Sometimes the best development keeps things the same.

"You said something brilliant a minute ago when you said....." . This is the way my nonprofit client got my attention this morning. A flash through my mental rolodex came up with nothing that was brilliant. We had been talking about fund raising dilemmas facing conservation minded nonprofit development leaders and how important it is to talk with donors about the possibilities for change, about the difference their support makes, about the long-term vision for the environment and how they can change outcomes with big gifts. That's when I commented that when it comes to clean air and water, mountain vistas, and open spaces - we want them to remain as they are.

With all the changes swirling around us day in and day out, it is nice to go to sleep at night knowing that the moon will shine, the sun will come up, and the mountains will still be there. That's a stabilizing thought.

"Nature is telling us that in these years when we as a nation like to think how great we are, we would do well to remember that the process of life itself is only sustained by inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains every now and then." -Lindsay Pettus, founder, Katawba Valley Land Trust