Too many people (NPO board members, volunteers and staff) believe that “Evaluation” means determining what a potential donor should give!! That couldn’t be more wrong. A formal evaluation process has two objectives: to identify a dollar amount that the prospective donor would be likely to be able to afford; and, to identify a (realistic) dollar …

Twitter continues to prove its worth as a crisis management tool, often surpassing traditional media sources because of its flexible and easily accessible nature. In a recent blog post, Jessica Ziegler, social media strategist and Vestor Logic’s Director of Social Web Design, described how Twitter took the lead during last week’s Colorado wildfires: From where …

Bringing Joy to Work “To bring joy to billions” is the mission statement of Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret and her newly released book The Power. I know that I’m one of those billion people that she was intending to bring joy to. While her work has brought me joy, she has no idea …

The movement of women into senior leadership positions continues to be incredibly slow in the U.S. Among Fortune 500 companies, only 16% of corporate officers, 14% of board directors, 5% of top earners, and just over 1% of CEOs are women. Women in these settings continue to be viewed as having more nurturing, supportive, and communal tendencies, and are evaluated more harshly than men if they demonstrate these qualities, especially in more senior leadership roles.

Tracking the statistics for a non-profit is an important part of fulfilling accountability measures of funders. Every non-profit should have a statistics gathering strategy. This will ensure that data is gathered accurately and becomes a part of the regular activities of your non-profit. Your statistics gathering strategy should include: Who will do it – It …

Writing Reports to Funders: Four Essential Tips Writing reports for funding received is as important as writing your initial proposal. Too often we forget that our funders are very dependent upon written reports to provide accountability for their own activities and actions. It is through the details of these reports that they are able to …

Building an Effective Grant Proposal: Part One So, you’ve completed your research and are ready to start writing!! The question, now, is how do you go about structuring your grant proposal? For those circumstances where the funder provides specific guidelines, there’s only one rule worth remembering: “Follow those guidelines to the letter.” But what about …

My last blog was about not carrying someone’s stone – that is, pay attention to when you step in and fix someone else’s problem that is not yours to fix. I suggested instead for you to take some time to discern what is yours to do vs. not. Perhaps some of you had a hard …

Marcia Zidle, a certified career strategist and business coach, works with high-potential, high-impact executives, managers and professionals to advance their careers and grow their leadership capabilities. Marcia, CEO of, Leaders At All Levels, has over 25 years of leadership, operations, and consulting experience with businesses as well as non-profits, government agencies, healthcare providers, and community …

Unpack Your Backpack: Maximize Your Potential with Coaching This is a coaching program or service that aims to help individuals identify and unpack their emotional baggage or limiting beliefs that may be holding them back from reaching their full potential. Through one-on-one coaching sessions, the program helps clients explore their past experiences, patterns, and beliefs, …