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Everyone’s Doing It—yeah!
Whenever I am traveling in or around Yellowstone Park I often come upon a small clump of parked cars with people standing around gawking at something not immediately obvious to me. When I first...
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God Save Us—from nice people
Being nice isn’t nice. That is to say that “nice” implies a non-confrontational, go-along-to-get-along stance. Don’t bring up the uncomfortable subject—it might not be nice. Don’t point out the glaring...
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Good Deeds—don’t scale
Charitable organizations tout their good deeds and benefit to others. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The rub is—these acts of betterment don’t scale. Far too often, the “good” in good deeds is...
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Program or Purpose?—you choose
If I’m at a social gathering where philanthropists and nonprofit leadership and both are present I observe—and hear—two languages being spoken. As in any gathering where there is more than one...
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They’re Just Lucky—we can’t
When working with my clients—charitable organizations who do worthy work in the communities they serve—I often hear some variation on this. “That (other) organization was just lucky in raising money...
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Let’s Fail–again and again
Our charitable organizations have the obligation to fail. That is, to be leaders in innovation. So says Seth Godin. Why? According to Seth, because the work they are doing is far too important to...
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Use the “F” Word—early and often
A recent study by the Center on Philanthropy at the University of Indiana revealed a serious disconnect between what nonprofit managers think they know about finance and what they actually know....
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Is It Them—or us?
Nonprofits often decry their lack of resources while trumpeting an ever-growing demand for their services. The conventional wisdom is often that donors simply aren’t caring enough to want to help...
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Nonprofit Starvation—the way of the world?
Today we see numerous nonprofit organizations struggling to deliver worthy services to an even more worthy constituency. Drastic budget and programming reductions to offset falling revenue seems to be...
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Trust—the great leveler
Perhaps the most critical resource in engendering philanthropic support for your charity or cause is trust; trust among your investors that you will deliver on both the outcomes you tout and also the...
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(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction!
For those of you in my generation—and a lot of those younger than we—these words conjure up iconic images of Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones. To the philanthropists among us, the lyrics of Sir...
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Beware of Bigfoot—the average donor
We’re all aware of the possible existence of a prehistoric creature of mythic proportions that purportedly roams the forests of North America. There are those among us who ardently believe in the...
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Why Don’t Rich People Give More?—the perennial question
Recently several commentators have opined that the “rich” don’t give “enough” to charity—or to the “right” organizations to insure the “maximum” benefit. Hmmm. Aside from the getting their facts...
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Why Fund Development is Difficult for Some—and easy for others
Whether raising money is “difficult” or “easy”, has a lot to do on how you view it. Fund development is a process which develops over time. Fundraising is an event—a point in time. Fund development...
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Let’s Be Stingy-or is that generous?
When the terms “stingy” or “generous” are used in the charitable sense we usually think of the donor and the relative size of their gift vis a vis their financial capacity. I prefer to apply those...
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They’re Just Lucky—we can’t
When working with my clients—charitable organizations who do worthy work in the communities they serve—I often hear some variation on this. “That (other) organization was just lucky in raising money...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let’s Fail–again and again
Our charitable organizations have the obligation to fail. That is, to be leaders in innovation. So says Seth Godin. Why? According to Seth, because the work they are doing is far too important to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Use the “F” Word—early and often
A recent study by the Center on Philanthropy at the University of Indiana revealed a serious disconnect between what nonprofit managers think they know about finance and what they actually know....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is It Them—or us?
Nonprofits often decry their lack of resources while trumpeting an ever-growing demand for their services. The conventional wisdom is often that donors simply aren’t caring enough to want to help...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nonprofit Starvation—the way of the world?
Today we see numerous nonprofit organizations struggling to deliver worthy services to an even more worthy constituency. Drastic budget and programming reductions to offset falling revenue seems to be...
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