2012 Resolutions for the Nonprofit World

(Chronicle of Philanthropy)

A new year offers an opportunity to set new goals. In that spirit, The Chronicle invited a diverse group of leaders and thinkers to share their 2012 resolutions for the nonprofit world. A sampling of their responses is below, see the full list plus reader comments on their webpage.

- May 2012 be a year of courage for philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. - Deepak Bhargava, executive director, Center for Community Change

- Explicitly fund overhead-we all have it and we all need it. And stop talking about getting nonprofits to merge, unless we are willing to put up a retirement fund for the executive director who will be asked to leave. - Gerald Chertavian, chief executive of Year Up, a nonprofit that offers training programs to young urban adults

- The Arab Spring, the Occupy movement, and ongoing calls for social justice have inspired millions, yet U.S. philanthropy has remained largely sidelined and silent. We, in the foundation sector, resolve to stop being as irrelevant as we have been for so long. - Albert Ruesga, president, Greater New Orleans Foundation

- I would like to see all nonprofits, but especially the smaller ones, resolve to improve their financial controls. - Elizabeth Grant, head of the charitable activities section, Oregon attorney general's office; president of the National Association of State Charity Officials

- 2012 must mark the year we get in front of technology, instead of behind it. Let's resolve to unleash the full potential of social media and Internet marketing for fund raising, community organizing, and advocacy.
- Darian Rodriguez Heyman, author of Nonprofit Management 101

http://philanthropy.com/article/2012-Resolutions-for-the/130150/