282: How Can Strategic Planning Transform Your Nonprofit? (Nikki Stewart)

SUMMARY

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Armstrong McGuire & Associates. Check them out for your next career opportunity OR for help finding an interim executive or your next leader.

How do you transform a strategic plan from a daunting task into a powerful tool for leading your nonprofit? In episode 282 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, we explore the transformative power of strategic planning with Nikki Stewart, Executive Director of Old North Illuminated. Nikki shares how the pandemic reshaped her organization’s approach to planning, from confronting drastic revenue losses to rebuilding with a focus on a more inclusive narrative around history. She emphasizes the importance of crafting a roadmap that balances innovation with operational needs, and how to engage both funders and staff. 

ABOUT NIKKI

Nikki Stewart is a creative and collaborative leader with over 15 years of nonprofit management experience. She serves as the Executive Director of Old North Illuminated, which operates Old North Church & Historic Site, a role that blends her strategic leadership and fundraising expertise with her passion for connecting audiences to local history. Nikki previously served as the VP of Development at United South End Settlements (USES), where she led the organization’s fundraising and communications efforts through an ambitious growth phase that included the implementation of a five-year strategic plan and launch of a capital campaign. AFP Massachusetts named Nikki the 2019 Outstanding Fundraising Rising Star. She launched the Change Maker Dinner series, which was awarded the Get Konnected GK10 award in 2018, naming it one of the top 10 ideas advancing racial equity in the City of Boston. Nikki received a Juris Doctor and bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University. She is a graduate of the Course in Exponential Fundraising at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, as well as the Institute for Nonprofit Practice. 

EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCES 

• Ready for your next leadership opportunity? Visit our partners at Armstrong McGuire
• Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi  
• Have you gotten Patton’s book Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership: Seven Keys to Advancing Your Career in the Philanthropic Sector – Now available on Audible
• Don’t miss our weekly Thursday Leadership Lens for the latest on nonprofit leadership