Proofreading. I need to go boldly where, clearly, I have not (successfully) gone before. It's one of the very many issues of being a one-person office.  Things don't get done as perfectly as I'd like. Documents go out with typos, no matter how many times-frontward and backward-I read them. I see what I think I wrote.

  So, for example, in a recent flyer about my upcoming trainings, I left out one letter and those who clicked through to find out about my April 3 workshop on Fundraising That Keeps on Giving at the Volunteer Center South Bay didn't go anywhere. The correct link is  http://volcenter.org/training. 

  Or the one I sent out to alert people of a terrific workshop offered by some colleagues who will be talking about new funding sources beyond charitable giving for nonprofits where I said the address was on Venture Blvd instead of the correct Ventura Blvd.

  And these are only the tip of the iceberg.

  I shudder to think about the typos that have appeared in my proposals, reports, presentations, not to mention six years of newsletters and blogs.

  There is, of course, a solution. There usually is. My sister says that the solution is always money-and she is not entirely wrong.

When I realized that I was too often messing up my invoices, I hired a wonderful bookkeeper. And while more staff is often the best of all possible worlds, it does cost-both salary and training time. Sometimes, there just isn't the money-or the will-to bring more staff on board. What is a one-person office to do?

   Clearly you can lower your expectations, but I've found that is not terribly satisfying. Better, for me at least, is to focus my energies to being more effective. While that may mean pulling in, it isn't to do less work, just to do the work I do better. And that often means focusing on my strengths.

   It also means looking at what will bring the best results for your efforts. Too many development directors, for example, are expected to write grants, run events, do direct marketing for annual campaign and-in their copious spare time-cultivate potential major donors.

   The reality, of course, is that just isn't going to happen. Where that development officer spends his or her time should be predicated on the organizational needs and resources. That, of course, isn't likely to happen either as the development director gets pushed or pulled into all nature of things that have nothing to do with raising money. Or do-but not necessarily the things that make sense.

   Nonprofessionals often believe that the best ways to raise funds are either via grants or by throwing yet another event. And both have value. But for sustainable support, nothing beats developing relationships with interested individuals. If the Board thinks that writing those grants or having those events are so important, they really should consider putting their money where their collective mouths are-and providing the financial support for the development director to get the human resources he or she needs. The return of that investment will prove it to be worthwhile.

  Tempting as it is, however, to put the blame on others, too often (to paraphrase Pogo), when we meet the enemy we find it is us.

   Learning how to manage your time (and your staff and volunteers, should you be lucky enough to have these) is critical.   Knowing what your goals are-what you intend to achieve is that most important first step. Once you know where you want to go it is much easier to map out a route to get you there. As Yogi Berra, another of my mentors, said, "I If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else."

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Toni Rolmay is one of the people I rely on when I need to figure out how to get something done.  This month, she offers 4 Key Tips That Every Project Needs for Success.  What I find with Toni's advice is that it works for both nonprofits as well as for-profits, and whether you are scaling her advice down to your one-person office or scaling up to your staff of many.

Another of my "go-to" people, especially about anything fundraising related, is Doris Feinberg, President of The Prospero Group.  Who better, I thought, to write wisely about "The Art of the Ask"?   

And to have enough asks, of course, you need to have a Board that is a Fundraising Powerhouse.  Learn how to turn your Board into one! 

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• Are your fundraising results down?
•  Board members bored?  
•  Or are thinking about a campaign? 

Whatever your capacity building needs, Janet Levine Consulting can help.

  

 Send me an email or give me a call at 310-990-9151 to schedule a free 30-minute consultation. 

I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,

 Janet