Big Fundraising

Solid Advice on Asking...from "American Idol"?

As much as it may pain me to admit it here, I watch "American Idol". I enjoy living vicariously through the candidates (the ones who get through to Hollywood, of course!), and listening to the comments from the judges. Every so often there is a great nugget that can be used by the vast majority of us who will never be in the Top 12 (or 14, or 150...).

Last night, two such nuggets came from my (usually) least favorite judge, Kara DioGuardi. First, she was commenting on the former-Barney-kid-turned-dominatrix who sang an En Vogue song, Erica Rhodes. What she liked about the performance was that this woman was completely and totally herself. Erica fully embraced and embodied her desire to be viewed as a true grown-up, not just a grown-up Barney kid. Oh yeah, and she could sing. The point is, the skill took a back seat the fact that Erica fully believed in herself.

Kara's second important statement of the evening was directed at Christian Spear. This 16-year-old is an 8-year cancer survivor, who blew through Etta James's, "All I Could Do Was Cry". After the other members of the judging panel sang the praises of Christian's skill, Kara said (something like), "You performed utterly without fear. Your confidence is amazing in a person of your age."

Erica and Christian had less than a minute to get their points across to the judging panel. If Kara can pick up on their inner confidence (and, presumably, other contestants' lack of confidence) in that short a time, don't you think that your prospects can get the same vibe from you? The point?

Skills are noticed second to confidence level and the performer's belief in herself. Does your belief in yourself match up to your skills?

Six Types of Wealthy Donors - Resource Center - AFP

Six Types of Wealthy Donors - Resource Center - AFP.

Interesting piece from the most recent AFP eNews...

Every Organization Has Its Season

Continuing our discussion of the best season for fundraising…how else (besides calendar year or fiscal year) can you determine what your best fundraising season is?

Does your work peak at any particular time of year? If you run an after school program, you’re probably ramping up in July and August, and could do a significant amount of fundraising with a “back to school” theme. If your organization provides a flu vaccine clinic, you’ll want to do your fundraising in the early fall, to make sure you’re well-enough funded to carry you through the vaccination season.

Next, 

Continuing our discussion of the best season for fundraising…how else (besides calendar year or fiscal year) can you determine what your best fundraising season is?

Does your work peak at any particular time of year? If you run an after school program, you’re probably ramping up in July and August, and could do a significant amount of fundraising with a “back to school” theme. If your organization provides a flu vaccine clinic, you’ll want to do your fundraising in the early fall, to make sure you’re well-enough funded to carry you through the vaccination season.

Next, look at your fiscal calendar alongside your work cycle calendar. Hopefully there’s a close match. If they don’t match, and you can’t get them to match, you might want to look at running two fundraising seasons. Don’t do two mega pushes, rather two medium-sized ones.

Our discussion continues in the next post, where we’ll look at the season of your target donors/prospects.

Hopefully there’s a close match. If they don’t match, and you can’t get them to match, you might want to look at running two fundraising seasons. Don’t do two mega pushes, rather two medium-sized ones.

Our discussion continues in the next post, where we’ll look at the season of your target donors/prospects.

What Season Are You?

The fundraising activity at most nonprofits runs in cycles, or seasons. Some organizations do the majority of their fundraising in the summer, others in the winter, still others in fall and spring. If you don’t know which season you are, you really should try and figure it out. Especially if the reason you’ve focused your fundraising on year-end campaigns is because “that’s when donors are looking for places for last-minute tax deductions”.

How do you figure out what season your organization is? First, look at your fiscal calendar. Does your fiscal year match the calendar year, or is it something different? If your fiscal year runs July 1 – June 30, you’ll want to make sure at least one big fundraising push happens in the spring, so you’ll make your annual budget.

Over the next few days, we’ll look at other ways to determine your best fundraising season, and what you can do to turn it into your season of fundraising success.

I Want To Be An Avatar

On this 5th day of the new year (which also happens to be my 50th birthday), I proclaim my intention to be an avatar.

According to dictionary.com, avatar has three meanings:

1.  Hindu Mythology. the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god.
2.  an embodiment or personification, as of a principle, attitude, or view of life.
3.  Computers. a graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet.

The one we hear the most about lately is definition #3. Which, on some days, seems mighty attractive. But I am fond of definition #2. Starting today, I intend to be an avatar of truth. Sounds pretty heavy, huh? Well, I've come up with an Easy Three-Step Plan.

Step 1:  Stop worrying about what other people think. A wise woman once told me, "No one around you will be happy if you are not happy." If I can make myself happy, then my happiness will flow out to all around me. I can change the world if I can change myself.

Step 2:  Focus. As a chronic sufferer of SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome), I am challenged by my high levels of distractibility. I promise myself to be vigilant about focusing on only those tasks that clearly move me forward toward my goals, and avoid anything that drags me off course. Goodbye to being an early adopter, at least for this year.

Step 3:  Embrace what is. I have wasted way too much time thinking about, and chasing after, what could or should be. I have skills and talents that I can use NOW, that have significant value and can help many people improve their lives, careers and organizations. Of course I can improve; however, improvements on top of a shaky foundation will not hold.

So while my avatar is not ten feet tall and blue, I think that it will turn out pretty cool anyway. What would your avatar look like?

Switching Careers at the Worst Possible Time | Blue Avocado

Edie Boatman left a for-profit career for fundraising  just as the economy crashed. With irony and humor her First Person Nonprofit essay reflects on her sense of timing and what she's learned so far.

via www.blueavocado.org

Given all the transition I've been hearing about lately, thought you'd enjoy this piece.

I particularly like #1...

Networking is Better in Groups

Back in early November, I asked you all to vote in my LinkedIn poll. The big question?

Is it better to have many one-on-one networking meetings, or pull together 4-5 connections to network with you (and each other) over a specific topic?

And the results are in...

80% of you voted for group sessions vs. one-on-one meetings.

Now we just need to figure out what those specific topics should be. What could be so compelling that 5 of your friends, colleagues and acquaintances would want to get in a room and discuss it for an hour?

Stay tuned for ideas...if you have any suggestions, feel free to post them as comments, or shoot me an email.

True Voice: Not a New Recording Format

Today was the first day in years--yes, years--that I got out of bed excited about what is on my plate. Why? 

I have spent a lot of time over the last two weeks really speaking in my true voice.

Going with my gut.

Playing to my strengths.

Have you ever been in a situation where your gut leads you in a different direction than everyone else, but you went along with the group just to fit in? It happens all the time.

Entrepreneurs follow advice of investors, who may not be nearly as invested in the success of the business as the founder. Could this be why so many new businesses fail?

New students follow the rules of the popular kids, just so they don’t stand out at their new school. Could this be why many kids suddenly stop doing activities they enjoyed/were good at?

Women executives feel the need to follow some rules made up by the male-dominated corporate culture, because someone told them they had to in order to be successful. Catalyst's report, "Women and Men in U.S. Corporate Leadership:  Same Workplace, Different Realities?", found that 81% of women said that "adopting a style with which male managers are comfortable" is an important or very important strategy to advance one's career. Could this be why many companies have trouble achieving their goals?

Now you may be thinking, “What the heck is my true voice? I’ve got one voice I use at work, another voice I use with my kids, a third voice I use with my friends, and a completely different voice I use with my spouse or partner.” I argue that if that’s the case for you, you’re wasting your energy.

So how do you find your true voice? Here are some easy-to-follow steps:

1. Notice when you’re using your true voice. You’ll know by the ease with which your ideas come out, and the lack of nagging your conscience does afterwards. Pay attention and reward yourself for speaking with truth.
2. Trust your gut. Coaches say this a lot. Personal coaches say it to their clients; athletic coaches say it to their greatest performers. We say it for a reason:  it’s true. Your gut really does know what’s right for you. The more you trust it, the more you’ll be able to hear it.
3. Change what you can. If you can rewrite/redo things you did using a false voice, please do so. Note the consequences of putting your message in your real voice.

Now this may sound a bit selfish, but…

Being your best and truest you is the best goal anyone can have. Once you find your true voice and start letting it out on a regular basis, you’ll find great and wonderful things begin to happen.

Quick...tell me what you're expert at.

Working on proposals, and meeting with potential client today. Each day I'm thrilled with the validation of my new direction.