Want to Lead a Thriving Nonprofit Organization? Start with These Four Practices
How are you?
In these times of political turmoil, heartbreak and cruelty, so many of us are feeling a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness. What can we do?
Action is a response to powerlessness
One action we have taken: Last month, we taught Nonprofit Consulting through the Cal State University East Bay Nonprofit Management Certificate program.
The course was developed a few years ago: so many people asked us how to build a Nonprofit Consulting practice, we built a course about it!
Before the session started, we wondered - given the current funding challenges from the Federal regime and attacks on the nonprofit sector, is this the time to encourage students to become nonprofit consultants?
We were half right - and half wrong
As we expected, several of the students had experienced recent career transitions, including layoffs, as a result of nonprofit funding challenges.
And we were inspired by our students’ desire to take action: Students expressed resilience in the face of challenge and change. Each showed up to class motivated to learn practices that would help them become more marketable, generate income and be nimble and flexible in today’s workforce— as a consultant or in whatever role they take on next.
ID: dark green background, circle with four colors with the words Strengths, People, Testing, Systems
Four keys to doing better work as an organization or consultant
When we speak, teach or facilitate, we share actionable tools and frameworks that can be used immediately.
So the course is organized around four key practices that guide the strategic planning offerings of The Ross Collective, how we run our consulting firm, and how we recommend that aspiring nonprofit consultants build their consulting work:
Build a strengths-based consulting practice - or organization
Find your people
Conduct "tiny experiments"
Implement effective systems
As you read the list above, which of those practices resonates with you? Is there one (or more) that has most contributed to your organization’s success? To respond, hit Reply, we read all responses!
In the next posts in this series, we will share more about each of these key practices: How we support our clients to focus on each of them in planning and how they support the work of The Ross Collective.
And if you’re curious to discuss how these practices could support your organization, reach out to us. We have some openings for planning work in the last quarter of 2025.
