I got a note, recently, from a retired friend/colleague, as follows: Our Retirement Community’s leadership has put out several RFPs to local consultants for a planned Capital Campaign Feasibility Study. The “cattle call” will be one day in March when the consultants will make pitches to several Community officials, none having much knowledge of capital …

For the last 60-70 years, a Feasibility Study has been “required” before planning and/or implementing any major fundraising effort, and its basic concept and structure hasn’t changed in all that time; and, it is my contention that the Feasibility Study is not only obsolete, it’s counter-productive. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that …

How does a technical writer and developer communicate how a product works to a user? How do they communicate functionality, to make their audience’s user experience easier? They plan it out by knowing their audience, knowing what is expected of the product through meetings and through training. Knowing the audience Create the product needed by …

Failing to live up to stakeholder expectations is a quick way to sink your reputation Living up to stakeholder expectations is an important part of reputation management. Today, many stakeholders expect you to be socially responsible, but what does that mean to them, and what can you do about it? Online research group Lab42 put …

When most people hear about social enterprises that provide training and employment to disadvantaged individuals, they think it’s a good idea. But when they ask what data we have on whether SE’s actually “work,” whether they improve the lives of the people they serve, over the long term, there’s been precious little of it. Fortunately, …

Could this promotion cause more harm than good? It’s common to see brands unintentionally create threats to their own reputations in the process of promotion, and we believe the latest email Delta’s baggage campaign is one such example. Have a look: This example was forwarded by our colleague Phil Cox, who posed the question, “Why …

A rare corporate apology done right: Anthem’s Apology The Anthem hack, which exposed the personal information of as many as 80 million customers, put the healthcare provider in an ugly situation. Not only were its own computer security team’s credentials stolen and used to access private information, but it was revealed that the data was …

Many people will argue that social enterprises should be profitable or at least on a direct path to it. That they must eventually reach a point where all of their expenses are paid from revenues; otherwise they are judged “unsustainable.” But is profitability a reasonable goal for every social enterprise?

Like it or not, you will be held accountable for your actions The Internet has established a whole new level of accountability for major organizations. Which facts and figures see the light of day are no longer controlled by the companies involved, nor are they buried deep in financial journals your average person will never …

1. Successful Proposals Find Common Ground with Funders by Jayme Sokolow In a recent issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Daniel Pink, the author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others (2012), discussed what he found in his research about fundraising. His advice is refreshingly clear and straightforward. The following is …