A customer’s frame of mind In the past few months, New Yorkers have been getting used to a great new service, courtesy of the New York City Transit Authority (every once in a while they surprise us). Most stations now have signs telling us the estimated arrival of the next…

(The following article was published in the November 23, 2010 edition of Fundraising Success magazine.) It happens ever so often. At a staff meeting a crisis of faith takes hold, and someone asks, “What makes us different from everyone else?” The response can range from the collective silence of a…

As the summer ends the headlines are still puzzling. Some say that the economy is steadily improving, then the next set of data tells us “not so fast,” in fact forget recovery the economic outlook is far from certain. We’ve always lived in uncertain times, but these headlines are paralyzing…

When does good planning come to fruition? Sadly it is at a time when you least expect it. Then the worst-case scenario must be put into action. In good or even ordinary times worst-case scenarios are often seen remote and the idea of sound planning is viewed as a luxury….

We’ve heard it many times. There are two things in life we can’t avoid – death and taxes. Fundraisers are quick to point out that contributions to a not-for-profit organization are tax deductible—it’s in the direct mail, the gala invitation and it is often part of the final pitch to…

As a Haitian-American, I felt a great deal of gratitude at the immediate and generous support that the world showed following the devastation of January 12th Port-au-Prince earthquake. Now four months on, the event is slowly moving away from the news headlines with the full knowledge that the road to…

In 2006, Time magazine chose as its Person of the Year the millions of anonymous contributors of user-generated content to Wikipedia, You Tube, MySpace, Facebook, Second Life, the Linux operating system, and the multitudes of other websites featuring user contribution. The choice was personified simply as You. Not-for-profit organizations have…

From the moment we wake up, it often seems that everyone wants our attention and to influence our next action. Every organization expects people to know that they are providing an invaluable service and know that the competition is fierce. How do you get ahead of these competitors? A starting…