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 …
“Sending a note that can connect, comfort, encourage or inspire is the closest we may ever come to having a Superpower.” ~ Elizabeth H. Cottrell
Sending heartspoken notes fosters genuine connections, offering comfort, encouragement, and a sense of being valued. These personal touches can uplift spirits and strengthen relationships, creating lasting bonds.
How Can a Small Nonprofit Thank Volunteers So They Stay Committed?
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 …
Book Review: The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
The Correspondent: A Novelby Virginia EvansPublished 2025 by Crown Imagine discovering a life not through scenes or dialogue, but through the …
How Can I Build Donor Relationships If I’m Shy About Talking to Donors?
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 …
Be Swift to Love: A Benediction for Everyone Who Serves
[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 …
How Often Should a Small Nonprofit Contact Donors Without Bothering Them?
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 …
What Can I Write to a Donor When I’m Not Asking for Money?
Short Answer Write about one specific thing their past gift made possible, described in a sentence only you could write, and close without any …
The October Gratitude Calendar for Small Nonprofits
Whom your nonprofit should thank this month, what to say, and why October beats December for it If you run development for a small nonprofit, …
Book Review: To Obama
To Obama: With Love, Joy, Anger, and HopeBy Jeanne Marie LaskasRandom House, 2018 I didn’t believe it when I first heard it: President Barack Obama …