Once July 4th rolls around, I begin to anticipate another year rapidly coming to an end. The list of things I intend to accomplish this year looms larger and longer as I realize how little time is left. Year-long giving is always on my list. It’s a habit I talk about all the time. You already know what I’m about to say: Give through-out the year. Be intentional. Gather information about nonprofit ...[Read More]
How Four Simple Behaviors Improved My Giving Habits
How Aunts and Uncles Teach the Next Generation About Giving
The day started normally. Two generations of family members gathered around a table for the annual meeting, intent on making giving decisions for the small family foundation. While only six of us, we represented many roles. Sisters, husbands, daughters, a niece and me, the outsider in this family system, had a lot of work in front of us and a deadline only a few hours away. The deadline marked the ...[Read More]
Take the Grandparent Challenge and Let the Grandkids Tag Along
A morning walk triggered a fond memory in early June, mid-sixties. The water was cold as I jumped into the shallow end of the pool. My grandmother, slowly walking down the pool steps, declared it unusually cold for an early June morning. We were up early for her morning swim so we could beat the young swimming students who would be arriving soon. As I think back on it, I have no memory of her swim ...[Read More]
How to Give Well When a Nonprofit is in Transition
A recent five-hour drive to my dad’s home was more than enough time for thoughts to drift in and out about work over the last several weeks. First, there was a phone conversation with a couple exploring a list of nonprofits and navigating how to make large donations to safe, stable organizations. I reflected on the hard work of being intentional about the giving list and their next steps. T ...[Read More]
How Do You Know If Your Last One-third Has Started?
What if today is the beginning of the last one-third of your life? How will you define success for that last one-third? Generosity or zeroes in the bank? I recently read an article about giving in the last one-third of a lifetime. The writer, Bruce Deboskey, a well-known philanthropy consultant, was talking about donors beyond the age of 65. Of course, I immediately wondered how many of us know wh ...[Read More]
How Do You Slow Nonprofit Traffic in Your Mailbox?
Frankly, I’m stumped. A friend asked how to get nonprofit organizations to stop sending information, invites and fundraising letters. What makes this a complicated question, and what I explained to my friend, is that nonprofits learn a relationship with a donor takes more than one connection – more than one mailing, more than one e-mail or newsletter. Nonprofits learn it takes at least seven ...[Read More]