Helping Organizations Make a Difference

Nothing in a nonprofit organization is more important than its people. The leaders, volunteers and staff employed by nonprofit groups are the lifeblood of their success. Capable leadership can ensure that everything else within the organization is effective.

People have time to give, but they don’t have time to waste. For people to feel good about giving their time, they have to feel like their organization is making a difference. Nonprofit groups must invest in their own effectiveness to ensure that the time devoted by leaders is time spent well.

For these reasons, I focus on the fundamental elements of successful organizations: people, plans and structures.

A focus on people means the organization is thoughtful about who it involves and respectful on how it involves them. Great nonprofit groups provide a variety of options for participation, including board service but also involvement as a committee volunteer or advisor. These groups ask a lot of their leaders, but they give a lot back, including training and development, and recognition for their contribution.

A focus on planning means the group invests its resources – human and financial – in the most strategic way. Effective organizations develop clear plans that define where they want to go, and how they expect to get there. The plans possess both vision and detail, serving as a compelling prospectus for action. Most importantly, these plans are developed in a way that builds strong teams and committed involvement.

A focus on structure mean that people and plans come together to make things happen. Committees, clear lines of authority, infrastructure and systems ensure that things run smoothly and efficiently.

Though most groups face difficult challenges to their effectiveness, few organizations meet those challenges well. Groups often spend their time fighting with their symptoms instead of addressing the fundamental problems that plague them. A focus on "wildfires" may seem urgent, but it is rarely most important.

Helping build organizations with capable people, clear plans and effective structure is what I do. I do it by:

Training board and staff members to be more effective in their respective roles

Consult one-on-one to take ideas and put them into action

Facilitate retreats, meetings and special work sessions

Plan and develop new programs that come out of a planning process

Assist with a wide variety of special projects

Whether your organization is facing a crisis, making a transition or investing in your ongoing capacity, I can help build a foundation for greater effectiveness. For new organizations, I can concentrate the start-up process, accelerate your move toward effective action and help prevent problems from popping up.

For groups willing to make the investment, I can help you make a difference.