Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership
Because the world is counting on you.
Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership
Because the world is counting on you.
Resources Mentioned in the Book
Resources
Take the “How Strong Is Your Board” Assessment
Book: The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael Watkins
Book: Good to Great in the Social Sector: Why Business Thinking is Not the Answer by Jim Collins
Book: Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry M. Robert
Book: Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards by Barbara E. Taylor, et al.
Book: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
Book: Social Startup Success: How the Best Nonprofits Launch, Scale Up, and Make a Difference by Kathleen K. Janus
Book: Strategic Communications for Nonprofits by Kathy Bonk and Emily Tynes
Podcasts
It’s All About the Message (with Howard Bragman)
Extraordinary Nonprofit Communications (with Sean Gibbons)
Mission Control and Strategic Planning (with Liana Downey)
Turning Tragedy into Legacy (with Caroline Samponaro)
Anatomy of a Crisis (with Emily Klehm)
Leadership Transitions: How to Avoid the Mess (with Don Tebbe)
Your First 90 Days as an Executive Director (with Michael Watkins)
What They’re Saying…
Order the Book for a Chance to WIN!
For a limited time, I’m offering bonuses for people who pre-order my book. It’s my way of saying THANK YOU!
Enter the “Bring Joan to Your Board Meeting” Sweepstakes!
You can win a FREE 90-minute virtual workshop with me for your board! One lucky organization will win and the winner will be chosen on January 25th (so make sure to enter by then.)
I will dig deep with your board on a key topic. You can count on lots of interaction, a big fat dose of actionable advice, and my signature sense of humor.
Each book you purchase gives you a chance to win.
To enter, click the button below.
Extra Bonus: The 14 Attributes of a Thriving Nonprofit
Everyone who enters will also be sent a downloadable guide where I focus on what the best nonprofit organizations are doing right. My hope is this will inspire you and set an aspirational vision. Maybe your non-profit does a bunch of these really well (I hope so!), but we all have something to work on.
Bonus 1: The 14 Attributes of a Thriving Nonprofit
In this downloadable guide, I focus on what the best non-profit organizations are doing right. My hope is this will inspire you and set an aspirational vision. Maybe your non-profit does a bunch of these really well (I hope so!), but we all have something to work on.
Bonus 2: A Guide to Running a Great Board Meeting
In the “twin-engine jet” that is a thriving nonprofit, the board is a critical co-pilot. But nothing makes board members cringe and lose momentum more than board meetings that waste their time. In this bonus, I propose a framework for running effective meetings that bring goosebumps.
Inside the Book
Introduction: Nonprofits Are Messy
What’s Different About Nonprofits
You’ve got a poorly paid and overworked group (your staff) who rely on the efforts of people who get paid nothing (volunteers) and are overseen by another group of volunteers who get paid nothing and who are supposed to give and get lots of money (board.) All of this in the service of something that every single one of them cares passionately about. MESSY!
- How I nearly killed my development director
- My own story as the Executive Director of GLAAD
- The universal truths that lead to a thriving nonprofit
Attributes: The Superpowers of Nonprofit Leadership
What Makes a Leader Great?
Great nonprofit leaders have certain skills, work on honing core attributes and develop not only a real understanding of the nature of nonprofit power but an appreciation for it as well.
- The 5 key attributes of great leaders in the nonprofit sector
- Where the power really lies
- How any good leader can shift his or her approach to become more effective
Effective Communications: You've Got to Get Me at Hello
How to Attract Great People to Your Mission
Some organizations are easier to explain to folks than others. An organization that helps clients directly would seem to be the easiest; advocacy and lobbying often feel more complex and abstract. Schools can struggle to identify messages that clearly differentiate them from other choices parents have for their kids. But get this: even the easy ones don’t always get it right.
- How to communicate the value of your organization, even if it’s complicated
- The importance of a great elevator pitch and mission statement
- The 5 attributes of a story that sticks
Shared Leadership: Co-Pilots In a Twin Engine Plane
When The Staff and Board Work Together
Sounds like a great model, doesn’t it? Board and staff working as thought partners who, together, drive the organization forward led by two individuals who understand their roles, each of whom are passionate about their jobs and determined to do right by the organization. This chapter shows you how to get there.
- The single best sign of a healthy nonprofit
- Recruiting your ideal board chair
- How to build and nurture the board of your dreams
Why Boards Matter
Yes, Virginia, you can have a high functioning board.
This chapter unearths everything we are doing wrong, how boards become disengaged (or worse), and explains how to get it right,
- Marketing board service as a privilege
- The four deadly sins of dysfunctional boards
- Transforming the board you have
- Igniting your board to be five star ambassadors
Strategic Planning: The Key Is Not in the Answers. It's in the Questions.
Building Successful Nonprofit Strategies
President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Plans are useless but planning is everything.” Maybe it’s time to throw the word “plan” overboard and begin to think about strategic planning differently. It’s time to stop engaging in processes that suck the life out of the people involved. Instead, let’s breathe life into the organization and its stakeholders.
- The power of inquiry
- Getting everyone – staff and board – on the strategic bus as partners
- The 4 steps to a great nonprofit strategic plan (even with a small budget)
Fundraising: You Can Do This
Sustainable and Balanced Fundraising
Fundraising is about an invitation to join you in the remarkable work you do. It’s about building relationships that last. It’s also an art and a science, which means you will make mistakes, and a lot of people will say no. And that’s OK.
- How to get your board to fundraise successfully
- All the ways you’ll screw this up
- Asking for the “right” kind of money
Managing People: The Paid and the Unpaid
I Came to Change the World, Not Conduct Evaluations
There are some big differences between managing in the corporate world versus at a nonprofit. Nonprofit folks usually aren’t in it for the money. Some of them are even volunteers and make nothing at all. In this chapter, we discuss the attributes and motivations of 5-star staff and how to manage them so they never want to leave.
- How to build a real leadership team
- What the best employees have in common
- Ways to keep your superstars happy and motivated
The Small and the Mighty
Small Nonprofits Aren’t Small
Two thirds of all nonprofits have budgets under $1 million and two thirds of those are under $500,000. But small nonprofits can (and do) have outsized impact. The land of the small and mighty is unique – not all the same rules apply. But making three big moves can make all the difference.
- Diagnosing the assets and liabilities of the small organization
- Exploring the role founders play in small nonprofits
- Three big moves you can make to scale and thrive
Crisis Management: When It Hits the Fan
Crisis Management: Preparing For the Worst
Nonprofit leaders are by disposition an optimistic lot. They believe that with time, energy, smarts, strategy, and sheer will, they can improve society in ways large and small. So advocating that they take the time to think about the worst possible thing that could happen to their organization, sector, or to a client? Most don’t want to go there. But go there you must.
- How to build a crisis management plan
- What crisis management should look like
- Why Texas A&M’s approach to crisis management was so much better than Penn State’s
Succession Planning: Hello, I Must Be Going
Navigating Leadership Transitions
The only constant in life is change. But leadership transitions are the most destabilizing forces in the life of a nonprofit. And when it’s a five-star leader who says goodbye, it can rock an organization to its core. This kind of transition transfers power to a board that may or may not be prepared or capable of handling it. And then what about board leaders?
- The 3 kinds of board leaders
- How to tell if you have made a big hiring mistake
- What to do when a superstar calls it quits
- Succession planning done right