The Human Heart 🫶🏽
Forget your funnels, ditch your "yield," Your conversion rates and data fields. No #algorithms know the art Of one good human, heart-to-heart.
When Your Reputation Precedes You (And How to Use It Wisely)
Lady Whistledown wielded more power than the Queen herself, yet no one knew her identity. She influenced London society not through royal decree, but through proximity, observation, and the strategic sharing of truth. In the nonprofit world, the most effective transformational leaders operate with similar invisible influence—creating lasting change not by commanding from corner offices, but by embedding themselves in the work itself. The Lady Whistledown of Nonprofit Transformation - Part 2
The Power of the Pen (and the Player-Coach)
Lady Whistledown wielded more power than the Queen herself, yet no one knew her identity. She influenced London society not through royal decree, but through proximity, observation, and the strategic sharing of truth. In the nonprofit world, the most effective transformational leaders operate with similar invisible influence—creating lasting change not by commanding from corner offices, but by embedding themselves in the work itself. The Lady Whistledown of Nonprofit Transformation - Part 2
Dear Reader, Your Organization Has Secrets
Just as Lady Whistledown observed London society from her hidden vantage point, nonprofit leaders often miss the most crucial dynamics happening right under their noses. While they're busy crafting strategic plans and measuring outcomes, the real story of their organization unfolds in hallway conversations, bathroom meetings, and the careful choreography of who gets invited to which "informal" gatherings. The Lady Whistledown of Nonprofit Transformation - Part 1
Make Failure Your Fuel
As summer and my birthday approach this time of year I am always reminded of how we are constantly afforded the opportunity for new beginnings. Graduations, summer adventures, old chapters closing and new doors opening. Yes, it’s a romantic view of our time rotating around the sun and no surprise, I’m a sucker for commencement [...]
General Disruption
In the category of random and possibly inappropriate nicknames, I had a former boss who used to refer to me in public as “General Disruption.” She gave me the nickname because, as she put it, I was there to disrupt the ways in which the organization was thinking about and tactically fundraising. Of course, [...]
Love: The Heart of Fundraising
About three years ago my life was crumbling. My marriage was over, I was trapped in a job I didn’t love, was working insane hours for a very difficult person and it was taking everything I had to hold it all together - for me and for my two kids. I was laying up [...]