The Nonprofit Exchange: Leadership Tools & Strategies

Lynell Green is a highly accomplished strategic management consultant and executive coach, renowned for her expertise in unleashing leadership potential and fostering strategic growth. With over 40 years of experience, Lynell has successfully worked with an impressive roster of clients, including industry leaders at Meta, Netflix, X, Microsoft, and Hilton. Her unique combination of skills, including accounting, corporate management, and teaching leadership programs, allows her to provide invaluable insights and guidance to her clients. Lynell's ability to understand complex business strategies, navigate organizational dynamics, and develop effective leaders has consistently resulted in transformative outcomes for her clients. Through her coaching, Lynell empowers leaders to inspire and unleash the leadership potential around them, creating a ripple effect of growth and success throughout their organizations.

More at https://www.lynellsplace.com 

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Deep Dives into Good Books - Reading books definitely still matters!

For 26 years +, Randy has presented synopses of business books at the First Friday Book Synopsis in Dallas. In addition to his presentations at his public event, he presents extended versions of these synopses to leadership teams and groups within companies and organizations, in multiple arenas, including leadership teams in city governments. And for 20+ years, Randy has presented books on issues of social justice at the Urban Engagement Book Club, based in Dallas. Randy graduated from Abilene Christian University, where he lettered four years in Tennis; and then earned a Masters Degree from Pepperdine University, and completed classwork for a PhD from the University of Southern California, in Rhetoric and Public Address. (Yes, he is in the ranks of the infamous ABDs – all but dissertation).

The best way to grasp the complexity of issues is to read the best books by substantive authors on the subject. I have presented synopses son books by Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and renowned journalists, giving me a breadth of understanding regarding the issues of poverty, homelessness, and issues of racial justice.

More at https://www.15minutebusinessbooks.com 

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Many nonprofits want to receive grants to support their work, but are not successful in receive the grant awards. Dr. Toni Rockis shares her process for getting more grants.

Dr. Toni Rockis is a powerhouse in the world of education and grants. She began her career as a high school special education teacher, quickly rising to a statewide consultant for Vocational-Special Needs Education with the Illinois State Board of Education. From there, she became a Professor of Education at Illinois State University (ISU), all while working as a grant writer and educational consultant. On top of that, she served as Executive Director for two key organizations—the Illinois Vocational-Special Needs Professional Development Center and the Illinois Adult Education Center.

After leaving the university, Dr. Rockis brought her talents to the private sector as Vice President of R&D. In that role, she wrote winning grant proposals that brought much-needed career and STEAM development labs to elementary and high schools across the Midwest.

But that wasn’t the end of her journey with ISU. She returned to establish and direct the National Manufacturing Workforce Development Center, a major initiative under President Bush’s High-Growth Job Training Initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. Thanks to her leadership, community colleges across the U.S. launched successful workforce development projects that trained dislocated workers for lucrative jobs in manufacturing.

Over the years, Dr. Rockis has become a sought-after expert, writing professional development materials and speaking at national, state, and local conferences. She also had the honor of serving as President of the Grant Professionals Association. (GPA) Chicago Area Chapter for two years.

With an impressive track record of securing over $72M in grant funding for schools and educational organizations nationwide, Dr. Rockis continues to make an impact. She now leads Granted Inc., a consulting firm that helps nonprofits secure sustainable funding through grant writing. She’s also the visionary behind the Grants Made Simple Foundation, a nonprofit that teaches K-12 educators how to write grant proposals to expand their budgets and create new opportunities for their students.

Dr. Rockis is passionate about empowering others, and her dedication to education and community development shines through in everything she does.

More at - https://grantedwriters.com 

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Making sure you have the proper funding and support can help your mission. Letting go of some responsibilities can help the organization grow

LaMichelle Hecht, CPA, MBA is the owner and CEO of Overhead Solutions Group. She brings with her more than nine years of accounting experience, including accounting, audits, grant management cash flow issues, and consulting. She has help nonprofits both large and small prepare for audits, better plan cash flow and help with various accounting issues.

More at https://overheadsolutionsgroup.com/ 

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Open minds & Open hearts can shift how we observe new solutions that serve our communities. Shared empathy, compassion and curiosity Empowers young hearts & minds to participate. Transparency, Accessibility & Affordability will Engage a new generation of Philanthropists.

Revolutionizing Community Philanthropy - Via Engagement, Education & Empowerment - Transparency & Impact tracking, Shifting the mindset from Scarcity >"Giving money (donation) away" to Abundance > making an "Impact Investment" in their community. Serving Community Nonprofits with tools, data & insights to drive engagement, collaboration and reliable funding.

John Del Bello is a visionary entrepreneur with over 35 years of community involvement dedicated to revolutionizing philanthropy. He combines curated technology with accessibility and affordability, drawing from 2,500+ hours of research. Holding a 2020-21 Certification in Nonprofit Leadership & Management from Austin Community College’s top-ranked Center for Nonprofit Studies, he’s equipped with vital skills for nonprofit leadership.

More information at https://bgiving.one 

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Diane Strand is a serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker, and nonprofit founder. With a steadfast mission of providing access and career pathways for all in the arts, Diane leads her business with passion and purpose to help make this possible. She sets out to provide H.O.P.E. which Diane defines as; Helping One Person Everyday! She is the majority owner of the multi-award-winning JDS Video & Media Productions, Inc. The Producer at JDS Actors Studio where she has launched over 100 careers into the mainstream entertainment industry, and Founder of the nonprofit 501c3 JDS Creative Academy, where she works with youth, teens, and adults mainstream through special needs, at-risk and foster youth. Diane is the Creator and Executive Producer of the broadcasted and live-streamed TV Show Spirit of Innovation now in its sixth season delivering news and information for Riverside County and created the award-winning international event DigiFest Temecula.

More at - https://jdscreativeacademy.org

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Effective Brand Strategies for Nonprofits

It’s more important than ever to be able to stand out from the crowd, distinguish your organization, and be meaningful to your audiences. Understanding the relevance of your brand and how your organization meshes with people’s values and world perspective and meets people’s needs is crucial in today’s world.

Howard Levy is a brand strategist, award-winning creative director, marketing, and fundraising expert with a 30-year track record of helping organizations revitalize their brands, engage their audiences, and raise more money.

Notes: Nonprofit branding expert Howard Levy has helped hundreds of organizations overcome their inertia, wake up their brands, and reach a higher level of success. Recognizing the need for nonprofits to tell their stories more effectively to drive awareness, he founded one of the first marketing agencies focused specifically on the needs of the nonprofit sector 30 years ago. As President of Red Rooster Group, he’s partnered with organizations across a range of causes, revitalizing their brands to remain relevant. He has helped nonprofits to update their missions to meet the moment, change their names without losing their history, reframe their stories to expand nationally or internationally, and create cohesive visual identities to connect fractured chapters. 

More at - https://redroostergroup.com 

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Jason Kruger is kind of a badass when it comes to accounting. Don’t be fooled by his impressive resume and professional demeanor, he’s shaking up the way business owners think about running their organizations. Gone are the days of the traditional office model with an accounting team that stays with a company for 35 years and then retires with a pension. Today’s business owners have to make strategic decisions to optimize profitability. The only way to do that is with good data from their accounting teams. Jason’s 20+ years of accounting and business advisory experience puts him in a prime position to help guide business owners to make smarter business decisions. Often, that means choosing outsourced solutions to provide next-level expertise at a fraction of an in-house cost. Founded in 2008, Signature Analytics brings the expertise and benefits of large company financial and accounting tools and processes to small and medium-sized businesses and larger non-profit organizations. Since that time under Kruger's leadership, Signature Analytics was recognized as an Inc. 5000 company for FIVE straight years for growth and as a “Best Place to Work”. Signature Analytics still has a headquarters in Southern CA while delivering exceptional service to clients across the US. Before founding Signature Analytics, Kruger spent 10 years in public accounting, finishing as a Senior Audit Manager at Deloitte. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Arizona. With Kruger's expertise and Signature Analytics' commitment to delivering reliable financial insights, businesses and nonprofits can make smart decisions based on real numbers.

More at - https://signatureanalytics.com 

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You can become a thought leader by finding a framing your best ideas. The key is defining a very narrow niche, having an opinion and writing in a journalistic style.

Rhea Wessel is an American writer who helps companies grow their business by enabling their subject-matter experts with journalistic thinking and writing skills. As a journalist, she wrote thousands of stories for magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and BBC. As a writer for companies, she has penned and edited thousands more stories across 30 industries. Rhea is the founder and head of The Institute for Thought Leadership. Her book, Write Like a Thought Leader, was published in 2022. She is at work on version 2, which is focused on using AI to boost your thought leadership.

Website - https://www.instituteforthoughtleadership.com/ 

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Message from Katya Hancock: First of all, it’s hard to be a nonprofit leader and I’m cheering you on. I encourage you to: 1. Take care of yourself as much as you can. Take weekends off, take vacations/staycations, and take time to celebrate your wins. It can be so easy to stay in the day-to-day blocking and tackling of issues that pop up and move right past the moments that deserve recognition by you and your team. 2. Culture matters. Take the time to develop a culture guide, including your core values, what you stand for, who you want to emulate, and how you work. Share this openly with your team for feedback and make sure they’re bought in. 3. Borrow some best practices from the startup world. For example, funders want to hear about quarterly and annual goals as well as projections. It can be tough to make projections when you’re in a constant fundraising hustle, but this practice will ultimately help fundraising. Reassess annual and quarterly goals every 90 days with your leadership team. Lastly, if you’re an org working to help teens and preteens navigate tech, we’d love to meet you! Please reach out.

Katya Hancock is a mission-driven executive, entrepreneur, and public health champion with more than two decades of impact leadership across healthcare, technology, and philanthropic ventures. Katya is the founding Executive Director of Young Futures, a nonprofit on a mission to make it easier to grow up in the digital world. Young Futures was founded to help young people and their families to not just survive, but flourish as a team when meeting the uncertainties of this digital wilderness. Prior to Young Futures, Katya spent a decade as a founding team member and Chief Impact Officer of StartUp Health, an organization dedicated to achieving health moonshots: the world’s most pressing health challenges, including mental health, health equity, access to care, children’s health, and women's health. During Katya’s tenure, StartUp Health’s portfolio grew to 500 companies in 30 countries. Katya has also worked as an operator across multiple startups, including helping to build two successful fintech startups from the seed stage to acquisition by Fortune 500 companies. For Katya the Young Futures mission is personal. She lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband and two young children, Oz (9) and Coco (7).

More information at https://www.youngfutures.org/ 

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