As you strategize and think through what 2023 will look like for your nonprofit organization, I encourage you to avoid making these four common mistakes. You can think of them are New Years Resolutions or just good advice from a fundraising consultant who’s been helping nonprofits succeed for nearly 30 years. 

1. DON’T Over-solicit

We recently shared that 65% of donors who made first fit to an organization do not make a second gift. Why is that? Donors reportedly stop giving for the following reasons: 69% are over-solicited, 64% say communications are focused on asking for more money; 63% cite a lack of measurable results; 62% are no longer inspired by the mission; and 58% believe that the overhead costs are too high. In short, they are tired of feeling like an ATM without a connection to the organization.

DO Show Genuine Gratitude

Donors are tired of being treated as transactions. Instead, organizations should be giving back to their donors – giving genuine gratitude, valuable information, and stories of their impact. We always recommend organizations take a donor-centered fundraising approach where donors are cultivated in on-going relationships, valued for their unique contributions, and thanked for their specific gift. Donors want to be thanked promptly. They don’t want the thank you letter to be a listing of the latest accolades or accomplishments of the organization, and strictly forbidden is an overt or veiled request for more funding. They just want to be thanked. 

2. DON’T Put Any Warm Body on the Board of Directors

We have a saying at our firm: “No organization can rise above the level of its board.” The makeup and commitment of a nonprofit board is its lifeblood. A great board can propel an organization to unimagined heights, and, conversely, a poor board will mire it in quicksand until it finally sinks.

All too often, nonprofits, particularly newer organizations, are more concerned with filling all their board seats than with making sure the people they are recruiting are going to be good, dedicated, supportive, hard-working board members who can really lead the organization to success.

DO Go for Quality Over Quantity

It’s much better to have a small board of all the right people than a large board full of the wrong people. Nonprofits need to look for people who have a shared passion for the cause they are addressing, along with another needed characteristic. Perhaps you need a lawyer or a real estate expert or someone with a background in social services on your board — these candidates also need to really care about the issue. And it does not hurt if they have the ability and desire to make a significant financial contribution. We can help you establish and management an effective board. Learn about all of the services available to you on our website.

3. DON’T Ignore Cryptocurrency

There is a lot of misunderstanding about cryptocurrency — what it is, how to use it, and where it comes from. I think many people think of it as a “black web” currency that you need to have when someone hacks your data and wants to sell it back to you. But, the fact of the matter is that cryptocurrency has become a legitimate form of payment for legitimate goods and services, including charitable contributions.

DO Plan Well for Crypto

We all have different comfort levels with technology and how “cutting-edge” we are willing to live. Regardless, cryptocurrency is a growing form of charitable contribution. Nonprofit leaders need to proactively determine how their organization plans to handle cryptocurrency gifts to avoid making arbitrary or “emergency” decisions when dealing with donors. By taking these steps your organization will be proactively ready for the wave of future gifts.

4. DON’T Pursue Perfection

Finally, and probably most importantly, don’t get caught pursuing perfection. Many of us think of perfection as the goal. After all, each of us wants to be the best, right? Yet, the pursuit of perfection can be your worst enemy when it comes to fundraising. Perfection consumes your time, feeds procrastination, makes you forget the fundamentals, encourages philanthropy atrophy, and creates donor drift. Read my Forbes article on the topic for a full explanation.

• Perfection Consumes Time: I repeatedly see clients spending hours and hours going through a myriad of edits to their case statement. While editing and proofreading are important, at some point you must put down the red editing pen, stop talking about it and start moving forward with your campaign.
• Perfection Feeds Procrastination: This often manifests itself as the development officer who never gets around to the solicitation of donors because they are always waiting for the perfect set of circumstances. Instead, they end up stuck working on a perpetual cycle of cultivation steps.
• Perfection Forgets Fundamentals: A development officer who’s stuck in a cycle of seeking perfection isn’t soliciting the donors … so the donor probably won’t give a gift. This is a fundamental principle that development officers often lose sight of. 
• Perfection Encourages Donor Drift: When you aren’t asking for their contributions, donors assume their help is either not needed or not wanted, and they may engage with other organizations that are actively seeking and wanting their help. With so many organizations vying for attention, it’s easy for donors to be redirected and drift away.

DO Pursue Excellence

I encourage development officers to keep in mind that the more complicated something is, the less likely it is to ever be perfect. Working with donors is a complicated dance. While you should strive for excellence, perfection should not be the goal.

The good news is, it’s not the eloquence of the words on paper, the clever phrase or the perfectly timed ask that are ultimately going to sway donors to support your project. What motivates donors to give is the vision of the organization, the urgency of the needs, the validity of the proposed solution and, most of all, their relationship with your organization and leadership. Be clear, be authentic and be responsive to your donors.

Instead of pursuing perfection, set your sights on recognizing when good enough is good enough, and start making real progress on your fundraising campaign.

DO Realize You’re Not Alone

This may seem like a tall order – all these do’s and don’ts – but our expert consultants at Alexander Haas are here to help your organization succeed. Contact us today with your questions or for a consultation to learn how we can help your organization thrive in 2023.

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• Fundraisers will always respect the free choice of all individuals to give donations or not.
• Fundraisers will not accept donations where the acceptance of those gifts would not be in the best interests of the organization or create a conflict of interest that would be detrimental to the organization’s reputation, mission, and relationship with existing supporters and beneficiaries.

Until recently, I wouldn’t have thought about these statements representing donors’ and organizations’ rights necessarily being in conflict. However, considering recent high-profile cases of gifts being rejected, or being refused before they’ve even been offered, following these principles in certain circumstances can create quite a dilemma for the modern fundraiser.

On rare occasion, a donor’s conflict of interest, such as their own personal gain, the burden of administering a particularly complicated gift, or a donor’s desire to direct their gift for a use outside the organization’s best interest requires invoking a review of gift acceptance policies or the consideration of a formal gift acceptance committee – the channels through which fundraisers are shielded from personally deciding whether an unusual gift should be accepted.

Yet, these days, institutions are increasingly facing external pressure to reject otherwise legitimate donations from individuals and families, not on these grounds, but based on perceived immorality on the proposed donor’s part. As an example, numerous museums in the United States and England have recently been forced to respond to public pressure by rejecting current and future gifts from the Sackler family, with protesters asserting the family’s personal complicity and contribution to the opioid addiction crisis.

It is usually a straightforward decision not to accept a gift when a proposed donor has been convicted of criminal activity. But in recent cases, a donor’s political views, their position on a provocative or hotly-debated topic such as climate change, or their legal ownership of a company with controversial business interests have encouraged bystanders to take a vocal, public position on the validity of the donor’s giving and to criticize an organization’s appropriateness in receiving it.

The essence of charitable giving in America relies on an individual’s freedom to make a voluntary contribution to any organization or worthy cause they wish to support. These transactions of the soul can bring indescribable joy and fulfillment to the donor, while providing the resources necessary for an organization to maximize the delivery of its mission. Our job as fundraisers is not to question a donor’s character or motive for choosing to be philanthropic; it is to facilitate their ability to give unless some real conflict exists that would substantially impede or damage the organizations we represent.

The values-based questions in play today supersede the function of a traditional gift acceptance committee. An organization’s board of directors, with public input as it sees fit, should be the arbiter of whether a gift from a specific donor would be detrimental to its organization’s reputation or mission or would harm its relationship with its constituents to the extent that the gift should be refused. But as boards diversify and represent more divergent points of view, debate about the receipt of controversial gifts is only likely to increase, further complicating fundraisers’ ethical role in representing both donors’ and institutions’ interests.

In the end, I believe that the spirit of philanthropy and goodwill that has fueled America’s nonprofit sector and provided immeasurable benefit to society will continue to thrive, reconciling the generosity of well-intentioned individuals and families with the organizations that are meaningful to them. And as far as I am concerned, it is a privilege to assist them both in this worthy endeavor.

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Giving to charity continued to grow in 2018, but not as robustly as in the past. Overall giving increased by less than 1%, but the growth between 2016 and 2018 was a meaningful 7.1%. As has always been the case,  individuals and families contributed the lion’s share of giving at 68%, but their total giving declined 1.1% from 2017. The most significant increase in the percent given came from foundations, including gifts from family foundations and distributions through donor advised funds. Foundation giving increased to 18% of overall giving, a 7.3% increase over the previous year. Giving to the arts essentially held steady from 2017 and continued to represent some 5% of total overall giving.

Giving USA 2019 offers several important insights into the trends uniquely affecting museums and performing arts organizations. Here are a few takeaways to consider in planning for the upcoming year:

Larger gifts from high net-worth individuals should continue to be a focus.

According to the 2018 U.S. Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, 90% of high-net worth households gave to charity, with a quarter of them giving to the arts. The Quarterly Report, also referenced in Giving USA, found that the overall increase in giving in 2018 was driven by a 2.6% increase in gifts of $1,000 or more; gifts under that size declined by around 4%. While maintaining efforts to increase gifts at all levels, arts organizations should prioritize their focus on larger gifts from individuals, through upper-level membership programs, project-related major gifts, and campaigns.

Campaigns are an important tool for attracting major gifts.

Cultural organizations continue to benefit from campaigns, which crystallize institutional priorities into fundable opportunities for donors and encourage larger gifts. Theatre Communications Group recently reported that 40% of theaters were currently in a capital campaign, and another 38% completed a campaign between 2012 and 2017, leading to a 23% increase in overall giving and a 55% increase in trustee giving during this period. This year’s Giving USA also reports that organizations in every region of the country received multi-million-dollar gifts in 2018, supporting capital, endowment, and programmatic initiatives, listing a sample of 18 representative gifts of $10,000,000 or more. As fewer individuals are giving and a greater percentage of philanthropic revenue is coming through larger gifts, now is the time institutions should consider organizing and launching a campaign.

Don’t discount online giving.

Blackbaud Institute’s 2018 Charitable Giving Report showed that online gifts represented 9.5% of overall giving to arts organizations in 2018, and the 5.8% growth in online giving to the arts outpaced other non-profits by four times. While this noteworthy growth rate in overall online giving to the arts may be a function of the membership culture unique to museums, these trends illustrate the significance of making online giving a convenient option for donors and members, especially considering the decrease in smaller gifts.

Despite the complex issues that affect charitable giving in our country – from policy and tax law changes to social, economic and other factors – the voluntary, philanthropic support of arts and cultural organizations has never been stronger, with donors giving $19.5 billion to the arts in 2018. Reflecting on the numbers and trends outlined in this year’s Giving USA report, this is a time for optimism and opportunity, as we engage those donors whose generosity lights the fire of creativity, casts light on the human condition, and brings beauty and enjoyment through our nation’s arts and cultural organizations.

Takeaways From Giving USA To Help You Plan Better:

Giving to the Arts: The Numbers

Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018, was released in June, and amid a complex climate for charitable giving, individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $427.71 billion to charities in 2018.

Giving to arts, culture and humanities organizations stayed relatively flat, increasing 0.3% to $19.49 billion.

• In current dollars, giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 13.4% between 2016 and 2017, and increased 0.3% between 2017 and 2018. Cumulatively, current-dollar giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 13.8% between 2016 and 2018.
• Adjusted for inflation, giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 11.1% between 2016 and 2017, and declined 2.1% between 2017 and 2018. Cumulatively, giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 8.7% in inflation-adjusted dollars between 2016 and 2018.
• Contributions to the arts, culture, and humanities subsector comprised 5% of all charitable donations in 2018.
• Donations to the arts, culture, and humanities subsector reached the highest inflation-adjusted amount record to date in 2017, and remains the highest to date.
• Donations to the arts, culture, and humanities subsector have amounted to between 3% and 5% of total giving over the past 40 years.

More information from the Giving USA 2019 report can be found here.

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According to the findings of Giving USA, 2018 was an uneven year for philanthropy, with some subsectors experiencing significant increases, while others saw significant decreases.

It was also a year that saw three unprecedented things: 1) a record year for giving at $427 billion, 2) for the first time since Giving USA began in 1954 individual giving was less than 70% of all giving, and 3) giving to Religion reached its lowest point in more than 40 years, falling to 29%.

Total giving increased in 2018 in current dollars, but just barely, at a rate of 0.7%. Adjusted for inflation giving actually decreased by 1.7%.

Five subsectors saw giving decline, while four saw increases. The biggest increase came in giving to International Affairs, while the largest decrease was in giving to Foundations.

As in previous years, giving by Individuals is the number one source of gifts at 69%, but declined by 1.1% from its 2017 level. Giving from Foundations, many of which are family foundations, increased 7.3%.

While Religion continues to be the number one recipient of gifts, giving to Religion continues to lose market share, reaching an all-time low of just 29% of the pie and actually decreased by more than 1.5% in current dollars. While the trend of a declining percentage of giving to Religion has been ongoing for years, the actual decline in current-dollar giving to Religion is a unique phenomenon; one that has never happened in a non-recession year.

Below, is a quick look at the numbers. We will share more in-depth information in our upcoming sector newsletters.
Sincerely,

David H. King
President & CEO

Quick Look At The Results

The Numbers for 2018 Charitable Giving by Source:

• Giving by individuals totaled an estimated $292.09 billion, decreasing 1.1% in 2018 in current dollars. The only source that decreased between 2017 and 2018.
• Giving by foundations increased 7.3% between 2017 and 2018, to an estimated $75.86 billion in 2018. Between 2016 and 2017 giving increased 12.0%. The cumulative change in current-dollar giving by foundations between 2016 and 2018 is 20.2%. This is the greatest percent increase of any source in this period.
• Giving by bequest remained virtually unchanged in current dollars between 2017 and 2018-to $39.71 billion. Adjusted for inflation, giving by bequest decreased 2.3% in 2018.
• Giving by corporations increased by an estimated 5.4% in current dollars from 2017 to 2018, totaling $20.05 billion. In current dollars, giving by corporations decreased by 2.0% between 2016 and 2017, and increased 5.4% between 2017 and 2018. The cumulative change in current-dollar giving by corporations between 2016 and 2018 is 3.4%.

The Numbers for 2018 Charitable Giving to Recipients

• Giving to religion decreased 1.5% in current dollars from 2017, totaling $124.52 billion in 2018. Adjusted for inflation, contributions to religion decreased 3.9% in 2018. Accounting for 29% of total giving, this is the first time that giving to religion has fallen below 30% of overall giving.
• Giving to education decreased 1.3% in current dollars from 2017-to $58.72 billion in 2018. Adjusted for inflation, contributions decreased 3.7% in 2018. In 2017, giving to this subsector reached the highest inflation-adjusted value recorded to date..
• Giving to human services decreased 0.3% from 2017, totaling $51.54 billion in 2018 in current dollars. Adjusted for inflation, contributions decreased 2.7% between 2017 and 2018. In 2017, donations to this subsector totaled the highest inflation-adjusted amount recorded to date.
• Giving to [grant-making] foundations decreased 6.9% in current dollars from 2017-to $50.29 billion in 2018. Adjusted for inflation, contributions to foundations decreased 9.1% in 2018.
• Giving to health organizations grew 0.1% from 2017, totaling $40.78 billion in 2018 in current dollars. Adjusted for inflation, contributions to health decreased 2.3% between 2017 and 2018.
• Giving to public-society benefit declined 3.7% in current dollars from 2017, for a total of $31.21 billion in 2018. The cumulative change in giving to public-society benefit between 2016 and 2018 is 2.1% in current dollars. Contributions to this subsector reached the highest inflation-adjusted value recorded to date in 2017.
• Giving to arts, culture, and humanities increased 0.3% from 2017, totaling $19.49 billion in 2018 in current dollars. Cumulatively, current-dollar giving to this subsector increased 13.8% between 2016 and 2018.
• Giving to international affairs increased 9.6% in current dollars from 2017-to $22.88 billion in 2018. The cumulative change in giving to this subsector between 2016 and 2018 is 5.2% in current dollars. Giving to the international affairs recorded the highest inflation-adjusted value in 2015, at $25.09 billion.
• Giving to environment and animal organizations increased 3.6% in current dollars from 2017, totaling $12.70 billion in 2018. Donations to the environment/animals reached the highest inflation-adjusted amount recorded to date in 2018.
• Unallocated giving represents 2% of total giving at $6.53 billion in current dollars in 2018.

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One institution in the Southeast, North Carolina State University announced such a transformative gift for its College of Textiles this past fall. A $28 million gift, from alumnus Frederick “Fred” Eugene Wilson Jr. and the Wilson family will fund an endowment for the College. The College is now known as the Wilson College of Textiles.

As is often the case, this gift did not arise by accident, but through active communication with the donor and a genuine willingness to connect the donor with the opportunities and needs of the institution.  Mr. Wilson’s grandson, Rede Wilson, 2016 alumnus, responded to a direct mail appeal six months after graduation with a $1000 gift.  When asked why, he said it was because the dean asked him.  The dean had been one of Rede’s professors.  The development office was quick to connect Rede with his grandfather, who had given $10 million to High Point University.  Michael Ward, Senior Director of Development, asked Rede to serve on a young alumni committee and asked his assistance in reconnecting the family.  Members of the family became more actively involved in the College and across the campus.  Opportunities for engagement included attendance at basketball games and serving as design judges for the senior design contest.  As in best practices, a host of NC State and the College of Textile administration, faculty and staff played significant roles.  More than a dozen individuals participated in reconnecting the family, writing proposals, researching opportunities and meeting with family members.  The Chancellor and Dean were notably front and center in explaining the need, and transformative impact a naming gift could impart. 

Michael Ward suggested that there were several key points that outlined the success of this journey:

1. Soliciting new grads:  The initial solicitation resulted in an unusual gift for a six-month alumnus.
2. Recognition by the research team:  Realization that this new grad was a part of a generous multi-generational family.
3. Reconnecting the family:  Assistance was sought from the graduate to engage the family and many members of the family were involved in every step of the process.
4. Progressive emphasis on relationship building: Permission was requested every step of the way before invitations were issued to meetings and events.
5. An apology for not having stayed in touch:  The College acknowledged that it could have done a better job of staying involved with its more successful alumni.
6. Involvement of many people across the campus:  But most importantly, efforted was planned and coordinated by a seasoned development officer. 
7. Asking for permission to solicit: Nothing happened by surprise; the donor’s input and desires were instrumental in developing the opportunity and ultimately the solicitation.

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Whatever it takes.

Sweet Briar College, a women’s liberal arts college founded in 1901, was at risk of losing its legacy in the spring of 2015 when the college president and board suddenly announced they would be closing the college due to fiscal trouble.

A group of loyal alumnae stepped up and, with the help of the experts at Alexander Haas, began to do the impossible – Saving Sweet Briar. Hear in their own words, key alumnae and David King, President and CEO of Alexander Haas, recount the dramatic turn of events as the firm did “whatever it takes” to make the Saving Sweet Briar campaign a huge success.

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Among the most pressing and relevant issues faced by museums and performing arts organizations today is the diversification of their leadership, staff and audiences.   This has long been an important topic in the field, but the dialogue around these issues has taken on new significance in recent years.  While attention is most often paid to societal or moral considerations around diversity, intentionally representing and serving more inclusive communities can also yield other important benefits over the long term.  

Public and private funding organizations, board members, and donors are increasingly requiring that institutions’ leadership and audiences reflect the communities they serve as a condition for funding.  Civic cultural plans adopted in recent years throughout the country – from New York to Dallas, from Boston to  Oakland – celebrate diversity and inclusion and suggest that future funding decisions will be evaluated in the context of organization’s commitment to these values.  A recent report by the Mellon Foundation indicates that concentrated efforts have led to improvements in the diversification of upper-level staff members in art museums over the past several years, but that there is still work to be done.  Likewise, a new program launched by the American Alliance of Museums funded by the Ford, Mellon and Walton Family foundations shows that issues of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion on boards will continue to be a focus among major funders of the arts in coming years. 

As your organization contemplates issues such as these, several suggestions may be helpful to consider:

Authenticity is Key

There is a natural tendency during challenging budget times – or when ambitious development officers are determined to do whatever it takes to reach their goals – to paint an artificial picture of an institution’s priorities or achievements to meet a donor’s or funding organization’s objectives in an attempt to secure a gift or grant.  This can be especially true when discussing issues of diversity and inclusion in the absence of a board-approved institutional plan.  Remember that those who have given to your organization in the past already know your institution’s culture and personality well, perhaps better than you realize, and those with whom you want a long-term funding relationship will quickly realize that the organization may not be as genuinely committed to addressing these values as portrayed.  Without sugar-coating the situation, be straightforward in admitting what work has been accomplished and is still yet to be done.  This will help preserve or build lasting donor relationships over the long run.

Establish Ambitious but Attainable Goals

Donors know that tackling issues of institutional culture takes time, especially those as deep-seeded as diversity, inclusion and equity.  The first step in creating measurable change is establishing agreed-upon goals that demonstrate real commitment and that can be built upon over a specified period.  If your organization is working toward being more representative of its community through its leadership, staff, and audience, it’s important that everyone involved understands and agrees which metrics are going to be used in setting these goals, whether they are based on regional data, data for the city in which the organization operates, data obtained from peers, national benchmark data for other institutions of similar type, etc.  What’s most important to donors and funders is that a plan for authentic, tangible change is articulated that can actually be achieved.  As a friend has often reminded me, “inch by inch is a cinch, but yard by yard is hard.”  Understand that, while you might be able to achieve measurable goals along the way, when fully embraced as an institutional value, diversification is a process that will likely never be fully realized.

Leadership Begins at the Top

Perhaps the most important thing for development officers and CEOs to remember is that, no matter how committed you, a group of staff or the senior leadership of an arts institution may be to issues of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion, sustained cultural change requires the commitment of the board to be most effective.  This endorsement, whether in the form of an action plan – or even just a written statement – demonstrates to your potential donors and funders that these are issues of institutional priority and not just a means to seeking their gift or grant.   

Embracing diversity is among the most important concerns facing museums and arts organizations in today’s fundraising environment.  Authentic, intentional organizational change can both create a stronger, more inclusive society while also providing the opportunity for your institution to establish deep, meaningful relationships with like-minded donors and funders.  And in such a world, everyone wins – most especially those who experience the joy and personal transformation your organization makes possible.

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The authors describe how the science can “help facilitate donations, whether impulsive – quick gifts involving little analysis but rapid and positive emotional feedback – or deliberate – thoughtful contributions that resist the temptation of fast, feel-good donor experiences and more deeply account for the recipients of the aid and its results.”  Think donor interaction with text-message fundraising campaign versus a major gift donor understanding more deeply the mission and results of your organization. 

Karlan, Tantia, and Welch assert, “Some donors prefer to give impulsively and embrace strategies that encourage intuitive, quick actions that make them feel good. Other donors want to be more deliberate with their giving, and the right tools can help them follow through on those intentions. In both cases, rigorously testing new approaches and strategies can help charities learn what works best for them and the impact they have on the world.”

The authors go on to provide thoughtful examples of nudge techniques for both impulsive giving and deliberative giving with real-world examples and suggestions for how to use the techniques. 

Read the full article online.

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In the world of advancement, we often face work environments where employee morale is low for a myriad of reasons. There has been no shortage of challenging and difficult events affecting colleges and universities, for example. How about state budget cuts? How about another negative impact on our budgets and institutional relevance and viability—declining enrollments?  What about administrative missteps? 

These scenarios can understandably create stress and uncertainty including college closures, department mergers, and personnel cuts. And those are but a few examples, which point to the many ways those of us in advancement can be dealt in the complex and challenging environment in which to do our work.  

In an important and timely article in CASE’s Advancement Weekly on boosting morale when times are challenging, several tips are offered to leaders working with a team or office environment experiencing low morale: be direct, rebuild trust, and inspire others. 

Being direct requires courage to share the bad news plainly without sugar-coating it. “At some point in human history, it was determined that the best way to deliver bad news was to either ignore it or jam it deep inside a daunting mass of big words,” explains Robby Brumberg. “Don’t try to bury bad news underneath mounds of meaningless buzzwords.”

Brumberg also recommends rebuilding trust so that your team can heal and work toward a common goal. “If your culture has been damaged, try to piece it back together. Use your communication to rebuild trust and reestablish connections,” writes Brumberg. When employees trust that they can discuss issues frankly with leadership, it’s far easier to discover and correct any issues before they have undesired consequences.

The Association for Talent Development asserts there are five questions to ask yourself when determining if you’re a trustworthy leader:

1. Do people constantly question your expectations of them?
2. Would most people describe you as someone who is reliable?
3. Is there a high amount of gossip and disrespect among your team?
4. Do the majority of team members underperform at the tasks you ask them to do?
5. Do you trust people to take on new responsibilities?

Inspiring others is Brumberg’s final suggestion to boost employee morale. This may seem obvious, but you should be intentional about what you say and how you say it. “You have a voice—a prominent one in your organization—so you might as well use it to spread a bit of mirth, hope and encouragement. If you deliver doom and gloom (or boring corporate spume), you’ll make morale worse,” says Brumberg.

Brumberg sums how to use up proper communication to boost morale by stating, “You can’t fix everything that’s broken in your organization—and you can put only so much lipstick on whatever messaging pigs you inherit—but you can use your position to uplift, encourage and energize your colleagues.”

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Meet Alexander Haas Project Coordinator, Heather Pennington! As Project Coordinator, Heather supports each aspect of client projects and ensures that communication flows between Partners and clients. She also provides administrative support for firm projects and tasks associated with client services, non-client tasks, and professional activities.

In this Team Member Spotlight, Heather shares what brought her to Alexander Haas as a millennial, who she’s been most inspired by at the firm and what trends she expects to see in giving in the coming years.

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