“Greg delivers his content with terrific clarity and ease, while providing sophisticated ideas and concepts. I left confident and excited.”

Gregory Nielsen is a sought after speaker committed to helping leaders and organizations translate vision into reality. Whether you are looking for a keynote speaker for your event or a conference session presenter, Gregory will inform, engage, and inspire your attendees. Click the button below to learn more and request information about Greg speaking at your event.

Developing a Board team that is engaged and effective in their fundraising role requires expectations, support/training, and accountability. Some excellent tips to help in developing your Board's fundraising effectiveness in this free e-book from Rachel Muir and Bloomerang.

Highly effective nonprofit Boards embrace strategic conversations around critical issues relevant to the mission of the organization. They recognize that the limited time the Board spends together as a team is valuable, and devote that time to discussion rather than simply a recitation of reports.

What has the attention of nonprofit Boards these days? Here are just a few critical issues that highly effective nonprofit Boards are discussing as a team:

• Bloomerang recently released the 2018-2019 State of the Nonprofit Workplace Report. Among the key findings:

  • Salary was among the top 5 most important employee benefits, but employees ranked paid time off and paid family leave even higher.

  • Approximately 30% of respondents report working multiple jobs to make ends meet

  • Women earned less in salary than men across all categories, including based on years of experience and organization size

  • About 35% of nonprofit employees predicted they wouldn’t be working at their current organization 2 years from now.

• According to a recent survey from Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), 25% of fundraisers report confronting ethical dilemmas at least 6 times per year.

  • "From a list of common ethical challenges, respondents also identified ethical issues on which they need more guidance and resources. Donor control and restrictions on how gifts can be used was identified by almost half (48%) of respondents as a critical issue, followed by conflicts of interest (41%) and “tainted” money from donors (40%)."

• The National Philanthropic Trust released their annual Donor Advised Funds Report. Key findings include:

  • The number of Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) grew 55.2% in the past year. The actual number of DAFs in the United States is now 728,563. This total should surpass one million in 2020.

  • Grants made from DAFs increased 18.9%, making them philanthropy's fastest growing vehicle.

Imagine the dynamic conversations your Board could be having as they grapple with these or the countless other issues critical to translating your vision into reality. If your Board is ready to take the first step towards towards elevating its effectiveness or bringing these discussions to your Board room, let's connect!

Multi-generational philanthropy can pass down values, life lessons, and stories that inspire donors to give. Arlene Cogen Consulting, author of the Amazon #1 Bestseller, "Give to Live: Make a Charitable Gift You Never Imagined," shares tips to engage your donors and their professional advisors in attaining their philanthropic goals.

Thankful this week and every week for the partnership of our nonprofit clients, whose work inspires us and transforms communities around the country. Thank you for all you do. Enjoy our new video below!

A flourishing community is one in which nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, and corporations thoughtfully and authentically partner in service of a compelling vision. Honored to develop the curriculum and facilitate the Next Gen Board Leadership Academy this week in partnership with Welborn Baptist Foundation. It was so inspiring to see this cohort of talented and passionate community leaders inspire a vision of a flourishing community, equip themselves to be effective Board leaders, and engage with nonprofit service.

Honored to speak yesterday on Nonprofit Leadership and my leadership journey at University of Cincinnati. Thank you Dr. Megan Church Nally for the invitation!

If your group, organization, or conference is looking for a speaker, let’s connect!

The team at Bloomerang recently surveyed around 1,000 nonprofit employees to learn more about workplace culture, salary, benefits, and future plans. Among the key findings:

• Salary was among the top 5 most important employee benefits, but employees ranked paid time off and paid family leave even higher.

• Flexible work schedule ranked as the most important workplace quality

• Approximately 30% of respondents report working multiple jobs to make ends meet

• Women earned less in salary than men across all categories, including based on years of experience and organization size

• About 35% of nonprofit employees predicted they wouldn’t be working at their current organization 2 years from now.

Do these findings match your experience? How is your nonprofit addressing?

Thank you to all who have bravely served and sacrificed. May we honor their service through the actions we take to build a more free and just country.

A Board retreat offers members an opportunity to elevate their gaze, evaluate their strategy, and plan courageously for the future. Honored to spend today facilitating a retreat for the talented and committed Board members of CASA of Lexington. Their vision is a community where every child lives and thrives in a safe, caring and permanent home. They are getting there one child at a time!

Nonprofits excel when Board and staff leaders regularly exchange ideas and information consistent with their roles. After facilitating a staff retreat for SeniorCare Experts a few weeks ago, I was honored to facilitate a Board retreat for the leaders of this amazing organization this weekend. So impressed by the vision of this outstanding group and excited for the future they are creating together to enable seniors to live healthy, comfortable and fulfilling lives at home.

A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is a giving vehicle established at a public charity. It allows donors to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction and then recommend grants from the fund over time. These contributions may include cash, stock, real estate, or other assets. While DAFs were first created in the 1930s, they began to gain popularity in the 1990s and today are philanthropy’s fastest growing vehicle, accounting for 3% of all giving. Enjoyed leading a webinar yesterday for Goodwill Industries International — Demystifying Donor Advised Funds — in which I discuss donor advised funds, how they differ from private foundations, tips for engagement, critiques and potential reforms.

Highly effective nonprofits embrace discussions about ethical leadership with Board and staff members. According to a recent survey from Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)​, 25% of fundraisers report confronting ethical dilemmas at least 6 times per year.

"From a list of common ethical challenges, respondents also identified ethical issues on which they need more guidance and resources. Donor control and restrictions on how gifts can be used was identified by almost half (48 percent) of respondents as a critical issue, followed by conflicts of interest (41 percent) and “tainted” money from donors (40 percent)."

If your team would like more information or training on navigating ethical challenges in fundraising, please reach out and let's work together to craft a solution that provides your team with the tools and resources needed to excel.

Evergreen Life Services changes lives for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Honored to be in Dallas this week facilitating a Board and staff retreat for this amazing team!

The leaders of SeniorCare Experts are continually refining and reimagining strategies to enable seniors to live healthy, comfortable and fulfilling lives at home.  Honored to facilitate their staff retreat and inspired by their commitment to the mission.

Did you know that when fundraising expectations are clearly articulated during recruitment, 52% of CEOs report their boards are actively engaged in the organization’s fundraising efforts?

Enjoyed discussing this and more while leading 2 workshops in Miami this week:

• From “Survivor to “Amazing Race:” Board Champions

• Engaged Board, Effective Fundraising.

A strategic plan serves as a roadmap to enable an organization to set priorities and measure progress. It informs the direction, generates heightened engagement and ownership of the mission, and inspires staff, board, volunteers, and the community to envision bold possibilities. Thrilled to be a guest of Virtual Executive Director on her podcast to discuss the importance of people, purpose, and process in strategic planning. Give it a listen!

Honored to facilitate the staff retreat for the amazing Cabbage Patch team today!

For over 109 years, The Cabbage Patch Settlement House has been profoundly changing the lives of children, youth, and families. The Cabbage Patch team equips and empowers youth and families to be self-sufficient by helping them maximize their economic, educational, emotional, moral, physical, social and spiritual potential.

I am inspired by the passion they have for their mission and the love they have for one another as teammates!

As summer turns to fall and leaves change, we have ushered in one of my favorite seasons of the year — college football season. In addition to the game itself, many are drawn to college football because of the traditions and pageantry that accompany rooting for your favorite school.

This past weekend, my family made our annual football weekend trip to Notre Dame. This is an extremely meaningful tradition for us, and one we look forward to every year. As we walked around campus, I was reminded of the value of traditions. From listening to the band play the fight song, to eating at a favorite dining hall, to donning your team colors, traditions bind us together. Likewise, traditions also hold special meaning for organizations and team members:

• Traditions build a sense of belonging.

People possess an innate desire to be part of something larger than themselves. It compels each of us to serve in our own way, from Board members to staff members, volunteers to donors. Traditions cultivate that sense of belonging and higher purpose.

• Traditions build bridges linking the past, present, and future.

Through the stories, rituals, and habits passed down over time, people gain a unique appreciation of an organization’s history, evolution, and vision as well as a connection to those who have come before, serve now, and will serve in the future.

• Traditions both reflect and reinforce values and culture.

The primary way in which individuals experience the values and culture of an organization are through the actions of those they serve with. Traditions serve to illuminate these values and bring the culture of an organization to life.

• Traditions hold space for reflection.

It is easy to get carried away with daily routines and challenges. Traditions provide an opportunity for each of us to pause and reflect, while reconnecting to our vision and the ideals that underlie our commitment to the organization and our teammates.

When was the last time you asked your team about the organizational traditions they value? What is the equivalent of the “fight song” and treasured campus memory for your organization? I invite you to reflect with me this month on the traditions that inspire your organization and team.

Is it possible to predict generosity? According to Nathan Chappell of Futurus Group, the answer is yes, and with the help of machine-learning and AI, your organization can better understand the motivations of your supporters and more effectively predict their likelihood to give. Nathan joins Greg on the latest podcast episode of Nonprofit Vision to discuss using machine learning to predict generosity and elevate philanthropy.