Tolerating performance or behavior that negatively impacts the team is choosing to signal to the team that you are OK with it. The only choices you really have in situations like these are to Tolerate, Train, or Terminate. Shane Snow took this advice to heart over the years and made a flowchart as a reminder … Continue reading What To Do When Someone Is Bringing Down Your Team
Why the things you hate make good appeals
That informal language is undignified... A fundraising appeal is not a business letter. Say it again. Keep saying it until you believe it. An appeal should read like a letter from a dear friend. Or better yet, like a phone call from that friend, transcribed. So yes, there will be contractions, because people use contractions … Continue reading Why the things you hate make good appeals
How to Follow Up with Someone Who’s Not Getting Back to You
We’ve all been there. You email someone asking for a conversation, information, input, or an introduction, and you get no response. Whether you are reaching out to a coworker, a donor, a recruiter, a prospect, or even an old friend, not everyone will get back to you on your timeline — if at all. As … Continue reading How to Follow Up with Someone Who’s Not Getting Back to You
31 Ways to Improve Your Life and Leadership in One Month
Marcel Schwantes writes: "Many years ago when I started to coach and train leaders to become the best versions of themselves, I had to learn to be the example and to walk the talk myself! The biggest obstacle standing in my way? Me. "I had to learn to remove the barriers of hubris, self-centeredness, and … Continue reading 31 Ways to Improve Your Life and Leadership in One Month
The five steps of risk assessment
An event like a hacker attack or the loss of a major donor could be catastrophic for your charity. So what are you doing to reduce the risk of such an event? This question is at the core of risk management, and it’s one that charities of all sizes should be asking themselves on a … Continue reading The five steps of risk assessment
Philanthropy and Cyber-Security
With more than a trillion dollars flowing in 2017 from donors and government agencies to grantees in the United States alone, online thieves have discovered fertile hunting ground. Cyberattacks have only gotten more clever, and the stakes higher. To thwart hackers, organizations in the philanthropy space need to focus on both common security practices and … Continue reading Philanthropy and Cyber-Security
Leadership and the art of plate spinning
It is often difficult to find similarities between philanthropy and the commercial world (asking for a donation is not the same thing as sales). One area where commonality can be found is the drive for change. The impact of fundraising drives change within your organisation, your community and maybe even the world. Driving change is … Continue reading Leadership and the art of plate spinning
How to feel more confident
“Confident” is not the opposite of “nice”. And if it seems that “nice” requires you to act with less confidence, you’re being asked to perform. An internal report at Hewlett Packard found that men apply for a job or promotion when they meet 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of … Continue reading How to feel more confident
Five Emerging Nonprofit Trends In 2021
Last year, most nonprofits successfully pivoted to virtual engagement, increased services to meet demands and grappled with fundraising declines. In 2021, these emerging trends and others will have critical implications that extend well beyond fundraising and stewardship. Equity And InclusionVirtual Employee EngagementCollective Displacement: Remote WorkMental Health And WellbeingFlexibility And 'Futureproofing' While we've come a long … Continue reading Five Emerging Nonprofit Trends In 2021
5 Ways to Make the Case for the Back Office in Fundraising
Perhaps the easiest answer is to acknowledge that leadership rarely has a fundraising background. But leaders are more likely to interact with the frontline officers. Their experience with fundraising is seeing and perhaps participating only in the cultivation and asking process. Their line of sight to the rest of the organization is limited. And it … Continue reading 5 Ways to Make the Case for the Back Office in Fundraising
Propper Fundraising 