In this episode, Nancy and Sarah explain what “big picture thinking” is, why it matters, and how your organization can expand how you think about your work.
Episode 64: Demystifying the donor meeting
Donor meetings can be mysterious and stressful to some. Making an ask for money isn't something we all intuitively know how to do. In this episode, Nancy and Sarah demystify the donor meeting to explain what happens at a typical donor meeting and how you can best prepare. They provide tips on how to think about donor meetings as opportunities to build a relationship with an important member of your community. You'll finish your listening with concrete ideas on how you can strengthen your donor meetings.
Episode 63: The Art of Nonprofit Gatherings
Nonprofits host a lot of gatherings: board meetings, fundraising events, volunteer trainings, etc. In this episode, Nancy and Sarah explore how to create transformational gatherings, from board meetings to fundraising events. They draw on the wisdom of gathering expert Priya Parker to expand how we think about events and simple steps we can do to make them more meaningful. They consider how to give each event a purpose, ways to create magical spaces that are different from people's everyday world, and how to begin a gathering. You will walk away with tips on how you can create transformational gatherings.
Episode 62: Nonprofit Sleuthing: Something is wrong, but what?
Nancy and Sarah regularly get asked nonprofit questions. Often they are in the form of “This is happening in our nonprofit. Is that normal?” In this episode, Nancy and Sarah talk about common questions and how they would approach them. You will learn strategies to get to the bottom of what your nonprofit’s challenge really might be. Grab your magnifying glass to practice how you might sleuth out what’s at the core of keeping you from meeting your mission.
Episode 61: Habits for a strong new year
A new year has begun, and for many that means resolutions. In this episode, Nancy and Sarah talk about what mission-supporting habits they are going to focus on as we start a new year. You’ll get some ideas on how you might approach the year to set yourself up for success.
Episode 60: Becoming a community giving ambassador
Many of us know community giving projects. They are community-wide invitations to give to your favorite nonprofits usually on one day or in one period of time. Our colleagues in Washington State may know GiveBig. In this episode, Sarah tells Nancy about the story of her local community giving project, Give Methow, and how it has created giving ambassadors throughout the community. They talk about some of the general lessons any nonprofit leader can learn from Give Methow and why it matters.
Episode 59: End-of-year fundraising: Four strategies to meet your goals
It is mid-November, and you have six weeks to meet your organization's fundraising goal for 2022. What are your options? In this episode, Nancy and Sarah talk through four end-of-year fundraising strategies for folks who may be falling short on their fundraising goal. As the 2022 clock counts down, there's still time to be strategic and find ways to invite your donors or potential donors to be a part of the important work you do.
Episode 58: I am busy.
We are hearing it all the time. We ask someone "How are you?," and their response is "Busy!" We get asked, and our natural response is the same: "I'm so busy." In this episode, Nancy and Sarah talk about why "busy" can work against what we are really trying to achieve. They explore the emotions behind it and alternatives to describe how we are actually doing. Ultimately we are busy doing important things, and we want to invite conversation about that.
Episode 57: My board members won’t….
"My board members won't...." fill in the blank: attend meetings, raise money, get more deeply involved in the issues we are facing, etc. In this episode, Nancy and Sarah talk about why board members won't and what Executive Directors, board chairs, and others can do about it. They unpack what might be behind the "won't" and how we can change how we exchange board members to turn a "won't" to a "will."
Episode 56: What to do about inflation
Nonprofits are facing all of the same inflationary pressures as others across our communities. In this episode, Nancy and Sarah talk about how a nonprofit can respond to inflation, particularly related to finance and fundraising. They share some ideas for thinking about salary adjustments, communicating with donors and supporters, and engaging board members in scenario planning. They highlight the importance of true cost accounting and advocacy as ways to expand the amount of money you have to work with. You got this.