|
Happy Wednesday, fellow nonprofiteers!
Welcome back to What's Good Wednesday! I wanted to start this week's newsletter off with a thank you. Thank you to everyone who has been sending in your amazing news to share with the world. It's inspiring to see so many great things happening in our nonprofit community each week. You are helping to keep this initiative going, fueling it with your good news!
I'll be taking a week off from our newsletter next week, but keep those celebrations coming my way so I have lots to share when What's Good Wednesday returns in two weeks.
In the meantime, scroll down to see What's Good in the world this week!
| | Does your nonprofit organization have something to celebrate? Send it to wednesday@bewhatsgood.com and you will be featured in an upcoming edition of the What's Good Wednesday newsletter! | | |
On June 28, Captain Andrew R. McCown was named the 2025 recipient of the ShoreRivers Award for Environmental Stewardship as part of the organization’s annual Solstice Celebration.
| | | |
This annual award recognizes an individual or entity in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for their transformational accomplishments as a steward of the environment. McCown has provided environmental education and astonishment to thousands of students over nearly five decades at Echo Hill Outdoor School and played a pivotal role in forming the Chester River Association in 1986
As part of the presentation, McCown was given a hand-crafted, mosaic buoy adorned with salvaged and unique treasures that recognize his history and connection to the Chesapeake Bay. This bespoke piece of art was created and donated by Ann Swanson, the inaugural winner of the ShoreRivers Award for Environmental Stewardship in 2019, who is also the former executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission and a current governing board member for ShoreRivers. Congratulations, Captain McCown, and thank you for your wonderful work on behalf of our beautiful local environment!
| | | | |
Talisman Therapeutic Riding is partnering with Chesapeake Forum to host a Horse Discovery Program. Horse Discovery is a three-part series that included Parts 1 and 2 this Winter, and concludes with a fun Summer Horse Camp at Talisman Therapeutic Riding where participants embrace their love of horses! Summer Horse Camp is broken into two sessions:
| | |
Hug Your Horse is this Friday, July 18, and includes unmounted activities and practical exercises for fun and to refresh one's horsemanship skills. This program focuses on equine fundamentals, including horse anatomy, grooming, leading, and horse behavior. After the horses are put away, attendees will enjoy refreshing beverages and a light lunch harvested from Talisman’s Growing Hope Garden.
Back in the Saddle is on Friday, August 22, and is geared toward those who have completed Horse Discovery Part 1, Part 2, Hug Your Horse, or last Summer’s Horse Camp, Back in the Saddle provides mounted fun on especially patient horses. Participants can enjoy a few games in the arena, or perhaps a hack around the property. Staff will be on hand for supervision!
Click here to learn more about this awesome program (or to register, if you happen to be in the area).
| | | | |
The Benedictine School kicked off registrations for their Chrome City Fundraiser, which will take place on September 20th of this year.
| | This is a really unique and fun event that features custom and classic cars, hot rods and motorcycles as they roll down the mile-long lane on Benedictine’s campus in Ridgely, Maryland! The excitement continues as people check out all the vehicles while enjoying food trucks and entertainment. Last year's event featured hundreds of incredible vehicles! Benedictine is currently seeking sponsors for this important annual fundraising event. Click here to learn more, register, or find out about sponsorship benefits. We wish Benedictine tons of luck on this distinctive event, and hope they will share some highlights afterwards so we can help celebrate its success! | | The program started with just 2 graduates in its first year, and has grown to 100 graduates in 2025. They project that the program might double to 200 in 2026. This program is supported by local businesses like Utilitrain, Air Clear, and Great Wolf Lodge, and is helping to build a pipeline of skilled workers for key local industries. The result is a brighter future for local youth, and a stronger economy for Cecil County! This is wonderful news, and we can't wait to continue watching this vital economic development program grow even more! | | | | |
A Step Ahead Chess from Chicago visited Atlanta and had a blast at the Chess Zone with Kid Chess! They call their kids Stormers, which are defined as: A youth who leads with vision, grows through challenge, and always thinks one move ahead. Not just a player, but a presence—strategic, steady, and fierce. A rising thinker. A fearless learner. A leader in the making.
One of the A Step Ahead Stormers, Marco Baldwin, took 1st place in every category - a clean sweep.
| | |
A Step Ahead shares that the wins are fun, but what’s even better were the connections that were made. The power of chess to bring people together is amazing. No matter the outcome, every young person walked away knowing… It’s Not a Loss, it’s a Lesson
What a phenomenal organization, and a such a neat opportunity for these kids. Congratulations to Marco and all of the Stormers on a job well done, an amazing life experience, and lots of lessons learned!
| | What's Good at What's Good, LLC! | | |
Some exciting things have been happening here at What's Good, LLC that I wanted to share with you! Last week, my article, Be Strategic About Your Nonprofit's Strategic Planning, was published in Nonprofit PRO Magazine. As we are in the midst of strategic planning season, this article puts forth some important things to think about while you're going through the planning process so that you can set your organization up for success. Click here to read it!
In more good news... TOMORROW, I'll be presenting a FREE webinar in partnership with Bonterra: Getting Your Board on Board With Fundraising. This is one of my favorite topics to talk about; I even wrote a book about it! I'll be breaking down the fundamentals of board fundraising, providing tips on how to approach it with your Board Members, and discussing the three documents you should have in place to take the first steps toward creating a culture of fundraising at your organization. Click the link below to register... Did I mention it was FREE??
| | |
I'm tired. You're tired. We're all tired. Nonprofit work is stressful, pressure-filled, emotionally taxing, and no two days are the same. When you finish one project, another is waiting in the wings to take its place. It's a recipe for burnout, which in turn is a recipe for high turnover in our industry. This week, I'm talking about finding balance and avoiding burnout (which I must admit is as much for my benefit as it is for yours!).
Watch The Topic Of The Week Below:
| | Click the button below to access more informative content! | | What's Good Wednesday On WCEI! | | |
I love my time with Matt Spence on the WCEI Morning Show! We get to share great news from across our community and shine a light on the work of our incredible local nonprofit community. Check out last week's show 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!
| | Help What's Good Be Best of the Best! | | |
The nomination period for the APG Best of the Best Chesapeake contest ends this week. If you are a neighbor of mine here on the Mid-Shore, I hope you'll consider nominating me in both the Best Consultant and Best Customer Service categories. You can nominate up to once per day through July 20th.
Thank you so very much for your support!
| | | Check Out My Itty Bitty Book! | | |
The Itty Bitty Book of Nonprofit Fundraising:
Tips for Board Members from a Development Director who hates asking people for money
| | | If you're struggling to create a culture of fundraising within your Board of Directors, my "Itty Bitty Book" can help! This quick read provides the basics of what the Board needs to know about their duty to fundraise, plus pages and pages of actionable ideas for personalizing their fundraising commitments. | | | | |
