My favorite band is Los Lobos. I’ve listened to their music since (gulp!) high school more than 30 years ago, and I’ve been to countless of their concerts. All five original members have played music together for more than 40 years. I’m telling you all this to get to the [...]
“Abuse of power comes as no surprise” – Jenny Holzer Evidence suggests you do not pay your women enough. According to Bloomerang’s recent research of over 1100 people working in the nonprofit sector, women make less than men, in every level of experience, whether they have one year of experience, [...]
Nonprofit leaders don’t usually like to talk about the Form 990. Every time I bring it up and my eyes light up, their smiles turn down and a sick look comes over their face. I completely understand. It’s a tedious form with dozens of confusing schedules, half of which aren’t [...]
I often turn to principles of neuroscience and psychology to understand what makes folks tick. I’m particularly interested in how these principles impact decision making. Especially, the decision to become involved philanthropically. To volunteer. To affiliate. To advocate. To give. In my life as a fundraising and nonprofit marketing leader [...]
Do you have a background in finance? Me neither. What’s funny is that I wasn’t a person who loved data and numbers until I entered the nonprofit world. Much to my surprise I now live, eat, and breath numbers every day. I’m a disciplined person by nature, and I suppose [...]
When I started in nonprofit years ago I had no idea what a Form 990 was. All those numbers and checkboxes seemed like a lot of painful information for someone to fill out. Frankly, I didn’t understand what most of it meant. I’ve put off filing because of “more important” [...]
“Plans are worthless, but planning is invaluable.” - Peter Drucker You may recall that I had the good fortune of being a Peter Drucker fellow. I think of his teachings often, and I have even dedicated my upcoming book to him, “Fundraising Truths to Live By,” which should be out [...]
Micah Weaver never thought he’d be the type of person to suffer a panic attack. His entire life, he has been a low-stress person who could roll with the punches. Then, one day, when he was driving home from work, it happened. Micah suffered from a panic attack. After several [...]
Dear Manager, It’s the beginning of the year and for many of us it’s performance evaluation time. This is the time of year where we review the ambitious goals we set, the progress we’ve made and the effectiveness of our performance. Our 360-degree reviews often keep us focused and on [...]
I laid on the mat and listened to my instructor explain the next move. Point your toes to the sky. Engage your core. Reach for your toes. Breath with consistency. I sat there wondering if she was serious. I had never been asked to make the letter V with my [...]
Whether you are a nonprofit organization or a for profit business, your true motives, and thereby your core values are reflected more strongly by actions than by press releases! Everyone has heard the old adage “Actions speak louder than words.” Yet, time and time again the very actions undertaken seem [...]
Welcome to the new year, fundraiser! Look at you all bright eyed and bushy tailed. You are awesome. Stay that way. Look at that clean slate in front of you! Congrats on your sparkling fresh start. And because no fundraiser ever started the year planning to raise LESS money than [...]