Author: Paul Nazareth

This is NOT a blog post. It’s going to be long…. It’s not meant to be readable, it’s just for the 37 people coming to my first #netwalkingTO event tomorrow July 7. You’ll learn more about each other obviously on the walk, which is why you WILL bring business cards ( um, and umbrellas it seems ). My events are usually anti-RSVP so if you want to bring a friend, if you’re reading this from Twitter – hey, just show up. But come to walk, come to talk, come to network, we mean business! So I’ve randomly sorted you into categories only because I don’t know all of you THAT well but those whose superpowers I know, I want to share so folks can discuss them with you!! Now, you may not know that I created a personal Networking MVP Award called the Golden Crab. And we have TWO of those folks with us.. THE GOLDEN Lisa Taylor is seriously, changing the face of Canadian business for the better. As Baby Boomers decide not to retire but instead repurpose their skills and refocus their passions, Lisa is leading the way. Check out this board I created of her media content. Thinking about changing jobs, your career path? Talk to Lisa. Ann Rosenfield is someone I’ve known in my fundraising career for a long time. She has held many roles in leadership, volunteerism, mentoring – someone who has walked alongside me with great wisdom but also great debate and dialogue. Janice Cunning is someone I started playing more with because of a networking introduction ( of Liz Rejman, who is with us too! ) and has just rocked my business world since. A coach for professional fundraisers Janice is part of the reclaiming of my professional community’s soul. For all the fundraisers with us, Janice is someone you HAVE to meet. Ahmed Nizam is an odd guy. His ‘day job’ is a professional with one of Canada’s best financial institutions. But I know him as the head-shot photographer who helped transform my personal career and those of dozens in my network. He is a young man of vibrancy and vision that is uncommon, but his humility allows him to be a seeker of knowledge. When people ask me about investing in the next generation, this guy is my personal networking lottery ticket. One day I’m going to see his work on an international stage and say, I knew that guy when…. THE TRAVELLERS One of the big reasons this event is happening is Liz Rejman! Who is driving to join us from London Ontario! Liz is a fellow instructor with me as part of the Georgian College Fundraising program and one of the first peers I really connected with on Twitter. Since then she has brought so much value into my professional life! Blair DeMarco-Wettlaufer coming in from Kitchener is someone I met a few years ago at my first big talk about LinkedIn for business. Since then we’ve kept in touch and he continues to thrill me at how he is on the front lines of both social-business and adapting his century-old profession to a new interconnected digital world! Business folks, seek Blair out. Linda Leja is a peer in philanthropy I don’t know too well and is coming in from London with Liz – but I recently saw her host the LRFRE conference and was wowed by her skills as part of her business “the Auctionista”. For several of the young women walking tomorrow, Linda displays some of the most fearless presentation skills I’ve ever seen. Ask her how she built those skills ( then tell me please ). THE SUITREPRENEURS I truly believe fundraisers and entrepreneurs need to hang out more – it’s ironic to call these three the suits, they are professional business people but they are truly uncommon and unsuitishly dynamic each in their own way. Rona Birenbaum is a financial planner. There are hundreds of thousands of people in this profession in Canada and yet she stands apart. I spend so much time wishing for the residents of Bay St. to get the power of social business – Rona gets it. Take a look at this awesome video. Andy Kovacks is one of my oldest friends from University – it’s not his friendship that keeps us in touch. It’s the fact that he is THE most successful person I know from University because he goes to work and works smart every single damn day. I have huge admiration for how he’s built his business, I have enough friends. I don’t have enough friends with a career. Also, um, ask Andy about Karate.  Don’t let his freaky icon scare you but yes Ryan Coelho is a human brand! An entrepreneur of crazy energy, this TEDx speaker is someone who helps hundreds reach their goals each year. When you meet him, it’s indeed #GameOn Stewart Lewis was the leader of an international professional association in Estate Planning, a former journalist and is thinking about a hop into the social-profit sector. Afsheen Malik is a telecommunications professional but I know her as an aspiring financial educator at heart. In a few years she will be teaching Canadians how to improve their financial health, ask her about it. THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE – FUNDRAISERS Fundraising is at the core of my personal career path, and at the core of my business network. Some fantastic fundraisers are joining us, here they are. Rickesh Lakhani (the King in the North! ) is a running-mate in my life. Besides our profession, we read many of the same books, we are dads, we drive the same car! We’re also trying to figure out the future of fundraising, social media, management – and because we’re of the same generation one day we’ll need to step into leadership. Together we’ll be ready, I’m grateful for him driving down to be with us! David Kravinchuk is a Fundraising Pharmacist?! Well that’s the name of his consulting firm and I’ve seen his work, he has the cure for what ails you. Several of you are fundraising executives, talk to David he can cure some of the things that rot your shop and erode your social-profit. By no means a diss but although I know these fundraisers I don’t get enough time with them to write a snappy intro so we need to talk on our walk Adam Stewart , Holly Hewitt , Amy Coulterman ! DISRUPTORS – THE FUTURE OF PHILANTHROPY One secret of professional fundraising is that most people working in the sector “fell into it” like a trapdoor in a Saw movie or something ( “I woke up at Golf tournament covered in pledge forms! The Horror!” ). Well, Canada’s largest postgraduate fundraising program at Humber College ( which, full disclosure I am a fan and Advisory Committee member of ) is creating the next generation of leaders from scratch – who are these crosstrained warriors of social-profit? Meet three of them on this walk Laura Champion, JJ Sandler ( of bartending for good ) and Richard “Dickey” DeLisle. NEW FACES (MOSTLY) So, meeting with people you know is the dumbest networking strategy in the world. It’s like trying to meet new people at a family-reunion. So although I’ve met some of you before most of you are total strangers and that’s awesome. I hope you find value in this day and it’s my highest priority to meet and speak with you as we walk!  Who are these folks? (I didn’t want to mix up your profiles so I took some guesses on the links) Niwah Visser
Neetika Chohan
Fide Hung
Sowad Al-Mughni
Cora Xiao
Vaughn Berkeley
Paul Laffin
Zuheda Gulmohamed
Farah Jamil
Heather Wing
Juniper Locilento
Abeera Shahid Apologies if I missed anyone, again, just show up if you want to come. And if you can’t come, don’t worry I won’t be insulted. That’s what “ YOU invited YOU” my networking philosophy is all about. Ok so! Remember if you’re tweeting to use the hashtag #NetwalkingTO Dress appropriately (character casual, I’m wearing loud colours so, there’s that ), bring water, bring money for transit and lunch if you’re joining us ( optional ) for Dim Sum at the awesome Sky Dragon or in Kensington market. You have my mobile number in the reminder email I sent, see you at 9am at Starbucks on Bedford! Let’s get walking! Paul

Yes, I’m being cheeky.

But in a world where fundraising permeates ALL of life, I will confess my distaste for the unpleasant parts of the machine…. July 7, we will gather and… You will not get a T-shirt, you will not sell chocolate almonds, you will not wear a number a ribbon or a pink feather boa, there will be no growing moustaches, there will be no shaving hair, there will be no medals, I will not play 2-unlimited to pump you up, no celebrity will give a heartfelt testimonial – there will be no pledges, there will be no golf, this is an anti-fundraising zone.

Fundraisers and entrepreneurs are my target, mostly my network, strangers with purpose are always welcome. Bring a friend? You bet. Come to consider your future, your career, your business. To build skills, to meet mentors or be a mentor, to share ideas, to be curious, and above all – to network.

Now, recently you may have read that sitting is the new smoking, well networking indoors is a leading cause of boredom so let’s bust out of that mold and bust-a-move! Like a previous event I held, I’ll be breaking out of my comfort zone. This is on a Sunday, it will probably be warm, civvies only folks. Hawaiian shirts and character-wear is encouraged, judgements are discouraged. My suits are my armour and true entrepreneurs play without that safety net, this is training for me too!
For details and RSVP click here. We start, where else, at Starbucks at Bedford and Bloor outside St. George subway station next to a green p parking lot. We’ll do some pretty beautiful urban walking downtown and over to Chinatown/ Kensington where we’ll end with lunch. The group is already over 20 so there will be different options for lunch, cost for the event is only for what you eat. We meet at 9am, we eat at noon.

See you July 7,  Paul Nazareth

Nice to get a shout-out on one of Canada’s most listened to morning shows – CBC Metro morning last week. Dozens of peers, emailed, phoned and tweeted – Paul why are you baking cookies for the hosts of a radio show?! It all started on my one annual clothes shopping road trip, when I buy ALL my business clothing accessories for the year in one shot. I saw this bow-tie set and thought of Matt Galloway the host of my favourite CBC radio show. Now Matt rocks the bow-tie, not as much as Mr. Enright but he’s a champion of being a man whose life doesn’t revolve around just beer and sports, he’s curious, he loves his city, and he inspires me. My buddy who was with me quipped “that’s weird man, buying a bowtie for another dude. That’s something you pretty much only do for family”. Then I realized, CBC has a spot on my personal board of directors, I grew up on Metro Morning for breakfast and As it Happens for dinner thanks to my father. Matt and the huge crew of Metro morning are indeed part of my family, I’m addicted to CBC Podcasts – I’m so grateful for all of them. So I got baking, cookies for business family ( past co-workers of mine will know about this ) and I dropped them off Friday. Thanks gang, you make this city, this country, a better place to live.   Paul Nazareth Ps. For the 1000th time, I’m not directly related to Errol Nazareth but I did reach out to him on LinkedIn years ago and recently was part of the push convincing him to join Twitter! So welcome and follow him here if you’re a fan of the show!

Working for charities for more than a decade and having a family means that every dollar I spend on something, could have been donated to good causes or spent making my kids happy. Also, being a man, I hate the anxiety of clothes shopping. So I ruthlessly put together a budget, a small one. And make just two purchases for the whole year. Yes. Two. The first, I rely on the advice, teaching and good value of my guys, Tom and Tom Jr. in Toronto’s Kensington Market for suits. I never go over budget, I always walk away feeling more confident. The second, I research all year ( thus my pinterest board ) and take ONE road trip to purchase all accessories. The man road-trip I call it, pocket-squares and ponderosa steaks – I get all I need for less than most guys spend on one suit, and a $9 steak for dinner. This year, I took a couple buddies of mine. One who was self-admittedly brand obsessed. Hugo Boss, Hugo Boss is all I heard the whole day. We argued and argued, a discussion I have often with other young up and coming men about brand Vs. value. On one side, is the idea that you can buy class. That a Hugo Boss suit ( which are exquisite no question ) makes anyone look successful.  On the other, I believe that with research and creativity even on a budget, you can look as good as you want to and have the confidence you desire. In the end, I came back spending less and having more than my friend’s couple items purchased from dear Hugo. The suit and tie is still the prison-uniform of the business sector, but if the warden lets you choose what to wear, why not have a little fun yes? Life is short, express yourself. So to those young men, the up and coming, if you want to look good on a budget watch these video’s, take a look at this board, series of articles, get this app, style is part of your success – no matter where you find yourself in this debate, get on it. You don’t want to be shabby suit guy on the left, right? If you’re on Twitter, here’s a list to follow. I leave you with one of the leaders of Canadian menstyle, Melissa of GotStyle! Thanks for reading, weight in on the debate below!    Paul

Buzzword alert!  Innovation  Like so many things, people say it and have no idea what it really means. I love reading what my network is reading, so when an innovator in the social-profit sector Lee Rose, co-founder of the MESH Network in Ottawa, formerly of CharityVillage and now of the Community Foundations of Canada tweeted he loved this book, I picked it up. And I’m glad I did. See I have a business disability, I was born and raised in offices. Where meetings are sit-down affairs, thinking is over-ruled by doing and white boards are for fancy consultants. Thanks goodness for my network, an army of entrepreneurs, disruptors, thinkers, convenors – all who live and die by what they produce. When I look at the successful among them, at my own successes I see the theories of this book but neither of us had put the method to paper – little bets! Great ideas are not born complete. Great service professionals walk with the client and react, I work with someone like this. To see them create solutions sometimes borders on art, to work on small steps to evolve our business is the joy of my professional life – but I’d like to do it better. Now I can. Steve Jobs, Pixar, Frank Gehry, Chris Rock are just some of the examples Peter Sims uses in the book. Like Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers taught us about brilliance through experience, but how do the brilliant build their business from scratch! This book is truly worth the read and as we head into the summer, it’s a light fast read that gets into your head and into your work and makes you think then adds to your actions. I love this book because you will see yourself and your actions in a more strategic light after reading it and you’ll get tips on how to amplify past success.  Often I find myself trying to help my network get more active in the social business sector, but they always think they have to have all the marketing and strategy done before they launch. As Seth Godin says, “ship it”. Getting caught up in perfection is the illusion that will keep you from finishing. So, let’s get to work. Let’s make more little bets. As Lee gets to work changing the philanthropic face of Canada with his team here’s a quick video, I hope it helps you take that last step to pick up the book! Enjoy,         Paul

And if you’re the hard-core learner, here’s Peter at Google giving a longer lecture. Leave it on as you wash the dishes or fold the clothes…

It’s not often that I quote rappers. But Mr. Worldwide has quite the opening line in his song “Feel this moment” ( video below ) “Ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, get money twice” Indeed Pitbull, indeed. So many of you know I’m co-hosting an event on May 27 called “Director School” to help my network and other future leaders in fundraising reach their potential. I’m directing this post at 500 leaders in my network, who have held or currently hold a position at the Director level or above. Could you answer just 3 questions and give advice to those who attend this event? Click here to take the survey I won’t share your name, so please be critical. You’ve got beefs with this generation, tell them what problems they need to overcome to reach their goals. Believe me they’ll appreciate it. I have personally achieved every job I ever wanted, every professional goal I have ever made because of this network. I am eternally grateful and work hard to host events like this out of gratitude and to be the change I want to see in this profession and world. As always, thank you dear network for sharing news of this event with people you’re mentoring and for all your support. Please always consider me a resource in all you do! With great gratitude and humility,   Paul

Sitting is the smoking of our generation. Says Nilofer Merchant, and I agree. I hang out with a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs who maintain an awesome healthy lifestyle. They don’t do it because they’re hippies, they do it to make more profit, personal or social. And I respect that. And I want that for me. And I want it for you too. I spent my childhood behind a desk in school, my entire career in cubicles and offices. I only attend meetings where everyone sits and talks in order. There is no standing, there is NEVER any standing. Whose fault is that? Mine! I chose this life and lifestyle – if change is to be, it must start with me. After all, there are so many awesome thinkers I admire and many of them insisted on walking and talking meetings. This spring, I went for a long walk with Jaime Stein on one of his #KilihikeTO walks to network and prepare to climb a mountain for #Climb4Cord to create Canada’s first “cord blood” bank. It was truly an “ah-ha” networking moment for me. Sure if sitting is the new smoking, getting up for meetings could save my life but there is also the creativity aspect. Our brains evolved not to think more, but to accommodate more complex movement – moving more helps the brain digest and create better! I know we’ve gotten so used to meetings, we often say “let’s grab a coffee” ( and I’ll still be starting at Starbucks ) but the office has evolved, so should meetings! And of course fresh air to creativity is what they originally meant by “thinking on your feet” – which is what my favourite chef James Barber used to say. His specialty was “cooking with what we have” instead of trying to create a dish with all new ingredients. Does this sound like your office? There is no new revenue, no more budget money, no more hours in the day. So we cook with what we have and it CAN be delicious. So! Enjoy Nilofer’s great TED talk below, you’ll see me out and about for more meetings and I’ll be hosting a networking idea-walk this summer in June! Details to follow. If you’re around May 27, I hope you’ll walk on over and join me at my career event, “Fundraising Director School” until then… Happy walking, Paul

Canadian champion Mark Tewksbury spoke to both my work team and my professional association this year, both loved his book which I have to share. I love the target reader: For “Achievers, leaders and legacy leavers” In my career I found that great sellers, make bad managers. Great fundraisers made bad leaders just like great athletes often make bad coaches. Mark had to go from Olympic Gold to leading a team, to representing his country. A confession, I’m NOT a sports guy. I don’t like advice from sports people or the pumped up ideas of Type-A excellence. This book goes beyond inspiration and pumping up, this is a quality workbook that encourages you to think, reflect, make a plan then act. Breaking down the traits of leadership into key concept, how to do it well, critical takeaways, a self assessment moment and tips to make it practical so you can do something with what you’ve learned is what makes this book so valuable! For those who want to develop their brand, learn how to lead, motivate and manage teams in an authentic way from a place of personal values. This book is for you! A final note, during his talk at our conference Mark made a heartfelt pitch and plug for Twitter. As lead of our conference Twitter team I was on top of the world and want to personally thank you Mark for sharing your story of how this medium allowed you to connect as a leader to your team, and the country you represented. Follow the team and enjoy this quick talk by Mark and Debbie, as always, thank for reading!         Paul

Many people know that I try to help fundraising peers who are skilled and passionate, get ahead in career and life. But there comes a point, where you hit a wall. Because you can’t learn more, or don’t know what you need to learn. Or no one will let you be more where you are. AFP Fundraising Day in Toronto is coming up. Many people will get a chance to reconnect with mentors at this important event, maybe you’ll meet a new mentor there…. IT’S TIME TO TAKE YOUR CAREER INTO YOUR OWN HANDS. You know that your future leads to leadership. Many great fundraisers who didn’t get any training became bad bosses. You know who I’m talking about. You don’t want to be them, but you know you could do better if you knew how to prepare over these new few years! So I’ve partnered with leaders in my network to put together an event that I hope will help you become the leader our profession, our country needs. David Hutchinson, our host is a recruiter. Plain and simple. He will share trends where current skills are lacking that you want to hear about. Janice Cunning is a coach who helps star fundraisers do their best! She will share tips on how keep your joy and your soul. It’s not a ‘nice to have’, this is a BIG reason why Directors quit! Ahmed Nizam who helped me understand the power of a good picture will be present to help you with a professional social media headshot for LinkedIn ( now you can get rid of that photo of you from that wedding/graduation ceremony ) so you’ll feel like the leader you will soon be. And yes, I’ll be sharing some key strategy tips on personal branding for career development for the busy fundraising professional. This will be worth the investment of your time! There is even a surprise for the first couple dozen folks to register! Come and see the new Centre for Social Innovation in Regent Park! After all, it’s your career, your future. You’re worth it right? See you in school, Paul

It’s just hours before the CAGP National Conference. I’m crazy excited. Several peers have contacted me with the same request, “hey Paul, there is no social media training for planned giving fundraisers on the program, can we talk about it when I see you?”  Now, I don’t fault the conference team, this is NOT a required job skill in 2013 for fundraisers or other professionals. But by 2014? Maybe… by 2015? Watch the video below and tell me this is a fad. Respected peers of mine continue to marvel, falsely so, at my social media prowess. It’s a trick! I tell them, I have time saving strategies! They don’t believe me, so the magician is sharing his secrets, all before breakfast.  15 minutes, free resources. Crash course. It’s about time saving, I have a full time job and a family after all. I will prove to you that you can do it. I will teach you 3 ways to make it possible in your work and life. Come to the registration booth, 7:30AM on Thursday April 18. They’ll tell you where it is ( or follow the Twitter team at #CAGP2013 ) tell others please! Non-early risers, you tell me if you want to engage at my Tuesday night event or on Wed/Thurs. I’ll make it work. You’ll always hear me say “I’m at your service”, make me prove it. If you’re willing, I’m ready. Bright and early.   Paul