This week, I have been experiencing, responding to and processing tremendous levels of fear, anxiety and uncertainty from my loved ones, my clients, my friends and my community. I expect many of you have been tackling the same questions, both personally and professionally. What will life look like in six months? Twelve months? Eighteen months? […]

One of my mentors, an HR executive and super mom, taught me a lesson that we could all use in these uncertain times. “How are you using your spoons?” she would ask me over lunch as I explained how sometimes I felt drained trying to balance motherhood, work and other responsibilities; trying to do it […]

For many of us, recent days have felt like riding a roller coaster at break-neck speed. Change and uncertainty are the only constants. Each night we go to bed exhausted, only to wake up and find we’re in some version of Groundhog Day, doing the same thing over and over again. In counseling clients, I […]

For over 60 years, Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy has provided comprehensive charitable giving data for reliant donors, fundraisers and nonprofit leaders. Published annually since 1956, Giving USA is the longest-running and most comprehensive report on philanthropy in the United States. Giving USA allows you to identify trends in charitable giving important to the success and […]

A volunteer asked me recently, what exactly does it mean that there is an “art” to fundraising? There are many parts to the answer, but one of the most powerful fundraising arts is authenticity. Some of the most effective solicitations I’ve been a part of crafting came together when the volunteer solicitors enlisted support from […]

One of my hobbies related to my love of ideas is to study the origins of very ordinary and everyday words and expressions. Recently, I was thinking about a dimension of leadership that is a sine qua non – that is essential — for campaign success. I was thinking about the word “ownership.” The success […]

So often in development or advancement meetings, whether with staff or volunteers, we spend so much time outlining the optimum cultivation strategy with the perfect moves involving just the right committee members. Our Herculean efforts sometimes have the feeling of pushing the stars to align them according to our will. We think through every word […]

In March of this year, the Chronicle of Philanthropy published an article by writer Holly Hall entitled, “Author Says Feasibility Studies for Capital Campaigns Are a Waste”. The article is based on a forthcoming book by James LaRose in which he criticizes the time-tested practice of the pre-campaign feasibility study.

Dear friends and fellow nonprofit professionals, the following are some thoughts regarding how we can address the impact that the oil and gas price instability has on fundraising. These thoughts are intended to answer questions raised by boards and volunteers in the midst of planning or executing capital and endowment campaigns or major gift programs. […]