May 6, 2021 | Fundraising
Julie Whelan Capell | Fundraisers everywhere want to know: is it safe to start planning for in-person special events again? The short answer is YES! In many parts of the country, professional sports teams have already begun inviting fans back into the stands. AMC has opened all of its movie theaters, with physical distancing and […]
April 22, 2021 | Board Development | Planning
Sara Wilson, CPCC, ACC | In my last post I talked about a few organizational risks caused by avoiding board succession planning and promised to provide some approaches to mitigate those risks. Succession planning isn’t an easy topic to broach, especially if there are long-term board members and no term limits. I recommend organizations plan for […]
April 15, 2021 | Board Development | Planning
Sara Wilson, CPCC, ACC | What does board succession have to do with gardening? Just like your garden in spring, you need to evaluate what parts of your board are thriving, what is failing, and what just needs to go away. Everything needs renewing, even the board. Admittedly, it can be easy to stay with […]
April 12, 2021 | Organizational Development | Planning
Sara Wilson, CPCC, ACC | It’s spring and as an avid gardener I’m thinking about seasonal changes and starting to tend my garden. How are you tending to your organization in anticipation of inevitable staff changes? Pause just for a minute. If your mindset was that staff changes could actually benefit your organization and were […]
April 5, 2021 | Fundraising
Julie Whelan Capell| I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked what to do about donors who don’t want any of their donation to pay for overhead. Do these donors work for for-profit businesses? Do those businesses pay their employees wages? Benefits? Do they have an office that needs electricity and heat […]
March 25, 2021 | Coaching
Sara Wilson, CPCC, ACC | “Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.” — Oprah Winfrey Now at the end of the first quarter of 2021, most leaders are caught up in the inexorable rhythm of the work year. We are sprinting from task to […]
March 18, 2021 | Board Development | Finances/Budgets
Sara Wilson | I’ve never seen a board member job description that says “don’t be a bobble head” but they should. I strongly advocate for board members to think critically and ask questions. In fact, board members have a legal responsibility–the Duty of Care–to make informed decisions, meaning they need to gather facts and ask […]
February 26, 2021 | Teambuilding
Sara Wilson | Recognizing and thanking employees is one of the keys of teambuilding. When executives and managers I coach ask about improving teambuilding or organizational culture, I always discuss the POWER of appreciation. Teams that work well together are found more frequently in organizations where appreciation is both vertical and horizontal (appreciation is expressed […]
February 2, 2021 | Coaching
Sara Wilson | One area my executive coaching clients often work on with me is their mindset about change. We all have one — a mindset. In other words, a perception or attitude about something. Today I want to talk about *change*. Merriam-Webster defines change as a) to make different in some particular way, *ALTER*; […]
January 26, 2021 | Teambuilding
Sara Wilson | Teambuilding and goal-setting go hand-in-hand, so start the year by dusting off plans and setting new goals. Should you do this in the time of COVID? Yes, most certainly! Teambuilding and goal-setting are more important than ever, Teams who know each others individual goals have more clarity about how their goal contributes […]