Fundraising Leadership ™

Executive Coaching, Leadership Training, and Personal Development

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.

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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?

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What is a “Personal Board of Directors?”

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board room table with brown leather chairsMentorship is an evergreen topic of discussion amongst leaders and those aspiring to it. Wonderfully, today the conversation continues to evolve to intersect with issues of equity, diversity and inclusion to unpack the need for not just formal mentorship, but sponsorship and organizational responsibility.

But for many who work either alone, freelance or are just not supported at work, this is a journey they must take personal responsibility for. I firmly believe that in fact, any professional who cares deeply about their career needs to cultivate a healthy “third space” outside of work and home life. A professional sphere where they are not defined by their job title or technical capabilities. For me, a new world was opened up when I read the work of Dorie Clark pushing past the scarcity of the “gig economy” and instead proposing that we are all consultants now ( since hey, who will have a job for life any more ) and we hold “portfolio careers”.

On top of this concept that we will be flexible in our work space and the work we do over a lifetime of work, is the idea that we need to be creative and flexible in the mentors we seek too.

Yes, mentors with an “s”. You need multiple, and in fact when I’ve supported peers to really sit down and think about it, we all have several but it’s not a thought out process. And there’s nothing more dangerous than a mentor you didn’t choose. [Read more…]

Taking the Plunge into a Senior Leadership Role

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Diving BoardLaughter and self-care have been an important part of my daily routine during this pandemic. And nothing lifts up my mood like 30-mins of Mr. Bean adventures. Mr. Bean is a legendary series of skits by British comic Rowan Atkins. In one episode, Mr. Bean goes to the local pool. He struts around to the diving board and confidently climbs to the very highest one. As he starts walking towards the end of it the height of it finally gets to him and he panics. He tries to go back but is confronted by two naughty children and so as not to show weakness he clumsily drops off the diving board in a most ungraceful flop.

You might wonder by now, what Mr. Bean has to do with leadership: Getting your first leadership role is a lot like his diving experience. We are often convinced we would make great leaders, and sometimes we can even be a bit overconfident. And once we get up there, the gravity of the role dawns on us, there is no easy way back and of course there are always detractors even if they only live in our heads. In my role as a talent recruiter in the nonprofit sector, my mission is to uncover emerging leaders. It is often not about specific experience on a resume (i.e. managed $5M budget or had 10 direct reports), but rather about self-awareness and the ability to reflect on these experiences. [Read more…]

I know you’re busy- Now is the time!

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There’s an adage, if you need something done, ask a busy person. What people say about certain types of professional development is, “I’ll do it when I’m less busy.” Let me encourage you to overcome that mindset when it comes to the PQ training program coordinated by Fundraising Leadership. When you’re busy, now is the time to do it.

The PQ training is based on the book “Positive Intelligence” by Shirzad Chamine.  The book discusses the major saboteurs that make us less able to function well and sets the stage for 5 sage powers that help us to overcome those saboteurs. The PQ model is one of a muscle- your Positive Intelligence muscles that need to be fortified to help you overcome the negative saboteurs and strengthen the sages.  While I highly recommend the book for anybody, the PQ training program I did takes that mindset to a whole new level by providing a significant number of additional tools and resources with which to build your PQ muscle. [Read more…]

Building a Thoughtful Fundraising Career

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Laptop with a You've Got This Sign beside it.The year was 2009. I had just graduated from university and knew I wanted to work in the non-profit sector but, like so many others, I had no clue how to go about building my career. None of my relatives were fundraisers or non-profit executives. No one I knew even worked for a charity. Without special connections or outside assistance, I had to learn how the non-profit sector operates the hard way. Despite this initial setback, I achieved several career milestones at a relatively early age and these accomplishments did not go unnoticed. As a result, aspiring and mid-career fundraisers often reach out to me to ask for career advice; to help them weigh the benefits of taking a specific course, program or designation; or to understand how they can emulate my success.

I think many are disappointed to hear me say that there is no silver bullet. I attribute my success as a fundraiser to being very thoughtful about my career development rather than to any one specific thing I’ve done. In order to be successful, you have to know where you want to go, develop a plan to get there, and then actually follow your plan. Of course, you will have to put in a lot of hard work along the way too. Success doesn’t happen overnight, and you will have to adjust course as challenges present themselves and new opportunities become available to you. Creating a plan doesn’t mean that your plan can’t change. But, if you don’t create a plan for your career, your career will happen to you instead of you taking charge and making it happen the way you want it to. [Read more…]

Fundraising & Career Strategy: The Benefits of Playing the Long Game

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We live in a world of “Insta”, that is constantly playing the short game.

Fundraising has suffered from a transactional, derivative and acquisition mindset forever. We are haunted by our bake-sale origins.

Being almost 20 years in the charitable sector I have become a career-anthropologist. Observing the careers and strategies of leaders and organizations I admire. It’s what leads me personally on my own career path to specialize in ‘gift-planning’ while most of the sector is always trying to maximize major gifts. Now in 2019, they are one in the same. [Read more…]

Financial Literacy for Early Career Nonprofit Professionals

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Financial literacy is: “The ability to understand financial choices, plan for the future, spend wisely, and manage the challenges that come with life events such as job loss, saving for retirement, or a child’s education.” [source: US Government Accounting Office]

Unfortunately, the education system of one of the wealthiest countries in the world does not teach children, teenagers, and young adults how to “understand financial choices, plan for the future, and manage money.”  Here is some of the evidence according to several recent surveys: [Read more…]

3 Ways to Improve Your Nonprofit’s Donor Service

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Running a nonprofit organization is a tall task.  Many small to medium size nonprofits struggle with insufficient resources (human and capital) to fully execute their missions.  Nonprofit leaders frequently have something on their plate, juggling multiple priorities and stakeholders. It doesn’t matter if you’re the sole employee of the organization, or if you have a large team around you; there’s one thing you can’t compromise on: “donor service.”

For example, how do you or other staff members respond when donors reach out with questions? What do you say when a donor sends you a complaint, expresses a concern, or makes a suggestion? [Read more…]

Successful Fundraising in a Nutshell

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Do you have a project that needs funding to become a reality?  Does your nonprofit rely on private donations to fund its operations?  Is your organization like many small nonprofits that do not have a formal advancement/development plan nor assigned staff responsible for fundraising? [Read more…]