As we gear up for a second round of our Fairmount4Free pro bono initiative – stay tuned for an announcement this summer! – it’s important to look back on what we accomplished the first time around. For those not in the know, we launched Fairmount4Free as our very first pro bono initiative last summer, which offers $10,000 of free consulting services to smaller nonprofits in the area doing exciting work. The response was amazing (and even inspired us to expand pro bono support to the many new nonprofit leaders in our city through the PHL NExT initiative). After much deliberation we selected PhilaSoup, an education-focused microgrant dinner that awards funding to exciting classroom projects, as one of our inaugural awardees. Continue reading
Author: Rhea May
Banish Networking Nightmares
One of the most tired pieces of advice around nonprofits (as well as your personal career) is network, network, network!
This isn’t to say that networking and collaboration aren’t vitally important to an organization’s success – I’d wager it’s quite the opposite. In a world of finite human and financial resources and seemingly infinite need, successful nonprofits are connected to and learning from other great organizations. These nonprofits are also filled with well-connected individuals. Continue reading
Teach a Man to Fish…
The most successful nonprofit leaders have a relentless dedication to not only serve, but to empower their constituents. They strive to offer assistance that develops self-reliance. And they understand that success often means their organization will fundamentally change, or even run itself out of business.
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When The Food Trust Parties, Everyone’s Invited
Last night marked the end of a fun tradition my boyfriend and I started this summer – sharing mouthwatering food truck finds, listening to great local music, bobbing and weaving through massive crowds, trying absurd new ice cream flavors (and I mean that in the most delicious way possible) and eating more desserts than any human should attempt in one sitting, then collapsing on a street curb in a food-induced coma to watch the rest of the excitement unfold – AKA the Night Market. Continue reading
My secret to writing: it’s about you, not me.
Did anyone else get the opportunity to watch Bill Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night? Regardless of political affiliation, professional commentators and casual observers alike seem to agree that the man is a masterful orator, and his most recent speech was certainly no exception. The excitement in the convention hall was palpable even in my living room. Though the speech was almost an hour long, I was glued to my seat. Continue reading
The Story of a Squirrel Adoption: Engaging Your Audience in Creative Ways
Last week, a friend sent me a link to an image that was popular on one of my favorite social media sites. It was a picture of a sign on the side of a bus stop. The sign depicted a cute, slightly dopey-looking squirrel and read: “Get adopted by a squirrel. And feel content in knowing that your new parents are somewhere in a tree, watching you.” Continue reading