Blog

These times are calling for aspirational thinking. With dramatic changes in our collective landscape, people are craving direction and leadership more than ever. In many cases, nonprofit boards and CEOs are needing to reinvent strategies, practices, and the very direction of their organizations.

I took advantage of the beautiful fall weather in Chicagoland over the Thanksgiving break to clean up my backyard. My neighbor had the same idea and we struck up a conversation. He asked me (as my mother used to ask me too) "what exactly do I do for work"?

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. 

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.

Recently, while in Bloomington, IL, the hotel shuttle driver dropped me off with the comment “welcome to the smallest airport I’ve ever seen.”  He was surprised when I assured him that I had seen several airports with fewer than nine gates.

I met with an experienced Major Gift Officer recently who shared a story about a donor he’d been close to for many years. That donor had made a transformational gift to the organization he represented within his first 3 months on the job. The CEO, management team and the board were awestruck that this new guy magically pulled in one of the biggest gifts they’d ever received. The prevailing thought was, “Wow – this is what fundraising should be! Just find the rich people and ask them for money.”

Summer is in the rearview mirror and that can only mean one thing: budgeting time is here.

Might we suggest you take a moment to move those antacids back to your desk?

It was day two of the Global Leadership Summit and the first speaker of the day was Rasmus Ankersen, a young soccer team owner from the Netherlands. Our expectations weren’t high. What could he have to teach us about leadership or how to help our clients succeed?