Dan Blakemore, CFRE

Nonprofit fundraiser @forcvnp. Former @YNPN National Board member. @CFRE_INTL Ambassador. Passionate about politics, genealogy and cooking great food.

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

If we allow ourselves to fall into fatalism, or wallow in disappointment, or become resigned to what is rather than what should be, we will lose the long game.

The greatest enemy of positive social change is cynicism about what can be changed.

[NAACP @NAACP]

In collaboration with @VegasPBS, we are thrilled to announce that esteemed historian and literary scholar @HenryLouisGates will be awarded the NAACP's highest honor, the Spingarn Medal, during the 115th #NAACPConvention!

https://t.co/dHJVroicAZ

[Dan Blakemore, CFRE @dan_blakemore]

The West Wing

[National Mall NPS @NationalMallNPS]

Yes, there is a typo in the Lincoln Memorial. In Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech, the word "FUTURE" was originally engraved as "EUTURE." Since filled in, the error is a reminder that even when working on an iconic memorial, people make mistakes and no one is perfect.

[Connie Hill-Johnson @CRHillJohnson]

#BPM2023 Essence Is Celebrating Black Philanthropy Month This August By Delving Into What It Means To Be Philanthropic And Black https://t.co/8nxOYFy3lD @CleveFoundation

[Sesame Street @sesamestreet]

Sesame Street celebrates 50 years of Hip-Hop. From music to dance and beyond, its culture and influence spans generations and crosses the globe. Join us in celebrating and honoring the originators, artists, and contributions of Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop Hooray! #HipHop50

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

When Tina Turner left her first husband - who was also her boss, captor, and brutal tormentor - she snuck out of their Dallas hotel room with a single thought in her mind: "The way out is through the door."
From there she fled across the midnight freeway, semi-trucks careening past her, with 36 cents and a Mobil gas card in her pocket. As soon as she decided to walk out that door, she owned nothing else.
When she filed for divorce, she made an unusual request. She didn't want anything: not the song rights, not the cars, not the houses, not the money. All she wanted was the stage name he gave her - Tina - and her married name - Turner. This was the name by which the world had come to know her, and keeping it was her only chance to salvage her career.
Things could have gone a lot of ways from there. She could have labored in obscurity for decades, maybe making records on small labels to be prized by vinyl connoisseurs in Portland. She could have stayed in Vegas, where she first went to get her chops back up, and worked as a nostalgia act. And, of course, given what she had been through, she might have ... not made it.
What happened instead is that Tina Turner became the biggest global rock star of the 80s. I'm old enough to barely remember this, but if you aren't, it was like this: The Rolling Stones would headline a stadium one day, and the next day it would be Tina Turner. A middle-aged Black woman - she became a rock star at 42! - sitting atop the 1980s like it was her throne.
She managed this because of whatever rare stuff she was made of (this is a woman whose label gave her two weeks to record her solo debut, Private Dancer, which went five times platinum); because she decided to speak publicly about her abusive marriage and forge her own identity, and in doing so give hope and courage to countless women; and also because - in a perhaps unlikely twist for a girl from Nutbush, Tennessee - she had her practice of Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism, to which she credited her survival. She remained devout until the end.
Tina's second marriage - to her, her only marriage - was to Edwin Bach, a Swiss music executive 16 years her junior. Of him, she said, "Erwin, who is a force of nature in his own right, has never been the least bit intimidated by my career, my talents, or my fame."
In 2016, after a barrage of health problems, Tina's kidneys began to fail. A Swiss citizen by then, she had started preparing for assisted suicide when her husband stepped in. According to Tina, he said, "He didn't want another woman, or another life."
He gave her one of his kidneys, buying her the remainder of her time on this earth and perhaps closing a cycle which took her from a man who inflicted injury upon her to a man willing to inflict injury upon himself to save her from harm.
Born into a share-cropping family as Anna Mae Bullock in 1939, she died Tina Turner in a palatial Swiss estate: the queen of rock 'n roll; a storm of a performer with a wildcat-fierce voice; a dancer of visceral, spine-tingling potency and ability; a beauty for the ages; a survivor of terrible abuse and an advocate for others in similar situations; an author and actress; a devout Buddhist; a wife and mother; a human being of rare talent and perseverance who, through her transcendent brilliance, became a legend.

Will Stenberg

[Jennifer Hudson @IAMJHUD]

This is a sad day for music. The Queen of Rock’n’Roll has passed. Tina Turner, we honor you ! Your legacy will live forever. U showed us all what it means to have the grit and determination to never stop, no matter what life throws our way ! Thank u for all you’ve given us. Now rest in peace !

[ABC News @ABC]

Social Security is expected to run short of the funds needed to pay 100% of benefits in roughly a decade, according to an annual report from its board of trustees. https://t.co/WJvG10to3y

[National Park Service @NatlParkService]

It’s #WorldWaterDay! Your national parks protect incredible watersheds, drinking water sources, habitats, and underwater resources across the country. 💧

Learn about some of the ways parks study and protect important waters at https://t.co/MHcRUr0kkA

📸@GrandTetonNPS

[AFP Global Headquarters @AFPIHQ]

Through a partnership with Blackbaud, the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy is offering 34 scholarships covering the cost of registration to attend AFP ICON 2023. The deadline to apply is March 10.

Learn more: https://t.co/TJlAUITfy6

[Hasan Kwame Jeffries @ProfJeffries]

#GameRecognizesGame.

[Cuyahoga Valley NP @CVNPNPS]

Ranger Emily Garrison noticed this uplifting message on the Boston Mill Visitor Center poetry wall. As we all head into a new year, share the love. Someone you know needs a boost. #PhotoFriday

[?st @questlove]

Genius does not mean smart.

[Glenn Caron @GlennGCaron]

CAT'S OUTTA THE BAG

Can't keep it under my hat any longer--the business of getting all 5 seasons of "Moonlighting" starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd ready for streaming has begun!

[Paul Nazareth @UinvitedU]

When everyone gets a say in the year-end direct mail appeal 😬

[Craig Shelley, CFRE @craigshelley]

So much fun talking about new approaches to strategic planning @AFPIHQ #AFPLEAD

The world is demanding more from our organizations & our approaches to strategy have been insufficient. Was an inspiring Friday afternoon to find an audience so receptive to these ideas.