Connection with Others

“The need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food.” ~ Dean Ornish

Science has shown that the happiest, most resilient individuals are those who have forged strong relationships with other people.

How Can a Small Nonprofit Cultivate Board Members and Turn Them Into Ambassadors?

Short answer Thank each board member personally for the specific things they do, keep them supplied with stories from your work, and invite them to …

Short answer Thank each volunteer for the specific thing they did, soon after they did it, and tell them what difference it made. Recognition that …

Short answer: Start with notes. Writing lets you choose your words at your own pace, and a few warm notes give you and the donor something to talk …

[Updated 2026] Some words stay with you for years. For me, one of those is a benediction, or blessing, given at the closing Eucharist of the 2010 …

Short Answer Set aside fifteen minutes a week, keep everything you need in one place, and write three to five short notes in a single sitting. That …

Listening may be the most powerful tool in your whole connection toolbox. “Listening is music to another’s heart. It is the unspoken …

Short answer: Plan on at least one personal, no-ask contact each season, plus a prompt thank-you after every gift, so that your thank-yous and …

Short Answer Write about one specific thing their past gift made possible, described in a sentence only you could write, and close without any …

Inspired by the poem “Famous” Never forget what you can do. I forget all the time, don’t you? I forget that I’m able to do …