4 Jan, 2024

Ask Nicole: We’re Facing Pushback For Expanding Our Programs

By |2024-01-09T18:24:15-05:00January 4th, 2024|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

Have a question you’d like to be featured? Let me know.

There comes a point in the life of an organization where it considers expanding its programs and services.

This strategic move can open up new possibilities, build and strengthen community bonds, and enhance overall effectiveness, including:

While the idea of expanding your organization’s programs can be tempting, many organizations venture into uncharted territory without being intentional about WHY and HOW they expand.

This leads to pushback from other organizations, community members, and even staff.

There’s different levels to pushback against program expansion. Here are two ways to look at it:

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13 Jul, 2023

Closest to the Problem, Closest to the Solution

By |2023-07-13T11:29:53-04:00July 13th, 2023|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

When you’re closest to the problem, you’re closest to the solution.

I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of philanthropy. 

Specifically, how funders engage with and invest in communities and nonprofits. Most nonprofits have an ambivalent relationship with philanthropy. They need funding to survive, but also wished they didn’t have to depend on philanthropy to sustain their work and livelihood.

You know your community better than your funder. Yet funders often have the upper hand as they hold the purse strings. 

However, there’s a phrase that goes: “Those who are closest to the problem, are closest to the solution“. This suggests that the people most familiar with or deeply connected to a problem are usually better equipped at finding the solution.

I’ve heard this phrase before, and recently read it in Nonprofit Quarterly’s article “Why Grantmakers Need to Break Their Restriction Habit—Permanently“. The article, focusing on the unintended harm restricted grantmaking has caused to nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve, proposed a new solution:

“Restricted grants imply that funders can see more than the nonprofit about the need, the situation on the ground, the best way to respond. The funders who actually think this way are few and far between. More common are the funders who believe what I believe—that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution; that nonprofit leaders have better, real-time information to make smarter choices than I ever could; and that nearly all nonprofit leaders are creative, smart, and honest.”

“Those closest to the problem are closest to the solution” is reflective of how nonprofits can make impact over time. Here’s how you can leverage this:

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22 Mar, 2023

Should We Have a Role in This Partnership?

By |2023-03-22T19:39:02-04:00March 22nd, 2023|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: , , |0 Comments

There’s more than enough work to go around.

A habit I’ve picked up from an evaluation colleague is referring prospective clients to other colleagues who may be a better fit, even if I’m interested in the project.

I do this as I’d rather an organization choose the best person for their needs, rather than solely choosing based on referral.

I also make recommendations for other colleagues to be considered when building out a partnership or collaboration, especially if they have a specific skill set or expertise that a partnership would benefit from. For example, if I were invited to a space that’s more maternal health or birth equity focused, I’d carefully consider the partnership if a strategic planning, evaluation or research perspective is needed, and will refer to another colleagues if the partnership needs a different perspective.

Similar to choosing a consultant, there are several factors to consider when assessing if your organization should join a partnership.

And, sometimes, it’s ok to turn it down.

In a recent webinar I participated in as a panelist, an attendee shared, “I especially am taking away your point about examining whether an organization should have a role in a given partnership.”

Let’s talk about it.

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22 Feb, 2023

Self Care Corner: Prioritize Your Lightest Weight

By |2023-02-21T18:37:16-05:00February 22nd, 2023|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: , , , |0 Comments


“What’s the lightest weight we can carry now?”

This question was asked by a client during one of our project check-ins at the height of COVID-19. The client, like many organizations, experienced drastic shifts in their programming. Namely, deciding which programs and strategies were flexible enough to pivot to a virtual space while figuring out work from home setups for staff.

Figuring out what was “essential” and what wasn’t impacted staff’s capacity to support program participants, many whom support communities heavily impacted by COVID-19. 

We discussed how they make decisions under normal circumstances. As they’re nimble, what’s normal for them is operating with the assumption that anything can occur to undermine how they support program participants.

The client had to make quick programmatic decisions. If their programming could no longer operate as intended, they must answer:

  • What can we learn from this?
  • How can we pivot what’s deemed as essential?
  • What qualifies as “non-essential”?
  • How can a “non-essential” program become more essential in the future?

This process combines program design with evaluative thinking. Evaluative thinking requires routinely questioning what’s happening as it’s happening. Sometimes when this happens, we disregard the above questions and instead answer:

“What’s the lightest weight we can carry?”

Resiliency is like a muscle. We build it by starting with the lightest weight. When we’re able to handle the lightest weight with proper form, we progress to a heavier weight.

While the client example focuses on programs and services, this question can also be asked in our personal lives.

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25 Jan, 2023

Create Your Board of Directors Balance & Alignment Plan

By |2023-01-23T22:47:22-05:00January 25th, 2023|Categories: Strategic Planning & Sustainability|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Find balance AND alignment.

The decisions your board of directors makes not only influences your organization’s growth, but impacts how your staff does its job. When a board can’t function, it’s due to one or more of these issues. When these issues arise, it’s time to develop a plan for addressing them.

I’ve been increasingly interacting with board members in my consulting projects. I sit on a few boards myself. These experiences illuminated for me how difficult the nonprofit model can be, and how difficult it can be to make the key parts of a nonprofit–board, executive director, and staff–move smoothly like a wheel.

Speaking of wheels, I considered whether this blog post should focus on balance or on alignment. In fact, when I Googled “balance vs alignment”, I came across multiple articles around tires. This article explains the difference between tire balancing and tire alignment:

“It’s easy to get tire balancing and alignment confused. After all, they both sound like they would do the same thing. But in reality, they are very different services. In the simplest terms, tire balancing uses weights on your wheels to keep your vehicle from vibrating, while an alignment keeps all of your wheels pointing in the same direction for safety and performance.” 

Within the context of boards of directors, individual and collective skillsets, networks, ability to fundraise and speak on behalf of your organization, and ability to choose the best leader to serve as executive director are the balance. Their personal identities and values, ability to engage with staff and other stakeholders, and ability to understand how their decision making impacts how staff are the alignment.

It can be a delicate process to develop a plan to increase balance and alignment within your board and between your board and staff, but with intention, commitment and support, it’s possible.

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