Have you ever been working away on your computer, engrossed in tasks, working in your joy, ideas flowing like an erupting volcano... and then your computer crashes. No warning. No time to save. Just shuts down. As you investigate further (and recover your 27 on-the-go Word documents) and open the army of tabs that closed, you discover your computer crashed because there were just too many tabs open. Too much to process. <ERROR: Managing overwhelm function—denied!>

I have discovered that as humans we sometimes experience this same trouble. It's like our brain has too many tabs open. Too many ideas being worked on at one time. This situation happens a lot for dream raisers, creators and innovators.

So how do you avoid the crash (and burnout) just like the computer?

This blog is about awards and some tips to help you leverage awards and nominations.

You may have been nominated for an award and received the "Congratulations! You have been nominated!" message. If you have, here are some valuable tips to help you leverage being nominated or winning awards.

Being nominated for an award is an important milestone and success for you, your business or organization, your project, your team, and the organization hosting the awards. 

Celebrations connect people and now more than ever celebrating and connecting is important to make a positive impact in our world.  

This is not a new approach. 

More than 20 years ago (before I opened my businesses), I was a contract negotiation specialist for the government. I had a portfolio of funding that was provided to nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses, and community groups to operate programs and services in the region. The funds supported a wide range of initiatives including early childhood education, parenting programs, community events, group homes, and women’s shelters to name a few. 

In 2020, we had numerous opportunities to speak with sponsors from local, regional, and national businesses and brands. This online and virtual world we are living in with cancelled live events and the need to do business differently has also impacted sponsors and their ability to market their brands in ways they are accustomed to. 

We heard both challenges and opportunities in these conversations with sponsors. Besides getting to learn about the brands on a much deeper level and build relationships with them, we also were able to hear about some of the common sponsorship mistakes they see sponsor seekers making.

We thought this insider information and the useful insights below could be of benefit to you as you move forward with raising your dreams through collaboration and sponsorship. 

Nonprofits, charities, and service clubs... have you considered having one of your staff, board, volunteers or clients contribute stories to a collaborative book?

One of the missions of many nonprofits, charities, and service clubs is telling their story, the stories that connect donors, funders, and sponsors to their cause.

Being part of a collaborative book is a great way to share a story about your organization. You can then use the book as an ongoing fundraiser, prizes for your events, and as recognition gifts for donors, sponsors, volunteers, board members… and the list goes on. You can even have sponsors buy bulk quantities of the book for you to then give away or use for fundraising or in your programs with clients.

Did you know that there are book marketing opportunities available that can not only help you spread your message, but also increase your impact and income?

Whether you are an entrepreneur, a nonprofit, a service club, or an individual, if you have a story that can help people or content that people need, launching a book may be a perfect opportunity to get that message into the right hands (or even ears). 

Let’s unpack this a bit and start with a few simple examples.

We thought it would be great to gather some tips from our Raise a Dream community about thanking, appreciating, and recognizing partners throughout the holiday season.

These twelve tips can be modified and utilized throughout the year to recognize partners, champions, and sponsors.  

Sponsors & Partners Thank You #1:

Have a holiday gift card delivered to the business office. Think of fun ways to package the card. Personalize and perhaps put in a frame so that people keep the card.