Take Action!

I know that resources – human and financial – are often in short supply in nonprofit organizations. On this page, I invite you to discover free content that might provide you with a quick boost of energy or a moment for reflection. I will add new content occasionally as I discover tips and tools that can empower you – the people on the front lines doing good work in your communities.

Sustainability Self-Assessment Checklist

Step 1.

Is your organization ready to pursue financial sustainability? Are you stuck in a never ending cycle of yearly survival? Let’s work together to give you a boost! Download and complete my Sustainability Self-Assessment Checklist.

You can complete the checklist on your own or with board and staff members. Identify those areas where your organization rocks and pat yourselves on the back. Then identify areas where you can improve. Highlight two or three areas where you might get an early “win” if you made a small change or two.

Download Checklist

Step 2.

Now, here’s the good part!

I will provide you and a small team [five or fewer] with 20 minutes of free telephone coaching on the areas you’ve chosen for quick “wins.”

I look forward to hearing from you!

LRay’s Quick Tip – Delivering on Your Promise

Delivering on your organization’s promise to the world is pretty simple. Not easy, but simple.
You only need to confront rigorously these few essential, interdependent questions related to strategy, capital and talent:

Then, you can use your answers to drive candid conversations with board, staff and other stakeholders to develop pragmatic, specific plans for the future. It’s kind of a mini-strategic plan!

Useful Resources

When I need inspiration or just a quick answer to an easy or complex question, these are the books that I pull from my shelves . . .

Burk, Penelope, Donor Centered Fundraising, Chicago: Cygnus Applied Research, 2003.

Burk, Penelope, Donor Centered Leadership, Chicago: Cygnus Applied Research, 2013.

Filla, Jennifer J. and Helen E. Brown, Prospect Research for Fundraisers, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2013.

Howlett, Susan, Boards on Fire!, Seattle: Word & Raby Publishing, 2010.

Kanter, Beth and Allison H. Fine, The Networked Nonprofit, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2013.

La Piana, David, The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution, Saint Paul, Fieldstone Alliance, 2008.

Sagawa, Shirley and Deborah Jospin, The Charismatic Organization: 8 Ways to Grow a Nonprofit, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009.

. . . and these are websites I search for excellent free content. Some are for-profit companies – just ignore the sales pitch!

I don’t know what magic you work, but talking with you and learning from you gets me really jazzed about my job.Melissa Kate, Development Director, Young Audiences of Western New York