Recently, I was asked to contribute a piece on leadership for our Leadership Tallahassee (LT) community. It was an honor to do so and I am super grateful to Barbara Boone (LT Executive Director), the LT staff and volunteers, and the LT experience over the years – their efforts make our community better in so
Continue ReadingElection Day 2018 has come and gone – it was both exciting and exhausting. Congrats to the winners and thank you to all that braved the challenging path of running for office. This morning my thoughts lingered on the massive amount of money spent over the previous months to reach this point. $50 million here,
Continue ReadingIt’s Halloween, of course, and we just couldn’t let an analogy with development work pass us by without a discussion about one of the worst things a fundraiser (development person in any industry really) can do when it comes to donor relations – “Trick or Treat” a donor/client in order to get initial cultivation appointments.
Continue ReadingWe all remember the game Whack-A-Mole, right? High paced game, expecting the player to quickly identify a mole popping from his hole in time to hit it on the head before it escapes back into the hole. Miss it or hit it, the player then had to refocus their attention to where the next mole
Continue ReadingMy 30th high school reunion is this coming weekend – NSB Barracudas class of 1988! During a bike ride last week, I pondered on the similarities of relationship dynamics in high school and our places of work. Being a part of a team, in school or at work, provides a chance to build lasting relationships
Continue ReadingIn the article here http://www.afpnet.org/ResourceCenter/ArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=50009, details a small percentage increase overall from 2016 and an improvement in the donor retention rate from 2016, but the retention rate is still hovering around 45%. Retention is one of the hottest topics in fundraising, and it should be. So what can we do about it? Fundraising success is
Continue Reading