About a year ago, I was interviewed on a podcast where the interviewer very graciously commended the church community I lead for its diversity. I wasn’t surprised by the observation. In fact, I typically anticipate people making this point.

I suspect a lot will be different this summer. Even the weather in the Triangle this week has not been typical.When I entered the nonprofit sector in 1993, summer was considered a downtime—a slower pace.

As my grandmother would say, “These are trying times.”Nearly every person I have engaged with recently acknowledges that their emotions have been all over the place in the last few months.

Not long ago all of us were being asked to do our civic duty and help each other by staying home and keeping our distance from one another.

As a board, search committee, or executive director you have put so much time and effort into hiring a new employee – now what? You’ve hired a consulting firm, like Armstrong McGuire, to conduct a search for a new employee.

Our younger son, Carson, graduates high school this Sunday—sort of.He will put on his cap and gown. We will drive to the school. He will jump out of the car and onto a makeshift stage.

The job search and hiring process has changed. Whereas in-person interviews were once the norm, the pandemic moved us to Brady Bunch-style conversations on platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting, and Google Meet.

Leading with transparency is my personal go-to. In our current environment, I believe transparency in fundraising is absolutely essential.

You can’t get together face-to-face with your board or committee members during this pandemic, so how do you keep them engaged?