Let me first be clear… this is not a blog about how to survive a pandemic, battle social injustice or tolerate an ugly presidential election. I am not an expert at ANY of those things. I have struggled with each of those, like many of you reading this.

This IS a post about embracing your humanity in all its messy forms something that I have come to be well-worn in the last 3 decades of my life.

I’ve been running my small business for the last 11 ½ years. Somehow – by luck, hard work, determination, amazing support or a magic combination of all of the above – I’ve managed multiple clients and their projects, my own financials and payroll, marketed myself and our services through blogs, books, trainings…  all while raising a family, caregiving for my recently deceased mother, surviving a high-conflict divorce, maintaining a social and professional life, and somewhere along the way keeping my sanity.

At Connect For More, we’re extremely proud of our team members – seasoned and new. Each of them brings a wealth of professional expertise and personal perspective to our work stretching from fundraising, human resources, public relations, governance, program evaluation & strategic planning.

A little-known fact for most not within my family circle, I am quite the history nerd. I find history almost as fascinating as I do people. In fact, for me, history is often where I believe people often demonstrate their true selves – in hindsight that’s much easier to assess of course.

Connect For More is proud to be growing an internship partnership with the University of South Florida. This continues to be an important mission moment for us – continuing to connect rising leaders with the needs, passions, and purpose of the nonprofit business sector. What follows below is one intern’s unique perspective on their CFM team experience during the spring of 2020. Unlike other internship experiences, the highlighted professional below was part of our team for more than one semester. If you’d like to read more about her, please read her first CFM blog post here. Her internship was graciously supported by Allegany Franciscan Ministries in partnership with Wimauma Community Development Corporation.   

Connect For More is proud to be growing an internship partnership with the University of South Florida. This continues to be an important mission moment for us – continuing to connect rising leaders with the needs, passions, and purpose of the nonprofit business sector. What follows below is one intern’s unique perspective on their CFM team experience during the spring of 2020.  

Navigating COVID-19, Survival Strategies for Nonprofit Business Leaders

I had the pleasure of speaking with Greta Kishbaugh, from Biz Dynamics Academy.  They are a company who features a community of Educators and Practitioners who are actively involved in their communities with the sole purpose of helping entrepreneurs build a successful business.

I am giving you an update from my home in my pajamas. Showing up for you!

It is the start of week 3 for us of social distancing, 2nd week of homeschooling and the first week of the rest of our lives.

I want you to see me as a human being. Whole, functioning and as best as I can. I imagine a lot of you are feeling the same way during this incredibly different time. 

The life of an intern is mostly composed of accepting everything that you do not know, having more questions than answers, and learning how to network along the way. In the Fall of 2019, I began my journey as an intern working for the Wimauma Community Development Corporation located in rural unincorporated Hillsborough County. As a graduate student earning my Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, I was equipped with a theoretical understanding of community development, economic development, and land use. However, in the beginning, the research I was tasked with emphasized what I did not know and as a result highlighted my insecurities as a young professional. Read More “An Intern’s Perspective”