Sharon and I did a Zoom training today on Giving Tuesday for one of our clients. As you can imagine, we talked about a lot of things: making the ask, telling a compelling story, making it easy to give, engaging your Board, using social media, and of course what happens after someone clicks that DONATE button. We were talking about the importance of thanking donors, both individuals and businesses, when a participant asked an important question:“How should my organization be thanking an...

I was honored to be invited to speak with the Board of one of our clients this month. This Board was formed at a time when the organization was (happily) reliant on government grants and funding to bring its mission to life in the community. Board members had contacts, relationships, and political perspectives that were valuable in creating success in grant seeking and legislation. But times have changed. Today, the organization finds itself needing to seek funding from individuals,...

There’s a funny thing about taking on a new role: you often don’t realize what you don’t know until you’re already in the middle of it. As an expectant mother, I eagerly read all the books about pregnancy. I followed along as each chapter detailed my baby’s growth and development, convinced that if I read enough and prepared enough, I would know what to expect. Then the baby arrived. And I suddenly realized there was an entire shelf of books I had neglected to read. There I was, home from the...