If you are creating a GPS system for your nonprofit, one aspect to consider is an organizational neural network…
Our organizations need to scan vast amounts of information to understand our present operating landscape and predict where the opportunities might lie in the future. We need to turn information into usable data that guides our efforts and decision-making.
But how do we accomplish this when the landscape is so vast and complex?
We create an organizational neural network. Neural networks are a phenomenon of the human brain.
Our sensory system perceives information, our strategic networks determine how to use the information we perceive and express what we know, and our affective system ascribes meaning to the information from an emotional perspective.
What is remarkable about the human brain is that all of these functions get integrated in order for us to act in the world. Now we have harnessed the capabilities of AI and machine learning to create neural networks that help us to recognize patterns and solve common problems using deep learning.
We can also create powerful organizational neural networks by harnessing the talent in our organization and increasing connectivity. Rather than thinking about vertical hierarchies and roles, we think about people in our organization as nodes in our network. Each person is gathering information about the internal and external environment.
They are involved in numerous communities, participate in professional convenings, interact with other organizations, and interact with our beneficiaries on a regular basis.
If we have a system that connects and shares all of the information coming from each of our nodes, we create a highly intelligent network that is far more sensitive to changes and opportunities in the landscape. Technology systems can facilitate the network, but humans are the real source of intelligence.
Now you: Have you ever created or been part of a human network that increased your smarts?
#nonprofits #technology #people #nonprofitleadership #neuralnet #fundraising #agilefundraising #agile #human #GPS #leadership
How did the pandemic affect women's giving?
The not-so-surprising way the pandemic has disproportionately affected women…
Women's philanthropic giving is down.
According to a report released by the Women in Philanthropy Institute, while giving by all household types has increased during the pandemic, both single women and married/partnered couples gave less to charity as compared to before the pandemic and compared to single men.
This is the reverse of typical trends over the last few years.
There are many contributing factors to the pandemic strain felt by women…
📌Women—especially mothers of school-aged children—have left the workforce in high numbers.
📌Women in the U.S. lack access to high-quality affordable child care. Public policies in the U.S. are less supportive for childcare as compared to are disadvantaged due to a lack of public policies that support childcare as compared to other developing countries.
📌 the economic impacts of the pandemic on households’ giving is clear: losing a job or losing income were strongly negatively associated with giving as well as volunteering.
📌Health and wellbeing challenges, including caregiving for loved ones that are ill.
During the pandemic, many women are also approaching their giving in different ways, some have shifted to health and crisis efforts, while others have shifted to community organizations that are having a direct impact where they live.
In this time of disruption, fundraisers need to be flexible about their message and approach knowing the strain many families are under.
💡Now you: How have you changed your giving this past year?
#fundraising #nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #agile #agilefundraising #philanthropy #womeninphilanthropy #charitablegiving
But we can't afford...
How would I respond when a nonprofit says “we just can’t afford to invest in fundraising right now. Everything is too tight. We are just scraping by….”
I would first communicate that I understand the situation they are in and I know the stress that is causing the organization.
Then I would respond…
· It is important to get out of a scarcity mindset into abundance.
· You need to grow yourself out of your financial hole, not backfill.
· Fundraising is a core capacity, an engine for growth.
· Fundraising needs to be fully integrated into the way you work, your culture, and your mindset.
· Rather than constrain resources, use them strategically to generate new opportunities.
Now You: Do you agree with the idea that sometimes you need to spend money to make more money?
#fundraising #nonprofits #nonprofit #nonprofitleadership #nonprofitfundraising #agilefundraising #growth #abundance #culture #work #work #opportunities #mindset
Generosity is a key to an agile nonprofit
Nonprofit Leaders: If you want your organization to be more entrepreneurial and agile, this one thing is critical….
Generosity.
When we focus on amplifying value for others, we create more value in the ecosystem.
This may seem counterintuitive. Isn’t entrepreneurship and agility about finding the space that no one else occupies?
Perhaps.
But when enhance your connectivity, you create more value and relationship capital.
The ecosystem is energized. It creates more opportunities.
With generosity see the opportunities quicker because you are in not only where the action is, you are creating the action.
Generosity creates enduring relationships.
No doubt you will need collaborators to go where no one has gone before.
Now you: How are you generous in your ecosystem?
#agile #agilefundraising #nonprofits #nonprofit #nonprofitleadership #leadership #ecosystem #generosity #go-givers #fundraising #collaboration #entrepreneurship #opportunities #leaders
A Life Well Lived
When I look at someone else’s life well lived, I get my biggest lessons. A friend’s father and a member of my temple community passed away last week.
In the lengthy article about his life and many accomplishments, there were celebrations of his kindness, generosity, and care.
Two things stood out to me.
First, that he asked each grandchild what they were most excited about studying and then went out and bought the textbook on the subject so that he could engage in discussions with them.
The second was that when he found out he was going to be a grandfather for the sixth time he went out and bought a mini-van or the “Bernie van” to take them to their activities and special adventures.
For me, he embodies the spirit of putting the other person at the center of the relationship rather than yourself. In this way of being you reap great rewards and blessings.
Now you: How do you show the person that they are in the center of your relationship?
#kindness #abundance #generosity #mindset #community
Hackathons for Social Good
How can you put your company’s passion, creativity, and capabilities to work for social good?
Host a 24-hour hackathon in collaboration with a local nonprofit to develop some creative solutions to their challenges.
In a Dec. 6 Fast Company article, Hackathons are one way a company can give back to the nonprofit sector.
A hackathon is an event usually hosted by a tech company or organization, where programmers and designers come together for a short but intense period, to create a program or prototype to solve a societal or business challenge. I
t does not even need to be tech-focused, it can put to use the diverse skill sets of a company’s employees and develop business, marketing, or innovations that help the nonprofit meet its mission.
Hackathons are often structured as competitions to generate energy and alternate solutions. For example, in 2020, Databricks sponsored its first virtual global “Hackathon for Social Good” with data teams competing to tackle climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, or issues unique to their local communities.
Hackathons also provide the company with a culture-building exercise of teamwork, craft, and creativity. It is one way a company can put its specific expertise and assets to work for the common good.
In the Fast Company article, Barry Fiske of Live Area (Merkle) suggests that the “resulting digital experiences, products, and content will prove as valuable for your own team as they are for the nonprofit”.
Now You: Have you ever participated in a hackathon?
#nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #corporatesocialresponsibility #corporatephilanthropy #volunteering #socialimpact #agilefundraising #corporatevolunteering #hackathons #hackathonforsocialgood #Fastcompany #nonprofit #team #business
Collaboration is key to agile nonprofits
It will be no surprise that I am a strong advocate for collaboration as a key to agile nonprofits. But there can be a downside…
Collaboration overload.
In a new book, Rob Cross talks about collaboration overload and how it can be shifted. Collaboration overload is a natural byproduct of agile organizations where lateral team collaborations are part of the structure of work and technology makes it possible to be on all the time.
The shift occurs when you become an “essential collaborator” vs. a “reactive collaborator”.
Cross found that many of us get drawn into collaboration without real consideration for what that means in terms of our time, energy, and expertise.
We often jump into collaborations that we do not need to – a more reactive stance.
Several things guide your shift into making more intentional decisions--your guardrails and your behaviors.
· Do you look at whether or not you are uniquely qualified to do the work?
· Have you shaped expectations of others about your role in the collaboration?
· Have you looked at your identity triggers such as your desire to help, or your need for accomplishment or recognition, or your need to control?
These are just a few of the considerations that might enable you to pause before you leap. In the coming posts, we will explore some of Cross's observations about Essential Collaboration and how to create for yourself.
Now You: Are you reactive to offers to collaborate?
#collaboration #agile #agileorganizations #nonprofits #team #work #technology #energy #collaborationoverload
Networks are key to collaboration, but not in the way you think
Innovation requires collaboration, not just among people but among ideas. Our networks are key to our collaboration, but not in the way you think…
Much of what we read about networking in the professional sphere focuses on the size of our network and techniques for expanding it.
While this may be a byproduct, the real effort is in creating a diverse network of connections and how we engage our network.
Rob Cross in his new book on #CollaborationOverload, talks about networks in a different way,
· Our networks need to be diverse across disciplines, organizations, divisions, and types of people.
· We need to be a bridge between people in our network
· Successful collaborators spend way more time with people in their network exploring ideas for collaboration.
· These explorations become the seed for future work together
· We need to be selective about what work we participate in order to free up time to explore essential collaborations.
Now You: Are you a bridge in your network?
#collaboration #essentialcollaboration #nonprofit #nonprofitleadership #nonprofits #partnerships #networks #diversity #innovation #networking #work #connections #future #network
Funding Opportunity for Programs for Women and Girls of Color
“Women and Girls of Color are pivotal frontline leaders and organizers in the powerful social change movements that have paved the way for a more equitable and just democracy.” Ms. Foundation for Women.
Recognizing the front-line roles women and girls of color (WGOC) play in social change movements, the Ms. Foundation for Women has issued an RFP to provide over $1 million in general operating grants to groups working in the South that are led by women and girls of color.
The Foundation intends to capitalize on this historic moment where both inequities have been exposed and the strengths of women and girls revealed.
The funding will strengthen the ecosystem of WGOC organizations that are working on social, cultural, and justice issues in 14 states in the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Grants for general operating support are $50,000 per year for up to 2 years.
Grants are due on Friday, January 21, 2022.
For more information see the Ms. Foundation for Women’s website.
#funding #change #leaders #msfoundationforwomen #WGOC #fundraising #foundations #grants #agilefundraising #nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #Thesouth
As the year begins, do we need to drive all the fundraising action?
It’s the new fiscal year in many nonprofits. We are off and running with our programs, our fundraising, and our organizational development. But is that the best way to engage with our work?
Today I heard a meditation “ Do everything with gentleness and ease”. That is an “un-call to action” if I have ever heard one.
I realize that many leadership and fundraising roles assume an urgency and a notion that we are driving everything.
We are measured by how much action we drive and the opportunities we create to move our mission forward.
But sometimes driving everything can create tension, friction, and even be counterproductive. Our action orientation might create reaction orientations among our colleagues.
I find it challenging to approach my work with gentleness and ease. I know that when I do, I listen more, I hear more, and I see more.
Plus I feel much better.
I hope for each of you that you start your day with gentleness and ease.
Now You: What would you do or not do to create ease in your day?
#leadership #opportunities #work
#nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #fundraising #agilefundraising #fundraisingleadership #teams #mindset #success #kindness
What do you do when your program officer leaves?
Nonprofit Leaders: What do you do when your program officer or funder leaves their organization?
So, you’ve spent several years developing this relationship.
This person has become your champion.
You have been able to go to them in good times and difficult times.
They have elevated your work.
And you genuinely feel like they are a friend and colleague.
Now what?
This is a critical window.
📌Ask your contact to continue to champion your work both internally and externally.
📌Have them lay the groundwork in their organization for your next contact.
📌Communicate and celebrate with the funder before your program officer departs, all of the impacts you have had as a result of their funding and your contact's support.
📌 If you have not been doing this all along, now is the time to broaden your relationships in their organization.
📌Consider another role for your contact, like an advisory board member.
📌Perhaps your contact lands in another organization that could be a supporter of your work.
📌But, most importantly, continue your relationship long after they leave, because we are enriched by the talented, committed people in our lives.
❓Now You: What is one thing you would do when your funder or client is leaving?
#nonprofit #funding #work #leadersnonprofits #nonprofitleadership #fundraising #fundraisingleadership #foundations #funders #agilefundraising
Energizing Our Network
How do we become energizers in our network?
Robert Cross in Collaboration Overload notes “Energizers win not because they are happy people—although they usually are—but because the way that they engage with others results in better opportunities, ideas, talent, and resources that flow to them over time. “
So often networking is presented as making lots of contacts. The bigger the better your network, the wider the better.
But we pay too little attention to this idea of energizing our network.
Here are a few phrases that come to mind when I think of becoming a network energizer.
💢Listener
💢Empathizer
💢Amplifier
💢Creator
💢Experimenter
💢Connector
💢Pattern recognizer
💢Generosity promoter
💢Ego parker
💢Communicator
💢Time-enhancer
💢Opportunity generator
❓Now You: What words come to mind when you energize your network?
#fundraising #nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #leadership #networks #collaboration #Collaborationoverload #RobCross #generosity #agilefundraising #agile #designthinking #opportunity #networking #opportunities
Strategy Development and Photography
When I think about strategy development, I think about photography...
We need to see up close and with great detail patterns that may not be visible with the eye alone. The macro lens makes it possible to capture fine-grain details—the pollen covering the legs of a bee, or the inside of an orchid.
But you also need to see what is in the distance also with detail. What is out in our landscape that we do not yet recognize is its value or relationship to us. A telephoto lens helps us to capture far-away objects with an accurate perspective and precise detail.
What about what is all around us?-- our clients, our partners, our competitors, the influencers. A wide-angle lens captures more of the horizontal frame. Gives us a sense of the landscape that we operate in. It allows us to zoom out and see more than what is just in front of us.
We also need to see how all of these pieces and images add up. A panoramic lens captures more of the scene by combining images to create a panorama. It is not until you combine the images that you get a robust, vibrant picture.
All of these various lenses are critical to our strategic planning. They reveal what we cannot see, and they help us to make meaning of our long and short horizons.
Now You: How do you get a panoramic picture for your strategy?
#nonprofits #nonprofitleadershp #fundraising #agilefundraising #leadership #srategy #strategicplanning #perspective #photography #ioppportunitygeneration #strategy #planning #development
Photo Credit:
Paulo Makalinao
So you want to compete for a federal grant… Now what?
So you want to compete for a federal grant…
Now what?
Federal grant seeking is a strategic program, not a one-shot opportunity.
It requires a level of expertise, coordination, and likely partners to successfully complete.
You need resilience, persistence, and a continuous improvement mindset.
Federal grants have upsides that make the effort worthwhile:
🚩Federal grants generally provide significant funding that can range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars.
🚩 Operating federal grant programs can create better collaboration inside your organization. They are often more complex and require interdisciplinary teams across your departments.
🚩Securing federal grants can be a marker of credibility to your clients, funders, and the market that can be leveraged for new funding.
🚩Federal grants, particularly National Centers, provide a platform for thought leadership, field building, and enduring partnerships.
🚩 Federal grants can provide a significant source of indirect funding which can help your organization build its infrastructure, staff capacity, and new capabilities such as evaluation.
🚩 If executed strategically, federal grants can create lines of work rather than projects in your organization that build toward significant impact.
💡If you are interested in pursuing federal grants in a strategic and competitive way, contact me at lpoller@agilefundraisingstrategy.com
For:
1. Strategy discussion
2. Assessment of your current capabilities and competitive advantage
3. Federal grant writing
#funding #strategy #projects #opportunity #federalgrants #agilefundraising #nonprofitleadership #leadership #startups #innovation #R&D #Edtech #education #mindset #fundraising #fundraisingleadership
Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, philosopher, and teacher died this week. He was profound and simple all at the same time.
There are hundreds of notable quotes from his many works.
“When we walk like (we are rushing), we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth... Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
Now You: What is your favorite quote?
#ThichNhatHanh #Buddism #teacher #poems #life #joy #peace #philosophy
Women Philanthropists Changing the Philanthropic Landscape
As more women create wealth, more are using their power to change the face of philanthropy.
According to Forbes Magazine, women’s global wealth will hit $81 trillion by 2023. There are now 328 women billionaires, up 36% from a year ago.
While these numbers are impressive, they are not nearly as interesting as what women are doing with their new philanthropic power.
According to an article by Hency Thacker, published January 31st. The following patterns have emerged for women in philanthropy:
1. Do it yourself approach: Women philanthropists are creating their own NGOs for grantmaking rather than relying on existing intermediary organizations. McKenzie Scott, and now Melinda French Gates are high-profile examples of this phenomenon.
2. Support the leadership of organizations, rather than funding projects. Women philanthropists often focus on building the capacity of leaders, to oversee larger portfolios of action.
3. Forming Giving Circles, that amplify the impact of their investments with pooled resources.
4. Increased volunteering with a get into the field directly approach.
5. Increased impact investing whereby women philanthropists are not only providing direct support to organizations but also improving the overall investment landscape.
6. Improving support for gender equity causes filling a much-needed gap in traditional philanthropy.
Now You: Who are the women philanthropists you most admire?
#philanthropy #womenphilanthropists #fundraising #nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #generostity #giving #volunteering #genderequity #givingcircles #impactinvesting #majorgiving #gender #leadership
A Sculpture’s Perspective and Strategic Planning
There are many ways to think about strategic planning. The key though is to remain agile, seeing how your actions are changing your environment, and how the environment is affecting your actions.
I once took a figure sculpture class.
We worked with a live model, forming the figure out of clay.
To sculpt, we used a turntable working on one side at a time. T
The rotating movement of the turntable is important.
When you are working on the piece that is right in front of you, you inevitably are changing the opposite side. In fact, you are changing the whole piece.
By moving in a circular pattern, you are adapting to the changes you are making in a process of continuous refinement.
Sculpture, like strategy, is an iterative process …
Of adding
Subtracting
Defining
Refining
Learning.
That is the heart of agility.
Now You: How do you gain perspective on the effect of your actions?
#agilefundraising #agilestrategy #nonprofits #nonprofitleadership #leadership #agile #agility #strategicplanning #strategy #designthinking #fundraising #fundraisingleadership #planning #learning
Busy Busy Busy
Busy Busy Busy
Song by Kevin Kline, Philadelphia Chickens
We’re very very busy and we’ve got a lot to do
And we haven’t got a minute to explain it all to you.
For on Sunday Monday Tuesday
There are people we must see,
and on Wednesday, Thursday Friday
We’re busy as can be.
With our most important meetings,
and our most important calls,
and we have to do so many things
and post them on the walls.
With our most important meetings,
and our most important calls,
and we have to do so many things we post them on the walls.
THEN
We have to hurry to the south,
and then we hurry north,
and we talk every minute as we hurry back and forth.
And we have to hurry to the east and then we hurry west.
And we’re talking every minute,
and we don’t have time to rest.
And we have to do it faster,
Or it will never be done,
and we have no time for listening,
or anything that’s fun.
Oh, we have to do it faster,
Or it never will be done
and we have no time for listening
Or anything that’s fun.
FOR
We’re very very busy and we got a lot to do.
And we haven’t got a minute to explain it all to you.
#monday #mindset #abundance
Expanding your Capacity with a Fundraising Consultant
Nonprofit Leaders: If you are stretched thin, consider a fundraising consultant…
Here are 10 ways to expand your capacity with a fundraising consultant with a strategy to…
1. Pursue Low-hanging fruit where the right combination of cultivation and asks can produce immediate results.
2. Expand efforts in fundraising sectors where your organization has already demonstrated some success.
3. Identify and move to an adjacent funding sector where you can use what you have already built.
4. Develop partnerships to pursue larger funding opportunities
5. Expand your thought leadership efforts to share your expertise with the larger field
6. Build internal fundraising capacity through training and technology.
7. Develop agility and generate opportunities
8. Expand communications and social media efforts.
9. Create a culture of fundraising across the entire organization.
10. Increase your connectivity as an organization.
Now you: When have you used a consultant?
If you need immediate fundraising efforts and a long-term fundraising strategy contact me at lpoller@agilefundraisingstrategy,com
#nonprofitleadership #fundraisng #fundraisingstrategy #fundraisingconsultants #funding #nonprofit #success #agilefundraising #leadership #consultant
The Donor Communication Sandwich
There is art in making a sandwich. My favorite one is a roast beef sandwich with freshly carved rare roast beef, folded onto a warm buttered roll with horseradish mayo. Grantseeking is like artfully making a sandwich….
The top layer, or the bread, is the cultivation of a strong relationship with your prospective funder. There are hundreds of types of bread. There are also a hundred ways to build a relationship, provided you are authentic.
The middle layer, or the wonderful filling, is your organization’s work, its programs, and its contribution to solving social problems. You want this to be exceptional, satisfying, and carry a unique value proposition.
When you add the condiments, your organization’s stories of impact provide the extra special flavor boost.
The bottom layer of bread is where you continue the conversation with your funder that you began in your proposal so that you both shape the resulting work.
Now You: What is your favorite sandwich?
#fundraising, #nonprofit #nonprofitfundraising #agilefundraising #grants #grantwriting #success #stories #impact