Although the first day of fall is September 23, it never really feels like we’re in autumn until Halloween rolls around, especially this year, when it has felt like an extended summer. Nevertheless, we are barreling toward the end of the Masonic Year, with the Grand Annual Communication next week. We will have our annual …Read More…
October is Founders Month in Virginia Masonry, and so I want to share with you a little about the founders of MAHOVA. A more detailed history can be found here. There are two versions of MAHOVA. Its first iteration is the Home for children. In the 1870s and 1880s, there was a need for a …Read More…
We are in the final quarter of the calendar year. As we start to wind down the year (and get into my favorite three month stretch) I want to share with you the progress we’ve made so far. As you can see in the infographic below, we have raised more than $954,000 thanks to almost …Read More…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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