Nonprofits

INTRODUCTION

I’ve worked with many nonprofits over the years, so this section of SunnyRoomStudio is devoted to tips and ideas I want to share about nonprofit development, management, and governance.

From start-ups to mature nonprofits, operational themes are similar and, as a nonprofit develops in sophistication, its organizational structure typically evolves to compensate for an ever-expanding internal environment.  Sometimes structure and organizational goals (state of development) are in proper alignment — sometimes not.

When considering nonprofits, here are some viable focus questions:

• How effective is your organization?
• What areas are stumbling blocks, repeatedly?
• Is your development capacity growing, keeping pace with overall organizational growth and needs?
• Are your board members committed, committee-based, and involved in all the right ways, i.e., as upper level donors and fundraisers?
• Have you revisited your organizational mission lately?
• Is your organization innovative in a proactive way or reaction-based, primarily?
• What part of your organization is clearly under-developed, why?

The nonprofit pages are organized around specific subjects: writing and editing tips (Generate Goodwords), development strategies (SilverBird), governance and management tips (The Hickman Report).

Here are those umbrella categories again:

• Generate Goodwords
• SilverBird
• The Hickman Report

I’ll try to alert readers, via posts, if updates occur.  To email me specific questions, please see my contact page, or you may send a comment (see posts), and I’ll respond as soon as possible. Nonprofit organizations contribute a great deal to our complex world; yet, the challenges they face are multifaceted and dynamic in nature.

I’ve served in several interim leadership positions and am also a development & management consultant.  My master’s degree in sociology focused on nonprofit org development, complex organization, and the decision-making process from a developmental perspective.

At this time, I’m not available for consulting or special project assignments, however, I am open to writing for publications dedicated to philanthropy.  And I hope to share innovative ideas and concepts here that may be of interest to the nonprofit community.  These pages will be updated as time permits.