My colleague Brian Reich has just published a new book, The Imagination Gap. I've known Brian for over ten years and he is a brilliant strategist for executive leaders and global brands - nonprofits, startups, and political organizations. He has done a lot of work recently in innovation processes, especially to solve big social change issues. So, I was excited to dig into his most recent book and thinking. The big idea in the book is that imagination is the greatest natural resource … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2017
4 Signs You Are A Burned Out Nonprofit Fundraiser
You’ve smiled through back-to-back-to-back-to-back meetings with donors and your best donor prospect just cancelled on you, and now you’ve got to finish that grant report before you can go home. It’s totally normal to feel super exhausted after a particularly rough day—but if every day is starting to feel rough, you might be close to burning out. The clinical definition of burnout is “a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion that occurs when we feel overwhelmed by too many demands, … [Read more...]
The Convergence of Social Activism, Donations, and Social Media: Episodic Giving In A Post Truth World
Here's the latest evolution in episodic giving, WeCanResist.It, developed by Allyson Kapin and colleagues, the app turns Trump's tweets into donations for social justice orgs like Black Lives Matter, Clean Water Action, National Center for Transgender Equality, etc. This newest example of rage fundraising in an era of post truth is focused on helping less high profile nonprofits that are doing important social justice work and need funding to sustain their efforts to fight for democracy. Our … [Read more...]
What I Learned About Online Donor Engagement from Fundraisers in Brasil
Last week, I was in Sao Paolo for the ABCR Festival, the leading conference in Brasil for fundraising for nonprofit organizations. This was my third visit to the country. I delivered a keynote for Social Good Brasil in 2012 and for a conference on volunteering hosted by Fundação Telefônica in 2014. My last visit to Brasil coincided with the Brasil's version of GivingTuesday called DiadeDoar and I was lucky enough to attend a fundraiser with Brasil's Giving Tuesday leader João Paulo Vergueiro. … [Read more...]
Building Relationships within A Cause-Centered Community: Jeffersonian Dinners
A cause-centered community is a group of people who share a common passion for a cause. They could be a group of people who support a particular nonprofit's social change agenda or a group of people from different organizations united around a common challenge, idea, or cause. I've been a member of the Leap Ambassadors Community, comprised of people who believe strongly that nonprofit performance matters. While a lot of work is online --sharing knowledge and insights, co-creating tools to … [Read more...]