Learning to Lead for Impact
leadership insight from Tom Okarma
the latest and greatest…
How to Make Better Decisions
Decision making season is here. We're closing in on the end of 2018 and that can only mean one thing. For better or worse you probably have some tough decisions to make. Are there changes you need...
10 Ways to Deal With Difficult People in Your Nonprofit
On the surface, leading a nonprofit might look like a piece of cake. You assemble a group of people passionate about the mission, point them in the right direction and get out of their way. For the...
Will End-of-Year Fundraising Be Risky For Your Agency?
Nonprofit leadership is challenging. And it's no secret that fundraising -- especially end-of-year fundraising - can easily top the list of stressors. Can you really count on all those pledges to...
Could Serving on a Nonprofit Board Help Your Career?
Does Board Service Help? We all have a LOT going on. Work commitments, family obligations, the never-ending list of things to do. We're already pulled in a dozen different directions, likely trying...
Inside the Mind of a Donor: 5 Things They Really Want to Know
In my decades of being involved in the nonprofit world, I’ve had the privilege of holding many different roles. I’ve been a board member, board chair, committee member, consultant, volunteer, and...
Better Board Meetings: 5 Questions to Better Engage Your Board Members
Who likes nonprofit board meetings? Please raise your hands... Board members often have a full-time job. They put in a long day, then skip dinner with the family so they can have cold pizza and room...
leadership
4 Things Successful Nonprofit Leaders Do Every Week
Guard Your Calendar Wisely Your role as an executive director is much more than a 9-5 job. You may have breakfast meetings, dinner meetings and late evening meetings. Sometimes, your Saturdays turn into full work days, too. During the day you are meeting with donors,...
Changing Nonprofit Trends: 4 Things Your Team Needs To Know
Embracing The Change There is a lot of change coming to the nonprofit world. Boards, leaders, staff, and volunteers need to face and process emerging nonprofit trends, all while still serving their clients. The good news: all of these changes have the capacity to...
Nonprofit Board Management: 18 Reasons Your Board Is Failing
Get Your Board On The Right Track I have found many nonprofit boards are just a few steps away from seeing high impact results. With a few adjustments, these organizations are capable of delivering transformational change to those they are trying to help. They have...
High Impact: 14 Ways To Improve Your Board Leadership
How Should You Lead Your Board Of Directors? After serving on several boards and consulting with many others, I have seen common problems or decisions made by leadership that resurface again and again. These issues hold boards back from giving their best effort and...
Becoming A Board Member: Stay Confident, Come Prepared
So You’re On The Board Of Directors, Now What? Congratulations! You’re officially a board member of an organization that addresses a cause you care about. Becoming a board member is one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences of a lifetime. Consequently, you...
15 Things Non Profit Board Members Should Be Doing
You've Got New Board Members, Now What? New non profit board members are often confused, uncertain, and unclear on exactly what their responsibilities are once they are on the board. They are eager to help, but recognize they may not have historical or institutional...
board development
15 Simple Ways to Use Your Board For Marketing
Nonprofit marketing can be challenging at best. If you’re like most agencies, you're constantly on the look out for new ways to share your mission, more effective ways to build awareness, and new cost-effective avenues to get more people to help your cause. While...
Is Your Board Missing The Most Valuable Ingredient?
Board development is critical for building (and maintaining) a high-functioning board. Year after year, best-in-class nonprofit organizations have an amazing impact in their communities. Their boards have directors who understand the agency’s mission, are fully...
The Kickoff: 20 Steps to a Better 1st Board Meeting
How can you make the first board meeting of the year effective, engaging, and use it to set the stage for a great year? In a recent article we discussed expectations for your new board. If you missed that post, you can check it out here. It will set the stage for...
What Should You Do With New Board Members?
How to get the most out of your non profit board of directors. Now that the new year has begun, the makeup of many non profit board of directors may look quite a bit different from last year. Yours is probably no exception. Some experienced and high value board...
How to Fill Empty Nonprofit Board Seats
This is the third and final chapter in a recent series about removing nonprofit board members who no longer fit the future needs of the organization. The first two articles offered suggestions on how to remove board members — How to Deal with Difficult Board Members,...
When Should You Let a Good Board Member Go?
10 Steps to Follow to Make Your Nonprofit Board Better Last week we discussed how to deal with a previously high-value nonprofit board member who has become difficult, argumentative, and even divisive over time. We reviewed approaches you might take to address the...
strategic planning
Time for Revenue Plan B?
OK, so your donations may not be coming in at levels you thought this year but at least you are still pretty much on budget. You still need to be aware of a clear and present danger that has recently reared its head. I’m talking about the nation’s desire to address...
Engaging Gen Y
One comment I hear executive directors make with some regularity is how they wish they could figure out how to expand their volunteer and donor base to include younger people. I notice, though, that in practice these same executive directors continue to do the...
The Toughest Kind of Change
Back in January I posed these questions and asked you to consider them…“If I were creating my organization TODAY, what is the best way to set it up? Are we organized that way? What is getting in the way of our ideal envisioned structure?” Today, I’d like to take this...
Best Practices
Smart leaders are always looking for ways to manage their expenses better, increase revenue, or work smarter, especially during these days of uncertainty. In this environment, looking for ways to do things better has to be job one! One overlooked tool that can...
Helping Today’s Clients
I’ve been thinking about how one’s perspective heavily influences his or her opinions, decisions, and actions. Just ask a Chicago Cubs fan about the White Sox, or a Yankee fan about the Red Sox. Now baseball may not be a matter of life and death (OK, I stand...
Give ’em a Chance
Remember early in your career, just before it really took off, and before you had made a name for yourself? You probably were in some lower-level position just doing what you were told as best you could, and trying hard to be a good team player. Then, one day your...
everything…
Making Tough Calls On Difficult Nonprofit Board Members
Leading Nonprofit Board Members Is Not Always Easy Sooner or later, every nonprofit leader has a problem with a board member. How this issue is dealt with separates the successful leaders from the rest of the pack. You may find certain nonprofit board members are...
Nonprofit Board Training: 23 Unwritten Rules Your Team Needs To Know
Take Your Nonprofit Board Training To The Next Level New board members typically receive some level of orientation when they step into their role. A more experienced member or agency leader will tell them about their fiduciary responsibilities, the Duties of Care,...
Powerful Life Lessons from Serving On A Nonprofit Board
Last time, I shared many of the professional lessons I learned by serving on a nonprofit board. I could easily transfer these lessons into my business life and become a better leader. As I was preparing that article, though, it struck me just how much I had learned,...
How Joining A Nonprofit Board Boosts Your Professional Development
Why Serve On A Board? Many individuals and businesses miss a valuable opportunity for professional development. They also miss a great opportunity to give back and make their community a better place to live. I know this because I used to be one of these individuals....
Recruiting Board Members: 12 Profiles For A Superstar Team
Who Should You Put On Your Board In 2018? Every organization is a reflection of its leaders. The more capable and committed any leadership team is, the more successful the nonprofit. Recruiting board members is a crucial step in cultivating a leadership team that...
The Illusion of Control: Facing The Realities of Nonprofit Governance
Once I became a leader, it did not take long to understand just how powerful, yet simultaneously powerless, I was to impact the future. On one hand, I led an organization of 350 people and was responsible to see that we were headed in the right direction. On the other...
How To Overcome The Loneliness Of Nonprofit Leadership
Nonprofit Leadership: It's Lonely At The Top You’ve probably heard that serving in a leadership role is lonely. If you are or have ever been a leader, chances are you can relate. Whether you are a new business leader, nonprofit leader, or church leader, until you...
10 Ways Nonprofit Coaching Enhances Leadership
How Can Nonprofit Coaching Help You Lead Better? Serving as a leader in a nonprofit agency addressing a cause you deeply believe in can be one of the most rewarding experiences of a lifetime. What could be more fulfilling than improving the situations of those you...
Fundraising for Nonprofits: Empower Your Board To Get Involved
Effective fundraising and donor relationships are the lifeblood of a nonprofit. But many agencies tend to overlook one of the most critical — and yet often most effective — tools for improving fundraising for nonprofits — the board. It’s no secret that best practices...