A friend of mine, who’s a generation younger, recently referred to me as an elder. When I reflected this back to her – “You might be the first person to call me an elder to my face” – she was horrified. To quote her text, “Wait, I didn’t mean elder as in old. I meant ‘movement elder,’ as in leader. I meant it as an honorific.” My … [Read more...]
Difficult conversations: Talking about climate change
Note: This guest post from Karen Strong is the first in a series about facilitating difficult conversations on challenging topics. Her guidance applies to difficult conversations on all sorts of subjects – not just the climate crisis. Thanks, Karen! When was the last time you talked about climate change for more than a minute or … [Read more...]
How to Raise Money After a Natural Disaster
In December, the Thomas Fire burned 440 square miles of Southern California, making it the largest wildfire in state history. It destroyed more than one thousand structures: homes, businesses, schools, and several nonprofit facilities. A subsequent landslide – the technical term is “debris flow” – added to the destruction and … [Read more...]
Co-Training – How To Work Effectively With Another Facilitator
As a trainer or facilitator, do you ever share the stage with a colleague or two? It’s worth considering for the following reasons. Two people – assuming they’re the right two people – are smarter and savvier than either one individually. Under some circumstance, a third person can make you even smarter. Having a diversity of … [Read more...]
Asking When Everyone Else Isn’t
This is a difficult story to tell, because it’s about one of the hardest days in recent memory: September 11, 2001. And it’s a fundraising story – but one you’ve never heard before. You may remember the chaos and confusion that gripped the nation – not only in New York and Washington, but pretty much everywhere. People glued to their … [Read more...]
Find the Courage to Train Your Board: 6 Simple Tips
How do you cultivate courage...specifically the courage to try new things, like training our boards to raise more money? Our colleague Beth Raps, who was kind enough to review an early draft of our book, recently asked us that question. Like Fundraisers, Trainers Need Courage If you listed the attributes of successful fundraisers, … [Read more...]