Have you noticed that many successful and memorable speakers begin their presentation with a joke or a funny story? There is nothing that can substitute for a good laugh, a quiet chuckle or a warm smile when it comes to building rapport with someone or with a crowd. I have to admit that my primary objective when I encounter someone ...

After (many) years on this planet I have come to believe people are inherently generous. People want to help, and today’s society presents thousands of ways to step up. That’s the good news and the bad news. This human trait is put on display most elegantly when disaster strikes. The Japan tsunami, hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the Haiti earthquake and ...

Words are powerful and have influence on our behavior, whether we know it or not. I’ve been reflecting on the notion of “planning” and the “plan” and what they tell us subconsciously. While “planning” is an active process that results in a “plan”, inherent in this is the general understanding that “things may change” and we really cannot be held ...

The new chief advancement officer or CEO or consultant is not the “savior”, and managing this expectation must be done boldly and early. How many times have you heard it from volunteers or the organization CEO… “Once so and so starts we’ll start raising the money we need.” It is often said in development committee meetings prior to the start ...

My August 4th GivingTake post addressed “The Little Engine That Could” highlighting a recent $250 million gift received by Centre College in Danville KY from the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust, representing the largest outright gift ever to a liberal arts college. As you likely have heard, the pledge fell through because a financial deal that funded the gift collapsed ...

There seems to be this belief that by “benchmarking” an organization to other “peer” organizations that something useful can be learned. Or that insights will emerge that will help your organization…or make it feel bolstered or diminished in some way. Consultants are often asked to do benchmarking as part of an assessment engagement, but unfortunately, the reporting on federal 990s ...