I’ve always liked an expo hall that runs smoothly with all the exhibitors content – busy when they should be, and happily quiet when the traffic clears out. But you know what? There’s something to be said for a fun expo hall! The booths that gather a rowdy crowd or produce a lot of laughter tend to get a lot more traffic.
Read MoreFund raising is matchmaking, plain and simple. You have a marketing opportunity to offer, and somebody with money recognizes that good opportunity and will pay for it. So, communicating exactly what you have to offer, and sincerely listening to determine whether it’s truly what the prospect needs, is your first exciting challenge.
Read MoreI’m a political news junkie. I admit it. I kicked the sugar dependency, I can limit myself to four ounces of wine each evening, and I refuse all opiates for the rare pain I might have, but I suck up political news and reporting and “speeching” like nobody I know. I watch it all. (Yes, I’m of that generation that still has a thing in her living room called a television.) How bad is my affliction? I watched ALL the debates.
Read MoreI know what you’re thinking: “There are a myriad of ways to use that word.” If your mind immediately goes to “of” after “myriad,” just stop it, please! That construction, which we hear at every turn, is just plain wrong. I heard it again this afternoon; I hear it almost everyday. A beautiful Greek word that means, literally, ten thousand, has been adopted – and very poorly – by just about every Tom, Nick and Shari.
Read MoreHere’s an idea: If you want to sell your expertise, first give it away. If you want people to pay you for your wisdom or knowledge or understanding, start by giving them some really good free samples! Share what you know, with no strings attached. In that way you develop your reputation as an expert.
Read MoreRecently I was cleaning out old – really, really old – files on my computer, the kind that, had they been food, would now be covered with mold and crawling with bugs. Old files! And I came across this story I wrote – oh, probably 12 or 13 years ago. I never did anything with it; maybe I wrote it just to vent. Who knows? It’s a pretty good story, though, so I want to share it with you. Pretty unbelievable, actually. It’s about customer service gone very, very wrong.
Read MoreAfter a number of years as the expo hall manager (or “concierge”?), when I was working strictly in non-profit fund development, I finally got a chance to stand on the other side of the table. Just a few weeks ago I had the privilege of representing one of my corporate clients at a healthcare conference. Having been the one to recruit and contract the exhibitors and sponsors, to assign the tables and see that each one’s display packages were available for set up, to check on everyone’s access to electricity and satisfaction with the flow of traffic – finally I got to be one of “them.”
Read MoreWe think fundraising success is more about attitude – yours – than about knowledge or skill. If you work for or volunteer with a worthy nonprofit, it’s likely you can successfully raise money from the corporate world, but you might need to change your attitude just a bit.
Read MoreWe’ve said we don’t recommend that you create your own resume. As our friend who is a licensed mental health counselor, often says, “You are in the worst possible position to understand and appreciate your own value.” That said, you might be determined to do it yourself, and that means you’ll have to create the very first section. It might be the only section of your resume that is ever read.
Read MoreIt's "preventive medicine." Does that sound funny to you? Sure, that’s why you want to call it “preventative.” All those syllables just feel right. They make it sound like quantitative or qualitative or administrative. “And “preventative” is a perfectly good word – it’s just not an adjective, so it can’t describe medicine or anything else – not now, not today, not ever.
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