9 Must-Have Skills to Leada Thriving Nonprofit Read time: 4 Minutes I’ll be the first to tell you, I had no real idea about what it was going to take to lead a successful nonprofit when I first started. Oh sure, I thought I knew. But like many, I had a glamorous view of nonprofit leadership: Getting on the ground and directly helping people in need all the time! Giving inspirational speeches! Getting all the grants to cover all of our expenses and then some, because we were sooo awesome! 😆...
12 days ago • 6 min read
Why People Aren't Signing Up to Volunteer For Your Cause Read time: 5 Minutes In our newsletter a few weeks ago, we covered how to motivate your team to take action. But inspiring people to volunteer is special. Because what people get in return is often not anything tangible – its community. It’s purpose. It’s feeling like being part of something bigger than you. Recruiting volunteers effectively takes practice and skill. In today’s issue of Changemaker Mondays ☀️ ☕ 🌍, I want to help you get...
19 days ago • 7 min read
Successful Social Impact leadershave one BIG thing in common Read time: 4 Minutes I’ve encountered hundreds of nonprofit and social enterprise leaders and founders. There’s always something about the founders and leaders that end up thriving a few years into their work. It’s not necessarily that they all had an innate charisma (though that doesn’t hurt). They weren't all amazing public speakers or fundraisers (yet). No, they had something else. It was something they worked at consistently,...
26 days ago • 6 min read
3 Types of Partnerships that growSocial Impact and Funding Read time: 4 Minutes What do a litter pick-up project and a nonprofit restaurant have in common? How did a food bank team up with a volunteer organization to combat political polarization? How did organizations pool their volunteer bases to maximize efficiency and donations? All around us are potential partners to amplify our social impact – if you know how to look for them. And if you’re especially creative, the right partnerships...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
How to motivate your Staff, Board, Volunteers, etc. to take action Read time: 4-5 Minutes Picture this. Your nonprofit is about to launch a new program. You KNOW it’s going to make a huge difference. Help hundreds of people. You’re fired up, ready to get things going. But somehow your team just isn’t as excited about this new program as you are. 🙁 You can’t seem to get anyone motivated to take action, complete their tasks, or generally help you move the project forward. As a result, deadlines...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
5 Ways Nonprofits Make Money(hint: It's not just grants.) Read time: 4-5 Minutes Let’s face it: When most people think about nonprofit fundraising, donations and grants pop into their minds as the top (or even exclusive) ways nonprofits make money. It makes sense. These are the types or revenue we hear about most of the time in the news. The downside of this assumption is that a) nonprofit leaders who need to raise funds automatically gravitate towards these methods, even if they may not...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
People still don't know whatSocial Entrepreneurship is.(why that matters) Read time: 3-4 Minutes Social entrepreneurship is a promising way to make an impact while generating sustainable revenue, but the majority of people still have no clue what it is. You might even be a social entrepreneur and not even know it! I met a lady like that recently. She was using her business to solve problems for nonprofits with affordable software, innovating ways to keep costs low while meeting a need. “You...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
3 things successful Nonprofits do before they file their paperwork Read time: 3-4 Minutes Throughout my own work starting a nonprofit – and helping advise dozens of others on launching or growing nonprofits – I’ve seen a few commonalities between the organizations that thrive and those that flop. A few years in, the organizations that are thriving - making a big impact, securing funding - are the ones that did 3 things in particular before they even filed their paperwork for official...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Hey Reader, Thank you, thank you, thank you! Several people took my survey last month telling me what our growing changemaker community would like to see in a new and improved newsletter... So! Launching in July (right after the July 4 holiday in the U.S.), my past monthly newsletter is transforming into a super actionable weekly newsletter... Changemaker Mondays Accelerate your social impact in just 5 minutes a week (Check out my announcement about this on LinkedIn, too!) Come with me on a...
2 months ago • 2 min read