Your Strategic Plan Isn’t Dead. You Stopped Leading From It.
You can feel it before you can name it. The plan still exists. The goals are still written down. The dashboards are still being updated. But something is off. The energy is gone. The focus is blurred. Everything feels important again. And no one is saying it out loud. The Moment Most Leaders Miss Most […]
I’m Changing How I Write
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I show up in your inbox. Not the topics. The way I’m writing about them. For the past few years, I’ve shared a lot of practical guidance, tools, strategies, and frameworks to help you lead more effectively. That’s not going away. But I’ve realized something. Most […]
Data vs. Gut: How Smart Nonprofit Leaders Balance Both
Why Evidence Alone Isn’t Enough and Instinct Alone Is Dangerous Nonprofit leaders love data. Dashboards. KPIs. Evaluation reports. Community needs assessments. Strategic scorecards. And yet, when the biggest decisions land on the table, something else shows up. Instinct. A feeling. A read on the room. A sense that something isn’t right. Here’s the tension: Lean […]
Data-Informed, Not Data-Paralyzed: A Simple Framework for Strategy
You don’t need perfect data to make better decisions. You need the right questions, a small set of meaningful measures, and the discipline to learn out loud. I once watched a nonprofit spend six months debating a dashboard. Not the strategy. The dashboard. By the time they agreed on definitions, the community had shifted, staff […]
The Revenue Strategy That Doesn’t Flinch
Diversifying revenue is not the goal. The goal is to build a funding model you can actually run. Somewhere in your organization lives a spreadsheet called “Funding Ideas.” It has 27 tabs. Half of them are grants you meant to apply for. The other half are “earned income concepts” that sound exciting until you remember […]
Nonprofit Annual Planning 2026: How to Set Mission-Driven Goals That Actually Get Done
Annual planning should not feel like writing a wish list and then watching it die in March. In 2026, your plan has one job: turn mission into priorities your team can execute, even when funding, staffing, and community needs keep shifting. Every January, nonprofit leaders do the same ritual. We open a new document, type […]
Planning for the Future of Work in 2026
How Nonprofit Leaders Plan for the Future of Work in 2026 With Clarity and Confidence The workplace has changed more in the past five years than in the previous twenty. Remote work, hybrid teams, AI-driven tools, shifting staff expectations, digital collaboration, and new leadership models have reshaped how nonprofits operate. All of this leaves leaders […]
Reflecting on Your Nonprofit’s Achievements in 2025
Why Reflection Is the Leadership Practice That Fuels Gratitude and Growth The end of the year often feels like a sprint: closing budgets, preparing reports, rushing toward deadlines. But somewhere between the year-end appeal and the holiday break lies an opportunity that too many leaders skip… reflection. Reflection is more than looking back. It is […]
Adaptive Strategy: The Nonprofit Leader’s Guide to Thriving in Change
If you have been in nonprofit leadership for a while, you know the cycle. The organization spends months building a three- or five-year strategic plan. Committees meet, surveys are conducted, and consultants synthesize input. Eventually, you end up with a beautiful document, full of carefully worded priorities. Then reality shows up. A major funder pulls […]
Why Nonprofit Strategic Plans Fail (and How to Fix Yours)
Your Strategic Plan Doesn’t Belong on the Self You know how it goes. After months of surveys, focus groups, consultant calls, and late-night board edits, your nonprofit finally has a shiny new strategic plan. The document is polished, full of ambitious goals and big ideas. At the unveiling, there are smiles, nods, maybe even a […]
How Nonprofits Can Influence Public Policy
Yes, You Can—and Yes, You Should. If you’ve ever watched a policy decision unfold and thought, “That’s going to hurt our work…” you’re not alone. And you’re not powerless. Nonprofits are more than service providers. We’re educators, conveners, storytellers, researchers, and—when we choose to be—powerful influencers of public policy. From local zoning to federal […]
Measuring the Impact of Collaboration
You’ve brought the right partners together. You’ve aligned goals, weathered a few bumps, and built momentum. Now comes the question that every funder, board member, and community partner is going to ask: Is this collaboration actually working? Measuring the impact of a partnership is more than tracking attendance or counting how many meetings you held. […]