You would think after nearly 50 years of volunteering and working with nonprofits that asking for donations would get easier.

After all, I’m not asking for the money for myself.

It hasn’t.

I listen, read and connect to various resources all year long. I stretch to choose materials that expand my appreciation of experiences and points of view that are different from mine. 

Here are my top recommendations from 2024 for resources I will keep returning to for inspiration.  

The Inspiration 

Kay was a seasoned nonprofit professional with 15 years of operational experience. When her boss, the Executive Director, unexpectedly left, the Board of Directors tapped her to become the new Executive Director, and the world was responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dale Singer was the Executive Director of the Renal Physician's Association (RPA) from 1995 through 2022. RPA empowers nephrology professionals through leadership development and mentorship, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and development and promotion of best business and care delivery practices. During her 27-year career at RPA, she positively changed the face of the organization by always looking for gifts and opportunities in every circumstance. Best-selling author Shirzad Chamine, in his book Positive Intelligence (2011), calls this approach the Sage Perspective. While it seems to have come naturally to Dale, she never stopped learning or pushing herself past her comfort zone.

In honor and celebration of my colleague Bob Hoffman’s 80th birthday, we talked about his remarkable community and professional life, the impact he continues to make in the world, and the people and the lessons that continue to shape his drive and leadership.

I was about 12. It was nearly my turn to perform at the piano recital when I could not remember the first few notes of my piece. I told my piano teacher I forgot and asked if he would tell me. I have a memory of him saying no, that I would figure it out, and I would be fine.

Transparency is an opportunity. When Maxine Thurston-Fisher was the Executive Director of Miami Bridge Emergency Shelter for Runaway and Homeless Youth, she shared the whole operating budget with the entire staff. She wanted everyone to understand what it took to run the organization and how we could contribute to reducing costs and living within our budget.

The Collaboration Norm: Since my introduction to nonprofit organizations in the 1960’s, an expectation is partnering and collaborating. The reasons always are to leverage resources, avoid duplication and be cost-effective. When my mom developed the first meals-on-wheels program for homebound seniors in Pittsburgh in the 1970’s, it was a collaborative effort between B’nai Brith Women, The Jewish Home for the Aged and Jewish Family and Children Services.

I’m starting today’s blog with “Double-Clicking” on the term “nonprofit” because I was recently reminded in a global conversation that the term is still quite confusing. The “Double-Clicking” concept – meaning to open a discussion of terms for greater understanding - is one of the invaluable tools Judith E. Glaser, introduces in her book Conversational Intelligence, How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results.

The executive director of a reputable, high performing nonprofit organization lamented that board members should be more actively involved and they needed a more effective engagement strategy. When I arrived at a 7:30 AM breakfast meeting to find a table full of eager volunteers I reached a different conclusion than the executive director.

I grew up in the generation where you did what your parents told you to do. For example, ‘Wear appropriate attire when you go to the Courthouse with your dad; wear a coat to school; hold that job for at least a year’ …and so on.

I find these days that leadership is a joyful experience, but it wasn't always that way. Take a moment right now to go back in time to situations in your leadership when you wished you responded differently. As if you were watching a movie of those times, notice what was happening, how they made you feel and how your response impacted others and yourself.

Change in the executive leadership of a nonprofit organization is inevitable. Since it will likely happen a number of times in the life of any organization, the question isn’t whether it will happen. The question is when. And, a related question is how important is it for an organization – with 5 staff or 500 staff - to be prepared for this inevitability?

In a recent conversation, a nonprofit CEO told me about a member of her senior team who has terrific potential.  “But,” she said, “this leader ‘knows everything.’  “The ideas have to be hers, and she has to be in control.  I’ve had many conversations with her about this behavior and I don’t know what to do.”

Change is!!! Sometimes it happens easily with the help of early adopters who “enjoy” trying new things and for whom risk is invigorating and non-threatening. But for many of us, change is a threat that triggers emotions and resistance.

Do any of these situations sound familiar?

YOU SENT AN EMAIL acknowledging your team’s great work and offering some ideas about how to make the report preparation process next month easier on everyone. The email triggers frustration from team members and a sense that you are displeased with their work. Hours are lost to emotional back channel conversations before you can regroup and clear the air.

At the time of writing this nugget in early 2017, the week started by celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 88th birthday – the hope of his legacy. Then there was the inauguration of a new Presidential administration, and the week ending with women and men marching and protesting across the country to preserve the Constitutional rights of all people – the hope for the future.