by Cyndi Lauren | May 10, 2018 | annual gala, development and fundraising, Making Money, Nonprofit operations
Ok, its that time of year, again. Pay for the tickets, get a babysitter, get dressed, head out: Look for signs: parking, ballroom, bathroom Stand in line to check in & get table number Stand in line at the bar Chicken or veggie pasta: both tragic It’s too...
by Cyndi Lauren | Apr 18, 2018 | communications, development and fundraising, Nonprofit operations
Messaging: a very hot topic in nonprofit development: are you getting it right? What is messaging? How does it work, abd How does it work best? Let’s start with a definition: What is a message? Dictionary.com: Noun: a communication containing some information,...
by Cyndi Lauren | Apr 10, 2018 | communications, development and fundraising, donor advice, Fresh Eyes, Making Money, Nonprofit operations
Thank You As hard as you work to attract a new donor, you still need to be sure you keep your current donors interested in what you are doing enough to continue to donate. A prompt, sincere thank you is the one of most effective ways to do just that. * (*aside from...
by Cyndi Lauren | Apr 2, 2018 | communications, Nonprofit operations, Strategic Planning
What is brainstorming? Brainstorming is using our collective brains and ideas to answer a question or solve a problem. Bringing a small group together to tackle and issue that is important all of you to jointly address a problem can have many benefits. Having a few...
by Cyndi Lauren | Mar 22, 2018 | communications, development and fundraising, Making Money, Nonprofit operations
There are several basic truths about fundraising- It is not always the glamorous black tie gala with trips to the French Riviera hosted at the nicest place in town. It is not sending out an email to everyone and getting lots of money by return mail. It is not writing...
by Cyndi Lauren | Mar 3, 2018 | development and fundraising, Emergency Planning, Financial Reporting, fiscal management, Nonprofit operations, Protecting Yourself
The organization was a small self defense program, teaching real world self defense skills to women, children and men. Most of the instructors were volunteers and the office was managed by the Executive Director who was the founder and a board member as an...
by Cyndi Lauren | Mar 1, 2018 | development and fundraising, Nonprofit operations
Very often biggest issue for nonprofits is how to raise enough money to do the work they want. Fundraising is an absolute necessity for almost everyone, and understanding the reality of where the funds come from is essential to smart planning. These 4...
by Cyndi Lauren | Feb 13, 2018 | communications, development and fundraising, messaging, Nonprofit operations
Have you ever attended a talk or presentation and walked out wondering what it was about? Have you received a solicitation or fundraising packet and not known exactly what they were doing, other than asking for money? Have you walked away from an event wondering why...
by Cyndi Lauren | Jan 30, 2018 | communications, development and fundraising, Nonprofit operations
Events are a big part of many fundraising programs; a truism of them is how labor intensive they can be. WIth so many moving parts, so many different people to manage; volunteers, donors, guests, staff, vendors, speakers, all who need your time and...
by Cyndi Lauren | Jan 9, 2018 | Nonprofit operations
DO’S 1. Prepare Thoroughly: Think things all the way through( from the beginning of the campaign to after its over) and with all due respect to Nike, don’t just do it. Start by defining the who, what, where, when and why; plot out the course of the fundraising...
