How Are Nonprofit Business Plans Different From Strategic Plans?
I love cooking shows! People can be so imaginative with food recipes. While many of us are content with the traditional combination of peanut butter and chocolate, chefs and food enthusiasts are combining seemingly unrelated ingredients to yield culinary genius. Take...
Bring Your Nonprofit Strategic Plan to Life with Action Plans
When it comes to planning, social sector leaders often ask me how to ensure strategic plans get implemented. They are right to be concerned – their hard work matters and should not be relegated to a shelf. I respond with the Japanese proverb – “Vision without action...
Crossing the Rubicon: Navigating NEW Strategic Shifts in Your Nonprofit
Everything changed two years ago – so much so, many futurists, including myself, shifted gears from long-range planning to week-to-week survival. At Social Impact Architects, we even changed our website and created a “Nonprofit Coronavirus Resource Center” with all...
Keep Calm and Plan On! Scenario Planning Steps from the Brits
Whether it was the real-life royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle or a fictional one from one of our favorite British shows, such as The Crown or Downton Abbey, the British know how to throw an event. Nothing exemplifies this more than a royal wedding,...
Starting a Nonprofit: Choose Your Own Adventure Carefully
We are living in unprecedented times. As a result, my team at Social Impact Architects is getting even more calls, emails and social media messages from folks who want to start a nonprofit as a way to help. It reminds me of my favorite books as a kid. Remember those...
Top Questions on Strategic Planning
With the new year in full swing, we are getting lots of calls on strategic planning and retreats. We often say that the point of a strategic plan isn’t to create a piece of paper; it is about creating clarity and momentum for your organization. So, we believe this...
Nonprofit Trends & Inspiration: Top 5 TrendSpotter Favorites of 2021
In August, I got the opportunity to visit Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, where Americans as part of the Allied Invasion landed on June 6, 1944, to liberate Europe. It was a sobering day. Three things struck me: 1) the courage of the men and women on the...
Refresh Your Nonprofit Skills with Six Free Webinars from Social Impact Architects
Leaves changing and falling. Exchanging t-shirts and flipflops for sweaters and boots. As we transition into fall, I hope you have time to think about your own evolution this year. There is probably a lot on your mind. Ours too. So, as Halloween approaches and we...
7 Things Every Social Impact Leader Needs to Know Before Their Next Hire
Let’s be honest. As employers, hiring is probably one of our least favorite activities. It’s time-consuming, challenging and takes us away from working toward our mission. But, to paraphrase Jim Collins in his modern-day business classic, Good to Great, what separates...
Vision vs. Mission: How to Hit the Bullseye of a Perfect Combination
Since everyone is heading back to school, we thought we’d start this blog out with a POP QUIZ! The sentences below are a mix of vision statements and mission statements. Can you tell which is which? Smithville is a vibrant, thriving and self-sustaining community....
