Blog

Ways to Help Your Community During the COVID-19 Crisis

If COVID-19 has a silver lining, it is that it has shined a light on some truly stunning acts of altruism, kindness, and generosity. Many fo

Shifting The Lens From Needs To Assets

In recent years, the nonprofit sector has started to see a shift away from the traditional needs-based approach to community problem...

Don’t Just Write Grants. Create a Grant Strategy!

Just like your other development activities, your grants strategy needs a plan. Below are five steps to create your grant strategy:...

Making Everyone Look Good: Cash vs Accrual Accounting

In 2018, the good news was that a number of ZIM clients received multi-year grants. The bad news was that because of their methods of...

The Benefits of Grant Research

Before working with ZIM, I had very little knowledge of the nonprofit and foundation landscape of Colorado. That quickly changed with...

The Election after the Elections

Election Day has come and gone, and no matter who you voted for or what your position was on the ballot issues, another type of election...

12 Thoughts on 12 years of Nonprofit Consulting

How does one distill 12 years of accumulated wisdom in 12 truths? You start with a much larger list and then narrow the list down to the...

If I were a program officer, I would...

Nonprofits and foundations are mutually dependent – one cannot succeed without the other – yet they often have different experiences with...

How to Tell a Good Nonprofit Story

Humans begin telling stories soon after they learn the basic concepts of speech, with most 3- and 4-year-olds able to tell many stories,...

Managing Up: Encouraging Program Evaluation When It’s Not “Your Job”

It makes sense: a potential funder that you’re asking to invest in your mission not only wants to know what your organization does, how...

Finding a Mentor in 2018

Have you ever wondered how to find a mentor? As children, it seems like everything we do is guided by someone helping us, whether it is a...

Four Unique Things to Do in Your First Four Weeks as a New Development Staff Person

So you’re excited to start your next development position. Or, conversely, you’ve just hired a new Development Director and you’re pumped...