Blog

I genuinely thought this would be a five-minute fix.

One of the knobs on our gas stove broke, so I did what any reasonable person would do: I looked for and ordered a replacement. When it arrived, it wouldn’t fit. I checked the model number, confirmed it was correct, and assumed the problem was a manufacturing issue. So, I ordered another knob and returned the first one I ordered.

Same result.

At this point in the calendar year, most nonprofits have set their budgets and plans for the coming year. Now the reality sets in: how are you going to make it all happen? Here are some fresh ways to think about achieving your goals and, more importantly, bringing your mission into action for those you serve.

I am an avid sports fan and late October through mid-November is the ultimate time of year for me to follow multiple sports very closely. When we think about leadership, our minds tend to go immediately to the notion of an individual who leads others, most often in a business setting. However, what I want to drill down on in this blog is an entirely different aspect of leadership: it is the notion of leading yourself. And sports offer many sterling examples of just that.

I've seen it time and again: nonprofits that aren't deeply connected to the communities they serve miss critical opportunities. Having recently facilitated a community leader forum for a strategic planning project and a community needs assessment, I'm always excited when community leaders are fully engaged and ready to help. I often hear them say, "Thank you for inviting me to participate today; I've learned so much about this organization," "I appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback on this important initiative for our community" and “This is exciting! How can I help?”

Fall marks a season of renewed energy for many nonprofit boards. As members return from summer breaks and settle back into meeting rhythms, there's a natural momentum building toward year-end. This is the perfect time to tackle those important governance priorities that may have been on the back burner—turning the final quarter into your board's most productive and impactful months of the year.

Year-end fundraising is like football season. The game isn’t won in the last two minutes—it’s decided by the plays you’ve been running since the first quarter. If you wait until December to get serious, you’re basically showing up at halftime and hoping for a miracle comeback. Spoiler: that’s not a winning strategy.

People sometimes avoid getting into the mud.

“We are going to keep seeing patients. Today, that’s our job. To just keep seeing patients.”

A CEO of a large mental health organization said this to me recently regarding how they are navigating the uncertain federal and state funding waters right now.

She mentioned this as we are launching a strategic planning process with her staff and board.

But one might wonder how can any organization create a strategic plan if they don’t know which end is up right now?

The time between Thanksgiving and year-end offers a prime window for fundraising, as people often feel a heightened sense of generosity and motivation to support causes they care about. This season can be a tremendous opportunity to engage donors, share your mission’s impact, and inspire end-of-year contributions. Here are some practical fundraising strategies and tactics to maximize your campaign success during this season:

Nonprofit boards often find themselves stuck in a rut, performing the same old tasks with the same agenda month after month, with little impact. This "old work," as described by board expert Richard Chait in his 1996 article "The New Board Work of the Nonprofit Board," remains highly relevant today. I had the opportunity to rediscover this valuable resource in my files, and it reaffirmed that boards have the potential to move their work toward a more impactful and relevant approach.