Producing the Confident Giving newsletter is one my favorite things to do – in no small part because of readers like you who open, peruse, consider, and sometimes comment and share your thoughts with me. Thank you! As a weekly publication, Confident Giving covers a lot of ground in a single year. In January it’s […]
Ten Ways Putnam Consulting Got It Right in 2016 Read More »
In my first attempt to hire my own financial advisor in my late 20s, I turned to Morgan Stanley in San Francisco. I interviewed two people. One had a slide show presentation and overflowing binders of charts and graphs showing me how they informed his decisions, his track record, how this and that outperformed that
Don’t Believe the “Complexifiers” Read More »
Most of us are in the final throes of the holiday season and making final preparations for the end of the year. Instead of holiday carols, it may be an appropriate time to sing, “It’s beginning to look a lot like…. year-end donation season?!” That’s right, did you know half of all non-profits receive a
3 Mistakes Year-End Donors Make and How to Avoid Them Read More »
As I’ve often said, there are some stories of waste and counterproductivity in the foundation world that I simply couldn’t make up if I tried. This is one of those stories. Read it and see how many incidents of pointless bureaucracy and time-sucking processes you can find, then see if my list (below) matches yours.
Bureaucratic Time-Suckers in Philanthropy Read More »
In my last post, I explained the ways that many individuals in foundations adopt a poverty mentality rather than an abundance mentality when it comes to their own personal activities. Many foundation staff and leaders sell themselves short and eschew the support they need for the sake of not taking precious resources away from others.
Making the Case For (Your Own) Support Read More »
When you think about your work in philanthropy, are you selling yourself short? If so, you could be shortchanging your foundation’s effectiveness – and therefore its mission – as well. Some of the most sincere people I know in philanthropy bring a very astute sense of servant leadership to their work. They always put the
Are You Selling Yourself Short? Read More »