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...]
Allies in the room: Showing up alpha and sharing power
Note: This guest post is from Karen Strong of Strong Outcomes, LLC. Thanks, Karen! As a white woman who has worked in conservation for more than two decades – and who longed, for years, to be taken seriously as a professional – I thought I could gain credibility by behaving like the people who had power. Through conversations with … [Read more...]
Identifying potential donors … virtually
When it comes to fundraising, nothing beats one person talking with another … preferably in person. As a general rule, people will pledge five to ten times more during a scheduled, face-to-face conversation than they will donate by mail or contribute online. Back in the pre-COVID era, we had these conversations in living rooms, coffee … [Read more...]
Hats, history, and the myth of facilitator objectivity
Note: This guest post is from Annie Winkler of Real Pickles Cooperative. Thanks, Annie! We all have many ways we can think about who we are. There are: Identities based in our families of origin: sibling, child, parent. Labels based in communities we belong to: gay, Indigenous, physically-abled, poor, cis-gendered, … [Read more...]
Trainer confidential: How to move everything online
Three months into the pandemic, I've noticed three facilitation and training trends. First, the webinar wave. Lots of nonprofits and consultants started offering webinars: many for the first time, many for free, and many mediocre. It’s easy to organize and present a webinar, but it’s difficult to do it well. During this first wave, … [Read more...]
Board members: What you can do right now
How are you doing? How is your organization doing? As we navigate the challenges of COVID-19, many nonprofits are taking tactical steps to serve and survive: implementing anti-infection measures, working from home, moving programming online, taking a hard look at their budgets, and so forth. In this new environment – which changes … [Read more...]
Mastering virtual meetings
How many online meetings have you attended recently? How many were engaging, satisfying, and effectively facilitated? As I write this in mid-March 2020, we are just beginning to feel the impacts of the coronavirus across North America. As you gather less often with colleagues, more of your work life is probably moving … [Read more...]
How to market your micro-business
This year, I celebrate my 25th anniversary of working for myself. After all these years, it’s a still a one-person business – by design. Yes, I use contractors for various tasks, like managing my websites. For bigger jobs, I team up with other consultants, which is productive, educational, and fun. Most of the time, however, it’s … [Read more...]
How to build a gift chart: A fundraising exercise
What’s my favorite fundraising tool? That’s easy: show me a gift chart. If you’re like me, you need to understand how many donations, at what amounts, are needed to reach your goal. If the information is presented in a visual, easy-to-understand way, that’s even better. A gift chart can be used to: Test the feasibility of … [Read more...]
Showing up imperfect, part 2: Power, privilege, and imperfection
A few months ago, I published a post called Showing Up Imperfect. Based on my experience leading a series of train-the-trainer workshops in Maine, I reflected on the value of humility, vulnerability, and imperfection. To summarize, there’s a big difference between being imperfect and being incompetent. Know your stuff and do your work … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- …
- 12
- Next Page »