Category: NPOutlook

Choosing Gelato and the Value of Values

I tried a new gelato café that opened riverside in my town in the Fox Valley this weekend and had to make a difficult choice from about 35 amazing flavors. Do I take a risk, venturing into some new area of taste, or do I stick with the familiar, with...

“Your young men shall see visions”: Importance of a nonprofit vision

As an organizational leader, do you have a vision? Is your organization focused on a clear and broadly understood vision of your corporate purpose and future? “If there is no vision, ” a 1599 version of Proverbs 29:18 reads, “the people decay.”  Without a vision, missions can stagnate or waste...

Trust Me

The tough work of building organizational trust. Trust is a provisional grant that if not supported by action will be removed. It’s a slippery word because of frequent violations! Trust took a hit with the Joe Isuzu farcical television commercials of the 1980s, and Ronald Reagan redefined trust as he...

7 reasons nonprofits flounder or fail

By Jim Jewell A group of our friends led a wonderful start-up that was trying to bring new perspectives to the environment cause, to reach faith-based constituencies who were not traditional supporters of environmental concerns.  They had the plan worked out on paper, and even had a foundation to underwrite...

7 Disciplines of Highly Successful Charities

How to build the trust that fuels program growth By Jim Jewell  In the last year, some two thirds of Americans responded to appeals from charities for support of projects to meet human needs, create new initiatives, advance faith, and reverse wrongs. Nonprofit organizations received $298 billion in donations and...

The CEO’s new glasses (Lens of the Market)

One of the most difficult tasks in leadership is pointing the ship and keeping it focused every day, week, month and year, upon reaching a critical destination. To review: Having a clear understanding the values and vision of the organization (V of VALCORT) is essential for creating trust and getting...

Assets (Marketing Assets)

The core of growth is the ability to build and nurture trust.   The Four Stages of Trust is the blueprint to guide anyone into a high-trust relationship that creates change and fuels growth.  The Four Stages of Trust are: Shared Values Shared Vision Assumed Responsibility Always delivering on your promise...

Are values an acquired taste?

While I enjoy a cup of coffee every day, I know that I need to drink water. Water sustains life, coffee is a substitute, albeit a fine one. Growing up in my father’s house, tea was always the beverage of choice. Now I have to say, my first impression of...