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...]
Decolonizing your bylaws: Robert’s Rules can buzz off
Note: This guest post is from Bonnie Chavez of Building Beloved Communities. Thanks, Bonnie! Generally, I don’t help to create new nonprofits. I can think of one exception: when a program has outgrown its fiscal sponsor and is ready to become a 501(c)(3). That’s when things get interesting. First, a little about my intersectionalities. … [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...]
Designing a complicated meeting? Use video to help clients prepare
Note: This guest post is from Allison Grappone of AGG Consulting. Thanks, Allison! I dislike wasting anyone’s time. Everyone has important things to do. In general, people need more time to themselves, away from meetings, and away from Zoom. To make better use of everybody’s time, I use videos to prime the pump before complex … [Read more...]
The Talmud of Zoom
In the Jewish tradition, the Talmud is one of the core books: a primary source of Jewish law. The Talmud is drawn from centuries of oral teachings and includes the opinions of many, many rabbis. It was compiled about fifteen hundred years ago, with more commentary added in subsequent centuries. I’m no scholar, but what I most … [Read more...]
Time or money: Which is easier to get?
When leading a fundraising workshop, I often use the following two-minute exercise. “I want to try a thought experiment,” I might say, “and this experiment is about you.” That gets everyone’s attention. “I'm starting with two assumptions: you don’t have enough time and you don’t have enough money. I could be totally wrong – in … [Read more...]
Fundraising with H.E.A.R.T.
In my work as a fundraising consultant, I’ve noticed how clients tend to begin the conversation by asking about tactics and details. Typical questions: Who should sign our fundraising letters? (Board chair, executive director, development director…?) How often can we solicit our donors without annoying them? When we ask our … [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...]
You won’t complete the work – do it anyway
The Jewish tradition includes a book of learning called Pirkei Avot, translated as Ethics of the Ancestors. Compiled almost two thousand years ago, it’s filled with advice. Some of the principles feel archaic, while others remain strikingly relevant. As our country wrestles (yet again) with its history of white supremacy, I am … [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...]
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