“Thank You” – two small but POWERFUL words

From the time we are able to speak, we are taught the importance of showing gratitude. Can you recall the moment when after receiving a gift, a treat or a kind gesture that an older person in your life looked at you and asked, “Now, what do you say?” At first, you could only repeat them back “Thank you.”  But soon you discovered saying thank you after “Now, what do you say?” gained you an affirming broad smile, glowing eyes, and a head nod. You smiled, too.

You learned that saying thank you not only made the person you thanked feel good, it also made you feel good. No matter how old or how young, no matter how small or great the gift or gesture, saying those two words -- thank you -- meant a lot. So you were happy to say it and would say it often.

The power those two little words have to make someone feel good are great, but the power not hearing them is equally great, if not greater. Just ask anyone who has ever held a door for someone and didn’t hear those two little words. If it has ever happened to you, you know not hearing thank you can adversely affect someone both mentally and physically. In fact, social media is full of videos, graphics and posts on this issue.

So, if someone can be adversely affected because they don’t receive a thank you for what might be considered a small gesture (holding the door), it goes without saying that donors of time, money and other resources expect to be thanked. It may not be possible to thank each donor in person or by phone, but each should be personally and promptly thanked. If your fundraising plan does not include a systematic approach to personally thanking your donors, your plan is incomplete.

Here are some tips for personally thanking donors:

• Donors of larger or ongoing gifts should receive a personal call from the Executive Director or a board member.
• Donors of smaller gifts should receive a personalized thank you note in their donation acknowledgement.
• Donors of time (volunteers) should be thanked early and often during their service. Volunteers might also receive a formal thank you during an appreciation event.

No matter who they are or what they give, make sure you thank all who support your organization. That includes your staff and board members.

Michelle Nusum-Smith, an experienced nonprofit leader, consultant, coach and trainer, is a self-proclaimed “Do-gooder who helps do-gooders to do good.” Michelle is the owner and principal consultant at The Word Woman LLC, a nonprofit consulting company. She has nearly 20 years nonprofit experience, including program development, financial management, fundraising (including grantwriting and individual donor cultivation), human resource management, marketing and public relations, board relations, and event planning.

www.thewordwomanllc.com • info@thewordwomanllc.com • 240-215-4984

"A Labor of Love" ~ Celebrating Do-Gooders

In honor of Labor Day, I've launched "A Labor of Love", a collection of photos celebrating Do-Gooders in action! The official site for the collection will be on Pinterest but an album will also be maintained on The Word Woman LLC's Facebook page.

Email your photos to info@thewordwomanllc.com. Include your name or the name of your organization, program or project and any other information and how to get involved if it's an ongoing project. 

#Keepdoinggood  #ALaborOfLove

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/michellenusumsm/a-labor-of-love/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheWordWomanConsulting

Michelle Nusum-Smith, an experienced nonprofit leader, consultant, coach and trainer, is a self-proclaimed “Do-gooder who helps do-gooders to do good.” Michelle is the owner and principal consultant at The Word Woman LLC, a nonprofit consulting company. She has nearly 20 years nonprofit experience, including program development, financial management, fundraising (including grantwriting and individual donor cultivation), human resource management, marketing and public relations, board relations, and event planning.

www.thewordwomanllc.com • info@thewordwomanllc.com • 240-215-4984

Helping a Deeply Passionate Board With Clashing Ideas to Find Its Magic

I was recently asked to facilitate a leadership training and strategic planning retreat for the executive board of a volunteer led organization. The request came with an urgent plea to help the board to refocus and increase its accountability for delivering tangible (measurable) impact.

The process started with a customized, anonymous survey I sent to each member of the board. After several days of no responses, I checked in with my point of contact and asked "Is this an indication of what I can expect the day of the retreat?"

Clearly, this group would require kid gloves.

Finally, I started to see responses. Ultimately 4 of the 10 responded. The responses were as I had expected -- very little consistency. In one case where I had asked them to rate the group (poor, fair, good excellent) on its success in addressing a purpose (goal) outlined in their bylaws, each respondent gave a different answer. That was telling! For a moment, I feared I wouldn't be able to move the group from where they were to where I was asked to take them. 

But the optimist in me said, "Keep moving forward! You can do this!"

So I developed a full-day session that included interactive training, discussion, self-assessment, team building, setting of clear goals, identifying of agreed upon activities, and finally, personal goal setting. All of this would take place in what I told the group was "safe space". Participants were encouraged speak freely and listen actively but at all times use R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  

Though a low-energy, disconnected group begrudgingly entered the room lacking a clearly defined vision, they were in no short supply of passion and genuine commitment to their cause.

With each discussion and activity over the course of the day, the board gained more and more clarity as they developed a shared vision.  It was beautiful to witness!

By the end of the day, they were a force to be reckoned with! Their energy was bubbling over, members were taking pictures of my notes from the white boards (despite my promise to submit a formal report), and each one expressed how much they enjoyed the time we'd spent (even on a gorgeous day).

A few days later when I was reviewing their evaluations, I couldn't help from blushing when I read, "Thank you for your knowledge and skills and your magic in getting this board together."  There was definitely magic in the room, but it had always been inside that incredible board. It was my honor to help them bring to it out.  

Could your board use some help to bring out its magic? Let's talk.

Michelle Nusum-Smith, an experienced nonprofit leader, consultant, coach and trainer, is a self-proclaimed “Do-gooder who helps do-gooders to do good.” Michelle is the owner and principal consultant at The Word Woman LLC, a nonprofit consulting company. She has nearly 20 years nonprofit experience, including program development, financial management, fundraising (including grantwriting and individual donor cultivation), human resource management, marketing and public relations, board relations, and event planning.

www.thewordwomanllc.com • info@thewordwomanllc.com • 240-215-4984

Do-Gooder's Dilemma: Choose Pay or Passion

It’s no secret -- I am passionate about doing good and helping others to do good. Over the years, I've met Do-Gooders of all walks of life whose passion for doing good is so great it could literally be felt just being in their presence. Sadly, far too many Do-Gooders feel forced to choose pay over their passion.

For example, take this excerpt from a Do-Gooder's blog post:

“One year was not enough at KU (University of Kansas). I left unfinished, but my passion was not financially sustaining. I started my job search with the intent to find a balance between being happy in my job and the work I was doing and being financially secure. It was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. Choosing pay over passion, I still question if I made the right choice.”

As I read the post, I reflected on the countless number people I’ve met over the last 20 years whose hearts were drawn to human service, advocacy, youth service, animal rescue, teaching and the list goes on, yet they work in a corporate position or some other role that “pays the bills”. That is why I am on a crusade to enlighten and empower as many Do-Gooders as I can with wealth building principles and strategies that can allow them to do their heart’s work without worrying about their bills.

I am hosting a series of free wealth building workshops. The next one will be Monday, August 24th at 6pm in Baltimore. For details on this and future events, go to this link (thewordwomanllc.eventbrite.com) and join me in a fun and informative session. Bring a friend!  

Warmly,

Michelle

 PS – Go to https://studentaffairscollective.org/samobile-1400-miles-away/ to read the full blog post. After you read it, let me know what you think.

Why 4 Funders Invited a Nonprofit To Apply Then Turned Them Down

I recently offered to review the grant proposal that an organization had submitted by invitation to four different grantmakers and had been denied funding by each of them. In speaking with the CEO prior to reading the proposal, she eloquently described the problem and the project. I looked forward to reading the proposal. Sadly, it went on and on but totally missed the mark.

From jargon that I couldn’t follow to never actually asking for funding, it wasn’t hard to see why the grant proposal was denied. In addition to the missing an ask, the proposal was also missing a clear, concise description of the problem and a well-defined description of the solution (proposed project). When I arrived at the end of the proposal, I had no idea what they were proposing to do, how much it would cost, how long it would take, or what success would look like. I’m sure that the grantmakers arrived at the same place. No funder, not even one predisposed to their cause, could award a grant in response to that proposal.

Though eloquent in presenting their cause verbally, the CEO’s ideas didn’t translate on paper. When it comes to grants, you may never speak directly with the funder so the ability to articulate the problem and solution in writing is critical. At a minimum, your grant proposal should answer the following questions:

What is the problem/opportunity?

Do you have third party data to substantiate your claim that there is a problem/opportunity?

Who will you serve?

How will you serve them?

Where/When will you serve them?

Who will deliver the service(s)? What are their qualifications?

What do you hope to achieve?

How will you know you’ve achieved it? What does success look like?

How much will this cost?                   

Keep doing good and creating opportunities for people to do good with you!

Michelle Nusum-Smith, an experienced nonprofit leader, consultant, coach and trainer, is a self-proclaimed “Do-gooder who helps do-gooders to do good.” Michelle is the owner and principal consultant at The Word Woman LLC, a nonprofit consulting company. She has nearly 20 years nonprofit experience, including program development, financial management, fundraising (including grantwriting and individual donor cultivation), human resource management, marketing and public relations, board relations, and event planning.

 www.thewordwomanllc.com • info@thewordwomanllc.com • 240-215-4984