Nonprofit Next Gen: Creating Your Organization 2.0
As much as 2020 was a year to survive, it was also a year of transformation and innovation. Many nonprofits were called upon to serve more as the crisis upended communities. This call to action led to incredible shifts in how nonprofits serve. And nonprofits truly stepped up, despite a majority facing budget contractions.
Let’s face it, a significant number of nonprofits were just surviving before the pandemic struck: getting through the fiscal year had become a way of life for far too many organizations. I believe the organizations that continue to repeat the same, old patterns will not remain relevant, will not compete effectively for limited resources, will not make the impact they aspire to - and ultimately, will not survive.
And yet, so many nonprofits proved exactly what they are made of in this past year: shifting gears, adopting new ways of work, and ramping up to meet greatly increasing needs. 2020 showed us both what the nonprofit sector is capable of and how vulnerable many nonprofits are to fail.
If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s that now is the time. Now is the time to make significant change. Now is the time to fix what ails us. Now is the time to face reality and make the tough calls. Now is the time to make sure your organization doesn’t just survive but thrives.
Now is the time to leverage the innovation and ingenuity that helped you serve in 2020 and intentionally iterate to build the organization of your future: the organization that can maximize impact and produce transformative results.
Not to stress you out – but I don’t think there is time to wait to launch the Next Gen of your organization. You’ve morphed on the run for the past 10 months, reacting to the rapidly changing landscape around you – and now it’s time to get intentional and proactive about building Your Org Next Gen; to let go of the patterns that have held you at survival and move to a new era of iteration, thriving and maximum impact.
Unfortunately, we can’t snap our fingers and just live in the reality of Your Org Next Gen. But you can build it with designated time, big thinking, and these 8 steps:
Capture What You Learned in 2020. You’ve already done a ton of innovating, shifting and learning. Debrief with your team and determine what worked, what didn’t work and what changes you’ve implemented that you want to keep.
Check Your Pulse. Your team and organization have been through a lot in the past year. Before you can move forward, you have to take stock of where things stand, where the pain points are, where you need to heal so you’re healthy and ready to take on 2021.
Re-assess the Need. The world around us has changed. The needs we serve have changed as have the ways we can best meet those needs. You can’t maximize impact if you’re serving the same problem the same way. Everything is a bit different. Take time to find out from those you serve how things have changed, what they need and how that need can best be filled. Use that information to test your own assumptions.
Reclaim Your Focus. We’ve all been distracted from our focus. Reclaim why your organization exists. In the spirit of reclaiming your focus while meeting a reframed need, revisit and revamp your mission, your vision and your goals if needed. The world is calling on us all to make change and to make an impact: think big! You’ll need a bold vision to meet that call and to remain relevant.
Assess Your Model. Things had to work differently in 2020. Some of those changes were just temporary adjustments. Some of them made you better at what you do. And, again, the need or how the need can best be met has potentially shifted. Reinvent how you can best maximize impact by assessing your model: does your model truly move the needle? How can you iterate on the innovations you’ve already implemented and continue to improve your model?
Map Your Path Forward. Based on the updated needs assessment, your honest review of your model and your bold vision, create a flexible but clear roadmap for 2021. Articulate what you’re working to accomplish. Set clear and measurable goals. Lay out the milestones to achieve those goals. Assign an owner to the work and set timeframes for achieving milestones.
Measure Progress. Check in as a team weekly to track your progress – not just the tasks you’ve checked off the list, but the gains you’ve made in your measurable results. Hold one another accountable as a team and support each other to keep moving the needle. Be committed to accountability and progress.
Iterate. No plan or model is perfect. As you learn, as you fail, adjust. In your weekly meetings raise concerns about what’s not working and discuss new approaches. Find a new way to tackle a problem or task if the current way isn’t working or isn’t having enough impact. Discuss the things that are working and understand why – how can you leverage the successes to yield better results? Make changes as you go to improve. Instill honest assessment and continuous improvement into your culture.
The more you improve your model and your plan, the more you will maximize your impact on those you serve. And the closer you get to a great Next Gen for your organization.
For a more comprehensive playbook on how to take your organization Next Gen, sign up to receive my free Guide to Building Your Org’s Next Gen. Click here to get your guide.
And reach out to me at katie@joyofleading.com with any questions or to chat about implementing the guide. I’m here to help.
