Please allow us to introduce ourselves

Published by Meg Gardner on January 5, 2017January 5, 2017

(Don’t worry, we’ll be back to real blogs next week.)

Funny how things sometimes come full circle. As we’re working on transitioning the 101fundraising site to reflect The Resource Alliance’s new role as its caretakers, I was reminded that in 2013, the then 2-year-old 101 was given the Editor’s Choice award for Best Fundraising Blog by US-based FundRaising Success magazine (now Nonprofit Pro).

I was the editor who made that choice. Clearly, I was enamored of this crowdblog from early on. Here’s what we had to say at the time: “This internationally crowdsourced blog came out strong and just keeps getting better. The global insights from some of the world’s most innovative and thoughtful fundraisers are always a pleasure to read. With contributors weighing in from all over the world and representing every type of mission, organization and job title, you just never know what you’re going to get on this blog — other than well-written, informative and entertaining insights on fundraising, that is!”

It was a great call then, and 101 has continually upped the bar.

We were happily surprised as talks about this transition began — and incredibly honored. For Reinier and Jeroen and the rest of the 101 team to trust us with their legacy and to take 101 into the future was exciting and humbling. The transition was announced at IFC 2016 in October, but we all had been buzzing about it for months.

Who we are
The Resource Alliance has been around for nearly 40 years. It began as a networking and support group for attendees to a conference that would eventually become the IFC. Over the years, it has grown into a multifaceted resource for the nonprofit sector around the world. We curate content and events designed to inspire and educate fundraisers and the countless others who work tirelessly to make the world a better place.

The Resource Alliance was built on the concept that fundraisers can reach and teach each other, and benefit from shared knowledge. Sound familiar?

Our manifesto speaks of mobilising to make change happen, of minds meeting, ideas unleashing, thoughts converging, and power multiplying – all of which lies at the heart of what this crowdblog is about.

Looking ahead
As I mentioned in Tuesday’s post, 101fundraising will continue to be community driven. We’ve been in touch with many of the regular contributors, and they’re on board to continue sharing their knowledge, insights and passion with the 101 community. Plus we’ll be looking to add some new voices. If you’d like to blog for us, please let us know. You can email me directly at meg@resource-alliance.org.

While I’m the main point person for 101, The Resource Alliance has a solid team of dedicated folks behind everything we do. You can meet them here, and also noodle around on the The Resource Alliance website.

Finally, one last shout-out to Reinier, Jeroen, Sarah, Marjolein, Victor, Elsbeth and Rebecca: You rock. You’ve built something wonderful here. Thank you for this honor and for your trust in us. You’ve left us some huge shoes to fill, and we promise to do you proud.