Creating more strategic, financially savvy, and confident nonprofit leaders and organizations.
Nonprofit leaders often start (many things, really) from a place of not feeling worthy. Where this is really obvious, especially this time of year when nonprofit fundraising is in full swing, is in the fundraising ask. When your nonprofit fundraising message — whether a grant proposal, a direct mail letter, an email campaign, or a […]
I was coaching a nonprofit leader the other day about a funding proposal she was putting together for a potential corporate donor. She had been working with this particular donor for several months, so she knew what level of investment to request. But she struggled to send the proposal because she had a fundamental block. […]
Let’s be honest (or obvious) for a second. A feeling of lack often pervades the nonprofit sector. And it can take many forms: “We lack enough money” “We lack access to decision-makers” “We lack permission to move forward” “We lack the right or enough staff” “We lack influential or effective board members” The list of […]
I recently received a note from a blog reader who disagreed with my argument that a nonprofit’s board of directors should be charged with raising 10% of their nonprofit’s budget. Not only did this reader disagree with the idea of setting a 10% board fundraising goal, but he disagreed with linking board governance and fundraising at all. As […]
I’ve been thinking about energy a lot lately. Not the wall socket variety, but the energy that flows between two human beings – like you and your prospective funder. Think about the last time you met with a potential funder. Picture that meeting – whether it was in person, over the phone or (everyone’s favorite) […]
I love it so much when a fundraiser shifts their mindset from scarcity to abundance and then attracts a huge money windfall. This happened again for another one of my clients just the other day, let’s call him “Bob.” Bob emailed me to tell me that the shift I helped him make to an abundance […]
A funny thing happened to a nonprofit leader the other day. A funder called to let the Executive Director know that their funding priority areas had changed again (Ugh!). So, the ED quickly moved into program development mode to see if she could adapt to keep this funder happy. Not funny, right? And it didn’t […]
My guess is that you want to attract more money for your mission. Who doesn’t, right? But to do that you need to cultivate a Culture of Mission and Money among your board, staff, and funders. Does your nonprofit have one? Here are some key things present in a nonprofit with a robust culture of […]
The thing I love best about my work is seeing absolute transformation. It’s so exciting to see someone who is working to make the world a better place step out of the shadows and into her tremendous power. I saw this transformation again the other day with one of my clients — “Mina”. Mina came […]
Do you struggle (as so many nonprofit leaders do) to raise money for: a top-notch fundraiser, solid technology and systems, fantastic marketing expertise, and other elusive (but oh so necessary) things that will make your work so much easier? Then this month’s free training, Embrace Capacity Capital, is for you! You’ve been taught for so […]
The most amazing thing happened for one of my clients the other day — she shifted her fear into $500,000. I was in a session with one of my Strategic Advising clients (let’s call her Beth) who was anxious about an upcoming meeting with a long-time funder. It was time to approach this program officer […]
There was a really interesting article in Inside Philanthropy last week arguing that nonprofit leaders desperately need sabbaticals, therefore more funders should fund them. I completely agree with the first part, but strongly disagree with the second. Nonprofit leaders, like any human being, need large chunks of time away to rest, recharge, find inspiration again, […]
Last week I talked about how to make money your new best friend. That is a mindset shift, which is the critical first piece, but then you need to start to use money in a MUCH BIGGER WAY. I have said for years that traditional nonprofit fundraising is broken. So broken. Because if you think […]
This past week has been one of the most trying for our country. We obviously have a lot of work to do to heal our country and fix our broken systems. But I absolutely believe that 2021 is going to be a much better year. In fact, I believe it holds the opportunity — since […]
