Note: This guest post is from Nora Ellertsen of The Funding Seed. You can read a longer version here. Thanks, Nora! Let’s talk about how we define our closest supporters and who we prioritize when building relationships. Begin with the industry standard: major gifts – as defined by the number of dollars a person gives or has the … [Read more...]
Listening as leadership
Over the years, I’ve facilitated dozens of strategic planning retreats. Sometimes the executive director, CEO, or board president – somebody with a title and the power that comes with it – will pull me aside and ask a thoughtful question: “How much should I talk?” Here’s a variation: “Maybe I should just listen and not speak too much. … [Read more...]
To connect with your audiences, think like a journalist
Note: This guest post is from Julie Kelley. Thanks, Julie! After decades working in the news media, I want to share a few ideas to help nonprofits tell better stories, reach more people, and engage their audiences. Specifically, I want to offer a journalist’s take on how to better use social media. Here's something that you may not … [Read more...]
Three types of change — and how to manage each type
What’s your comfort level with change? Do you embrace new stuff – especially unexpected new stuff? If you’re involved with nonprofits, you’re in the change business, like it or not. Nonprofit organizations exist to heal the sick, address threats to the environment, build affordable housing, end oppression, create transformative art, … [Read more...]
Three tips for better hybrid meetings
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...]
Raising money from businesses: Six ways board members can help
Whenever I’m working with nonprofit boards – specifically, boards with limited fundraising experience – the brainstorm always begins like this: Let’s ask businesses for donations. While I have mixed feelings about this approach – after all, corporations provided only 4% of philanthropic dollars in 2021 – I also understand and … [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...]
Creating a climate-positive consulting business
As the summer winds down – a summer filled with drought, fires, floods, and other extreme weather – I’ve been thinking about the ways my consulting business engages with the topic of climate resilience. What am I doing to create positive change? Which of my behaviors add to the problem? How am I supporting my clients in taking … [Read more...]
Eight tips for building a great donor survey
Note: This guest post is from Laurel McCombs of The Osborne Group. Thanks, Laurel! My colleague Bob Osborne recently shared why now is the time to conduct your next donor survey. Ready to get started? Here are eight tips to consider. 1. Make sure you know WHY I often get asked about which questions should be included in a donor … [Read more...]