One of the most important relationships for a nonprofit organization is the one between the Executive Director (ED) and the Board. Unfortunately, too often organizations learn this lesson the hard way. While organizations can vary on where they place their power, it’s common to notice an imbalance of power between the ED and the Board, […]
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“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche I recently read Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It was recommended by a colleague in nonprofit management as a book with great life lessons and grounding philosophy. If you have not read it recently, I highly recommend it. It […]
Congratulations, Nonprofit Board of Directors! You’ve hired your next Executive Director. It’s been a whirlwind from the time your outgoing ED announced their departure 6 months ago to the signed acceptance letter from the new ED. There’s no doubt you feel you can now breathe easier and step back since the new leader starts soon, […]
Read More… from How to do Nonprofit Leadership Transition Well
It is interesting and telling to watch how leaders respond to the idea of succession planning. Most staff and board members I have interacted with on the subject demonstrate two different responses simultaneously. On the one hand, there seems to be philosophical agreement that planning for the inevitable leadership changes of the future is a […]
Read More… from Nonprofit Succession Planning: Securing the Future by Nurturing the Present
In the dynamic landscape of nonprofit organizations, fundraising plays a crucial role in sustaining, growing, and advancing their mission-driven work. As such, it becomes imperative for Executive Directors (EDs) to possess a comprehensive understanding of the various aspects of fundraising. What are some of the essential elements of fundraising that EDs should be familiar with to find success? Let’s […]
Read More… from How do the Best Nonprofit Executive Directors Fundraise?
A guest post from Jon Botten – CEO of Childhaven. I once read about a board president who proudly proclaimed, “Why would we merge? We would lose our independence and identity. We have our own unique way of doing things and I don’t want to be taken over by some other group. This will never happen […]
Read More… from How Strategic Nonprofit Mergers can Advance an Organization’s Purpose
Earlier this year our team wrote an article on leaving an Executive Director role. The response we got was that our readers wanted more, specifically in the way of additional resources that spelled out the step-by-step actions they should take to plan for their upcoming retirement or departure. So, we’re doing just that! The article below […]
Read More… from How to Get Ready to Leave your Leadership Role
When you get the whole team together, what do you talk about? Do you seek advice on current challenges? Bounce ideas off one another? Share the proverbial war stories? An all-hands meeting is typically all business – filled with conversation around how to do something better, or do more with less, or overcome obstacles. This […]
Our team is comprised of experienced nonprofit leaders, which means that they have seen plenty of organizational dynamics first-hand and have access to a wide network of nonprofit connections with their own experiences as well. One unifying theme across what they have faced themselves and heard from others is the risk of burnout that nonprofit […]
As Executive Directors and Board Presidents we have had plenty of experiences with nonprofit boards that work well… and those that don’t. And what we’ve discovered is that you can often learn more from instances where boards are failing than you can from those rare examples of near perfect board synergy. So, today we are going […]