Nonprofit Fundraising Archives

Accessing the ‘core muscles’ of professional balance

Posted on May 21, 2021May 21, 2021 by Todd J. Sukol

Just as success in sports requires balance, so too does professional success. Discover your professional “core muscles” and learn to use them.

Year-end Fundraising: Creating Opportunities

Posted on November 23, 2020November 23, 2020 by Todd J. Sukol

It’s here. Thanksgiving week. For so many nonprofits, this week feels like the unofficial season opener for year-end fundraising. True, this is a good time to run your LYBUNT and SYBUNT lists. Prioritize your calls. Start the push to hit December 31 in the black. Regardless of when fiscal years begin and end, the calendar…

Five mistakes grant seekers make over and over

Posted on October 23, 2020October 27, 2020 by Todd J. Sukol

As a grant seeker, so much is out of your control. What follows are five common errors that cause grant applications to get ignored. These are things you can do something about. I have seen all of these mistakes in my work as executive director of a grant making foundation. I’ve made my share of…

It Takes Good to Be Great

Posted on September 1, 2017November 10, 2017 by Todd J. Sukol

By Todd J. Sukol Ironically, in this week when my wife, Amy Sukol, led a seminar entitled “From Great to Awesome” at the 2017 Chicago Nonprofit Conference*, I was learning a complementary lesson, also loosely based on Jim Collins’ Good to Great, but in the opposite direction. You see, this week wasn’t what I would…

When is “enough” enough?

May 6, 2022

We work so hard to be the best we can be. To make our organizations the best they can be. When does our obligation reach its limits? Ours is a field where there is always something more that can be done more, or better. A system can be improved. A problem can be solved. A success can be made greater. Another dollar can be raised. Another beneficiary served. Another staff member assisted. There are so many pulls on you as a nonprofit organization leader – when is “good enough” finally good enough?

In truth, the real question isn’t “how hard” should we work, but “HOW” should we work. Please remember that there is a deep, divine spark inside of you. This same spark lives inside of every person, place, thing or circumstance you encounter. As a nonprofit professional and as a human being, your first obligation is to recognize, reveal and fan the flames of that spark in yourself and in those you work with. When you’re pushing so hard that your efforts no longer support this objective, it’s time to step back.

No matter how dedicated we are to the missions of our organizations, we cannot turn to our work for all of the meaning in our lives. You are uniquely special because you come from a divine source. We all need to step away from our work and take a break for spiritual and physical refreshment from time to time. We all need to remember and reconnect with the loved ones from whom we derive our identities and our strength.

Ask yourself: “In my work today, is my best self in the driver’s seat? Or, am I burning myself out by chasing “symptoms of success” rather than allowing my inner spark to express itself as I go about my work?”

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