Tag Archives: nonprofits

Approaches

and meeting the goal.  People want a job without politics. There is no job without politics. Husband and wife, parents and children. Hirer and consultant. Yes, my husband and I have had the same job in different circumstances.

We’ve a guest dog for a couple of weeks while the dog’s mom is way out of town. Our dogs have gone through many things, from our dog peeing on our guest L’s bed at the outset and me throwing it in the wash, to them play-fighting to bed switching, playing keep-away with our only toy and now sleeping four inches apart. It’s like Congress actually talking to one another and getting things done. For my part I like congress not passing anything except the budget minus “pork” and use this as a tribute.

That is dog politics. I never wanted to be involved in politics and years ago thought of myself as a legislative policy person. I was wrong. Since I was born I was a politician, not of the traditional sense. I argued for a milk formula, a clean diaper and didn’t want to go down for a nap. That’s politics.

Oh, my parents would walk me around the living room while I cried, then put on Jackie Gleason’s Music, Martinis and Memories record and if that didn’t work, they’d drive me around the block and I’d be sound asleep. That’s baby politics.

My husband calls it sneakiness, but that only comes into play when I find the best way to a place we need to go to avoid traffic. I live here. He’s off for months so I have to get to know a new place. Word to the wise, be nice to everyone, until they cross you or humiliate you. Then, think about it. Think about the best way to fix their error for your family.

Then act. Kindly. Write a bad review of Fazio Automotive because he kicked you out of the shop for no reason after spending thousands of dollars there over the years. He wants to kick women out so he can have his motorcycle buddies hang out there. He actually bragged to fellow mechanic shops about kicking me out. That’s politics. Luckily I’m smart enough to shut him down, through zoning and Federal Civil Rights laws.

I didn’t write laws for 34 million people to sit still and let people treat me badly. I’ve also spent my life on volunteer work that has helped people and animals. My husband and I are problem-solvers and innovators and that makes us clash from time to time. He is more technical, me more social change.

We are agents of change. You hire us to fake change. Make it real for your bottom line. It will be worth your while. Dee

Advertisement

Jobs

I found something interesting the other day, top dog at a museum somewhere in the USA.  Sounded great, I’m perfect for it.  But there are several issues.

First, it pays half of what any top non-profit position paid 30 years ago.  They want the applicant to have personally raised millions of dollars and go it alone without a board or staff assistance.  Their program must be in the dark depths because their paid attendance is abysmal.

So, I didn’t apply to the position.  Instead I checked out their website and e-mailed the chairman of the board and offered some free advice from a professional.

Also, I talked to my father, who has headed several non-profit organizations, and is running one now even though he turns 80 in a couple of weeks.  He says job sounds great, money is off and they need serious help before embarking on a capital campaign to raise mega-bucks.

Of course the Chairman never got back to me.  That tells me about the seriousness of the Board of Trustees.  So now they can go back to their bake sales and continue to drain the coffers while offering little to their patrons and visitors.

As for me, age has done nothing good for my figure, but my aptitude for figures, attention to people and situations and what works has been honed.  I believe it’s called wisdom.  See, I could’ve gotten this job and tried to sow the field and grow the crops but without willing participants even if I dragged it along and it succeeded despite them I’d have failed.

Now I’ve saved all that time and effort!  Wow!  That’s great.  It’s pizza night, and I’m trying a new one with prosciutto and arugula.  Had to buy overproofed dough from Whole Foods because I didn’t have time for dough to rise.  The guy was shocked that I make dough every week.  I asked if I could join him or his colleagues to make dough one day.  What I’d really like to do is be in the butcher’s section behind the scenes.  That’s strange because my husband’s parents met very young and were working at a grocery, his dad as a butcher and mom as a wrapper.

Now history is repeating itself.  That’s what’s happening here today, folks.  Go back to your own life now.  Cheers, Dee