So, Tell Me About Yourself!

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A few months ago, by a fluke, I found myself sitting at the head table of a fundraising dinner next to the keynote speaker, National Public Radio’s legendary journalist Susan…
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Peak bagging

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As someone who likes to be taken seriously, I probably shouldn’t begin this post by publishing such a goofy picture of myself. But here I go, happily sharing this photo,…
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Think Before You Endow

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I was recently asked at a public forum why I don’t like endowments. I answered: “It’s not so much that I don’t like endowments. It’s that nonprofits and their donors…
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Scale, For Better or For Worse

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Nonprofit trends – and their associated jargon – seem to come in waves. Given the disparate and atomized nature of the sector, it’s striking that new notions and terms fall…
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Stories, Not Bullet Points

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We all tell stories, though not necessarily well. I like to think I’m better at it than most, but my too-deliberate-and-full-of-detail style doesn’t work with everyone. It particularly bugs my…
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Nothing To Be Afraid Of

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I became much more comfortable with public speaking when I realized that the audience was rooting for me. Think about it. Someone stands up to address a group. It may…
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The Big Squeeze

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When I was a kid, I loved the TV series “Batman.” There was a scene in every other episode, it seemed, where the caped crusader found himself trapped in a…
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The Best Kind of “Ask”

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I was giving a fundraising seminar a couple of weeks ago. Most of the audience members were nonprofit CEOs, development directors, and Board members. A woman asked me, “So the…
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What’s in a Name?

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First, a story about my mother. It’s the kind of story I can tell, but you can’t, because she’s my mother, not yours. My mom, who recently turned 87, is…
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