It’s that time of year again! Bob Carter, CFRE, is breaking out his (foggy) crystal ball for 2025 and offering some conversation starters, opinions and predictions for the philanthropic sector in the year ahead and tips for navigating possible changes.

The board governance model requires constant effort, participation, attention and refinement to make it the best form of leadership for our organizations. In David Butler’s 40-plus-year career, he has found organizations that commit to and focus their efforts on the following three essential qualities of governance practices maximize their leadership function and resulting impact. Here are his thoughts on these critical qualities, as well as some tips you can use to build on them at your organization.

Not exactly sure what donor-advised funds (DAFs) are, how your organization can attract more gifts from these funds, or what to do when your organization receives a gift from one? Here’s a quick guide!

Tune in to hear from Carter Managing Director Kristina Joy Carlson, CFRE, on the Volunteer Nation podcast as she offers practical strategies for deepening your connection with volunteers and donors through the power of the KIND method.

In this blog post, Bob Carter, CFRE, Chairman of Carter, shares his predictions for the world of philanthropy in 2024 based on his decades-long and prominent career working alongside hundreds of nonprofits around the globe.

Making manageable and attainable New Year’s resolutions is hard. In fact, if you keep and follow your New Year’s resolution the whole year through, you are among the estimated 9% of Americans who do, and you likely have other superpowers! With this in mind and based on his experience working alongside and learning from hundreds of organizations and sector leaders, President & CEO Steve Higgins, CFRE, compiled his recommended resolutions for nonprofit professionals.

Learn more about the ways you can maximize your board’s efficiency in this blog post that includes 10 simple, non-invasive, and effective ways to create meaningful connections among your organization’s leadership.

Having a strategic plan in place is great and often necessary, but if you don’t engage in an inclusive planning process to co-create a shared vision, you’re missing the point of creating a strategic plan in the first place, and your organization is more likely to struggle in achieving impact. If your organization is getting ready to develop a strategic plan, consider weaving these key essentials into your approach to maximize the work of the process and resulting plan.

Our experience working with international NGOs, domestic organizations fundraising for global causes, and grassroots start-ups shows that the steps we take to build a successful resource development program can vary from country to country.

In this series, “Lessons from Global Philanthropy,” we’ll be sharing fundamental truths we have learned from our work in global philanthropy that can improve your organization, no matter the shape, size or location.

At the core of every successful fundraising program is a well-thought-out donor stewardship plan – a detailed outline of an organization’s processes and strategies for keeping a donor engaged, illustrating gift impact and building long-lasting relationships. Whether you are looking to create a plan from scratch or check your current plan against best practices, in this blog post, I’ll cover four of the donor stewardship plan essentials.