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NEW
Series: |
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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.
Nora Lester Murad is one of the
founders of Dalia Association, a new community foundation in Palestine. We have
been blessed to have Nora agree to join us as a guest blogger at Creating the
Future!
You can see Nora’s first post
here:
 CLICK HERE
Until just a few years ago, Nora was
a college professor and consultant in Massachusetts. Then, in 2004, she and her
husband moved their three daughters halfway around the world, to the
Palestinian community of Beit Hanina, in Israeli controlled East Jerusalem.
With the immense influence of foreign aid in the region, Nora and others
founded Dalia Association out of the desire for Palestinians to guide their own
path to community development.
You will not want to miss Nora’s
ongoing story!
CLICK HERE
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Product Update:
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Is Your
Organization More Like the Red Cross Than You Think? |
“Our
organization may have problems, but at least we don’t have the Red
Cross’s problems!”
If that’s
what you’re thinking as you watch the news, think again.
The issues
plaguing the Red Cross are not what everyone thinks they are. And it is likely
your organization is facing many of those same problems. You’re just not
seeing them on the national news!
So we have dusted
off the case study / white paper we published 5 years ago - 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. And we have
updated it to get the point across: These issues are happening in many many
organizations - not just the Red Cross.
The need for new
blood, wishing you could accomplish more, misguided boards, staff turnover,
disengaged boards - the issues the Red Cross continues to get wrong are likely
affecting your organization as well.
This tiny guide
will help you identify what’s really stopping your organization. And it
will show you how to start getting past those obstacles once and for
all!
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
Learn more
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 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 you’ve done in a long time (and that’s 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
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| What They're Saying |
Here's our favorite comment this month. We don't normally make these anonymous but after you read this 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
| 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.
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