I teach nonprofit professionals - over 5,000 and counting! - how to grow their organizations with practical, action-oriented templates and tools. From event sponsorship packages, grant proposals, board orientation handbooks, and everything in between, I focus on helping you save time, effort and precious resources. As a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), I've raised 25 million+ for other organizations, and now my passion is to help you do the same for yours. Join the weekly newsletter to get time saving tips, tricks and action plans you can implement today to accelerate your nonprofit.
Did you notice I forgot to send an email...
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Hey Reader, Guess where I am currently...in Nairobi, Kenya! As you may or may not know, I'm still very much an active fundraiser supporting amazing organizations in growing and mobilizing their funding. Which takes me to some amazing places around the world, including East Africa! I had all these plans to stay on top of my weekly newsletter (I haven't missed a Tuesday email in over a year) and then...life happened. Early mornings (including safari!), packed days, and very fun but very late nights left no time to get out this week's newsletter. Which got me thinking...what do we do when life gets in the way? We're in the 2nd quarter of the year, which means this is usually the time those January strategy meetings start to become a blur, the annual goals you set start to get pushed to the wayside, and that weekly habit you SWORE you would incorporate to retain donors suddenly feels less urgent. Life happens. When I realized I slipped and forgot to write a weekly newsletter, my immediate reaction was to turn the blame on myself: Ugh I can't believe I forgot! I should've woken up earlier...or skipped that coffee with a friend...or... But beating yourself up doesn't change anything. In fact, it makes everything worse. There's a lot of science that backs this up - and I know from personal experience that focusing on the "should have's" doesn't actually accomplish anything.
Let me say that again: Focusing on what you should have done doesn't accomplish anything.
Instead, this is what I do (or at least try to do when I remember!):
By doing this, I'm not blaming myself - nor am I running away from the surrounding context that contributed to it. You can still take accountability without beating yourself up. But the most important thing is to decide what you're going to do about it now! In my case, I decided to write this email, to use it as a moment to reflect on myself, be a little vulnerable with you, and still get out an email today. After all, even if I missed a Tuesday, I didn't miss the week! And that is still a win. So what about you - have you had a slip up recently? What are you going to do now? Cheers,
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Kay @ NonProfit Life
I teach nonprofit professionals - over 5,000 and counting! - how to grow their organizations with practical, action-oriented templates and tools. From event sponsorship packages, grant proposals, board orientation handbooks, and everything in between, I focus on helping you save time, effort and precious resources. As a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), I've raised 25 million+ for other organizations, and now my passion is to help you do the same for yours. Join the weekly newsletter to get time saving tips, tricks and action plans you can implement today to accelerate your nonprofit.
Hey Reader, Does this sound familiar: You sit down to make a call to a donor, or write an email or grant narrative. You try to sound professional, grateful, maybe even a little urgent. But when it’s time to make the ask… it just feels off. Here’s a typical example I see all the time: “Hi Sarah, I hope you're doing well! I wanted to let you know we're raising money for our program again this year and really need your support. Any amount would help. Let me know if you’d be willing to donate....
Hey Reader, If you’ve been applying for grants and hearing nothing back—you’re not alone. Grants are becoming more and more competitive - especially with recent changes to federal funding and attacks on the nonprofit sector. Here's the truth: Most grant strategies fail because they’re built on cold outreach, no relationships, and a hope-for-the-best application cycle. Grants can be a powerful source of funding, but only if you approach them with the right strategy. Here’s what I recommend...
Hey Reader, I know from conversations with you that there's a mix of people following NonProfit Life, from experienced fundraisers with $50M+ budgets to those who are just starting their nonprofit journey. If you’re in the latter group, you’ve probably asked the question: “What do I do if I’m starting from zero?” If I were starting from scratch today, here’s the strategy I’d follow. It’s simple and effective, and I call it the 2-prong strategy. This strategy starts with creating two lists...