Last week I was asked to serve as the opening speaker for the Major Gifts track at a nonprofit fundraising conference. In summary, I said that an aspirational Mission & Vision are the pathways to Money. In fact, this is the most important path to take if you want to raise BIG money for your nonprofit. Mission. The aspect of Mission I encourage nonprofits to focus on … [Read more...] about Mission, Vision, Money
vision-setting
The 7th Deadly Sin of Nonprofit Strategy: “Not Ambitious Enough”
A strategy and its associated goals and plans should be focused on a vision that is big, bold, and inspiring. Many strategies are based simply on an analytical forecast of the way things are currently headed. How dull. It was Goethe who said: Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. In his presidential run, Robert Kennedy used to quote … [Read more...] about The 7th Deadly Sin of Nonprofit Strategy: “Not Ambitious Enough”
Analysis Cannot Answer the Question “Why?”
In my last blog, I made the case for the value of organizations setting their visions and goals without cluttering their minds with the constraints of the current reality – which are usually identified in a SWOT analysis. Today I offer a different perspective on the same theme. Systems Thinking pioneer, Dr. Russell Ackoff, was a Senior Fellow at Maryland’s Robert H, Smith … [Read more...] about Analysis Cannot Answer the Question “Why?”
The Classic SWOT Analysis: Better Backwards
The classic use of SWOT Analysis (a review of an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) has been around for a long time in the field of strategic planning, but it can be used in a far more helpful way if it is done backwards. In the classic approach to strategy, the first step of the strategy development process is SWOT Analysis. The purpose … [Read more...] about The Classic SWOT Analysis: Better Backwards