Creating more strategic, financially savvy, and confident nonprofit leaders and organizations.
I’ve been leading several strategic planning processes lately, and as we wrapped up the last planning meeting for one of my clients (who had been encouraged to create a strategic plan by a funder) my client announced: “I have to confess that when we started this process 6 months ago I inwardly rolled my eyes because I […]
I’ve been leading several nonprofit strategic planning efforts lately, and I am always amazed at the sector’s general fear (borderline hatred) of nonprofit strategic planning. I get it, strategic planning has traditionally been done so badly that many have just given up on the idea altogether. But that’s a mistake. Without a long-term strategy for what […]
So, now that you know the power of the word “Yet” to move you from scarcity to abundance, it’s time to start thinking about what you really want. Perhaps the most egregious part of being stuck in scarcity is that you get so used to thinking there is never enough that you lose touch with […]
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 […]
Today I’m delighted to announce the launch of a brand new Social Velocity website. I hope you will go take a look! As you know, last Fall I took a 4-month break from social media. I stopped writing the blog and checking Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and spent more time reading books, meditating and figuring out where […]
In this month’s Social Velocity interview, I’m talking with David Grant. David is the former President and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and past chair of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. He now consults nationally with nonprofits, foundations, and schools and is the author of The Social Profit Handbook: The Essential Guide to Setting […]
One of the biggest complaints about nonprofit strategic plans is that once created, they just sit on a shelf. A strategic plan is completely wasted effort if you neglect the final step of operationalizing it. And by that I mean creating an annual tactical plan and monitoring process that directly tie to the larger strategy. In fact, […]
When I work with nonprofit leaders to create a strategic plan, one of the first things we do together is create a Theory of Change. A Theory of Change is an articulation of why your nonprofit exists — what you ultimately hope to accomplish. The Theory of Change is the culmination of answers to a set of 5 […]
Last month I was asked by Ted Bilich, CEO of Risk Alternatives — a Washington, DC firm helping nonprofits manage their organizational and financial risks — to participate in a podcast. This is part of their ongoing podcast series “About Risk” which talks to thought leaders about risk management and process improvement for nonprofits, small businesses, and […]
I was speaking to a group of nonprofit leaders last month about creating a nonprofit value proposition — how to articulate the value their nonprofit creates — and it was exciting to see the lightbulb go on around the room. Nonprofit leaders are so passionate about the work they do — it is so obvious to them […]
I guess I am on a case study kick this week. I do think that actual examples of the paths other nonprofits followed in order to become more effective or more sustainable can be really helpful to other nonprofit leaders in the trenches. So in that spirit, I offer a case study of a small, […]
May was another busy month in the world of social change. For a start there was: a behavioral economics approach to social change, continued focus on civic tech, a tool for calculating a nonprofit’s true costs, new definitions of membership in the digital age, the evolving public library, digital sabbaticals, and much more. Below are my 10 favorite […]
