Southeast Donor Relations Conference Was Excellent, Yet Again!

July 27th, 2010

Last week Robin and I had to divide and conquer.  I went to the Southeast Donor Relations Conference in Charlotte sponsored by the Association of Donor Relations Professionals while she attended the Georgia Association of Development Professionals annual meeting in St. Simons.  She got the beach . . . but I got the brains (which is all right by me)!  This group is smart and fun-loving.  As is the case every year, they are raising the bar for what donor relations means as a distinct and necessary part of their organizations. Continue reading »

AHP-SE Returns the Focus to the Core Mission of Development

June 14th, 2010

This year’s Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Southeast Regional Conference began yesterday in Atlanta.  Focus is split between new strategies and proven best practices.  The concentration on the sad state of the economy is finally coming to an end.  People I talked with are busier than ever, finally coming out of the shock of the economic crisis.  There is a pervasive return to the optimistic “we can get it done!” attitude that first drew me to the philanthropic arena. Continue reading »

Presenting “Linkage” to AFP-Atlanta

May 25th, 2010

Here in Atlanta, the local chapter of AFP has asked that presenters at their monthly breakfast meetings to speak to fundraising’s new normal, which Roger McNamee refers to as “great opportunities at a time of great risk”. We spoke to the group on May 18. Continue reading »

Time to Rethink Your Approach to Social Media?

March 16th, 2010

Last December, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Internet, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency hosted the DARPA Network Challenge to explore the role of the Internet and social networking in contemporary communication.  Whether influenced by recent events, like political protest in Iran or Columbia, or not, the rules of the contest were simple.  DARPA moored ten eight foot red weather balloons in different locations across the continental United States, and teams tried to track them down as quickly as possible.  While most of us were putting the finishing touches on our holiday shopping, a team from MIT tracked down all ten balloons in just under nine hours. Continue reading »