FYI Blog

Avalon Dispatch 07.30.2024

We’re excited for #Bridge2024! Get the scoop on our sessions in today’s @AvalonFYI dispatch—along with presidential firsts, SCOTUS reform, a design lesson, taming email, what fundraisers can learn from butterflies, and more. Read it here:

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Today’s Avalon Dispatch is guest-authored by Margot O’Leary, senior vice-president and director of remote work.

Dear friends,

Although it’s not official, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to become the Democratic nominee for president. This brings many historic firsts, and the energy around her campaign is a breath of fresh air. The good news includes record-breaking fundraising, and I am LOVING the memes (even if I did show my age by googling the meaning of “coconut” and “brat”)! It was a brilliant move by her team to run with this and to reclaim the “coconut” meme from Republicans.

Turning to SCOTUS, the Brennan Center for Justice made news by announcing their new Kohlberg Center on the U.S. Supreme Court. Funded by $30 million from business leader and philanthropist Jim Kohlberg, the center will target court reform through “research, public outreach, and policy advocacy over a decade.” This includes term limits and a stronger code of ethics, in addition to other challenges at the court. It is exciting to be part of the Brennan Center team here at Avalon.

In other news, it is almost time for Bridge. I love this year’s theme: Champions in Change. The nonprofit sector has navigated so much change in recent years, and I am glad we can learn from and share with one another. Avalon will help shape the conversation in three sessions:

For creative inspiration, art director Blake Echols shared his current obsession: branding for the Golden State Valkyries, a WNBA team that will debut in 2025. Their logo is a great example of intentional design, incorporating multiple symbols that include the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, WNBA history, and Valkyrie mythology. Blake says, “They haven’t released jersey designs, but I expect them to challenge my current favorite: the Nationals’ cherry blossom uniform.” (Our apologies to Nats fans!)

On a related note, senior graphic designer Bojan Valovic gave our staff a primer on using white/negative space in graphic design. It is always so fascinating to get a peek inside our designers’ brains! According to Bojan, here is why “less is more, sometimes”:

White space gives a visual break, provides space for a pause, and enables a reader to skim content more easily. It also creates a balanced layout, which allows important elements to stand out. By preventing overcrowding and information overwhelm, we encourage the audience to keep reading. Best of all, white space can be any color! As long as we leave space around the design elements, we are improving readability and decreasing the feeling of clutter.

For a peek inside my brain… as director of remote work, it has been my job to oversee Avalon’s tech strategy for project management. We use Monday.com, and, while no platform is perfect, it is a good fit. Years ago, when we were just getting started, one book that influenced my approach was Cal Newport’s A World Without Email. Newport teaches that overusing email creates an unproductive flurry of activity. This “hyperactive hive mind” taxes a team’s energy and distracts them from their most important work. So, it is important for leaders to ease the burden—and project management tools are one strategy:

The world without email referenced in the title of this book, therefore, is not a place in which protocols like SMTP and POP3 are banished. It is, however, a place where you spend most of your day actually working on hard things instead of talking about this work, or endlessly bouncing small tasks back and forth in messages.

Finally, to make the most of our energy, we can take a lesson from the humble painted lady butterfly. HR director Melissa Ferrell shared a fascinating Smithsonian Magazine article on how these tiny creatures travel so far without refueling. The secret lies in how they harness the wind for alternating cycles of flying and gliding. It’s a good lesson on taking breaks from time to time—something busy fundraisers should keep in mind!

Take care,
Margot signature

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Margot O’Leary, Senior Vice President & Director of Remote Work
(she/her/hers)
Avalon Consulting Group
202-627-6528
margoto@avalonconsulting.net