December 4, 2015 | Uncategorized
I attended a terrific gathering of new and less-new friends last night, cooking together and learning about the two-degree nature of our lives. Charlotte is wonderful in that way – we are all just slightly apart by one or two degrees. I’ve found myself ruminating...
October 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
For those in the know, Charlotte’s nonprofit community is tight knit and easy to navigate. But for many, the sector as a whole is murky and unclear – what are nonprofits, what do they do and how do we engage with them? Illuminate is a twice-monthly series facilitated...
May 13, 2015 | Uncategorized
Next Stage Consulting hits the road this week with two presentations on the same topic – Managing Up: Understanding Board Profiles. I’ll be in Columbia, South Carolina on Thursday 5/14 to present to the AFP Central Carolinas Chapter, and on Friday 5/15...
December 29, 2014 | Uncategorized
Tags: Homelessness, Mecklenburg County, Next Stage Consulting, Sam McClenney, Sustainability,
by Sam McClenney, Research & Special Projects A recent study commissioned by the City of Charlotte reports that the number of homeless families in Charlotte decreased by 27 percent from September 1, 2013, to August 31, 2014. While this trend is promising, there...
December 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
by Sam McClenney, Research & Special Projects As we head into the New Year, nonprofit leaders likely have a number of things on their mind, but one topic is a common refrain: how do we not just match but increase fund development in 2015? Before the technology...
October 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
Managing Director Josh Jacobson is pleased to be speaking at the fall event of the Carolinas chapter of the Association for Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA). The event is entitled “What Works: A Game Show of Successes in Our Field,” and will...
July 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
Tags: Board Retention, Leadership, Nonprofit Turnover, Staff Retention, Succession Planning,
On July 21, Josh Jacobson will lead a presentation at the North Carolina Theatre Conference’s Producing Gathering in Charlotte, NC. Entitled Bridging the Gap: The Future Is Now, this session will explore staff and volunteer retention, and the challenge of...
June 2, 2014 | Uncategorized
Tags: Entrepreneur, Josh Jacobson, Online Communication, Philanthropy,
So, did you hear LeVar Burton raised a whole bunch of money on Kickstarter last week to relaunch Reading Rainbow? The original goal was to raise $1 million in just over a month, with donations used to expand the Reading Rainbow app Burton has already developed (he...
April 29, 2014 | Uncategorized
Tags: Advice, Cultivation, Do's and Don'ts, Gatekeeper, Grantmaker, Josh Jacobson,
In the second entry in the firm’s five part series on creating stronger grant submissions, Next Stage Consulting explores the do’s and don’ts of grantmaker cultivation, investigating what works and what doesn’t, and how to walk the fine line...
April 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
Tags: Best Practices, Emotional Response, Facebook, Job Seeking, Kelly Blazek, LinkedIn, Online Communication, Social Media,
I have empathy for people who make bad professional decisions and must suffer the consequences of their actions. I just do. Back in February, the online shame police went into overdrive when it became known that Kelly Blazek, a marketing executive who ran a LinkedIn...
April 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
Tags: Blog, Communication, Global Goes Local, Grant Gatekeepers, Josh Jacobson, Social Media,
Neglecting the organization’s social media when times get busy is one of the classic mistakes made by so many nonprofits – consistent messaging is the goal. And yet here I am, having given that advice before, now a full month behind on my own firm’s...
March 17, 2014 | Uncategorized
Tags: Entrepreneur, Failure, Josh Jacobson, Next Stage Consulting, Nonprofits, Opportunities, Risk,
by Josh Jacobson “Eight out of 10 businesses fail. Are you sure you want to do this?” Not exactly the sort of thing you want to hear when you’re contemplating launching a new business. Now almost three months into my own new consulting venture (76 days to be exact,...
