The Rooftop Blog- Ernie Payton: The Music Will Never Die May 1, 2017You didn’t have to spend much time with Debbie’s Dad, Lt. Col Ernest Payton (The Salvation Army), to know that his life revolved around music. Whether it was following, along with Joan, the riffs of a Big Band song on … Continue reading →
- Eulogy for my mother September 18, 2016Harriet Louise (Speer) Jewell (January 26, 1927-September 11, 2016) We celebrate through tears the crescendo of a long goodbye We gather here to celebrate our mother, grandmother, great grandmother, friend; and for the crescendo of a long goodbye. We’ve … Continue reading →
- Can 4 weeks change the trajectory of a life? October 12, 2015It’s great to discover an opportunity to make what may be a lasting difference in the life of a person who really needs to catch a break. We’ve found one, and we’d like to share it with you. Through an … Continue reading →
- Abraham Lincoln’s 2nd inaugural address: 150 years ago March 4, 2015March 4, 1865 Fellow-Countrymen: At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to … Continue reading →
- Resurrection and Grief February 4, 2015My friend and colleague, Chuck, is with his family this week, gathered to bring ease–as best they can—as granddaughter Olivia slips from this life. A Trisomy18 baby, Olivia was born to live in this world briefly, a month-long, difficult prelude … Continue reading →
- Protecting Marriage: Ironic promotional language for a session at the forthcoming NRB Convention January 30, 2015The headline of a promotional email for a session at the National Religious Broadcasters convention reads: “Protecting Marriage: How to Get the Media Message Right for This Generation.” So how can we explain Protecting Marriage to this generation? (By which … Continue reading →
- On Veterans Day: Memorabilia from My Father, the WWII Veteran November 11, 2014My father was a World War II veteran. Veterans of these battlefields of the last century are now bowed men in their eighties and nineties speaking hesitantly about their colleagues and their service a lifetime ago in the killing fields … Continue reading →
- Brett Walls’ Magnificent Journey against Locked In Syndrome and United Health Care Paralysis October 28, 2014CHICAGO — Two blocks east of Chicago’s posh Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue, in the shadow of the spectacular John Hancock skyscraper, sits the world’s leading hospital and research enterprise in physical medicine and rehabilitation, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. … Continue reading →
- A Milestone Birthday for Debbie Jewell: Celebrating a Life Well Started September 3, 2014When you reach milestones that begin with crooked numbers, it is common to reflect on years gone by and their results. Today we’re celebrating the milestone birthday of a remarkable woman whose 50 years have been time well-spent. Debra Elizabeth … Continue reading →
- Autopsy Abuse Gets Personal August 13, 2014When race car driver Kevin Ward Jr. was run over and killed by NASCAR star Tony Stewart on a track in upstate NY Saturday, we saw self-destructive machismo at its worst. Many think Steward didn’t try very hard to stay clear … Continue reading →
- Ernie Payton: The Music Will Never Die May 1, 2017
Category Archives: Nonprofit organizations
Shame on you, Ann Coulter
I frequently agree with Ann Coulter’s political commentary, although more often than not I’m put off by her acerbic, often cruel, manner. I don’t appreciate cruelty and personal attacks from the right any more than I do from the left. However, I’m … Continue reading
“Your young men shall see visions”: The importance of organizational vision
If you are an organizational leader, do you have a vision? Is your organization focused on a clear and broadly understood vision of your corporate purpose and future? “If there is no vision,” a 1599 version of Proverbs 29:18 reads, … Continue reading
Posted in Communications, Jim Jewell, Nonprofit organizations, PR secrets, Public relations, Values
Tagged nonprofit management, nonprofits, vision
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7 Reasons NonProfits Flounder or Fail
By Jim Jewell A group of my friends led a wonderful start-up that was trying to bring new perspectives to a worthy cause, to reach faith-based constituencies who were not traditional supporters of environmental concerns. They had the plan worked … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Jim Jewell, Nonprofit organizations, PR secrets, Public relations, Values
Tagged consulting, failure, nonprofits
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7 Disciplines of Highly Successful Charities
How to build the trust that fuels program growth By Jim Jewell In the last year, some two thirds of Americans responded to appeals from charities for support of projects to meet human needs, create new initiatives, advance faith, and … Continue reading
Vision Problems: 6 causes of World Vision’s PR debacle
World Vision, the giant international Christian relief and development organization, made two announcements last week. I was shocked and disappointed by both. The nature of my alarm was somewhat different than what I’m reading among my friends who share my … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Church and State, Communications, Culture, Ethics, Evangelicals, Homosexual Issues, International aid, Jim Jewell, Leaders, Nonprofit organizations, Public relations
Tagged Christian conduct, crisis communications, public relations, Richard Stearns, same-sex marriage, World vision
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Choosing Gelato, and the Value of Values
In a simple visit to a gelato shop this weekend, I—knowingly or unknowingly—made value statements about risk taking, friendship, childhood joy, keeping promises, and childhood diligence. While we all can recognize that the overtly important choices of life are based … Continue reading
“Your young men shall see visions”: the importance of nonprofit vision
“If there is no vision,” a 1599 version of Proverbs 29:18 reads, “the people decay.” Without a vision, missions can stagnate or waste away. A vision is an answer to the question: “What can and should we accomplish?” My post … Continue reading
Trust Me
Trust has been in decline for many years. I wrote about the decline in public trust in 2010, and just now on the NPOutlook Blog. With charities trying to recover–like so many others–from the economic carnage of the last five years, … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Nonprofit organizations, Values, Virtue
Tagged charity best practices, nonprofit management, trust, Valcort, values
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7 reasons nonprofit organizations falter and fail
Why do some charities thrive and others struggle and fail. I’ve been heavily involved in organizations that have done both, and I have some ideas about why even the best intentioned leaders often see their nonprofits decline into virtual irrelevance. In a … Continue reading
7 disciplines of highly effective charities
I have spent all of my career working for or with nonprofit organizations, primarily Christian groups. I’ve made a recent job move, to work with a management consultancy called The Valcort Grop, which specializes in diagnosing organizational health and providing solutions … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Jim Jewell, Nonprofit organizations, Values
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