Fundraising Leadership ™

Executive Coaching, Professional Development, Training, and Career Advancement for Nonprofit Leaders in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Some Pants Are Better To Travel Without

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I want to talk about Traveling Pants – but I don’t mean the same thing as the young adult series of books.  Those were about an actual pair of jeans that miraculously fit four totally differently shaped friends (really, now that I think about it, perhaps these books were magic realism as much as YA fiction) and connected them to each other.  I am talking about a metaphoric pair of pants or jeans that actually might fit one of your friends – but certainly don’t fit you.

Ultimately, some pants are better to travel without.

[Read more…]

Trailblazing a Path

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Rambling Through the Thicket of Professional Callings

One day, I woke up with the realization: This is my life. I asked myself: Am I doing what I love? Am I faithful to my professional callings, personal callings, and family and friends?

For those who may know me, I tend to take most of my energy and place it in one bucket: work. In many ways, this is great. I have gathered a lot of expertise in many areas; I am highly efficient and can be counted on as a valuable contributor and resource in various circumstances. But the real question I recently asked is: Am I doing what I love? And, do I love what I am doing?  Am I trailblazing a path that I set out for myself when I was younger and had envisioned the ‘adult’ version of myself?

[Read more…]

We Were Named a Top Fundraising Podcast by Welp Magazine

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We love co-hosting the Fundraising Leadership Podcast. In each episode, we are joined by nonprofit and other professionals for engaging and inspiring conversations related to leadership, management, fundraising, and personal development.

We are excited to be named as a Top Fundraising Podcast by Welp Magazine.

We are featured along with some of our podcasting friends like Jason Lewis of The Fundraising Talent and Fundraising Voices from Ruffalo Noel Levitz.

Welp Magazine is an online publication, that provides helpful resources for businesses, covering everything from software and accounting tips to office furniture recommendations.

If you haven’t already, please subscribe to our podcast at iTunes, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcasts, or Spotify. 

Fundraising is a Team Sport: 4-Steps to Influence Change

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“Hey Kimberley, you had something to do with that didn’t you?”

Being called out in front of a couple of hundred other fundraisers by internationally renowned fundraising copywriter Tom Ahern took me off guard. Tom was talking about a now iconic direct mail pack.

This direct mail package was created in 2010 by the very talented duo Jen Love and John Lepp from Agents of Good, and has been shared hundreds of times at conferences and webinars around the world to demonstrate innovation, creativity, surprising and delighting donors and taking a massive leap of faith.

This mailing also appears in David Love’s new book Green Green, Reflections of 51 years of raising money for nature as an example of best practice.

So how did I respond to Tom’s question in front of so many colleagues? “Why yes Tom, I did. I was the Director of Fundraising that supported, approved and paid for the package.” Such a simple exchange. But there is so much more to it. [Read more…]

How to be an Effective Nonprofit Board Member

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Recently Stephen Halasnik and David Langiulli spoke on the Nonprofit MBA Podcast about what it takes to be an effective board member and what happens when a board functions with high levels of trust and candor.

It is no secret that open communication helps an organization run more effectively, but what does this look like in practice? With strategic planning and proper board culture,  nonprofits run more effectively, enabling the organization to achieve its mission.

[Read more…]

Neurodiversity 101: A Primer for Leaders

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A photo of the tips of coloured pencilsWhat is neurodiversity?

  • Coined by Australian sociologist, Judy Singer, it refers to differences across human brain makeups, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Why is it important to understand?

  • First of all, sheer numbers, estimates are approximately 15% of the population worldwide is neurodiverse keeping in mind that underdiagnosis persists across the spectrum of neurodiversity. There is also the moral imperative – the right of every human being to participate fully in society. [Read more…]

Three Skills That Make You a Better Fundraiser

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 I am having a conversation with a potential donor. I love the initiative I’m fundraising for, but the meeting is not going particularly well. It isn’t my first meeting with this person, but I don’t feel like we are connecting today.

I spent a ridiculous number of hours prepping for this meeting because I thought this guy would have many questions for me. Nope. Nada. Zilch. And I had a whole script prepared, but it doesn’t feel right anymore.

I suspect I’m losing his attention. His cell phone is face down on the table; he hasn’t picked it up yet, but he’s looking at it longingly.

Even seasoned fundraisers can have rough meetings, meetings where our plans to present our worthy work go off the rails.  Coaching skills can help during these difficult situations

Our culture seems to agree.  Coaching skills are suitable for anyone who manages people, leads teams, and … is on the frontline of fundraising.

There are three skills that make you a better fundraiser (and leader). [Read more…]

Being a Leader in Transition

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As our society passed through its second spring equinox under a global pandemic, I took personal stock of my spring renewal achieved by successfully leading a team through a significant transition last year. Since change is constant and accelerating, two luminary leaders guided my daily journey of being a leader in transition.  They are, President Theodore Roosevelt and author William Bridges, who pioneered “Managing Transitions,” a guidepost for leading a change process. [Read more…]

Pulling Back the Curtain on Coaching for Higher Ed Leaders

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Coaching for Higher Ed Leaders

When I arrived at Bucknell University in 2016, I was thrilled by the challenges and opportunities that awaited me as the freshly minted dean of their prestigious College of Engineering. While my career in academia had seen a steady increase in leadership roles, I found myself in a whole new world. As excited as I was, I also recognized that there likely would be challenges ahead for which I had limited experience and (certainly) no formal training. [Read more…]

Three Ways to Balance Fundraising and Leadership Priorities

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We all aspire to achieve great things, this means different things to different people. I was always focused on leading a team. I love working with people and more specifically, I love the energy that is created when I am engaged in inspirational conversations. It is for this reason that I consider myself lucky to be a professional fundraiser and even luckier to be leading a team of very accomplished and highly competent fundraisers. But there is a challenge that exists for many Directors in non profit organizations, and I believe it is an unspoken challenge. It is the trifecta effect, the challenge of leading your team, the challenge of working your own fundraising portfolio and the challenge of reporting up to the CEO. It is the curse I suppose of middle management, but it is not often discussed or addressed. It is for this reason that I’d like to share some of the strategies I have adapted over the years to deal with the aforementioned challenge. [Read more…]

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