Between the waning light and the kind of tucking in that happens around the solstice, and the anticipation of closing one year and opening a new one. It's the perfect time to do some reflection on how the year has gone for u…
One of the most problematic tropes that gets emphasized over and over again for nonprofit leaders can wind up absolutely wrecking your ability to really connect with decision makers. That’s the belief that you must be ultra-…
As nonprofit leaders, one of the many roles we have is that we are marketers. And if that's not part of the way you think about your role, or if that creates a little resistance for you, hang in there for a minute. Because t…
It's Thanksgiving time and we're all reflecting on things that we're thankful for. I think that can be particularly challenging at this moment in time when we're dealing with a lot of challenges in terms of the political env…
Let me ask you this: When you’re in meetings with decisionmakers, what are you most focused on? If you’re like most advocates, you got a lot going on in your head. You’re thinking about your framing, and making sure it reso…
We have a lot to talk about in this time following the elections. I understand that everyone is still processing, myself included. And yet, it is time to begin turning our attention to: What do we do now? There is some clari…
This is a really tough time for all of us in the progressive nonprofit world. And I wanted to share a few early thoughts, even as we don't have complete answers on all of the election results. But we have some very important…
In this week’s episode we're taking a look at two of the most common decisionmaker behaviors that frequently throw advocates off their game. It definitely doesn't have to be that way, but I see it all the time. So I want to …
The 2024 elections are less than two weeks away. And if your world is anything like mine, you and just about everybody in it are stressing out right now. There's a lot of anxiety. There's a lot of worry. There's a lot of fea…
As an advocate, one of your main goals is to get to the money and policy decision makers that have the power to make decisions that are going to affect your organization and the people you serve. And one of the things I hear…
We're less than 30 days out from the 2024 elections. And I don't have to tell you there's a lot at stake up and down the ballot. From the presidential race to congressional and Senate races, to state legislatures. And on dow…
Today we're talking about something that I hear so often from nonprofit leaders just freaks them the heck out, and that's negotiating. The truth is, nonprofit leaders are negotiating all the time. But many leaders tell me it…
The frustration I hear most often from the nonprofit leaders I work with, is that the money and policy decision makers in their world don't seem to get the value of what they do. And that comes In a lot of forms and flavors.…
Has this ever happened to you? You go to engage a decision-maker. There's something specific you want from them. And you start laying out your case and you can tell you're losing them. They're not engaging. They're kind of g…
There is no question about the significance of the 2024 elections from the presidential race on down to every single local race. I'm pretty sure I don't have to convince you on that front. Nor do I have to convince you how m…
Opportunity is everywhere. But too often, we miss those opportunities because we didn't know about them at all, or we didn't find out about them in time to capitalize on them. The truth is most nonprofit CEOs are pretty good…
What if one or two changes in your leadership behavior could transform the way you feel about the work, inspire your team, and achieve new levels of success? I spend a lot of time with nonprofit leaders of all different size…
None of us has gotten where we are alone. And none of us are going to get where we're going alone. We always have others who are helping and supporting us, whether we realize and acknowledge it or not. Whether it's a formal …
The energy you bring to an encounter with a decisionmaker has a huge impact on your ability to engage and influence them. You can be as prepared as you want to be with all your facts and messaging. But if you don't bring an …
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You have some key pieces of data that you know should speak to your decision maker. It's obvious to you that these data points basically scream, our stuff solves your problem, and it solves i…
One of the frustrations I often hear from nonprofit leaders is, yeah, we got a handful of great allies and champions, but we can't seem to grow the bench. We'd love to build even more of those powerfully influential relation…
One of the biggest challenges nonprofit leaders face is engaging decision makers around the information and data that we know make a compelling case for the policy or money decision we're asking for. But we know from experie…
On this 4th of July week, it’s a good time to pause and reflect. Democracy has always been messy, always imperfect, and always a work in progress. If we’re paying attention, we know that democracy is an ongoing project. What…
Pilots can be a great strategy for setting the stage for sustainable funding. Many nonprofits have successfully leveraged a pilot project to unlock millions of dollars in funding and to achieve key policy changes that ensure…
