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Let’s celebrate the opportunity to speak to others about our organization! Speaking in public and even speaking one on one with potential donors can cause anxiety and fear. Sometimes we are much more comfortable staying in our own little bubble and casually smiling as people walk by. I encourage you to push out of the bubble this year. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and do the six-step in 2017: 1) Be energetic when representing your organization. This goes…

 “I praise You, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Ps. 139:14 I still remember the first time I heard those words from David’s psalm. Surrounded by hundreds of beautiful college girls at South Padre Island, TX, for a spring break trip with a campus ministry, I could not relate. I did not think God had made me wonderfully at all. I didn’t particularly care for how I looked—especially when I compared myself to the beauty queens or tomboys. And…

You have been working very hard making sure that every donor has been asked to make a year-end gift. Now it is time to pour some hot cider, put on that crazy Christmas sweater, and show your donors your gratitude and appreciation. Set aside time in December to surprise your donors with random acts of kindness. The easiest is a simple thank you call. Whether you get them on the phone or you end up leaving a message, tell them…

What would you do with the observations, discussions, and ideas you could gain from visiting other PMCs across the country? What if you could visit not just a few, not just ten or twenty, not even just one or two hundred—what if you could visit over 700 pregnancy medical clinics? Who would some of the fascinating people be that you would meet? What kinds of expertise would they have? What would their stories be? How might being with them impact…

If a reporter were to do a feature story on your PMC, interviewing local doctors’ offices, the hospital and health department, local schools and colleges or universities, what kinds of things would they likely say about you? Would they have heard about you at all? Do they see you as contributing positively to your community? Are you known primarily as the place where poor women go to get diapers and baby clothes? Or do they see you more as a…

Early in my career I was managing human service programs doing the hands-on work that helped people in need better their lives. I considered the fund raising process a necessary evil to be endured in order to get the resources required to make a difference, and, by the way, pay my salary. I felt that the donors were getting off easy by just writing a check. They remained untouched and living comfortably in a much more elevated lifestyle than I…

Donors think in terms of a calendar year. Most have an idea of what they are willing to give during the year and they make sure to get it done in the last two months. This is why so many nonprofits are in a frenzy of appeals, thank you calls, personal visits, proposals, VIP tours, holiday cards, emails, and even donor gifts. It is even worse than the political calls and TV ads in a “swing state”. Think of yourself…

You’ve just poured your heart out sharing the woman’s story who visited your clinic, and how the appointment has changed her life, and now you wonder if your story will have the full force you intended. Or you’re writing ministry partners to let them know the results of a recent fundraising event that fell short of your goals, and you’re asking how to put words together so that people see your vision and are moved to contribute. Emails. Newsletters. Fundraising…

“Man knows not his time.” Or as the NLT puts Ecclesiastes 9:12, “People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.” In 1616, the Puritan William Perkins wrote a treatise, ‘The Right Manner of Dying Well.’ One of the themes of that discourse is the idea that we are not really prepared to live until we are prepared to die. The same idea could…

Before becoming AAAHC accredited, “we were acting like we were a medical clinic, but we didn’t fully know what that meant. Becoming accredited has given us the confidence that we know what we’re doing, and it’s the best.” Robin Fuller, ED, Pregnancy Care Center, Grants Pass, OR AAAHC is the Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care. “AAAHC accreditation means that the organization participates in on-going self evaluation, peer review and education to continuously improve its care and services. The organization…

Feeling overwhelmed, overburdened, foggy, indecisive? Do you like you’re floundering or maybe having a loss of focus? You know it’s impossible to continue with the status quo. Whether you’ve been in your position for many years or a just few months, times like this force us to evaluate. We have to go back to the beginning, before things became murky and confusing. We need a RESET. Look at the word reset. When we “set” something, we put it in place. To reset is…

Too often those involved in ministry see fundraising as a necessary evil and those who do fundraising as akin to used car salespeople. Some people assume that the fundraiser will tell the prospective donor anything to get a gift and take no responsibility after-the-fact for how the money is used. They may even mistakenly believe that nonprofit fundraisers work on commission: the more people you fool, the more money you make. Not true. Like many disciplines, fundraising has its professional…

Not familiar with FLSA? or the Fair Labor Standards Act? Ignorance is no excuse. And your PMC could be at risk. Especially with changes effective December 1, 2016. If your PMC is not keeping accurate records of the time employees are working…  If your ED is not exempt and she or any employees at your clinic routinely work hours that they do not report…  If your ED is not exempt and she or any employees routinely work more than 40…