Welcome to “Tip of the Morning, to you!” where Cathy shares a quick tip about the Fundraiser’s 4-step Learning and Action Journey. The journey is a common path that fundraisers follow as they move through their careers.

Step 2 of the journey is called "Building the Plane While Flying It." You’ve been at it for a while now and have learned so much. In fact, you might a bit overwhelmed. There is so much to do and still you have TO RAISE MONEY! You’re keen to learn even more.

Tip #5: VOLUNTEER. Cathy can’t state this enough. When you’re able to, volunteering will add an important perspective to your work. You can learn so much from sitting on a board. Cathy came to understand some board/staff dynamics in a different way as a result of finally seeing both sides of the equation. And volunteering with groups you feel passionate about can feed your soul and keep you connected to your passion: social change and the power of communities.

Want to...

Welcome to another installment of “Tip of the Morning to You!” If you’re on Step 1 (I Can Do This!) of a Fundraisers Learning and Action Journey, you’re enthusiastic and have some experience working or volunteering in the sector. While you bring a lot of skills to the job, there are a lot of things you’re not familiar with or aware of: about the job, about the sector and about the profession. But you’re keen to learn.

Tip #4:  DON’T EXPECT PERFECTION OF YOURSELF – you’re learning new skills. And the time we are living in is requiring us to be bold. Don’t let an attempt at perfection paralyze or prevent you from taking action. Well-planned but slightly flawed action is better than inaction.

Want to see the entire Learning and Action Journey and a bunch of fundraising tips? Take a look here.

Welcome to “Tip of the Morning to You!”

Step 1: I Can Do This!

You’re enthusiastic and have some experience working or volunteering in the sector. While you bring a lot of skills to the job, there are a lot of things you’re not familiar with or aware of: about the job, about the sector and about the profession. But you’re keen to learn.

Tip #3: PRACTICE HUMILITY. 

Ours is a profession with a body of knowledge. If you are coming to this sector from another sector, acknowledge that we have years of experience, research and best practices. And while ours is a profession that, like any, can benefit from some shaking up, we also have a collective wisdom from experience and research.

Want to see the entire Learning and Action Journey in a really cool little chart? Click here to download the entire guide.

Welcome to “Tip of the Morning to You!” If you’re on Step 1 (I Can Do This!) of a Fundraiser’s Learning and Action Journey, you’re enthusiastic and have some experience working or volunteering in the sector. While you bring a lot of skills to the job, there are a lot of things you’re not familiar with or aware of: about the job, about the sector and about the profession. But you’re keen to learn.

Tip #2: LEARN the rules so you can be strategic and confident about breaking them. There is so much to learn. Fundraising is full of many disciplines that you have to bring together to craft a comprehensive fundraising plan. But learn the basics and once you have some mastery, you can begin to experiment and break the rules. 

There are lots of ways to learn: go to conferences, take courses (check out FundraisingLab.ca), join Spark, read books and blogs, listen to podcasts, implement new initiatives at work (nothing teaches you how to do...

Welcome to my series: “Tip of the Morning, to you!” where I share a quick tip about the Fundraiser’s 4-step Learning and Action Journey I created and that you can find in my online Membership Community, Spark.

It’s a common path that fundraisers follow as they move through their careers. It’s a learning journey because the best fundraisers I know never stop learning. And I’ve added in the action part because fundraising requires us to raise money, so we have a lot to DO, too.

Step 1: I Can Do This!

You’re enthusiastic and have some experience working or volunteering in the sector. While you bring a lot of skills to the job, there are a lot of things you’re not familiar with or aware of: about the job, about the sector and about the profession. But you’re keen to learn.

Tip #1: FIND A MENTOR. Fundraising is such a broad profession with so many disciplines, that it’s hard to know where to start your journey. So, find a mentor...

This is a time for Resilience. Grit. Perseverance. Collaboration. Selflessness. Altruism. Not just in our world of fundraising but in all life. This a time for EQ – not IQ. Above all, this is a time for kindness.

In today's video, I will be talking about some of the interactions I have been having over the past week, some thoughts to keep in mind, and a little bit of advice to get you through this trying time,

Take gentle care.

Cathy

And we’re being asked to be extraordinary in response. 

For some it feels like the world is swirling out of control and we're seeing and hearing about the fear, concern and downright panic people are feeling.

So, this is our attempt at offering some comfort – or at least some perspective as you try to adjust in these trying times.

We hope you like it.

COVID-19 has changed everything. How do you keep fundraising when folks are worried about the state of the world and worried about their health?

In this video, I'll explain 5 tangible actions and things to keep in mind during this time including KYPU! (watch the video to see what that means.)

Take gentle care.

Cathy

As life becomes harder and more threatening, it also becomes richer, because the fewer expectations we have, the more the good things of life become unexpected gifts that we accept with gratitude. -- Etty Hillesum

If you want to succeed at fundraising, you can't simply work hard at raising money. You need to create the right conditions within your organization - the enabling ecology - for fundraising to thrive.

The enabling ecology approach  intentionally integrates the culture of philanthropy and your organizational values directly into your fundraising program.

In this video, Cathy Mann, MA, CFRE shares the four elements of the enabling ecology and why you need all four for fundraising to thrive. 

Read the full article now

It may be hard to reflect on the worst thing about your last fundraising event. But as Chris Baylis of the Sponsorship Collective reveals, this type of data is critical to getting companies interested in sponsoring your organization.

In anticipation of our first webinar, The Fundraisers' Guide to Corporate Giving, webinar hosts Cathy Mann & Chris Baylis sat down and recorded a podcast episode about what is often perceived as the "secretive" world of cause sponsorship.

In the episode, Chris and Cathy discuss how the last thing fundraisers should do to try to attract sponsorship dollars is to send a sponsorship proposal. And how little mission matters when it comes to sponsorship.

So, if you work for a charity, how do you get a company interested in sponsoring your organization? According to Chris, there are two key components to sponsorship success: valuation and audience data. 

If you're looking to get a...