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Strategic Planning 101 for Nonprofits
When I talk to nonprofit leaders about strategic planning, they often voice some of the obvious benefits of aligning teams around organizational identity (mission, vision) and organizational priorities (goals). In contrast, they rarely voice a benefit …
Creating a Roadmap to Synchronize the Board to Your Nonprofit Mission
When I joined a nonprofit five years ago, I observed during our annual budgeting that we rarely launched new ventures or events. We were marching along the “status quo” path and the conditions for our clients, staff, and donors weren’t improving. Somet …
Time to Fold: Keys to Gracefully Winding Down a Nonprofit
It looked like the Cancer Prevention Institute of California had a royal flush of a winning hand—a 40-plus-year track record of groundbreaking research, a stellar global reputation, 85 dedicated employees, a balanced $13 million budget, and one of the …
Engaging Board Members: AAA Then and Now
Philanthropy has been changing at a dizzying pace, but one thing that has not changed is our desire to more fully engage our boards. It has been almost 20 years since a client called me as we were preparing for their annual board r …
Creating A Board That Works
Let’s face it. Board bashing is something of a sport amongst nonprofit leaders, especially executive directors and CEOs. There are two primary complaints I hear all the time, both of which are surprisingly solvable! First, too many nonpro …
Top 10 Nonprofit Board “Worst” Practices
Hey board members, let’s face it, navigating your position can be tricky. On top of your day job, you’ve agreed to contribute your best thinking to a nonprofit. If you don’t have much experience in the nonprofit world, it has its own set of rules, and …
Process, Process, Process: The evaluation model you shouldn’t ignore
In a nonprofit’s toolkit, evaluation is key for making meaningful adjustments that cultivate success. As nonprofits, we are expected to be accountable to our boards, our staff, our funders, our partners, and most importantly, our clients or cons …
Financial focus: You told us
In our April issue, we asked you to offer your thoughts on how the current political landscape will affect your organization’s funding. Your answers weren’t surprising, but they weren’t optimistic either. That’s understandable. It’s tough …
In the boardroom: Asked to join that board?
Asked to join that board? Here’s what to look for before you sign on the dotted line Most board recruitment is relationship-based. Often a friend or colleague, already serving on a board, will recruit you to join their Community Benefit Organiza …
In the Board Room: Staying In the Loop And Out Of the Weeds
Recently, a nonprofit CEO requested that I help him keep his incoming board chair “in the loop but out of the weeds.” A catchy slogan, but what does that really mean? Those who have been through board leadership changes know the de …
