A strategic plan serves as a roadmap to enable an organization to set priorities and measure progress. It informs the direction, generates heightened engagement and ownership of the mission, and inspires staff, board, volunteers, and the community to envision bold possibilities. Thrilled to be a guest of Virtual Executive Director on her podcast to discuss the importance of people, purpose, and process in strategic planning. Give it a listen!
Honored to facilitate the staff retreat for the amazing Cabbage Patch team today!
For over 109 years, The Cabbage Patch Settlement House has been profoundly changing the lives of children, youth, and families. The Cabbage Patch team equips and empowers youth and families to be self-sufficient by helping them maximize their economic, educational, emotional, moral, physical, social and spiritual potential.
I am inspired by the passion they have for their mission and the love they have for one another as teammates!
As summer turns to fall and leaves change, we have ushered in one of my favorite seasons of the year — college football season. In addition to the game itself, many are drawn to college football because of the traditions and pageantry that accompany rooting for your favorite school.
This past weekend, my family made our annual football weekend trip to Notre Dame. This is an extremely meaningful tradition for us, and one we look forward to every year. As we walked around campus, I was reminded of the value of traditions. From listening to the band play the fight song, to eating at a favorite dining hall, to donning your team colors, traditions bind us together. Likewise, traditions also hold special meaning for organizations and team members:
Traditions build a sense of belonging.
People possess an innate desire to be part of something larger than themselves. It compels each of us to serve in our own way, from Board members to staff members, volunteers to donors. Traditions cultivate that sense of belonging and higher purpose.
Traditions build bridges linking the past, present, and future.
Through the stories, rituals, and habits passed down over time, people gain a unique appreciation of an organization’s history, evolution, and vision as well as a connection to those who have come before, serve now, and will serve in the future.
Traditions both reflect and reinforce values and culture.
The primary way in which individuals experience the values and culture of an organization are through the actions of those they serve with. Traditions serve to illuminate these values and bring the culture of an organization to life.
Traditions hold space for reflection.
It is easy to get carried away with daily routines and challenges. Traditions provide an opportunity for each of us to pause and reflect, while reconnecting to our vision and the ideals that underlie our commitment to the organization and our teammates.
When was the last time you asked your team about the organizational traditions they value? What is the equivalent of the “fight song” and treasured campus memory for your organization? I invite you to reflect with me this month on the traditions that inspire your organization and team.
Is it possible to predict generosity? According to Nathan Chappell of Futurus Group, the answer is yes, and with the help of machine-learning and AI, your organization can better understand the motivations of your supporters and more effectively predict their likelihood to give. Nathan joins Greg on the latest podcast episode of Nonprofit Vision to discuss using machine learning to predict generosity and elevate philanthropy.
Core values represent the cornerstone of any effective organization. Spent a great day with the leaders of CASA programs from across Kentucky facilitating our "Lead With Your Values" workshop. Special thanks to Kentucky CASA Network for convening this talented group!
Highly effective Board teams are composed of a diverse group of talented and passionate leaders. Christina Carr joins Greg to discuss the importance of age diversity on nonprofit Boards and strategies to engage nextgen Board leaders. Click the button below to visit the podcast page or subscribe to Nonprofit Vision on iTunes, Google, or your favorite podcast app.
Exciting weekend in Minneapolis facilitating a Board/Staff retreat with the team of Camp To Belong. Camp to Belong is an international organization dedicated to reuniting brothers and sisters who have become separated in foster care through a week of camp in the summer and other events throughout the year. Exciting things to come from these talented and passionate leaders!
#Nonprofit #Board #Philanthropy #Charity #BoardChampions
When approached thoughtfully, fiscal sponsorship can be an important tool that promotes collaboration and enhances impact. Enjoyed being in Nashville today leading a seminar on this topic for LawPracticeCLE.
#Nonprofit #Impact #Philanthropy #Charity #BoardChampions
Classics 4 Kids inspires children through the experience of music, generating creativity, academic success, and cultural understanding. Enjoyed a wonderful day facilitating the #strategicplanning kickoff retreat for their Board and staff team in #SanDiego with Janeal Ford of Fordable Fundraising. Exciting times ahead for this amazing team!
Last month, we celebrated the 1 year anniversary of the launch of Nielsen Training & Consulting. Over the past year, I have been honored to work with nonprofit organizations from New Jersey to San Francisco, Miami to Denver, and of course here at home in Kentucky.
As we begin year 2, I recognize that developing a highly effective Board doesn’t happen overnight, but is the product of intentionality, engagement, and effort.
That is why I am thrilled to announce the launch of Board Champions.
This is a year-round, fully customizable Board development program, designed to partner with you in building a Board team capable of translating bold vision into reality.
Flexible enough to meet the needs of your nonprofit, Board Champions begins with a customized Board Self Assessment and facilitated Board retreat and subsequently may include the following services:
CEO or Board coaching
Defining Board expectations
Assessing the skills and diversity of your Board team
Building an effective orientation program
Aligning committee engagement with strategic objectives
Click the button below to learn more or connect with Greg to set up a consultation. Let’s work together to develop your team into Board Champions!
While the perspectives and contributions of thought leaders with established platforms are valuable, we must continue to elevate the unheard voices in philanthropy and nonprofit leadership in order to deepen critical conversations and move the sector forward. Jen Bokoff, Director of Stakeholder Engagement at Candid, joins Greg to discuss her recent article and efforts aimed at lifting up philanthropy's unheard voices.
It is available here on the web site at https://www.nielsenconsults.com/podcast and also on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Anchor, and More.
Honored to have Bloomerang publish my article on "3 P's for Nonprofit Planning Success." Proud to work with #nonprofits to facilitate processes that result in bold, actionable plans. Would love to hear your success stories and connect to discuss your organization's planning needs!
#Nonprofit #StrategicPlanning #Philanthropy
Calling all #SanDiego #nonprofit leaders! Pleased to share that I will be in San Diego on Monday, September 9. I invite you to join me as I co-lead a workshop entitled "Building a Championship Fundraising Board" with my friend and colleague Janeal Ford of Fordable Fundraising. Click the link below to check out the details and register!
#fundraising #philanthropy #Board
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07egi7yuav71f6e689&llr=e78ijryab&showPage=true&fbclid=IwAR1oOh9M4zYcUZ5d9EPHyVUt-bccYqPVVHJ_5z9MRicw7bllQ1mPCmkvrc0
Nonprofit Vision with Gregory Nielsen presents informative and entertaining conversations spotlighting critical issues in nonprofit leadership and the visionaries who are addressing them.
Recent episodes include topics such as:
Program Evaluation
The Path to Grant Readiness
Walking a Mile in Grantee Shoes
Your Role in a Social Change Ecosystem
With even more exciting guests and topics to come, now is a great time to subscribe to the podcast. It is available here on the web site at https://www.nielsenconsults.com/podcast and also on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Anchor, and More. Would love to hear your thoughts or comments on any of the episodes as well as ideas for future guests and topics!
This article presents a challenge #nonprofit leaders are confronting now, and will likely continue to face in the future. Does this match your perception and experience? How are you addressing?
"The reasons the revolving door keeps spinning are numerous, our survey shows. But two findings stand out:
84 percent of fundraisers said they felt “tremendous pressure to succeed” in their role.
55 percent said they “often feel unappreciated” in their work."
https://www.philanthropy.com/article/51-of-Fundraisers-Plan-to/246857
Honored to spend the morning presenting “Build Your Board into a Championship Fundraising Team” at Blue Ridge Institute. So many talented, committed, and amazing leaders who are transforming communities all across the country.
It is undeniable that #Board #diversity remains a challenge for the #nonprofit community.
Starting early in 2020, the United Way of Central Ohio plans to include “board diversity” as part of the criteria in its next grant-application process. Charities seeking funding from the United Way will need to have diverse boards or a board-approved plan for achieving diversity.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this:
- Is this the best way to enhance Board diversity?
- Are there other concerns such as tokenism?
- What are some other alternatives?
Highly effective #nonprofit teams come together to develop strategy and focus on leading practices in governance. Enjoyed a great day with the Board and staff of Waterfront Botanical Gardens!
#board #strategicplanning
A strategic plan serves as a roadmap to enable an organization to set priorities and measure progress. It informs the direction of the organization, generates heightened engagement and ownership of the mission, and inspires staff, Board, volunteers, and the community to envision bold possibilities. While the final plan document may take a variety of forms, I have found that there are three keys at the outset to chart an effective strategic planning course:
Purpose:
Starting with the "why" enables an organization to understand the context and environment in which the planning will occur. Has a previous plan term expired? Is the organization preparing for an expansion? Is there an internal or external challenge confronting the organization?
People:
Any planning process is only as effective as the leaders who will embrace and own it. Who will you include in the planning? Who will "own" the planning effort? How will you capture the critical perspectives of internal and external stakeholders? Who will facilitate the process?
Process:
In order to respond quickly to new opportunities and flexibly adapt to changing circumstances, many leaders (myself included) now favor shorter strategic framework processes over formal long-term strategic plans. In consultation with their facilitator, nonprofit leaders should evaluate the planning processes that have worked well with their team in the past and the type of process needed to confront the challenges of today.
Against a backdrop of countless challenges for nonprofit leaders and Board members, strategic planning can sometimes seem like a daunting undertaking. However, if you begin with the 3 P's of Purpose, People, and Process, you can set your organization on a path towards a successful outcome. If you or your team are ready to think about strategy, let's connect!
CLICK HERE to read the rest of this month's e-newsletter from Nielsen Training & Consulting.
A thoughtfully executed strategic planning process informs, engages, and inspires a team to envision what is possible and plan intentionally to achieve it. It has been a pleasure to work with the leaders of The Pete Foundation over the past few months to facilitate their strategic planning process, which culminated in the approval of the plan today. The Pete Foundation rallies communities to champion youth mental health and wellness through normalizing the topic, promoting education and providing tools for healthy emotional development.
