Dear friends, Happy pride month to all! I am thrilled that this year’s events will feature more in-person gatherings. I hope you have fun with your celebrations. 🏳️‍🌈 While I enjoy the month’s festive atmosphere, I also want to honor ongoing work for LGBTQIA+ justice. One issue I’ve been learning more about is the […]

Greetings! I’m Jake, Avalon Consulting’s new Communications Director! I have written fundraising copy for hundreds of nonprofits over the past two decades, and today I am thrilled to bring my experience to Avalon to help enhance and expand its creative services. I started my fundraising career at Craver, Mathews, Smith and Company (CMS) in 2001, […]

  Dear friends, I hope you were not affected by the Colonial Pipeline disruption. There is something poetic about “running on empty” as we emerge from this pandemic, but the impact in some communities is no joke. Both that experience and the discourse around new CDC masking guidelines remind me that traditional and social media can actually […]

An internal task force leads the Avalon process for continuous improvement in DEI. The group is staff-led, receiving guidance from DEI consultants. We assert that a substantive DEI commitment is not static, and we are committed to taking a harder look at how we do business, how we advise our clients, and how we take […]

Dear friends, Last week I got to see my mom and stepfather and my favorite uncle and aunt for the first time in over a year. Cheers to my entire family being fully vaccinated. It was incredible to gather with them again. Speaking of which, Happy Mother’s Day to all the fundraising families out there! […]

  Dear friends, Last week was quite something. I felt a wash of relief when I heard the news of Derek Chauvin’s conviction. I continue to think of George Floyd’s family, and I hope this helps them find some peace. There is also a sobering awareness of institutional racism, and an opportunity for us all […]

  Dear friends, Hello again, and happy spring! I had a great vacation, but I have also missed connecting with you here. It’s good to be back. Avalon has been busy… First and foremost, congratulations to Mary Meredith, Avalon’s new Director of Digital Innovation! Mary is leading the charge to advance Avalon’s work at the […]

  Dear Friends, The past week has been full of nostalgic “one year ago today” reminiscences, mostly to underscore how naïve we were about what was ahead of us. I’m trying to continue to look forward, grasping the small indications of hope that we are starting to come out of this pandemic. I anticipate a […]

  Dear friends, Happy Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day! To mark the occasion yesterday, President Biden established a Gender Policy Council within the White House and named Jennifer Klein and Julissa Reynoso co-chairs. I am particularly excited to hear that their vision is LGBTQ+ inclusive and will “advance equity for Black, Indigenous and Latina women and girls […]

To approach thinking about creative in a different way, Avalon developed a Thinking Creatively: Streaming Series. This group participates in sessions curated by our former Chief Strategy Officer and frequent collaborator, Jenny Phillips. We meet quarterly and review content ahead of time like short videos, documentaries, brief articles, and thought pieces. The group comes ready […]