Budgets are necessary to answer two questions:
- How are we doing relative to what we planned to do?
- Do we have enough cash to do what we planned to do?
Budgeting 101
You have a Mission to achieve a Vision that solves a Problem. You have well-thought Strategies that directly address the Problem. You know what Actions you need to perform to execute the Strategies.
Now you need a Budget.
How to Delegate
Delegation requires the willingness to pay for short-term failures in order to gain long-term competency. -Dave Ramsey
The first part of “How” is “When” and the answer is, “As soon as possible, if not sooner.” Continue reading How to Delegate
Delegate or Die
You’ve found your passion. You’ve caught your vision and committed to a mission to achieve the vision. You have a perfect strategy and know the steps to execute.
Awesome!
Then you start to work and it hits. Continue reading Delegate or Die
Real – Win – Worth
There are lots of opportunities to apply for grants.
But grants require applications and applications take time, effort, and money.
Unless you have myriads of free grant writers sitting around, you can only apply for a finite number of grants. For most of us, that number is quite finite.
Resources spent pursing the wrong grant or losing the grant competition are resources wasted. So the most important decision you can make is, “Which grants do I invest in?” Continue reading Real – Win – Worth
Six Basic Questions to Answer Before You Apply for a Grant
We all want to sit down and start writing as soon as we get the grant guidelines, so we can demonstrate real progress. But this approach results in wasted time and effort and, in the worst case, failure to be awarded the grant. Continue reading Six Basic Questions to Answer Before You Apply for a Grant
The Corporate Model
Most nonprofit board members are volunteers. They don’t have hours of time to research issues, to generate and analyze alternatives, to coordinate with others, or to study the environment in detail. It is not possible for them to be involved in daily operations. Instituting the Corporate Model separates policy development from operations.
“We [Boards] should be discussing policy and strategy, not counting paper clips!” Continue reading The Corporate Model
The Big Picture
Managing a nonprofit is very nearly a science. There are certain fundamental steps that you must take to ensure an effective, efficient program. Sure, there are lots of issues in Human Relations and Development, but the fundamental management steps, from the board’s perspective, remain the same. Continue reading The Big Picture
Use Logic Models for Clarity
As I mentioned in my post on The Big Picture, a Logic Model is a useful tool to bring clarity to strategic thinking. Logic Models provide a clear, direct, causal, link between strategies, inputs, actions, outputs, and outcomes, in a single package. Continue reading Use Logic Models for Clarity