Dear [First Name],

I am heartbroken by what is transpiring in our country right now and can only hope that it leads to change. Black lives matter, and it's important to say this again and again because for too long too many people have discounted black lives. Our country has a horrible history on this front and needs to recognize, apologize for, and make up for (though that's not even possible) centuries of racism and heinous behavior toward our fellow human beings.

An Ode to Fundraisers: The Work Isn’t Fun – It’s Important
Fundraising might start with “fun,” but talk about a red herring. It can be very anxiety-provoking… especially individual face-to-face fundraising where the biggest and best gifts are to be found.

It’s not what most of us would do if we could just do what we enjoy most – whether we’re professionals or volunteers. That’s the truth, and that’s fine. It’s important to say this now, in this moment, because we need everyone to fundraise more than ever to ensure our dear, critically-important nonprofit world survives the pandemic. We fundraise because we care, and we know we can help by doing so.

The Power of the Introvert During a Pandemic
For years I have argued – often unsuccessfully – that I am an introvert. People see the version of me I present to the world – confident, articulate, a good conversationalist – and leap to judgment. They assume that makes me an extrovert. In fact, that’s hard to do for more than an hour or two.

And I think many of us end up apologizing, if not to others than to ourselves, for not wanting to interact all the time. I didn’t get this – or understand myself – until developing the Asking Styles. Once I realized I was a Kindred Spirit (intuitive introvert) life was so much clearer and I felt so much better about myself. It was truly an aha moment.

These past two months have provided an even bigger aha moment!

Setting the Right Tone in the Age of Covid-19
by Asking Matters Expert Sue Kindred
You may have heard that only about 7% of our messages are conveyed through words. Tone of voice and body language comprise the other 93%. And even though things are slowly starting to open up, it’s pretty clear we won’t be getting together in big groups anytime soon. We’ll have to rely on getting our message across from a distance.

How do we ensure we are sharing the right tone, when we can’t be together and most of our persuasive communication needs to be conveyed in writing or over video chat? And, with so many of us currently experiencing some level of crisis (both personal and professional), it’s especially important to be mindful of how we’re sharing our message.  

My discounted coaching has helped dozens of you already so I'm extending it through June. You can always email me with a one-off question, but if you want to dig in deep and get some advice on how your organization can move forward with its fundraising, I'm offering my services at 70% off, with no contract.

Just sign up for one or two hours and pick the times that work for you. We can talk about: 

• individual giving (cultivation, in-person soliciting)
• dealing with canceled or upcoming events
• messaging
• board development and fundraising
• fundraising planning
• capital campaigns 
• …and more

In this time of crisis I thought it would be helpful to hear regularly from Jerry Panas, the master. It's almost two years since he passed away, yet what he taught us will be relevant forever…even when the world is turned inside out. Each month I'll be bringing to you one of the 15 chats Jerry and I recorded the spring before he passed, in the order in which we recorded them.

This was a very meaty topic. In Part I, we talked about board meetings themselves. How do you make them more interesting…since so many aren’t! Find out Jerry’s “three B’s” for why board meetings can be trouble.

Good, bad or ugly…they’re here to stay for now, and as with everything your Asking Style will impact your approach and experience. We need to respect each other, as we would in any meeting, but it can be that much harder in a virtual environment.

• Rainmakers: Do well with strategic, time-limited meetings and have less patience with virtual meetings that ramble or go off topic than when those same meetings are in person.
• Go-Getters: Happy to chat and do well with free-flowing conversation, but will struggle more by the generally shortened nature of these meetings. Will have to watch their tendency to interrupt, which can be more challenging by video chat as it's harder to read the cues.
• Kindred Spirits: Will go along with the crowd, but will be even less likely to assert themselves as it’s harder to read the cues and feel comfortable knowing when to jump in.
• Mission Controllers: Will do well with firm agendas that are planned out, and will appreciate having the floor/screen for uninterrupted presenting. Even less likely to participate in the discussion given the chaos of peers talking over each other.

With all my good thoughts,
 

Brian

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