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Ice Berries

Dec 2007

Hello and Happy Holidays!
It’s the end of another year. Doesn’t it feel like we just typed those words for 2006? But as we prepare to say goodbye to 2007 and hello to 2008, there is much to share!

   If you missed our last newsletter, you will find it here: CLICK   

Here is what we have for you in this Holiday edition of our newsletter:

Newsletter Index Links

New Series:A Letter from Palestine

Product Update: Is Your Organization More Like the Red Cross Than You Think?

Holiday Gift Trifecta! Three of Anything Gets a Discount (and an extra gift!)
Best of the Blog:Community Engagement as Gardening in the Front Yard (our prize winner!)

Use It Today: Pro Bono Professionals as Board Members

Community-Driven Brain Teaser: Growing the Next Generation of Philanthropists

Attention AFP Members! Philanthropy Day 2008

Where Have We Been? The California Fires

Cool Distractions: A Very Cool Bank Ad!
Forward this Newsletter
What They're Saying
Tell us what you think!

Please read and enjoy, and pass these items along. We know it will help you improve the quality of life in your community. And isn't that why we all do the work we do?



NEW Series:
A Letter from Palestine

You think running your organization is tough?

  • Imagine doing that work in a place where merely cashing a check is a weeks-long ordeal.
  • Imagine failing to have a quorum for meetings, because board members can’t get past military checkpoints.
  • Imagine talking with board members on the phone, hearing gunfire in the background

Recently transplanted to Palestine from Massachusetts, Nora Lester Murad is co-founder of Dalia Association, a true "community" foundation in every sense of the word. We have been blessed to have Nora become a guest blogger at Creating the Future, where she will share the day-to-day of running a small, community-based organization in Palestine.


You will not want to miss Nora’s ongoing story.
CLICK HERE


Product Update:
Is Your Organization More Like the Red Cross Than You Think?

We updated our case study report - If I Were a Consultant to the American Red Cross (or Your Organization!): Simple Things Your Organization Can Learn from the Red Cross’s Mistakes


Why? Because there is so much your organization can learn from what the Red Cross seems unable to learn! And because what is plaguing the Red Cross is also plaguing small, local organizations!


The problems at the Red Cross are NOT about blood or disasters. They are NOT about being huge and very public. They are the same problems your organization probably has.


This tiny guide will help you identify what's really stopping your organization. And it will show you how to take the first steps to get past those obstacles, once and for all!


Learn about the case study here:

Case Study


Read the introduction here:

Introduction

Holiday Gift Trifecta!
25% Off EVERYTHING!

As a special bonus for the holidays, we are offering 25% off the total purchase when you buy any 3 items at our bookstore! Yes, 25% everything we’ve got!*


And then, to make it truly a gift, we will toss in a gift of our own - a surprise for the holidays!


To order our Holiday Trifecta, just call our office and speak with Erin, the Help 4 NonProfits “Queen of Customer Joy.” (Really, the sign on her office says “Office of Customer Joy.”)


To see what’s in the bookstore: Look Here

To order: Call 1-888-787-4433 x.205 and talk with Erin!
This offer is good through the end of the day on 12/31/07.


* This offer only applies to items we have in stock. It does not apply to books our site links to from Amazon.com. Erin will be happy to clarify those few items for you!


Best of the Blog:
Community Engagement - Gardening in the Front Yard

Last month we offered a prize to the best entry for “favorite post at the Blog.” We got some great suggestions.


Our winner was this one:
Blog Post: Community Engagement - Gardening in the Front Yard

Submitted By: Jeane Vogel - professional photographer and occasional fundraising consultant.


Jeane’s note: This is the best writing youve done in a long time (and thats saying something!). It is dramatic proof that husbands and dogs and board presidents will come and go - but when the mission is always out in front, the bountiful harvest is sure to follow.

Prize Patrol:
Got a favorite post at Hildy’s blog? Let us know which is your fave, and WHY. (Please don’t forget to tell us WHY!) The best entry will win a signed copy of one of Hildy’s books as a thank you!
CONTACT US

Use it Today:
Pro Bono Professionals as Board Members

Boards often recruit professionals who can donate their services - an attorney, an accountant, a marketing person, etc. This month’s tip shows why this is a BAD idea. And it shows a better way to get the help you need!
Learn more


Community-Driven Brain Teaser:
Growing Philanthropy

As you start aiming your work at creating the future of your community, new ways of seeing often catch you by surprise. So here is this month's Brain Teaser:

How can we grow the next generation of philanthropists?
ANSWERS HERE


Attention AFP Members!
Philanthropy Day 2008

Hildy had such a blast keynoting Philanthropy Day in Reno, Nevada this year. They sold more seats this year than ever before!

If you are interested in having Hildy keynote 2008 Philanthropy Day in your community, let us know!

Contact Us


Where Have We Been?
The California Fires

The gods of irony were watching over us this fall, as we drove up and down the state of California, providing a series of workshops for the California Fire Safe Council. The workshops were all about Governing for What Matters, teaching boards how to hold themselves accountable for creating the most possible impact in their communities.


Just a few days into the series, the Santa Ana Winds kicked fire into the region, with hundreds of thousands of people evacuating. Never has our work had such direct meaning to us as it did during the blazing weeks of these workshops.
READ THE STORY

Cool Distractions
A Very Cool Bank Ad!

This video had everyone in our office saying, “Whoa! Did you see that?!” Akbank is Turkey’s largest private sector bank, and we have to say, banking never looked this creative!

See it here

Don’t miss the comments underneath the video as well - some of the people in the video talk about how they did the shoot.

You may also be curious to see the extent to which Akbank is involved in the arts in Turkey - that is here:
Learn More Here


Forward This Newsletter

If you find our newsletter useful, forward it to a friend
Click Here to Forward

Because board members so rarely receive information on how to do their job better, here are a few ways to help them:

• Forward this newsletter to individual board members or to your board's listserv

• Sign up your whole board Sign Up Now

What They're Saying

We couldn't decide on our favorite comments for this month, so we have chosen two to share. We don't normally make these anonymous, but after you read these two, you will understand why!

"We are an old but continually floundering organization. Your article is going to be this board's first step in the right direction in a long time."

Anonymous

"I'm sending this to the executive board while I still have my sanity. Thanks so much for a very helpful and insightful article."

Anonymous


Tell Us What You Think!

As we continue to develop the Community-Driven Institute, helping you create the future of your community, we hope you will let us know what you think. What would be helpful to have on our website, or to include in our newsletter? How have you used the products and programs we already have in place, and how have they worked for you? We appreciate the feedback, because our goal is to help you change the world (or just your piece of it).
Let us know!


Thank you, as always, for the work you do to make your communities better places to live. We wish for you all the possibilities life holds.







Community-Driven Institute
at Help 4 NonProfits

www.Help4NonProfits.com
BLOG: www.HildyGottlieb.com
4433 E. Broadway Blvd. Ste 202
Tucson, Arizona 85711

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