Being an athlete and part of a team has been an integral part of my entire life.  I sometimes walk through the world thinking that everyone knows what “team” means and how it manifests in our lives.  As many people may not have had the honor of being part of an orchestra, dramatic performance troupe, or been a member of a sports team, I am sharing a few team concepts I believe can be adopted for any group that works toward a common goal.

1. Define your legacy and go after it!  Any team or troupe is clear on what success means to them as a group and in their work.  They take pride in and value their contribution to their school, their community, and people who watch them in action.  They agree on a goal and a process for getting there (win the conference championship and do it with dignity, class, and respect for the opponents) and hold each other accountable to the team values and process. 

2. Trust that your teammates are there for you!  The camaraderie and support from being part of a team is wonderful when it works and people play to each other’s strengths.  When each player has been given a role or defined their contribution as a ‘player’, then the fun begins.  A highly functioning team exchanges messages of encouragement and feedback which are easy to receive as they have the team’s highest good in mind.  Put an emphasis on “positive” and “encouraging”;  teammates who challenge each other to rise to new heights rather than pulling teammates down.

3. Everyone is part of team success AND team failure and every team member understands that practice does make perfect!  People understand the concept of repetition of a task over and over again leads to success.  At least, in theory they do!  I often work with groups and ask people what their idea of “practice” when it comes to speaking your vision or sharing your connection to the work you believe in.  Ninety percent of the time people think that if they say or write their story once, that is the ‘practice’ they need.  Teammates know that repeating the effort to tell  your story many times is the difference between good and great.  Any good athlete or team member knows that together everyone achieves more so they encourage each other to practice.  And, we all know that there is something to learn from every loss; it is just how you use and share those lessons that matters.  Being good is not about not making mistakes, it’s about never making the same mistake twice.

Top fundraising CEOs with whom we have had the honor of working have the ability to endear themselves to those who have capacity to make their institution’s dreams come true, are capable of articulating the vision for the institution to a variety of audiences, and spend a majority of their time doing these two things.  Read on to see if these essential CEO characteristics are present at your organization or as a frame for a potential new hire in the “number two” position for your organization.

The CEO is the voice, the visionary, the leader and the face of the institution and thrives in this role.  They are the ones in whom major donors/funders give their trust.  The CEO is who a donor considers before making a significant gift. A top notch Chief Development Officer* (CDO) knows when and how to use the CEO’s time for the greatest return.  The CEO motivates the Board members to be personally involved in fundraising and acts as a negotiator between Board and staff.

The CDO spends considerable time working with development staff, CEO assistant or Board assistant, volunteers, Board members and donor connectors to do the following tasks as they relate to major gifts work: planning and organizing, strategizing about prospects and calendar, setting goals and priorities, and learning about new and current donors through conversations and reviewing background information. The CDO is seeking always to put the President/Chair, the CEO, and key leadership in positions and conversations with donors for a win. The CDO's goal is to be so well prepared that the best suited leadership member (CEO, CDO, volunteer, Chair or combination) makes the right ask of the right person for the right project at the right time.  The CDO and CEO work in close partnership to raise funds.

A successful fundraising organization has the CEO and CDO spending a lot of time together building a strong and respected partnership.  Both parties share a joint commitment to the relentless pursuit of people who can help the institution.  The CEO and CDO share a joint ownership of problems and goals, a joint ownership of relationships, and a joint ownership of success.  This can only successfully occur through trust and constant honest communication.  The CDO is always lobbying and fighting for the priority share of the CEO time and knows that when she gets it that she can't blow it!  A good CDO has familiarity with the strengths, comforts, and places a CEO ‘shines’ and plays to these settings.  The CDO demonstrates loyalty, dedication, and confidentiality and offers ongoing relationship building and learning opportunities for volunteers.

There should be a disciplined schedule where the CDO and CEO meet each week to talk about the past, present, and future of relationships with donors and funders.  Time is spent reviewing meetings, stewardship plans, and discussing updates on donors.  Calendars are reviewed and a “top 25” visit schedule of recommendations are discussed.  Challenges for re-engaging donors or funders are discussed.  From there the CDO reviews the calendar daily and ensures the CEO’s assistant feels comfortable with all the meeting and conversation details to serve the donor and provide success for the CEO.   The CDO also works throughout the organization and with volunteers to ‘stop and celebrate’ the wins and keeps the team motivated between wins.   As issues come up with donors a good CDO is quick on her feet to present solutions and/or knows how to ask the right questions to move the relationship forward.  The CDO is also responsible for ongoing communication to the CEO and Chair/President including sending reports via e-mail of gifts that come in and suggesting donors to thank or call with scripts that make it easy for the leadership to act and say just the right thing.                      

*Chief Development Officer refers to the top development person in the organization who may or may not have this title                                 

This article was written in collaboration with the smart fundraising expert Debra Minton, Founder of Philanthropia Partners and is a salute to one of the best fundraising CEO’s, Dr. Donna Lopiano and the  successful partnership we had at the Women's Sports Foundation


 

A wise expert on management coaching, John Keyser, asked me to pen some thoughts that might be helpful to women seeking leadership positions in business.   John is one of the guys who gets it; he knows that men are promoted because of their potential while women must prove themselves
over and over to be promoted.  The research group Catalyst has confirmed this in their studies.

Much has been studied and shared about women’s leadership and the lessons that must be embraced for success.  Here are some helpful ideas for women to consider for advancement in the work place:

1. Get ‘investors’ behind you.  Find people who will go to bat for you and ask them to think of you for projects, committees, speaking opportunities, etc.  Ideally this would be a senior ranking male in your firm who knows your skills and will comfortably recommend you for projects and promotions.    Men will often say to a CEO; “I want to work for you”.  Women need to be bold and say the same. 
2. Share your wins.  As a general rule, women are averse to ‘bragging’ yet this often means they are overlooked for promotions as their accomplishments are not showcased or not known by the leadership.  After leading your team to completion of a successful project, write a thank you to all members of your team, with a cc to the CEO, that details these accomplishments.   Then the CEO will have clear data on your work and efforts. 
3. Raise your hand.  Find out what associations are applicable for your industry or sector -- where the leaders you admire are involved.  Join these groups and volunteer for committees.  The chairs of these committees are well respected and connected individuals and will notice the work of a good committee member.  Their recommendation of you for a position will be well received. 
4. Be your best friend… and saleswoman.  I am often in awe of how men introduce themselves compared to a woman’s modesty.  Humility works for sure but women must make sure they don’t discount what they have accomplished.  Try an introduction that truly summarizes the breadth of your work; “I am an  entrepreneur who has built four successful businesses including a real estate company, a health care practice, a consulting practice, and a national nonprofit organization.  All of my work incorporates women’s empowerment around their bodies, leadership, money, and the true ownership of power.”
5. Report to a Board that looks like you.   If you hear the leadership say, we can’t find any women for our Board, refer them to this smart list of resources.

 

Jennifer Buffett will change the world. You may not know her now, but when all is said and done I believe she will own the title, The First Lady of Women’s Social Change Philanthropy.  Jennifer is the life size symbol of NoVo – to alter, invent.  The NoVo Foundation she created with her husband Peter is based on the premise that if you give a girl an opportunity, she will become a successful woman who will in turn create successful communities, businesses, and families.  Jennifer’s story is just that.

After deep examination of the focus of their philanthropy and a personal examination of her own expression of her values and influence, Jennifer is speaking around the world sharing her personal story and experiences. She and her husband Peter spent years examining the interrelation between systems, culture, and relationships to determine place of impact and opportunity for change before launching the largest foundation serving women and girls, the NoVo Foundation.   Jennifer has incredible perspective to offer activists, social change drivers, and philanthropists and after hearing her recently, I distilled these ten concepts that are worth sharing; 

1. Look at the roots of the problems, examine patterns and themes and find the programs and the stories that rule the world and which ones make sense.
2. Acknowledge two conflicting truths:  1. Girls and women are the primary drivers of change.  2. Cultural attitudes and systems put girls in a vicious cycle; blaming them and affirming that they are not valued.   The girl effect demonstrates that if you invest in a girl, her family thrives, she contributes to her community, and eventually her country succeeds.
3. Invest in places where value is held and not yet recognized.  Note:  there are 600 million adolescent girls living in the developing world who are currently ‘undervalued assets’. 
4. Value balance and partnership and affirm feminine values. 
5. Encourage women to use their voice, say what is want and needed, take credit, and invite men to join as equal partners and co-creators. 
6. As a woman, choose to be seen and heard and work to change the course of the boat named Earth Community. 
7. Improve gender dynamics by recognizing that the qualities in the masculine ‘toolbox’ - force, hierarchy, punitive, and a focus on head not heart - are learned, normalized, and internalized. 
8. Honor and showcase the characteristics found in the feminine toolbox; listening, connectedness, experiential learning, honoring innate cycles and rhythms, and wholeness. 
9. Establish learning environments that allow for inquiry and participation. 
10. As conduits of feminine energies, allow the most precious qualities of clarity, strength, knowing and vulnerability of yourself to come into full light. 

I had the honor of being part of the Women’s Funding Network Worldwide Conference where women from Serbia, Mexico, Australia, Scotland, Nigeria, Canada, and every place in between, descended upon Brooklyn, New York for three days of convening and learning.  We spent time together skills sharing, relationship building, and listening to impassioned speeches from some of the world’s most dynamic female thought leaders. 

From the opening keynote featuring Marjora Carter, eco-entrepreneur, MacArthur Genius and founder of Sustainable South Bronx, to the closing keynote featuring Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and first Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women, we all were in the presence of the power and resiliency of women leaders and the global women’s movement.  Being part of this ‘movement’ to me means that we choose to reassert feminine perspectives (also known as ‘a gender lens’) wherever it can heal cultures and communities.   

One of the panel discussions was hosted by filmmaker, scholar and founder of the Daphne Foundation, Abigail Disney. Abby spoke about the ways in which the feminine perspective has been erased from the media coverage of war across the world. Her documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell and her four part series called Women, War and Peace, which documents war through the eyes of women in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Columbia and the Congo, shows women’s contributions to war efforts on both the front lines and back lines. 

When we think about war, we think about combat. We think about the front line. Abby’s work showcases the role that women play from the back lines in conflict and the impact that these conflicts have on women’s lives.  The work shows how women are targeted with systematic violence in wartime and how, with incredible fortitude and strength and little support, they hold their families and communities together.  Abby and her team are successful in bringing visibility to the tragedy of their invisibility and dismissal from their solutions and peace building work. 

After showing the series trailer, Abby talked about how rape is being used as a strategic tactic of wartime violence. She recounted stories of deliberations by the United Nations Assembly about whether or not to try rapists as war criminals when the acts are being perpetrated as a tactic of war.  Abby’s series, Women, War and Peace is scheduled to debut on PBS this fall. I hope you’ll all find some time to watch it and extend your role in the movement in any way that works for you.

(Photo credited to Pray the Devil Back to Hell.)

During a recent gathering of 600 dynamic women working for social and economic justice (2011 Women’s Funding Network Annual Conference), I facilitated a discussion  with my friend and frequent co-pilot, Ellen Landis, founder of Sharevision. The discussion was on donor activism (which later turned into a great conversation on power!) with the goal to create a safe space for women to vocalize their engagement and feel more confident and empowered to be the social change leaders they are.  As well, we had an intentional sharing of donor activism work from a mind, body, and spirit focus which helps people enter the “activist” conversation from different perspectives.

For that hour and a half these 40 women were able to share their successes, their challenges, their personal and professional triumphs and tragedies with each other. And, when it was over, almost all of the women remained to engage with each other like old friends with so much to learn from each other.  

The format of the donor activism work session was exercises that could be done with staff, donors, community leaders, Board members, etc.  One of the fun tools we used, that I am sharing, was the attached Donor Activist Bingo game.  We had the attendees go around and inquire of each other whether they were associated with or had used one of the action items (i.e. been a vocal advocate for an issue or has donated time to a campaign or made a bequest to an organization and told someone about this).  After this exercise, attendees were directed to find and listen to one other person talk about their proudest successful activism activity.  Finally, attendees were asked to move to another person in the room and imagine that she/he was a mentor in their life, describe what the mentor represented for them in their activist life, and then tell their success story again to their ‘mentor’. This is a good ‘get to know the people in the group’ exercise.  

I hope you found this helpful and feel free to let me know how it went!

When we think of human rights activists, we are often challenged to name five women across the globe who have fought for those in their community, state, or nation.   Roots to Resistance is bringing forth the images and stories of 12 remarkable women activists, bringing their stories to life via a web based platform, postcard distribution to schools and organizations, and a four city touring exhibit with Denise Beaudet, the award winning visual artist and creative activist. An art and activism project featuring the portraits of 12 women doing activist work in the world, the project is a political postcard campaign that will link people around the globe.

These incredible 4x9 foot portraits are done on recycled wood, wrapped in and connected to plants and nature. Denise portrays these women in their true activist flame and spirit; sharing the stories of their communities, their hearts and the extraordinary effect that their powerful life forces have had on the planet.

 Featured Activists include:

Natalia Estemirova-Chechnya-Murdered Human Rights Journalist
Malalai Joya-Afghanistan-Woman's Rights Activist
Chouchou Namegabe – Congo – Journalist/Women’s Rights Activist
Zapatista Woman-Mexico Environmentalist/Indigenous Rights Activist
Vandana Shiva-India-Eco Feminist/Environmental Activist
Rebecca Gomperts-Netherlands-Environmentalist/Reproductive Rights Activist
Dita Indah Sari-Indonesia-Labor Activist
Aung San Suu Kyi-Burma-Human Rights Activist
Wangari Maathai-Kenya-Environmentalist
Marina Silva-Brazil-Environmentalist
Yvonne Margarula-Australia-Civil Rights Activist
Maria Gunnoe - U.S. -Native American Human Rights Activist

Denise and selected installations were presented at this year’s Women’s Funding Network Conference in Brooklyn. To learn more about the Roots To Resistance project and the global political postcard exchange visit: http://www.facebook.com/rootstoresistance.

I had a wonderful time celebrating with my sisters Dorothy and Heidi this past month.  I am amazed at how much good we manifest when we are together – so much magic and promise and creativity.    I tend to believe that these attributes are present all year and am glad that the holiday season allows more folks to express them more freely. 

Certain environments allow us to really let our spirit be fully honored and celebrated. The trick is to create as many of these ‘spaces’ and ‘places’ for ourselves!  

One such place that is doing a fabulous job of building the strength of spirit for girls is the Girls Athletic Leadership School.  Imagine walking into your jr high school and seeing words like power, flexibility, balance, focus, and motivation as the mantras on the wall.  (I am not sure I had even talked about those words until college during an anatomy class about muscles and force!)

Well for 120 middle school girls in Denver this type of school setting is a reality every day!   I got to visit the school and the energy was fabulous.  They have been through their first three months of school and by all accounts the program is having a positive impact and being received with excitement by the parents and students involved. 

At Dorothy’s 50th birthday party I read this pledge that was hand written on the wall at the Girls Athletic Leadership School as we were all sharing words that tribute my sister and her art and life.  Now re-reading it, I thought it also could serve as a New Year’s resolution.  Enjoy and feel free to post an additional pledge statement! 

In a recent meeting in Australia, during a discussion about women’s health and male physicians, I brought up the differences between feminine and masculine characteristics of power.   These characteristics are not attached to either gender, and in an ideal and more balanced world, we would all value and work to enhance both our masculine and feminine qualities.

Masculine power is the focus on qualities that are linear, goal oriented, and more exterior focused.  Feminine power focuses on intuition, fluidity, inclusion, and is more interior focused.   Masculine power typically manifests as accumulation, dominance, status, and power of position while feminine power manifests as collective action, movement building, and power as moral influence.

Fortunately there are now many good men and women who are associating success and the power they want to acquire with good purpose, focusing less on title, status, and profits and more on accomplishment, influence, and the responsibility we have to ourselves, each other, and to our world.

I think of President Obama as a good example of a politician acting from equal parts of masculine and feminine power.   Also, Secretary of State Clinton does this incredibly well.  For CEOs, I think of the Stonyfield CEO who is working to educate Walmart about sustainable farming and CEO Indra Nooryi who is bringing in care practices for employees of Pepsico worldwide.

As a generalization, feminine power would be seen more as power with and masculine power would be characterized as power over.  Every situation and conversation could be analyzed to determine what perspective you are coming from.  The challenge and art form is to be able to come from the “feminine” place of power of inclusion and collaboration even when you are in the archetypal “masculine” space of power often associated with wealth, position, and/or title.

In any given interaction, know what power qualities you are bringing forth.  And, if you are not in the place of masculine power of position or wealth, remind yourself that you have the power of knowledge and the power of good purpose. As my mother always said, treat everyone as you would want to be treated… and remember everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time!

So for those of you who have not met me in my life as the Minister of Chi, welcome to this musing!

I took on this role at the Women’s Funding Network conference in Denver where there were hundreds of folks working to elevate, enhance, and educate women on all levels.  The women’s funding movement is near to my heart and having been the self described “Chief Inspiration Officer” for the past few years, I was well prepared for this new role.

The conference brought forth so many critical conversations around leveraging the excitement of people focusing on investing in women, celebrating what women’s funds and the Women Moving Millions campaign have done to bring us to this tipping point, what do we need to do to move into new circles, inclusion of more voices and people, and more.  I started the conference facilitating the final session of a year-long leadership cohort of 12 amazing women, soaked up the words of some amazing speakers, conversed about fundraising,  led a “Shake Your Body for Women’s Rights” session, and ended the conference with my first message as the Minister of Chi. 

One of our exercises at the final session was to imagine the year 2030 and take on a goal of the women’s funding movement – eliminate violence against women, provide full health and safety for all people, expanding rights for all women, building strategies for reproductive justice, etc.  Our table of 8 smart folks from around the world focused on health and safe environment for all and, as requested, we shaped some 10-15 ideas of what happened to make this a reality.

In 2030 there is a female pope and a four part corporate reporting system that included profits as well as environmental sustainability reporting, women in management and Boards, and community engagement.   The World Bank has funded 250,000 OVUM Fellows/ women’s fund grantee partners out in the field collecting data and telling stories to the broader philanthropic and faith based communities of the impact of their work.  In 2030, people had truly listened to the indigenous people and embodied practices on nurturing and keeping the ‘world intact’ with our use of resources.  By that time, everyone had participated in the 2020 “I Have Enough” campaign sponsored by Nike and CARE which had resolved the issue of “what is enough” and eliminated greed from our society.  Of course, we had solved serious health and transportation issues with people walking, biking, and soaring with their ‘Chi monitors’ to and from places of interest.

We could go on and on with our dreams and ideas.  More from the Minister of Chi as I go abroad to visit with the Women Win folks, visit with the International Working Group for Women’s Sports, and move my Chi on a bicycle touring through Europe.