Comments for CFC Treasures by Bill Huddleston

Comment on Bullfeathers! Donors are Donors! by cfctreasures

cfctreasures — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:02:24 +0000

Franklin,
Thanks for the heads-up, obviously hit the “post” button too soon. I’ve updated the text of the original post as well.

Comment on Bullfeathers! Donors are Donors! by Franklin

Franklin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:12:58 +0000

>>>Jeff Merkle, DonorPowerBlog

Jeff Brooks, not Jeff Merkle. His new blog is Future Fundraising Now at http://www.futurefundraisingnow.com.

Comment on Workplace Giving Works Because Colleagues Ask Colleagues by marcy

marcy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:34:46 +0000

In the past ten years, working at different federal agencies, I have noticed that Eagle pins are no longer given. This may save a few pennies, but it seems to me that the more generous givers ought receive at least this small acknowledgement.

Comment on Workplace Giving is NOT synonymous with United Way by Jenna

Jenna — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:07:19 +0000

Interested in learning about another way to fundraise? Check out http://www.cafegive.com, where a portion of every purchase goes directly to supporting the non-profits you love. How sweet is that? Get what you need and help make the world a better place. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Comment on Emerging Non-profit Leaders – Where to develop and practice leadership skills. by sandrar

sandrar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:27:26 +0000

Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. Cheers! Sandra. R.

Comment on Another Clueless Board of Directors – PCRM by Bill Bartmann

Bill Bartmann — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:18:09 +0000

Excellent site, keep up the good work

Comment on Tribute to Volunteer Videographers by Harold Maurer

Harold Maurer — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:49:39 +0000

Hi Bill. I am fondly reminded of Tom Paxton’s “Thank you Republic Airlines for breaking the neck on my guitar.” Of course this happened before instant celebrity…

Comment on Non-profit Leadership Development – Where’s the practice field? by Anne Schink

Anne Schink — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:53:16 +0000

Very important advice. Whenever I ask people where they remember getting their first leadership experience, many of them report those early opportunities to practice these skills in Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H or other youth service activities. Even within an employee’s own department/company/agency these opportunities, as you say, high visibility and low potential for failure provide a chance to showcase one’s skills to others besides one’s own supervisor.

Comment on Another Clueless Board of Directors – PCRM by Harold L. Maurer

Harold L. Maurer — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:32:34 +0000

Well said, Bill. I am a parent, too, and as one of the millions you call to your side of the argument, I couldn’t disagree more.

First, I assume all the African children used for Catholic Charities or the 700 Club signed releases etc. etc. When DID not-for-profits stop using someone else’s children for their financial gain?

Secondly, great PR is always a risk…you tread close enough to the edge to scare people – yourself included. That’s why the legacy of barrels over Niagara and tightrope walkers on the World Trade Center. Come to think of it, pissing off the White House has a pretty strong track record – Watergate, Valerie Plame, The Pentagon Papers, Monica Lewinsky, Viet Nam, the Cuban Missile Crisis and many more. Sometimes, pissing someone important off is the ONLY way to get the attention you think your cause deserves.

Third, I’ll bet you lunch that PCRM sees a bump in 18 months, not a depression. Based on recent health findings, the vegetarian/vegan folks are on to something. Eating hormone-laced animal products is detrimental to health; cruelty to animals is detrimental to human dignity.

I’m not sure how optics can stink, but Dr. Barnard’s motives and vision are pretty clear: grasp for attention and then leverage support from the consequences. As far as the sanctimonious declaration that leveraging children is “just wrong,” spare me. It happens every time your church drums up support for the Little League.

Comment on Another Clueless Board of Directors – PCRM by cfctreasures

cfctreasures — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:31:39 +0000

Actually, I did think about this decision by PCRM, which is wrong on a multitude of counts:

1. You don’t use someone else kids to further your non-profit agenda, and I don’t care if they are in the public eye or not. This is just wrong, and this is not a new issue in political Washington, so PCRM definitely got this one wrong. I am a parent, and believe me, millions of parents will have the same position.

2. Politics 101 – If you’re trying to generate support for a public policy position, pissing off the White House is not a good strategy.

3. It will take a year to see if this comes true, but my prediction is that their financial support will suffer. They currently get 94% of their $14 million dollar budget from individuals, so we’ll see over the next 12 to 18 months what impact the publicity actually had.

I am curious as to what discussions, if any, Dr. Barnard had with the Board or staff about what the goal of the campaign was. It’s pretty obvious no one in the room said,

“But, wait, what if it doesn’t generate the positive publicity you think it will?”
“What are the potential downsides to using the President Obama’s children in an ad the White House hasn’t seen, hasn’t approved, and is about an issue where there are no public statements from them?”

The optics on this one stink and it doesn’t take much to see that.