I’m traveling to Bangalore, India right now. I’ve been meeting some foundations involved in funding programs in the area of children’s education. Recently, I
was talking to a program officer at a mid-sized foundation in Bangalore. We were exchanging ideas about how foundations should measure the outcomes of programs they fund. How much outcomes measurements is enough from a foundation’s perspective? When non-profits are so tightly squeezed for resources, what is fair to ask from them?

Nonprofit leaders are becoming more familiar with the 2.0 tools and strategies that are creating a new paradigm for constituency engagement.  A simple look at a nonprofit employment website shows a proliferation in new positions with titles such as "online community manager" or "new media communications associate".  Even if an organization has yet to adopt the new technology, there is a growing awareness of a brave new world in which the organization must seek to engage.   

Nonprofit organizations face a common issue of needing to raise funds from multiple sources to support their programs. Unfortunately, grant applications from different funders usually vary in proposal format, documentation requirements and budget templates, which can present a significant challenge, particularly to smaller to mid-sized organizations. Moreover, applications for smaller grants often call for the same demanding proposal and reporting requirements as the larger ones, which often strain their limited capacity.

We've all seen it: donors are holding off on making charitable gifts, smaller gifts are being given, there are fewer new donors and campaigns are slowing down. Smaller returns on investments are squeezing individual donors and foundations alike. During such difficult times, what should organizations do to maintain their fundraising operations? Last week I attended a forum sponsored by Citizens Bank entitled, "Fundraising in a difficult economic environment" which featured keynote speaker Ruben Orduña, VP Development at the Boston Foundation. He offered up some practical suggestions of what you can do to weather the economic storm.