Creating more strategic, financially savvy, and confident nonprofit leaders and organizations.
Whenever I’m meeting with a prospective client one of the first questions I ask is, “What is your vision for your organization? What do you want ultimately to accomplish.” It never ceases to amaze me how often the answer is either: Some version of “I hadn’t really thought about that”, or worse, “Just a bit […]
I was coaching a nonprofit leader the other day about a funding proposal she was putting together for a potential corporate donor. She had been working with this particular donor for several months, so she knew what level of investment to request. But she struggled to send the proposal because she had a fundamental block. […]
Recently I was leading the final board meeting of a strategic planning process for one of my clients, and something interesting happened. A board member, who was very much stuck in a scarcity mindset, threatened to derail the very exciting, bigger direction we had charted. The new strategic plan we were presenting to the board […]
Often, and nauseatingly, the nonprofit sector is told to be more like the business sector. From admonishments to be more cost-effective, more innovative, more data driven, it is a common refrain — essentially we are saying “Nonprofit sector, be smart like businesses.” I have often argued against this very limited and patronizing view of the […]
Let’s be honest (or obvious) for a second. A feeling of lack often pervades the nonprofit sector. And it can take many forms: “We lack enough money” “We lack access to decision-makers” “We lack permission to move forward” “We lack the right or enough staff” “We lack influential or effective board members” The list of […]
