(Be sure to see “Musts” 6-10 in this blog, too) 5. Please, do not — you MUST NOT — write your own fundraising materials. And, if you insist on doing so, pay an experienced fundraising writer to review and comment on your writing. Writing for fundraising is an Art. Most fundraising letters, case statements, grant …

Help Thyself. It is the ‘it’ strategy these days. It makes good business sense. Outstanding content can divert call and email volume. It can improve the Customer Experience. As technology has evolved so have self-help presentation options. Long, static user guides are quickly becoming passé as quick guides, indexed documents and how-to videos become ubiquitous. …

We live in traditional organizations that are functional and vertically managed. The design is similar to creating and operating a “marching organization.” Work is aligned by function and managed vertically up and down the line. When errors happen, they are pushed up to the next level of command. A control structure reinforces the hierarchy of …

It seems that the two phrases “strategic planning” and “business planning” are used interchangeably, much more than ever. I believe it’s better to see the phrases as different than to generalize them as the same. Strategic Planning Should Be Organization-Wide Strategic planning is best viewed as clarifying the overall purpose and priorities of the organization. …

What type of highly confidential information do you store on your mobile device? Contacts who would hate to see their information shared with spammers or identity thefts? Passwords? Photos or videos you or others wouldn’t appreciate appearing on YouTube? Text messages flirting with someone who isn’t your spouse? It’s an odd quirk of human behavior …

When you ask Board members if they’ve been trained, it’s not uncommon that they’ll answer, “Yes”. But many times, they’ll be wrong. Board Orientation Board orientation is about the unique aspects of the organization. It might include introductions and team building among Board members, overviews of the organization’s products and services, celebration of the organization’s …

I’ve worked with nonprofit organizations for a very long time. I’ve noticed two distinctly different approaches to leading: reactive versus proactive. You’ll very likely notice each of the two distinctly different types in the following paragraphs. Fundraising The reactive nonprofit is continually fundraising and then spending whatever funds are obtained — so the organization is …

Spring is a busy time for people- planting, finishing school papers and exams, playing outdoors. As the sun gets longer in the sky we find more energy to do many things. Do you equally find time to reflect on who you are being? The Ying-Yang symbol represents balance between female and male energy, receptivity and …

This post is a little different folks, it’s about searching for a position as a training designer, or training specialist. It’s my personal journey in the search for said position. I have been looking for a career position for almost 18 months. I started in January, 2009 one semester prior to graduating with my Masters …

The most important section of your business plan is its executive summary. That’s right. It’s the first thing that people read, and it should crystallize everything that’s compelling and essential about your business and how you will succeed with it. And you need to do that all on one page. Gulp. If you’re looking for …