|
Happy Wednesday, fellow nonprofiteers!
I hope everyone is having a fabulous week! It's about to get better with incredible nonprofit news from across the country! Before we dive into this week's celebrations, I want to take a moment to thank the wonderful Kellen McClusky from Adkins Arboretum (a nonprofit organization local to me) for supporting my work by taking time out of her busy schedule to create some beautiful new professional head shots for my business!
This experience has been a reminder to me of how giving our nonprofit community is, and how much we want to lift up our communities and each other. Thank you to everyone else who has supported this initiative, whether with kind words, a newsletter subscription, or sharing your organization's good news so that we can shine a spotlight on the amazing work you do.
Now, on to What's Good!!
| | If your nonprofit organization has something to celebrate (a successful event or campaign, a milestone or award, a new program launch, a wonderful mission moment, etc.), send it to wednesday@bewhatsgood.com! | | |
The Kappa Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has launched a campaign to permanently endow their scholarship program in honor of the chapter’s 40th anniversary. Since the early 2000’s, KTO has distributed tens of thousands of dollars in educational scholarships to over 100 students graduating from high schools across the five-counties of the Mid-Shore.
| |
  | |
Their goal is to raise $100,000 for their Barbara Dashiell Jeffries Scholarship Fund. The chapter has come together and has pledged to match up to $43,250 of the funds raised towards their goal!
To make a donation online, visit https://bit.ly/JeffriesScholars, or mail a check to PO Box 1643, Easton MD, 21601.
| | | | |
The Factory Arts Project is hosting their Welcome To The Circus fundraiser on September 5th at the Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD. Costumes are encouraged as they return to 1927 for a night of glamour and revelry. There will be live music, light fare, a cash bar, immersive performances, fortune telling, and games.
| | It's a special night where they will announce their 2026 season and future plans, which I’m told are very exciting! This event is 21+. Learn more and purchase your tickets at thefactoryartsproject.org. We hope they will share their plans after the event so we can celebrate them together! | | |
Several guests from Talbot Interfaith Shelter were interviewed, and their stories featured, in a new short film called "Shelter,” which is premiering at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD this weekend.
| | | |
The film is part of Anita Groener’s full art exhibition, entitled “To the Edge of Your World,” which, along with the film, includes installations comprising sculpture, drawing, and painting. “Shelter” is a short, animated documentary that addresses the urgent social and political realities of homelessness while celebrating the transformative work of Talbot Interfaith Shelter.
There will be two free premier events at the Academy Art Museum this weekend. The first is on Saturday, August 16th from 2-4 pm. After the screening, there will be a panel with director Anita Groener, Richard Marks of the Dock Street Foundation, and Cid Collins Walker from the Chesapeake Film Festival, where the film will also be featured later this year. On Sunday, August 17th from 2-4 pm, Talbot Interfaith Shelter will be hosting an additional celebration, followed by a discussion featuring Anita Groener, TIS Executive Director Julie Lowe, and past Board Chair Peter Woicke, who has championed the project since its inception.
| | | | |
Eastern Shore Land Conservancy invites the community to their annual family friendly event, LandJam, on Saturday, September 13th. This year ESLC is celebrating their 35th anniversary of land conservation on Maryland's Eastern Shore and they are hosting the event at Councell Farms during their opening weekend!
| | There will be live music, great food, yard games, and the many fall attractions already available at Councell Farms, including a corn maze, jumping pillow, combine slide, and pumpkins. Learn more on the ESLC website at https://www.eslc.org/event/landjam/. | | |
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is hosting their Your Museum, Your Community event next Friday, August 22nd, from 10-2 as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations. They are offering $2 admission to reflect 1965 prices, with free admission for CBMM members.
| | | |
They will have special discounts on Patriot boat rides and in the gift shop, family-friendly events, a one-day only membership discount incentive to join, live music, free face painting, Kona Ice for purchase, a scavenger hunt, Free Fishing Friday, lawn games, a rain gutter regatta and so much more!
At noon, the CBMM CEO & President will give remarks on the Hennighausen Family Veranda, joined by local commissioners, and then they are inviting members of the community to ring a CBMM bell to celebrate! For their 50th, they had 50 people ring the bell, and for their 60th, they are hoping for even more! To RSVP and pre-purchase tickets, visit https://cbmm.org/event/your-museum-your-community-day/.
| | | | |
Save our Sons and Sisters, part of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, hosted an Urban Expo Job Fair, and it was a huge success.
| | More than 1100 people attended the event to explore career opportunities at 70 different St. Louis area employers. They shared that they are thrilled with the outcome of the event, and can't wait to measure its economic impact on the St. Louis community! I hope they will share that news when they have it! | | |
YMCA of the Chippewa Valley
The YMCA of the Chippewa Valley in Wisconsin broke ground on a new dining hall for their overnight camp, Camp Manitou. The groundbreaking happened as the final week of summer camp wrapped up for the season. The YMCA has worked to raise $5 million for the project, and they are 99% of the way to their goal, prompting the kickoff of construction.
| | | Camp Manitou has served children in the Chippewa Valley for 102 years. The last time the dining hall was expanded, it was to serve around 120 kids. They are now seeing about 230 kids per week, so campers have mainly been eating outside. Along with a much larger dining hall, the project includes a new kitchen space for the staff, increased bathroom capacity, and a third storm shelter on the property. Learn more about this exciting project at https://www.ycampmanitou.org/give. | | | | |
At the Camden Community Garden this week, they planted seeds for the season ahead, pulled weeds from the beds, and worked alongside one another, sharing stories. The community gardeners see the garden as a beautiful example of what’s possible when neighbors work together. I hope they will share the progress of the garden throughout the season so we can see the fruits - and veggies? - of their labor!
| | This investment helps strengthen NLEN’s mission to advance economic mobility and workforce innovation in North Lawndale. Avolta is also helping to promote NLEN’s “Beelove” skin and beauty products at O’Hare and Midway Airports in Chicago. Beelove products are created through NLEN’s Sweet Beginnings program, which provides paid transitional employment to individuals returning from incarceration and those facing barriers to employment. Participants gain meaningful work experience while contributing to a sustainable business rooted in care - for people, community, and the environment. | | What's Good at What's Good, LLC! | | |
I am delighted to share that I am close to reaching a very exciting milestone with my book, The Itty Bitty Book of Nonprofit Fundraising: Tips for Board Members from a Development Director who hates asking people for money.
We are at nearly 2,500 copies sold! I know I'm not going to end up on any bestseller lists, but it is so gratifying to know that people are finding value in the information I am providing about board involvement in fundraising.
Thank you to everyone who has purchased the book so far! It's amazing to see my little baby out in the world, making even a small difference and helping organizations grow their development programs!
| | | |
Speaking of Board Fundraising... It's AWESOME when your board gets "on board" with their role in your development program. BUT... When does it go from helpful to harmful? As a Development Director/Executive Director/Development Chair, it's important to establish the people management skills to focus people's enthusiasm so that it is an asset to your organization, rather than causing you to drop the ball on other elements of your development plan.
Watch The Topic Of The Week Below:
| | Click the button below to access more informative content! | | What's Good Wednesday On WCEI! | | |
Matt Spence and I were back last week, with a segment chock full of awesome nonprofit news from the Mid-Shore region. Check out the full recording below!

If you are a Mid-Shore nonprofit with something to celebrate, please share it at wednesday@bewhatsgood.com and you could be featured on an upcoming radio segment and newsletter!
| | | | |
