
The new school year is another time of year I use as a check in point. Summer is over – did I binge watch too much? Yes, but I am catching up on This Is Us, so I have a good excuse. Did I spend too much time with friends? There is no such thing. Did I do all of the busy work I hoped to achieve in slow months? No, but I did have time to assess and look forward. So, here is what I thought about most recently:
Things I like about my job as a nonprofit consultant. I get to:
- Help nonprofits achieve their vision and mission
- Teach people to (proverbially) fish. You are not hiring me (and Mersky, Jaffe & Associates) to do your fundraising. You are hiring me to teach you, your staff, and board to participate
- Let board and staff members see that giving can be an amazing feeling for a donor
- Show how asking for money does not have to be a horrible, scary, gut-wrenching process.
Things I do not like about my job as a nonprofit consultant:
- Certain people (you know who you are) give me dirty looks when I suggest they fundraise or donate.
- Individuals who would be so great at fundraising won’t get past their fear.
- Board members who assume others should do all the fundraising
- When organizations don’t achieve their goals because of their fears.
Things I want to do this year:
- Train more people to raise more money.
- Help individuals and organization’s change their mindset on fundraising.
- Explain ways that board members can raise money without having to ask their friends (although I am not opposed to helping those who do want to ask their friends.)
- Consider new ways to encourage accountability of fundraising in a campaign. Maybe working with new interim deadlines to utilize the science behind urgency as a motivator.
If you would like to help me accomplish my goal, of teaching you to fish, email me today.
If you have other ideas of things I should accomplish this year, connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter.
If you just want to say hi, I would welcome that too.
I hope your fall is filled with many achievements.