Common reasons people contact Carol:

• You want a fabulous keynote on fundraising, governance or Raising Charitable Children
• You have a board who wants/needs to learn to fundraise and they would prefer an instructor who knows what it is like to be frightened, has 43 years experience and has done stand-up comedy. (Carol is also one of the few fundraising speakers who has had a standing ovation after 4 hours of fundraising training!)
• You already had Carol as a keynote speaker last year and want a recommendation for this year
• You are a  wealth management firm that works with high net worth individuals and want to have a program on Raising Charitable Children
• You are a corporation that would like to extend the footprint of your employees into the community and would like a high content, fun and inspirational how-to on creating a volunteer plan for senior management to line-staff
• You want a quick, free consult and want an expert opinion
• You are an executive director. Your board chair expects a 125% increase in fundraising in the next fiscal year. Board giving is at 27%. You get 91% of your funds from state government. You live in Minnesota, Illinois or California. You think perhaps some board training in fundraising is in order
• You want dating or parenting advise. Carol will even help write your e-Harmony ad
• Your organization is relatively new. You have good-hearted, clueless people in the room who love the mission, but know nothing about governance and how to effectively run a non-profit. If they would like to cut 5-10 years off their learning curve, it’s time to call Carol
• You are a Community Foundation, AFP Chapter or United Way or other organization that builds capacity in your community and you are looking for a workshop for professional and board leadership on governance and fundraising.  It has to be so practical, educational and entertaining, that folks won’t be fiddling with their “smart phones” under the table and the people who didn’t show feel they missed a turning point in the evolution of your organization
• You have a real mess on your hands and need a former therapist who can handle a difficult situation where there is a lack of trust, hurt feelings and where client services are being affected. Carol is a mother and grandmother who is a social worker with hospice and gang experience. No joke
• Advice on getting a great deal on anything having to do with travel

Reasons NOT to call Carol:

• Forget about gardening advice. Carol is down to two pieces of bamboo, which are barely surviving her ministrations. Who kills bamboo? 2016 update: Bamboo is dead. Now have silk flowers. Carol is encouraging her husband not to water them
• Accounting or investing advice. Carol’s philosophy is buy high, sell low and avoid capital gains
• Anything to do with Civil War history. Again, clueless
• Looking for a trivia team member, try her husband Frank. Carol has never been on a trivia team where she knew an answer someone else didn’t know
• Going to a baseball, football or hockey game? Carol will be re-reading the complete works of Jacqueline Suzanne
• Need a recipe, look elsewhere. Looking for a taster? That is another matter
• Automotive information, including the make and year of her own car is totally anathema to Carol
• Any information about the International Date Line is a major problem for Carol. She believes in the Easter Bunny, but seriously doubts the existence of the International Date Line and tends to ignore it when giving the time of arrival to friends and clients in Australia
• Need a legal opinion, forget it. Carol does, however, practice medicine without a license