The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) or the "Nation's Report Card" results were recently released, and the results should be a wake up call. It was hoped that K-12 student academic performance would recover from the pandemic, but results continue to go down. This blog won’t go into the details - that would take more [...]
As the previous post indicates, the challenges of the nonprofit CEO’s job are significant and can lead to overwork, frustration, or leaving the job when they still have more to offer. There are certainly strategies CEOs can undertake themselves to address the situation, but the board also plays a pivotal role in assuring their CEO’s [...]
The short answer according to a recent LinkedIn post is that nonprofit CEO burnout is unavoidable; the author considers it only a matter of time. The post was meant to be provocative in that they describe an overwhelming workload leading to poor performance and ultimate departure due to the stresses of the job. Make [...]
How often have you wanted to present information – results of research, a report, or data recipients need to understand or take action on? And how often have you defaulted to the “tried and true” presentation – maybe with a colorful PowerPoint thrown in? It’s satisfying to share all that information; after all you’re the [...]
I was struck by something when I mentored a middle schooler who had received a “promise” scholarship for college tuition – and came from a family where no one had ever gone to college much less graduated. One of the activities was to visit a college campus. Tonnie was awestruck – but not overwhelmed. His [...]
Most of my work is in education; helping philanthropies maximize their impact on educational outcomes. An underlying theme is that setting high expectations for students is the first critical step in improving student achievement. There is a lot of work needed to support the students - appropriate curricular materials, skilled teachers, safe environments, etc., but [...]
We’re talking strategic plans here and as you may have guessed – the short answer is “no”, one size does not fit all. The longer answer is that each organization has different needs for their strategic plan and the actual plan needs to reflect those specific needs. Make no mistake, there should not be shortcuts in [...]
One of the most frequent questions when working with a nonprofit on board development is “What is the best size for a board?”. It’s no surprise that there is no single correct answer, other than “it depends”. The roles of the board impact the size and composition to best suit those needs. Simple governance responsibilities [...]
Volunteers have choices as to where to get involved and invest their time. They have expectations that their involvement will have a positive impact on the organization, that is, there’s a return on their investment of time. We know that donors are looking at how recipient nonprofits are using their investments to create a measurable [...]
If you’re old enough to know what the title references, great. If not and you'd like a nice diversion, check out this comedy routine, Abbott & Costello Who's On First. The reference for this Insight is what to do first if you’re starting a strategic planning process and have a leadership transition underway. If [...]