Commitment to participate in research

I made a commitment to participate in research and here is why.

Right now I am participating in two medical research studies, a case study, one behavioral health study, and a focus group for the fundraising search field.
Participating in disease research, whether with an intervention or not, is a way of paying it forward.
While I personally might not derive benefit, the coming generations may have improved treatment and drugs, better outcomes, and potentially even cures for diseases.
It’s about
· reinforcing the scientific process that advances our knowledge.
· supporting early-career physicians, researchers, and fellows.
· Being an optimist in the face of challenges.

For my profession in nonprofit leadership, strategy, and fundraising,
participating in focus groups helps to improve our work, create a dialogue between different types of professionals, and improve best practices.

Now You: Do you participate in research studies? What is your why?
#nonprofits #fundraising #nonprofitleadership #research #medicalresearch

Build your nonprofit from the strategy up

Have you ever felt that you were trying to build your business from the tasks up to the strategy and then the vision, instead of the other way around?

I need a little time to step into the larger vision for my work. I know that what I am doing today is not likely to be the work I intend to do tomorrow.

The tension between doing what is in front of us because we are on a deadline, vs. advancing the larger picture, is one that many of us struggle with.
I don’t know what the key is to letting vision drive, but here are some thoughts:
· Shift from managing work to managing outcomes;
· Make sure your systems don’t reinforce the giant to-do list;
· How do your systems organize your outcomes instead?
· Be willing to let go of things in favor of focusing on a few;
· You can do anything, but you can’t do everything;
· Your daily habits add up and become a practice;
· A practice done regularly leads to outcomes;
· Be willing to make mistakes, go down the wrong path;
· Adjust on the fly, agility is key.

Now You: How do you hold your vision within your work?
#strategy #vision #nonprofit #nonprofitleadership #mindset #success #fundraising #agile #agilefundraising #work #productivity #projectmanagement

Planning for the end of a funding commitment

Nonprofit Leaders: Every grant commitment eventually comes to an end. What do you need to do to prepare for a funder’s exit from your project?

How do we assure funders that we are on a strong footing once they exit?
We may have developed a plan for continuing the work or scaling it. But there are times when that may not be a realistic path.

#leaders Here are three considerations as you plan:
1. How effective or successful was the project? It is important to have evaluation data that gives you some measures of the effectiveness of the project. Not every project achieves what it intended. Some projects may need a major overhaul. Some may need to come to an end. Some will be worthy of refining and scaling. It is important not to believe that every project must continue.

2. Could this project be part of something larger rather than an end in itself? It is possible that the project may find a home within another project in your organization. Perhaps elements of the work, will find their way into your core services. There may even be partners outside your organization who might be able to carry your work forward.


3. Have you brought other funders/stakeholders into the work during the project? It is important to find other funders throughout the lifespan of the project who can contribute to its success—through funding, through expertise and even opportunities for scaling with others in the field. Engage your primary funder in bringing others to the table.

Now You: Have you been willing to let a project go?

Creative Economy Revitalization Act 2021

The arts and artists were economically devastated by the pandemic, losing an estimated 15 billion dollars and nearly two-thirds of its workers since the start of the pandemic.

Fortunately, there is a new bipartisan effort to put artists back to work. The Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA) was modeled after the Work Progress Administration which helped create work after the depression by funding public art efforts.

CERA would put $300 million back into the economy through arts grants for art and cultural organizations to create public projects.

The legislation was introduced to the House by Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico and Jay Obernolte of California Senator and brought to the Senate by Ben Ray Luján, also of New Mexico in late August. CERA has the support of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and it is endorsed by more than 175 arts organizations.

There are regional efforts as well. Chicago launched its own $60 million arts recovery program and this spring New York Mayor de Blasio funded a $25 million economic recovery initiative that would see the city commission 1,500 artists to create public artworks.

Long Live the Arts!

Proximity and Relationships

“Proximity and relationships at the community level are critical to supporting and serving those that will benefit from the philanthropy.” – Tulaine Montgomery, Co-CEO New Profit.

The pandemic has prompted some philanthropies, particularly social venture philanthropies, to think about who and how urgent community needs are identified and how resources are rapidly deployed to those most in need.

Proximal leaders, those with real lived experience who come from the communities they are seeking to serve have the credibility and recognition in their communities to see and communicate community needs to funders and articulate innovative solutions.

According to Montgomery of New Profit “There was a broken loop in the space because the community, student, or entity that would benefit from the funding didn’t have any input. That’s changing some, and philanthropists are more accountable now to this.”

Proximal leaders can share authentic stories from the field with empathy and also great insight and innovation. It will be interesting to see whether a focus on proximal leaders becomes a structural shift in the landscape not just a response to the current crisis.
#innovation #philanthropy #socialimpact #economicdevelopment #funding #leadership #venturephilanthropy #newprofit #proximalleaders #nonprofitleadership #nonprofits

Subtraction in Growth

Nonprofit Leaders: There is a powerful underutilized strategy for improving your organization's work. The act of Subtraction.


That is right, growth can be driven by subtracting rather than adding programs.

Leidy Klotz in his new book, Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less, introduces the idea that we add by default to make things better, but we can be strategic about what we subtract, to achieve better results.

When I worked at an education innovation organization, one of the founders consistently focused our strategic planning process on pruning programs and activities that were no longer serving us, in order to sharpen our focus on key programs. It was difficult for the team to resist the urge to add new programs first.

Subtraction is not the same as just not doing something. Rather it is an action. Consider where you might reduce, simplify, take off something in order to reveal its essence.

Subtracting is a really important strategy for systems improvement, sometimes it can be the better option because it reduces tension in the system.

Now You: Have you ever subtracted instead of added to create growth?

#strategy #nonprofit #nonprofitleadershp #growth #planning #culture #education #LeidyKlotz #Subtraction

The Third Door

#NonprofitLeaders: There is always a third door…

...whether you are trying to connect with potential funders, get introduced to a potential partner, serve on a policy panel, or testify before congress.

When you go through the front door, you are one of many people and organizations waiting your turn for an audience. There are procedures, letters of interest, and most challenging of all gatekeepers.

We all have heard of the back door, this is the door the privileged few have access to, whether because of their celebrity, fortune, or influence. The back door is often oblique and impenetrable.

But there is always a third door, a third pathway. Finding this third door requires resilience, flexibility, and creativity. There is no one way to get in… no sure path.

You can find it if you are willing to try, experiment, fail, and try again.

It surely will involve a mindset of generosity, of relationship, and of the long term.

It will likely not be transactional, a one off, and obvious.

Most of all it will require you to imagine your future organization to leap from where you are.

Now you: How have you found the “third door”?

For strategies for finding the third door with foundations, download this free guide “Power Up Foundation Relationships" https://lnkd.in/eRseW2E

For strategy and funding support contact me at lpoller@agilefundraisingstrategy.com

#fundraising #nonprofit #nonprofitleadership #generosityculture #go-giversmovement #foundations #cultivation #abundancemindset

Motivation & Differentiation+

#Nonprofitleaders: How do you stay motivated and differentiate your organization when there are other worthy organizations doing the same work?

Here are some thoughts on the two parts to this challenge –

👍🏼 Motivation, that intangible energy that drives us through the good times and the bad. The most practical approach is to stay focused on your own work and try not to compare. Recognize when you might be feeling the imposter syndrome. Acknowledge that motivation ebbs and flows. Reach out to your trusted advisors and confidants to get a needed boost.

👍🏼 Differentiation, is of course, more of a business challenge. If there are other organizations in your space, consider it a validation of the significant need and potential of the solution. The hard work is to find your niche in the market, differentiating your value proposition and market. You might consider …
🔸Specialization, finding a narrower lane that plays on your strengths and expertise;
🔸Localization, becoming the local go-to in your market;
🔸 Collaboration, with your competitors, providing a critical part of the solution in conjunction with them.

Now You: How do you differentiate your work from your competitors?
#business #motivation #strategy #nonprofitstrategy #nonprofitleadership #missionmodelcanvas #fundraising

Why iteration is an anecdote to perfectionism

Why iteration is an anecdote to perfectionism….

When we adopt an #iterativedesign process, we are guided to understand our beneficiaries and their challenges before we design our solution. It forces us to get out of our heads, or conference rooms into the world.
It focuses our efforts not on creating the perfect solution but on ideating with real data.

We have to get our first sketch or storyboard out to our constituents and get feedback. We have to be willing to refine, and even sometimes scrap what we created in order to get our first minimal viable product.

Perfect becomes relative. It depends on the stage we are in. More often than not, we need simply good enough to get authentic information about what is working and not working. Perfect can get in the way of getting something out that moves the development along.

Design by its nature is iterative. We may begin with the end in mind, but we do not know what needs to be created all the way along. Discovery is only possible when we iterate and let go of the idea of perfection.

Now you: How do you combat perfectionism to get your work out into the world?
#nonprofit #nonprofitleadership #fundraising #designthinking #iteration #minimumviableproduct #collaboration #creativity #design #startup

The Go-Givers Principle of Influence

How might #nonprofitleaders think about influencing their fields?
I would start with the #Go-Givers principle of #Influence…

#BobBurg—the creator of the Go-Givers movement says that “Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.”

When thinking about how your nonprofit can influence the field and the big societal problems you are solving, start with something counterintuitive.

Think first about what other organizations and people you need to place in the center of the field; how you meet their needs, and how you shine a spotlight on their work.

With an abundance mindset, think about how your organization can meet the interests of those organizations and the field as a whole.

The influence will naturally follow.

Now You": How do you gain influence?

#nonprofit #impact #leadership #purpose #mindset #fundraising #nonprofitleadership #abundancemindset

Purpose Mindset

How can Purpose Mindset drive a new paradigm for Corporate Social Responsibility and employee engagement?
The #PurposeMindset is a framework that #AkhtarBadshah presents in his new book as a means to inspire companies and their employees to give more and take more action to improve society.
The Purpose Mindset draws on the seminal work on #GrowthMindset by Carole Dweck. It moves beyond individual growth toward workplace and community growth and evolution.
1. Work from your strengths to create greater possibilities.
2. Work from abundance by accessing innovative corporate resources for unprecedented scale.
3. Extend the common good by focusing on the effectiveness not the efficiency of your efforts toward broad community impact.
4. Igniting Movements, rather than building organizations, for societal change.

Badshah writes that Purpose Mindset “can engender the soul of business” and highlights how it transformed Microsoft.
Purpose is renewable energy.
Purpose is to recognize a moral obligation toward others.
Organizations that adopt the Purpose mindset empower their employees to make an impact, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of giving and volunteerism that benefits business while making society better for all.
#corporatesocialresponsibility #abundance #corporategiving #nonprofits #socialimpact #leadership

Collaborative Thought Leadership

#Nonprofit leaders: How do you engage in collaborative thought leadership?
#CollaborativeThoughtLeadership is not about putting your organization at the center. Rather, it’s a long-term strategy for elevating the conversation in the field.

Your greatest thought leadership role may be as a #convener, to bring together the collective passion and intelligence of the players in the field.

Here are some strategies for creating collaborative thought leadership.
· Broaden the circle, by including voices not usually at the table;
· Survey these key stakeholders to surface the biggest questions;
· Help frame the questions as a challenge to the community;
· Create one or more forums to convene around the challenge;
· Invite others to speak in your forums and write in your publications;
· Shine a spotlight on other thought leaders; and
· Listen closely, be reflective, and speak when it is critical.

Now You: How are you generous with other thought leaders?
#fundraising #leadership #community #diversityequityandinclusion

Universal Design

#NonprofitLeaders: A powerful paradigm for guiding our work is adopting a #UniversalDesign mindset which embodies an #equity lens.


A universal design mindset has some core ideas—

There is no mythical “average” user that we are creating our programs for.
Individual differences matter, there is no one size fits all.

Responding to individual differences is a responsibility.

We have a #design challenge, not an issue of adapting afterward.

Our programs, products, and organizations must be flexible and adaptable so that they can be configured to meet individual variability.

#Design is at the heart of what we do, and we design “with” not for.
The organization accepts the responsibility and obligation to consider all its users.

Based on modern neuroscience, cognitive and behavioral science, and learning sciences, we now understand that people vary along a continuum in some known ways that inform how we design..

🔆Representation--How they understand and perceive information,
🔆Expression--How express what they know, and use strategies
🔆Engagement: How they are engaged, motivated, respond to stress
The individual can aspire to be an #ExpertLearner, know themselves and become facile at designing their environment to suit their needs using the built in flexibility.

Universal design means that we consider everyone in our design as a matter of #equity, #inclusion, #accessibility, and effectiveness.
Now You: Have you considered human variability in designing your work?

🔆For support in integrating a universal design mindset in your nonprofit’s work, contact me at lpoller@agilefundraisingstrategy.com

#nonprofit #universaldesignforlearning #universaldesign #nonprofitleadership #organizationaldevelopment #design, #designthinking #fundraising #strategy

Disability and Equity

#Funding for #disability #policy, #advocacy, #humanrights and #care is paltry. Despite the fact that one in five Americans have a disability, and one in every three families has a family member with a disability, only 9% of #foundations reported an increase in #funding related to people with disabilities since the pandemic began. (Stanford Innovation Review)
The issues of people with disabilities were largely invisible during the pandemic which reinforced inequities in medical care, housing, employment etc. The pandemic has laid bare societal inequities in the poorest and most marginalized segments of society. Disability and poverty often intersect. If foundations are committed to justice, equity and inclusion then disability communities need a seat at the table.
Authors @Catherine Hyde Townsend and @Bess Rothenberg recommend that the philanthropic sector take the following steps:
· Understand disability frameworks and bring ableism into philanthropy;
· Use the “Nothing About Us Without Us” design principle;
· Establish disability inclusion goals and accountability measures; and
· Chart a path for continuous learning.
I would add take a #Universal Design approach in everything you do—understand that all humans fall along a continuum of characteristics and abilities. The mandate lies with the systems that serve people to be human-centered and designed with flexibility, inclusion, accessibility, and equity in mind.

Now You: Are you thinking about disability as part of your equity work?
#nonprofit #nonprofitleaders #foundations #philanthropy #disabilityrights #universal design #universaldesignforlearning #potentiainstitute21 #inclusion

Fundraiser Turnover

The “great resignation” is further exacerbating a negative trend in fundraising talent management…

The longstanding issue of #FundraiserTurnover.

✔️The average tenure of a Major Gift Fundraiser is 18 to 24 months when the most productive fundraising is reached at 4 to 7 years.

✔️In a relationship-driven business development process, this can have significant consequences for an organization’s fundraising and for the field as a whole.

According to a study reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, longevity matters…

✔️The median gift size for fundraisers with more than four years on the job was 50% percent higher, more than seven years or more on the job, 83% higher than $550,000.

✔️The sweet spot for the most productive fundraisers seemed to be more than seven years of experience at the same organization.

For most organizations, keeping high-performing fundraising talent is exceptionally hard.

✔️Over 50% of fundraisers surveyed expected to leave their job in the next year Major Gift Fundraisers leave to secure higher salaries through promotions.
✔️With the explosion of nonprofit fundraising programs comes increased competition for high-performing fundraisers and often the smaller nonprofits lose out.

So what are the solutions to this thorny issue?

🔺Experts indicate that nonprofits urgently need to identify their best talent and provide incentives for them to stay by” designing and promoting long-term career paths, investing in their development, and providing deferred compensation or other conditional benefits tied to their longevity

🔺I would add that nonprofits need to develop more integrated approaches to fundraising that are deeply embedded in the culture and operations of the organization, creating a collaborative environment where advancement is at the leading edge of the organization’s innovation and growth efforts.

#fundraising #majorgiftfundraisers #nonprofitleadership #growth #talentmanagement #agilefundraising

Startup Nation

Startup Nation—it's not what you would expect at the front edge of the pandemic or where you would expect it.

In the midst of the worst recession in 100 years caused by the pandemic, over 4.3 million #startups were launched (Forbes)

Fueled by 22 million rapid job losses, particularly in travel, entertainment and hospitality, people are choosing the entrepreneurial route to create their own employment opportunities and generate revenue.

✔️If the pandemic has created the necessity, technology has provided the tools – video communications, social media, cloud computing, and DIY websites have made it cheap and easy to launch a business from your home.

✔️According to #DeborahSmithCook work portability has made it possible for people to move and work from anywhere

✔️Access to fintech capital has also created a new crop of startups. According to Forbes the number of high propensity startups—potential job creators, jumped nearly 15%.

✔️Where these startups are emerging is also surprising—It's not the coastal regions as in past startup booms, but rather the deep South is driving with triple-digit growth, especially Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

While there is no guarantee that these startups will be successful and in business five years from now, it certainly gives me optimism about our resilience and is a validation of my own path in this moment.

Now You: Have you started a venture when you least expected to?

#startups #entrepreneurs #growth #pandemic #resiliance #fintech #smallbusiness #fundraising #venturecapital

Armored Leadership

If #nonprofitfundraising is focused mostly on financial outcomes, is there is a tendency toward armored leadership?

#brenebrown coined the term #Armoredleadership as part of her #Daringleadership principles that combine mind and heart.

"Armored leadership, [focuses on] being a knower and being right, versus daring leadership, being a learner and getting it right."

In this spirit, I ask our profession—how can we move from leading by and measuring financial outcomes toward a high-level fundraising practice where outcomes are the natural consequence of our efforts?

Brown says that “ In a culture and within ourselves where there is armor around being a knower and being right, not knowing is perceived as weakness.”

#Agilefundraising shifts our orientation toward learning and collaborating rather than being right.

Now You: Are you striving to be a daring leader, a learner who is willing to be vulnerable and open?
#fundraising #culture #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #growth

Learning Mindset

When you are launching a #fundraising program, the hardest part can be just starting. Here is one big tip to overcome this hurdle…



Adopt a learning mindset.

Begin with the end in mind, but focus on taking small iterative steps that help you learn along the way.

I am working with #educationnonprofit that spun out of a more established company. Because they are an early-stage organization, they do not yet have a fundraising effort. But they have demonstrated a willingness to get out and cultivate relationships with potential #funders and #sponsors.

What I most appreciate is their willingness to view these first forays as a learning experience.

We are approaching this as an #agilefundraising design effort that involves iterative cycles of developing, testing, getting feedback, and refining.

We are hoping not only to generate interest, but to also learn what resonates in our case for support, how to present the value proposition, and how to customize programs with the funder.

You can’t learn if you stay in the comfort of your offices, you must venture forth. Think of all that you will learn in the process.

Now You: Do you embrace learning in your external development work?

If you are interested in launching a #fundraising program, using an agile design process, contact me at lpoller@agilefundraisingstrategy.com for

1) Resources on Agile Fundraising
2) A 15-minute discovery call
#nonprofit #fundraising #leadership #learningculture

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Grant Seeking

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Grant Seeking—using the covey principles to transform our #nonprofit #fundraising work.

1. Be Proactive: Create a daily practice for grant seeking that has a bias toward taking action, regardless of the immediate outcome. Work from your center of influence outward. Take bite site steps to know to develop relationships, and articulate your message.

2. Begin with the end in mind: Envision the transformation you expect to see in society. Create a picture of that end that is vividly detailed. Use that picture to take the first action, and then the next action.

3. Put first things first: Create a process that is centered around your principles and your Why. Use the process to evaluate possible strategies, tactics, and actions. Make sure you are always taking the next best step, what is important and urgent.

4. Think to win/win: Think of your competitors as partners, your funders as collaborators. Imagine scenarios where there are beneficial solutions for all the partners, and they are able to bring their strengths to the table.

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood: Active listening is key to understanding with empathy the needs of your beneficiaries, and the needs and interests of your funders. Worry less about presenting and more about listening.

6. Synergize: Create opportunities for collaboration, contribution and teamwork. We are seeking to achieve goals that are bigger than any one of us alone.

7. Sharpen the saw: We are in a process of growth and continuous improvement. Working with funders as partners makes us better at our craft, and makes that solutions more powerful. Renew your energy.

Now You: Which of these principles have you used the most?

#leadership #nonprofit #strategy #fundraising #7habitsofhighlyeffectivepeople #growth