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Small is Mighty

Customer Success Manager at Blackbaud Canada

diane under one roofUPDATE 2014: Under One Roof has now changed it's name to 25ONECommunity. Same great organization, new name. If you were looking for proof that Ottawa’s hip factor is on the rise, look no further than this blog post. Ottawa peeps, meet Under One Roof, our newest social mission “hub.” So here’s the scoop: Under One Roof is modeled after the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto - it is another example of a growing trend of not-for-profit “hubs.” “You can be a for-profit business or a non-profit, but in order to be accepted here you have to have a social mission,” says Diane Touchette, Under One Roof President and Founder.

linkedinHonestly, if you can’t personalize the 11 words in your pre-formatted LinkedIn note, I’m really not that interested in connecting with you. This post is about making it personal. It’s something that I spend a lot of time thinking about because I wear two hats – I run a small business, but I also work with not-for-profits. Funnily enough, I use the same correspondence rules for both: Be personal, be genuine, and do your best to make each and every one of them feel important and unique in your eyes.

For all you smaller not-for-profits out there who are thinking about starting a sponsorship program -  this one’s for you. Meet Diane and Jen: local Ottawa real-estate agents interested in making meaningful connections in the communities where they work. Diane and Jen want to do more than just “give money” to these communities - they want to reach out, and touch the pulse of these communities so they can get to the essence of what each neighborhood is about. Wait a minute! that sounds like a lot of not-for-profits I know. Yes! Read on.

This is Ellie. Ellie is a pet Dragon on loan to me from my daughter. She perches on my office wall and helps me work. Usually Ellie is a behind the scenes sort of gal, but I get so much inspiration from her and from the rest of my children’s creations it seems somehow wrong to keep her to myself. Plus, she sparkles--how cool is that??? Today’s lesson from Ellie is inspired by the power of a child’s imagination.