Nonprofit Mission: Impact

In episode 87 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton and June Jimenez discuss: Making remote-work work for your organization Juggling the complex decisions facing nonprofit leaders regarding a potential return to physical offices Changing employee expectations We explore the experiences of organizations that are fully remote, emphasizing the heightened need for intentional connection, care, and frequent virtual interactions to maintain a sense of team and culture. Nonprofits are grappling with diverse approaches, from fully embracing remote work to dealing with financial considerations and strategic implications associated with maintaining physical office spaces. We unpack the myth of culture and innovation being dependent on co-location. We also explore the particular challenges of newer employees in understanding organizational culture when working remotely, and strategies for leaders to help integrate new staff in a virtual environment. 00:20:30: Decision-making driven by prior investments in physical office spaces 00:21:00 The myth of physical presence as a prerequisite for innovation and organizational culture 00:23:00:** Culture exists in both remote and co-located setups 00:24:30:** Younger employees challenges with integrating with organizational cultures 00:26:00:** Particular challenges for newer generations in navigating office culture remotely 00:28:30:** What leaders need to think about in terms of informal nature of information exchange in physical offices vs. remote settings. 00:29:30:** Strategies for helping new staff integrate, 00:33:30:** Training and development for managers successful adaptation to remote work Guest Bio: June Jimenez is an organizational development consultant to mission-focused organizations. June's work focuses on the people, systems, processes and technology needed to help organizations deliver their missions while experiencing tremendous change. June brings over 20 years of professional experience to each engagement gained through her work across the nonprofit, government and private sectors. June is a mother to a 10 year old rabble rouser, partner to a retired police and military professional and passionate about social justice. June received her Bachelor's degree from Cornell University and received her Executive MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Important Links and Resources: June Jimenez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimenezjune/ Register for the Nonprofit Leadership Roundtable (12/14/23 at 1:00pm eastern): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/760734085127?aff=oddtdtcreator Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In episode 86 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton joins with Danielle Marshall for another learning out loud episode where we do a deep dive into a topic. Today we focused on cultural competence or cultural humility and talked about ways for people to work on and enhance their cultural competence. Danielle defines cultural competence as the ability to navigate interactions effectively across diverse cultures, emphasizing the importance of valuing differences and recognizing that no social identity is a monolith. While it is easy to think that finding the time to improve your cultural competence is too hard, Danielle offers a practical five-step approach: Assess your starting point, Set your learning goals, Creating a learning schedule, Identify learning resources Continuously monitoring and adjusting the learning plan. Both discuss the significance of accountability partners and participating in both affinity and multicultural groups. They stress the need for ongoing self-monitoring and adaptability in the pursuit of cultural competency. Highlights: - [00:07:16] Definition of Cultural Competence; Cultural Competence/Cultural Humility - [00:17:16 Five Actionable Steps for Nonprofit Leaders in Building Cultural Competence - [00:23:16] Cultural competence learning plan - [00:33:16] Accountability partners and affinity groups - [00:39:16] Continuous learning journey Guest Bio: Danielle is an inclusive leader focused on strengthening collaboration among teams, leaders, and stakeholders to foster problem-solving, create solutions, and improve culture. She finds her inspiration in leading systemic change work that promotes equity and inclusion. Danielle founded Culture Principles in response to a persistent need to operationalize Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion metrics, centering REDI goals and creating accountability systems. She supports clients through her Mapping Equity Framework focused on Unearthing Knowledge, Elevating Strategy, and Transforming Sustainability. She centers her work around organizational assessment, racial equity learning intensives, and the development of racial equity action plans. Understanding that each organization arrives at this work from different perspectives, she utilizes assessment in building a customized strategy for each unique partner. Previously Danielle served as a non-profit leader for 20+ years and today works on strategy development that enables nonprofits to achieve equitable mission-driven results. Danielle holds a Master's degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Louisiana Tech University and draws on her background as an I/O psychologist in applying a racial equity lens to organizational policies, practices, and programs. She is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP)/ Executive Coach (ACC). During her playtime, you can find Danielle traveling, knitting, and kayaking in all 50 states. Important Links and Resources: Register for the Nonprofit Leadership Roundtable - Thursday, December 14th from 1-2 PM Eastern: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nonprofit-leadership-roundtable-tickets-760734085127?aff=oddtdtcreator Intercultural Development Inventory: https://www.idiinventory.com/ Learning Plan template: https://www.gracesocialsector.com/store/p12/Professional_Learning_Plan.html The Farewell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farewell_(2019_film) Sitting Pretty: https://bookshop.org/p/books/sitting-pretty-the-view-from-my-ordinary-resilient-disabled-body-rebekah-taussig/15391717?ean=9780062936790&gclid=CjwKCAiA9ourBhAVEiwA3L5RFoeTeGjbEOkDEOnqdXtTtl-IKnlhB3booxq0JCsSWUxy2DPPN_zNRxoCJnEQAvD_BwE Code Switch: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch https://www.culture-principles.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/danimarshall/ Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In episode 85 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton and Mala Nagarajan discuss organizational development, compensation structures, and critical discussions within nonprofit organizations. They explore the limitations of market-based compensation, the concept of a thriving wage, and the importance of aligning organizational values with employee compensation. Mala emphasizes the need for transparent and comprehensive approaches to compensation, touching on various factors such as areas of responsibility, risk assessment, and the significance of understanding one's relationship with money. In addition they explore how to integrate compensating for the emotional labor required in a role. They discuss the complexities of legal considerations and highlight the need for organizations to reevaluate traditional practices to foster a more equitable and holistic work environment. Highlights: 02:27: Creating equitable compensation models for organizations 04:50: Principles underpinning the work 08:16: The importance of interdependence 13:08- Transparency in compensation 16:21 Emotional labor and compensation 26:00 - Recognizing individual strengths and aligning them with organizational roles beyond just financial incentives 32:00 - Biases and values embedded in market-based compensation structures 37:00 - Implementing a thriving wage, distinct from a living wage 45:00 - The "conditions for readiness" necessary for successful implementation 53:00 - Assessing risk tolerance Guest Bio: Mala Nagarajan is a senior HR consultant who works with nonprofit organizations rooted in racial and social justice values. She is driven by a vision of strong organizations working collaboratively toward a common purpose and approaches her HR work with a values-aligned, people-centered, and movement-oriented lens. Mala is a consultant with RoadMap, a national network of consultants who work with social justice organizations. She helped organize RoadMap's HR/RJ (racial justice) working group. Mala has developed an innovative Compensation Equity Process and Calculator™ that reverse-engineers supremacy out and re-engineers equity in. It's an evolving approach accompanied with a custom tool that organizations can use to shift from a market-based to an anti-racist compensation model that centers those living at the intersections of multiple marginalized communities. Important Links and Resources: Mala Nagarajan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/malanagarajan/ Vega Mala Consulting | www.vegamala.com The MIT Living Wage Calculator: https://livingwage.mit.edu/ Hidden Brain episodes on budgets: https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/money-2-0-why-we-bust-our-budgets/ Learn more about Mala's compensation work here: Fund the People: Compensation Philosophy, NPQ-Compensation Equity: A Values-Based Framework & Implementation Guide, Top Tips to Stop Widening the Wealth Gap, Why Radical Human Resources is Critical for Movement Organizations, Equitable Compensation is a Risk Worth Taking, Brave Questions: Recalculating Pay Equity, Don't Put Metal in the Microwave and other Compensation Myths, Transforming the Workplace: HR Innovations, Pay Scale Equity Process and Calculator. HR resources: RoadMap Consulting: Human Resources and Justice: Addressing Racism and Sexism in the Workplace. Washington Nonprofits: Workers in Nonprofits. The Management Center: Making Compensation More Equitable. Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In episode 84 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton and Heather Burright discuss: how strategic planning, implementation and staff and volunteer skills development all fit together. We delve into the critical aspects of strategic planning and its effective implementation. I highlight the importance of aligning the implementation plan with the organization's regular processes and cycles, emphasizing the need for a shorter time frame for implementation, typically six months to a year. I also talk about the significance of continuous evaluation, tracking progress, and making necessary adjustments to ensure the successful execution of the plan. The conversation underscores the pivotal role of understanding and addressing the skills gap within the organization. Heather discusses how to identify the skill gaps that will undermine the success of your strategic plan and then the essential elements of creating a training program, focusing on relevance, meaningfulness, and a touch of fun to engage employees effectively. She emphasizes the importance of custom competency models and the value of building cross-functional relationships and trust within the organization to facilitate successful change management. Episode outline: (00:07:07) Strategies for Successful Strategic Planning Implementation Planning (00:11:09) Integrating implementation into your regular practices (00:12:36) Why training is a key piece to strategic plan implementation (00:16:11) Maximizing Impact Through Whole Organization Involvement (00:24:29) Listening to People: Key to Change Management Guest Bio: Leveraging 15 years of experience, Heather Burright, founder and CEO of Skill Masters Market, specializes in creating dynamic, people-centric solutions that drive business goals. With her comes expertise in strategies for diversity, equity, and inclusion; instructional design; and change management. She's dedicated to identifying core competencies that are needed to see real results and to creating the learning strategies and solutions needed to develop those competencies. Important Links and Resources: Heather Burright: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-burright/ Skills Masters Market: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/ Learning for Good podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learning-for-good-podcast-learning-and-development/id1621971310 Standards for Excellence Institute: https://standardsforexcellence.org/ Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In episode 83 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton and Alexander Lapa delve into the benefits of using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system like Salesforce for nonprofits. These include improved data management and streamlined processes. Alexander shares his expertise in setting up and optimizing CRM tools for nonprofits. He explains why having a consultant to guide organizations through the complexities of finding the right tool to meet where they are in their stage of development is helpful. The conversation also explores challenges in fully utilizing a CRM system and the need for training and support to empower users as well executive sponsorship. Integration, AI, and organizational culture in nonprofit CRMs are also discussed. Episode Outline: (00:08:30) Benefits and Challenges of Using a CRM (00:13:36) Leveraging CRM for Effective Communication (00:18:28) Integration and AI in Nonprofit CRMs (00:23:40) Challenges with CRM Adoption Guest Bio: Alex is a Salesforce Architect & Advisor who helps nonprofits improve their social impact. He has 10 years of Salesforce and nonprofit experience and 20 years of CRM experience. Aside from working on CRM projects, Alex is host of "Agents of Nonprofit". It's a weekly podcast that interviews guests about products and services which help nonprofits. It's often discusses the benefits of technology, and currently has nearly 70 published episodes. Alex also shares his experience in a short daily email, helping junior Salesforce consultants level-up their knowledge, deal with challenging clients, and advocate for a digital nomadic lifestyle. Episode Links: https://dryadconsulting.com/welcome https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlapa https://podcast.agentsofnonprofit.com/ Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In episode 82 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Danielle Marshall and Carol Hamilton have another 'learning out loud' conversation where we delve into the evolving landscape of nonprofit work, focusing on key themes: 🔥 Burnout and Beyond: We kickstart the discussion by addressing the prevalent issue of burnout, which has long haunted the sector. Discover how it has been exacerbated by recent events and how individuals and organizations are tackling it head-on. 🌟 Redefining Success: We dive deep into the changing definitions of success. It's no longer just about productivity and traditional measures. Learn how individuals are crafting new narratives and aligning their actions with their values. 💡 Deepening Impact: Explore the shift from relentless scaling to strategic deepening. We uncover innovative approaches to maximize impact, even with limited resources. 💼 Resource Reallocation: Get insights into how nonprofits are rethinking resource allocation. It's not just about budgets but also about investing time, human resources, and energy more intentionally. 🎯 Mission Focus: Discover the power of niche specialization. What are you doing to hone your focus to prevent mission drift and build confidence in your abilities? Do you have time built into your day or week for intentional and quiet reflection and strategic thinking? 🤝 Collaboration and Partnerships: We explore the art of collaboration and how nonprofits are building meaningful partnerships, passing tasks, and referrals, all while fostering trust and growth. 🌈 Well-Being and Productivity: Learn about the importance of individual and team well-being. How are you incorporating joy and playfulness into your life – inside and outside of work? Timestamped Outline: (00:03:47) Reevaluating values and redefining success during the pandemic (00:07:37) Fostering Internal Cohesion for Organizational Success (00:10:09) Redefining success through thoughtful resource allocation (00:14:19) Narrowing focus for increased impact and success (00:22:33) Creative thought organization with mind mapping (00:36:59) Redefining emergencies and prioritizing strategic thinking Guest Bio: Danielle is an inclusive leader focused on strengthening collaboration among teams, leaders, and stakeholders to foster problem-solving, create solutions, and improve culture. She finds her inspiration in leading systemic change work that promotes equity and inclusion. Danielle founded Culture Principles in response to a persistent need to operationalize Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion metrics, centering REDI goals and creating accountability systems. She supports clients through her Mapping Equity Framework focused on Unearthing Knowledge, Elevating Strategy, and Transforming Sustainability. She centers her work around organizational assessment, racial equity learning intensives, and the development of racial equity action plans. Understanding that each organization arrives at this work from different perspectives, she utilizes assessment in building a customized strategy for each unique partner. Previously Danielle served as a non-profit leader for 20+ years and today works on strategy development that enables nonprofits to achieve equitable mission-driven results. Danielle holds a Master's degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Louisiana Tech University and draws on her background as an I/O psychologist in applying a racial equity lens to organizational policies, practices, and programs. She is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP)/ Executive Coach (ACC). During her playtime, you can find Danielle traveling, knitting, and kayaking in all 50 states. Episode Links: ● Reflection tools: o Link to weekly review on Grace website o Link to 6 month review on Grace website ● https://www.culture-principles.com/ ● https://www.linkedin.com/in/danimarshall/ Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In episode 81, Carol Hamilton and Mary Hiland discuss the challenges and strategies of nonprofit executive directors working with their boards. They explore the importance of leaving a legacy and sharing knowledge, and how it inspired Carol to start her podcast, Mission Impact. Mary's book, "Love Your Board," is also discussed, focusing on the primary sources of trouble for executive directors when working with their boards. The conversation delves into the dimensions of capacity, connection, and culture within a board. They highlight the significance of building trust in board relationships and challenging assumptions in board recruitment. Additionally, they emphasize the need for emotional connection and individual check-ins with board members. Episode Outline: (00:08:52) Dimensions of Board Challenges (00:15:11) Building Trust in Board Relationships (00:21:39) Challenging Assumptions in Board Recruitment (00:27:55) Board Member Engagement Guest Bio: Mary Hiland Ph.D. is a nonprofit governance expert and leadership development consultant dedicated to helping nonprofit leaders lead effectively. Mary has over forty years' experience in the nonprofit sector – both as an executive and as a board member. She has been consulting and coaching nonprofit leaders for 20 years. Mary is a speaker, published author, researcher, and a business professor at her local community college. She is author of the #1 international best-seller: Love Your Board! The Executive Directors' Guide to Discovering the Sources of Nonprofit Board Troubles and What to Do About Them (2021) And Mary is a contributing author to four other nonprofit leadership books. Mary is the founder and host of the podcast: Inspired Nonprofit Leadership Episode Links: Hiland Consulting: https://www.hilandconsulting.org/ Inspired Nonprofit Leadership: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inspired-nonprofit-leadership/id1446218521 Talk with Mary: talkwithmary.com Alliance for Nonprofit Management: https://allianceonlinecommunity.org/ Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In episode 80 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton goes solo to celebrate several of the nonprofits that support and enrich her life. Nonprofit organizations play a crucial role in enriching our lives and communities in various ways. Carol discusses: Several organizations that support her brother who is deaf, autistic and developmentally disabled and help her and her family advocate for him, helping him live as fulfilling a life as possible. Organizations that have been part of making her local river, the Anacostia, less polluted and more fun to kayak. Organizations that make biking in DC better. Important Links: The Arc of Montgomery County: https://thearcmontgomerycounty.org/ By Their Side: https://www.bytheirside.org/ The Sibling Leadership Network: https://siblingleadership.org/ The Anacostia Watershed Society: https://www.anacostiaws.org/ The Anacostia Riverkeeper: https://www.anacostiariverkeeper.org/ Washington Area Bicyclist Association: https://waba.org/ Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In this podcast episode, Carol Hamilton and Susan Kahan discuss the importance of donor trust and nonprofit accountability. They challenge misconceptions about fundraising, such as the focus on overhead costs and the belief that it is a necessary evil. They argue for reframing negative attitudes towards fundraising in order to build confidence. The conversation also addresses the "overhead myth" in the nonprofit sector and emphasizes the need to invest in staff and create a healthy organizational culture. They discuss the challenges of asking for larger donations and stress the value of building relationships and learning from others in the field. They also highlight the importance of building a culture of philanthropy within nonprofit organizations and using donor feedback to improve programs. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the need for effective fundraising strategies and the importance of transparency and accountability. Highhlights: (00:00:01) Donor Trust and Nonprofit Accountability (00:06:05) The Overhead Myth (00:12:19) Building Confidence in Fundraising (00:18:07) Building Relationships in Fundraising (00:24:13) Building a Culture of Philanthropy (00:30:47) The Challenges of Nonprofit Fundraising Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn

In episode 78 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton celebrates Mission: Impact's 3rd anniversary and goes solo to talk about: The rise of the "dream job" How people are reconsidering the role of work and career in their lives The shadow side to pursuing your passion Important Links and Resources: Work Won't Love You Back by Sarah Jaffee The Good Enough Job by Simone Stolzoff The Sum of Us: How Racism Hurts Everyone by Heather McGhee Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen Be in Touch: ✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting 💻 Give us feedback on the show 📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact 👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend 🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review. 😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn