Team Kat & Mouse-Breakthrough fund development training

10/20/2026

Everybody needs more grant funding, and there’s no shortage of grant opportunities out there. But when your organization applies for everything, the funding still doesn’t appear.

Chasing too many long-shot opportunities is an easy way to burn out a development team and fall short of your fundraising goals. The better question isn’t “Where can we apply?” but “Which grants are actually worth our time?”

In our latest blog post, we share a practical framework for making that call. It works whether you have a full development team or one person wearing several hats. Here’s what to check before you commit:

Mission and program alignment
Eligibility and funder priorities
Effort versus likely return
Funder relationship and giving history
Capacity, timing, and reporting requirements

Saying no to the wrong grants frees up your time and energy for the right ones.

Read the full post: https://www.teamkatandmouse.com/post/how-to-decide-which-grant-opportunities-are-worth-pursuing

Need help researching funders, building a grant calendar, or deciding where to focus your grant efforts? Team Kat & Mouse would love to talk.

10/13/2026

Working in development is about saying PLEASE and saying THANK YOU.

OK, it's also about stories of impact and helping donors to understand the WHY behind your solicitations.

But too often we get so worried about the first that we forget the power of the second.

In this week's blog, Amy Ma**er talks about the power of stewardship.

You can find it on our website at www.teamkatandmouse.com/blog

10/06/2026

How is it already October?! One minute we’re celebrating July 4th, and the next we’re seeing Halloween decorations everywhere! 🎃

That can only mean one thing for nonprofits: year-end fundraising is right around the corner.

This week’s blog takes a fun look back at a famous New York advertising campaign and the reminder it offers today:
If you haven’t started your year-end strategy yet, now is the time!

Don’t wait for November or December. Start planning, start talking to your donors, and get those tactics in place.

The year-end giving season is coming. Are you ready?

09/29/2026

What if your next grant report wasn't just a compliance task?

Compliance is the baseline. But a report is also one of the few structured moments when a funder hears directly from you about what's happening on the ground.

Our latest blog covers what candid reporting looks like, why timing matters, and how to use your report to open a conversation with your funder.

Read it here: https://www.teamkatandmouse.com/post/grant-reporting-is-relationship-building-not-just-compliance

For many nonprofits, grant reporting feels like homework. The award is in hand, the deadline is looming, and the report gets written quickly to check a box.We understand why. Staff are stretched thin, and reporting can feel like a distraction from the actual work. But we encourage organizations to s...

09/22/2026

Another great Nonprofits First Affiliate Marketplace complete. It was so great to see old friends and make some new ones---Nonprofits-They get it done!!

09/15/2026

The power to say “I was wrong” is very important when you are a leader. In this Team Kat & Mouse blog Sharon H. Kitroser talks about an old friend who is an amazing leader- let’s just say she has been there, done that AND BOUGHT THE T-SHIRT!

A dear friend of mine manages a sales team at a television station in Atlanta. Last week she told me a story that I haven't been able to stop thinking about because it's just as true for nonprofit leadership as it is for sales.One of her account executives had been working with a prospective client....

09/08/2026

Diversification and adaptability are essential to resilience.
Take a look at this week’s Team Kat & Mouse-Breakthrough fund development training blog.

We have a training that we’ve brought to many of our Team Kat & Mouse partner clients on the topic of nimble fundraising — ensuring that your organization’s fundraising can respond to changes in circumstances. These changes can be natural disasters (hurricanes), political disruptions (governme...

09/01/2026

Dolly Parton passed away last week at age 80, and tributes have poured in from around the world. In our latest blog post, Ben Chambers writes about the quieter side of Dolly's legacy: what happens when a philanthropist shows up consistently, for decades, instead of writing one big check and walking away.

Ben's son Carson received free books every month through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, the program that has sent more than 150 million books to kids in five countries since 1995. That consistency helped spark a love of reading that Carson is carrying with him into kindergarten this year.
For those of us in nonprofit fundraising, there's a real lesson here. Dolly built the Imagination Library by partnering with local libraries, community organizations, and funders in every place it operates. She created infrastructure that other people and organizations could plug into and help sustain, the same trust based, community rooted approach we believe should sit at the center of good fundraising work.

Read Ben's full reflection on what Dolly Parton's example can teach nonprofit professionals about giving that lasts.

The last week was a big one for my family. After a summer spent at home serving as my Junior Consultant, my youngest son, Carson, started kindergarten. Sending him off to school with his Bluey backpack was exciting and more than a little emotional.More than just a life milestone, starting kindergart...

08/25/2026

Are you open to hearing about the challenges you haven't even thought of yet? Are you trying to biuld a network of support now for what might be ahead?

Keep an open mind and find resources who have travelled the path before you.

Every new adventure, whether at work or in your personal life, is going to have surprises. It's ok to ask for support. Who did you reach out to last time? Were they a good guide?

08/18/2026

A day outside. A table at a coffee shop. A change of scenery.
Sometimes, a new view is just what you need to think in a new way—and see things from a whole new point of view.

This week’s Team Kat & Mouse blog, written by Sharon H. Kitroser, explores how stepping away from the familiar can help us see things differently.

Because sometimes, changing your view can change your point of view.
Read the blog and find a little inspiration for your own new perspective. Read the Team Kat & Mouse Blog

My desk is wood, the walls are beige, and I sit in the same chair most every day.If you're like me, most of your daily steps are earne walking to refill your coffee or water, or maybe grab a snack. But sometimes, it's important to change your view. Literally. And sometimes, changing your view helps....