Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast

Use this time of the year to do an audit of your long-term plan so that it can be a powerful tool in your annual planning.For all the passionate nonprofit leaders out there, I cannot stress enough the importance of strategic clarity. In my experience, it's not the lack of effort or passion that derails organizations but the lack of a clear vision and set priorities. As we move into planning for 2024, take the time to revisit, refine, and refocus. Your organization, your team, and the community you serve will all benefit from this clarity.That’s why, in this episode, as we approach the end of the year, I do a deep dive into the heart of effective annual planning: Your long-term strategic plan. Whether you’re an organization with a 5-year plan or a 3-year plan, your long term plan is your compass for developing a powerful annual plan.You’ll learn:How your strategic plan is not just a document; it’s your guiding star, helping you determine where to channel your energy, time, and resources.The key attributes of an effective strategic vision statement.Why focusing on 3-5 strategic areas can drive better results than spreading your efforts thin.How to make sure your goals can guide your planning, using three parts of the SMART framework.

We’ve all heard that delegation is key to effective leadership. But how many of us really nail it? In this episode, Brooke dissects the intricacies of delegation, not just as a task, but as an art. She goes beyond just talking about handing over responsibilities, diving deep into the layers, the thought processes, the challenges, and ultimately, the growth both for leaders and their teams that comes from mastering the art and science of delegation.If you've ever felt overwhelmed with tasks or if you've struggled to empower your team fully, this is the episode for you.Key Takeaways:Delegation is More Than Just Handing Over Tasks: It's about trust, alignment, and growth.Five Levels of Delegation: Understand them from 'Direct & Do' to 'Act with Autonomy.'The Mismatch Challenge: How incongruence in delegation can bottleneck efficiency.Customizing the Delegation Ladder: Tailoring it according to roles for maximum effectiveness.Standardization is Key: Create a common language around delegation for smoother operations.Harnessing Tools: Resources like the HR Bundle can revolutionize your delegation game.Knowing When to Climb: Recognizing when it's time to move to the next delegation level.The Power of Trust: Autonomy doesn't just empower teams, it also frees up leaders.The Importance of Reflection: Regularly revisiting delegation strategies ensures growth and alignment.Some Key Quotes"Delegation is not just about handing over; it's about leveling up.""Mismatch in delegation levels can create bottlenecks.""Being deliberate about naming the nature and scope of delegation upfront means less friction and more ease.""Every time someone moves up the ladder inside your organization, you shouldn't have to revisit questions of power, authority, and autonomy.""Delegation is as much about trust as it is about efficiency."Brooke’s Advice:In my years of leading teams, one truth stands out - delegation is a dance. It's about balance. It's never merely about offloading tasks; it's a deliberate act of empowering another. Understand each team member, know where they stand on the delegation ladder, and guide them as they climb. Remember, your team's growth is your growth.FAQ:What's the primary purpose of the delegation ladder?It helps in understanding, expectations, and alignment when delegating tasks.Is it necessary to move through all the levels of the delegation ladder?No, but understanding each level ensures effective delegation tailored to individual team members.What's the challenge with mismatched delegation levels?It can hinder efficiency, morale, and lead to bottlenecks.Why is standardization important in delegation?It ensures smoother operations, reduces friction, and provides a clear understanding amongst team members.How can I improve my delegation skills?Reflect on your delegation strategy, use tools like the HR Bundle, and ensure regular communication with your team.

In this episode, I tackle the all-too-common feeling of overwhelm that comes with leading a small nonprofit. I share a concrete 3-part framework to bring clarity to your decision-making and foster long-term sustainability.You’ll learn:How alignment between three core organizational plans can lay the foundation for sustainable growth.How a well-crafted - and condensed - strategic plan serves as the roadmap for everything in your organization, andThe role of your budget as a storytelling, fundraising, and hiring toolHow an aligned fundraising strategy, built on your strategic and financial plans, can streamline your efforts and increase your nonprofit's capacity for impactOther Resources MentionedAligned Anchors Strategy Bundle:  A curated package of trainings and templates that will walk you through each step of the alignment process.

In today's episode, I explore one of the most difficult yet critical skills that every leader needs to master: the ability to say "no." While it might seem simple on the surface, saying no is an intricate art that can significantly impact your organization's strategy, efficiency, and relationships. Whether it's juggling multiple programs or being swamped with endless meetings, learn why not being able to say no is costing you more than you think.Key Themes:The Consequences of Saying 'Yes' Too Often: What happens when your strategic plan looks like a laundry list? Or when your calendar leaves no room for high-leverage work?Real-world Examples: Learn from a case study where saying no was a critical pivot point for an organization's alignment with its strategic objectives.The Importance of Priorities: Discover how setting clear priorities can help you say no to less important tasks without feeling remorse or losing out on opportunities.The Five Crucial Questions: Unveil a simple yet effective framework to help you get clear about what truly matters in any decision-making process.What You'll Learn:Why your inability to say no could be derailing your organization's strategic goals.How saying no doesn’t mean you're shutting doors but could be opening new ones.The secret technique to choosing between several good options without spreading yourself too thin.How to approach any decision-making scenario with a clear framework of questions designed to help you focus on what truly matters.

I can't think of a better way to wrap up our August Sharpening Your Ax Series than with this powerful and thought-provoking conversation with Vu Le. I originally sat down to talk with Vu, writer,  speaker, former ED of RVC on the West Coast, and author of fantastic Nonprofit AF, to talk about what sustainability in our sector actually means and looks like. The conversation,  and his insights, are as relevant now as then. Enjoy!

Every organization is made up of the same core building blocks. Focused, sustainable growth means making intentional choices about these building blocks. This audio training will walk through how to design your organization's building blocks - its structure, culture & processes - to position your org for growth.

In order to grow without overwhelm, you need to focus on the right things at the right time: You need to know your stage of growth. This audio training will walk through how to know what growth stage your organization is in, and how to use that information to zero in on the right goals and strategies.

This episode is very very special to me. It is a tribute to my sister, Darcy Richie, who passed away at the age of 40 in 2021. Darcy Richie was the Chief Program and Impact Officer at Generation Citizen.  Last Spring, I invited her to join me to talk about two of her many superpowers: the how and why of communication and team-building.I called Darcy the communication whisperer.  She was one of those people who can be in any situation, with any group of people, and find her way to the heart of what they are trying to communicate. She had a unique way of making people feel truly seen and heard - which is really what communication is all about. Most critically for her work, she was able to help others do that for one another.Darcy spent her career building and sustaining high-impact teams, starting when she was the founding principal of a charter school at the age of 25. She built and managed national teams, and remote teams; Small intimate teams and sprawling layered teams…  At the root of it, she was simply excellent at communicating, and at helping build the capacity of those around her to do so effectively as well.

This 6-minute strategy episode walks through one of the most powerful secrets for keeping your team aligned and moving in the same direction: standard operating procedures.

This 6-minute strategy episode will walk through how to approach hiring to make sure that you’re recruiting and building the right team for your organization’s needs

Let’s face it - numbers can be scary. As nonprofit leaders, how often do you hear how important it is to “know your numbers”? But most of you didn’t get into the nonprofit leadership game with a background in accounting. So instead, you make sure you have a bookkeeper, make sure your books get closed and you track your spending, and MAYBE you get monthly financial reports to review. But you’re secretly faking it until you make it -- you don’t really know what it means to build a strong financial infrastructure - who to hire, what to talk to them about, and how to use your finances as a strategic decision-making tool.Enter Germeen. She’s taken her expertise and passion for accounting and merged it with her passion for social impact organizations and the result is both an incredible company - Virtual Accounting Group (which you’ll hear about) - and a great conversation today.Germeen talks with us about how to know when to move beyond the bookkeeper, how (and who) to think about hiring, the often unrecognized relationship between fundraising and financial infrastructure - she breaks it all down!So grab a notebook and pen and settle in with your beverage of choice and enjoy!

Whatever your vision for growth and increased impact, there are costs associated with it. This training will walk through how to think about your budget not just as a financial document, but as a storytelling tool to actually help you grow.

In this audio version of my 6-minute strategy training gets super concrete. You’ll learn the key metrics you should be tracking and measuring to help you keep your finger on the pulse of your organization’s financial health.

In this episode, I’m talking about an important - and top-of-mind - question for so many people:  The what, why, and how of Liberatory Governance.  I got to have a thoroughly enjoyable and meaty conversation with Natalie Bamdad and Ananda Valenzuela, of Change Elemental, an organization that partners across sectors to disrupt and transform systems of inequity and create powerful vehicles for justice. We talk about how to think about and understand the true meaning of governance, how to apply liberatory governance practices to YOUR organization, and the actual process that Change Elemental used to experiment with and craft to build their governance team.

In this audio version of my 6-minute strategy training on deepening board engagement, you’ll walk away with quick, immediately actionable tactics for getting your board members more connected and engaged with your mission and your work. 

At its best, your board can be an engaged group of supporters, strategic thought partners, and organizational ambassadors. This audio version of one of my most popular video trainings walks through the why, what, and how at the core of a truly activated, high-impact board.

Very rarely have I met someone as naturally gifted at resource generation as Suzy Myers-Jackson. I say resource generation, rather than fundraising, because what Suzy has spent the past 18 years doing - first as the ED of Opening Act, and more recently as a strategic consultant and coach, has been more expansive than just raising money. Did she grow her organization from $25K to a multi-million dollar organization? Yes, Did she perfect her Power of 10 campaign strategy to raise over $175K in 10 days through micro-donations, yes?  And I’m excited that she shares strategies for how to do this.But at the core of her fundraising prowess is a true gift for thinking expansively about how to define resources - she understands that the relationships that she builds, and the community that she grows, is the resource, and that has translated into money, time, investments, volunteers, raving supporters, advisors, partners, and transformative impact for the youth that she was working on behalf of.In this conversation with Suzy, she breaks down her approach to resource generation, and offers tactical advice and tools -  actionable steps you can take to improve your own resource generation. She also provides insight into the way that she thinks about fundraising more deeply, and how that is actually what made her so effective.

In this audio version of my 6-Minute Strategy series, you’ll learn how to leverage the rules of donor psychology to activate people in your community to give, how to build stronger relationships with your existing donors, and how to keep supporters active and engaged with your mission and work.  

I’m beyond excited to kick off my Sharpening Your Ax Series: Nonprofit Summer Strategy Sessions with Jess Campbell, a dear friend, and the founder of Out In The Boons, a small shop helping nonprofits discover donors in their email list.Jess has been deep in this work for a LONG time -- she’s been a nonprofit fundraiser for 18 years and has raised over $17M+ working from New York to California in organizations big and small. She is also the founder of The Raise More Together Summit for nonprofit leaders and fundraisers, which is coming up this month, and which she and I talk about in the episode.In this episode, we’re talking about end-of-year giving, and how to think and plan beyond Giving Tuesday to actually set yourself up for the most expansive year-end season you’ve ever had! Jess and I are both practical and tactical, so this episode is heavy on the “how do I actually do this”! Grab a notebook and a pen and get ready to map out an incredible year-end season!

In this episode, I'm doing another deep dive into the ways in which ChatGPT can support your organization - in addition to fundraising. Specifically: how you can use ChatGPT to help you both increase your clarity of strategic vision, priorities, and goals, and to improve the clarity with which you communicate about them. I walk through: 5 specific use clarity-increasing cases for ChatGPT, The kinds of information to "feed" the tool to increase the accuracy and alignment of the information it provides, and  Some specific prompts that you can use to shaves hours - even days - off of everything from strategic planning to goal -setting! You can get my entire Nonprofit ChatGPT Quickstart Guide at brookerichiebabbage.com/chatgptguide