Molly Hinchman is facing a question faced by many executive directors of small nonprofit groups these days.

Ms. Hinchman, who runs a small nonprofit mental-health organization, submitted a question for today’s Chronicle live discussion seeking advice on whether charities should mention hard economic times in their fund-raising appeals.

“My conservative and traditional board is reluctant to refer to the economic hard times in our appeal letter. This seems crazy to me,” Ms. Hinchman wrote. “Although I understand that we do not want to sound desperate so that potential donors think they are throwing good money after bad, the truth is we are desperate, unlike many of our sister organizations, and these are times that take a toll on mental health in particular. How can I convince my board that it will be a good move to be honest? Or is it a good move to be honest?”

How is your organization approaching this question? What advice would you offer Ms. Hinchman?

Please click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts — or to submit your own fund-raising question. And be sure to join us online today or read the transcript, which will be posted as soon as the discussion wraps up.