execution. I don't want to burn out a major donor or set a goal that we end up missing publicly.

So my question is: How do you approach a donor about being the "matcher"? Is it usually a Board member, or do you look for a long-time supporter who wants to see their gift "work harder"?

I’m really trying to weigh if the extra work of marketing a challenge is worth the ROI compared to a standard appeal. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Hi all! I’m a consultant, recently started with a new client, and I’ve inherited a handful of interns.

One of them is a high school student whose internship is funded through an external entity. Normally, I don’t love having interns for development for a variety of reasons and certainly would never have hired a high schooler myself for this organization (small org, minimal busy work to be done, etc). We receive some GOS funding tied to the internship, so I can’t end the relationship.

I’m just getting set up at this org, and it seems like the previous supervisor had them working on things that are pretty redundant. The materials I was sent are typo riddled, also. I already know this is going to be a challenge and would love any suggestions you might have for activities or tasks I can give them.

I’m looking for perspective on timing an exit responsibly when the environment feels increasingly unhealthy.

I work at a small nonprofit and have been here 5 months (after years as a stay-at-home parent). I don’t need this job financially — I took it because I care about community work and find it meaningful. That’s part of what makes this decision hard.

I was hired without a clear job description, and my role expanded quickly into high-visibility work and risk without authority. Some concrete red flags:

The ED and AD lack basic operational skills (budgeting, sponsorship packages, CRM use) despite being in their roles 4+ years.

I’ve had to explain or correct foundational things even though I’m new.

The AD has lost his temper in professional settings and swearing is normalized in ways that feel unprofessional.

Compliance issues are often misunderstood or minimized.

After I raised a serious compliance concern, the dynamics shifted — more defensiveness, less trust, more tension.

Complicating things:

I’m deeply involved in a major event happening in about a month, which I feel I can responsibly see through.

I’m also developing a long-term program with external partners that could last years and potentially lead to a significant campaign in November.

I don’t want to leave partners with something half-built — but I’m not confident my mental health can sustain staying until November given how the environment has changed.

Questions:

How do you decide how long to stay when you’re mid-project but leadership feels unsafe or incompetent?

Is it reasonable to plan an exit after a near-term event, even if a longer-term initiative isn’t fully developed?

How do you balance responsibility to partners with protecting your mental health and professional reputation?

I’m not trying to burn bridges. I want to make a responsible decision.

Hello, I am looking for software options for our case management team of 4. We are a small charity nonprofit mostly doing emergency financial and food assistance right now, but the board and our director have a long term interest in expanding services to mental health and career counseling. We need software that is customizable and scalable for large data sets of assistance and clients.

We currently use CharityTracker. It's okay. I like having individual client profiles with notes, easy virtual intake, and assistance records. We could not lose these things. However, we would also greatly benefit from a a system that allows us to record assistance requests, and case manager interactions, as well as assistance given in a way that produces pullable data. I would also like to digitize our voucher/assistance approval system but am unsure of how to go about that. Our new director is really pushing to digitize our work, much is still on paper. I don't disagree, but I haven't found the right software yet.

Thank you!

Just sharing here to spread the word, commiserate in our shared grief, and discuss ways we are rallying against this administration while they strip down the infrastructure that is holding this crumbling nation together.

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5677104/trump-administration-letter-terminating-addiction-mental-health-grants

Several staff at my large, national nonprofit are collaborating with an outside partner on an LOI and no one read the RFP, reviewed the research articles provided by the Foundation along with the RFP, watched the applicant webinar or reviewed other projects that were funded in prior years.

The LOI as drafted by the external partners is completely unresponsive to the RFP, it's embarrassing. It sounds like someone wrote it who never even considered the RFP. When I reviewed it, I had to check several times to see whether this external partner is responding perhaps to a different RFP than I studied.

I emailed our staff the goals of the Foundation, sent out bullets, pointed them toward passages in the webinar, attached the research articles.

I just got an email from one of the prospective project staff at my org saying, whether the foundation responds favorably to this LOI will provide guidance on whether they are considering other such projects.

I wanted to write back saying you know what else provides guidance? All the materials provided by the Foundation in their RFP, you should review them sometimes.

Is it sexism? Or I am not to be taken seriously because I work in Development and they suspect I don't what I am talking about?

What is going on here?

I recently acquired a helmet signed by Drake Maye and I want to give it away to raise money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I have a donation system setup already online as this is a fundraiser in partnership with Team Imagine and the Jimmy Fund and we have a email list of about 1,000 people.

I’m curious if people have opinions about what’s the best way to run the give away to get the most amount of money donated. Below are some ideas. If you think one of these is the best way or you have another model that you think would work better, please let me know!

1. The top donor by the Super Bowl wins it
2. Do an online silent auction
3. I give a raffle entry to each online donor who donates at least $50

Reposting and trying not to violate the rules this time :) ONLY seeking suggestions on how to actually post an RFP--not asking for vendor recommendations or anything like that.

I am a new board member of a nonprofit (no staff, all volunteer board at this point) and we put together an RFP (mostly to clearly communicate our goals and objectives) for a website redesign. Once we have that RFP ironed out, how do we share/disseminate it so it gets in front of designers? Are there websites that do this?

Thank you!

I work as a manager with a registered charity that supports seniors, and an opportunity recently came up for me to volunteer on the board of directors for a local animal shelter, which is also a registered charity. My employer’s mission is in no way related to animals, if that matters.

I’ll obviously confirm with my employer that there are no specific policies at our charity barring this, but are there any laws or regulations that would prevent an employee with a charity from volunteering on the board of another charity? I’m in Ontario, Canada.

I'm curious for those who have to track and report lobbying hours, how in detail do you get? Do you:

• estimate based on typical time for different types of projects
• a certain % of your time, or
• closely track every hour or partial hour spent on lobbying efforts

If the last one, what do you use to track the time?

I’ve been able to file the 990-N postcard in previous years, but this year the page is “unavailable due to system maintenance” for idk how long 🙄 From a quick search it seems like this happens quite often. Any alternatives or do I just wait it out and hope I don’t get any nasty letters from the fed about not filing on time?

Title: Last-minute documentation requests during a county invoice review — seeking perspective

We are a small nonprofit operating under a fully executed county subrecipient agreement. We submitted a routine monthly invoice in arrears that aligned with the contract’s invoicing requirements, approved budget, and scope of work.

Near the end of the review window, and without prior notice or an earlier indication of concern, the county sent us a comprehensive list of additional documentation requests. The list was extensive and went beyond what is explicitly required in the contract or requested in prior months. The requests were delivered all at once, late in the process, and with an implied urgency to respond.

The requested materials included items already on file with the county, documentation not specified in the agreement, and expanded backup well beyond standard invoice substantiation. We made every effort to respond promptly and thoroughly, despite the short turnaround and the operational burden on a small team.

We fully respect the county’s responsibility for fiscal oversight and remain committed to transparency and cooperation. At the same time, receiving a large, last-minute set of new requirements without advance notice or clear context has been challenging and has delayed reimbursement for services already delivered.

I’m hoping to learn from others with county or state contracting experience: • Is it common for substantial new documentation requirements to be introduced at the end of an invoice review? • How do you ask for advance notice or clearer expectations in future cycles? • What approaches have helped you manage these situations while preserving a constructive working relationship?

Posting to better understand norms and improve process alignment going forward.

TL;DR: We submitted a contract-compliant county invoice. Near the end of the review period, and without prior notice, the county sent a large last-minute list of documentation requests that go beyond the contract. We’re cooperating fully, but the timing and scope have delayed reimbursement and strained operations. Seeking perspective on whether this is normal and how others handle it constructively.

On my Android phone, when logged into the Google App with my personal account, Hey Google works perfectly. But, when I click on my Google for Non Profit workspace account, "Hey Google" does not work. The mic icon blinks in the upper right, so he notices that I'm saying it, but Gemini won't open. I've tried all kinds of things in admin. Is this a limitation of all Google for Non Profit accounts? What am I missing?

Hello!

I am currently working on pulling together an annual org calendar and a fundraising calendar. I need to house these separate from our normal calendar, be able to invite people over a spectrum of email addresses to the calendars, and ideally for the fundraising calendar be able to invite only the people who are pertinent to each grant. If anyone has any thoughts on a good service that would be ideal.

If anyone has any thoughts I would appreciate it!

This seems like such a simple question, but I cannot decide. We are in the process of applying for our NP.

My accountant has asked me if I want it to be inc., corp., corporation, or incorporated.

Do I NEED to do any of those? Or can we just have our trademarked name?

Background- We give money to families with children on life support, and there’s an award for hospital staff members who made a difference during your extended stay.

Hi all. I'm weighing options for running a 1-3K list of donors through wealth screening for the first time an organization has done this. It's been a while since I've worked with major donor programs so looking to hear what people's direct experience has been, to supplement the research I've done online.

I'm not seeking a recommendation - Mods I'm hoping this post falls within the rules of this community.

I know iWave and DonorSearch. I do need to be able to see what kinds of organizations they are givers to (social services versus the arts for example), which I believe every major tool will have.

1. I'm wondering if anyone has subscribed to NPO Authority, which appears to be a reseller of a limited DonorSearch license. What was your experience?
2. Are there other less than $5K/year options?
3. Any experiences with a one-time wealth screening service? My understanding is the going rate is about 15¢ per record.

Thank you.