I hear from Directors of Development all the time that they are frustrated in their positions. These Directors feel that they don’t have influence as the fundraiser. They say they feel marginalized by their Executive Director, frustrated with board members, or stymied by uncooperative program staff. Is this you? Do you lack the influence you …
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Continue readingWant to lead? Run a good meeting. That’s advice from Ken Phillips, my former boss at Plan USA (when it was Foster Parents Plan). Ken invited me to co-present a workshop with him as part of the AFP ICON 2021. The workshop runs on June 29th from 3:50–5:05 EDT . Unfortunately, all the workshops are …
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Continue readingYes, the election left me gobsmacked. But this is no time to act like a deer in the headlights. Hundreds in my community and across the US are already thinking and planning to prepare to act strategically. You don’t have to be for or against the incoming administration to recognize that a lot is going …
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Continue readingJon and I facilitate a lot of strategic planning. In this work, we constantly challenge organizations to think deeply. To do that, staff and board members need to start their planning with a true sense of inquiry. So we encourage lots of questions: What do you already know about your challenges, opportunities and needs? What …
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Continue readingI was moving to wrap up a strategic plan today with a client, when a board member asked this question: If we “stress test” this strategic plan – borrowing the idea from banking, how would recent decisions our organization made align with this plan?” Stress testing is a simulation used to test how banks will fare …
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Continue readingYes, way too many strategic plans for nonprofits gather dust on shelves. So here are five must-have’s to prevent yours from doing the same: A compelling vision of change. First and foremost, of how the world, your community will be different. The way. While setting an inspirational and meaningful goal is critical, without articulating your …
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Continue readingYes, way too many strategic plans for nonprofits gather dust on shelves. So here are five must-have’s to prevent yours from doing the same: A compelling vision of change. First and foremost, of how the world, your community will be different. The way. While setting an inspirational and meaningful goal is critical, without articulating your …
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Continue readingI read a lot of mission statements. Most nonprofit mission statements are focused on how the organization goes about its work. Too rarely does a mission statement confidently offer up its promise of betterment for its community. Don’t get bogged down in all the stuff you do. You don’t need to throw the kitchen sink …
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Continue readingI read a lot of mission statements. Most nonprofit mission statements are focused on how the organization goes about its work. Too rarely does a mission statement confidently offer up its promise of betterment for its community. Don’t get bogged down in all the stuff you do. You don’t need to throw the kitchen sink …
The post Claiming your promise with your mission statement appeared first on Cause and Effect.
Continue readingI read a lot of mission statements. Most nonprofit mission statements are focused on how the organization goes about its work. Too rarely does a mission statement confidently offer up its promise of betterment for its community. Don’t get bogged down in all the stuff you do. You don’t need to throw the kitchen sink …
The post Claiming your promise with your mission statement appeared first on Cause and Effect.
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