One of the most underrated and underappreciated tools in the toolkits of the most effective nonprofit leaders is vision. The truth is whether it's in nonprofit land or anywhere else, nothing big ever happens without a vision…
You probably already know that client voices can be a key part of influencing decision makers. But it's not automatic. How that messaging is structured has a huge impact on how effective it is and whether it helps cause deci…
Having a strong cadre of powerfully influential champions is a huge asset that can dramatically accelerate your advocacy success. And when you have a key decision maker themselves operating as your champion, that takes thing…
Anyone who's been part of the coalition knows that it can be a complicated set of relationships. Some coalition experiences are fantastic. Others not so much. The best thing is when you and your coalition partners are fully …
If you’ve ever said to yourself, “If only I had a paid advocacy person/team, everything would be great,” you’re in good company. But you might be surprised by the path you need to take to get there. It’s not as intuitive a…
I frequently hear from nonprofit leaders that they feel overwhelmed by the amount of strategic relationships they're trying to build. And they get both frustrated and exhausted trying to move them all forward at once. And it…
Whenever you have the opportunity to meet with your US Representative and Senators in Washington DC, you want to make sure that you get the greatest possible impact for your efforts. A lot of time and expense goes into that …
If I told you that up to 85% of your overall messaging may be undermining your goals for engaging key decisionmakers, you might be alarmed, or you might be skeptical. But many nonprofits are in this situation and don’t real…
To achieve your advocacy goals, you need decision makers to work with you to get that done. They're not going to do that if they don't know you, don't like you and don't trust you. So our number one job in strategic relatio…
A key driver of advocacy success is the effectiveness of your messaging. If your messaging isn't landing, the decision-maker won't engage. It's that simple. But when your messaging is dialed in to that decision maker, they'r…
Whenever you're engaging a decision maker to get them to agree to do something, usually something around money or policy, you're likely to encounter some resistance or objections along the way. You can't make this not happen…
I had the opportunity to interview Dorella Walters, who is the Chief Business Development Officer for God’s Love We Deliver in New York. Her job is basically to prospect for, and develop revenue-generating partnerships that…
Whether you love it or hate it, negotiating with decisionmakers is part of the job of a nonprofit leader. You have to negotiate with funders, contracting partners, policymakers, and more. Like most things, negotiation is a…
If you've ever invited policymakers and other decisionmakers to visit your program, and then been disappointed that it didn't lead to any tangible results, it may be that your design for those visits needs an upgrade. In tod…
I had the opportunity to interview Gilda Nardone, who shared how she built a leadership and advocacy training and support system that helped her organization’s program graduates become powerful advocates on issues they care …
If you’re ready to have a breakthrough advocacy year, 2024 can be that year. To make it happen, you need to apply four main keys with your advocacy team. Today we dig into each of those keys and lay out how you can set yo…
As the end of the year approaches, it's time to take stock of many things. One of the most valuable year-end reviews can be your advocacy review – if you focus on the right things. In this episode, we share: The five most va…
When our strategic relationship building work isn’t yielding the results we’d hoped for, it’s often because we’re inadvertently doing one or more things that actually undermine the goal of building powerful influence with th…
We all have at least one skill we’d like to get better at. And there are all sorts of people offering to teach you just about anything. But so much of skill development is an inside job, and that’s what will make or break y…
You know advocacy is important. And you’ve got some key strategic relationships you want to develop. But it’s so much work! Adding that to an already full plate can feel impossible and overwhelming. But if we don’t do it…
I’ve been inspired by the leaders of many movements from the past and present, but I think I’m the most excited about the youngest leaders who are stepping up to make real change in the world. While it would be easy to be d…
If you’ve ever been in a high-stakes encounter with a decisionmaker, and found yourself stressing out and struggling to engage them effectively while they lob challenging questions at you, you’re not alone. The good news is…
When you have to generate a strategic relationship from nothing, it can feel like an impossible task. Where do you even start? I’m happy to report there are proven methods that you can use to build a strategic relationship…
If your advocacy work has stalled, or just isn’t moving at the pace you want or need, it’s time to intervene and get things back on track. But to do that, you first need to know what has caused the slow-down. The good news…
