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One evening in early December I got a text from a friend (who is a County Commissioner) that there was a mob of armed protesters outside her house. Her 12-year-old son was home alone at the time. He called her while she was at a Health District meeting that would determine whether our county would issue a mask mandate. Can you imagine how afraid he must’ve been?

Happy New Year! As you settle back in after the holidays, let me suggest you take a few moments to consider the “three Rs” before getting sucked into the hustle and bustle of a new year.

Earlier this week, MacKenzie Scott announced that she had given more than $4 billion to 384 organizations around the country. Some of our clients were fortunate enough to receive one of those gifts. As we read Ms. Scott’s Medium post and learned more about the organizations chosen by her and her team, we realized there are many lessons to be learned from this generous act.

In the latest episode of the DBD Podcast, Jon Simons talks to DBD teammates Brian Keel and Jim Mellor about managing nonprofit finances in the coming year. From budget forecasting to working with your bank, their forthright advice will help you make better decisions now and in the future.

I took advantage of the beautiful fall weather in Chicagoland over the Thanksgiving break to clean up my backyard. My neighbor had the same idea and we struck up a conversation. He asked me (as my mother used to ask me too) "what exactly do I do for work"?

In this week's episode of the DBD Podcast, Bruce Berglund and Jon Simons discuss two more leadership axioms that guide our work. If you've worked with us in the past these probably will sound familiar. Consider who else on your staff or volunteer team could benefit from learning these important concepts. 

Most of us have spent a good portion of 2020 reacting to the multitude of changes in our work lives and home lives. Whether we reacted wisely or poorly, we were still responding to something happening outside our control.

In the latest episode of the DBD Podcast, Bruce Berglund and Jon Simons discuss several leadership axioms that guide our work. If you've worked with us in the past, or attended one of our trainings, one or more of these might sound familiar. 

"As he stepped off the map into uncharted territory, Meriwether Lewis discovered that what was in front of him was nothing like what was behind him and that what had brought him to this point in the journey would take him no farther. ... [Lewis was] looking for a water route, and they had run out of water. How do you canoe over mountains?"

Cultivating sustainability in an organization has long been a best practice. During 2020, we have seen this importance magnified as those who embraced a philosophy of sustainability are generally weathering the pandemic and related economic turmoil better than the rest.

The good news: it’s never too late to embrace a sustainable mindset!