Hi Reader,
Did you try our inaugural One Big Win last week, which gave you a plug and play way to identify 25 new corporate sponsors? Listen to some people who have gotten this data:
"This is AMAZING Ted! The list of contacts alone is something I've been trying to find . . .." Kristie GoForth, Bikes for Kids Wisconsin.
"Ted, thank you for this material! It's helping our nonprofit think bigger about what's possible and how we can grow our impact." Ginny Hughes, Rooted.
We mean it when we say we intend to give you constant value in this newsletter, every week. This time, I give you quick hits that your team can use to make greater use of the resources you already have, plus some other treats.
Your role in all this? As I mentioned last week, reply to this email and let me know what you're working on. It will help me plan future issues.
What's Most Good?
Chesapeake Conservancy needed detailed land-cover maps to guide conservation efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Traditionally, creating a high-resolution (1-meter) land use map for a large area took teams of staff many months of manual image analysis. By partnering with Microsoft’s AI for Earth, Chesapeake Conservancy embraced AI to automate image processing. The result: they produced a 100,000-square-mile land cover map 900× more detailed than previous maps (1m vs 30m resolution).
Even more striking, Microsoft demonstrated that using AI on cloud hardware could process 200 million satellite images in 10 minutes for $42, essentially generating a draft map of the entire U.S. in minutes. This “warp-speed” mapping is a game-changer – tasks that would have required “a warehouse of workers 24/7” can now be done almost instantaneously.
For Chesapeake Conservancy, this means they can update maps far more frequently and pinpoint environmental changes (like new development or loss of tree cover) in near real-time. In short, AI slashed a months-long manual GIS process down to minutes, vastly improving operational capacity for data-driven conservation.
What this means to you:
Across the nonprofit sector, almost any nonprofit can benefit from applying AI to improve operations. Take these steps:
- Have a detailed discussion with ChatGPT or another AI, describing your programs, workflows, and top bottlenecks. Have the AI (using Deep Research) provide a force-ranked list of the top ways AI would improve performance.
- Then either (a) budget a small amount of your 2026 annual budget to cover "AI exploration," consisting of the top one or two items; or (b) apply to a local foundation for a capacity building grant to fund the work. Your AI research will serve as the foundation for your request and serves as third-party confirmation that the capacity grant would be beneficial.
Refresh suggested amounts on your website with tangible impact
Rewrite your gift amounts to include specific outcomes (“$25 supplies a week of…”) and ensure one middle option is especially compelling. If you have time, add a custom amount field plus a low friction “other” option. Concrete impact framing helps donors decide quickly.
Run a 2‑day “lapsed donor” micro‑sprint
Pull donors who gave 13–36 months ago but not since. Send Email #1 (why their past gift mattered, quick update, single CTA to renew), Email #2 (one story, forwardable), and a board‑signed note to non‑openers. Keep it respectful, short, and deadline‑driven.
Host an Executive Director Q&A (“Fireside Chat”)
Instead of a one-way executive report, flip the script and invite board members to interview you (or the CEO) about big-picture issues. Set aside about 10 minutes for an unscripted conversation where directors can ask, “What keeps you up at night?” or “What upcoming challenge or opportunity should we be focusing on?” This candid dialogue often proves more enlightening than a formal report – it engages board members in understanding leadership’s perspective and fosters trust through transparency.
Rotate Meeting Roles and Responsibilities
Switch up who performs various meeting roles to engage more members and build leadership skills. For example, one month ask a different board member to facilitate the agenda (instead of the chair every time), and rotate who takes official minutes or serves as timekeeper. You can even rotate who leads the “mission moment” or who introduces each agenda section. Sharing these duties increases accountability across the board and keeps people from tuning out – it actively involves more members in the mechanics of the meeting. (Always check your bylaws for any required duties, but most boards have flexibility on this.)
It's not schadenfreude. We learn from the mistakes of others.
Indiana Youth Nonprofit Embezzlement (2017–2022) – Executive Director exploited unchecked financial control
Story: Ellen L. Corn, director of a youth mentorship nonprofit in Indiana, stole $161,000 by charging personal shopping, tuition, and restaurant bills to the charity’s credit card and PayPal account. She concealed 1,200+ unauthorized transactions by omitting them from reports to the board and tax preparers, betraying the organization’s mission to help local students.
Risk Management: Basic financial controls (e.g. dual signatures, monthly audits, and board oversight) would likely have detected or deterred this fraud. Separation of duties in accounting and requiring independent review of credit card statements could have prevented one person from unilaterally siphoning funds.
Breast Squeeze for Charity (Japan)
A Japanese adult TV channel hosted a 24-hour “Erotica Will Save The World” event where donors could squeeze a porn star’s breasts after making a contribution. The quirky stunt – complete with hand sanitizer and a two-squeeze-per-donor limit – raised funds for the STOP! AIDS charity to promote HIV awareness. The unusual fundraiser drew both outrage and enthusiasm, but it certainly grabbed attention for a good cause.
Talk with you soon!
Ted
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Founder and CEO Risk Alternatives, LLC 202.758.7572 (cell) 608.709.0793 (office) Website
Author of Managing Your Nonprofit for Resilience
We help nonprofits thrive by providing practical tools and support to address uncertainty and improve risk management.
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