Increase innovation: mandate three day weekends
Despite our incredibly full work schedules, Jon and I actually spent a weekend away from work. The weather was just gorgeous, sunny and warm, and even the downpour Saturday night couldn’t spoil our...
View ArticleThe more things change…
“… no one was really happy with the old social contract, which was showing signs of wear and tear, but no one was really ready to propose a new one. Instead, we bashed our government, cut taxes for the...
View ArticleWhat one book changed your professional life?
This is the question for this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival, hosted by Nancy Schwartz. It’s a tough one because there are so many books I could choose from over what is now a pretty long career. But...
View ArticleHot off the presses!
BUY IT FOR YOUR BOARD TODAY! Thank you!. Gayle’s newest book was just released by Emerson and Church, publishers of Contributions Magazine. It’s an updated version of How are we Doing? her one-hour...
View ArticleFundraising tips from the scientists of persuasion
If you haven’t read Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive, by Noah J. Goldstein, PhD et. al. run and get a copy (or request it from your local library). This nifty little book provides...
View ArticleNonprofit marketing – from the inside out
“How can an organization effectively engage consumers when it is unable to engage its own staff members and volunteers?” For me, this statement nicely sums up the point of Sybil F. Stershic’s new book,...
View ArticleOur 2013 wishes for peace, good health and well-being
I don’t want you just to sit down at the table. I don’t want you just to eat, and be content. I want you to walk out into the fields where the water is shining, and the rice has risen. I want you to...
View ArticleRetire the donor pyramid? Replace it with a vortex? What’s a fundraiser to do?
Goodbye pyramid. Hello vortex. If you are a fundraiser, you’ve probably been taught that icon of fundraising, the donor pyramid. The pyramid has been traced back to the 1960s work of Robert and Joan...
View ArticleMonthly giving? A handy guide to start your program
You’d be well served by ordering a copy of Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant, a very helpful handbook on monthly sustainer programs written by direct marketing expert Erica Waasdorp. But before I...
View ArticleTwo terrific new books for your nonprofit bookshelf
Check out Gayle’s contribution to two new books recently published for the “In The Trenches” series of CharityChannel Press. When You and Your Nonprofit Board, edited by Terrie Temkin, arrived in our...
View ArticleImprove your strategic planning – WRAP it!
If ever there was a book that could help improve strategic planning, it’s Decisive, How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work. In this book, authors Chip and Dan Heath reveal the cause of so many...
View ArticleThank you for your service
The late, great Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm once said: Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. I’m thinking a lot about service today. A client of mine is giving a copy...
View ArticleThe Essential Fundraising Handbook for Small Nonprofits
“Just because you work for a small nonprofit doesn’t mean you have to raise small dollars.” I am so excited to announce the release of this exciting new resource for fundraisers who work in small...
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