Fundraising Leadership ™

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

  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Members
    • Login
    • My Profile
  • Subscribe

Is Your Money Story Affecting Your Ask?

March 17, 2020 by MARGARET CANN

Spoiler alert: I strongly believe that the answer to the question in the title is YES.  And not only that, but there’s a decent chance the impact your money story is having isn’t pretty.

So, what is a money story, exactly?

Most of us learn “stories” about money from the Big Three Influencers: our families, our communities and our churches (and other religions). Sometimes the messages are lovely, about sharing and abundance and villages raising children.  MUCH more often, people are taught that money is scarce, that it must be earned with sweat, that it is infused with power, that it is linked to greed and evil. They learn that money is something others have more of, and that it creates imbalance. They learn that there isn’t enough.  They learn that it comes with strings attached.  They learn that asking for it is bad. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fundraising Tagged With: fundraising

Put on Your Cape and Let’s Get Going! Embracing Vulnerability in Fundraising.

February 29, 2020 by Lavinia Boxill

Vulnerability is a big word. It has twelve letters and many connotations, depending with whom you speak. It’s also a word I used to fear. Being vulnerable meant leaving myself open and unprotected, travelling into unknown territory. Quite frankly, it was my least favorite state of being.

Philanthropy is also a big, twelve-letter word that means something different depending with whom you are speaking. Unlike vulnerability, philanthropy has been a word I’ve confidently lived with for the past 30 years. Despite the constant “I just don’t know how you ask people for money” comments from faculty and friends, philanthropy is my happy place.   [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fundraising Tagged With: Personal Development

Fair Winds and Following Seas: Lessons from Canadian Leaders at Sea

February 19, 2020 by Krista Slade

Krista Slade at CLaS

Standing in the midst of the hipster hiking adventure store, I felt like a total fraud.  Not exactly adverse to shopping – as friends will attest – purchasing serious rainproof gear was novel for me.  But it was necessary as I was prepping to depart on an Arctic adventure with the Royal Canadian Navy as part of the ‘Canadian Leaders at Sea’ (CLaS) program.

I am not by nature a thrill-seeker.  I have huge respect for my friends who train for marathons or hike the Camino de Santiago but my idea of adventure runs more to wearing Fluevog shoes.  Yet I found myself in August 2019 signed up to sail from Iqaluit on Baffin Island (known in Inuktitut as ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ/Qikiqtaalukto) to St John’s, Newfoundland aboard Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Québec.  My shipmates for the five days would include 200+ sailors and officers plus 14 fellow ClaSmates who had been selected for this innovative experiential learning program. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Personal Development

So You Want to Retire One Day, Right?

February 5, 2020 by Allen Abbott

Development salaries are not great but are getting better. The Association of Fundraising Professionals 2019 salary survey showed the average salary is about $84,000, and that’s a 7.7 percent improvement! The median—“most middle”—salary is $72,500. What are the proven methods to reach financial independence on a relatively modest salary?

Coming from a missionary family, I was shocked at the age of 16 to read a letter from my parents’ mission board that read, “Dear Missionaries, Due to adverse economic conditions, the funds in your retirement account are depleted.” That’s it. Good luck. I vowed that was never going to happen to me, and I spent most of my life working with missionaries, clergy, social workers and teachers who are ridiculously underpaid attain a dignified retirement. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Personal Development

Sleeping Your Way to the Top (Leaders Need Sleep)

January 21, 2020 by Eddie O'Connor

If you want to be your best – in literally anything – optimizing your sleep is your number one performance enhancer.   Leaders need sleep!  There is not one major organ within the body, or process within the brain, that isn’t enhanced by sleep (or impaired when you don’t get enough). Sleep makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. Sleep improves both cognitive and motor learning. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and the flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks, stroke, and diabetes. You’ll feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious. In athletes, sleep improves physical performance and reduces the risk of injury.

These conclusions come from over 17,000 carefully examined scientific reports to date. I highlight some of the most interesting and useful facts for leaders in the sections below. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Personal Development

Managing to Retain Fundraisers

January 6, 2020 by David Langiulli

In the marketplace for fundraiser talent, demand currently outstrips supply.  There are currently thousands of job postings for fundraisers listed at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and LinkedIn.

In the face of this demand, advancement and development leaders often say that one of the most significant challenges they face is managing to retain fundraisers. While the economic forces of supply and demand are putting upward pressure on salaries, a common misconception about fundraiser retention is that it’s “all about the money.” That’s a management and leadership cop-out, and the situation is dire. According to a recent Association of Fundraising Professionals’ (AFP) report, half (50%) of fundraisers surveyed reported that they intend to leave their jobs in the next 2 years. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership, Management Tagged With: Talent Management

Refocus for 2020

December 4, 2019 by Michelle Maloy Dillon

As the year 2020 approaches, it is such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the past year’s successes, what we learned and what we want to create in the year ahead. It’s so easy to just let life take us down the river and to end up in a place where we don’t want to be. Creating a system to check in with your team to make sure you are heading in the right direction is important. And it can be a fun and creative process that you all look forward to each year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

Leaders Listen Before They Speak

November 19, 2019 by Janice Cunning

When you think about leaders and managers who have brought out the best in you, what qualities come to mind? I remember those who listened, empowered me, demonstrated trust, offered support, and were dedicated to my growth.

Workplaces are starting to recognize and promote the idea of coach-like managers. Someone who asks more questions, acknowledges strengths, and empowers their team members to develop and grow as employees and human beings.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Personal Development

The Move from “Doing” Fundraising to “Being” a Fundraiser

October 30, 2019 by Jennifer Harris

Recently, I woke up to an inbox full of resources that aim to improve the “doing” of fundraising. At first glance, this made me smile.

Just 10+ years ago, I had to dig deep into cyberspace to find insights like the ones that came in like clockwork on this particular morning. Think: winning major gift strategies, proposal budgeting tips, mid-level giving mastery, donor retention via text, year-end strategies that sell, and so many more!

There is, remarkably, no shortage of tactics in our field.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Fundraising Tagged With: fundraising

Dealing with VUCA. Practice #1 – Acceptance and Compassion

October 15, 2019 by David Langiulli

The world has gone mad. Or, so it seems.

Volatility. The world is constantly changing, and becoming more unstable each day.

Uncertainty. It’s becoming more difficult to anticipate events or predict how they’ll unfold.

Complexity. Problems and their repercussions are more multi-layered, harder to understand.

Ambiguity. Not everything is black and white.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Personal Development

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 14
  • Next Page »

Gain access to our exclusive FREE resources.

Subscribe Now

Recent Posts

  • Collecting Courage: Traversing the whiteness of the philanthropic sector as Black fundraisers
  • Community Reflections on 2020
  • 4 Common Fundraising Challenges – And How To Overcome Them
  • 10 Steps to Create an Equitable Organization
  • 7 Ways Organizational Leadership Can Demonstrate Purpose Through Action

RSS Recent Podcasts

  • Episode 73: Collecting Courage: Traversing the whiteness of the philanthropic sector as Black fundraisers
  • Episode 72: Reflections on Coaching in 2020
  • Episode 71 Overcoming Fundraising Challenges in Smaller Shops with Emily Capelle
  • Episode 70: Creating Equitable Organizations with Joenita Paulrajan
  • Episode 69: How Organizations Can Really Live Their Values with Nicole Salmon
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • My Profile
  • Login

Copyright © Fundraising Leadership ™ All Rights Reserved.