Browsing the archives for the Leadership category
During campaign years institutions raise more money. The research is clear on this. A campaign focuses an institution and its donors on strategic priorities and gift income goals. During a successful campaign, the case for support is concisely articulated and the institution places an extraordinary level of energy on the discovery, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship [...]
Not long ago, I was in an airport looking forward to getting home after a long but productive week of client visits. It was late on a Friday night and a far away but severe weather system had wrecked havoc with the friendly skies. Although the weather at our location was perfect, a number of [...]
How can you lead the members of your advancement team so that each performs even the most ordinary of tasks in extraordinary fashion? How do you motivate staff members to be the best version of themselves day-in and day-out? How do manage staff members so that they respond positively to new ideas or new strategies? [...]
Forget about your stand-by New Year resolutions. As humans, we seem incredibly poor at keeping them. And, in the instances where we do keep them, they don’t seem to make much of a difference. One year rolls into another and we find that we still want to get better at our work, we want to [...]
What are the hurdles you are facing in your work life today? What are the problems keeping you from reaching your Far Edge of Promise? Go ahead, list them. Not enough budget? Not the right people on the team? Not enough people on the team? Too much bureaucracy? A micro-managing boss? Support staff that doesn’t [...]
So our good friends at The National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia have released the findings from their latest national survey of marital happiness. They surveyed 1,400 married couples and found that the level of generosity – or the amount of give and take that goes on in the relationship – is a [...]
We’ve all heard of stage fright – that fear that grips a performer when the lights come on and the audience is watching intently. A favorite method of alleviating stage fright is to take the focus off of yourself as the performer. Instead, acting coaches will encourage the performer to focus on the audience. ”Imagine [...]
Over the last decade, the concept of “donor-centered” fundraising has gained traction for institutions of all sizes. Books have been written on the topic and a Google search of the phrase turned up 364,000 results! The idea – that all institutional activities and behaviors should be concentrated and focused in ways that best serve donors [...]
Do you focus more on what you are working on or what you are working for? What we are working on could be a mailing, setting up visits, getting prepared for Board meetings, etc. On the other hand, what we are working for are the big outcomes we are aiming to achieve. Strengthening our institutions [...]
Recently, frogloop posted a story about the rise of the she-conomy. A story that should remind us that donors are not a monolithic category of people. Homogeneous groups, based on important variables, as well as all individuals, approach philanthropy differently. Our role as advancement leaders is to build the knowledge and capacity of our institutions [...]
