I am always grateful for the spectrum of books that make it on this list. There are practical books that you will want on your bookshelf to refer to again and again. There are books that will transform and advance your way of thinking and seeing the world. There are inspirational books and ones that challenge us to look at the future. It is quite a list. You may want all of them.
Every year for the last five years I have written a Wishlist of Books for Nonprofit Folk at my blog – Marion Conway – Nonprofit Consultant. This is a curated list with recommendations made by thought leaders covering a wide range of topics including governance, finance, social media, board development, marketing,mergers and more.
One of the best features of this report is its recommendation section – called Millennial Impact Benchmarks. The Millennial Impact Benchmarks provide a path that any organization can follow to develop its culture toward Millennial engagement. The system is three phases levels—Millennial Inviting, Millennial Immersion, and Millennial Impact each describing how you can work with Millennials to connect, involve, and give at each level.
The Nonprofit Finance Fund has released their 2013 State of the Nonprofit Sector report. This is the fifth year for this large and comprehensive study. Almost 6000 organizations responded to the survey. The report includes an online analyzer which enables you to analyze data by state, sector, size, and low income communities. Be sure to check out this aspect of the report.
Boards – In the last few years there has been a great deal of progress with governance – even for small organizations. Board members are taking this responsibility much more seriously and this is good news. Now what is also happening is that Boards are beginning to wake up to their responsibility for financial management and fundraising. They are connecting the dots…if you approve a budget you also need to ensure that the revenue is there to support that budget. And Behold! That often requires fundraising.
Are you ready for the December rush? As ready as you should be? This is an important time of year for nonprofits as well as individuals and it needs focused attention on soooo many things. There are year-end programming events and fundraising things to do. But you can always do more. There are some easy things to do that may just go a long way.
If you are going to embark on a strategic planning process make sure that the plan will be meaningful and be a call to action. Many of the trends lead in the right direction to having this happen. When you are designing your process – either self -led or with a consultant make sure you are considering these issues.
Here’s a summary of the trends I have seen in the last year:
Timeframe
The strategic planning process has to be shorter than it used to be. I have a process I use with small organizations which calls for 2- 3 closely placed meetings, then a break from meetings as committee members complete interviews and then 2 -3 closely placed meetings culminating in a whole Board Retreat.
Many nonprofits just don’t communicate why they are worthy of a donor’s gift very well. Your strategic plan should help you identify your strengths and opportunities. The planning exercises will help you frame stronger key messages. Having fundraising be an issue to be addressed in your strategic planning will make sure that communications about your mission, goals and specific plans are a key output item from your plan.
Is Your Program “Stuck” Due to Inadequate Funding? Consider Program Evaluation Recently our car would not start. You guessed it– it was the battery. A mechanically-inclined friend made a casual comment about the worth of car batteries, which can provide insight into maximizing funding for your programs. The friend said something to the effect of, […]
I recently gave this presentation entitled “Being on a Board: What’s It All About?” at the Grant Professionals MidAtlantic Conference and I am sharing the slides with you here. I was asked to give this presentation because many grant professionals get asked to be on a Board and some would like to be on a […]
Marion is a popular facilitator of workshops and Board retreats. Her expertise includes strategic planning, board development, governance and harnessing the power of technology. [Read more ...]
Carter McNamara of Authenticity Consulting, LLC, provides organizational development, consultant training and Action Learning services, and is developer of the Free Management Library. [Read more ...]
