[This posting appeared as an article in the Fall 2009 edition of Guild Notes, the quarterly newsletter published by The National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts] “We’re not a fundraising board.” If I had a nickel every time board members have said this to me, I would be able to fund their organizations. […]

Call to Action Commit 72 minutes per day to innovate and create a new future for your nonprofit organization. 72 minutes away from putting out fires and reacting to the economy; 72 minutes from the daily grind; 72 minutes focused on challenging assumptions and generating new ideas; 72 minutes building on what your organization is […]

This post is part two of a three-part series on board/staff collaboration. Go here to read part one. “We’ve already tried that, it didn’t work.” The board member smiled back at the organization’s marketing director and thought: “you may have tried it, but did you do it right?” The marketing committee meeting was approaching its […]

I am heading off to the Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Fundraising Professionals Annual Conference today. On Friday, I will be giving a workshop on Framing the Ask: A Storytelling Approach to Individual Donor Fundraising. Instead of handing out pens with the Creation In Common logo on it, we are handing out small 4″X6″ packets called […]

I wish someone would stand up at a General Motors or AIG board meeting and say: “You know what guys, we need to act more like a business.” It would be one of those awkward moments where everyone around the table would stare blankly at one another not knowing what to say. This statement, commonly […]