Professional Development – Accessing The Colleague Next Door!

Carol Belair

I wanted to do a follow-up from my posting on November 1^st on the Target Analytics Community entitled, “Conferences Are A Must For The Fundraising Professional” and my follow-up blog asking Community members to “Share your favorite conferences and professional development resources!”


I think sometimes we forget what is often the most accessible and helpful resource available for both the work that we do day in and day out as well as our overall professional development is the colleague next door, whether they be available in-person or virtually!


I know that here at Target Analytics, our consulting team offers a wealth of information in regards to asking for advice on a myriad of topics.  I know that no one person can know everything possible that is out there about fundraising, analytics, and data, so we often tap into our collective brain trust and skillset.  I am also lucky in that I have the best manager and co-workers on the planet, as everyone on our team is always willing to share their experiences and expertise.  Both our customers and our own professional consulting knowledgebase benefit from this type of open dialogue that includes sharing without fear of judgment or lack of acknowledgement to the expert who gave the advice.


Here are some examples that I have experienced – And without naming names of my colleagues...

• Making each other aware of relevant articles, blogs, websites, books, conferences, webinars, TED talks, podcasts, social media sites such as LinkedIn Discussion Groups, LISTSERVs, YouTube videos, etc. that you’re your team should consider watching, attending, or reading
  • And if you did attend/watch a session or read something, consider sharing a summary of what you learned or found fascinating!
• Making your teammates aware of your thought leadership and solicit feedback
  • i.e., if you publish a blog or article, author a book, or conduct a presentation
• Learning new features of software your team uses and sharing what you have learned in a meeting
• Sharing ideas on fun apps and gadgets to save time and cost
• Needing help with a donor/prospect who has a specific request where one of your colleagues may have a donor/prospect with a similar experience or need
  • In the case of my team, replace the words “donor/prospect” with “client”
• For those who travel, sharing money and time-saving tips
• General best practices around all nonprofit fundraising topics!

Our team and other Blackbaud employees share ideas a variety of ways:

• Work email
• Skype for Business
• Office 365
• Text via smart phone
• WebEx meetings
• The internal chat environment in our CRM system
• And once in a while… the good old fashioned telephone!

If you have other ideas on how your team shares best practices and ideas, please do share!