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nonprofit leadership

Featured Posts

Overcome Nonprofit Scarcity With Capacity Funding

Overcome Nonprofit Scarcity With Capacity Funding

October 9, 2020 By Nell Edgington

I was talking to a nonprofit leader earlier this week who was unknowingly torturing herself. One part of her had a big vision for growing her nonprofit to reach more people and create change to a broken system. But another part of her felt stuck because she lacked so many things to make that big […]

You Are Powerful Beyond Measure

You Are Powerful Beyond Measure

September 29, 2020 By Nell Edgington

There is something that I find nonprofit leaders often forget. And this is that you are immensely powerful. You are, in fact, powerful beyond measure. But there are so many ways that our society attempts to strip you of your power. To name a few: Legal and norm limits on your ability to influence policy […]

How to Overcome Your Nonprofit’s Limiting Beliefs

How to Overcome Your Nonprofit’s Limiting Beliefs

August 17, 2020 By Nell Edgington

It feels like right now we are surrounded by can’ts. We can’t be near most other humans, we can’t travel as we used to, many can’t find work, we can’t really plan for the future because things seem to change by the minute. The can’ts seem to be everywhere. The sadder part is that in […]

What the Nonprofit Sector Could Leave Behind

What the Nonprofit Sector Could Leave Behind

April 14, 2020 By Nell Edgington

Last week Shari Graydon — editor at Informed Opinions, a Canadian nonprofit working to elevate women’s voices in the media — wrote a beautiful article about the opportunity that the pandemic is offering us. She argues that this crisis is an opportunity to decide what we want to take forward with us, and what we […]

The Magic of Refusing to Go it Alone

The Magic of Refusing to Go it Alone

July 29, 2019 By Nell Edgington

Fear, anxiety and anger seem to be swirling lately. These are dark times for our country, there is no doubt. And perhaps particularly in the social change sector — a sector built on creating a more equitable, loving, and connected society — these dark times are particularly hard to take. But the true danger in […]

3 Questions to Ask Before Saying Yes to a New Opportunity

3 Questions to Ask Before Saying Yes to a New Opportunity

April 1, 2019 By Nell Edgington

As part of the martyr complex from which so many of them suffer, nonprofit leaders often think that it’s best to push themselves and their organizations harder, faster, farther. Nonprofit leaders are continually faced with new opportunities – new client populations to serve, new demands for program expansion from funders, new partnership opportunities. And while […]

Let’s Stop Undervaluing Our Nonprofit Leaders

Let’s Stop Undervaluing Our Nonprofit Leaders

September 12, 2018 By Nell Edgington

There is a fairly ubiquitous notion about the nonprofit sector. We as a society often believe (either consciously or subconsciously) that nonprofit leaders and their work are less valuable. Nonprofit leaders have been told for so long that they must scrape by without the amount of funding, people, or attention that they truly require. But […]

Is Your Nonprofit Stuck In A Rut?

Is Your Nonprofit Stuck In A Rut?

February 9, 2017 By Nell Edgington

The other day I was talking with a nonprofit leader and was suddenly struck by how much his story echoed so many of the stories I hear from nonprofit leaders. See if your nonprofit fits some or all aspects of the scenario he faces: His board is passionate about the mission and wants to be helpful, but they don’t really contribute […]

A Nonprofit “Culture of Philanthropy” Is Not Enough

A Nonprofit “Culture of Philanthropy” Is Not Enough

March 3, 2016 By Nell Edgington

The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, a foundation on the forefront of investing in nonprofit capacity and one of the few foundations funding nonprofit leadership development, released a new report this week Beyond Fundraising: What Does It Mean to Build a Culture of Philanthropy?. While I applaud the Haas Fund for taking a pioneering interest in, as […]

The Network Approach to Social Change

The Network Approach to Social Change

October 15, 2015 By Nell Edgington

Although I already mentioned (in my September 10 Great Reads list) a really interesting article about “network entrepreneurs,” I want to further explore the concept because I think it could be a game changer for nonprofit leaders willing to embrace it. Writing in the Stanford Social Innovation Review in September, Jane Wei-Skillern, David Ehrlichman, and David Sawyer describe […]

nonprofit overgiving

Overgiving is a Nonprofit Disease

October 2, 2020 By Nell Edgington 2 Comments

If this year of turmoil has taught us anything, it is that we need those with solutions to be fully empowered. That means you, social change leaders. In order to benefit from the solutions you offer for the many social problems we now face, we need you to reclaim your power as the social change […]

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Join Me for a Live Conversation About Nonprofit Leadership During COVID-19

May 18, 2020 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

I’m excited to announce that this Thursday I’ll be participating in a Facebook Live conversation with BoardSource about how nonprofit leaders can lead us forward during these unprecedented times. As I’ve been writing on the blog over the last few months, this crisis offers a real opportunity for nonprofit leaders to step into their power […]

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If You Are Afraid, Lead

April 6, 2020 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

These are scary times, there is no doubt. But sometimes, surprisingly, the antidote to fear is looking it squarely in the eyes and moving forward anyway. Believe me, since mid-March I have woken up most mornings with a constant companion — worry — waving from the sidelines. But each of us has the power to […]

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Why Some Nonprofits Fail to Survive

December 2, 2019 By Nell Edgington 4 Comments

The other day I — among many others — received an email from the leader of a large, well-established nonprofit announcing they were going out of business. The email was a shock to many because this organization is well respected and seemed to be doing important work. The reason they are closing is because, as […]

plane taking off

5 Traits of a Nonprofit Ready to Take Off

March 5, 2019 By Nell Edgington 2 Comments

In consulting with a nonprofit my role is to guide the organization to the next level. Perhaps they want to dramatically grow their impact or influence, or they want to develop a truly sustainable financial model, or they want to become a national player. Whatever their aim, my role is to help them figure out […]

green traffic light

Nonprofit Leaders, Give Yourselves Permission

August 21, 2018 By Nell Edgington 2 Comments

As human beings we are often held back by a sense of needing permission from someone (sometimes anyone) to do something we already know deep down is the right path. And certainly in the nonprofit sector with many and varied stakeholders to constantly engage and include, it can often seem that moving forward on anything […]

How Effective Is Your Nonprofit Leader?

April 13, 2017 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

In an ideal world, one of the things a nonprofit board of directors does is annually evaluate the performance of the executive director. But let’s be honest, how often does that actually happen? I once had an executive director so desperate for feedback about her job performance from a board who refused to evaluate her that she hired me to […]

How to Remove a Troublesome Nonprofit Board Member

January 26, 2017 By Nell Edgington 2 Comments

One thing that most nonprofit leaders have in common is that they often have at least one (or more than one) challenging board member. You know — the one who doesn’t show up for board meetings, or doesn’t do what she says she’ll do, or never makes a contribution, or derails meetings with his own agenda. […]

Nonprofit Leaders, You Are Not Alone

August 18, 2016 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

One of my favorite parts of my job is the time I spend working one-on-one to coach nonprofit leaders. One of my clients jokingly refers to our coaching sessions as “nonprofit therapy.” While we certainly don’t delve into psychology when we meet, it is, I think often cathartic for nonprofit leaders to have an impartial third party […]

10 Most Popular Posts of 2015

December 17, 2015 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year again — to put work away, enjoy friends and family, and give yourself a chance to take a breath. I will be taking the next two weeks off from writing the blog. But before I go, as is my tradition, I wanted to leave you with a list of the 10 most […]

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InReach Solutions Interview with Nell Edgington of Social Velocity

Talking About the Road to Nonprofit Abundance

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How To Ask For (and Receive) The Help Your Nonprofit Needs

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Reinventing Social Change Book Available Now!

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Move From Nonprofit Fundraising to Social Change Financing

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Reinventing Social Change Book

Download Chapter 1 of “Reinventing Social Change”

and keep up on webinars, training and events when you sign up for the Social Velocity e-list

InReach Solutions Interview with Nell Edgington of Social Velocity

Talking About the Road to Nonprofit Abundance

February 26, 2021

red and white lifebuoy

How To Ask For (and Receive) The Help Your Nonprofit Needs

February 10, 2021

Join Me to Learn How to Start Attracting Abundance

January 28, 2021

Reinventing Social Change Book Available Now!

Order Your Copy of Reinventing Social Change

January 21, 2021

A little change image from Matt Artz

Move From Nonprofit Fundraising to Social Change Financing

January 14, 2021

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