Happy Valentine's Day!  Have you seen this labr-adorable gem kicking around the interwebs?Just too sweet for words, right? And anybody who's ever raised a Labrador puppy knows that was a split second of cute amidst a fury of scrambling, petting, biting, jumping and many other gerunds as well. Last time we talked about data needing … Continue reading Why Data Is Like a Lab – Needs Love & Attention

We'll come back to the discussion about Why Data is Like a Labrador Retriever after this brief digression. Facebook Live.  Anybody using it in Fundraising?  Annual Fund? John Haydon is one of those fundraising/digital marketing gurus who should be on your go-to list.  He's got some great pointers for using it on a blog over … Continue reading Facebook Live

How are Fundraising Databases Like a Labrador Retriever?  Reason #1 - They need Rules, Structure and Consistency This is Barclay at eight weeks old: That was a tough year . . . Dogs, especially new puppies, need rules, structure and boundaries.  And everybody in the "pack" needs to follow the same rules, otherwise you get … Continue reading Why Data Is Like a Lab – Rules & Structure

These are Labrador Retrievers: To be specific, these are MY Labrador Retrievers - left-to-right:  Oliver, Barclay and Tucker Buck-White, aka The Buck-White Boys. Labrador Retrievers - or labs - have been the most popular dog in the United States for twenty-five years.  They're great, great dogs - especially these three knuckleheads. Bred to work in … Continue reading Why (Fundraising) Data Is Like a Labrador Retriever

Behind every successful program a nonprofit does, there's a fundraiser. Behind every political campaign, there's a fundraiser. Behind new buildings and programs and scholarships and endowments, there's a fundraiser. Behind every donor, there's a fundraiser. And fundraisers make it all about the donors. How awesome is that?  What other profession gets to see dreams come … Continue reading We have the Greatest Job in the World

Did you take some downtime this holiday season?  Rest is good.  R&R is required. It's good to get away, think about other things, give the gray matter time to chill and rejuvenate. If you didn't - do.  It's worth it.  You'll be better for it. And so will your donors. We talk about resting lists … Continue reading Rest

I've just finished signing 617 Thanksgiving cards. My own name has taken on semantic satiation.  BUT, I really became aware of the phrases we use to express gratitude: "Thank You" "We are grateful" "Thanks!" Those are all first-person statements.  "Thank You" is a truncation of "I/We Thank You."  So even gratitude becomes about me and … Continue reading How to Write a Thank You Note

Here in Las Vegas we're technically a day late - National Philanthropy Day is officially celebrated on November 15th.  Hey, the space wasn't available - Blessed are the Flexible. Feels like it couldn't come at a better time.  We are looking forward to pausing for a couple of hours and honoring the great work in … Continue reading National Philanthropy Day

I attend a fair number of webinars, training sessions and conferences.  I find them rejuvenating, encouraging, stimulating and I always walk away with something I can use or put into practice.  And I really get a lot of energy from being around other fundraisers, annual fund people and smart, energetic, passionate people. The Nonprofit Storytelling … Continue reading Implementing Inspiration (Or How to Keep that Post-Conference High)

No preamble, right to the list on this one . . .  This really is the best conference out there.  Other conferences look at it and go, "Dang, that's the conference I want to go to; A human brain can only handle so much Tom Ahern in one day because it just cannot process that … Continue reading What I Learned at the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference – Day 2