Dear friends, Last week I got to see my mom and stepfather and my favorite uncle and aunt for the first time in over a year. Cheers to my entire family being fully vaccinated. It was incredible to gather with them again. Speaking of which, Happy Mother’s Day to all the fundraising families out there! […]

  Dear friends, Last week was quite something. I felt a wash of relief when I heard the news of Derek Chauvin’s conviction. I continue to think of George Floyd’s family, and I hope this helps them find some peace. There is also a sobering awareness of institutional racism, and an opportunity for us all […]

  Dear friends, Hello again, and happy spring! I had a great vacation, but I have also missed connecting with you here. It’s good to be back. Avalon has been busy… First and foremost, congratulations to Mary Meredith, Avalon’s new Director of Digital Innovation! Mary is leading the charge to advance Avalon’s work at the […]

This is part two in a two-part series on women in philanthropy. Read part one here. Frequently, charitable giving by women, directly or through women’s funds, focuses on improving the quality of life and opportunity for girls and women. Women have long understood that the key to building and raising up communities is through empowering […]

This is part one in a two-part series on women in philanthropy. Read part two here. Finally the data is proving what many of us have known all along: women are shaping the philanthropic landscape. Women are not only making their own fortunes, but many are inheriting wealth through the intergenerational transfer, and they are […]

  Dear friends, It has been a challenging two weeks with gun violence on both sides of the country, including targeted victimization of Asian Americans. To learn more about these issues and how you can help to stop AAPI hate, I recommend the Smithsonian’s resource page, and in particular the work of its Asian Pacific American Center. […]

  Dear Friends, I hope that everyone who celebrates St. Patrick’s Day enjoyed the occasion last week. The best thing about the holiday for me personally was seeing an Avalon client featured in this video from Guinness. Congratulations to Maryland Food Bank for this recognition. Meanwhile, Avalon was busy celebrating Pi Day. It was an especially fun […]

  Dear Friends, The past week has been full of nostalgic “one year ago today” reminiscences, mostly to underscore how naïve we were about what was ahead of us. I’m trying to continue to look forward, grasping the small indications of hope that we are starting to come out of this pandemic. I anticipate a […]

As a consultant, I love a good benchmark. Give me a hot-off-the presses report and I devour it immediately. But as a savvy fundraiser, I must share this PSA with the nonprofit world: You are NOT average. You MUST dig into the data behind industry benchmarks. The problem with averages is that they aggregate performance […]

  Dear friends, Happy Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day! To mark the occasion yesterday, President Biden established a Gender Policy Council within the White House and named Jennifer Klein and Julissa Reynoso co-chairs. I am particularly excited to hear that their vision is LGBTQ+ inclusive and will “advance equity for Black, Indigenous and Latina women and girls […]