Policies, public communications, and governmental actions taken by this administration in 2025 have brought on unprecedented challenges and confusion to the nonprofit sector, from constant threats against foundational pillars within the philanthropic space to Executive Orders looking to criminalize DEI and progressive movements. It has been a difficult and concerning time for many grantmakers, which…
How do you plan for an organization that does not exist? Have you ever done that? We do it all the time. It is partly why we specialize in creating peace of mind.
Today’s Fast Build topic is about transitioning from concept to public charity. Nic shares the second of two key considerations for transitioning to public charity status. It is the second part of a two-part series.
The second key consideration is to take the time to plan your strategy. This planning includes articulating your vision, mission, priorities, proposed activities, and other goals that you have for your organization. Trust us, the time that you take to think critically about your organization will pay off in multiples.
How do you support your concepts to transition into a public charity? Could you do it even better? Let us know in the comments!
You can follow the link to watch Episode 42
Would it surprise you to know that we never just say, “Let’s do it!” when someone comes to us to form a #charity? Or that we ask programmatic and strategy questions in addition to the “legal questions” you might expect? It is not simply a “transaction” to us.
Today’s Fast Build topic is about transitioning from concept to public charity. Nic shares the first of two key considerations for transitioning to public charity status.
The first consideration, which is critical, is to determine if you should, in fact, be a charitable entity. If you skip this step and go straight to assuming you should be a #publiccharity simply because you want to have social impact, you will lose out on a lot of the vision and mission setting that is critical for building infrastructure and will likely be in an inappropriate entity, both of which will ultimately have an impact within the communities you serve.
Taking the time and having the patience to put all of this together in a meaningful way, including the type of entity you will use to do your work, is how you start building out a strong infrastructure and framework for your organization.
You can follow the link to watch Episode 41.
Where does your strategic plan live? In a shared folder, on a shelf, or in a drawer? Or does your plan live in the approach, training, and practices within your organization? And how do you know?
Today’s Fast Build Friday topic is how to have a successful strategic planning process. Nic shares two key elements to ensure success in implementation: people and systems.
If an organization does not consider people and systems as part of the strategic planning process, it is jeopardizing its organization’s strategic goals. A strong planning process focuses on how things will get done and who will do them and ensures that people have the resources and support they need to perform their responsibilities within the organization.
Does your strategic plan have these elements? What was the best part of your strategic planning process? Let us know in the comments!
You can follow the link to watch Episode 35.
How do you determine whether you should collaborate with another #nonprofit? Do you have clear criteria for entering into collaborations with other nonprofits or do you base your decision on fear or trust?
Today’s Fast Build Friday is about strategic nonprofit alliances. Nic highlights 3 key principles to consider when entering into a strategic nonprofit alliance.
If you are entering into collaborations simply to secure funding, or do not understand the structure of your collaborations and partnerships, or you are considering an alliance only because your organization is at its weakest, you are impacting your chance to improve your infrastructure and build sustainability.
When you step into strategic nonprofit alliances with immense clarity, you can strengthen your infrastructure, build your capacity, and expand the impact you’d like to have with vulnerable and marginalized communities.
What do your strategic nonprofit alliances look like? Let us know in the comments!
You can follow the link to watch Episode 34.
If we asked you to show us your succession plan, would you have to blow months or years of dust off it before you showed it to us? And would it contemplate the development of people within your organization not yet ready to step into key leadership roles?
Today’s Fast Build Friday topic is a continuation of last week’s topic about succession planning. Nic shares the remaining 2 of 4 key elements that succession planning and succession plans need – internal people pipeline and “living” plans.
When we focus on developing an internal pipeline of people and seeing our succession plans as “living” documents, we advance our organizations’ ability to both evolve and sustain.
You don’t just plan one time; you should be planning.
What are you going to do differently or maintain when it comes to your succession planning?
Let us know in the comments!
You can follow the link to watch Episode 31.
What would happen if your CEO/Executive Director (ED) finished their lunch and left for the day…and decided not to return….Ever? And what if your only staff accountant or grant associate did the same, but your ED stayed? Which scenario would be more challenging for your organization’s operations?
If you do not have a group of people or someone within your organization thinking about your organization’s ability to thrive despite significant internal disruptions, you are missing out on opportunities to engage in comprehensive succession planning and ultimately strengthen your #infrastructure.
Today’s Fast Build Friday is about succession planning. Nic shares the first 2 of 4 key elements that succession plans miss, but should incorporate to allow organizations to show up consistently even when a key employee or leader leaves.
These 2 elements – being more than CEO/ED focused and addressing systems – can considerably strengthen your infrastructure and can help you plan for even more consistent impact.
Do you have a succession plan?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
You can follow the link to watch Episode 30.
Do you ever think about how creating and protecting your organization’s #intellectualproperty can help support its sustainability?
Today’s Fast Build Friday is about using infrastructure to protect your intellectual property. Nic shares three examples to illustrate the clear link between strong infrastructure and protecting your IP to support asset creation.
When we have conversations with #nonprofit leaders and teams about organizational infrastructure, we always raise questions about their organizations’ ability to create and protect their intellectual property. If you have no intellectual property or have an inadequate way to protect it, you are impairing your value and asset creation and limiting your sustainability.
How are you protecting your intellectual property? Is your infrastructure hurting or helping? Let us know in the comments!
You can follow the link to watch Episode 29.
Nic has listened to and helped #nonprofit leaders tell compelling stories for more than a decade. Her work has shown her that there is a strong connection between a nonprofit’s ability to say, “No,” to a grant and compelling storytelling.
Today’s Fast Build Friday episode is about the connection between infrastructure and the ability to say, “No,” to a grant. It is the final installment in our three-part series that started with Fast Build Friday Episode 24.
Having structured grants to support communities in nearly every region of the world, Nic knows the power of a compelling story. And she appreciates the connection between story telling and infrastructure. When you do not have the ability to say, “No,” it indicates that you have no convictions about the way you work, the way you are structured, or the way you should be structured to provide sustained support to the communities you are working with. Without the ability to say, “No,” it is the story you risk telling.
How are you telling your story? How are you supporting other organizations to help them tell a compelling story? We would love to know in the comments!
You can follow the link to watch Episode 26.
As a nonprofit or social-impact #startup, how much can you do with limited capacity? With no capacity? Do you want to find out or do you want to learn how to build your capacity almost immediately?
We can tell you that without capacity, your compelling programmatic vision and strategy do not matter. As a startup, it is therefore critical that you build capacity to support your vision and strategy.
Today’s Fast Build Friday topic is again about the fundamental infrastructure considerations for nonprofit or social-impact start-ups. In it, Nic shares the second of my two fundamental considerations – capacity – and discuss three ways to build capacity almost immediately. It is part two to last week’s Fast Build Friday Episode 21.
How are you thinking about #capacitybuilding in startups? Let us know in the comments!
You can follow the link to watch Episode 22.