As we turn forward the clocks (well, most of us), perhaps you’re anticipating longer days and spring weather. Fundraisers have seasonal clocks, too. As the weather warms and the days get longer, I hope you’re thinking what I’m thinking – it’s almost party season. And you can use parties to raise serious money. Yes, you can … [Read more...]
The Value of Being Wrong
There I stood, at the front of the room, introducing the workshop. After reviewing the agenda, and asking the group to suggest additions or changes, I offered the following. “If you disagree with my advice, or any content in this workshop, please challenge me. It’s always a good session when somebody picks a fight, so bring it … [Read more...]
Trainer School: Three Takeaways You Can Use Right Now
When was the last time you participated in a really well organized, professionally facilitated training event? No, I’m not talking about the ones you present yourself. Perhaps you’ve sat through some disappointing workshops. I certainly have. So when I experience something really good, I want to do my little happy dance. I’m … [Read more...]
When Bad is Good: How to Facilitate a Great Exercise Based on Bad Behavior
How many times have you heard somebody (probably your mother) say to you, “Learn from your mistakes!” It turns out that your mother was on to something. We can, in fact, learn a lot from our failures, missteps, and missed opportunities. When it comes to training fundraisers to make the all-important face-to-face ask, encouraging … [Read more...]
In Praise of Role Plays – Because Sometimes You Need to Make People Uncomfortable
After leading a recent fundraising training, I read the following comment on one of the evaluation forms: What was your favorite part of the workshop? The role play. What was your least favorite part of the workshop? The role play. Clearly, this person had participated in something uncomfortable, learned a lot from the experience, … [Read more...]
The Most Important Training Skill: Three Tips to Help You Become a Better Listener
What do you need to become an effective facilitator and trainer? We can talk about preparation or humility or courage – all of which are essential – but from my perspective, the most important skill is listening. For some people, this is counterintuitive. Maybe you think of trainers as presenters, armed with agendas and slides and … [Read more...]
Take It Outside: Why Your Next Training Should Include Time Outdoors
This post was inspired by a photo. Take a look. You want to be part of this workshop, right? It was a lovely fall day in Colorado, at an event sponsored by the Community Resource Center. We had more than one hundred people in a church hall – good light, great acoustics, a very nice venue. And yet – a hundred people can only sit … [Read more...]
Training Prep: How Much is Too Much?
Are you the type of person who likes to design every detail in advance? Do you take pleasure in anticipating potential challenges and preparing contingencies for each one? Or perhaps you’re more of a free spirit – someone who’s comfortable watching things unfold and responding in the moment. When we apply this to training and … [Read more...]
Social Enterprise: Identify Your Assets
By Jean Block We asked our colleague Jean Block, a thought leader on nonprofit social enterprise, to share her wisdom on entrepreneurial nonprofits. Her strategy, outlined below, can help you identify your assets and begin to create earned income strategies. Oh, no! The Big Grant was not renewed. Yikes! The Walk-A-Thon was rained … [Read more...]
The Learning Room: How to Set Up Your Training Space
Here’s a joke I’ve used for years – I train for free, but I get paid to move furniture. Pretty much every time I show up for a workshop, the tables and chairs are arranged badly. So I push them around, trying to create a better learning space. It’s not unusual for me to break a sweat even before the class begins. This is known as … [Read more...]
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