The Simone Joyaux archive
Simone Joyaux was one of SOFII’s most valued and loyal supporters. She was also a friend and frequent contributor.
SOFII editor Joe Burnett says, ‘I first crossed paths with Simone when I was an intern for the Association of French Fundraisers nearly 20 years ago. She flew over to speak at our annual conference. It was clear her bold and radical ideas were invigorating and challenging to those in attendance. Fast forward to my early days at SOFII, circa 2017, and a trip to the Ask Direct Summer School in Dublin where Simone was again a speaker. Her presentations were just as powerful as they’d been all those years earlier. And she didn’t use slides! Yet she held the room in the palm of her hand with her engaging, iconoclastic delivery and great sense of humour.’
You will also find Ken Burnett’s moving tribute to Simone below. A lot of the articles he highlights form the bulk of this showcase. For SOFII, this sentence sums up Simone perfectly, ‘Simone was a true hero of the new age of responsible fundraising’.
Of course, there is one person who can best express how wonderful Simone was, and that’s Tom Ahern, her colleague and life partner. We are grateful to Tom for his words: ‘Simone and I were joined at the hip ... although, awkwardly, I was always one or more steps back. She led. I followed, trying to live up to her standards. Our favourite activity was hiking. We talked about fundraising, start to finish; for uncounted hours, on at least three continents. We met SOFII at IFC. Ken and Marie made their initial pitch for the idea. Simone banged me on the shoulder. "Yeah?" "Yeah!" We were in immediately. SOFII is about unrestricted sharing of knowledge across an industry. It's always about the future of great causes and about the next generation who raise support for those causes. So was Simone. Me, too.’
Enabling your board members and other fundraising volunteers
by Simone Joyaux
Do you think you already do all you possibly can to help your board members and other volunteers reach their full potential? Or do you think you could maybe do more? Here’s some great advice from Simone Joyaux on how to be an outstanding ‘enabler’.
Read moreAssessing your board’s governance capacity
by Simone Joyaux
If you need to do individual assessments of each member of your board, but aren’t sure how to go about it Simone Joyaux shows you the route to optimum board performance.
Read moreHow effective are your board members?
by Simone Joyaux
There’s a big difference between the board and its board members. Remember that the board does corporate governance – and that only happens when the board is together at meetings. Corporate governance is a collective act.
Read moreWhat do you talk about at your board meetings?
by Simone Joyaux
Wait! Don’t answer that yet. Instead, let’s start at the very beginning: what is the purpose of a board?
Read moreWhy have a board?
by Simone Joyaux
You have to have a board. That’s what the law says. Any other reason? Well, having a board really does add value – more value than just raising or giving money.
Read moreInvolving your board members in fundraising, part one
by Simone Joyaux
Sometimes it’s a struggle to get the board to carry out its fundraising role. Often it’s even harder to get individual members to participate; even if they understand their roles, they don’t want to do ‘that fundraising stuff’.
Read moreFiring lousy board members
by Simone Joyaux
Why do it? Who does it? And how can you avoid it?
Read moreIntroducing: Simone uncensored
by Simone Joyaux
SOFII’s guide to good governance that month by month will build to a must-have manual for your nonprofit board.
Read moreMy worldwide mission to destroy all executive committees
by Simone Joyaux
So, you’ve fired your lousy board members, as instructed by Simone Joyaux. But you can’t sit back and relax, now she says you must destroy your board’s executive committee. Click here to find out why it is so important.
Read moreCommittees … love them, or hate them
by Simone Joyaux
Finally, Simone Joyaux admits that she likes committees – but only good ones. Here you’ll find out the board committees you need – and those that you definitely don’t.
Read moreWhat does your governance committee do?
by Simone Joyaux
The traditional nominating committee is out of step and old-fashioned, so says Simone Joyaux. She prefers a governance committee. Click here to find the purpose of your governance committee and how to be sure it is working best for your charity.
Read moreInvolving your board members in fund development, part two
by Simone Joyaux
Together you and your board members can ensure fundraising success for the organisation you all love. This new article from Simone Joyaux will show you how to get the best from each of your board members.
Read more
