
Open Questions: The Ross Collective Blog
Sharing insights and stories on nonprofit strategy, racial equity and leadership

5 Steps for Nonprofit End-of-Year Planning
Planning helps us think about where we want to go…and the steps to get there.

Leadership is naming the hard stuff - and illuminating a path forward
Leadership is naming the hard stuff and illuminating a path forward

Three important lessons from a mentor who is no longer with us
Toni Littlestone was a Bay Area career coach who supported thousands of people over the years.

How a surprising royal lesson about stories and systems can help us make change
If you are a leader making change, you should also be thinking about how to make connections between individual stories and larger systems, and what you and your organization are seeking to shift.

Three tips for doing hard things – even when we feel like giving up
The Ross Collective creates spaces that support leaders to do things that go beyond their comfort zone.

How organizational values can intensify and improve fundraising and strategy
Conversations about organizational values matter because they give staff and board members the opportunity to talk about some of the questions that are most critical to the organization’s work.

How small experiments move us from grief to a joyful path forward
Small experiments create little successes that we can build on.


Four questions to lead inclusive, interactive meetings
For better meetings, ask these questions beforehand.

How managing change well can help teams embrace joy
How to use our leadership to guide our teams through transition.

Three big ideas to bring your team back together now with compassion and hope
Our framework to help nonprofit teams reconnect and find a path forward

Seven guiding principles for my leadership as a white facilitator
Guiding principles for leading as a white facilitator

How five minutes invested up front builds resilience and connection
It is more important than ever to build a positive organizational culture. How can nonprofit leaders do this now?

Three keys for nonprofit strategic planning now
Because of the shifts of the pandemic, many organizations are creating new strategic plans.

Right Now, the Radical Kindness and Love of a N95 Mask
Finding the N95 Actions that protect and support us and others

How to celebrate the powerful gifts we already have
If you experience abundance and privilege, how are you going to use it to move our world towards justice?

Three Steps to Move to an Abundant Shared Future
When we see that we have enough, we’re motivated to share power and resources.

This Thanksgiving, Holding Grief and Gratitude
Wishing you a gratitude-filled and heartfelt Thanksgiving.

Three steps to bring energy and empathy to your meetings
In this moment of uncertainty, nonprofit leaders must design meetings and conversations with structures that create space for what is emerging.