"Writing is a way of coming to terms with the world and with oneself. The whole spirit of writing is to overcome narrowness and fear by giving order, measure, and significance to the flux of experience constantly dinning into our lives." - RV Cassill

Hi :

With summer unofficially begun, you may find yourself with a little extra downtime or flexibility in your schedule. Now might be a good time to sit back and evaluate what skills you want to brush up on.

Interested in online writing? Grantwriting? Storytelling? How about speeding up your writing? You'll find resources on all of these topics (and more) in this month's newsletter.

Happy writing!


Dalya Massachi

(Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues who may be interested.)

(These are only a few of the recently published posts. Want to read all of them as they're published? Sign up for RSS or join me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook!)


1) "Ask Dalya:" Improving Website Content: Not long ago, I partnered with GiftWorks to present a free webinar entitled "Web Writing that Gets Noticed." Participants asked a lot of great questions. I answered 6 of them here.

2) Eco-Persuasion: A Model for Connecting with Your Audience: In this guest post, freelance writer Patricia Dines discusses how to have conversations about environmental topics with folks who appear not to care, or worse, respond in non-factual and argumentative ways. 

3) Spot the Weaknesses in This Case Statement (or Spot the Strengths): I thought I would share a brief piece I wrote that exaggerates several of the most common mistakes grantwriters make.

I would like to say "Thank You" to the Spring 2014 Community Partners of the Grantwriter's FastTrack Coaching Program! Many of them are offering free or discounted bonuses to FastTrack Program participants.

1) Bristol Strategy Group: Experts in Sustainable Fundraising

2) Linda Lysakowski: Certified ACFRE and philanthropic consultant

3) 4Good: Website that enables nonprofit collaboration to inspire more effective movements

4) Grant Professionals Association: Premier membership organization of grant professionals

5) Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT): Promoting fundraising, social justice and movement-building

6) JumpStart Growth: Strengthening relationships with top donors

7) Managance: Energizing management and leadership performance

8) Media Alliance: Organizing and public awareness on media policy

Learn more HERE.

(See the full calendar HERE.)

6/4: Writing Wednesdays (FREE): Writer's Block & Efficiency Tips: Time. Everyone wants more of it, but it seems to slip away faster every year. Writing is a craft like any other: you need to take the time to develop your skills and hone your work into masterpieces.

Note: Writing Wednesdays will take a summer break in July and August.

(PLEASE NOTE: All Writing Wednesdays calls are recorded and placed in the archive for your listening and sharing pleasure. You can listen to up to 3 months' worth at a time at no cost and the others are available for only 99 cents each.)

Writing Wednesdays: Growing Community through Blogging (with a Special Guest): Special Guest Allison Jones spoke about the launch of IdealistCareers:a blog by Idealist.org that helps jobseekers find, land, and love their social impact careers.

Grantwriter as Strategic Leader: Your Crucial Role: As a grant professional, you are perfectly positioned to help your organization plan strategically for its grantseeking future. You are the knowledgeable guide who can lead executive and program staff to design work that is attractive to grantmakers. In this webinar, we discussed ways to "rally the troops" while staying calm, cool, and collected.

I want to do my part in addressing today's climate crisis, so this monthly feature shares some eco-tips provided by my friend and green business consultant, Shel Horowitz.

This month we have some green cooking tips for you. If you want to lower your carbon footprint and eat well, then read on!

1) Compost your food scraps. Aged compost is absolutely great as a garden fertilizer. But even if you don't garden, compost returns nutrients to the earth and keeps them out of the landfill.

2) Cook ecologically: a few minutes steaming or stir-frying instead of 20 to 60 minutes baking or boiling, for instance.

See more tips in green business consultant Shel Horowitz's  e-book, Painless Green: 111 Tips to Help the Environment, Lower Your Carbon Footprint, Cut Your Budget, and Improve Your Quality of Life-With No Negative Impact on Your Lifestyle

PS: Find me (Writing for Community Success) in the National Green Pages under "writing services " (page 84/85)