Mike Bussey

It’s nearing the end of the year and something is unfinished on your to-do list. It’s something you’ve been thinking about all year, perhaps even for the past several years, and yet you haven’t quite gotten to it.

I was hesitant to start reading Michael Oren’s book, Power, Faith and Fantasy: American in the Middle East from 1776 to the Present, thinking that it may be years before I finished. It’s more than 600 pages long!

At a recent conference, we had the privilege of presenting the advanced session on endowment development. The session was for staff and volunteers with 15+ years of financial development experience and for those who knew the basics of endowment development.

I was stunned by the phone call.

I was delighted to receive calls from two nonprofit executives during the final days of 2013. Both calls were to pass along some great news regarding year-end endowment commitments. As I rejoiced with them, a Chinese proverb that came to mind: ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’