Every nonprofit has blind spots. One way to stay ahead of blind spots is to chart growth based on the nonprofit lifecycle. Much like phases of for-profit company growth, the nonprofit lifecycle features systemic benchmarks in organizational life from idea, start-up, growth, maturity, and decline and crisis. Each nonprofit is at some stage on the nonprofit lifecycle. The key is not to compare your organization with others, but to chart the right growth trajectory for your organization. By completing internal and external assessments, you can find out where you are relative to others and determine the best and most efficient methods to achieve growth and sustainability. At Social Impact Architects, we utilize both quantitative and qualitative tools and provide a customized report that we can share with your staff and board. This process is most helpful before a strategic planning process, during a strategic refresh or during executive transitions.