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In the latest episode of the DBD Podcast, Bruce Berglund and Jon Simons discuss several leadership axioms that guide our work. If you've worked with us in the past, or attended one of our trainings, one or more of these might sound familiar. 

"As he stepped off the map into uncharted territory, Meriwether Lewis discovered that what was in front of him was nothing like what was behind him and that what had brought him to this point in the journey would take him no farther. ... [Lewis was] looking for a water route, and they had run out of water. How do you canoe over mountains?"

For the past two months nonprofits have been in "emergency" fundraising mode. It has been a scramble to serve communities in new ways, make difficult staffing decisions and try to forecast an entirely new budget. 

Many are probably thinking "I can't wait to get back to normal."

But what if "normal" isn't the best idea for the rest of 2020? In a world still filled with uncertainty, what can we do to maximize our impact and prepare ourselves to be ready for whatever may come?

Our current crisis has revealed the financial strengths and weaknesses in our companies, in our families, and in nonprofits. While no one could have anticipated this particular set of circumstances, history tells us that challenges will always come. 

As we continue to navigate this new reality, we are challenged to step up as leaders. Whether we’re leading a company, a nonprofit, a team or a family, people are looking to us to understand how to live, learn and work in very altered and difficult circumstances.

The last few weeks have pushed non-profit organizations into new territory. As the world changes (sometimes daily), you have risen to the challenge and carried out your missions in new and amplified ways. For some it means historically high numbers of families seeking emergency food. For others whose doors have closed, you've quickly organized to identify what your community needs and how you can respond in new and different ways. It has been inspiring to see how organizations have answered the call to help.

“Hold the line…love isn’t always on time…oh oh oh.” (Familiar with this Toto song?)

Like love, flights out of Newark, expense reports (at least mine) and fundraising campaigns – sometimes we just don’t have control over things being “on time.”

We’ve said before that donors don’t really care that you were supposed to finish your annual campaign in March. Or that your capital campaign was supposed to be in the “community” phase by now. Especially during today's uncertainty, most people don’t care that your campaign timing might be off.

Non-profit organizations form in the hope and belief that they can address societal needs in ways that are more efficient and effective than have been previously tried.  Some organizations have a mission focused on solving a specific problem like regional homelessness or finding a cure for a disease.  Others have a broader mission that desires to serve the community in changing ways over time.  Either way, there is an inherent knowledge that while the mission is firm, the strategies and tactics needed to achieve that mission will need to be flexible over time.

Let’s be honest, and real.

I left Hong Kong after three weeks in China on January 6^th.  Days later the epidemic arose.  Still in Hong Kong were my wife’s parents, two sisters, and their five children ages 13 years to 18 months – all hunkered down. And in the last 50+ days of isolation, we’ve video-called them several times a week and learned from their experience. They worked from home, their schools went on-line, mandatory social distancing, and on and on. In an international, multi-cultural city of 7 million, life changed overnight.