"I Am a Winner, Sort Of"

Recently my dear friend Tammy Carter went "Over the Edge" for Make-A-Wish Foundation. She won the award for the slowest rappel which cracks me up. As she put it, "I am a winner, sort of." The event itself was no laughing matter. They raised over quarter of a million dollars, have had a ton of press, and earned over 1500 new individual and corporate supporters in a single event. Make-A-Wish Foundation had photographers, video crews, and a full spread of food, drinks, and entertainment all to enhance the event. Tammy raved about the experience and the organization. If it weren't for the unique experience offered, it is unlikely that she would have become a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Foundation. Now she is a raving fan!

As the competition for dollars gets more fierce, the importance of delivering a UNIQUE experience increases exponentially.

Take-away: How can you make your next event a unique, standout of the crowd event?





























http://www.youtube.com/user/GreaterTEXASFCU?ob=5

What is your motivation to volunteer?

This week one of my fellow team members wrote a great blog on what motivates him to volunteer: http://community.sagenonprofit.com/blog/sagenonprofit/motivations-volunteering. I always find it interesting to learn more about what motivates people, so I challenged the entire senior team to share. As such, here is mine.

I have volunteered with or supported a nonprofit for as long as I can remember. I am typically a supporter for social service causes. I think my passion for those causes comes from growing up in a home with many financial struggles. (Although, I really didn't know it at the time...I like Ramen Noodles).

Needless to say, my most recent cause is Support Behind the Badge. The organization is a small start-up that myself and two other women joined forces to bring to Cedar Park.

My husband is a police officer and last year, his department was devastated by the loss of a fellow officer.

Reed remembered as officer, mentor: kxan.com

At the funeral my heart went out to Officer Reeds family, and we decided that we wanted to do more to strengthen the bond between the families and friends of the department. And, we wanted to memorialize Officer Reed in a way that was fitting. We decided to start with a scholarship because Officer Reed was very committed to the children of our community and their futures.

Since October, we have held several events and are very near establishing the scholarship. It is exciting to be a part of something that we know is going to have an impact on the community for years to come.

Take-away: "For it is in giving that we receive." St. Fancis

Say My Name, Say My Name

One of the local restaurants that I happen to frequent has a waitress that always says my name and knows my order. I love, love, love her and often tip her well above my normal tip. That got me thinking...just how valuable is saying someone's name?

Well, if you google research on saying a persons name you get 80,000,000 results. Hundreds maybe thousands of books have been written on the power of saying a person's name, and yet it is rarely used in a customer experience manner.

Take-away: Today, when you thank a customer, thank them by name!