Community Hospice & Palliative Care’s Post

Campaigns are won and lost on leadership. No other single factor impacts a campaign’s outcome. Gone are the days that a cowboy gift officer or a dedicated philanthropy director could successfully campaign alone. Instead, campaigns are about aligning the organization’s top strategic priorities with donors’ top philanthropic priorities. Because campaigns involve and impact the community on such a deep and personal level, leadership from the community is critical, acting as an invaluable endorsement. Yet, we often allow our leaders to dictate their own level of engagement in the campaign process, resulting in unclear and inconsistent leadership as well as frustration and demotivation among other volunteers. Check out the latest piece by Accordant's Heather Wiley Starankovic, CFRE, CAP, and John Donovan to learn about the typical obstacles and challenges organizations encounter when building their campaign leadership, as well as effective tools and strategies to overcome them: https://ow.ly/t5VM50ROHjt #healthcare #philanthropy #campaigns #leadership

When recruiting and working with a volunteer board, whether a formal foundation board of trustees or an informal philanthropy council, roles and responsibilities are often glossed over or poorly understood. This can have dire consequences for the success of the organization. Individuals innately understand that they have different strengths and talents, but how these behavioral preferences translate in the board service arena is subtly different than in typical interpersonal interactions. Much is at stake when board relationships go awry, and much is to be gained by positive and productive volunteer leadership. It is worth spending your time—and theirs—to discern how each current member can best fulfill his or her own philanthropic objectives, contribute to a vibrant board experience and leave your organization better off for the effort. Learn more about board engagement and leadership from Accordant's Cindy Reynolds, CFRE: https://ow.ly/uT6t50PRReJ #healthcare #philanthropy #boardengagement #leadership

In this episode of Philanthropic Masterminds, Karen explores how you can unleash your not-so-secret power in 2024 and garner awesome results! CEOs, Development and Advancement leaders and officers, board members, and volunteer leaders will find this conversation inspiring. https://lnkd.in/gSsTYiRu

New Resource: Values-Aligned Philanthropy Board Discussion Guide Your foundation may have anti-hate funding policies in place, but do you have board buy-in? Having the perspective of board leadership can ensure that your policy reflects your organization’s values and has full commitment from key stakeholders. Our discussion guide can help you have frank but inclusive conversations with your board. Members can access this, and our entire collection of Values-Aligned Philanthropy resources, for free!

Campaigns are won and lost on leadership. No other single factor impacts a campaign’s outcome. Gone are the days that a cowboy gift officer or a dedicated philanthropy director could successfully campaign alone. Instead, campaigns are about aligning the organization's top strategic priorities with donors' top philanthropic priorities. Because campaigns involve and impact the community on such a deep and personal level, leadership from the community is critical, acting as an invaluable endorsement. Yet, we often allow our leaders to dictate their own level of engagement in the campaign process, resulting in unclear and inconsistent leadership as well as frustration and demotivation among other volunteers. Have you read Accordant's latest blog post? Check out this piece by Accordant's Heather Wiley Starankovic, CFRE, CAP, and John Donovan to learn about the typical obstacles and challenges organizations encounter when building their campaign leadership, as well as effective tools and strategies to overcome them: https://ow.ly/KGsa50Sftf9 #healthcare #philanthropy #campaigns #volunteers #leadership

Friday Thought: There may be no more problematic sentence in all of nonprofit/philanthropic life than, “Boards set strategic direction.” Honestly, the confusion and chaos that one sentence—repeated constantly—has wreaked. I have never worked at or served on the board of a nonprofit/philanthropy where that sentence captured anything close to the truth of how organizations actually set strategy. In staffed organizations with paid executive leadership, boards: - vet proposed changes to existing strategy very carefully (unless you join a start-up, strategy already exists when you get to the board!) - partner with staff leadership to clarify and sharpen the language of strategy - officially adopt strategic shifts - act as passionate ambassadors of strategy But to suggest that boards, as temporary, rotating groups of volunteers, create strategy or decide what it should be, my goodness, the gamesmanship and wasted time/energy on everyone’s part that has yielded. Strategy is so damn important; to get bogged down in this confusion over its development is incalculably costly.

Jeanne Bell nails it with her discussion of strategy, below. With all due respect, and as someone who has served on and advised a lot of boards, nonprofit board members should not be the drivers of strategy. The drivers of strategy should be the "voice of the customer" -- the interests of (1) end users of a nonprofit's work and (2) donors who contribute to a nonprofit in an effort to effectuate some social change -- mediated by the nonprofit's staff, who have dramatically greater awareness of the nonprofit's programs and capacities than a nonprofit's board has. A board has a role -- as some reflection of other stakeholders' interests and as people with diverse skills that would be tapped in furtherance of some potential nonprofit strategic imperatives, and as a formal governance mechanism for adopting the strategic plan -- but it can't be the driver of strategic planning. And while Jeanne may not go this far, I will say additionally that "strategic planning" should not be used as a vehicle for "board engagement" or as a means of preparing boards to fundraise. "Strategy" is far too important to be used as a carrot to get a nonprofit board to pay attention or as a rehearsal of talking points for board calls to donors.

The Equitable Evaluation Framework Practitioners who practice together, party together. (Or at least enjoy a good rooftop conversation together.) Special thanks to Phil Chung from The Colorado Health Foundation, Marissa Jackson from Seattle Foundation, and Art Garcia from The Kresge Foundation for joining Marcia Coné, PhD and EEI at the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) conference in LA to share the ways they practice the EEF. If you're interested in becoming an EEF Practice Partner, there are still a few slots left. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/gMEXZFM7 and discover ways to embed the EEF into your foundation's practices. #Philanthropy #EquitableEvaluationFramework

Hey, foundation CEOs and trustees! Discover how to go from “Overwhelmed” to “Oh, I got this!” when tackling succession planning & avoid the costly mistakes of procrastination in my free virtual event called “The Simplified Succession Plan: Your Foundation’s Untapped Superpower.” Be sure to follow me so you’re one of the first to know when the 2024 dates for these sessions become available. You won’t want to miss the chance to reserve your spot and set your organization up for success in the new year. #PhilanthropyAdvisor #PhilanthropicStrategy #Philanthropists #CEOs

Hey, foundation CEOs and trustees! Discover how to go from “Overwhelmed” to “Oh, I got this!” when tackling succession planning & avoid the costly mistakes of procrastination in my free virtual event called “The Simplified Succession Plan: Your Foundation’s Untapped Superpower.” Be sure to follow me so you’re one of the first to know when the 2024 dates for these sessions become available. You won’t want to miss the chance to reserve your spot and set your organization up for success in the new year. #PhilanthropyAdvisor #PhilanthropicStrategy #Philanthropists #CEOs