by Jeff | Apr 6, 2026 | Board Governance
BoardSource’s 2023 Leading with Intent report found that more than a third of nonprofit organizations have not formally defined what their board’s composition should look like. They’ve never sat down and identified the mix of expertise,...
by Jeff | Mar 25, 2026 | Board Governance, Nonprofit Strategy
When a nonprofit board loses an executive director, there’s a common instinct: pull up the old job description, update a few lines, and start circulating it. It makes sense. The job description already exists, and the board is anxious to get the search moving....
by Jeff | Mar 11, 2026 | Board Governance
Someone just asked you to join a nonprofit board. It’s flattering, and your instinct might be to say yes right away. But nonprofit board service is a real commitment, and it’s worth slowing down and asking a few questions before you agree to anything....
by Jeff | Jan 21, 2026 | Nonprofit Strategy
It’s January, which means we’re awash in new year energy and fresh starts, but it also means we’re in the second half of the fiscal year for most nonprofits. Budget conversations are coming, strategic planning may be on the horizon, and if...
by Jeff | Jan 3, 2026 | Coaching
The new year always brings the same pressure: reinvent yourself, transform your life, set ambitious goals. You commit to five new habits, overhaul your morning routine, and promise yourself that this year will be different. By February, you’re back where you...
by Jeff | Dec 1, 2025 | System Improvement
Most nonprofits think carefully about how to ask for donations. The appeal letter gets reviewed by multiple people, the donation page gets tested, and the Giving Tuesday email gets workshopped until every word feels right. But here’s the question almost no one...
by Jeff | Oct 17, 2025 | LEGO® Serious Play®
“Wait, You Want Me to Bring LEGO Bricks to a Board Meeting?” What would you think if I told you that I facilitate strategic planning sessions with LEGO bricks? “Isn’t that for kids?” Or maybe, “Are we really going to...
by Jeff | Oct 13, 2025 | Nonprofits and AI
Of 100 first-time donors, only 20 will give again the following year. That’s according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, and it’s a stat that should make every nonprofit leader wince. But is that a retention problem? Or a relationship problem?...
by Jeff | Oct 10, 2025 | Nonprofits and AI
A development director spends her Tuesday afternoon stuffing envelopes. She has a stack of 200 appeal letters that need to go out by end of week, and the board decided that outsourcing to a print shop wasn’t in the budget. So there she is, folding, stuffing,...
by Jeff | Oct 6, 2025 | Nonprofits and AI
You’ve spent six hours on a grant report. You’ve carefully described your program activities, documented your outcomes, explained any budget variances, and crafted language that makes everything sound like it went according to plan (even the parts that...
