NonprofitEye

I don’t want to be a buzz-kill, but I hate buzz words. I hate take-aways. I love take-out (at least I did before I moved to LA which doesn’t have great take-out). I hate social networking. I’m anti-social. So sue me! I hate anything with “tube” in the name. I hate Face Book as much as I hate Flckr. I hate information overload. I love information. As long as it is not about the latest buzz words. Where am I going with this? Remember the Rolodex? the Day Timer ? Anybody? Buhler? Buhler? [1] I had some sweet Rolodex shareware. How about the Palm Pilot? And when am I going to get my flying car darn it! Carving in stone gets you close to eternity, even paper has a shot if it stays cool and dry. But where is anybody going to get a 5 ½ inch floppy drive in 2010? For that matter where is anyone going to get one today? I have one! But I don’t have a cable to connect it and I don’t have a suitable port on my teeny computer (they don’t call them PC’s anymore do t...

I'm just a bill/Yes, I'm only a bill And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill Well, it's a long, long journey To the capital city It's a long, long wait While I'm sitting in committee But I know I'll be a law someday At least I hope and pray that I will But today I am still just a bill. --SchoolHouse Rock, 1970 I went on my first "hill visit" last month. I was very excited about educating our congressman on the challenges nonprofits face. I didn't know how naive I was until I sat in his office. First, although we had an appointment, we were greeted by an "aide" with a notepad. No actual congressman face time. Second, there was no spark of interest until we described (in detail) what work we were doing in HIS district. So what about city-wide services, just tell me about mine!; Third, the aide did not write anything on the notepad (although she held her pen at the ready) UNTIL we mentioned a specific piece of legislation ...