July 2024 marks 13 years since Stephanie and I started TakeTwo! In honor of our “baby” becoming a teenager, I wrote down 13 reasons I love my not-job, to share with our BIPOC consultant friends at […]

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of a new resource that we believe is a game-changer! Constellation is the first and only (as of 2023) national directory of nonprofit consultants of color! It aims to connect you — nonprofits, foundations, and recruiters — with consultants of color who work with nonprofits, and help you with your diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.

  Staying engaged with your donors is the name of the game in the nonprofit realm. That’s easier said than done in a world that’s increasingly leaning on remote tech. So, how exactly do we grow […]

Eleven years ago we started TakeTwo in part because we wanted to work in a new way: with flexible schedules, and without a centralized office. We’ve learned a few things about how best to make this, ahem, work. Here are our tips – and some questions – to help your nonprofit navigate the new era of ‘working from home.’

What are the possibilities for your nonprofit to do a virtual event? Virtual events present an opportunity to do this in a more inclusive, egalitarian way! They can be put together with relatively little money. They don’t have to have entry fees. They can be accessible outside of our geographic region. And they can have easy opportunities for small donors to contribute! So stay on board… give the virtual event a whirl!

TakeTwo and Wingo NYC are teaming up with Nonprofit New York for their Fundraising and Resource Development Learning Lab series. Starting July 21, this lab will explore best practices and cover what to do now that everything is changing. Nonprofit New York’s Learning Labs are a five-part, cohort-based training series for nonprofit professionals looking to develop skills and implement best fundraising practices.

“We’d love to hire Black consultants, but none of the people who applied identify as such.” “We need to diversify, but we’ve had no luck finding consultants of color.” This is something we at at TakeTwo […]

How can you do keep your brand fresh and memorable without pro, i.e. expensive, help? Our training tells you how. Join us for How To Stay “On-Brand” – With Limited Resources, an online training, on June 18, at 12:30 PM EDT.

Honestly, there’s not much we can say about the Covid-19 crisis that hasn’t already been said. But, we know it’s a trying time for everyone, and for your nonprofit. We don’t know the future (if only!) but no one does. That means we’re all in this together.

We are thrilled to be partnering with Nonprofit New York to provide our beloved NY-nonprofit community with a series of trainings on communications and fundraising from January to March 2020. Our topics are: Hunting and Gathering […]

If you are doing your job well as an Executive Director or Director of Development, you are getting pulled in a million different directions at the same time, all the time. That’s because you are, rightly, […]

The title of this blog post should really read “Three Questions That Help You Prioritize Communications When You’re Pressed For Time, as in All The Time”. Because let’s face it, there’s no real downtime or slow time when you work for a nonprofit.

In a world where image matters, talented communications’ personnel are able to tap into the emotions that most nonprofits are built around, and even without a clear “blueprint”, communicate and motivate people around the organization’s mission. But should marketing efforts lead the organization? Is the cart before the horse?

“We shouldn’t chase funding.  We shouldn’t change our mission and work to be more appealing to donors.”  We hear this from nonprofit leaders from time to time at TakeTwo. On paper, it is totally true.  But, in […]

We launched TakeTwo in July 2011 and since then we’ve learned there are many things we love about our work and TakeTwo. Here are our top four: We get inspired by our clients and their work, […]

You ever have that moment when your social media feed is one long list of “give, give, give” requests? And you are not impressed? Chances are, your constituents feel this way, too. Here are 5 steps to help you create social media content your audience will love – and improve the likelihood that they’ll become supporters.

The world has changed and corporations with global operations and immense budgets have set the default for what work culture should be. Nonprofits are simply following this lead. So where is the sector heading? Will staff attrition be the name of the game? Or will we simply keep doing more but at a disservice to quality?
Or is there a different way?

Whether your first love was a poodle or your next-door neighbor, it’s time to re-live that “first-love feeling” when you think about your nonprofit’s first-love: your constituents. In today’s world where you’re engaging with so many different audiences across different channels, despite your best efforts, you might be letting your loyalty to your primary audience slip.
Here are three ways you can stay loyal to them:

Do you know what your major donors, the individuals who write large checks, want to hear from your nonprofit? Many people assume that donors want to know “what are you doing with my money?” It’s a fair assumption but in fact, that’s not the most important thing.

Many of TakeTwo’s clients have board and staff members who struggle with fundraising. The very idea of asking for money makes them nervous. When speaking with volunteers or board members, I often hear, “I’ll do anything, except ask for money.” One way to get around all these feelings asking for money conjures up inside us is to “offer opportunities” instead of “asking for money.” Let’s be honest, we are playing semantics here, but this strategy really can help you and your volunteers get over the queasy feelings fundraising creates.

Here’s one of those don’t-come-along-very-often-and-it’s-exactly-what-we-need grant opportunities: the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund (CCNSF) for NYC nonprofits. And we can help. The deadline to apply is October 5, so get in touch with us pronto!

When we talk about conquering “twin peaks”, we’re not issuing a challenge to David Lynch. We love the show Twin Peaks, but our goal here is to help non-profits scale and conquer the (sometimes) insurmountable seeming “twin peaks” of communications and development. Talking and working with nonprofits, three areas that often make the “twin peaks” daunting stand out: capacity, silos, and fear.

Well, take a look! Stephanie and Bix, with Foundation Center’s Christine Bunting, talk through how we’ll show you how to Create Visually Exciting Grant Proposals in our webinar coming up on June 14! Sign up for the webinar through June 7th to […]

First things first: ask yourself, when you’re reading online, are you actually reading? Or are you skimming? No judgement, we all do it!

Fundraising and Communications Execution As you face the challenges of the New Year, don’t forget – TakeTwo loves: Grant writing Event fundraising Online campaigns Fundraising/communications strategy development Nonprofit video production Board development and fundraising This is […]

It’s been a year that has rocked the world, and most of the time, not for the better. But it’s reminded us of the joy we have in the work we do… together, as friends. We’re not […]

The impact of scarcity on the nonprofit sector is real. The pressures on executive directors and their teams; fundraisers and development officers are enormous. We share those pressures with managers and staff in a variety of ways. Often with great sincerity, a sense of vulnerability, and the best of intentions. But how is scarcity felt by our staff?

You have planned many benefit events – but, they are never as successful as you had hoped. You do the lion share of the fundraising – every single year – and it is getting tiresome, and […]

This is a question our clients often grapple with – generally, the question comes about when a Board was formed before a Give/Get seemed critical – when passion, hard work, and commitment to the mission were […]

We talk a lot about mission. We talk about vision. We don’t talk about values often. Yet, value statements are critical even in the corporate setting. For nonprofits, our activities, integrity, and vision (i.e. values) for […]

Years ago, after a long day of facilitating meetings, I was having dinner with some of the meeting participants, and after a big sip of wine, I said, “Gosh, but I bet most of you just […]

At the end of what has been a tumultuous year, we’re finding joy with the timeless: family, friends, nature, and art. The picture above is by artist Margie Van Auken, and we take it as a […]

The good news is your nonprofit is growing. Your community is growing, your programs calendar is chock full of opportunities, your fundraising efforts have paid off and you have new initiatives to carry out. It’s all […]

The Great Grant Hustle is the name I’ve given the first quarter of 2016. It encapsulates my belief that the first quarter is a time to submit as many strong grant applications as possible. Here are some tips on how to execute a great grant hustle for your organization…

  Last week was my first week at work after spending a couple weeks with my two boys, both under age four. I was looking forward to interacting with adults again. But, my kids informed my […]

This is the view from my desk as I started writing this: grey, rainy, visibly chilly, a tree barren of its leaves, and across the distance, a tiny, barely visible glimmer of red and yellow light. […]

I got at least 20 requests for support on #GivingTuesday last week. How many did you get? Maybe we can make it a competition!

Regardless of the saturation of requests we all receive on this now annual campaign, its merits are many…

Last month, I attended MarkCon for a client of TakeTwo to gain some helpful hints about using media, messaging, and marketing to help further the nonprofits critical work.  An event full of experts sharing their incredible […]

In July, Stephanie and I had exactly half-a-day together when we both were free to “take off” from work, and how did we choose to spend it? By filming our new video, of course! Can you […]

What makes your video a powerful fundraising tool? Strong visuals, compelling stories, and professional graphics are great. But one thing that’s often overlooked is: emotionality. That is, make your viewers get the “feels,” make their hearts […]

Wondering what videos have to do with your next fundraising campaign? Maybe you’re thinking, “We’re a small nonprofit and what you filmmakers call ‘affordable,’ we call superfluous.” Well, you could be correct AND there is a […]

We’re approaching the fourth quarter! As we each prepare to take stock of our strategies, we can make organizational decisions about what to do differently next year. For many, Facebook may have been in the running […]

Happy Birthday, TakeTwo! Congratulations to Bix & Stephanie and to all the incredible Nonprofits who make up TakeTwo Services’ clientele on four years of communication and fundraising collaboration for so many great causes. TakeTwo Services launched […]

Pithy advice for nonprofits that no one will give you. OR, how to avoid being a PITA client. And in fact, get your money and time’s worth from a consultant.

It’s been a very tough week for many of us in the US, with the #Charlestonshooting, the latest in an epidemic of racist violence. Our deepest condolences to the families and everyone who is experiencing this […]

A “day in the life” post from communication specialist, Amanda Lydon My alarm goes off at 4:15 AM because some crazy evening version of me thought I might get up before my children and get the […]

Stephanie and Bix have both recently pointed out just how valuable social media can be for creating buzz and propelling movement toward social change. I totally agree and it’s a good thing since I spend a […]

We all watched the headlines in late March and early April – the impending signing of two new laws in Arkansas and Indiana, that under the guise of “religious freedom,” poised a very serious risk to […]

Stephanie has been railing about the pitfalls of dialogue on social media – how, rather than an exchange of ideas, online talk often seems to devolve into counterproductive mudslinging. While that certainly happens, I find myself in the unusual position of defending social media!

In light of Starbucks’ #RaceTogether campaign, Stephanie asks, “How can we, as people and organizations working to make the world better in so many different ways, push to change social media to become a forum for honest, safe, and open dialogue?”

Yes, it’s still snowing all over the North East US, and spring may seem a long way off. (If you’re in the southern hemisphere, or warmer climes, feel free to skip this post. No, we’re not bitter at all.) BUT, we want to assure those of you who haven’t seen your feet out of snow-boots, since oh, the Middle Ages (that can’t just be us?), spring is on its way.

Last week, at a luncheon held by Women in Development, the guest speaker, Claire M. Costello, shared some insightful statistics on the current giving trends of major donors.  “The 2014 U.S. Trust Study of High Net […]

You don’t want to be Scrooge, but what with the release of the US Senate torture report, recent news around the police shootings of Mike Brown and Eric Garner, and more, it’s hard for some nonprofits to be merry this season. So how can your nonprofit keep it upbeat? First things first: discard any plastic smiles.

December is time to spread some much-deserved holiday cheer. We have asked a lot of our donors. Sending a thank you card or holiday card with a special thank you note is a simple – but essential – way to let them know how much you appreciate them.

We’re delighted to announce that Stephanie Arcella, co-founder of TakeTwo Services, and the fundraising brain of TakeTwo will be leading a training on an Introduction to Major Gifts, hosted by the Center for Nonprofit Success.

We are in September – can you believe it? The next few months are going to fly by – with all the holidays, end of the year activities, and work that has to get done. There are some real tangible things you as a fundraiser can do to finish the year off strong. Here’s your bucket list for the final three months – start acting on it now…

Most of us tend to think of the last few months of the year in terms of sadness (“there goes another year”) or eagerness to start anew (“Let’s just brush last year’s mess under the rug, shall we?”).

In nonprofit terms, the same tendencies follow suit — rather than taking a good, hard look at everything that’s gone wrong — and right!

This is TakeTwo’s first BuzzFeed list!  You can see this list in all its visual glory on BuzzFeed here. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Regardless of the different opinions out there about it, IT WORKED. The […]

TakeTwo has been watching the ALS #IceBucketChallenge closely.  Its success is absolutely breathtaking. They have raised nearly $91.6 million dollars more than in the same period of time last year.   We want to shake the […]

Two Cents has focused the last couple of blogs on work culture – the challenges and opportunities to improve it in our modern day’s changing work environment. It’s something we come back to often. As part […]

I’m an avid reader, but by and large, I have a strong aversion to business books. They are usually boring, full or nauseating buzzwords or totally inapplicable to my life as a sole proprietor of a design business. So when everyone started talking about Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, I rolled my eyes and thought, Yuck—I’d never read that.

This past Thursday, we had the pleasure of presenting a webinar with Purvi Shah, former Executive Director of Sakhi for South Asian Women. During the webinar, Purvi shared some of the lessons she learned while serving at the helm. And Bix and I shared our perspective (the consultant perspective) of what it takes to be a successful ED.

Good, loyal, hardworking talent is difficult to find. I’ve always had a visceral reaction to staff turnover. It makes me sad. If I work for the organization myself, I feel vulnerable to the change and afraid for the future of the organization. You can say I don’t like change, and you wouldn’t be wrong. However, over the years, there has proved to be something in my instinctual fear of turnover.

In our society, perfectionism is worn like a badge of honor – revered and touted equally. The best things that come with perfectionism are good quality work and high standards for work performance and product. These things go a long way.

Sometimes, however, perfectionism gets in the way of productivity. For fundraising, perfectionism can be a real problem. If you consider yourself a perfectionist, we’d like to offer some clues to indicate when it might be getting in the way of a job well done…

Can someone who works in communications today, who shares information that might be seen by millions, afford not to strive for perfection?

This year, for International Women’s Day, I’m reflecting on two aspects of women’s leadership that stand out for me: conversation and communication. What difference do they make in leading?

Everyone can get behind the goal of “engaging the public” through social media. Which is imperative. But it’s also valuable to have your staff engage actively with your organization’s online activities. Why?

A few weeks ago, a colleague (@ChrisTuttle) on Twitter asked “What rules should #nonprofits aim for when using Social Media?” We replied, “Engagement not promotion.” And were asked to clarify. Our 117-character response was: Engagement is […]

The time is now. Really. Don’t spend another day without coordinating your nonprofit’s development and communications efforts.

If you’re (still) not sure why, answer these three simple questions…

Happy 2014, dear reader! If you work in communications, you know what the month ofJanuary brings: sure, snow and freezing temperatures, but also… planning time! Many nonprofits do their planning at the end of their fiscal […]

You’ve heard it before, and it will be said again and again. But, it’s worth repeating: content, content, content. Fresh, relevant, and well-produced content is what gets your Likes and Follows up, your emails opened, and […]

The end-of-the-year appeal will be one of foremost communication opportunities with your donors this year. If you’ve sent an end-of-the-year appeal before, your donors are expecting to hear from you, and they have the best intentions to give. Here are some tips for making your annual appeal the most successful yet…

Figure out your target audiences: who is likely to give you what amount, who has given in the past, who you might ask for more this year, whom you need to re-engage? It’s time consuming to […]

If you’ve taken the trouble to organize a really cool, great event, you want everyone to know about it. Especially if you’re raising funds or awareness for a great cause. How can you use social media […]

Fundraising galas are seen as the development / fundraising staff’s job. But you, the marketing staff, know different – promoting the event falls on your shoulders. Here’s a handy checklist to use and share with your development staff. It’ll help you – and them – to make sure that promoting the gala isn’t an afterthought.

So you’re putting on a great fundraising event and you want the world to know about it. Time to call the media! Here are six tips for maximizing your efforts.

1) Embrace the truth! Most reporters aren’t going to be interested in your fundraising event. But that doesn’t mean you do nothing. Instead, consider focus on attracting your top donors and raising money instead of awareness…

You already know that you need more than a donate button on your nonprofit’s website to get people to open their pockets. But what compels people to actually give? These 5 tips help your donation page do its job…

Can your board members be ambassadors for your nonprofit? hey’re usually leaders in their fields, they have extensive networks of contacts and above all, they (most often) are on your board because they feel a strong affinity to your cause. What could be a better recipe for spokespersonship?
But despite possessing all these ingredients, board members often don’t speak up on behalf of the nonprofits they represent. And many an executive director tears her hair out wondering why. The operative word here is “speaking”…

Social media can help you connect in all sorts of ways – with new friends in your field, relatives you rarely see, or ex-boyfriends you’d rather forget. But did you ever think about the ways that social media can help you connect with new board members?

As you might imagine, TakeTwo gets requests for help with this often. Many nonprofits wish to get their Board of Directors in a place where they fundraise often and with more ease. Here are a couple of points to help you think about this and strategize on strengthening your Board’s fundraising abilities.

Sure, you’ve heard over and over (and over), that you have to “build” relationships online, but what does that really mean? Do the same rules as “offline”, in-person relationships apply? Well, yes and no.

I think it is safe to say, nowadays, that our primary form of communication with colleagues, board members, volunteers, and donors is email. While we all wish we could meet with our supporters regularly in person, in reality, we are often introducing ourselves, reengaging with supporters, and offering opportunities via email. Here are my top 10 email etiquette tips in the hopes that you will enjoy the list and, if needed, refresh your memory on some of the best practices.

One of the things I love best about social media is connecting with other people in my field. Many of us can feel isolated, working at a lonely desk, wondering how other people are dealing with such-and-such issue, wishing we could bounce ideas of someone else who does what we do. You can always go the traditional route of joining professional organizations, asking colleagues and friends to connect you with people, or going to conferences and exchanging business cards. But social media makes it so much faster and easier to make the same, sometimes better, contacts.

I’ve just returned from 10 days in Haiti and my head is a jumble of smatterings of Kreyol, broken French and unlearned English. Leaving JFK in a yellow taxi, I scanned the roads for anything that […]

In all charitable fields – from education, animal and human rights, immigration rights/advocacy, health and mental health issues, or international affairs – news items and crises occur. As a fundraiser, I believe it is important for a nonprofit to be able to respond in a timely manner to current events related to its mission. I believe our audiences and donors expect us to have an expert opinion and a response to events, tragedies, or discoveries related to our work. Being a voice in a local, national, or international dialogue only helps to position our organizations as critically-needed, and the “go-to” places to make a difference and take action.

We all know the maxim that timing is everything. Sometimes it’s the difference between a campaign that works and one that flops. Timing is about being relevant but also being ready to jump when an opportunity presents itself.

As many of you know, I’ve just returned from working in Bangalore, India and Dhaka, Bangladesh for about three weeks. Both places were incredible and I could write reams about the people, culture, food, history… But I was there on work and for now, I’ll focus on that. I was mainly there for one client’s projects, but I continued to work on other projects based in the States. I know that many nonprofit staff who work for international NGOs live and work out of suitcases, and in our globally connected world, working…..

Anyone who has tried to fundraise using email, or crowd funding sites such as Kickstarter knows, the money doesn’t just magically start pouring in once you get your page set up.

The key to making online campaigns successful is to connect all the good stuff – the powerful stories, vivid imagery, captivating video, and concise branding and messaging – back to your organization’s relationships. Because, as I say time and time again, it always comes back to relationships.

Social media is, of course, a very important part of our world these days. To consider any kind of campaign (fundraising, advertising, awareness) without incorporating a social component seems unwise. But it can be stressful to implement, especially if you aren’t super savvy in the area of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

In a world post-“Yes, We Can”, everyone knows what a successful campaign can achieve: elect a President. Oh, and raise a gazillion dollars. But many nonprofits can find it hard to apply the lessons from large campaigns to their own, and often think it’s a question of having lots of money and staffing and time.
We’re here to break down the elements of successful campaigns and show you that it’s something you can integrate into the work you’re doing. In fact, we’d bet our last cupcake that many of you are already experts at executing campaigns, but you may never have called ’em that.

Many of the groups we come across and work with seem to recognize the value of strategic planning. Many also invest time and resources to conduct some level of strategic planning for their organizations. We find, however, that the majority of these groups do not approach strategic planning as a comprehensive and collaborative project.

Conferences are wonderful – to learn stuff and of course, to meet people. You come back from the conference on a high, thrilled you’ve made all these new contacts and then you’re greeted by all those pending projects + new things that came up while you were away. Before you know it, those business cards pile up on your desk until one day you shove them into a drawer. So here are my five tips for follow up:

My first, basic and yet completely overlooked tip is this: set aside time for your conference follow up…

Using our assets is something we do in our personal lives – we use our cash; we leverage the value of our homes; we use our educations to build careers; we tap into our friendships and family for things like reliable child care, emotional support, and fun; and we tap into our extended networks for recommendations on products, vacation advice, and job opportunities.

As Executive Directors or Directors of Development, we should be able to use the same skill for the benefit of the organizations we lead. Often times, non profit leaders have a wealth of resources available to them.

In the best of cases, re-branding can be a challenge. And if your nonprofit is a membership organization or a network with deeply invested stakeholders, re-branding can make one feel like Count Dreadula is in the vicinity.

But, fear not, there are ways to do it “right”.

Last week, I had the good fortune of surrounding myself with social media experts and expert hopefuls during the Social Media for Nonprofits New York City Conference. There was a wealth of information to be learned and used, and it is days like this one that make the conference route for ongoing learning seem best – it was great to be able to dedicate 6 hours of my time to all issues social media.

Recently someone asked me if I had ever worked with journalists on social media. As more of us are spending more of our lives on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram, it starts to feel natural that […]

How did a 15-year old organization with a a full-time staff of 13 and a budget of about $3.5 million mobilize a billion people around the planet? By doing things that many nonprofits shy away from – but maybe should consider trying.

The power dynamic of the funder and fundee is often difficult to manage. The onus is usually on the organization being funded to make the relationship a good one. Truth be told, we expect a lot from our funders in return – even though we don’t directly express it often, or get an opportunity to enforce any rules. We have come up with a list of unspoken rules non-profit managers have for funders .

Re-branding is expensive. It’s time-consuming. And it comes with risks. So why do it?
Here’s why: A new mission or a new strategic plan is a great reason to re-brand, even if the organization’s direction has shifted only in subtle ways…

Recently we helped publicize an amazing project with a nationwide scope. We were excited by the possibilities and came up with lots of ideas for pitches and outlets we could approach. As we started talking to […]

what does ongoing learning mean for a development professional?

Well, for one, it means knowing about all kinds of things that may not be in our comfort zone. Such as the newest technology available to nonprofits – the newest crowd funding tools, the most effective ways to use social media for fundraising, the best donor management databases.

A week into 2013 and you’ve probably received more advice about what to do this year than you can read.
But I have two practices to share that won’t just help your nonprofit in 2013– but forever. It’s a tall claim, I know. But I can back it up. I’ve been doing an informal survey over the last two years to glean what helps take some nonprofits to the next level and these two surprising practices have consistently emerged…

The devastation of Friday’s shooting in Connecticut has all of us reeling. For me, working on deadline for a number of projects this week has been a blessed escape. It’s not how I generally recommend dealing […]

If you are a Development professional, an Executive Director, or even a Board member of a nonprofit, set some time aside in January of each year to have planning conversations with your star volunteers and donors. January is the perfect time to bring lead stakeholders (volunteers, event committee members, lead donors, board members)  into your planning process.

If ever there was a time to give thanks, this is it.

Hurricane Sandy has had ripple effects all around our metropolitan region and beyond.  People have lost their lives, houses, cars, possessions, power, and access to gasoline.  And it is becoming clearer and clearer that the recovery […]

TakeTwo Services is located in New York City, which, along with the rest of the North East United States is in the path of Hurricane Sandy. We, along with anyone who has television, radio or internet access, have known this since Friday, October 27th. Yet, marketers (including nonprofits) continue to ignore or “forget” this fact. So, please learn from others, and if you work in marketing for a nonprofit (or any company, like, say The GAP), please don’t do the following: 1) Send out un-related information when a disaster is imminent…

If you work in communications at a nonprofit, I’m sure it’s happened to you before — you spend a week or two writing, editing, and getting the higher-ups’ okay on a press release about your organization’s […]

So, we are all in the heart of it, aren’t we? Nonprofit gala season is upon us and you are likely bogged down in details at the moment – the nitty gritty things like name badges, auction bid sheets, and honoree gifts.
But, don’t distract yourself with the details. Keep focused on the aspect of event planning that is critical to your job – donor relationships.

If you do a Google search for nonprofit storytelling, you’ll come up with about 1.6 million results. Though I can’t say we looked at every single of the million+ hits, the search didn’t reveal a clear way for nonprofits to create a link between the outcomes they seek and the stories they tell. So we created two sets of questions that can guide you in creating compelling stories that result in the actual outcomes you want.

This critical partnership can serve as the mojo behind an organization. It can amount to the difference between an organization scrapping by or reaching a new level of support and visibility. But what is behind the magic? What works and what doesn’t?

As TakeTwo Services enjoys its one year anniversary, we’ve been reflecting on our consulting model of services and how it impacts our clients, our careers, and our lives. We have found that telecommuting, flexible work hours/days, and consulting are critical work place strategies that nonprofits must begin to use confidently to enable American families and households to realize healthier, happier and more productive lives. We also believe, eventually, these strategies will save nonprofits significant money (in office rent, costs of fringe benefits, etc.).

Believe me, we are well aware of the overpriced consultant that does nothing to deserve the money you’ve agreed to pay them. We have hired and worked with the consultant who promises big things and produces […]

Most of us (self included), read today to find a nugget of useful information in every blog post, news article and sometimes, even in books. But we’re not reading. We’re scanning. To me, this is a disaster for communications – especially if you work for a nonprofit.

If you Tweet, post on Facebook, blog, write copy for your org’s website, send newsletters, or even issue press releases, here’s why you should read…

Stories are powerful. And donors, like all human beings, love them. But how do you go about hunting and gathering these stories? Four tips that involve a smart phone, photos, questions and you.

If we agree “IT” is long-term, engaged, and committed donors. People who give want to hear about who they are helping and how they are making a difference in the world and people’s lives.  Stories of […]

Would my mother approve? From age 13 to about twenty-nine-and-a-half, one of my favorite tests before I tried something new was to stop and ask that question. If the answer was no, I would unhesitatingly go for it. Today, my response is quite the opposite, but the test itself is still useful. And I would recommend it for communications folks – and everyone else.

In my ten years experience as a development professional, never have I been able to do my job without the help of communications and marketing experts. Fundraising is selling something, it is that simple. You are selling the great work of a great organization, an opportunity to give and to get involved, a chance to be a part of something for the greater good. You can’t sell something without a message, a brand, an identity. Well, you could try…and struggle every step of the way.