Back to the Future debuted the first of its three movies 35 years ago last month, and here’s a fun fact: the movie creators forecasted at least 10 future innovations, including the adoption of tablet computers, flat-screen TVs, facial recognition, smart glasses, and yes…videoconferencing (as shown in the clip above). Although they were a few … Continue reading Virtual Meetings: 6 Ways to Upgrade Your Experience
The Way of the Horse?
Given time and retrospection, this quote has been rendered ludicrous and laughable. But when uttered more than 100 years ago, it represented a sentiment of the times. Which got me to wondering: What is our horse-is-here-to-stay reality? How about in-person meetings? We know that when done well, our work is relational, not transactional. And forming … Continue reading The Way of the Horse?
Annual Giving: 7 Ideas for This Year
Have you finalized your annual giving plan for 2020-2021? Before you do, cross-check it with these seven considerations. Focused Messaging. Annual gift invitations are notoriously vague due to the broad distribution of requests and unrestricted nature of most gifts. The problem is, people are already dealing with too much uncertainty. This year, focus your messaging … Continue reading Annual Giving: 7 Ideas for This Year
Press On!
Members of my college fraternity have a tradition when writing to fellow members. At the end of the correspondence, "Pergé" is inserted. It's meaning? Press On! This encouragement feels relevant for the times we're living in, where it's easy to succumb to inaction in hope that clarity will arrive tomorrow. Questions swirl for which we … Continue reading Press On!
Groundhog Day
Congratulations! If you work at an educational institution or an organization that follows the same timeline, today is the culmination of all your annual giving efforts for the year...the last day of the fiscal year. Time to celebrate! This has been a year like no other, and a little time off before getting back to … Continue reading Groundhog Day
Annual Giving to the Rescue
The one constant since mid-March for Advancement professionals has been disruption. First, we settled into new work-from-home routines and reset our communications, constituent engagement, and gift invitation plans. Now, some are on the brink of office re-openings as June arrives next week. Overall, our work as Advancement professionals still feels very different. How is your … Continue reading Annual Giving to the Rescue
Luxury or Necessity?
In the last eight weeks, 36.5 million Americans have lost their jobs. April's unemployment rate registered 14.7 percent. Job loss was roughly double what was experienced during any similar time period in the Great Recession. For those still employed, anxiety abounds as leaders at impacted institutions ponder making difficult decisions on ways to "cut back" … Continue reading Luxury or Necessity?
The Best Thing You Do Today
What’s one thing you can do today, and every day, for the rest of this third month in our “new normal,” that will improve your fundraising the most in the long run? Check in. Put it on your to-do list. Set a recurrence for “daily” through May 31. As Advancement professionals, we know that our … Continue reading The Best Thing You Do Today
Welcome to my blog!
Since you’ve found my blog, I'm assuming you work in the fantastic field of advancement, as it is designed to be read by those working in various roles of this industry (advancement services, alumni relations, development directors, major gift officers, chief advancement officers, et al). In this space, I plan to share thoughts that link to one … Continue reading Welcome to my blog!
Kent's Blog 