Operations
Burn baby burn
Nancy Lublin was right on the mark in a Fast Company article when she observed: The biz model [for nonprofits] destines us for burnout. We take people with big hearts and crush their souls; you sign on to help cure cancer and then leave because you’re just shilling rubber bracelets. You want universal literacy, but [...]
Support for new ideas
photo credit: smemon87 Discovery is wonderful. I have recently discovered how many people have some of the same ideas as I have. And I have a few strongly held ideas. Nonprofits are businesses. It is a positive sum game for nonprofit entrepreneurs, nonprofits volunteers and nonprofit staff to collaborate with others in nonprofits. Nonprofits are [...]
Volunteers: Care of
Many nonprofits treat volunteers like fingers for a leaking dike. They stick them into whatever role seems to have the most need at the moment. This is a mistake. Poor decisions about volunteer assignment, I believe, increases burnout and, more importantly, underperformance. A board member or committee member, who underperforms, accepts a responsibility but doesn’t [...]
Nonprofit Organization and Operation: A Hands-on, How-to Approach
I will lead two of these workshops. Each of these workshops meets once a week for four weeks. Inver Hills Community College Inver Grove Heights, MN beginning September 28, 2010 Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis, MN beginning September 29, 2010 Nonprofit Organization and Operation: A Hands-on, How-to Approach is designed for nonprofit entrepreneurs and [...]
Nonprofit Burnout
I am always on the lookout for someone who is writing about things that I think are important to volunteer leaders of nonprofits. Nancy Lublin has once again hit a nail on the head with her new column in Fast Company March 2010. Read it and learn. In addition to her suggestions to organizations: 1. [...]
Nonprofit Technical Assistance
Have you decided to start a nonprofit? Have you just got one started? Where do you go for technical assistance? What questions do you need to answer as a nonprofit entrepreneur before you organize a new nonprofit? You can find a lot of information on boards and board training. You also need to know about [...]
Management by the Many or Management by Email Group
Does the communication and decision making in your organization get hijacked? A friend recently shared with me and an interesting observation: In both emails,…, I think we have examples of what I might call Management by the Many, or Management by Email Group. In other words, anyone who has an agenda can simply put an [...]
Boards are for governance, committees are for results
Confusion I have pointed out in a recent post that nonprofits need to reduce confusion by separating the governance and results function of the organization. There is a knee jerk reaction when a nonprofit is formed to make those who sign as incorporators members of the board of the new corporation. Then the board, in [...]
Nonprofit: Start One, Lead One
I spoke at the Minnesota Mensa Regional Gathering ‘Last of the Aughts’ Saturday. The topic was:Nonprofits: Start One, Lead One. I discussed a few key ideas I have. Start Don’t start a nonprofit if you can do it with a for-profit. Don’t start a nonprofit if you can do it some other way. The National [...]
Social Entrepreneurship: new economy, new-funding
Show me the money! We all need it so our organizations can achieve our goals. With the state of our economy, one of the most pressing challenges as a leader of an all volunteer non-profit is that many of the old sources are drying up. Financial fears are infecting our economy from the biggest corporate [...]
