Finance

11 Best Small Business Insurance Companies for 2026
A participant on a listserve raised the question: “What skills or personal qualities make one competent to ‘make the ask’ when meeting with a) an individual and b) a corporate representative?” Because I have some very strong feelings/opinions about the issue and didn’t want to be angered/frustrated/annoyed by that discussion, I didn’t read the rest …
Forming an LLC is a smart move to shield your personal assets from business liabilities, but that protection only holds if you keep your finances separate. One of the first and most important steps? Opening a dedicated business bank account. The choices you make early on can have a lasting impact on your business, and …
Tennessee’s vibrant mix of urban centers like Nashville and Memphis, historic small towns, and scenic rural communities means residents need banking solutions as diverse as their lifestyles. Whether you’re a music industry professional, a college student in Knoxville, a retiree in the Smoky Mountains, or a small business owner in Chattanooga, your bank should offer …

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A Wise Choice: The Foundation for Fundraising A Posting by Gail Meltzer, CFRE From time to time, we are asked about the advisability of creating a separate private foundation to raise funds for an existing nonprofit. I’d like to offer an example of when such a foundation was a good idea and has provided great …
This posting by: Jayme Sokolow Being a Success According to Dr. Heidi Grant Stevenson, a blogger for Psychology Today and the author of an intriguing new book, Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (2011), even very bright people are often clueless when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. Recent research on …
This posting by: Hank Lewis An issue was raised on a listserve: “I have become more and more concerned about the exploitation of client stories in fundraising tools.” “How do you counsel clients about the ethics/morality of using client stories as appeals?” ========================= Whenever a question is posed about ethics/morality that includes the words “using” …
This posting by: Tony Poderis That riveting question was actually written in the marginal notes of a proposal asking for funding for an orchestra; and, it was written by a trustee of a grant-making foundation during a meeting to review the proposal in question. Another trustee of the foundation, the one who presented the proposal …
For local charities that want to apply to the CFC as an independent local charity (and not as a member of a federation), for most of the more than 200 regional CFCs, the applications are accepted between late February and the end of March. Each local CFC sets its own specific application deadline, and the …
Last month I defined Planned Giving. Why have a Program? I’ve got a few reasons. Build lifetime relationships. When a donor tells you they’ve put you in their estate or retirement plan, you’ve got the rest of their life to thank them. And you should take every opportunity. Draw them close to your work by …
How to Develop a Fruitful Nonprofit Fundraising Plan on Island A Reader wrote: “Even after 18 years in development, and earning the CFRE credential, I still have a hard time making the mental adjustment from thinking about our clients’ and organization’s needs to thinking about the needs of the donor. And it’s a totally foreign …