One spiritual practice that I continue to learn about and grow into is the practice of gratitude and appreciation (I’ll be writing a lot about this topic). When we are in a state of appreciation we are transmitting some of the highest and most spiritual energy vibrations as possible. As appreciation elevates our own energy …

You have sent out your news release. Now what? Get back to what you do best? Take a walk? Sit by the phone and wait? Most people who don’t have a public relations person in their company, or don’t use a PR advisor or agency often make the mistake of thinking that just because the …

In case you haven’t yet been there and done that, applying for and accepting a grant is the equivalent of signing a contract – in some cases, there really is a contract. The process is that grantors publish parameters for projects/programs they will fund, and you request funding for a project/program that is within their …

It used to be that there were essentially three choices: private, public, or nonprofit. Privately-held companies offer the most flexibility, without outside investors or the IRS constantly looking over your shoulders. A privately held social enterprise can choose to invest some of its profits into achieving social impact without anyone second-guessing those decisions. But if …

On which side of philanthropy’s great divide do you stand? More importantly, where do your donors and potential donors stand? The divide used to be less noticeable, but with the explosion of social media over the past five years, tweeting, blogging, and linking has brought the great divide to the forefront. On the one side …

How involved in management should your board be? Experts often have very strong beliefs and feelings about what should be the extent of involvement of Board members in making top-level policies versus in implementing those policies in the day-to-day affairs of the organization. Those experts usually assert that Board members should attend primarily to the …

I’ve been a coach for several years now, working with clients who want to focus on either professional or personal goals. One approach to coaching is to help people see the gap of where they are vs. where they want to be. The role of the coach is to help people take steps to close …

Coaching Blog: Coaching Tip – Block Time to Maximize Your Efficiency http://bit.ly/9dedlw # Training Blog: 4 Steps to Conducting a Needs Assessment: http://bit.ly/bANRSz # Social Enterprise: Feasibility Testing: Top 10 Tips http://bit.ly/9YLsOE # Business Planning Blog: What Do We Need: Strategic or Business Plan? http://bit.ly/dj9XBr # Fundraising Blog: GRANTS: FREE MONEY – NOT QUITE !! …

Every day, thousands of non-profit organizations, believing that their financial problems are soon to be over, generate/send proposals that receive, at best, a brief reading. Contrary to popular belief and unlike the grants Mr. Question-Mark touts in the TV ads, grants to non-profit organizations are not free money. Grants come with a variety of obligations. …

However, if you are failing to recognize the informal learning structures as powerful teachers in your organization, you are making a mistake.