Sink or Swim
I have been saying it for years: don’t throw them into the deep end without first teaching them to swim. It is true of both children (that’s a joke) and nonprofit board members. Don’t ask and pressure them to fundraise until you have taught them how. Makes perfect senses, but it is amazing how frequently this doesn’t happen.
I don’t know the drowning statistics, but I do now have fundraising statistics. Cygnus Applied Research conducted a survey of donors that included almost 3,500 current or recently-resigned Read more
Let’s Have a Party!
I recently ran into a funder I hadn’t seen in a while. In response to the standard question of “How are you?” she responded with a roll of the eyes and “This is ‘death by gala’ season.” We both laughed, but it is so, so true. Name the time of day you wish to eat, and there is a gala waiting—breakfast, lunch, drinks, dinner, dessert? It is all there. And it isn’t just killing funders; it is driving executive directors and staff over the edge.
There Read more
