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Sarah chats with Christina Lennon, nonprofit executive consultant, about how to streamline the day-to-day processes of your organization while still maintaining an overview of the bigger picture. They discuss the strategies Christina uses to help overwhelmed nonprofit professionals and some quick wins you can immediately put to use. See you on The Technopath Way!

Show Notes:
Christina’s Tips for Taming the Overload
Take time out of the day-to-day to get “up to the balcony” and have a good overview of what’s going on in the big picture. Don’t let yourself get put in a position where you feel like you have to do something rash
Make sure everyone is on the same page about what the word ‘success’ means in terms of the organization
Define the ‘why’, define ‘success’
Set deadlines for when you will take action because there will never come a time when you have all the information, or the perfect moment. Don’t wait for a committee meeting or yearly strategic planning meeting.
Look for people outside the organization doing what you want to be doing, well.
Scan internally, go ask for advice externally
It will keep you from making a rash decision because you’ve spoken to people and keep you moving along
Make sure you build a support network of peers to bounce ideas of off, and help you keep the big picture in mind.
An executive director should make sure they are fostering a supportive and accepting culture and hiring people that contribute to and build upon it.
All executive directors should be involved in maintaining relationships with donors.

Quick Wins for Donor Relationship Building
Stewardship – who are your largest donors and who have you spoken to in the last 2-3 months?
Foundation and major gifts are 3 visits – 2 get-to-know-you visits and 1 solicitation
Make 3 visits or calls a week and 3-6 handwritten thank you notes a month

Taking a nonprofit from 0 to 60
Visiting donors as well as people who would be interested in the foundation
Hiring the right people to carry the message you want to get across
A visible, tangible early win will help you get the social capital you’ll need with your stake holders to complete other necessary, bigger changes.
You don’t always have to start at the place of biggest impact, but rather the biggest, most visible win to show success and build momentum with constituents.

Parting Advice
During times of great upheaval, like the pandemic, it is a great opportunity to inspire your stakeholders to make larger changes or implement a creative or ambitions project.
Nonprofits that decided to be more on the offense early in the pandemic have now diversified their funding, are rehiring staff and providing more services than those who took a more defensive stance.
The pain of staying the same must be greater than the pain of changing.