I serve on the board of another nonprofit here in Indianapolis.  We were soliciting proposals from marketing firms to help us sharpen our focus and reintroduce our brand after a significant change in programing.  One firm sent us a folder with the following in the cover letter:
“We’re currently reviewing ********’s request for services to ensure we don’t have any business conflicts to be concerned about. Assuming not, we would look forward to the opportunity to meet with you and your Executive Committee to further discuss your needs and how we …

Yahoo usually gets it right. Why else would Microsoft be trying to buy them for $44.6 Billion?  However, Yahoo recently made a move that really irritated their sports content readers. It was a move motivated by profit, that actually may cost them money in the long run.  Luckily, we have their bad example to help keep us from making the same mistake. (Hopefully)
The problem started when Yahoo formed an agreement with Rivals.com to place college football and basketball content on Yahoo’s team pages.  It’s an interesting marriage because one company …

Filling the roster of your development team is a lot like being the GM of a small market baseball team. You can’t compete with the for profit companies on salary. So, you have to field a team with the best players available in your price range. But that doesn’t mean you can’t field a winning team.
So, how do you get quality people at a discount?  First, if you’ve never read the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis, I recommend starting there. It follows the Oakland A’s baseball team as Lewis tries to …

I received a letter recently from a company called Corporate Rain International.  Actually, I didn’t receive it -it was addressed to someone else in our organization, but we will get to that in a minute. This letter so effectively sold me on NEVER using this company that I thought I would share it with you.
First, let’s look at the pitch. Corporate Rain Founder & CEO Timothy Askew wants to request the opportunity to meet with me (sort of) to discuss his recent successful work with Easter Seals, Lighthouse for the Blind, …

Today, I just wanted to pass along an idea that I think is fantastic.  The Salvation Army in Dubuque is giving a free senior citizen tour of the John Deere Dubuque Works.  Absolutely brilliant!  The Army gets to play PR middle man for John Deere and in the process, reinforces their relationship with donors.  John Deere gets to tell its story while the Army acts out theirs. It’s a three game sweep! (I absolutely hate the overused “win-win” phrase!)