The close of a strategic planning process often feels like crossing a finish line. In reality, it’s the starting line for what comes next. A good plan gives direction. But direction alone doesn’t build capacity, communicate value, or sustain momentum. Those next steps depend on how well an organization can see, name, and use its […]

Every organization believes it knows why people value its work.Until you ask. When a team has just completed a strategic plan, they’re often eager to tell their story in a new way—to raise visibility, engage partners, and attract funding. But what’s often missing is a clear understanding of what different audiences actually value about the […]

In nearly every nonprofit boardroom or coaching conversation, financial constraint is the first—and often only—frame for decision-making. “Can we afford it?” becomes shorthand for “Should we do it?” Whether it’s adding a staff position, launching a new initiative, or investing in technology, the conversation tightens around dollars and decimals. It’s understandable. Money feels measurable. It […]

Life is not quiet where I live. Between roadwork, utility crews, and the occasional roofing project nearby, there’s often a steady hum of noise in the background of my home office. Some days it’s manageable. Other days, I can feel the interruptions fracturing my focus before I even sit down to work. The same thing […]

When you hear the phrase organizational health in a nonprofit context, what comes to mind first? For many leaders, it’s the budget: balanced books, strong reserves, maybe a clean audit. But those are just one part of the picture. Real organizational health runs deeper—into the energy, relationships, and systems that allow your mission to endure. […]

Just hours before the federal government shut down, I was facilitating a strategic planning retreat with a client board. The shutdown was on people’s minds, but what struck me was the perspective in the room: the political landscape will always be shifting. For this group, they framed their responsibility as: moving forward by leaning into […]

When we think about intellectual capital in nonprofits, it can be tempting to assign it to the realm of the rational: systems, knowledge, expertise, processes. Yet if we stop there, we miss the vital current that makes intellectual capital come alive. Intellectual capital is neither sterile nor static. It is embodied in people, relationships, and […]

When you think about sustainability, you probably think about money: how to raise more of it, diversify where it comes from, and make it last. But your organization’s sustainability also depends on something less visible and just as powerful: your ability to build agency inside your team. That agency grows out of intellectual capital—the collective […]

Growth is one of those words that everyone nods along to as a goal. It sounds obvious—who wouldn’t want their organization, team, or self to grow? But in my work with nonprofits, I find that when a board or leadership team says, “we should grow,” the real work begins. Growth is not a single destination. […]

Nonprofit leaders often speak of “our stakeholders” as if it were one group. In reality, every organization serves a constellation of stakeholders—clients, donors, board members, partners, community members—each listening for something different. When leaders collapse these differences into one generic message, resonance gets lost. Communication that tries to reach everyone risks landing with no one. […]