Note: This guest post is from Anna Adachi-Mejia; an earlier version appeared in Medium. Thanks, Anna! Are you planning a combined in-person and videoconference meeting – in other words, a hybrid meeting? As a former faculty member who has facilitated and attended hundreds of hybrid meetings, I understand how this can feel like the worst … [Read more...]
Board ambassadors: 20 ways to improve their outreach and impact
A key role for any nonprofit board is ambassadorship: representing and promoting the organization throughout their networks and communities. In today’s post – adapted from a recent webinar hosted by the Sustainability Network and co-created by my colleague Harvey McKinnon – I’m pleased to offer twenty tools and techniques you can use … [Read more...]
Your favorite thanks: A fundraising exercise
Note: This is adapted from Train Your Board (and Everyone Else) to Raise Money, which I co-authored with Andrea Kihlstedt. Fundraising is about gratitude and appreciation. When we demonstrate genuine, personal appreciation, donors respond – and they keep giving. By developing a “thank you menu,” you can provide more opportunities for … [Read more...]
Five tips to improve your writing
In March 2014 – almost nine years ago – my colleague Andrea Kihlstedt and I shared our first blog post on Train Your Board. Today’s post is number 200. Wow! How did that happen? This project began as a book of fundraising exercises, then expanded to include a website, blog, and video training series. After a few years, Andrea stepped … [Read more...]
What’s your board vision?
Note: This post is from Train Your Board partner Laurel McCombs. Thanks, Laurel! Are you planning for an incredible 2023? I hope you’re developing a board plan as well as a plan for your broader organization. More importantly, are you looking beyond the next year? Here are three reasons for clearly defining your multi-year board … [Read more...]
Boards and fundraising: Plan B (and C and D…)
Are you satisfied with your board’s fundraising performance? If the answer is an emphatic “No!,” don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. Based on all the inquiries, I could probably lead board fundraising workshops 365 days per year. The demand is endless. Perhaps you’ve tried the standard remedies: pep talks, board retreats, recruiting … [Read more...]
What I learned facilitating my first hybrid workshop
Note: This guest post is from Nora Ellertsen of The Funding Seed. Thanks, Nora! Before the pandemic, my company hosted monthly in-person fundraising workshops here in New Orleans. Over eight years, I developed content, activities, and presentation strategies for those trainings. Like many of us, I switched to Zoom during COVID, … [Read more...]
Recruiting BIPOC board members? Read this first
Note: This post is from Train Your Board partner Bob Osborne. Thanks, Bob! Over the twenty-five years I’ve worked in the not-for-profit space, I’ve served on several governing boards and advisory boards. During the summer of 2020, a strange thing happened. I was suddenly invited to join many more boards, including organizations I had … [Read more...]
Getting the most out of your next board retreat
Note: This guest post is from Laurel McCombs of the Osborne Group. Thanks, Laurel! Spring cleaning, annual physicals, board retreats. What do these things have in common? Admit it, your first thought wasn’t completely positive. On one hand, they can all be viewed as obligatory tasks to be endured once a year. Some may view them as … [Read more...]
Four board tricks you haven’t tried … yet
Many people who contact me want to talk (or complain!) about their nonprofit’s board of directors. They ask, “How can we…” Convince our board to raise more money? Encourage them to take their work seriously? Improve their leadership skills? Transition our board to a different role as our organization … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 12
- Next Page »