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Anybody who has met me, listened to my podcast or read any of my stuff knows that I love talking about money. Why is that? Aside from the obvious answer that I teach about fundraising, I want to set an example for women of color to be comfortable talking about money. We’re taught that talking […]

I have this idea in my mind that I’m still a babe in the woods. Then, reality smacks me in the face and I realize that I’m in the youngest part of middle age. This fact was painfully illustrated by this video that my high school friend sent me about a Gen Z’er in a

“I am not who you think I am; I am not who I think I am; I am who I think you think I am”Charles Horton Cooley When we see ourselves through the eyes of those who love us, we feel valued. We like ourselves. Unfortunately, we too often default to the worst case and

If I had a nickel for every time I get this question, I’d had a gold-plated Tesla and a personal masseuse on staff. “Rhea, how do I get more donors?” The perennial question and an important one. So, if you’re looking to build your pipeline and grow your email list, you won’t want to miss

I recently did a training for a group and I didn’t hit it out of the park the way that I had wanted to. I heard the critical feedback and my inner troll DJ started up the Shame Playlist in my head. The familiar hits started to play: I should have done XYZ. They should

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ― Rumi I recently did a few training sessions with social entrepreneurs, some of which were on my curriculum on money mindset. In my training, we go over some common money myths, one of which

I recently read some “advice” from a fundraising expert about ways to engage with your donors. Frankly, I was appalled. The advice they were giving was so deeply antithetical to how I approach fundraising. I believe that the “old school” way that so many of us are taught how to fundraise is just plain wrong

This week’s interview with Dr. Ellen Wong was a revelation.  Ellen specializes in happiness and is spreading her message about the benefits of happiness to the world. Grumpy New Yorker that I am, my first thought was, “Happiness?  What kind of hippy nonsense is that?” Ellen walks us through the elements of happiness that she

I just finished a ten week teaching stint at my old high school in Ojai.  It was nice to be back in the nurturing bosom of my old alma mater without the trauma of actually being a teenager in high school.  I could see all of the students learning, growing and experiencing the general cringiness

I am not a Bruce Springsteen fan, but I just finished reading his autobiography and loved it. Whether or not you are a fan of The Boss, I think we can all agree that he is an American icon, storyteller and poet. (Side note: if you need a quick 530 page read, I recommend it).

I’ve been thinking about time a lot. Did you know that the average human lifespan is only about 4000 weeks? Holy shit.   That really forces clarity. Obviously, I am aware that I will leave this planet one day as all of us will.  But, I also see it as some sort of hazy moment in

As fundraisers, we often feel under the gun and under a deadline to Make. Something. Happen. NOW! I thought our jobs were high stakes until I met Troy Smith. Troy Smith and Chris Voss used to be FBI hostage negotiators.  So, if you think talking to a donor is stressful, be glad it’s not an

“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”-Zig Ziglar The biggest mistake that I see among nonprofits is that they spend too much time talking about what they want, what they do, what they need. We train fundraisers to “strategize” for gifts that meet their

This weekend, I was in LA with my cousins.  We were celebrating the Lunar New Year with our own version of homemade dumplings and noodles.  We were thrilled to be in each other’s company, sharing jokes, running after giggling children and catching up. Meanwhile, 8 miles east, 11 people were killed at a celebration that

This is it.  We’re in full swing of the year now and I predict that 2023 will be fast and furious. I’ve got one word for you: ChatGPT. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about ChatGPT which is Open.ai’s chatbot that uses the entire internet as a dataset.  This thing is a

Happy 2023 friends.  I hope that your holiday break was joyful and restorative.  As for me, there’s always a Venn diagram between anticipation, general holiday anxiety, waiting for the holidays to be over and a sliver of actual enjoyment. I digress. I am, as I’m sure many of you are, thinking about goal setting for

Dearest readers, This will be the last missive of the year and I wish you and yours a very happy, joyful and restful holiday break. It is well-deserved, amirite? I also want to thank you sincerely for welcoming me into your overstuffed inbox every week. It is an honor and privilege to share my thoughts

Recently, I was on a mastermind call with a bunch of entrepreneurs and I was on the hotseat. I was venting/complaining/whining about the tedium of churning out content, answering the same kinds of questions and generally the tyranny of routine. Not only did I get zero sympathy, I got a metaphorical slap across the face.

For those of you who have been readers for any length of time, you know that my beloved Stevie Wonderdog passed away in May.  After giving ourselves time to grieve, we welcomed ten-year-old Stella into our lives in October. Though they look alike, they could not be more different in temperament.  Stevie was spicy, Stella

Last week, just before Thanksgiving, I sent out a heartfelt note to you to thank you for being in my community. Sadly, this gesture was undermined by a technical snafu that didn’t populate your name properly as a result of a new email system I’m using. 🤦  No problem, thought I, I’ll send a follow