Adapting to the Trump Era: Building Resilience Amid Chaos

Trump is our asteroid. The questions nonprofit leaders need to ask are: Can we adapt rapidly?  And, if not, will our organization become irrelevant?  Adaptation may require rapid deployment of new programs, immediate expansion or reallocation of resources, engagement with new partners, or mobilizing constituents in short order.  Resilient organizations will survive, and may even be stronger when this chapter ends.

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A Little Secret about Understanding Financial Data…

There’s a myth in our culture that more information is better.  More can be better, but only to a point.  If you know nothing, you’re usually at a disadvantage.  But if you are overloaded with information, you may be worse off than knowing nothing. You don’t need more information, you need the right information. 

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Nonprofit Association of Oregon—an Innovative Force in the Pacific Northwest

The Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO) is partnering with Public Interest Management Group on a pilot project for PIMG’s new organizational assessment process, Success Factor Analysis. Executive Director Jim White believes that, “this pilot fits perfectly into this need for measurable results.  It will help nonprofits understand their business models and operate effectively, and help us all understand best management practices.”

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Innovation—Separating Truth from Hype

Our culture seems to love the idea that big innovations and charismatic innovators drive change. But most good ideas and most useful innovations are, in fact, incremental. The world we know is the product of systematic, continuous improvement, not huge jumps. This is how innovation happens in the nonprofit sector. We should recognize and celebrate small, non-headline improvements, and exercise caution in embracing big new ideas or people who claim to have “the answer.” The next generation comes from all of us.

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