Dining Table Workshop

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Andrea Kihlstedt

Alison Kear’s intentions willed into being my first Dining Table Workshop (DTW) which took place last week around my beautiful ample table in my loft in the South Bronx.  Yes, capital campaign school at a marble table in the South Bronx! Who would have imagined it.  But that’s what happened.  And in all my years of teaching and speaking and training, nothing have felt better, more natural or more productive.

Six people representing five non-profit organizations gathered with me from 8:30 to 11:30 each morning for four days to talk about their capital campaigns, to share their stories and excitements and concerns and to find their ways to answering some of the questions that were on their mind. Each morning we broke bread together and used one another to encourage, support and inform. As my morning coffee mug says, we informed, inspired and infected one another.

Each morning, I set the agenda and made sure everyone’s voice was at the table. And at the end of each day I gave each person an assignment that fit their individual needs.

The group was varied. Some at the beginning of their campaigns, others already in the throes of asking for major gifts. But everyone had something to share with everyone else–advice, material samples, suggestions and simple encouragement.

The time flew by. Relationships took hold, setting the stage for unknown events that may develop over years to come. And I and my dining table felt privileged to host such an event.

P.S. As with most things good, this one has spawned an offspring. Next week the development staff of Uncommon Schools will gather around my table to work on their solicitation skills. They’ll bring breakfast. I’ll provide coffee and structure for another supportive, organic learning experience. Once again, I feel privileged to be part of this flow that turns my wonderful dining table into a top notch fundraising learning site.

To learn more about how the first Dining Table Workshop came into being read the earlier post about Alison Kear’s will and intention.

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The Power of Intention and a Bit of Courage

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Andrea Kihlstedt

A Clear Intention

Before the holidays Alison Kear, the director of development of Covenant House in Anchorage Alaska, e-mailed me to ask if I might recommend a multi-day capital campaign course. She’s an experienced DD but hasn’t done a campaign before and her organization is setting out to raise $20 million way up there in the land of moose and wolves and long winters. I responded with some suggestions of workshops I know of, but that didn’t satisfy her. “No”, she e-mailed back, “I had in mind to study with you. I’ve read your book Capital Campaigns: Strategies that Work, and I think it’s the best!”

I must confess that I was surprised and flattered. When I write a book, even one I’m very proud of, once it’s out the door I tend to forget that people actually read the darn thing. So that someone would track me down from Alaska as a result of my book was a lovely surprise. But having dedicated most of my time this year to Asking Matters, I hadn’t given any thought to conducting a capital campaign workshop though I’ve done many in the past. I responded accordingly and thought that would be the end of it.

A Bit of Courage

But Alison had a clear intention and the courage to continue in her quest to take a capital campaign workshop with me. “I’ve been thinking”, she wrote, “that I’d be happy to come to New York just to sit with you one-on-one, perhaps a couple of hours a day for a week.” I had images of a young woman sitting at the knee of a pipe-smoking grandmother. Was that really me? Somehow that image wasn’t right (though I am a grandmother), but the right picture did come to mind.

I could imagine five or six people sitting around my ample dining table for four mornings in February, each wanting to learn more about capital campaigns. Together, we would learn from one another. I’d structure the sessions, make sure they didn’t go off track, facilitate the discussion and…yes, make the coffee and provide plenty of goodies. I charge enough to make it worth my while but not so much as to be unaffordable to the kinds of small organizations I’m fond of.

I e-mailed Alison describing what I had in mind, and with her response I could almost see her big grin. Not only would she come, but her Executive Director would join her. We picked some dates, I sent out four e-mails to people I thought might be interested and within two days I had a full compliment signed up.

A Ding in the Universe (Thx Steve Jobs)

What’s the learning in this story? Clear intention and a bit of courage really can make ding in the universe. Our discussion sessions are set for next month. We’ll explore ideas, make new friendships and set in motion a series of perhaps far-reaching events that will sow the seeds of change far and wide. And it all feels in some way effortless–or at least natural.

In fact, the process of organizing these sessions exemplifies an important lesson of capital campaigns for which clear intention and a bit of courage are the key ingredients for success.

Thank you Alison Kear.

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I’m Off on a New Adventure

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Andrea Kihlstedt

Ever find yourself ready for a life-changing experience? Done something so many times that you’ve actually mastered it…and then…woops, you get bored? Well that’s what happened to me. Twenty-five years in the business and I woke up one morning thinking that it was time to force my rigidifying brain into new territory, wake up those brain muscles, grow those brain maps, and go back to being a newbie.

Now, to be a beginner is, in my view, a privilege. I often do my best work when I do something for the first time. It’s not that I’m good at it yet, but there’s a wonderful intensity when I work on something I don’t know how to do.

When I was young those feelings grew out of sheer terror of making a fool of myself. But one of the wonderful things about aging is that I don’t care so much if I look foolish. I almost enjoy it. For all the downsides of age, that part is a relief.

So while I still take on consulting and coaching projects I simply can’t resist, I’m spending much of my time—yes mornings, noons and nights—glued to my computer learning about the wonders of this web world of expanding universes and spiderwebs of people. I’m meeting people in Australia and Canada and the Puget Sound as well as those closer to home. I’m following young people and old people and some in between. I’m reading people’s ideas and enjoying putting my own out into the world.

And, with Brian Saber, my former consulting client, I’m building something that, I hope, will actually change the way non-profits raise money. I’m excited for the first time in years. I’m feeling courageous and ready to put myself out into the world in a different, more visible way. I’m eager to make new friends and play a role in shaping the ideas that may make a difference to the future.

I invite you to following my thinking, both here and on my new project, Asking Matters. And yes, if you have something you’d like to add, please do. I look forward to joining your web and inviting you into mine.

And yes, :-) , do follow me on Twitter!  #andreakihlstedt and #askingmatters

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