Shannon Williams
Donor Retention and Communications
Donor retention is critical. You know it. You have heard the Armstrong McGuire team talk about it for years. Unfortunately, donor retention rates are trending in the wrong direction according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) Fourth Quarter Report. The report states, “The…
Read MorePreparedness
Being prepared crosses all parts of life in small “Do I have my mask?” “Am I off mute?” ways and in big “Do I have the necessary supplies for the approaching hurricane?” ways. Last weekend our oldest son moved into his first adult apartment. This was a pr…
Read MoreGone Fishing
Our family recently returned from our annual escape to Lake Gaston. Waterskiing, wake surfing, paddle boarding, swimming, diving, and just plain floating are the primary activities of choice for our crew most days. An obligatory fishing line is generally cast a time or two most years, but t…
Read MoreWorking From Home: A Lesson We Can't Unlearn
There are some pandemic behaviors we cannot unlearn. From a professional perspective, working from home tops the list. Whether you love working from home or you hate it, it is now a thing. To be fair, we all know that working from home existed before the pandemic, but not widely in the nonp…
Read MoreRe-entry: Like Going Back to Middle School
After 13 months of mostly working from home, shopping online, and infrequent in-person social interactions, stepping back into the world feels a little bit like going back to middle school. It is awkward and kind of uncomfortable. I was in a socially-distanced meeting last week. Some in the…
Read MoreBoard Meetings, Officers, and Committees
Last week I had the privilege to be a part of a discussion on Board meetings, officers, and committees with more than 50 nonprofit leaders through Mission Triangle. Here are some of the highlights that came up in each area. Board Meetings As the name implies, they are Board meeting…
Read MoreHope
Our team had a chance to talk with nonprofit executive, development, and marketing leaders last week. We discussed lessons learned in 2020—especially thinking about what seemingly temporary changes might in fact become permanent such as remote working and virtual meetings. Many execut…
Read MoreAgape Love
Greek has many different words for love. In my professional life, I am blessed to see beautiful examples of phila (brotherly love) every day through our nonprofit partners. But today, I want to talk about agape—unconditional love. This month my parents celebrate 50 years of marriage…
Read MoreA Tale of Two Events
Last week I had the privilege of attending two virtual events, on back-to-back nights, for organizations I care deeply about. Both organizations delivered goodies in advance of the event to make it feel special. That is where the similarities ended. Here is a side-by-side comparison: …
Read MorePeople Are The Hardest Part Right Now
Hard. Difficult. Challenging. Exhausting. Overwhelming. Nope. I am not talking about the pandemic. These are the adjectives I am hearing over and over from nonprofit leaders describing what it is like to manage their teams right now. Managing people through the pandemic, the call for an e…
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