Blog
The (Super)Power of the Nonprofit Sector
This month I had the opportunity to attend the North Carolina Philanthropy Conference, hosted by the North Carolina chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The day started and ended with a one-and-a-half-hour car ride with Katie Weeks and Mendi Neiters. While at t…
Read MoreHurricane Florence: A Storm of Emotions
As a resident of the Carolinas most of my life, I’ve seen my fair share of weather events. Extreme heat, freak snowstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes are the unfortunate price we pay for living in such a great locale. However, Hurricane Florence brought up new emotions — some of w…
Read MoreYou don't choose a life, you live one.
I sat down this weekend to watch The Way, an inspiring story about family, friends and the challenges we face while navigating life, relationships, and the world around us. I’d promised my friend and business partner Tom McGuire that I would watch it so that upon his return from h…
Read MoreRemembering Tom McGuire
It is with sad hearts that we share the news of Tom McGuire’s death. Tom, our co-founding partner, died suddenly on September 4, 2018, while on a much-anticipated trip to hike the Camino de Santiago Trail (El Camino Trail) in Spain. Although Tom retired from the firm in 2014, he contin…
Read MoreLeadership – Key to a Successful Nonprofit
Strong and committed leadership is the difference between a good nonprofit and a great nonprofit. Formidable leadership starts with a board of directors who understand and accept their roles and responsibilities and give ge…
Read MoreDo You See Me?
Friday, during my annual eye exam, I saw an email that caught my eye. The 2018 Nonprofit Email Deliverability Study reported that on average 24 percent of 2017 nonprofit fundraising emails were going into spam folders. For the 55 large nonprofits they surveyed, this result…
Read MoreDog Days and Donors
Oil and vinegar. Pancakes and ketchup. Duke and Carolina fans. Some things just don’t go together. I have learned that Capital Campaigns and Summer belong on that list. Summer in general and July, in particular, is a terrible month for fundraising. While it…
Read MoreHomegrown Leaders
On any given day, if you happened to pull up next to me at a stoplight, you probably catch me singing a favorite tune, certain that my version sounds just as good as the voice I'm emulating on the radio. The last couple of days, you would hear me bellowing out one of my favorite Zac Br…
Read MoreThe Dreaded Ice Breaker
It was Friday at 3pm and I was the only thing standing between the Board and their weekend. And I did it anyway… The dreaded get-to-know-one-another ICE BREAKER! In this case it was relatively easy, we paired up and talked about where we lived when we were 5, what music we listened …
Read MoreAsking the (sometimes hard) questions
One of my favorite things to do is to work with clients to develop an organizational assessment. Assessments are a core part of the work we do at Armstrong McGuire. Focusing on six key pillars of organizational capacity and sustainability – Mission, Vision, and Strategy; Leadership; Re…
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