The solution may be right in front of you, like the moss in my yard.
“It’s the moss, stupid.”
That’s what I was saying to myself a couple of weeks ago, as my husband and I embarked on the next section of this summer’s backyard makeover.
We never could get decent grass to grow in a certain spot (duh, it’s in the shade of a big oak tree). And yet moss grows there perfectly. At times, I’ve shoveled out the mossy patches to make way for grass and other plants I foolishly tried to get to grow there.
We’d already decided to cover part of the old weedy lawn with mulch, so I wondered about a big change for this section too.
And then I heard Claire Meyerhoff’s voice telling nonprofits looking for the next big thing to look first at what they have right in front of them! Claire is always finding under-used stories, photos, and other great communications assets just laying around, waiting for nonprofit marketers and fundraisers to pick them up and use them to their full potential.
I needed to do the same thing: Take the little thing that was working in my yard, and go with it in a much bigger way.
So, I spent yesterday afternoon transplanting sections of moss from little used edges of our property on to center stage in the middle of the backyard. I’m full into the moss lawn now, and looking forward to a trip to the new Kathleen Smith Moss Garden to get even more ideas about making the most of what I have.
Think about a problem you have right now with your communications or fundraising. Now take a really good look around at what you already have, especially those little things you usually overlook.
Is a great solution just sitting there, waiting for you to see it?
