Nonprofits

The best nonprofits are trying to solve all kinds of social issues by getting outside of their comfort zone, taking some calculated risks, and trying something new. I help nonprofits develop and execute plans to do just that.

“Fail, forward, fast.” The nonprofit sector would love to embrace this motto, but often resists. Trying to innovate while minimizing risk and wisely expending limited resources are what holds most nonprofits back. But not all.

A few years ago I was working with a nonprofit that offers behavioral health services. They had recently expanded their mission from offering treatment to also focusing on prevention. They were ready to innovate, but didn’t have the tools or the culture to support innovation.

But with support from a funder willing to make a significant investment, they were ready to take it on.

Thinking boldly, we created a plan that was different than anything they had done before. We developed specific tactics for each of our strategies. Most had not been tried by others in the field, so we decided to start small, to pilot before rolling out. We understood the risk: we could try something and it might not be successful. The first time we executed one of our tactics, it was not successful. We made some revisions and tried again. We made progress. And we have continued to make revisions. We created a culture of failing, forward and fast, but with risk carefully managed through a pilot approach.

The organization is now beginning to see the fruits of its bold thinking – impact.

Are you ready to be bold together?