I’ve just getting back from the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference so it’s likely no surprise stories are on my mind. At the conference this year, I noticed talk about 2 types of nonprofit stories. I heard talk about “institutional stories” and...
Capital campaigns are both wonderful and stressful times in a nonprofit. Here are six lessons I’ve learned after 30 years on the capital campaign trail. 1. It’s About the Vision—Not The Money While preparing for a fundraising campaign can be a daunting...
A while back, I received a call from an ALS Foundation. The call was awful. So awful, I’ve waited over a year and a half to write about it. Long enough that I don’t remember exactly which ALS organization it was. But fresh enough that the emotions linger....
I’ve been seeing a disturbing trend of late: a sharp rise in what I call are BFFs: blunt force fundraisers. Nonprofit leaders willfully skipping planning to jump straight to asking. As the author of Ask Without Fear!®, you know I am an advocate for asking. But...
In this morning’s note to my weekly Fundraising Kick coaching email subscribers, I offered two ways to respond to a tragedy like the devastation people are experiencing in Texas because of Hurricane Harvey. This message is so timely, I am sharing it here as...
Capital campaigns are a wild roller coaster ride of vision-fueled excitement followed by long stretches of slow. slogging. work. The slow parts require incredible discipline to stay on course. I know because I’ve helped run 18 capital campaigns at schools,...
