Uplifting Blog

Once again, I was recently asked: “Why does my board avoid fundraising?” It’s a reframe of a common question. I always hear something underneath it, self-blame. It is as if the Executive Director was quietly asking, What am I doing wrong? I told her, “It may not be your fault. And it may not be your board’s fault either.” She looked at me, slightly puzzled. I said, “It might simply be the language we’re using.” Here’s what science tells us: your brain is constantly scanning

Listen to what you’re saying about your board. This one sentence may be shaping more than you realize—your tone, your leadership, and their response “My board won’t fundraise.” It’s a statement I hear from so many Executive Directors and Development leaders. It’s also the statement that has many of you signing up for my courses. And I get it. It usually comes from that familiar frustration: “Once again, the board didn’t step up… didn’t make connections… didn’t bring in the m

Have you ever watched a perfectly competent, intelligent, successful board member completely shrink the moment fundraising comes up? Cue the body language shift. Tight shoulders. Nervous laugh. Sudden fascination with the agenda packet. You might think, here we go again. Resistance . What if it’s not resistance? What if it’s also about biology? The good news is that when we understand what’s happening in the body, it gives us a way forward. The VAGUS NERVE, which helps re