A year after Jerry Panas's passing, Felicity Panas and I will be sharing the recordings Jerry and I made last spring.

As you may recall, I spent five days between March and June 2018 recording conversations with Jerry on a host of topics including the art of listening, how to make the strongest case for support, the evolution of boards, and the challenges of quid pro quo fundraising.

To say it was a highpoint in my career to spend so many hours chatting with the master fundraiser would be the ultimate understatement.

Now those conversations in their entirety, with minor edits for sound quality and continuity, will be released to the field. More than 4 hours of discussion spread over 15 conversations on 14 different topics (boards took two conversations!)

Watch your inbox next week for notice they've been uploaded!

Ready for some help getting the big gifts? Join my special guest Rachel Muir, CFRE for irresistible tools to help you get the visit, stand out, successfully get your foot in the door and know if your message is getting through.You’ll get actual scripts you can use with your donors plus life hacks and strategies to boost your fundraising self-confidence.

As a special bonus, Rachel is sharing her “best-of” discovery questions to make every second of discovery count. You’ll walk away ready to quickly build rapport and spark a meaningful conversation with your donor.

This FREE webinar will take place on August 13 at 1:00pm ET.

When I share best practices in storytelling I always talk about how the story should be about a person. One person (and their perspective)- not the hundreds of people your agency helps – just one. I often get pushback about telling a personal story because of confidentiality. “We’re a 12-step program, we can’t tell our client’s story.” or “We have safety concerns about telling our client’s stories.”

These are, of course, legitimate concerns, but there are creative ways around telling a confidential story. My favorite is to tell the story from the point of view of someone or something else. For example, a local women’s shelter told their story from the point of view of the dining room table. All the changes the table had seen over the years, women getting stronger and healthier, kids moving from tears to laughter. It was a powerful story, made all the more powerful by the perspective from which it was told – in this case the dining room table becomes the “one person; a singular perspective.” Another story with a unique perspective was from an agency that supports entrepreneurs in Haiti. The classes were held under the tree in the town square and the agency told their very moving story from the point of view of the tree’s welcoming and protective branches. Again, the tree becomes the singular perspective.

If you think creatively, I’m certain you can come up with a way to tell your client’s story without breaking their confidentiality. It’s all about shifting your perspective!

I'm delighted Asking Matters Expert Sue Kindred is providing her expert thoughts on storytelling every other month. For members, we'll have a discussion on the topic in our members-only Facebook group. To learn more about Sue, check out SK Consulting.

Fascinating how I keep getting drawn back to Phoenix and Seattle (possible retirement spots?!)

I was delighted to work with Volunteers of America again, this time at their National Conference, in Phoenix, focusing on boards and their role in fundraising. In addition to leading a 2-hour workshop, I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion with two VOA chapter board members and a chief development officer.  VOA successfully uses the Benevon Model and it was great to learn more about their efforts.

Then I headed up to Seattle to lead a full-day board retreat on governance and fundrasing for Washington YMCA Youth & Government. Each year more than 50,000 teens participate in model government programs at the local, state and national level, and the Washington program has a renowned track record.  As a special treat, we were led through a fascinating sample legislative session by two incredibly articulate teens.

Now it's time for some home time and vacation before heading to Dallas and Indianapolis in August.

Here's to another great month of fundraising,
 

Brian

Let's get social: