Melissa Dodge

Melissa Dodge
Making an Emotional Connection With Passion-Driven Leadership

“Achieving passion-driven leadership in your community is the key to establishing personal relationships. It’s about making that emotional connection.”

So said Nancy Bocskor, president of campaign consultancy The Nancy Bocskor Company, in a session at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for Nonprofits held last month in South Carolina.

Bocskor explained that “passion-driven leadership is the ability to inspire action in others by harnessing the boundless enthusiasm and deep feelings of the human heart.”

Determining the True Cost of Fundraising

Fundraising is about more than ROI and cost to raise a dollar. It’s about justifying the work being done by an organization and maximizing efficiency. And transparency is key to determining the real value of a fundraising campaign. That according to Michael Lowstetter, vice president of finance and chief financial officer of the Union Grove, Wis., nonprofit Shepherds Ministries, who spoke at a session at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for Nonprofits held last month in South Carolina. Lowstetter said that popular fundraising measures such as ROI, total revenue, total expense and cost to raise a dollar are important — but, he asked, are they enough?