Thoughts & learnings

The bad news is, you're not alone. The good news is - those problems are the key to your future success.

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Connecting Up conference in May and I thoroughly enjoyed understanding the challenge not-for-profits are facing in their fundraising and partnership programs. One of the questions at the end was not something I could say I'm an expert in, but it's definitely an issue I've faced.

Okay - I'll be honest, I've changed the name on this one. This is essentially a sales pipeline but because we're working for cause-focused organisations, I think the term opportunity pipeline is more fitting.

Burnout is a phenomenon that can affect people in any industry, but it is particularly common in the not-for-profit sector. Not-for-profit organisations often operate with limited resources, and employees may feel pressure to work long hours or take on additional responsibilities to make up for staffing shortages. Additionally, not-for-profit...

We've all experienced a time when we've had a gap in the budget. Perhaps a campaign hasn't reached its target or you need to improve year-round cash flow. It can feel overwhelming and a bit out of your hands causing you to create activities that don't align with your business. But please consider this - when did making rush decisions...

I think many people believe the building rapport you need to be done by certain type of person. An outgoing extroverted person who loves to communicate and connect with others. But I would argue that we all have to communicate with others sometimes we just don't have the skills or experience or even practice to know how. So really I...

When you're first starting out in partnerships, it can be really overwhelming to understand what a partner could possibly want from your organisation. We try and figure out 'genius' plans or exciting events or brand-new concepts to excite the potential partner into investing with us. Very often this time is wasted, and I'd love to explain to you...

I've met too many small organisations who create campaigns and budgets but don't spend the time figuring out how they're going to reach them. Sometimes it seems a little backwards in charities and small businesses that when they set a goal of where they need to be financially or in terms of acquisition, often they can fail to set the...