Blog
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
VISIONALITY stands in unwavering solidarity with immigrant communities and the thousands of people and nonprofits working every day to serve, support, and advocate for them. The ongoing attacks on immigrant communities through unjust detentions, disregard for due process, raids in homes, schools and workplaces, and efforts to militarize public spaces are wrong and dangerous. Protest…
Scandal Alert: Is Your Consultant Operating Within the Law?
TL;DR:If you’re paying anyone outside your organization to help in any stage or manner of fundraising—like event planning, grant writing, sponsorships, or marketing—they are legally required to be registered with the Attorney General. This rule protects nonprofits and the public trust, so always check their registration before hiring! W2 employees and volunteers are exempt. What…
The Nonprofit Funding Freeze: Why We Must Invest in Fundraising to Weather the Storm
By Emily Barany & Katie Pearson TL;DR:Disruption in government grants has left nonprofits struggling for funds. Diversify your income, build strong donor relationships, and beef up your fundraising team. With inflation and layoffs, individual donors might give less, and funders are focusing on immediate needs issues instead of systemic changes. Stick to your existing funders,…
Fundraising in an Election Year Requires Strategic Planning
Fundraising in a presidential election year requires striking a delicate balance between aligning with hot-button issues and preserving an organization’s mission. At VISIONALITY, we’ve identified patterns in donor behavior during election cycles, revealing the profound impact of politically debated topics on fundraising dynamics. During a presidential election, organizations tied to contentious issues like gun control,…
VISIONALITY’s Leap of Progress: Transitioning to a 4-Day Work Week with ‘No Meeting Friday’
As the world increasingly rejects the conventional 9-5 workdays and the grueling, 5-day workweek that often leads to burnout and stress, I have been invested in exploring a transition to a 4-day workweek. I have always aimed for VISIONALITY to lead the way in fostering a better work-life balance and knew this is the direction…
Get Your Emergency Readiness Plan Ready Now!
Emily recently met with Tony Briggs of American Red Cross on Building Forward and shared our Emergency Readiness Plan. Download our template to create one for your organization now.
Parental Leave Done Right
VISIONALITY’s Taryn and Katie answer some questions about their own parental leave experiences and how organizations can do family leave right. What was your biggest fear during the leave planning process? T: My biggest fear was feeling like I would need to open my email while on leave, even though I knew I wasn’t going…
Authentic Work Relationships
To me, disagreeing with someone is not about getting into a fight or about unkindness. It’s about how different opinions can lead to better work outcomes. Amy Gallo at the Harvard Business Review, says “By working through conflict together, you’ll feel closer to the people around you and better understand what matters to them and how they prefer to work.” I agree.
The Magic of a Team in a Time of Grief
There is little that lights up Emily’s eyes more than when she talks about the benefits she can provide to her employees; VISIONALITY provides time off for voting, is a permanent remote working environment, and encourages its employees to get out of the office and take mental health days. However, she has a tough time…
Stopping Hate Is Up To All Of Us
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. On the eve of TDOR, a gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning/queer) club in Colorado Springs, murdering at least…
Commit to Fight Against Antisemitism and Hate
VISIONALITY is committed to supporting and lifting the voices of people locally, nationally, and globally. We work to educate ourselves and be advocates for all. We try to speak out when we see those in our community and around the world dealing with injustices and recently, the Jewish community has been under attack. Vlad Khaykin, director…
The Five Faces of Giving Tuesday
It is well documented that we at VISIONALITY are not fans of Giving Tuesday. And so, on this (not) Giving Tuesday, a day where many very deserving nonprofits will feel pressured to expend precious resources to “go big” and are unfortunately overshadowed by mega organizations, I want to share with you five BETTER ways to…