Recent Articles

Last year, I had a narrow glimpse into the lives and challenges of domestic violence survivors when a dear friend left her partner/abuser of several years. We frequently talk now about how the cell phone I gave her, and the corresponding service plan was her lifeline. I would never have known the power of a new cell phone for a person in crisis without watching it live and in real time. [...]

Titan CEO and headline sponsor Wipfli LLP are pleased to announce Melanie Ulle, Founder & CEO of Philanthropy Expert LLC, as a 2024 Colorado Titan 100.

Get to know PE Senior Consultant Cheri Gonzales [...]

How Nonprofit Organizations Are Easing the Burden of Medical Debt

In a town with seemingly unceasing growth and abundant opportunities it feels like we should be doing better. According to the city of Denver, our economy diversified in the expansionary period after the recession of years past, and those industries continue to grow year after year. [...]

Get to know PE Senior Consultant Sara Doerflein [...]

Urban Life Wash Park sat down with Melanie Ulle to introduce their readers to the author of their monthly "Making a Difference" article. [...]

I don’t love being the nag banging pots and pans shouting about the dismal state of affairs for nonprofits, but here I am (again) being that annoying whining hag with a bullhorn once again. [...]

Colorado’s winter months offer spectacular snow-covered views and fresh mountain air, but for older adults, this time of year can pose ample challenges. As temperatures drop and snow blankets the state, seniors may face isolation, limited mobility, and increased difficulties in meeting their daily needs.[...]

BEN Colorado is not your typical nonprofit organization. I think most folks think “nonprofit” then they think “charity” then they think “direct service organization” like a food pantry or a shelter. That is not BEN. The group is singularly focused on supporting Colorado’s entrepreneurs. They tend to the dreamers, risk-takers and empire-builders. [...]

Learn about the products and services that will help you amplify your fundraising success in 2024 and beyond! [...]

You know what makes our state so rad? I mean, besides the sun, the big giant sky, the music, the culture, the food, the people, the entrepreneurialism, the endless adventures, and our general awesomeness. You guessed it. Colorado Gives Day! I knew you’d get it. [...]

Just as often as I bemoan the future of the planet and the stupidity of the human race, I also hear about something simple and brilliant, and feel a slight sense of encouragement that allows me to acknowledge that humanity is not just a steaming pile of dung [...]

A lot of huge things happened in 1923. The first home game was played at Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees. King Tut’s Burial Chamber was opened in Egypt, and the Republic of Turkey was established. [...]

Just south of South High School’s sports fields is what looks like a big metal fieldhouse. Inside and beside that fieldhouse are a bunch of tennis courts. On those tennis courts are students from all over the metro area. [...]

High-performing leaders typically lead high-performing schools. Look around, and you’ll see this truth in action everywhere and (unfortunately) the inverse. Your kid’s patchworked elementary school with chronic teacher turnover and messy classrooms is usually not run by an exceptional director. [...]

There is just a boatload of greatness pouring out of the small narrow sliver we call Sun Valley, a neighborhood which includes the city’s football stadium, Meow Wolf, a major Denver Housing Authority redevelopment, and Denver’s first Latino-owned brewery, Raices Brewing, among other cultural, food and drink phenomena. [...]

Occasionally, you learn about a nonprofit that is doing something so simple, obvious, and necessary that it causes a smallish explosion in your brain. And then you ask yourself, “is everyone in the world smarter than me and thinking up brilliant solutions to the world’s most complex issues while I am just sitting here watching comedies on Brit Box?” And the answer is “yes.” [...]

One evening, last spring, I attended yet another fundraising event for yet another nonprofit organization serving kids in Colorado. As is often the case, I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be better to stay home and watch television? It’s important to note that I would rather be watching television 90% of the time. I know that may depress most Coloradans, but alas I do my best to bring some extracurricular diversity to the state. [...]

One evening, last spring, I attended yet another fundraising event for yet another nonprofit organization serving kids in Colorado. As is often the case, I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be better to stay home and watch television? It’s important to note that I would rather be watching television 90% of the time. I know that may depress most Coloradans, but alas I do my best to bring some extracurricular diversity to the state. [...]

You tone your body at the gym, and you strengthen your brain with the Calm app on your phone, but what do you do when you need a solid civics workout? You go straight to Warm Cookies of the Revolution, your local Civic Health Club. [...]

The nonprofit sector is the country’s third largest workforce and still, we fail to treat it like an actual industry. Unfortunately, those attitudes start straight at the top with nonprofit boards. [...]

Through the pandemic we saw the community enthusiastically step up to give back to those who have cooked, served and kept us satiated for years and now we can share our gratitude in more ways through the Colorado Restaurant Foundation. [...]

We all behave in intuitive patterns; each is different and contributes in diverse ways. When organizations and leaders invest time and energy into their team’s talents, they collectively achieve greater success. By embracing their natural talents, employees and teams feel more confident to take risks and find greater success in achieving personal and professional goals. [...]

There was once a couple that pondered what would happen if Nobel Peace Laureates mentored young people to make the world a better place. And then they did it. No, they really did. And it started right here in your town in 1996. Meet PeaceJam, the little nonprofit that started with Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff and some little-known figures like the Dalai Lama, Betty Williams and Desmond Tutu. [...]

Years ago, I was introduced to Tonya Quinn, the founder of the Kindness Empire, a do-good company in Denver with a unique mission and product line. Besides being cultured, charming and curious, Tonya was busy identifying and supporting creative talent with artists throughout our great city. [...]

We have lost so many strong Denver institutions over the past few years. El Chapultupec? Are you kidding me? The Market? Noooooo. Bonnie Brae Tavern? Oh, Hello no. I have struggled for years to articulate my feelings regarding the evolution of Denver and specifically the neighborhood of my youth, Washington Park. [...]

The “opportunity gap” is how uncontrollable life factors like race, economic status, and family situations can affect a child’s achievement or life aspirations. Like most cities, Denver has not solved the issue of opportunity gaps and their effect on our children. [...]

Anniversaries for nonprofits are usually ho-hum moments in time touted by the organization as a not-so-subtle tool for fundraising, or for getting good press, or just reminding the world that they’re still around. [...]

In a state known for its optimism and innovation, it’s astounding to learn that one of every two individuals released from prisons in Colorado will return within three years. By comparison, Florida has about half of Colorado’s 50% recidivism rate, a jaw-dropping statistic in this local gal’s opinion. [...]

Middle school doesn’t have to be the worst. That’s one of the many lessons I’ve learned from Kyle Gamba, the founder of La Luz, a new micro-school in southwest Denver that opened this school year. In case you don’t know Dr. Gamba, I will share a few facts with you. [...]

Tattered Cover is an iconic bookstore in Denver, but it has always been so much more for those who grew up in this city. All of us have a special memory or memories of Tattered Cover. It might be the hours spent every weekend for two years in the lower level of the Cherry Creek store reading about different colleges and universities all over the country. [...]

In August of this year, the U.S. government pulled military forces from Afghanistan leaving tens of thousands of Afghans, who had fought alongside our forces, stranded with their families with no path to safety. [...]

I am going to say something controversial. Theater is boring. My dad describes opera in a way that I think embodies my feeling about theater: it’s a really expensive and uncomfortable nap. I don’t even want to be awake past 8:30 pm, which makes most productions of basically anything on a stage feel like a major imposition. I don’t like things standing between me and the Land of Sleepy-Sleepy. [...]

There is a place where middle school girls can run, scream, dance and crab-walk through the hallways between classes. A place where math is taught in action with things like the “fraction dance” and where girls are encouraged to be bold, honest and authentic. It’s kind of the opposite of the middle school experience that most people endured and barely survived. [...]

Talk to any nonprofit leader and they will tell you: burnout in the nonprofit sector is going to be one of the biggest and most tragic outcomes of the pandemic. After over 20 years working in this industry, I have never seen this level of staff turnover. [...]

After 20+ years as a professional fundraiser I can say with confidence that our industry should win a prize for having the highest expectations and the lowest level of investment in our employees. The prize could be called, "Worst in Show" and it would feature a promo video of a barking gaggle of well-intended nonprofit leaders pointing to a spreadsheet and demanding answers. [...]

Our clients tend to be organizations that can afford to hire outside consultants. They typically have budgets that range from $3M/year to $10M/ year. We have a few that are much bigger and a few that are much, much smaller. [...]

I wrote a couple months ago about the heartbreak, and then rage I felt when my company didn't receive the PPP funding to support our employees. Later, we did receive that funding. Not only that, we also received an EIDL loan for our business. [...]

Dearest Team and Clients: Behold an announcement from Philanthropy Expert! It will not be a surprise to most of you but let's make it official. We're working from home until the end of time. Until dinosaurs re-inhabit the planet. Until pigs fly. [...]

Last week, I was notified by my bank that the Payroll Protection Program, (PPP), had run out of funding and that we would not receive the dollars we had requested. Money that we legitimately needed. At the same time, I was hearing about friends and colleagues who HAD received dollars. [...]

When the need for something becomes imperative, you are forced to find ways of getting or achieving it. Hence the saying: 'necessity is the mother of invention.' I am so impressed with private industry's responsiveness to this pandemic crisis with quick innovations and pivots. [...]

As a consultant to nonprofits, foundations, initiatives and philanthropic agencies, I often find myself playing the role of motivational speaker. I can get so preachy that I even kind of inspire myself. But sometimes... I find myself in serious need of inspiration. [...]