You may know Joan Ogwumike as the author for the past four years of the blog, A Researcher’s Diary, but she is also the writer of the Apra-Illinois blog as well as Prospect Research Associate at the Obama Foundation. Although small in number, Black prospect development professionals deserve an opportunity to share experiences and knowledge pertaining to diversity, inclusion … Continue reading Identity and Blackness in Prospect Development
Nonprofits are the engines of change
Nonprofits operate in an increasingly volatile world -- and a rapidly evolving digital landscape. This was true before the pandemic and even more so now. According to a 2020 nonprofit trends report, the demand for more nonprofit programs and services is rising. So what can non-profits do now to be successful? Vala Afshar looks for … Continue reading Nonprofits are the engines of change
Security Will Continue To Put Philanthropy At Risk — Here’s What You Can Do
Data and security breaches are only becoming more common. In the past few years, Equifax admitted that 147 million of its accounts had been exposed, and Marriott reported that the data of roughly 500 million guests had been compromised — and that’s only to name a few. Philanthropy is not immune to these attacks. After … Continue reading Security Will Continue To Put Philanthropy At Risk — Here’s What You Can Do
10 Ways Your Brain Reacts to Uncertain Times
Volatility. Uncertainty. Complexity. Ambiguity. These four words (shorthanded to “VUCA”) describe the type of high-stress, high-demand scenarios that can rapidly degrade one of our most powerful and influential brain systems: our attention. During uncertain times, we are all living in VUCA conditions. Compounding the constant health and economic concerns, we are facing unprecedented levels of … Continue reading 10 Ways Your Brain Reacts to Uncertain Times
A Mental Trick to Help with Challenging Conversations
Imagine the colleague with whom you have a very challenging relationship, the person who makes the most innocuous conversation tense and uncomfortable. Now imagine the following scenario: You’re sitting at your desk working away when a message from that person pops up on your screen. You open the message and it reads: “I got the … Continue reading A Mental Trick to Help with Challenging Conversations
How to come up with more brilliant ideas
In this article, Richard Branson sits down and chats to Adam Grant, author of the book Originals. Originals is all about how we can become more successful in championing our best ideas. While a great idea is a great start, Adam says it’s what you do next that really counts. How can we all recognise … Continue reading How to come up with more brilliant ideas
Let me finish: how to stop interrupting… and change the world
According to the Gottman Institute in Seattle, three years ago the average listening time of even professional listeners was 20 seconds. Now it is 11. Eleven seconds! And so we interrupt. All of us. We move through our days and years interrupting others and failing to foil it when others interrupt us. Interruption diminishes us. … Continue reading Let me finish: how to stop interrupting… and change the world
“If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It” – Using Metrics to Strengthen Your Fundraising Program
It is common knowledge that to effectively manage donor relationships and see the greatest success in your fundraising program, you must build strong ties between your prospects and your organization’s mission. Relationships will always be the foundation of a fruitful fundraising program. But, you can’t build a relationship on metrics. While relationships have and will … Continue reading “If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It” – Using Metrics to Strengthen Your Fundraising Program
Kindness nuggets from World Kindness Day and Kindfest 2020
It was World Kindness Day on 13 November 2020 and to celebrate a team of volunteers under the banner #teamkind organised a fantastic virtual event called Kindfest 2020.Featuring over 120 speakers, the event proved that kindness is very much thriving and making the world a better, brighter place. Now the lovely people at The Kind … Continue reading Kindness nuggets from World Kindness Day and Kindfest 2020
10 Tips for Writing Awesome Fundraising Email
Writing fundraising email copy requires a lot of thought. It’s no surprise that people find it difficult to write until they’ve done it for some time. So, how can you motivate a stranger to make donations for your cause in just an email? And how do you make your email stand apart from the many, … Continue reading 10 Tips for Writing Awesome Fundraising Email
Propper Fundraising 