Mission: Impact podcast & blog
Build a better world without becoming a martyr to your nonprofit cause
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 In episode 105 of Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton continues to celebrate her four year podiversary by reflecting on how nonprofits can create healthier and more sustainable organizational cultures. Through a series of guest responses, the episode explores the necessity of fair compensation, flexible work environments, and the importance of mental and physical health for nonprofit staff. It also touches on the exploitation of passion in the sector, the need for diversity and inclusion on nonprofit boards, and the importance of strategic foresight in nonprofit governance. The episode underscores the collective responsibility of nonprofit leaders to foster environments where staff and volunteers can thrive, with a focus on stewardship, progress over perfection, and creating roles that align with both organizational needs and individual aspirations. Episode highlights: [00:00:00] Imagining a healthier and more sustainable nonprofit sector
Sabrina Walker Hernandez and Liz Scott discuss the ongoing challenges of diversity and inclusion in nonprofit leadership, particularly on boards. They call for accountability in creating inclusive cultures and emphasize the need for boards to reflect the communities they serve. [00:24:00] Strategic Foresight in Governance
Important Links and Resources:
BoardSource’s Leading with Intent: https://leadingwithintent.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-findings/ Be Well, Do Good, Self Care and Renewal for Nonprofit Professionals and Other Do Gooders https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/be-well-do-good-lauren-brownstein/1142829280 Related Episodes: Episode 42: Building shared governance Episode 55: Helping nonprofit boards move toward greater equity Episode 62: Healthy nonprofit organizational culture highlights, part 1 Episode 63: Healthy nonprofit organizational culture highlights, part 2 Episode 72: Exploring passion exploitation in nonprofit organizations Episode 85: Building equitable compensation frameworks for nonprofit organizations Episode 102: Nonprofit board’s duty of foresight Click "Read More" for a transcript of the episode. Progress over perfection, slowing down and joy - Envisioning a more humane nonprofit sector - Part 18/12/2024
 In this special episode of Mission: Impact, host Carol Hamilton celebrates four years of podcasting and reflects on the lessons learned from her 100+ episode journey. The podcast, aimed at nonprofit leaders striving to build a better world without martyrdom, offers practical advice, deep analysis, and engaging conversations. This episode gathers insights from various guest experts, focusing on key themes such as cultivating healthy organizational cultures, prioritizing progress over perfectionism, ensuring work-life balance, and infusing joy and creativity into the nonprofit sector. The discussion underscores the importance of aligning organizational values with actions, fostering inclusive and supportive environments, and advocating for the resources needed to achieve meaningful change. Episode Highlights Key Lessons from 100 Episodes & Imagining a Healthier Nonprofit Sector 03:31 Carol shares ten essential lessons learned, emphasizing the importance of diverse, equitable, and inclusive cultures, the dangers of overwork, and the value of focusing on relationships and progress over perfection. Progress Over Perfection 06:28 Pooya Pourak discusses the importance of favoring progress over perfectionism, embracing continuous improvement, and cultivating a growth mindset to drive meaningful social change. Action Bias 09:15 Susan Kahan highlights why analysis paralysis is common in the sector. She describes the need to make decisions and take action, even if imperfect, and the value of celebrating small wins to foster progress and avoid burnout. Setting Guardrails and Modeling 13:51 Dr. Orletta Caldwell offers practical steps for leaders to establish clear values in support of your nonprofit mission, support work-life balance, and create a culture where it's okay to be human while striving to do good work. Planning Realistically 20:42 - 25:40 Sarah Olivieri advises on planning realistically, working within your nonprofit organization’s capacity, and using visual tools to manage workloads and avoid overcommitment. Infusing Joy and Creativity into Nonprofit Work 25:41 - 33:18 Erin Allgood shares strategies for infusing joy and creativity into the nonprofit workplace, emphasizing the importance of building strong relationships and creating a culture of fun and innovation. Advocating for the Resources Your Team Needs 33:19 Reva Patwardhan calls on nonprofit leaders to advocate for their organizations' needs, ensuring they have the resources necessary to meet goals without sacrificing well-being. Important Links and Resources:
Erin Allgood - https://www.allgoodstrategies.com/ Dr. Orletta Caldwell - https://beyondexisting.com/ Susan Kahan - https://sapphirefundraisingspecialists.com/ Sarah Olivieri - https://www.pivotground.com/ Reva Patwardhan - https://www.greatergoodcoaching.org/ Pooya Pourak - https://www.matchnice.org/ Liberating Structures - https://www.liberatingstructures.com/ Related Episodes: Episode 50 - Why more money and more staff isn’t always the answer for nonprofits Episode 62 - Healthy nonprofit organizational culture highlights, part 1 Episode 63: Healthy nonprofit organizational culture highlights part 2 Episode 78: Renegotiating our relationship with work Episode 98: Declining interest in nonprofit leadership Episode 100: 10 Lessons from 100 Episodes Click "Read More" for a transcript of the episode. In the ever-evolving landscape of nonprofit organizations, inclusive strategic planning is not just a best practice—it's a necessity. The strength of a nonprofit lies in its collective effort, embracing the voices and perspectives of all stakeholders. Traditional top-down approaches often miss the mark by excluding crucial insights from those who drive and benefit from the mission. In this post, I explore why it's so important to create a comprehensive strategic planning process that brings together executive leaders, board members, staff, volunteers, donors, and the communities served. By fostering an inclusive environment, nonprofits can develop dynamic, responsive, and effective strategies that truly reflect and serve their diverse communities. Let’s delve into how your organization can harness this inclusive approach to not only build a robust strategic plan but also cultivate a shared vision for sustained impact and success. What is strategic planning for nonprofit organizations?Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations is a process to assess where you are currently as an organization, envision a positive future and identify steps to move you from where you are to where you want to go. Strategic planning is more than just a retreat to define the mission, it's a comprehensive process that often takes months to gather data from multiple sources and move through a decision-making process to prioritize the nonprofit's goals and action steps. A key consideration is who to include at each stage in the process - from task force to focus group to retreat. Why the traditional top down nonprofit strategic planning process doesn’t workTraditionally strategic planning has been seen as solely the job of the board and the senior leadership of the organization. This model is borrowed from the for profit sector. But this assumes an owner of the organization. No one owns a nonprofit – it is a collective endeavor. When decision-making is held at the top of the organization, there are many missed opportunities and risks. You miss the perspective of important people who are all working together to move your mission and your organization forward. You risk lacking buy in to a vision created by a select few. Without buy in, implementation can then be really challenging. Therefore, I advocate for an inclusive process that includes all your important stakeholders, including the communities and individuals that the nonprofit serves. What is Inclusive nonprofit strategic planning?An inclusive nonprofit strategic planning process is very intentional about who is brought into the process at what stage. It harnesses the energy of different groups of people who are important to moving your mission forward at each stage of the process. While each of these leadership groups has a role, being more inclusive increases your likelihood of buy in to the ultimate plan as well as benefiting from a wider range of perspectives and lived experience. Leaving people out of the planning process leaves their wisdom and ideas out of the process as well. Leaders may fear a cacophony of voices and opinions if many people are included. Including everyone in the process does not actually mean that everyone will be in every step. Let’s consider who the typical stakeholder groups are and how they are involved in the strategic planning process. Strategic planning task force or committee: what is its purpose?The purpose of the nonprofit strategic planning task force is to steward the process. Its job is NOT to make all the decisions about what goes into the plan but to advise on how to adapt the strategic planning process to the specifics of the organization. Forming your strategic planning task forceYour strategic planning committee or task force should include people empowered to make decisions on behalf of the organization, including staff and board leadership as well as people who hold informal power within your organization. They are the people who others look to for direction. This nonprofit strategic planning task force is ideally relatively small – up to five people – for effective decision making. What is the job of the strategic planning task force?Some tasks of this group are: • Identifying the exact stakeholders you will involve and how, • Deciding what to focus on at the retreat and/or planning sessions, • Refining drafts produced by larger group processes, and ultimately finalizing the plan. Often strategic planning committees hire strategic planning consultants like myself to guide them through this process and work closely to identify all the relevant stakeholders to bring to the table. Educating your nonprofit about the task force roleMaking sure everyone knows the purpose of the strategic planning task force When you are clear with the larger system about the purpose of this group – to make process decisions rather than plan content decisions – it can address the push to make this a larger group that often stems from the anxiety that an individual will not have influence on the outcomes of the plan without being on this planning group. Because more traditional strategic planning often uses this group to make directional decisions, addressing this transparently is important as many may have experience from other situations of feeling left out of the process. How internal stakeholders should be involved in the strategic planning processNonprofit Executive Director and leadership teamWhen I am working with a client nonprofit organization on supporting their strategic planning process, my primary contact is usually the nonprofit organization’s CEO or Executive Director. Together we guide the process. We make decisions together about how to structure the project and work together to refine products of larger group meetings. This process often includes checking in with the leadership team at key points. Board of DirectorsThe nonprofit organization’s board of directors, in their governance role, has the fiduciary responsibility to ensure that strategic plans align with the organization’s mission and values. They are critical to the process, yet a plan will be stronger when staff are included in the process as well. Nonprofit Staff MembersIt is important to involve staff from all levels of the organization to gain their insights on operational realities and challenges. This will include involving staff in your listening tour or data gathering phase as well as during the retreat or planning sessions themselves. Each staff person brings unique insight into the various aspects of how your organization works to further its mission and vision. Data gathering may include 1-1 interviews, focus groups and surveys. For very large organizations, including representatives of your teams or departments may be a more practical option for the planning sessions themselves. Nonprofit VolunteersMany organizations involve volunteers at all levels of their organization and they are integral to delivering programs and services. They have a distinct perspective on the organization – insiders in some aspects and outsiders in others. At a minimum be sure to Include volunteers in your data gathering phase. You may also want to consider whether you will invite volunteers beyond your board to your planning retreat/sessions. People your nonprofit serves or supports: Who is your nonprofit designed to help?Gathering input from those who participate in your programming can be a critical to the success of your planning process. Questions you ask could include:
Accessibility considerations and power dynamicsConsider accessibility needs to enable participation of those you serve whether it is language interpreters, stipends and offering food and child care during connection sessions. Also consider the power dynamics inherent in the relationship and what you need to do to create a greater sense of psychological safety with those you are asking to provide feedback. This is true with each group of stakeholders, yet can be particularly important with this stakeholder group, depending on the exact services you offer. Hiring a nonprofit strategic planning consultant to support you in these efforts can help with these issues as the consultant is not part of your organization. External Stakeholders that could also provide value in the nonprofit strategic planning processExternal stakeholders are an important group to include in the data gathering process. The strategic planning task force will identify exactly who needs to be included and in what manner – whether inviting to a 1-1 interview, a focus group or engaging through a survey. The subgroups of external stakeholders that are typically involved, include:
Other external groups to consider:Strategic Planning ConsultantsAs a strategic planning consultant, I bring expertise in facilitating the planning process. In addition, I can provide an outside perspective on the organization, its strengths and challenges. Some consultants will claim that they bring an unbiased perspective. I would counter that we all enter every situation with our particular world view and biases. Yet I will not necessarily be operating within the same assumptions as those inside the organization. I can also bring experience from other comparable organizations to give a broader view, as well as what can be typical for an organization of your type and life stage. Field Experts and FuturistsField experts and futurists can provide insights into trends and external factors that may impact the organization. Talking to these experts during your data gathering phase can be very helpful to widen your perspective and deepen your foresight as you plan. Integrating Diverse PerspectivesHaving gathered information, input and view points from a good representation of your internal and external stakeholders, all that information will now need to be synthesized into a set of themes. Pay attention to the areas of commonality as well as where there is a variety of opinion. Be mindful of the outliers – especially when they may bring an outlook less represented in your leadership circle. This step can be challenging and is another aspect that is particularly helpful to have outside support from a strategic planning consultant. Who is involved in the strategic planning sessions?Having formed your strategic planning task force, identified your stakeholders and gathered information from them and then synthesized that information, it is finally time to hold the planning sessions or retreat. Many people mistakenly think these meetings or retreat are what strategic planning is -- but as you can see it is just one step in the process. Who will you invite to these planning sessions or retreat?Internal stakeholders are the group that you will invite to be part of making meaning of the information gathered during the listening tour. Staff and the board at a minimum should be a part of the sessions. Exactly how many people can effectively be involved will depend on the skill and capacity of your facilitator(s). Larger groups can be effectively facilitated with larger facilitation teams and more technology support. Expert facilitators, such as myself, will use a variety of individual, small and large group methods to ensure the conversation provides opportunity for all to engage and conversations are productive. These will also serve to cultivate a culture of openness where every participant feels valued and heard. Balancing Input and Decision-makingNo organization can do everything, nor should it. A process is not complete without discernment and decision making. The group will need to make decisions about what rises to the top in importance and ends up in the plan. In fact, not actually making any decisions is one of the big pitfalls of a poorly run strategic planning process. The group ends up with a plan that is really just a long wish list. When you hire an expert strategic planning consultant as your facilitator, that person will have a variety of methods to help the group with decision making and prioritization. Some considerations are the impact of each idea, what might provide some easy wins, i.e. the “Big Easy” – something that is relatively easy but will have a big impact. Other considerations include:
Effective nonprofit strategic planning process are a collective effortThe strategic planning process in nonprofit organizations demands a collective, inclusive effort, embracing a wide array of voices and perspectives. By engaging a diverse group of stakeholders—from executive leaders and board members to volunteers, donors, and those served by the organization—nonprofits can cultivate a comprehensive and inclusive planning process. This approach not only increases buy-in but also enriches the strategic plan with a variety of insights and lived experiences.
Remember, strategic planning is not just about decision-making; it's about building a shared vision that is reflective of the entire community it aims to serve. By carefully selecting who is involved and how they contribute, your nonprofit can develop a more effective, responsive, and dynamic strategic plan, paving the way for sustained impact and success.  In episode 103 of Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton, Tip Fallon, and Stephen Graves explore the nuances of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), exploring the differences between inclusive and equitable leadership. The conversation highlights the importance of not only representation but also the behavior and mindset of individuals within organizations, emphasizing the need for fairness and addressing power imbalances. This episode provides valuable insights for nonprofit leaders seeking to cultivate more equitable and inclusive organizations, emphasizing the importance of self-reflection, systemic change, and embracing humanity in leadership. Episode highlights: Defining DEI [00:8:08]
[00:08:50]
[00:13:44]
- Concrete examples to create more equitable hiring practices. - Piloting inclusive structures and the importance of leaders doing their own self-work to understand their privilege and responsibility. 00:28:30 - Hippy Dippy or Innovation - The resistance to DEI initiatives and the perception of these efforts as "soft" or "extra." - The financial implications of not addressing DEI, including lost productivity and customer base. - Questioning the fundamental purpose of organizations and the costs of maintaining exploitative practices. 00:38:30 - Embracing Humanity in Leadership - The cultural barriers to embracing emotions and humanity in the workplace. - The need for leaders to create psychologically safe environments and to see employees as whole human beings. Guest Bios:
Tip Fallon partners with leaders and teams to create effective and equitable organizations. He became interested in leadership and creating inclusive cultures at a young age, growing up in an area that had substantive racial, ethnic, and socio-economic diversity, and as the son of an immigrant in a multiracial family. Coming from a predominantly working class neighborhood, he also saw the impact any leader can have at all levels of society and particularly the effects leaders have on those who are most marginalized. These life experiences inform his philosophy that good leadership is equitable leadership. Tip has worked with dozens of organizations ranging from community based nonprofits to organizations with international reach including the Federal Aviation Administration, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member for ten years in Organization Development and DEI programs at American University and Georgetown University. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.), Organization Development (M.S.), and is a Certified Professional Diversity Coach (CPDC). _____________________________________________ Stephen Graves Born in Greenwood, South Carolina to a pair of faith-driven educators, the values of service and lifelong learning were instilled in Stephen Graves from an early age. These values, coupled with spiritual lessons from an upbringing in the Black Baptist church, shaped Stephen’s social consciousness for understanding the inherent worth every person has in life and addressing the historical and present injustices inhibiting people from fully realizing their worth. With this awareness, Stephen pursued a mission-driven path, ensuring people have a sense of respect, dignity, and belonging to live and thrive in a multicultural world. For over a decade, Stephen has consulted and advised leaders and organizations of all sizes and sectors on focus areas such as People & Culture, Leadership & Professional Development, Language Access, Health Equity, and Patient Advocacy. Stephen earned his Master in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina. He holds an Executive Certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from Georgetown University. Important Links and Resources: 🔗 Tip Fallon 🔗 Stephen Graves 🔗 All In Consulting Co. More Women work at Nonprofits so Why do Men end up Leading Them https://hbr.org/2024/04/more-women-work-in-nonprofits-so-why-do-men-end-up-leading-them Jay Z - Feeling It: Feelin' It Related Episodes: Episode 62: Highlights of healthy nonprofit organizational cultures, part 1 Episode 63: Highlights of healthy nonprofit organizational cultures, part 2 Episode 86: Building your cultural competence Episode 92: Three stages of nonprofit leadership Episode 97: The business imperative of facing climate change Episode 102: The Nonprofit board’s duty of foresight Click "Read More" for a transcript of the interview. Nonprofit funders expect your nonprofit organization to be able to demonstrate its impact. While there are many ways to approach this, building out your organization’s theory of change and your program level logic models is an important step. We will explore what a theory of change and logic model is, why it is important and how it can help your organization measure the impact of the work you are doing. Understanding the Nonprofit Logic ModelA logic model maps out what it takes to deliver a program, service or area of work within the nonprofit organization. It details the assumptions embedded within the program and its short-, medium- and long-term outcomes. It also visually maps the program building blocks including inputs, activities, outputs. With this mapped out, you then can design an evaluation process and system to capture data on whether the program is producing the expected outcomes. The logic model breaks out in more detail one element of an organizational level theory of change. For example, a local watershed organization may focus their work in three areas – education, citizen science and policy work – to further its mission of contributing to a healthy watershed. Each work focus area mapped out in the theory of change would then have its own logic model. What is a theory of change?A theory of change shows visually and in writing how your organization’s work connects to and moves your mission and vision forward. A logic model maps out what it takes to deliver a specific program, the assumptions embedded within it and its short-, medium- and long-term outcomes. Taking the time to work together to create both will make apparent gaps in logic, understanding and agreement about what you are trying to achieve within your organization. It provides you with the opportunity to work through these to come to a shared understanding and vision which strengthens your work and organization. 4 Steps to Building Your Logic ModelAfter you have worked collectively to create your organization’s theory of change, you can work on creating each work area, service, or program area’s logic model.
From Theory to Practice: Implementing Your Logic ModelOnce your logic model is complete, you can then decide what performance measures you will focus on and how you will collect data on those measures. These data do not all need to be quantitative. In addition to quantitative data collected through surveys, often qualitative data including gathering stories and experiences through interviews will be an important component of the evaluation design. Measuring and Mapping ImpactWith this process, there can be the temptation to start collecting data about everything and then get overwhelmed and over time the data gathering stops, or you have a lot of data that you do not have time to synthesize and make meaning of. Keep it simple and choose a few key items to track so that you have the time to do the truly important work – learning from your evaluation. What are you learning from your team conversations?As you collect data and synthesize it, you will learn more about the effectiveness of your program. You may identify areas in which your hypotheses were not entirely accurate. What can you learn from the information? Apply your learnings by adjusting the program. This may mean tweaking your logic model as new information is gathered. Communicating results to your stakeholdersThe information you gather will have many applications. In addition to reporting results internally to your staff and board as well as to funders, you might highlight results on your webpage, blogs, social media, and annual reports. As you are doing so, consider each audience and their interest and perspectives. What do they care about and how can you link what you are doing and your results to that? Ask this question for each audience as you decide what aspects of your results to share. Just producing one findings report misses many opportunities to tell your story and share your impact. Overcoming 3 Common Challenges to developing a logic modelNot connecting the theoretical processes to practical applicationThese processes can seem a little esoteric. It helps to have an evaluation facilitator help walk you through the process. One of the common sticking points is the difference between an output and an outcome. You are likely already tracking outputs – how many people showed up to a training or the number of times you have testified before government decision makers. But what are you expecting people to be able to do after the training – answering that question helps you start identifying outcomes. A facilitator can keep the conversation going, help everyone understand the purpose of each step and ensure all the items are captured s as the group brainstorms. Realistic expectations of what your data are telling youOther objections to engaging in this work have to do with whether you can prove your program, service or intervention is THE factor that creates the outcome. Organizations rarely have the resources to evaluate their programs at that level, including running double-blind tests. While you may not be able to invest in evaluation to the level that will enable you to prove your impact, you can design a system that help board and staff to continue to strengthen the program as well as gather evidence of your impact. Does not represent the full complexityAnother pitfall is rejecting logic models because they cannot fully capture the complexity of the system that program participants are living within or are themselves. Indeed, the map is not the territory. No model will fully capture life in its full complexity. Yet it can provide a slice of that reality that your work is focused on. With these understandings in mind, you can proceed with more realistic expectations for what a logic model, monitoring and evaluation can do for your organization. Nonprofit Logic models are worth the investmentInvesting the time in mapping out your organization’s theory of change and logic models is an important aspect of ensuring your stakeholders are aligned on your organization’s strategy. The process can reveal and then address gaps in logic, understanding and agreement on how each aspect of your work contributes to your overall mission. Tackling this as a collective project helps educate everyone involved not only about the process itself but also about why and how you do what you do. It can contribute to breaking down silos within your organization. With the information you collect because of this work, you are also better able to tell your story of results to donors, funders, board members, volunteers, community partners and decision makers.
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Grace Social Sector Consulting, LLC, owns the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of the Mission: Impact podcast, as well as the Mission: Impact blog with all rights reserved, including right of publicity.
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