[The following is an excerpt from a keynote I gave to the Southern Minnesota Nonprofit Summit.] Fifteen years ago this week was when I arrived in Minnesota to become the Executive Director of The Playwrights’ Center. My wife and I were newly married. We drove 900 miles from Dallas to Minnesota with most our belongings […]

[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. […]

This post is part three of a three-part series on board/staff collaboration. Go here to read part one and here to read part two. “What we got here is a failure to communicate” said the Board President slightly chuckling at his own joke. “Actually, what we have is a failure to listen” the Executive Director […]

Yesterday, I asked friends on Twitter and Facebook (many who are or were nonprofit executives) to send me punch lines. It was a whole lot of fun to read them. Thanks to everyone who contributed. If you have a punch line to share, please comment (ignore “No Comments”– I am trying to change that with […]

You can’t get anyone to do anything, if they don’t want to. Especially when it comes to fundraising. But you can help people play to their strengths. Fundraising isn’t a solitary act, its a process that requires a group of individuals to play multiple roles and work together toward the same goal. The above chart identifies […]