Ask for Advice + 9 more Tips for Great Advisory Boards.
During one stretch a few years ago, I found myself on 6 Advisory Boards. I love the idea of Advisory Boards — that’s probably why I kept saying yes! You get to be “in the know” of an organization you care about and you get to share some expertise to help. At least that’s what I thought I was going to do when I joined an Advisory Board. Sadly, many Advisory Boards don’t know how to make the most of the of their Advisory Board members. During one particularly long, painful and boring Advisory Board experience I scribbled down some tips of how we can do better. (And, by “we” I mean me included, because I’ve made my fair share of these mistakes during my tenure!)
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Finding the Courage to Fundraise
Anyone who cares about a “cause” will do some fundraising at some point. It is inevitable. And most people who give also report that they also fundraise for the things they believe in. But many of us will agree to do fundraising “kicking and screaming” mostly because we feel unprepared and therefore insecure about the task.
But regardless of how we feel about fundraising, nonprofits—large and small—depend on their staff and volunteers to muster their courage every day to ask others to support their cause.
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Be Thankful For This Network Challenge
Tis’ the season to be THANKFUL.
Thankful for our families, our friends, our health, and so on. And in this season of thankfulness, I’m reflecting on one of the biggest network challenges we face today.The challenge is the enormous number of people and organizations wanting to do good. This bounty, if not effectively connected, can make it difficult to impact the world's wickedest problems.
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Never Put Down Your Strategic Plan.
Sometimes the mistakes we make are our best teacher. Such is the case with my pursuit of a better way of helping organizations to use their strategic plans.
The mistake that I kept repeating: After hours of work with clients we would produce a beautiful strategic plan! Then, after hand-offs and hugs I would walk away, leaving the talented people at the organization to get to work.
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Innovating with Empathy
Over two years, 23 grantmakers explored how to improve openness and transparency. The grantseekers we learned from made the best case for improving our practices.
“Philanthropy gains impact and trust with grantseekers when funders practice openness. Grantseekers are able to get a stronger sense of the priorities of the funder when there is openness in the relationship.” Gina Weekley - At-Risk Student Supports Coordinator, Waterloo Community School District
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The Six Principles of Great Meetings
Some days we feel like meetings gobble us up. We beg to get back to our desk to do our “real work.” Other days we need an idea, a decision, a breakthrough and our first instinct is to call a meeting for help.
Why are meetings so tricky? Why are we so ambivalent about them? At See What I Mean, we believe meetings are necessary because so much of what we try to accomplish requires human interaction.
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