With the World Health Organization officially declaring COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, we wanted to share with you some timely crisis fundraising advice, articles, opinions, and resources in the wake of coronavirus and its financial implications. This post will be updated. Please leave a comment with links to anything you think [...]
In the documentary Walk With Me, Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh is asked by a young girl how she can get over the sadness of the death of her dog. After contemplating the question for a moment, he suggests that she think of a cloud. "Suppose you look into the sky [...]
Now that we've entered a new decade (by that I mean it's now the 2020s; I know there wasn't a year zero or whatever), an ever-popular theme for fundraising events has renewed life: the 1920s or Great Gatsby-themed gala. Not since 2013 when the Leonardo DiCaprio-led movie adaptation was released [...]
What is the toughest job in the world? …Negotiating with a toddler? …Managing a board of directors? …Running a nonprofit? …Asking people for money? …Being a teacher, paramedic or police officer? Look, they’re all hard. I can personally vouch for the first four. Starting a nonprofit, running a nonprofit or [...]
Each quarter the Fundraising Effectiveness Project releases their latest findings from billions of dollars donated through the participating donor database companies providing anonymous data from the majority of their customers. This allows the philanthropy world to establish metrics in a similar fashion to all of the key industries within the [...]
“What’s keeping you from growing your nonprofit’s funding?” That was the first question on a survey I conducted before I spoke at a workshop for nonprofit Executive Directors earlier this year. I wasn’t surprised by the answers -- they were the same things I hear from leaders all over the [...]
In a recent Bloomerang webinar, one nonprofit leader asked an important question: What if working from home did not work out? This person writes, “Working from home is something staff is requesting. Huge trust factor is necessary for this. The agency tried this once before and was burned (staff posted [...]
You look around the room at your fundraising committee meeting and wonder why so many people seem disengaged. Seriously. Each one of them agreed to work five pledge cards, right? Now, four weeks into the campaign, you feel lucky that they have their first solicitation meeting scheduled. Sigh - or [...]
Have you ever wondered who these ‘expert’ speakers are that you see presenting at nonprofit conferences? How did they get in that position and how, when you’re ready to push yourself out of your comfort zone, can you get there? It’s not just about testing yourself and doing something different. [...]
It’s not personal, it’s business. It’s not about you, it’s about our goals. It’s not about getting along, it’s about getting the job done. These are all interesting phrases I’ve heard thrown around in the living rooms of leaders...aka...the conference room. These are the phrases leaders like to use to [...]
Let me start by saying I did not do track and field (but maybe I should have) Track stars understand the concept of the finish line. When you cross it, you’re done. You actually get to fully rest. Every day are you racing towards an imaginary finish line? When you [...]
A mentee of mine reached out to me the other day for advice about a role she was applying for in the near future. She shared the job description with me, and friends...friends…that job description was 2.5 pages long, and it had everything in it except solving world peace. I [...]