Blogging nonprofit inspiration

I only very recently officially launched my consulting business, and I say that my mission is to “provide writing and planning services that express nonprofits’ vision for societal transformation in ways that inspire community support.” So now I’m finally starting up a blog, not just because all the cool kids are doing it (doesn’t everyone have a blog these days? I seem to read a million of them so it seems that way!) or the marketing tips all say that I absolutely must, but as an extension of that mission.

For one thing, I want to provide information gleaned from my own experience on how nonprofits can express their ideas and accomplishments more effectively, to whomever they want to reach: foundations, government funders, employees, the community, clients, anyone. I can help them in-depth in my capacity as a consultant, but they don’t have to hire me to benefit from at least some of what I know, and what I learn from other practitioners in my field.

But there’s a deeper reason too. I talk about inspiring support in my mission statement, but in deciding to launch this blog I thought a lot about inspiration, not just inspiring support in others, but ways in which I inspire myself, or seek out others to inspire me. I go to workshops, network at conferences, and yes, read a million nonprofit-themed blogs and publications, not just for the fun of it but for the interesting things I hear and learn from them, and for the ideas they spark within me as I try to apply what I’ve learned to my work and life. On one level, I want to be a part of that, providing education and inspiration rather than just receiving them. And on another level, I’ve come to realize that it’s easier to build on enriching experiences if I have a way to talk them out.

So here is the place where I can talk about inspirational moments I’ve experienced in my life with nonprofits, share them, spread them, discuss them, and build on them. I’m sure it won’t all be inspiring. Sometimes I need to talk out annoyances or setbacks. But even those negative experiences can become inspiration, if I can express them in a way that turns them around. From vision to expression, that’s my tagline. Not just for nonprofit clients, but for my own inspirations and plans.