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Crown Jewel News Blog

From the Cutting Room Floor

September 30, 2016

I give speeches every so often, and before I do, I write what a plan to say in its entirety.  I never actually follow what I wrote (sometimes it’s not even close), but at least I go in with a plan.  Here’s a clip that I cut out from an upcoming talk about two of …Read More…


Music Therapy

September 23, 2016

The Masonic Home of Virginia is a Life Plan Community,[1] and that means that we cover a large swath of care needs. One of those needs is memory support, and I’d like to highlight its highest level – the Richard E. Brown Unit – where the Home is doing some of its greatest work. I …Read More…


Overhead

August 23, 2016

There is a raging debate among nonprofits[1] about the best ways to think about overhead. The standard, canonical version is to look at general overhead expenditures (administrative costs and fundraising costs) as a measure of nonprofit effectiveness and sound governance. And this much is clear: this measure is nearly universally disliked by nonprofits. In a …Read More…


A Distant Tomorrow

August 8, 2016

I have been reading a book recently, called But What if We’re Wrong?[1], wherein the author attempts to look at the present as though it were the past. The key point he makes is that it’s very, very difficult to tell what will be important in 50 years, especially when you base it on what’s …Read More…


Dog Days

July 29, 2016

Everything seems to slow down in the summer.[1] It’s hot. Richmond was recently rated as the fifth sweatiest city in the U.S.,[2] sandwiched between Miami and Austin. Staying cool and comfortable is a must, and bathing suits aren’t always an option. Photo of the author, circa 2014 At the Home we beat the heat with …Read More…


Halfway Through 2016

July 14, 2016

Here we are in July, 6 months of 2016 logged in the books.  It seems like a good time to take a look back at how the year has gone so far, form a fundraising perspective.  Check it out: The Masonic Home is the product of an entire state’s effort, and you can see that …Read More…


Onward

June 27, 2016

The recent, historic events in Europe have me thinking[1] of our place in the world. When we celebrated our 125th anniversary[2] last year, we buried a time capsule, which, when you think about it, is more of a challenge than a celebration. After all, we need to be around to unearth the thing. The question …Read More…


Life at the Home

June 17, 2016

Ask a resident if they wish they had done anything differently, and you will likely hear, “I wish I had come sooner.”  Many prospective residents balk at the idea of moving to the Home because they feel that they are too young, too active.  You read between the lines, and you get to the heart …Read More…


A Statement of Purpose

June 1, 2016

Welcome to the Masonic Home Blog! There are so many things that make us special.  This is where we will share them with you. We hope that you will think of this blog as look inside the Home – a way to better know what it means to be part of our community.  We will have …Read More…


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