Consultant John Kozeski explains the competitive fundraising landscape and donor saturation facing American nonprofits.
Insight
Kozeski: Donors should actively want nonprofits to allocate funds to overhead
“So I always make the argument to, Institutional funders or donors of you actually want some overhead because that's how you ensure that your dollars are being properly spent.”
Insight
Kozeski: Nonprofits attract either the financially secure or underpaid idealists
“You really find one of two types of people in nonprofits. It's either people that are you know, able financially at a point in their life to now give back to the community, or it's people that are entirely passionate about the cause and they don't care what th…”
Assertion Partly supported
Kozeski: Boutique advisory firms decide billionaire philanthropy grants like MacKenzie Scott's
“There are entire firms that exist and they have two or three clients at most, and their job is just to give away these funds. I mean, it's been a race for all nonprofits to try to identify You know, who's that clearing house for the Mackenzie Scott's of the wo…”
Insight
Kozeski: Prospective nonprofit founders should join existing efforts instead of competing
“What I would always, always caution is take a strong look around and see if anybody else is doing what it is that you want to do, because unlike entrepreneurship, where you can elbow somebody out you know, if somebody's already doing good in that space, See if…”
Insight
Kozeski: Starting a nonprofit is no different from launching a small business
“Anyone that thinks that they're going to start a nonprofit and think it's simpler or any different than starting a restaurant or you know, an ice cream stand down the street is completely mistaken. They are starting a small business.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kozeski: Corporate citizenship grew more from 2018 to 2022 than prior 17 years
“Having been in this business now for, like I said, 17 years, I've seen more corporate citizenship in the last four years than at any other point in my career.”