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Nonprofit organizations, and civil societies long before that, have always sought to bring like-minded and motivated people together to build community and solve social issues. Not much has changed regarding why motivated and hopeful people enter the nonprofit sector – to work, volunteer or support. But the challenges we face and the issues we seek to address can change over time – from severely needed social services like food and shelter to rates of addiction and poverty to global crises of climate change and education. No matter the cause, the work sometimes seems insurmountable. Therefore, for nonprofits to continue tackling such complex issues and systems, leaders must seek to create, support and sustain high-performing teams capable of enacting transformative change.

When considering performance in the nonprofit sector, it is difficult not to jump to conclusions about measurable outcomes and impact. However, for organizations to be impactful and meet the goals set by their diverse missions (and their funders), they must first be high-performing. For an organization to be high-performing, its team must be high-performing – capable of strong collaboration and innovation, driven by the mission and filled with trust and mutual respect. High-performing nonprofit teams are resilient, motivated and cared for. Team elements…

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The sustainability of the nonprofit sector relies on cultivating the next generation of donors. Younger individuals from the Millennial generation, as well as some from Gen X and Z groups, will soon become the lifeblood of the nonprofit sector – being transitioned nearly $30 trillion over the next 20 years from their predecessors, the Baby Boomers.

In 2015, 87% of total charitable contributions in the U.S. were made by individuals. Furthermore, 43% of those gifts were made by Baby Boomers while only 11% were made by Millennials, according to Fidelity Charitable. It will be up to nonprofits to direct appealing engagement and fundraising strategies towards young individuals to avoid a detrimental depletion of funds over the next several decades.

Millennials (born 1981-1995) engage differently with nonprofits and face more financial constraints than their predecessors. Additionally, in a study conducted by Yordanos Eyoel, Millennials have reportedly low levels of trust in civil society and demand accountability from organizations. They have historically been left out of the conversation, but want to give their time and resources to make the biggest social impact possible. Steven N.…

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If you’re like many of us working in nonprofit leadership today, you’re more than likely exhausted and running out of actionable ideas. Between the pandemic and workforce shortages, you are also possibly navigating reduced income, unable to resume all of your normal events and programming, and struggling to compete for funding.

The past two years have been rough for everyone. It’s said that adversity drives innovation, but for many, that well is starting to dry up too soon. So where are all the good ideas? As leaders of nonprofits, we have the power to create the perfect formula for innovation within our organizations. While there are no quick fixes, the effort and energy you put into these solutions now will be the garden for future innovative abundance.

It all starts with your organization’s mission statement. Nonprofits must have a clear and compelling mission statement that states the organization’s reason for being. It must be articulate enough to measure progress against, inspiring enough to move people to action, and still broad enough to withstand the test of time. If it has been a while since you reviewed or revised your mission statement, start here. Make sure you and your stakeholders agree on your nonprofit’s reason for being. With this clarity of purpose, the nonprofit can focus on its culture.

Every new hire is an opportunity to build the organization of your…

The video landscape is evolving, and the pandemic prompted nonprofits to consider how video is planned, produced, presented and consumed.

Video is predicted to account for 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022. Nonprofits must not ignore the advantages that video communications have evidenced: programming, fundraising, and maintaining internal and external engagement can be achieved successfully with video when purposely planned.

The key is to utilize the organization’s resources wisely; budgeting for high-quality produced videos may not be a priority when considering the resources available. However, leadership must consider all options and then decide what works best for their particular needs. If people are not given adequate content, they will not share with others and the organization and its mission will fail to engage the community.

To get started, a single video must be prioritized and every aspect of it must be defined before moving on to the next. One question must be asked at every step of the planning process: Is video the best way to communicate the message?

Define the goal and audience

The primary goal should always be high video engagement. However, other goals may include attracting volunteers, creating organizational awareness or fundraising. The goal and audience will help define the length in…

Illustration by Yuxin Qin

Leadership succession planning, similar to donor succession planning, is often addressed when the concern arises rather than preemptively within a nonprofit organization’s fiscal year. This is a common theme that lurks in the veins of many of our organizations. Raising awareness of this critical issue faced by the nonprofit sector; evidenced with high turnover and lackluster leadership practices and training, is an important check for all professionals to be aware of, and in doing so, will prepare professionals to implement a renewed leadership model that will support organizational composition from the ground up.

Hui Li states that there are distinct differences between planned and unplanned leadership successions: “A smooth and successful transition contributes to organizational performance and sustainability, whereas a failed attempt causes resource deficits, power resistance, identity crises, or even organizational death.” In order to prevent this from occurring, organizations must create a roadmap for their organizational future, and in doing so, they may identify areas of improvement and innovation that may not have been looked at until there were gaps in leadership.

Planning for the future – or living in the moment?

Training, development and resource support are often scarce within the sector, leading to…