All 63 skills
Every skill in the library across all 11 nonprofit domains. Filter by name, keyword, or category.
Annual Appeals
Plans and writes annual fund direct-mail and email appeal campaigns: donor segmentation for appeals, ask-string/amount ladders, appeal letter and reply-device copy, year-end and giving-season campaign calendars, and appeal performance benchmarks (response rate, average gift). Use when a user asks to plan a year-end or giving-season appeal, segment a donor file for a mail/email drop, write or edit an appeal letter or reply card, build an ask-string ladder, or analyze appeal response rates. Does not cover donor database/segmentation tooling setup (use nonprofit-donor-crm), social/team fundraising campaigns (use nonprofit-peer-to-peer-fundraising), or general e-newsletter content unrelated to a fundraising ask (use nonprofit-email-newsletter).
Capital Campaigns
Plans and runs capital campaigns: feasibility studies, quiet/silent-phase gift solicitation sequencing, public-phase launch and promotion, campaign leadership structure (steering committee, campaign chair), and gift range/table construction. Use when a user asks to plan or assess feasibility for a capital campaign, build a gift range table for a campaign goal, design campaign phases and timeline, structure a campaign cabinet or steering committee, or plan a public campaign launch event. Does not cover routine annual fundraising operations (use nonprofit-annual-appeals) or the mechanics of an individual major-gift ask within the campaign, which use nonprofit-major-gifts.
Corporate Sponsorships
Builds corporate sponsorship programs: sponsorship package/benefit-tier design, pricing, sponsor pitch decks and proposals, cause-marketing partnership structuring, and sponsor renewal/retention strategy. Use when a user asks to design sponsorship tiers or benefit packages for an event or program, price a sponsorship ask, write a corporate sponsor pitch deck or one-pager, structure a cause-marketing partnership, or plan sponsor renewal outreach. Does not cover foundation or government grant funding, even from a corporate foundation (use nonprofit-grant-research), and does not cover the underlying event budget/logistics the sponsorship funds (use nonprofit-fundraising-events).
Donor Pipeline
Builds and manages donor pipeline and moves-management systems: prospect identification, qualification, cultivation move sequencing, solicitation staging, and stage-to-stage conversion tracking. Use when a user asks to build a moves-management plan, set up pipeline/gift range stages, triage a prospect list, write a portfolio's next-move plan, calculate stage conversion rates, or diagnose why prospects are stalling in a stage. Does not cover setting ask amounts or structuring major-gift proposals (use nonprofit-major-gifts), thank-you/acknowledgment mechanics and lapsed-donor win-back (use nonprofit-donor-retention), or CRM software selection/configuration (use nonprofit-donor-crm).
Donor Retention
Designs thank-you/acknowledgment processes, maps the end-to-end donor journey, plans lapsed-donor win-back campaigns, and diagnoses retention-rate and donor-attrition problems using standard retention metrics. Use when a user asks to fix a low donor-retention rate, design or speed up a gift acknowledgment/thank-you process, map the donor journey from first gift onward, plan a lapsed or lybunt/sybunt win-back campaign, or calculate retention/attrition/donor-lifetime-value metrics. Does not cover moving new prospects through initial identification/cultivation/solicitation stages (use nonprofit-donor-pipeline) or the ask-string/segmentation mechanics of a regular mass appeal (use nonprofit-annual-appeals).
Fundraising Events
Plans and budgets fundraising events (galas, auctions, benefit dinners): event budgeting and net-revenue projection, sponsorship-vs-ticket revenue mix planning, live/silent auction procurement and structure, and event-day run-of-show/logistics planning. Use when a user asks to budget or plan a gala/auction/benefit event, project net revenue or set ticket pricing, plan auction item procurement and auction mechanics (live vs. silent, paddle raise/fund-a-need), or build an event-day run of show and volunteer/staffing plan. Does not cover designing corporate sponsorship tiers/pitch decks themselves (use nonprofit-corporate-sponsorships, then plug the resulting revenue into this event's budget) or peer-to-peer/team fundraising event formats like walks and runs (use nonprofit-peer-to-peer-fundraising).
Grant Research
Finds and vets foundation, government, and corporate grant funders: prospect research and fit scoring, RFP/NOFO tracking, funder database searches (Candid/Foundation Directory, grants.gov, state portals), and building a grant calendar of deadlines and renewal dates. Use when a user asks to find funders for a specific program, build or maintain a grant prospect list or grants calendar, score how well a funder matches the org's mission, or track upcoming RFP/NOFO deadlines. Does not cover writing the LOI or proposal itself (use nonprofit-grant-writing).
Grant Writing
Drafts letters of inquiry (LOIs) and full grant proposals for foundation, government, and corporate funders: needs statements, program narratives, budget narratives, evaluation/logic-model summaries written for a specific funder's guidelines, and grant reports. Use when a user asks to write or edit an LOI, draft a proposal narrative or budget narrative, respond to a specific RFP/NOFO's required sections, or write a grant report to a funder. Does not cover finding or vetting funders, tracking RFP deadlines, or scoring funder fit (use nonprofit-grant-research), and does not cover building the underlying logic model or theory of change from scratch (use nonprofit-program-design) — this skill packages an existing program design into funder-ready language.
Major Gifts
Sets major and principal gift strategy: rating prospect capacity and readiness, setting a specific ask amount, structuring a gift proposal or one-page case document, and drafting/negotiating gift agreements including multi-year pledges and named-gift terms. Use when a user asks how much to ask a specific donor for, wants help structuring a major-gift proposal or gift agreement, needs a capacity/readiness rating for one prospect, or is preparing a solicitation visit. Does not cover moving a prospect through general pipeline stages (use nonprofit-donor-pipeline), bequests/estate and legacy gifts (use nonprofit-planned-giving), or campaign-wide gift tables and campaign leadership (use nonprofit-capital-campaigns).
Peer To Peer Fundraising
Plans and runs walk/run/ride and team-fundraising campaigns: participant and team-captain recruitment, individual fundraising page copy templates, team captain toolkits, incentive/leaderboard mechanics, and peer-to-peer email/social prompts to participants' own networks. Use when a user asks to plan a walkathon/run/ride fundraiser, recruit or support team captains, write participant fundraising-page copy or coaching emails, design a leaderboard or incentive structure, or grow per-participant fundraising averages. Does not cover corporate sponsorship of the event (use nonprofit-corporate-sponsorships), venue/day-of event logistics (use nonprofit-fundraising-events), or one-time appeal letters not routed through individual participant networks (use nonprofit-annual-appeals).
Planned Giving
Builds bequest and legacy society programs: structuring planned-gift vehicles (bequests, beneficiary designations, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts), scripting legacy-gift donor conversations, marketing a legacy society, and stewarding named/estate commitments. Use when a user asks to launch or grow a legacy/bequest society, script a planned-giving conversation, market planned gifts to a donor segment, explain a planned-gift vehicle to a donor or board, or design stewardship for documented estate commitments. Does not cover outright major gifts made today (use nonprofit-major-gifts) or general pipeline stage tracking (use nonprofit-donor-pipeline).
Board Governance
Designs board roles/responsibilities frameworks, meeting structures and agendas, committee charters, board self-assessment tools, and the ED-board relationship (executive limitations, ED evaluation process). Use when asked to run or fix board meetings, write a board meeting agenda or consent agenda, design or reshuffle standing/ad hoc committees, run a board self-assessment or board matrix health check, clarify board-vs-staff decision boundaries (governance vs. management), draft board member job descriptions or a code of conduct, or design the ED performance review and ED-board communication cadence. Does not cover recruiting or onboarding new board members (use nonprofit-board-recruitment), drafting bylaws or conflict-of-interest/whistleblower/document-retention policy text (use nonprofit-bylaws-policy), or Form 990 board-related disclosure questions (use nonprofit-form-990).
Bylaws Policy
Drafts and reviews nonprofit bylaws (membership structure, board size/terms, quorum, amendment procedure) and core governance policies: conflict-of-interest policy, whistleblower/non-retaliation policy, document retention and destruction policy, and related policy text (gift acceptance, joint venture, compensation-setting process). Use when asked to write or revise bylaws, draft a conflict-of-interest disclosure form and policy, write a whistleblower policy, create a document retention and destruction schedule, or run a bylaws compliance check against actual practice. Does not cover running board meetings or committees under existing bylaws (use nonprofit-board-governance), Form 990 filing itself (use nonprofit-form-990), or state charitable solicitation registration bylaws-adjacent requirements (use nonprofit-charitable-registration).
C3 C4 Structure
Structures and operates paired 501(c)(3)/501(c)(4) entity arrangements: entity design decisions, the 501(h) expenditure test election for lobbying limits, substantial-part-test alternative, cost-sharing and shared-staff/shared-resource allocation compliance, common-control governance, and inter-entity transaction documentation. Use when asked to decide whether an organization needs a companion 501(c)(4), set up or review a dual c3/c4 structure, elect or evaluate the 501(h) expenditure test versus the substantial-part test, allocate shared staff time/overhead/facilities costs between the two entities, or document inter-entity transactions and cost-sharing agreements to withstand IRS scrutiny. Does not cover direct legislator meeting/testimony/lobby-day tactics (use nonprofit-legislative-advocacy) or general coalition MOU structuring (use nonprofit-coalition-building).
Charitable Registration
Manages state charitable solicitation registration: determining which states require registration given the organization's fundraising footprint, initial registration filings, the Unified Registration Statement (URS), registered agent requirements, annual renewal tracking, exemption eligibility, and professional fundraiser/fundraising counsel registration triggers. Use when asked to determine which states an organization must register in before soliciting donations there, file or renew a state charitable solicitation registration, set up a registered agent, build a multi-state renewal tracking calendar, or assess whether online/nationwide fundraising creates new state registration obligations. Does not cover the federal Form 990 filing (use nonprofit-form-990) or nonprofit incorporation/foreign qualification to do business in a state (a related but distinct filing this skill references but does not itself execute).
Form 990
Supports Form 990/990-EZ/990-N/990-PF preparation: choosing the correct variant, assembling schedules (A, B, C, G, J, L, O, R, etc.), functional expense allocation for Part IX, Part VI governance-question responses, public disclosure/inspection requirements, and a compliance calendar for the annual filing deadline and extensions. Use when asked to prepare or review a Form 990, decide which 990 variant applies, complete or check a specific schedule, respond to Part VI governance questions, handle a public disclosure request for the 990 or exemption application, or build a filing-deadline compliance calendar. Does not cover producing the underlying financial statements the 990 draws from (use nonprofit-financial-statements) or state charitable solicitation registration filings, which are separate from the federal 990 (use nonprofit-charitable-registration).
Risk Management
Runs enterprise risk assessment and mitigation for nonprofits: insurance coverage review (general liability, D&O, professional liability, property, cyber, abuse/molestation), liability exposure mapping, crisis response and business continuity policy, and safeguarding/incident policy design for programs serving minors or vulnerable adults. Use when asked to conduct a risk assessment, review an insurance policy or coverage gaps, design a crisis communications/response plan, write an incident reporting and safeguarding policy, run background-check/screening protocols for staff or volunteers working with vulnerable populations, or build a business continuity/disaster recovery plan. Does not cover internal financial controls or fraud prevention (use nonprofit-financial-controls), data privacy/cybersecurity policy for donor data specifically (use nonprofit-data-privacy), or volunteer recruitment/onboarding mechanics generally (use nonprofit-volunteer-management).
Budgeting
Builds a nonprofit's annual operating budget: revenue and expense projections, program-vs-admin-vs-fundraising allocation across functional categories, zero-based vs. incremental budgeting approaches, budget-to-actual variance setup, and the board approval process and calendar. Use when asked to build, draft, revise, or present an annual budget, allocate costs by function for budgeting purposes, set up a budget calendar, or prepare a budget narrative for board vote. Does not cover reading/producing the audited statement of activities or functional expense statement after the fact (use nonprofit-financial-statements), operating reserve targets or cash flow timing (use nonprofit-reserves-cash-flow), indirect cost rate calculation for grants (use nonprofit-cost-allocation), or internal control design (use nonprofit-financial-controls).
Cost Allocation
Calculates and negotiates indirect cost rates (de minimis 10% de minimis rate, negotiated indirect cost rate agreements/NICRA under 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance), builds true-cost-of-program analysis, and designs shared-cost allocation methodologies (time studies, square footage, headcount, cost pools) for splitting overhead across programs and grants. Use when asked to calculate an indirect cost rate, decide whether to elect the 10% de minimis rate, negotiate a NICRA with a federal cognizant agency, determine the true full cost of running a program, or design/document a cost allocation plan. Does not cover building the overall annual operating budget or its program/admin/fundraising split for board purposes (use nonprofit-budgeting), producing the audited functional expense statement (use nonprofit-financial-statements), or reserve/cash-timing questions (use nonprofit-reserves-cash-flow).
Financial Controls
Designs internal financial controls (segregation of duties, approval/signing thresholds, check/wire authorization, credit card and expense reimbursement policy, bank reconciliation review), and manages annual audit preparation, PBC (provided-by-client) list fulfillment, and auditor liaison, including responding to management letter findings. Use when asked to design or fix internal controls, address a segregation-of-duties gap (especially in a small finance team), set approval thresholds and signing authority, prepare for a financial statement audit, assemble a PBC list, or respond to an audit management letter. Does not cover the annual budget (use nonprofit-budgeting), producing the statements being audited (use nonprofit-financial-statements), or Form 990 filing itself (use nonprofit-form-990).
Financial Statements
Reads and produces nonprofit financial statements under FASB ASC 958: statement of financial position (balance sheet), statement of activities (income statement with net asset classes), statement of functional expenses, and statement of cash flows; explains net asset classification (with/without donor restrictions), and translates these statements into plain-language board and committee presentations for non-finance board members. Use when asked to prepare, review, or explain monthly/quarterly/annual financial statements, reconcile net assets, build a functional expense statement, or create a board financial dashboard. Does not cover building the forward-looking annual budget (use nonprofit-budgeting), reserve/cash-flow forecasting (use nonprofit-reserves-cash-flow), Form 990 preparation (use nonprofit-form-990), or indirect cost rate methodology (use nonprofit-cost-allocation).
HR
Designs nonprofit hiring processes and job postings, compensation benchmarking on limited budgets, personnel policy/employee handbook design, classification and wage-and-hour compliance (exempt vs. non-exempt, FLSA), benefits packages, and performance review systems. Use when asked to write a job posting, build an interview/hiring process, benchmark a salary against nonprofit peers, draft or update a personnel policy or employee handbook, decide FLSA exempt/non-exempt classification, design a benefits package on a tight budget, or set up an annual performance review process. Does not cover day-to-day culture/morale/retention practices once someone is hired (use nonprofit-staff-retention), executive director succession and leadership pipeline planning (use nonprofit-succession-planning), volunteer (unpaid) recruitment and management (use nonprofit-volunteer-management), or board member recruitment (use nonprofit-board-recruitment).
Reserves Cash Flow
Designs operating reserve policy (target months of expense, funding sources, drawdown/replenishment triggers), builds 12-13 week and annual cash flow forecasts, and plans bridge financing for seasonal or grant-timing funding gaps (lines of credit, grant advances, reimbursement-cycle float). Use when asked how many months of reserves a nonprofit should hold, to build a cash flow forecast or cash flow projection, to diagnose a cash crunch or seasonal gap, to write a board reserve policy, or to plan around delayed reimbursement grants. Does not cover the annual operating budget itself (use nonprofit-budgeting), producing GAAP financial statements (use nonprofit-financial-statements), or indirect cost rate/true-cost analysis (use nonprofit-cost-allocation).
Vendor Facilities
Handles vendor contract negotiation and management, procurement policy design (including federal procurement standards under 2 CFR 200 for grant-funded purchases), competitive bid/RFP processes, and facilities matters: lease negotiation and renewal, shared/co-located space arrangements, and build-out or maintenance planning for nonprofit offices and program space. Use when asked to negotiate or review a vendor contract, write a procurement policy, run a competitive bid process for a purchase, negotiate or renew an office/program space lease, evaluate a shared-space or co-location arrangement, or plan a facility build-out or capital repair. Does not cover fundraising venue logistics for a specific gala/event (use nonprofit-fundraising-events), internal approval-threshold controls (use nonprofit-financial-controls), or corporate sponsorship deal structuring (use nonprofit-corporate-sponsorships).
Needs Assessment
Plans and conducts community needs assessments and landscape/gap scans to justify launching, continuing, or discontinuing a nonprofit program, including secondary data review, primary data collection (surveys, focus groups, key informant interviews), asset mapping, and gap analysis against existing providers. Use when a user asks to assess community need before starting a program, prove there is unmet demand for a funder or board, conduct a landscape scan of who else serves this population, run a gap analysis, plan community listening sessions or focus groups, or decide whether to sunset a program because the need has shifted. Covers the pre-program research phase, not the causal design of the program itself once need is established (nonprofit-program-design) and not measuring outcomes once the program is running (nonprofit-outcomes-measurement).
Outcomes Measurement
Designs KPIs, indicators, and evaluation plans for nonprofit programs, selects data collection methods and instruments, and structures outcomes reporting to funders and the board. Use when a user asks to define what to measure for a program, build an outcomes/evaluation plan or measurement framework, choose between pre/post surveys vs. administrative data vs. validated scales, set up a data collection calendar or dashboard, calculate outcome or completion rates, write the outcomes/results section of a funder or annual report, or figure out why current metrics don't show real impact. Covers measuring and reporting whether a program's stated outcomes actually occurred, not designing the logic model those outcomes came from (nonprofit-program-design) and not the community research that justifies starting a program (nonprofit-needs-assessment).
Program Design
Builds logic models and theory-of-change frameworks that connect a nonprofit program's inputs, activities, and outputs to short-, mid-, and long-term outcomes. Use when a user asks to design a new program, articulate a theory of change, build or revise a logic model, map program assumptions and external factors, define a program's causal chain before writing a grant proposal, or diagnose why a program's activities aren't producing the outcomes leadership expects. Covers the design and structuring of the model itself, not writing it into a funder narrative (nonprofit-grant-writing) and not measuring whether the outcomes actually occurred (nonprofit-outcomes-measurement).
Program Scaling
Provides frameworks for scaling, replicating, or expanding a proven nonprofit program to new sites, geographies, or populations, including readiness-to-scale assessment, fidelity-vs-adaptation tradeoffs, replication models (direct site expansion, licensing/affiliate, open-source toolkit), and the operational/staffing/funding infrastructure scaling requires. Use when a user asks whether a program is ready to scale or replicate, how to expand a program to a new city or population, how to adapt a program for a new context without losing what made it work, how to build a replication toolkit or affiliate model, or how to plan the staffing/systems needed to grow program capacity. Covers growth of an already-proven program specifically, not initial program design (nonprofit-program-design), not evaluation methodology used to prove the program works in the first place (nonprofit-outcomes-measurement), and not organization-wide revenue or business-model diversification (nonprofit-revenue-diversification).
Annual Report
Plans and structures a nonprofit annual report: section architecture, impact-highlight selection, financial-summary framing for lay readers, donor/volunteer recognition sections, and print-vs-digital/interactive format decisions. Use for tasks like "outline our annual report," "decide what goes on the annual report cover," "write the ED/board chair letter," "structure our donor honor roll," or "turn our 990 numbers into a one-page financial summary graphic." Does not cover writing the underlying beneficiary narratives (nonprofit-storytelling), the org's ongoing brand voice/messaging house (nonprofit-brand-messaging), preparing the actual audited financial statements (nonprofit-financial-statements), or Form 990 filing itself (nonprofit-form-990).
Brand Messaging
Defines a nonprofit's brand voice, positioning statement, and messaging house (mission-aligned pillar messages, proof points, boilerplate) for consistent use across every channel. Use for tasks like "define our brand voice and tone," "write a positioning statement," "build a messaging house/message map," "create boilerplate language for our org," "our website copy and our social posts sound inconsistent, fix that," or "draft messaging guidelines for staff to use." Does not cover writing individual beneficiary stories (nonprofit-storytelling), annual report structure (nonprofit-annual-report), platform-specific social content calendars (nonprofit-social-media), press release writing (nonprofit-media-relations), or donation-page conversion copy (nonprofit-donation-page-copy) — those channels should draw on, but this skill does not produce, channel-specific copy.
Donation Page Copy
Writes and structures nonprofit website donation/giving pages to maximize completed gifts: headline and form-flow copy, ask-string/suggested-amount design, impact framing per gift amount, trust signals, and friction-reduction fixes for checkout abandonment. Use for tasks like "rewrite our donate page to convert better," "what suggested donation amounts should we use," "our donation form has high abandonment, diagnose it," "write the thank-you/confirmation page copy," or "add impact statements next to each gift amount." Does not cover paid ad copy, general website copy outside the giving flow, annual appeal email/letter copy (nonprofit-annual-appeals), peer-to-peer participant fundraising pages (nonprofit-peer-to-peer-fundraising), or payment processor/platform selection (nonprofit-digital-fundraising-tools).
Email Newsletter
Plans nonprofit e-newsletter strategy: send cadence, list segmentation for supporter (non-ask) updates, template/section structure, and subject-line and deliverability practices for the recurring newsletter — as distinct from fundraising appeal emails. Use for tasks like "design our monthly e-newsletter template," "segment our newsletter list by donor vs. volunteer vs. general subscriber," "improve our newsletter open rates," "plan our newsletter content calendar," or "should this go in the newsletter or the appeal email." Does not cover fundraising ask emails/appeal campaigns (nonprofit-annual-appeals), donor database/segmentation tooling setup (nonprofit-donor-crm), social content (nonprofit-social-media), or donation page copy (nonprofit-donation-page-copy).
Media Relations
Handles nonprofit press and media relations: writing press releases and media advisories, building journalist target lists and pitches, preparing spokespeople for interviews, and crisis/rapid-response media statements for a nonprofit news moment. Use for tasks like "write a press release for our new program launch," "pitch a local reporter on our story," "prep our ED for a TV interview," "draft a statement responding to this news story about us," or "build our media contact list." Does not cover social media content (nonprofit-social-media), the org's underlying brand voice/messaging house (nonprofit-brand-messaging), legislative testimony or lobby-day meeting prep (nonprofit-legislative-advocacy), or organizing supporter action alerts/petitions (nonprofit-grassroots-mobilization).
Social Media
Builds nonprofit social media strategy and execution: platform selection, content calendars, post-format mix (volunteer spotlights, donor shoutouts, program updates, behind-the-scenes), posting cadence, and engagement/growth tactics. Use for tasks like "build our social media content calendar," "what should we post this month on Instagram," "write a volunteer spotlight post," "plan our #GivingTuesday social push," or "our engagement is dropping, diagnose our social strategy." Does not cover the org's core brand voice/messaging house (nonprofit-brand-messaging), e-newsletter content (nonprofit-email-newsletter), press/media pitching (nonprofit-media-relations), peer-to-peer fundraising participant tools (nonprofit-peer-to-peer-fundraising), or paid ad campaign strategy/budgets (general marketing, not covered here).
Storytelling
Builds ethical beneficiary and impact storytelling for a nonprofit's case for support: selecting and structuring stories (narrative arc, protagonist framing), running dignity-safe informed-consent and interview processes, and rewriting "poverty porn"/savior-framed drafts into strengths-based narratives. Use for tasks like "write a beneficiary story for our gala program," "review this story for savior framing," "build our case-for-support narrative," or "train our team on ethical storytelling guidelines." Does not cover annual report layout/structure (nonprofit-annual-report), brand voice/messaging house (nonprofit-brand-messaging), social captions or content calendars (nonprofit-social-media), press releases/media pitching (nonprofit-media-relations), or donation-page conversion copy (nonprofit-donation-page-copy).
Coalition Building
Builds and runs multi-organization advocacy coalitions: partner recruitment, coalition MOUs and governance structures, shared decision-making rules, message alignment across partners, and joint sign-on letters. Use when a user asks to form or join an advocacy coalition, draft a coalition MOU or governance charter, resolve disagreement between partner orgs on messaging or strategy, coordinate a joint sign-on letter or statement, or design how a coalition makes decisions and shares credit/resources. Covers cross-organizational structure and alignment, not single-org issue research (nonprofit-policy-analysis), not one org's legislator meetings (nonprofit-legislative-advocacy), and not public supporter mobilization tactics (nonprofit-grassroots-mobilization).
Grassroots Mobilization
Builds action alerts, petition campaigns, call-in/email-to-legislator tools, and supporter activation tactics that generate public pressure on a policy issue. Use when a user asks to write an action alert or 'take action' email, set up a click-to-call or email-your-legislator campaign, draft petition copy and a petition-to-signature-to-action funnel, plan a rapid-response mobilization for a breaking policy moment, or design a supporter activation ladder from low-effort to high-effort engagement. Covers public-facing supporter activation and grassroots lobbying content specifically; the org's own direct legislator meetings/testimony are nonprofit-legislative-advocacy, the underlying policy research is nonprofit-policy-analysis, and nonpartisan election-specific activity is nonprofit-voter-engagement.
Legislative Advocacy
Prepares nonprofit staff and board members for direct legislative engagement: legislator office meetings, lobby days, committee testimony, and tracking 501(h) lobbying expenditure limits. Use when a user asks to prep for a meeting with a legislator or their staff, plan a lobby day or fly-in, write or rehearse spoken/written testimony for a hearing, build a leave-behind packet for a Hill/statehouse visit, or determine whether a planned activity counts as direct vs. grassroots lobbying under 501(h). Covers direct engagement with policymakers, not the underlying research/brief content (nonprofit-policy-analysis), not multi-org coalition sign-on logistics (nonprofit-coalition-building), and not public-facing action alerts to mobilize supporters (nonprofit-grassroots-mobilization).
Policy Analysis
Researches and writes issue briefs, policy position papers, one-pagers, and comparative bill/regulation analyses for a nonprofit's advocacy agenda. Use when a user asks to draft a policy brief or white paper, analyze a bill or proposed regulation, write a position statement or talking points on an issue, build an evidence base for a policy ask, or compare policy options before deciding a stance. Covers research and written analysis only, not scheduling legislator meetings or delivering testimony (nonprofit-legislative-advocacy), not multi-org sign-on or coalition messaging governance (nonprofit-coalition-building), and not action alerts or petition copy to mobilize supporters (nonprofit-grassroots-mobilization).
Voter Engagement
Designs and runs nonpartisan voter registration, voter education, and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities that stay compliant with 501(c)(3) rules against candidate/party endorsement. Use when a user asks to plan a voter registration drive, build a nonpartisan candidate forum or voter guide, design a GOTV or 'vote early' reminder campaign, train staff/volunteers on what a 501(c)(3) can and can't say about elections, or review event/social content for partisan-neutrality risk before publishing. Covers nonpartisan electoral participation activity specifically; issue-based lobbying on bills/regulations is not electoral activity and belongs to nonprofit-legislative-advocacy or nonprofit-policy-analysis, and general non-election supporter action campaigns belong to nonprofit-grassroots-mobilization.
Board Recruitment
Builds board recruitment pipelines for the governing board: board composition/skills matrices, gap analysis against strategic needs, prospective board member identification and cultivation, board candidate packets, term/rotation design, and new-board-member onboarding through their first meeting. Use for tasks like 'build a board skills matrix,' 'find and cultivate new board candidates,' 'design our board onboarding packet,' 'set board term limits,' or 'diagnose why our board recruitment keeps stalling.' Boundary: running existing board meetings, committee structure, and board self-assessment is nonprofit-board-governance; recruiting program/event volunteers is nonprofit-volunteer-management; ED transition planning is nonprofit-succession-planning.
Staff Retention
Diagnoses and improves paid-staff culture, morale, and retention specifically under nonprofit resource constraints: turnover/exit-interview analysis, burnout diagnosis, non-cash total-rewards design, career-pathing without a hierarchy to climb, and manager practices for under-resourced teams. Use for tasks like 'why is our staff turnover so high,' 'design a retention plan on a flat budget,' 'build an exit interview process,' 'address burnout on my program team,' or 'improve staff morale without a raise budget.' Boundary: pay-band benchmarking, job descriptions, hiring/onboarding process, and formal personnel policy are nonprofit-hr; ED transition and leadership pipeline is nonprofit-succession-planning; unpaid volunteer retention is nonprofit-volunteer-management.
Succession Planning
Plans executive director/CEO leadership transitions and builds leadership pipelines: emergency backup (departure risk) plans, strategic long-term succession plans, ED transition/search timelines and interim leadership arrangements, and identifying/developing internal successors. Use for tasks like 'we need an emergency succession plan for our ED,' 'the founder is retiring in two years, help us plan the transition,' 'build a leadership pipeline so we're not one person deep,' or 'design an interim ED arrangement during a search.' Boundary: general staff culture/retention/morale is nonprofit-staff-retention; recruiting new board members is nonprofit-board-recruitment; org-wide restructuring communication during any transition is nonprofit-change-management.
Volunteer Management
Designs and runs volunteer programs: writing volunteer role descriptions and applications, building recruitment funnels, screening and onboarding volunteers, creating schedules and shift systems, running recognition events, and diagnosing volunteer retention/attrition. Use for tasks like 'write a volunteer job description,' 'build a volunteer onboarding checklist,' 'design a volunteer recognition program,' 'figure out why volunteers stop showing up,' or 'set up a volunteer scheduling system.' Boundary: recruiting and onboarding candidates for the governing board is nonprofit-board-recruitment; staff (paid employee) culture and retention is nonprofit-staff-retention; this skill covers unpaid/service volunteers only.
Change Management
Leads nonprofit organizational change through leadership transitions, mergers, restructurings, layoffs, and program pivots: change-readiness assessment, stakeholder impact mapping, a phased communication plan (staff, board, funders, clients/community), and named change models (ADKAR, Kotter's 8 Steps, Bridges' Transition Model) adapted for mission-driven culture. Use when a user says things like "we're going through a merger and staff are anxious," "how do we announce this restructuring," "help me communicate a program pivot to our community," "we're losing our founder and need a transition communication plan," or "morale is cratering during this change." Does not cover the merger/sponsorship feasibility analysis or deal terms themselves (use nonprofit-mergers-fiscal-sponsorship), does not cover the ED succession planning process itself (use nonprofit-succession-planning), and does not cover day-to-day staff culture/retention practices absent an active change event (use nonprofit-staff-retention).
EOS Traction
Adapts the EOS/Traction operating system for nonprofits: Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO), Rocks (90-day priorities), Level 10 Meetings (L10s) with IDS, weekly Scorecards with leading-indicator metrics, and the Accountability Chart mapped onto a nonprofit's ED/board/staff structure. Use when a user says things like "we want to run EOS," "help me set our quarterly Rocks," "how do I structure an L10 meeting," "build our accountability chart," or "our meetings are unproductive and we want more accountability." Does not cover setting the 3-5 year strategic priorities themselves (use nonprofit-strategic-planning, whose output feeds the V/TO's long-term goals) and does not cover board governance structure, board meeting agendas, or committee design (use nonprofit-board-governance).
Mergers Fiscal Sponsorship
Assesses and structures formal inter-organizational combinations: merger/consolidation feasibility studies, joint venture structuring, and fiscal sponsorship arrangements (Model A comprehensive vs. Model C pre-approved grant relationship), including due diligence checklists, culture-fit assessment, integration planning, and sponsorship agreement terms (fees, liability, IP/donor-list ownership on exit). Use for "we're considering merging with another nonprofit," "should we become a fiscally sponsored project," "we want to sponsor a smaller grassroots group," "evaluate this merger partner," or "draft our fiscal sponsorship agreement terms." Not for 501(c)(3)/501(c)(4) dual-entity lobbying structures (use nonprofit-c3-c4-structure), advocacy coalitions of legally separate orgs (use nonprofit-coalition-building), or leading staff/culture through the resulting transition (use nonprofit-change-management).
Revenue Diversification
Evaluates and builds earned-income ventures, social enterprise models, fee-for-service programs, and overall revenue-mix diversification strategy beyond traditional fundraising: revenue concentration/dependency analysis, business model selection (related vs. unrelated business, program-integrated vs. arm's-length social enterprise), UBIT (unrelated business income tax) screening, break-even/pricing analysis, and a staged launch plan. Use when a user says things like "we're too dependent on one funder," "should we start charging fees for this program," "we want to launch a social enterprise," "help us diversify our revenue mix," or "is this earned-income idea financially viable." Does not cover annual fund/major gift/grant fundraising tactics (use the Fundraising & Development skills), does not cover the day-to-day operating budget once revenue streams are set (use nonprofit-budgeting), and does not cover merger or fiscal sponsorship as a growth path (use nonprofit-mergers-fiscal-sponsorship).
Strategic Planning
Runs an end-to-end nonprofit strategic planning process: environmental scans (SWOT/PEST), stakeholder input (board/staff/community surveys and interviews), priority-setting retreats, 3-5 year plan structure (mission/vision alignment, strategic pillars, goals, objectives), and board/staff facilitation agendas. Use when a user says things like "we need a strategic plan," "our strategic plan expires this year," "help me facilitate a board retreat to set priorities," or "how do we structure a 3-year plan." Does not cover translating a chosen program strategy into a logic model or theory of change (use nonprofit-program-design), does not cover installing a weekly execution/accountability operating system like EOS (use nonprofit-eos-traction), and does not cover evaluating specific new revenue streams (use nonprofit-revenue-diversification).
Data Privacy
Designs donor and constituent data privacy practices: privacy policy and donor Bill of Rights language, PCI-DSS scope reduction for online donation pages, data-sharing/co-op and list-rental agreements, consent and opt-in management, breach response, and CCPA/GDPR/state-privacy-law applicability for nonprofits. Use for privacy policy drafting or review, PCI compliance questions about card data handling, donor list rental/exchange agreements, and data subject access/opt-out requests. Does not cover choosing or configuring the CRM itself (nonprofit-donor-crm) or selecting a payment processor/giving platform (nonprofit-digital-fundraising-tools).
Digital Fundraising Tools
Evaluates and sets up online giving platforms (e.g., Classy, Donorbox, GiveButter, Qgiv, Network for Good), peer-to-peer/crowdfunding fundraising technology, payment processors and gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.Net), recurring-gift/subscription billing setup, and transaction fee modeling. Use for online giving platform selection, payment processor comparison, recurring donation setup, peer-to-peer platform configuration, and donation form technical setup (fields, redirects, receipts, Apple/Google Pay). Does not cover CRM/database selection or data hygiene (nonprofit-donor-crm), PCI compliance policy or data privacy (nonprofit-data-privacy), or donation page persuasive copywriting (nonprofit-donation-page-copy).
Donor CRM
Selects and configures a donor CRM/database (e.g., Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, Bloomerang, Little Green Light, Neon CRM, DonorPerfect, Virtuous), designs data hygiene routines (deduplication, standardized constituent records, data entry policy), and builds list segmentation for mailings and reporting. Use for CRM RFPs/vendor comparison, field mapping and data migration planning, dedup and merge rules, household/soft-credit setup, and saved-segment or query-tag design. Does not cover writing appeal copy or ask strings (nonprofit-annual-appeals), online giving/payment processor setup (nonprofit-digital-fundraising-tools), or donor data privacy/PCI policy (nonprofit-data-privacy).
Donation Intake Grading
Runs donated-goods intake for a thrift/resale operation: drop-off and pickup scheduling and logistics, sorting and quality grading, sell/recycle/discard triage, and at-donation receipt issuance. Use for 'set up a donation drop-off process,' 'grade incoming donations,' 'reduce discard rate.' Does not cover tax valuation/Form 8283 (nonprofit-in-kind-gift-acceptance) or shelf pricing (nonprofit-retail-pricing-merchandising).
In Kind Gift Acceptance
Handles donor-side tax receipting/valuation for non-cash gifts: IRS Form 8283, qualified appraisals over $5,000, gift acceptance policy for accepting/declining in-kind donations. Use for 'donor wants a receipt for a car/stock/art,' 'do we need an appraisal,' 'write our gift acceptance policy.' Physical intake/grading of resale goods is nonprofit-donation-intake-grading.
Online Resale
Runs multi-channel online resale of high-value donated items through marketplaces (ShopGoodwill, eBay-style auctions): identifying/photographing items, writing listings, shipping logistics, online customer service. Use for 'list this on ShopGoodwill,' 'set up our eBay auction workflow,' 'handle online resale shipping.' In-store pricing/floor merchandising lives in nonprofit-retail-pricing-merchandising.
Retail Pricing Merchandising
Sets pricing strategy for used/donated goods, plans store floor layout, seasonal category rotation, and visual merchandising/display for a thrift or resale store. Use for 'price our donated inventory,' 'redesign the store floor plan,' 'plan a seasonal color-tag rotation.' Online marketplace listing/pricing lives in nonprofit-online-resale.
Retail Staffing
Designs the paid-plus-volunteer staffing model for a resale storefront: shift scheduling, retail-specific training, and floor role design. Use for 'schedule our store shifts,' 'train new thrift-store staff and volunteers,' 'design register/floor role coverage.' General hiring/personnel policy is nonprofit-hr; general volunteer program design is nonprofit-volunteer-management.
Retail Store Operations
Runs resale-store floor procedures: point-of-sale/inventory systems, cash handling and reconciliation, loss prevention/shrinkage control, opening/closing procedures. Use for 'set up our POS,' 'design a daily cash reconciliation process,' 'reduce shrinkage.' Org-wide control policy lives in nonprofit-financial-controls; this implements it on the floor.
CEO Board Partnership
The CEO/executive-director side of the US nonprofit CEO-board partnership: CEO board report and dashboard narrative, exec-session prep, board-chair 1:1 agendas, annual CEO evaluation from the CEO seat (self-eval memo, 360 request, response to eval), managing up to the board, packet narrative discipline, consent-agenda coaching for the chair, and CEO-initiated generative-mode board conversations. Use when a nonprofit CEO/ED (or chief of staff, or advisor) says 'write my board report,' 'prep me for exec session,' 'agenda for my chair 1:1,' 'draft my CEO self-eval,' or 'CEO review with no written criteria.' Does not cover board-side work — running the board, committees, self-assessment, member job descriptions, bylaws, recruitment, Form 990 governance disclosure — use nonprofit-board-governance, nonprofit-board-recruitment, nonprofit-bylaws-policy, or nonprofit-form-990; for CEO transition use nonprofit-executive-transitions; for all-staff or funder CEO messages use nonprofit-executive-communications.
Executive Communications
Drafts first-person nonprofit CEO/ED communications to staff, board, funders, and close stakeholders: all-staff and monthly notes, crisis and layoff/RIF/restructure announcements (with manager talking points and internal FAQ), funder and partner letters, town-hall scripts and Q&A, 'from the ED' newsletter columns, culture-setting notes, and public statements paired with a 'should we speak?' decision memo. Use when writing, revising, or gut-checking a message going out under the ED/CEO's own name — hard-news announcements, layoff letters, tone-setting notes, or personal statements on public issues affecting the org. Does not cover organizational brand voice or marketing (use nonprofit-brand-messaging), press releases and reporter relationships (use nonprofit-media-relations), donor appeals, annual reports, or donation pages (use nonprofit-annual-report, nonprofit-annual-appeals, or nonprofit-donation-page-copy), or CEO-to-board work like board reports and 1:1 agendas (use nonprofit-ceo-board-partnership).
Executive Dashboard
Designs the nonprofit ED/COO one-page executive dashboard and matching quarterly board scorecard: picking 8–15 cross-functional KPIs across finance, fundraising, programs, people/culture, and mission delivery; separating leading from lagging indicators; setting SMART targets and yellow/red thresholds; assigning owners and data sources; wiring the monthly leadership-team and quarterly board review rhythms; tying it to the strategic plan. Use when asked to build or fix an executive dashboard, KPI scorecard, leadership team scorecard, monthly ops review, or the board scorecard/metrics section of a board packet. Does not cover preparing the underlying financial statements (use nonprofit-financial-statements), program outcome and evaluation design (use nonprofit-outcomes-measurement), installing EOS org-wide (use nonprofit-eos-traction), writing the strategic plan (use nonprofit-strategic-planning), or the CEO's narrative board report that uses this dashboard (use nonprofit-ceo-board-partnership).
Executive Search
Runs a nonprofit ED/CEO or C-suite executive search led by a board search committee (with or without an outside firm): charters the committee, sets board-vs-committee decision rights, writes an opportunity-framed position profile, benchmarks pay via Form 990 Schedule J and sector comp surveys, manages sourcing and a structured slate with a calibrated rubric and structured interviews (behavioral, case, scenario), runs references and background checks, and handles offer and announcement. Use when asked to launch an ED/CEO search, staff a search committee, write a position profile, set or defend an ED salary range, interview finalists, run references, negotiate an offer, or draft the hire announcement. Does not cover non-executive staff hiring (use nonprofit-hr, nonprofit-staff-retention), board recruitment (use nonprofit-board-recruitment), leadership pipeline or emergency succession (use nonprofit-succession-planning), or the incoming executive's first-90-days plan (use nonprofit-executive-transitions).
Executive Transitions
Designs the transitioning nonprofit executive's own transition work: incoming ED/CEO/COO 30/60/90-day plan, listening-tour design and synthesis (board/staff/funders/partners/participants), first-board-meeting brief, interim/acting-ED workplan with mandate constraints, outgoing-ED handoff memo, and founder-to-professional-CEO or long-tenure-successor transitions. Use when asked to plan a new ED's first 90 days, design a listening tour, draft an interim/acting-ED mandate, write an outgoing ED's transition memo, prep the first board meeting, negotiate success with the board chair, run a STARS diagnosis, or manage a founder or long-tenure succession from the executive's own seat. Does not cover building an internal leadership pipeline or emergency-succession plan (use nonprofit-succession-planning); the board-run search that picks the next executive (use nonprofit-executive-search); or ongoing CEO-board partnership work past the transition (use nonprofit-ceo-board-partnership).