Urban and rural nonprofits can learn from each other
Jul 12th, 2007 | By: Cindy WillardFundamentally, nonprofit organizations exist to meet a community need, but how they meet those needs varies widely. Urban and rural environments present different obstacles and opportunities that must be overcome and met. Neither locale... Read more
Guard the mission during executive transitions
Oct 3rd, 2007 | By: Cindy WillardOne of the hot topics in the third sector these days is the retirement of Baby Boomers and the transition of leadership this creates. While I suspect that leadership transition has always been a topic of interest in nonprofit organizations, this recent focus provides ... Read more
Funder-grantee relationships offer more than just money
Jul 14th, 2008 | By: Cindy WillardOne of the first things a colleague said to me when I started as a program officer at a foundation was that I’d never again receive a sincere compliment. My first thought was, “Really? I’m not brilliant, insightful, funny and wonderful?” My second thought ... Read more
Transitions in board leadership style: Moving toward a governance model
Nov 3rd, 2008 | By: Cindy WillardOrganizations evolve. Budget growth, staff leadership transition and changing community needs may spark that evolution. As part of organizational change, boards of directors must adapt along with the organization. Many boards begin their ... Read more
Teams can provide meaningful partnerships in nonprofit sector
Mar 18th, 2009 | By: Cindy WillardIn the midst of crisis situations, we often feel isolated, particularly in the nonprofit sector. The amount of work to be done increases, resources decrease, and the pressure to make positive change seems even more urgent. Responsibilities for ... Read more
Closing a nonprofit organization – discussing the unthinkable
Jul 7th, 2009 | By: Cindy WillardCivil society organizations are created to fill a community need, but community needs change over time as do community resources, both monetary and otherwise. Yet, we rarely hear of an organization closing its doors. One result of the tough economy ... Read more
Strategic process more effective than Magic 8-Ball for making decisions
Oct 12th, 2009 | By: Cindy WillardTough times call for tough decisions. The Third Sector is confronted with increasing needs and decreasing resources. This is not a new dilemma, just one that is more pronounced now than ever before. How will your board and staff handle making the ... Read more
Communications planning for executive transitions
Jan 8th, 2008 | By: Cindy WillardSo, you’ve just been through the transition process of hiring a new executive director for your organization. You’re excited, enthusiastic and exhausted. Now that the decision is made, it’s tempting to think you’re finished, but your job isn’t ... Read more
Ethical behavior critical for both organization and leader
Apr 12th, 2010 | By: Cindy WillardWhen the economy is bad, everything tends to look worse. Snowy weather feels colder, your favorite team losing is more disappointing, and ethics scandals seem more egregious. The recent focus on corporate and nonprofit executive salaries, and ... Read more
Developing leaders through board service
Oct 18th, 2010 | By: Cindy WillardAs my friend Rich Male likes to say, “Leadership is one of the most talked about and least understood ideas in the nonprofit world.” There are volumes of books on leadership, seminars to take and discussions to have. But real leadership ... Read more
Collaboration Series Part 2: Collaboration in the new economy
May 11th, 2011 | By: Cindy WillardWhat is collaboration? This simple question elicits a complex array of answers. The steering committee for the Colorado Collaboration Award struggled to answer this very question. For the purposes of the award, collaboration means joint ... Read more
Collaboration Series Part 3: New language for collaboration
Jun 13th, 2011 | By: Cindy WillardWe spend a lot of time trying to define collaboration and even more time being concerned about it. That’s why I am so grateful to John Kania and Mark Kramer for defining collaboration in a new way. In their article, “Collective Impact,” in the ... Read more
Collaboration award winner shares six success factors
Feb 13th, 2012 | By: Cindy WillardWhat set the winning collaboration apart from the other 174 applications was the breadth and depth of commitment from all six organizations to full, unimpeded collaboration and the results this commitment had achieved in six years. From sharing funds to joint processes to group consensus on decisions, NCCHP functions in all capacities as a ... Read more
An insider’s response to “The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Winning Foundation Grants”
Sep 4th, 2012 | By: Cindy WillardFoundation grants are a key part of the revenue mix for many nonprofit organizations. Even though foundation dollars are only 14% of the total mix of charitable dollars (recent figures from Giving USA), they are important to organizations for a variety of reasons. However, the way foundation grants are made is often a mystery. ... Read more
Agreement in the trenches: less is more with foundation proposals
Mar 25th, 2013 | By: Cindy WillardI consider myself to be an optimist, but I am also a skeptic. So when I read Martin Teitel’s article on foundation proposals and his assertion that the mediocre proposals are not funded, I wanted to check this against both my personal experience as a funder and the experience of a group of development professionals.
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