Toastmasters: Expanding Your Development Horizons
By: Judy Anderson, Project Director My early career in fundraising was as a grant writer – I was comfortable there using my skills to clearly communicate the mission, goals, programs and needs of my organization. Then one day, my executive director was double-booked for a meeting with a board member and a presentation to theRead More Toastmasters: Expanding Your Development Horizons
How to Lose a Donor in 10 Days
By: Elizabeth Smith, Project Coordinator One of my favorite movies is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days; it is a classic rom-com that is perfect for rainy days and a glass of wine. In the movie, Andi (played by Kate Hudson) attempts every dating faux pas in the book to get her beauRead More How to Lose a Donor in 10 Days
The 2015 Millennial Impact Report: Trends in Millennial Giving
By: Nancy E. Peterman, Partner The 2015 Millennial Impact Report had good news for all those non-profits whose constituencies include a good number of the Millennials. The survey included 2,500 members of the Millennial generation who were employed in small and large firms. One of the great takeaways of this report was the affirmation ofRead More The 2015 Millennial Impact Report: Trends in Millennial Giving
Advisory Groups: Fundraising’s Flux Capacitors
By: W. Milton Key, Jr., Partner In recent days, many of us were reminded of the pop culture significance of October 21, 2015, as the destination date for Marty McFly and Doc Emmett Brown, in the film Back To The Future II. Whether it’s time travel or the search for resources to sustain and growRead More Advisory Groups: Fundraising’s Flux Capacitors
AmazonSmile – Passive Income for Your Organization
By: Jarrad Howard, Campaign Strategy Studies Coordinator As a board member myself, I know how easy it is to focus 100% of your attention and energy on your donors and securing funding for your mission – through individual and corporate/institutional donations. While it is time and energy well spent, it is VERY time and energyRead More AmazonSmile – Passive Income for Your Organization
Campaigning Your Mission
By: Jerry W. Henry, Partner Have you noticed that the political season is in full swing? How could you miss it? It seems that the candidates for President of the United States are showing up everywhere! They are carrying their messages directly to the people and trying to help individual voters feel a close personalRead More Campaigning Your Mission
Lead With Your Mission
By: Mark Belcher, Partner How often have you decided to accept a gift from a donor that is designated for a “new” program? Nearly every development office has faced this opportunity in a climate when every gift seems like a step closer towards achieving our development goals. I recently heard that a very established organizationRead More Lead With Your Mission
Imagining The Future of Liberal Arts Colleges
By: Meggan Arp, Marketing Coordinator In light of Moody’s Investors Service’s ominous forecast that closure rates of small colleges and universities will triple and that mergers will double by 2017, many are questioning the future of small, liberal arts institutions. A recent article by Kellie Woodhouse in Inside Higher Ed identifies the main struggle forRead More Imagining The Future of Liberal Arts Colleges
Board Alphabet: T’s, W’s, G’s, and P
By: David Shufflebarger, Senior Partner Well done, the work of college and university governing boards is hard work. And today that work is more frequently done under public scrutiny based on such things as federal scorecards, financial aid stress tests, bond ratings, state mandates for improved graduation rates, and, sadly, leaders behaving badly. Not surprisingly,Read More Board Alphabet: T’s, W’s, G’s, and P
Increasing Meeting Productivity
By: Heather Thornton, Project Manager Have you ever been in a meeting that seemed to drag on and on, with no end in sight? Or perhaps you may have participated in a call that was not so much long as it was unproductive? I was recently involved in a volunteer effort which required weekly conferenceRead More Increasing Meeting Productivity