Ten years ago, the country plunged into a recession deep enough to have a grinding impact on America’s charities. When I read those last two words together, I think about my nonprofit friends right here in my community. When the Chronicle of Philanthropy ran an article with the headline: A Response to America’s Favorite Charities 2018: A Lost Decade? Not for America’s Charities that Tap the Afflue ...[Read More]
The Surprising Staying Power of the Middle Class Donor
How to Fund Community Change with Shared Passion
A Tale of Two Cities – oh, I meant Two Coalitions. Besides the name has already been taken and I can’t begin to write as eloquently as Charles Dickens. But I can give it my best shot at being succinct about the importance of paying attention to change work going on in your community. Communities are always in a state of change – good or bad. It’s when people come together with a shared passion for ...[Read More]
How to Give Like the Mega-Wealthy
Are you familiar with the idiom, “he puts his pants on one leg at a time,” often followed by “just like everyone else.” Well, that’s what I thought about as I read an article detailing a study of the wealthiest donors and how they make giving decisions. The study results were released in late 2017 by The Philanthropy Workshop (TPW), known to many as a leader in philanthropy education and donor net ...[Read More]
How to Travel Making a Unique Difference
With summer officially over, some of us are turning our focus to the holidays that are swiftly approaching. But for the planners amongst us now is the prime-time for planning next summer’s adventures. In a recent travel blog called Multi Briefs, I read an interesting statistic about millennials and travel. “81 percent of millennials volunteered in the destinations they visited, 78 percent donated ...[Read More]
Every Gift You Make Leaves a Lasting Impression
Something had stained the new Tervis tumbler. I scrubbed harder; they didn’t come off. Holding it up to the light streaming through the kitchen window, I could see them plain as day. Fingerprints. Permanently etched onto the plastic glass, there were the tell-tell signs from squeezing the lemon just before grabbing up the glass for a refreshing drink. The glass is now branded, and just like your g ...[Read More]
How to Be the Unique Giver You Were Designed to Be
I have a friend who loves to go to party fundraisers. Her husband finds a buddy to talk with while she dances from one group to another because she loves people and doesn’t want to miss a single friend. And for her, it’s all the more enjoyable because she can have so much fun while supporting an important cause. I met with a woman who unexpectedly inherited a large sum of money from a ...[Read More]