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...]
Consultants: First, do no harm
A former client called last week. He had hired a team of consultants to facilitate a two-day planning retreat and the event had gone badly. It’s a long story, but here’s the gist. The consultants did their homework and carefully prepared the agenda. However, once the retreat began, they faced a lot of tangents, conflict, and … [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...]
Leading through ambiguity
A friend recently asked me, “In your role as board president, what’s been your approach to dealing with the pandemic?” “Embracing ambiguity,” I said, without hesitation. “The virus changes, the health guidance evolves, the future is unclear. We keep adapting, and I’m comfortable with that.” In that moment, I remembered an Institute … [Read more...]
Is it OK to give up on your board?
Several years ago, while attending a Money for Our Movements conference hosted by the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, I witnessed an interesting debate. This was literally a debate, with two teams arguing the pros and cons of the proposition du jour: Are we ready to give up on nonprofit boards and allow our organizations to be … [Read more...]
Using the pandemic to deepen nonprofit partnerships
Note: This guest post is from Julie Ha Truong of Leadership Savvy. Thanks, Julie! It’s difficult to remember the start of 2020, but it was a golden period. We were riding the coattails of 2019 – one of the strongest fundraising years on record. When Covid-19 hit, nonprofit leaders had to react quickly: moving programs online, … [Read more...]
The facilitator’s guide to politics and reconciliation
I’ve spent much of the last 25 years on the road, leading workshops and facilitating retreats in 47 U.S. states and across Canada. Not surprisingly, some of these gigs land during election season. This creates a variety of challenges: distractions, political tension, even the occasional argument among participants. If you’re the … [Read more...]
What’s a philanthropic advisor? How do I work with one?
Note: This guest post is from Christine Zachai of Forward Philanthropy. Thanks, Christine! Remember when everything was going really well with your favorite major donor? You had a lunch date every year, you knew the names of the children and grandchildren, and you were strategizing together about your next request. Then … [Read more...]