"Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government"

Thomas Jefferson

When you enter the nonprofit world, it's easy to think that you did need to know about current events, what government is doing and what's important in your community. That's a mistake. 

Con't get me wrong. There are lot of things that don't matter but you DO need to be informed. Why? Economic changes deeply effect donors. There have been times in our history when we've done very well. Donations are up. There are also times when donations were limited. If you know this when you design your organization's budget, you won't create unduly high expectations of the goals for your group. 

Another reason to be informed is that during donations down times, you can get goods and services donation. Maybe companies, individuals and groups that cannot donate, will be okay with donating paper, tech support, their email list, any number of things. When you are informed, you know where go and how to find these sources. 

Being informed not only helps you understand donors, it helps guide you to organizations that ARE giving, want to help in other ways and may even sponsor an event for your organization. 

Where should you go to get information about your local community? Newspapers are dying. TV broadcast news is on it's last leg. Not all sources are reliable. There ARE online resources but you have to check out a lot of places. Choose those local sources that are unbiased. Check them out daily. In just 15-20 minutes 3 times a week and you will be informed. Don't want to use your time this way? You may have a board member who loves this. Maybe a family member or friend would help with this. Think creatively. Think big. You CAN and SHOULD be informed.