Category Archives: Innovations
Making Good Work 08/31 by PhilanthropyPlus | Blog Talk Radio
Making Good Work 08/31 by PhilanthropyPlus | Blog Talk Radio.
Laura Malone of American Endowment Foundation joins us this week for a discussion on being truly “donor-centered”. The ideas she will share with us will challenge you to rethink your current plans and strategies for fundraising now and in the future.
Join us!
We All Want the Same Things
If you are visiting this page, then it is likely that you are at a place in your life where:
-
You want to be successful in your chosen field
- You want to make a positive difference
- You want to leverage the most of your time, money and talents
- You want to develop new skills to become more productive
- You want to be connected with like-minded people
- You want to be more – for yourself, your family and your organization
Most of you visiting this page also:
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Have at least one relationship in your organization that is an obstacle to growth
- Are facing revenue and budget issues that threaten your organization’s existence
- Have been hanging on to processes and paradigms that have ceased to work
- Are looking for a miracle to happen . . .
I am here to remind you that YOU are the miracle you have been waiting for: You have unlimited potential. You can be, do and have anything you imagine and desire. That goes for your organization as well.
However, it takes definite, clear plans and the discipline to pursue your goals with relentless persistence.
It also takes the courage to:
- Abandon what has ceased to work
- Embrace new methods of working and raising funds
- Admit that you need to learn more than what you now know
- Ask for collaborative and supportive assistance from others
That is why we are forming MasterMind Groups for non-profit organizations.
What do you experience in MasterMind Groups?
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Support – from your entire team and accountabilty partner
- Revenue – improve your financial condition from new knowledge
- Happiness – in all relationships and help others to be happy as well
- Long-term change – lasting, positive habits that are continually reinforced
- Better ideas – through teamwork and people who care
- Purpose – clarity of purpose + people to share it with
- Direction– design a clear path of your journey and next steps
And how does it work?
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Napoleon Hill’s principles and proven System of Success
- Total portfolio of non-profit fundraising tools across an endless array of donor scenarios
- Training and education that doesn’t fade away
- One weekly meeting of one hour
- Intimate groups of 6 people
- Everyone commits
- Everyone has a partner
- Everyone participates
- Online from your home or office
What do you have when participating in an on-going MasterMind Group?
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Success in your chosen field
- Making a positive difference
- Leveraging the most from your time, money, and talents
- Development of new skills to become more productive
- Connection with like-minded people
- Being more – for yourself, your family and your organization
I know that these statements are true from personal experience and work in a mastermind group myself.
If you feel that you can’t afford it or don’t have time to pursue this, I urge you to think beyond those objections. In my case, I have 5 children and I doubt that anyone reading this has less in their bank account than I did when I began working with a MasterMind team.
The real questions are– how are you choosing to spend your time and money? If you want to be more successful in your endeavors, what are you willing to risk in terms of time and money to make it happen? Asked another way – how badly do you want those things we described above?
If you are in non-profit work of any kind, you owe it to your organization and to yourself to investigate further and discover what needs and desires a MasterMind Group can meet in your life. Check out the MASTERMIND tab of this blog. Listen to the weekly radio show (see the RADIO tab of this blog), and give us a call to ask more questions.
Laura Anne Miller – 614-915-4324
Making Good Work Online Radio by PhilanthropyPlus | Blog Talk Radio
Making Good Work Online Radio by PhilanthropyPlus | Blog Talk Radio.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 2pm Eastern Time (USA) –LISTEN NOW TO THE ARCHIVED EPISODE
The next episode is titled: Thriving in Times Like These , with our guest Barbara Brown of Cristo Rey Columbus. You will want to tune in to learn how this successful “philanthropic entrepreneur” was able to persuade people to support a high school for under-served youth that had not even been built yet . . . Hear about her methods of successful fundraising – I’m sure you will find Barbara to be engaging and enlightening.
NEW paradigm in giving is actually OLD
The New Paradigm in Philanthropy – it’s really quite old.
In 1630, John Winthrop was sailing west to a new land, America. He was leaving England to build and lead a new community in a wilderness. He knew that it would be difficult and would take persistence to achieve the aim of creating a new type of society. So on the long journey across the Atlantic, he wrote a sermon addressing the ideas of independence and INTER-DEPENDENCE that would be necessary for all to succeed.
In Winthrop’s day, as in ours, he realized that to work for one’s self and one’s family was an important motivator in building community success. However, he saw peril and “shipwreck” of the local economy and the Massachusetts Bay Colony if the residents did not also work to support each other in mutual generosity . . .
From the conclusion of this sermon:
Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck, and to provide for our posterity, is to follow the counsel of Micah: to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God.
For this end, we must be knit together, in this work, as one man.
We must entertain each other in brotherly affection.
We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of other’s necessities.
We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality.
We must delight in each other; make other’s conditions our own;
rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together,
always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, as members of the same body.
So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
This was the core principle of private philanthropic endeavor in the United States. It is a voluntary system of working together for a common end. It is a harmonious cooperation that allows for freedom of choice at all times. In modern terms, this harmonious cooperation we call a “Mastermind”.
Becoming part of a Mastermind Group means joining together with like-minded people to achieve our aims and goals. Each person in the group brings something different to the table and each has unique goals. Despite this seeming disparity of talent and desires, they all work toward of a common aim of learning and applying what they learn from each other to achieve success in their individual lives.
As John Winthrop realized in the 17th century, unless we all cooperate and share our tangible and intangible assests, the community will dissolve and our power to do good will dissipate.
Reflect on the economic news in the past few weeks. It is not getting better, folks. The only way for the economy to get better is for each of US to make it better. But we can’t do it alone. Stop waiting for someone else to do something – you have unique gifts and talents that are lying dormant. Those special skills can be developed to help your own situation and that of others.
How to take the first steps in improving your own personal economy:
- Join a Mastermind Group (See the MASTERMIND tab of this blog.)
- Join the weekly conversation – MAKING GOOD WORK – a radio program dedicated to non-profit excellence and success. (See the RADIO tab of this blog.)
I invite you to explore using a Mastermind Group as a way to build your organization and to MAKE GOOD WORK!
Time Well Spent
Americans always know what time it is, but they never seem to have any . . .
– Anonymous European
When I host online Mastermind sessions, I ask two questions:
1) What do you want most for yourself or your organization?
2) What are the primary obstacles keeping you from reaching that desire?
The answers to #1 are inspiring, visionary and noble – and every one distinctly unique. The answers to #2 are almost always the same: Not enough time and not enough money.
Regarding TIME – every day has 24 hours – we all have all there is. It is not a lack of time that is the obstacle; rather, it is how we are choosing to use that time.
Regarding MONEY – when you spend your time wisely and strategically (as related to your purpose), the means for accomplishing any aspiration will develop.
Consider these common uses of time and money:
| Activity | Your $$ | Your Time/Year | Your Time/Week | |
| MBA – online from a highly respected University | $89,000 over 2 years | 500+ hours | 10+ hours | |
| Hiring a non-profit organizational and fundraising consultant | $50,000 per year | 100+ hours | 2 hours | |
| Attending seminars and executive coaching sessions | $4,000 per year | 180 + hours | 3.5 hours | |
| Entertainment- Cable TV
– Movies – Concerts – _________
|
$ _________
per year |
__________ hours
|
__________ hours
|
In our Mastermind Groups for Non-profits, we help each other to maximize TIME to raise more MONEY. While working on an advanced degree, engaging in continuing education and working one-on-one with a coach are edifying pursuits; consider the amount of time and money spent in relation to what those activities can do to help achieve real success. With Mastermind groups and accountability partners, we have an on-going system for personal and organizational improvement at much lower costs – both in time and money.
Mastermind Groups are a proven method of time management: learning how to do more in less time and with less effort . . . In addition, the Mastermind Groups for Non-Profits add a specific education element focused on the most effective fundraising methods.
If you are ready to take action and remove the obstacle of “tempus fugit”, then join us for a sample Mastermind Session . . . Click on the MASTERMIND tab for more information.
Three Ways to Succeed by Breaking Convention – H. James Wilson – Research – Harvard Business Review
Three Ways to Succeed by Breaking Convention – H. James Wilson – Research – Harvard Business Review.
Being unconventional or making a new convention is one of the life habits you can adopt to “Thrive in Times Like These” . . . click on the MASTERMIND tab to find information on attending a sample Mastermind session.
Remember: Life is not without risk. The good news is that you can choose which risks you want to take and succeed.
Make a powerful difference
Consider these questions:
What do you really want to accomplish for yourself and your organization? What are the current challenges preventing you from realizing that vision?
Many of you reading this blog are either on staff at a non-profit or are active in promoting a philanthropic organization as a volunteer or board member. Despite that, these questions can be challenging. You are busy doing good work – but are you and your colleagues as effective as you could be? Are you engaged in frenetic activity or purposeful, planned action?
What are your board meetings and committee meetings like? Compare the percentage of time you talk about doing something and the time you spend actually doing it . . . Are you making the wisest choices for the future of your organization and those you serve?
If you continue on the path you are currently on – will you accomplish your highest aspirations?
By joining a Mastermind group, you can commit a small portion of your schedule each week to dramatic improvement in your situation. Take a look at the MASTERMIND page of this blog for more information. The next introductory web call is Monday, July 18, 2011 at 7pm Eastern Time/USA. Please make plans to join us.
We welcome all those desiring to explore new growth in themselves and their organizations –
regardless of the economy!
Use Business Cards to Promote your Organization
10 powerful ways to use your business cards
By Beth Davis, Founder/CEO of Gold Star Referral Clubs
While this was written for small businesses, it is applicable to your non-profit work as well. . . . LAM
- Never leave home without them: Keep a supply handy at home so that you can restock your wallet/purse every day when you leave.
- Give and Receive: The best way to get someone to want your business card is to ask for theirs.
- Insert a card into all your mail: Starting today, don’t ever seal an envelope without your card in it, even your bills. The person that opens the envelope might know your next best client.
- Be generous: Business cards are the best value for your advertising dollar. Be able to give someone as many as they ask for. Always offer 2 – 1 for the person and 1 for them to pass along.
- Be ready at every occasion and any occasion: You can never predict when it’s a good time to give a business card. Buffet line, gas station, birthday party . . .
- Ask for a referral: You will be surprised at how well people will respond to, “Here are two of my cards. I would appreciate a referral and would welcome a call from you or family or anyone you know you may need a ____”
- Visit trade show: Ask for business cards from the show vendors, give yours in return. Read some of their card out loud and ask them about what they do. Make a friend. Then follow-up.
- Make it a coupon: Hand-write a special offer or a discount for your service or product on the back of your card. Initial it. Invite them to visit your business.
- Attach a small gift to your card: Attach a mint, a specialty cookie or other small (but useful or tasty) promotional item.
- Brand yourself: add your tag line, hook or quote
BONUS CHALLENGE from Laura Anne Miller:
Hand out 50 business cards per day: the owner of a local termite inspection/pest control company does this. In the morning, his wife hands him 50 cards, and he is under orders to return home with NONE. He uses the above techniques and takes every opportunity to give people his cards. He came to town knowing no one, and in a few short years became the leader of a thriving and wildly successful business. Every real estate agent in town knows him and most use his services . . . Think of creative ways you could accomplish this challenge goal!
This, of course, means that you have to get out from behind your desk every single day and go promote your organization. You cannot spend all your time perfecting the website, writing mass mailings and planning the next “event”. Use your imagination and think like a salesman. Call me to discuss – 614.915.4324 – Laura Anne Miller
Collier County Honors Outstanding Educators
The Golden Apple Awards/Teachers of Distinction - 2011
The Education Foundation of Collier County held its annual Golden Apple Awards gala last week at the Phil in Naples, Florida. Only one word for the honorees: INSPIRING. I walked away feeling uplifted, optimistic and with a renewed sense of dedication to my work. The Golden Apple Award recipients are among the most gracious and humble people you could ever hope to encounter. They made me wish I could return to school again! The families of Collier County Public Schools are indeed blessed to have such dedicated educators and administrators. The community is stronger because of the work of the teachers and support organizations such as the Education Foundation.
The Education Foundation works with the schools to provide special scholarships, classroom support, and professional development for the teachers. They are embarking on new programs with new opportunities for supporting the work. Take a look at their website and contact Susan McManus to learn more about how you can help the cause for improving children’s lives – for life! You may find that philanthropy will solve some of your problems at the same time!
Raise significant funds in 2011 – and BEYOND
Use the IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution in a special way – you don’t have to sacrifice current donations to build a long-term planned giving progam for your organization!
Take a look at this presentation on Slideshare.net – then contact Laura for more information.
Unleashed Abundance 