Perpetually Curious

I so wanted to go to the National Arts Marketing Project Conference this year. Okay, truth is I want to go to any  arts-related conference but they have this nasty habit of 1) falling on show weekends (thus I have to be at work) and 2) having a hefty registration fee (which I can't afford currently). Hence, I am very  grateful that the NAMP folks recorded some of their speeches, including the opening keynote by UnMarketing guru Scott Stratten. You can listen to the whole speech here . Today, I just want to share with you what I jotted down while listening. there is no such thing as a neutral  brand interaction. Seth Godin's Purple Cow . Unawesome is unaccetable .  We share experiences. Marketing is actions. Re-marry your current audience. What can you STOP ? What can you START ? What can you CONTINUE ? You can't ignore what you hate. Don't have a presence [in social media] but not be present. Get 'em in the door any way you can. Everyday awesome doesn&#

(Full disclosure: I usually have about one per week.) I received as a Christmas present Burnett's pithy classic The Zen of Fundraising: 89 Timeless Ideas to Strengthen and Develop Your Donor Relationships (Jossey-Bass, 2006). Burnett has written some of the most revered relationship fundraising books in the field and this one is a nice overview of how relationship fundraising should work. Every one of those 89 ideas would work as a standalone blog post, but I wanted to write about two of the over-arching ideas he puts forward, because the first is something I want to do every day and the second is, well, my whole raison d'etre. The first idea is salient, smart communication . I add the adjectives because this is not broadcast communication, trying to reach the widest possible audience at any possible cost. This communication is targeted, well-written, inspires, educates, and deepens the relationship between the nonprofit and the donor. These extend from everything to

New Year’s Resolutions: Checklists versus Commitments Great stuff over on Artsblog. I've tried to pare back my to-do list (by making master lists and then culling the daily tasks from there) to the three main focus areas in my life: home/myself, school, and work. 

My friends Danny and Jenny got married this weekend! I love life-transition celebrations. There is always an element of the Divine present.

Whether you know you're doing it formally, or just making a list in your head, everyone builds a case for support for something you want. A nonprofit arts organization should write a formal case for support at least annually. It should be constructed by everyone who has a stake in the organization's fundraising effort and, ideally, it should also be contributed to by those with the longest institutional memory (who are likely also your best storytellers).  [photo by my daughter] I'm a list maker and note taker. But I also find myself building mini cases every day: "Why More Hours Has An Exponential ROI", "Why I Need An Intern", "Why Moving Would Benefit Us". These are slightly more than just a list of pros and cons, or simple nagging items, but well thought-out, reasoned arguments as to how these things can benefit not only me, but are actually win-win situations for all involved. These secondary lines are not written out as formally as