I have a confession to make. I am a Raiser’s Edge (RE) geek. Those who know me say they could always see it, but it took me some time to accept.  I now embrace my inner geek. The one place in the world where an RE geek feels fully accepted is at the Blackbaud Conference […]

Good or best . . . which is the enemy? Sometimes a great deal of truth can be found in simple phrases.  And, then again, sometimes the truth can be found when the phrases are modified. So, for example, how many times have we heard, “If it’s not broken, don’t mess with it?” Focus on […]

I was at a meeting recently when I was approached by a volunteer who asked me a question. The exchange went like this: Volunteer: “What information from your database have you shared with XYZ Org?” Me: “What database?” Volunteer: “The database at the firm.” Me: “We don’t have a database with information about you at […]

“The art of making art – is putting it together, bit by bit.” – Sunday in the Park with George The recently released results of the National Endowment for the Arts’ 2012 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts will confirm something many of us already know – engaging in the arts is simultaneously a […]

But unfortunately, they were.  Be sure to avoid solicitation statements like these, or you’ll end up with nothing! 1.  I’m so very, very sorry to call you about the annual giving campaign for Upper Crust High. Many years back I volunteered to assist my children’s school with their parent phonathon. Much to my surprise, the […]

Recently we were asked for our thoughts on the many challenges in strengthening development programs that are faced by presidents of emerging public universities. This is an especially critical issue for these leaders as they deal with declining state and federal support and restraints on tuition increases. Given this scenario, increasing the role of philanthropy […]

Last week, I received no less than 5 calls on my cell phone from a phone number I did not recognize…and, thus, did not answer! Like many Americans, I no longer have a “land line” and rely on my smartphone for my calls. I did recognize the area code and know that the call was […]

Can you believe we’re already halfway through October? Among the things I count as the simple joys of fall are mellow crème pumpkins, crockpot chili, cozy sweaters and boots, and Homecoming weekends! This year was the first I wasn’t able to make it to my college Homecoming reunion, but I still was happy to receive […]