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( Happy Monday! Today’s post is from Sande Smith. A powerhouse of knowledge about effective communications strategies for non-profits and fundraisers, Sande will be sharing her insights with us once a month. You can read her bio here. Thanks for joining us Sande! )

About a year ago, feeling frustrated with my own career advancement, I asked a friend and highly successful development professional for advice. “How did you come so far in your career, and in such a short time?” I asked.

She told me that one of the most important things that she’d done was join a professional association – the Association of Fundraising Professionals, in fact.

And when she went to programs, she didn’t just sit there. She’d talk to the person on her left and the person on her right. She’d ask them what they were working on, and she’d share her own dilemmas and ask for their opinions. Then she’d follow up with these new acquaintances and ask them to lunch. Oh, and she’d also offer herself as a panelist for programs that the Association was putting on.

“Isn’t there something like that for PR or Communications people?” she asked me.

Actually there was. The Public Relations Society of America. While I’d been a member, I had only gone to one program and I certainly hadn’t volunteered for anything.

Within a month of our conversation, I’d gone to a program, and offered my services as a volunteer for the program committee. After three months, I was having lunch with smart people that I’d met at the programs (on topics such as media relations, twitter & social media), and sharing with my own colleagues what I’d learned.

Within a year, I was on the board of the San Francisco chapter of PRSA as the VP of Communications, responsible for increasing the visibility of the chapter and showing other communications professionals how useful the information and networking available through PRSA is.

Because of my involvement in PRSA, my own career is thriving. Through the contacts I’ve made and knowledge I’ve gained, I’ve placed noteworthy op-eds for the Global Fund for Women. I’ve gained expertise that has led to me heading up the Global Fund’s social media and online communications function and I’m also doing the same for the San Francisco chapter of PRSA.

I have developed new relationships with people in the corporate, non-profit and government sectors, and most importantly, my love for my profession has been rekindled. The value I’ve received has been priceless – far exceeding the dollar cost of membership.

Ask for advice. Show up. And give of yourself. The benefits can be extraordinary.

Substitute, “I’ll figure it out myself” with “Who can I ask for help?”

“Associations are the single largest source of post-graduate professional development for America’s workforce.”

- American Society for Association Executives

Happy Monday!

Of all the advice I have received over the years, I’ve treasured most a message from the big trees:

“You take everything so seriously little one.”

I used to run after work along a redwood-lined trail in the San Francisco Bay Area hills. This is where I would go to de-stress.

I’d start out preoccupied, my mind reviewing meetings from the day, to do lists and plans to meet upcoming deadlines.

At the end of every run I would hang out with the trees, staying until my breath was back to normal and my mind quiet and more peaceful.

Some days turning off the work thoughts was harder than others. I’ve long been an analyzer – on the quest to figure out why things are the way they are and how we can make them better.

So there I was one day, leaning against a tree, my mind full of questions, searching for answers. And from the towering trees surrounding me there came a kind, gentle message, “You take everything so seriously little one.”

And I started to laugh. The intensity of my thoughts instantly lightened with this obvious truth. I was grateful for the friendly observation of my propensity toward seriousness in all things and for the reminder of my place (little one) in the universe.

Was the message from the trees or from my “higher” self? We have so many voices in our heads – from our past, from friends, bosses, parents, movies, newscasts, books, songs – our thoughts continually churning with internal dialogue. Processing, planning, remembering, judging, calculating, dreaming.

Where the words came from doesn’t really matter – the gift was the perspective they offered to see my thought patterns in a new light.

We all have this ability – the ability to see and observe our own behavior and to be conscious of what drives our thoughts, words and actions.

Awareness comes before change.

Substitute, “This is the end of the world” with “The universe is vast beyond my human understanding.”

“Nothing so baffles the scientific approach to human nature as the vital role words play in human affairs. How can one deal with a physiochemical complex in which reactions are started and checked, accelerated and slowed down, by the sound or image of a word – usually a meaningless word?”

Eric Hoffer from The Ordeal of Change

Happy Monday!

The most pernicious myth of our existence is that there is something outside of ourselves that we need.

The most powerful freedom that knowing abundance gives us is this: the freedom from seeking external fulfillment.

What does this mean? Let’s break it down.

Name something you would like to do – to be – to create. A dream, vision or goal. Write this down.

Pause for a minute. Scan your life. Can you see where this dream, vision or goal is already present in your life? Already happening? Already in existence?

Can’t find it? Keep looking. It’s there.

Look everywhere – don’t limit yourself to your idea of how things should be. We do that a lot – create scenarios for how we think things should happen and narrow our perspective to only that which fits within our view and understanding.

For example, here are some myths that I’ve had:

The myth: “I need to go to art school to be an artist.”
Reality: www.breatheonelove.com

The myth: “I need a lot of supplies to create something.”
Reality: Glue sticks, magazines, paper, eyes and hands.

The myth: “I need to own this building to create an art/community space.”
Reality: www.frisbiest.com

What scarcity myths are your thoughts circling around?
Everything starts from what you already have and grows from there.
Again we come back to ourselves: everything we need, we already have.
What do you have? What can you share?

Substitute, “I need __________. (fill in the blank)” with, “Everything I need I already have.”

“We have what we seek, it is there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us.”

- Thomas Merton

Happy Monday!

Some of the best fundraising advice I’ve received over the years came from Mwosi Swenson at Mal Warwick & Associates.

I was working with the Global Fund for Women at the time and we were brainstorming ideas for a new direct mail package.

My team and I were excited about the possibility of creating a mailing to reach a wider audience – perhaps a letter geared toward men or immigrants in the U.S.

Mwosi said, “You can’t get someone to support something they don’t believe in through the mail. You can only convince someone to support what they already believe.”

Oh. Yeah. Right.

Fundraising is about connecting with people who believe in our mission.

Fundraising is our tool to build partnerships with like-minded individuals, organizations and businesses who “get” what we are trying to accomplish.

Through fundraising we actively engage with people who already care about the issues we are working on.

When you are passionate about your work it’s easy to think that your organization is the answer – and that everyone should know about it, believe in it, fund it. Of course, we all want the broadest possible reach for our cause.

But fundraising is not a public awareness campaign.

Don’t deplete your fundraising energy and budget trying to convince someone to support something they don’t already believe in. Find your choir and preach to them. (Or better yet, start a conversation.)

Then you’ll have money and people power to raise awareness and wider support for your cause.

Substitute, “Everyone should believe what I believe” with “Different strokes for different folks.”

“…in the end, there is only one bus.”

- Paul Hawken (from Blessed Unrest – How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming, p. 190)