“The more effective the fundraising campaign, the more complaints it will generate.”  Brook’s 5th Law of Fundraising Or, put another way … “The only way to avoid pissing people off is to do nothing important.” Oliver  Emberton Seth Godin is an entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and marketing genius. His blog, which is the only one I read everyday, is perhaps the world’s most popular written by an individual. The following is an example of Seth’s wisdom, which I find not only relevant in regard to the many presentations I facilitate for the donors of the chariti ..read more

“When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” -Matthew the Apostle (6:3) Both Matthew the Apostle and Maimonides, a 12th century Jewish rabbi and philosopher, encouraged Christians and Jews to maintain the dignity of the poor by giving anonymously. Maimonides even went so far as to conceive of an eight-level hierarchy of giving (tzedakah) where the second highest form of giving was to give anonymously. As an aside, the highest level is obtained when the gift results in the recipient becoming self sufficient. The idea of “anonymous giving” is taken to ridicu ..read more

“Vaccines are the tugboats of preventative health.” – William Foege Thankfully, it looks like Covid-19 is now under control in this country. I believe most of us would agree that this is because of one primary reason … vaccines. Given that vaccine hesitancy was identified by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten global health threats of 2019, I thought the article linked below by Malcolm Burrows was both timely and fascinating. Malcolm is the head of Philanthropic Advisory Services with Scotia Wealth Management and one of the most insightful minds in Canada when it ..read more

“There could be no definition of a successful life  that does not include service to others.”   – President George H. W. Bush I have a wise friend who showed me how he helps individuals with career counselling. Taking the “less is more” approach he simply draws three intersecting circles and labels each one, “what you love”, “what pays well”, and finally, “what you’re good at”. He then suggests that one should strive to find the activity where the three circles intersect. I have read many, many books on career planning and nothing comes close to my friend’s profound insight. Rec ..read more

“There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.”  – Mandy Hale  A number of years ago I was facilitating a presentation for the donors of the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy. Standing at the back of the room was a gentleman I immediately recognized … the Godfather of Good! One of the true heroes of the Canadian conservation movement for 50 years, hence his aptly coined nickname. On that day David Love was acting as an “emissary” for the Nature Conservancy of Canada to determine if the NCC should hire me as a planne ..read more

“There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time.”  – David M. Eagleman Many of us are familiar with the fact that only 50% of Canadians have a Will. Perhaps more surprisingly though, only 5% of us have included charity in our estate plans. This is most unfortunate. Not only is your Will a legal conduit through which to distribute your assets. It is also a reflection of your values and an incredibly powerful ca ..read more

“Let’s not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.” – Vincent Van Gogh The image above was created by Hugh MacLeod, one of my favourite bloggers as I find him to be both philosopher and artist. For those of us who work in the nonprofit world, MacLeod’s work reminds us that what really matters to our donors derives 80% from their emotions and 20% from their intellect. For those of us who do not work in the nonprofit world, MacLeod’s work reminds us that what really matters to ev ..read more

“Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory.” – Franklin P. Adams Is it possible to hold the view that the state of the world is perpetually getting worse but, in actual fact, things are really getting better? I would answer with a resounding “yes”! Echoing Professor Deidre McCloskey’s comment, “For reasons I have never understood, people like to hear the world is going to hell”, I feel my perspective is very much in the minority. For those of us who work in the nonprofit sector, or as a donor contributing to it, whether we believe the world is going to ..read more

“I suppose real old age begins when one looks backward rather than forward.” – May Sarton Last week I celebrated my 59th birthday. As I grow older, and after a number of decades on this planet, I experience daily reminders that I am now traveling down the other side of the mountain. (But hopefully not too quickly!) It was with this thought in mind that I began my “marble initiative”. Specifically, five years ago I purchased 100 rather brightly coloured marbles, each one reflecting the number of years I plan to live. I’ve always been an optimist at heart and figured 100 years had a ni ..read more

“Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued.  It must ensue.  And it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself.” – Viktor Frankl Chip Conley is a fascinating individual. Besides being a successful entrepreneur and a best selling author, he is also the founder of the Modern Elder Academy, the world’s first midlife wisdom school. In a recent post he wrote about his favourite leadership book … which also happens to be my favourite book, specifically, Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning”. For those of us w ..read more