When Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and Wall Street and the auto industry begged for bailouts, the world as we knew it died. The economy shifted in ways we still don’t fully understand. But one thing became immediately clear: Old ways of doing business won’t work in this cash-strapped moment. We have to throw out the old playbooks.
Today the worsening economy is making development work more important than ever. Old funding sources are drying up and once reliable donors are shutting their wallets. Now isn’t the time to stop making contacts, raising friends, telling your story and making asks.
At the same time, non-profits are tightening their belts and telling their development directors to do much, much more with far less. How exactly do you do that? You succeed by finding new ways to do business.
Instead of filling a precious FTE with a staffer or leaving communications to an already overburdened development director, consider contracting with an independent development communicator. For less than the cost of an entry-level writer, you can get the help of a professional with decades of communications experience.
By contracting with me for a single project or a set period of time, you will receive the work of a writer, editor and manager with 30 years of experience, including 12 years at the $1 billion foundation that raises money for the University of Kansas. I’ve successfully written, edited and managed all aspects of development communications. Among other accomplishments, I helped lead publicity for the KU First campaign that raised $653 million. In the past nine months, I’ve written proposals and grants for multi-million dollar asks and produced other communications products for Purdue University.
Please call. Let’s chat about all that remains possible in this suddenly scary world.
Samples of my development work are available upon request.
“Diane Silver is the most talented development writer I’ve known in more than 20 years of university work. Her proposals are moving, persuasive and effective.
Her grant writing, letters and stories get results.”
Geni Greiner
Purdue University-Director of University Special Events and Stewardship