Philanthropists and organizations providing disaster relief should avoid getting bogged down by data and, instead, focus on three key things, writes Center for Disaster Philanthropy President and CEO Patricia McIlreavy. The needs of organizations change rapidly and are best met by access to flexible funding, writes McIlreavy.

Nine nonprofit leaders partnered to form the Black Executive Director Alliance of Detroit last year with the goal of sharing resources to uplift the Black nonprofit community and advance their mutual goals of supporting disadvantaged youth. "It's creating a network where we're supporting every aspect of a child's life and making sure that no one is slipping through the cracks," said Kim Johnson of Developing K.I.D.S.

Peggy Dulany, chair of global nonprofit Synergos and longtime philanthropist, says those who tend to paint a one-dimensional picture of philanthropy should remember that "love of humanity" is at the heart of giving, which is something anyone can do. Boards must take on the "uncomfortable conversations" and "growing pains" that come with becoming more diverse, says Dulany.

A $20 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies will go toward developing programs for low-income and first-generation students at Princeton University. The goal is to improve access and inclusion for the students and share the knowledge with other higher education institutions.

Organizations can keep growth going during a crisis by continuing to fund bold projects that support their vision and mission objectives while preparing for a return to more normal operations, says John Lehr, president and CEO of the Parkinson's Foundation. "No one has a crystal ball, and economic downturns happen, but planning for better days should always be worked into your strategy," says Lehr.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has amassed 13 million social media followers, including 5.5 million Instagram fans, which can be attributed to quality global content and timely and engaging posts such as its video walk-through of Claude Monet's Water Lilies on Election Day to help spark calm, said Rob Baker, director of marketing and creative strategy. The main metric for success is comments, likes and shares, and the new goal is sharing more user content, Baker said.

Many people who couldn't relate to struggles such as poverty or homelessness before the pandemic now realize how close to home these problems are and why it's important to help their communities, writes Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada President and CEO Tom Roberts. "It's my hope that as the pandemic subsides, we will all try a little harder and not look at our indigent population as a problem that can be fixed with a band-aid," Roberts writes.

The highest performing nonprofit boards understand that public policy affects the work of their organization. They continuously leverage advocacy as a way to stand up for the mission and people they serve.

But what does the board's role in advocacy look like? And how does it relate to the work of staff members in advocacy?

There are three main ways that board members engage in advocacy, all of which should be supported by a fundamental understanding of how the public policy environment is affecting -- or could affect -- the organization's work and the people and communities it serves. Read more.

This encore op-ed from Anne Wallestad written just before the presidential inauguration in 2017 explains why our missions are far too important to sit on the sidelines while critical decisions are made. The people who depend on us need us to do more. They need us to engage. They need us to educate. They need us to organize. And, yes, sometimes they will need us to fight. Read more.