INSPIREneer Consulting

A must read from the Chronicle of Philanthropy – “Profit and Purpose”

inspireneer — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:28:08 +0000

As someone who transferred from the For-profit business sector to the Non-profit (social profit) sector I do believe that the two worlds need to learn from each other. This is an article that speaks to part of that so I thought I would share……

Purpose Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

By Anne Mai Bertelsen

When I was young, I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and make a difference. My father, an architect, was very involved in social causes as a founding member of the Committee of 1,000, which worked to help children orphaned during the war in Vietnam.

But, unlike my father, I wanted social good to be my vocation, not my avocation.

Armed with a couple of degrees—and corresponding student debt—I wanted to offer my passion, my purpose, and my endless supply of ideas and energy to a nonprofit. But the low pay—and the fact that many groups had organizational structures that thwarted innovation—forced me to give up my dream of a nonprofit career. I instead explored working in the for-profit world.

The world has changed significantly since my early-career decision. But most nonprofits still offer below-market salaries and remain maddeningly inhospitable to innovation.

If nonprofit…

Must have resource:”Leading the Way to Successful Volunteer Involvement”

inspireneer — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:31:15 +0000

If you run or work for any kind of nonprofit organization you know that you can’t do it all. The level and quality of your volunteer base can make or break your organization. I must admit that I haven’t read this new book, “Leading the Way to Successful Volunteer Involvement: Practical Tools for Busy Executives” YET, but its authors, Betty B. Stallings with Susan J. Ellis, are two of the most dedicated and experienced volunteer engagement specialists that I know and have had the privilege of meeting and studying under. I am going to be purchasing the e-book right after this post. You can do the same or get the hard copy by visiting the Energize, Inc. bookstore.

I am sure this will be a best seller and a reference that will pay for itself over and over again by helping you start or improve your volunteer program.

Picture (or video) is worth a thousand words

inspireneer — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:36:55 +0000

Well here I am, officially kicking off my Blog portion of my website and I have actually found myself at a loss for words. That’s right, my friends are laughing because lately I’ve had something to say about just about everything. Well thank goodness for the Chronicle of Philanthropy September edition because one story reminded me of a very important thing…a picture is truly worth a thousand words when trying to get your point across and in this case it is a 3 minute and 40 second video that I have to share with you as a reminder to all, especially those in local, state and yes, federal government, just how important the nonprofit sector really is and why funding them should be further up the list before pet projects and bridges to nowhere. So I now invite you to watch, think and learn…oh and don’t forget to check out the article as well.