Seventy Hours a Week
“I work up to 70 hours a week and I don’t get paid for it. But I love it. I love every minute of it.” I was talking with Doug…
Ready for the World
It was the summer of 2018 and I had just returned from a conference. My mind was jumpy, unsettled, and bouncing around like a pinball in an arcade game. Conversations…
The Digital Imperative
We were in a small cozy office. I sat across the desk from her. She sighed. “I’ve been in this business for 15 years. I know what we need to…
Crafting a Digital Campaign
"We're so behind on digital fundraising... I don't even know where to start!" I've heard this phrase more times than I can count recently from development officers at conferences and…
Bob Ross FTW
“What about Bob Ross?,” I said. “Yes... He’s iconic, he’s revered by our traditional audiences, and younger generations love him,” our social media manager contemplated, “we could do trivia and…
The Struggle Is Real
Imagine… A young fundraising director has been hired to raise money for a newly created division of a university. He is filled with ideas for events and community collaboration, including…
Why I Wrote a Book
I was on a plane flying back from a public media conference in Chicago when the idea started to settle deep into my mind. Like a rogue bramble that nestled…
Taking the Leap
I can still see the shimmering blue water at least 10 feet beneath my toes which were gripping the edge of the high dive platform. I was about to try…
Attack of a Clone
It's not a Facebook message you want to see, particularly early on a Thanksgiving morning when you have guests arriving in a few short hours and a list of things…
Allure of the Forest
I was trying to focus on writing but the dog was driving me crazy. She needed exercise stat. I dropped everything and headed to the dog park figuring that a…