As a leader in the nonprofit space, you understand that running an organization requires hard work and dedication. As a leader, you know how the leadership qualities you have that help guide your team toward success. But what specific skills do successful nonprofit leaders need to develop if they want to successfully lead their teams?
In this post, we’ll delve into six crucial competencies—from public speaking to stress management—that all nonprofit leaders should strive to improve upon. Read on to learn how to expand your leadership skills to run a successful nonprofit organization.
Public Speaking
Public speaking is one of the most important skills for any nonprofit leader to develop. Giving persuasive and compelling presentations about your organization’s mission and financial needs is essential for building a strong base of donors, volunteers, and partners.
Public speaking also helps you become an effective advocate, represent your organization in civic discussions, and educate groups on how working together can make a lasting impact. With strong public speaking abilities, you can be confident that you will be able to represent your organization’s goals in any situation or venue.
Fortunately, this vital skill can be learned with practice-perfecting speeches and presentations as well as gaining experience from media interviews and occasional unexpected questions from volunteers and associates. Attending conferences and presentations from other leaders is a great way to learn best practices. Building your communication skills takes time, but it’s easy to practice while working towards your organization’s goals.
Networking
A skill that is often overlooked, but networking can make the difference in the success or failure of any organization. This can mean engaging with potential stakeholders, sponsors, or investors and being open to hearing new ideas from various sources.
Networking is key in getting the word out about your organization and the work you’re doing and almost any event can be a networking opportunity. This is your chance to establish relationships and build strong connections that can be beneficial to both parties. However, this will require confidence in presenting yourself and your organization well, so improving public speaking skills is essential to successful networking.
When you meet new people get their business cards, add their contact information to your phone, with a note on how you met them and what they do, and take the time to connect with them on Linkedin. An important part of networking, that is usually overlooked, is maintaining networks. You need to interact with your connections through social media, attend networking events, and invite them to your networking opportunities.
Time-Management
Any leader needs to hone in and practice their time management skills. It’s not only going to help your organization be successful, but it will help you take care of yourself while leading your organization. Figuring out your organizational style and the techniques you enjoy is first. Figure out what size calendar or planner you’ll need, if you need to have a hard copy, or if you can stick to digital calendars, and decide if you need additional help.
Being able to allocate tasks to others is an important part of time management. It is crucial, as a leader, to know which tasks you can complete and which tasks you need help to complete. You’ll also find as things get busier that you might need to schedule time for yourself and important things in your private life. There’s nothing worse than forgetting about a family member’s or friend’s event because of work.
Reading and Working with Budgets
This one could keep you from getting yourself and your organization in a lot of trouble. Learning to read and work with budgets and different financial statements might seem intimidating. However, this skill can be learned by simply reading and looking at other examples. Study other organizations’ financial records and evaluate case studies similar to your organization.
Problem-Solving
Utilizing your problem-solving skills is more about being able to think creatively and on the spot. You can start by playing puzzle games and looking at different case studies on organizational struggles. Also, try working with other people when problems arise, you can learn other techniques and see how others use their skills.
Being able to solve problems quickly, efficiently, and without creating additional stress or problems is a part of this skill. Learning to resolve conflicts in a productive way is beneficial for your organization and personal life. You might not always have the answers right away, but you take your time finding the answer.
Stress Management
Learning what is going to add to your stress and coping mechanisms to control that stress will help you in all aspects of your life. This skill is important for anyone to learn, but especially leaders, as your stress can affect the success of your organization.
Working with a trusted therapist and practicing mindfulness techniques are good ways to start learning about stress management. If you know your triggers and ways to cope with them, you’ll be better prepared for stressful situations when they arise.
While there are many skills required to help manage a successful nonprofit organization, these six are crucial. Furthermore, developing these leadership skills should be a constant pursuit, keep working on yourself. Improving your leadership skills is essential for any nonprofit professional as your actions and endeavors have a ripple effect on the entire community.
As any great leader would tell you, know that hard work and perseverance pay off—trust not only in your resources, but also in yourself. In the end, we all want to be significant figures that leave a lasting impact on this world; why not start with your own nonprofit?
As a leader, you know the importance of making an impact. Maybe you’ve dreamed of starting a nonprofit organization to serve your community in some meaningful way but feel overwhelmed by the process. We want to help lift that weight and make it achievable! Starting a successful nonprofit takes careful planning and hard work.
In this blog post, we’ll walk through the fundamental steps required for organizing your very own nonprofit organization. So let’s get started; find out how to create a robust foundation to truly make an impact in your community.
Research is everything
There are multiple aspects of research to focus on before starting your nonprofit. First, you need to understand the process you’re about to go through fully. Each state has slightly different requirements for nonprofit organizations, so start there. After you learn about the process this entails, you can make sure you’re nonprofit will be successful.
Secondly, you need to consider if you’re starting a nonprofit that will succeed. You also need to make sure you’re fully educated on the issue you’re approaching and other nonprofit organizations in the same niche. Ask yourself these questions to see if you’re on the right track:
Is this nonprofit being created to solve a problem?
Who, specifically, will your organization serve?
Are there similar nonprofits that are financially secure?
What will make your organization unique and successful?
Are you prepared to write a business plan and, subsequently, work to secure funding?
What are the costs of starting and maintaining your nonprofit organization?
Do you have people who you can trust to be on your board of directors and help you make this a reality?
Approaching this with knowledge and preparation will give you the best possible chance for success. Keep these steps in mind as you start planning and researching – legal obligations, board formation, mission statement development, and operational planning – and you’ll be on the path to making an impact in your community in no time!
Plan your operations
You’ll need to decide what kind of organization you plan on creating. You’ll have to make decisions on specific details to get started. FOr example, do you want to create a nonprofit corporation or a nonprofit association? Who will be the directors in the organization and what their duties will be? Additionally, what are the tax laws in your state? You want to make sure you are prepared so you don’t have any unwanted surprises.
You should also look into creating a mission statement that differentiates your organization from others. This will help people quickly connect with what your nonprofit stands for and why it exists in the first place. It sets the tone for how you want to present yourself to the world and is an important part of making sure people know what your nonprofit is about.
Creating a board of directors for your nonprofit organization can be one of the most challenging tasks, but it is essential to forming a successful foundation. Boards are made up of volunteers from different backgrounds that bring their expertise and perspective to the table. You should look for people with diverse sets of skills, experiences, and networks that will help you achieve your nonprofit’s goals.
Once you have a board in place, they can help you plan fundraising and marketing activities to ensure the success of your organization. This includes developing strategies for how to reach potential donors and sponsors, as well as creating a budget and fundraising plan to help you stay on track.
Fill out your necessary forms
There are a few forms you have to fill out to be a recognized nonprofit organization. You need to file your Initial Articles of Incorporation (Form 532B) with your Secretary of State. There might be some other things you need to file for your state or for your specific nonprofit, just do the research you need to figure that out.
This might be a good chance to start looking for grants and donors. Compile a list, or maybe a spreadsheet, with possible grants you can apply for and the requirements to do so. Taking this step early on will help you be prepared to make applying for grants and looking for donors a breeze. You also want to make sure you’ve filed for tax-exempt status, or as a 501(c)(3). This is an essential step to making sure you’re operating as proficiently as you can.
Before jumping into the world of nonprofit organizations, be sure you are well-prepared. Take the time to comprehend each portion of this process and remember that it will require hard work and effort. Research is the backbone of what makes a successful nonprofit; one must understand its mission statement, identify the services it will provide, plan operations, and file necessary forms. All these tasks may seem daunting; however, with enough motivation and dedication, your nonprofit can thrive. To put it simply: As Michelle Obama said “Success isn’t about how much money you have; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives”. Don’t underestimate yourself! Believe in yourself and your potential to transform lives through your nonprofit. Invest in some research today to prepare yourself for success tomorrow!
In recent years, the topic of quiet quitting has been getting a lot of attention. When an employee on a team slowly stops putting in the same effort or changes their working habits, it can be a sign that they are ready to leave. In this post, we will explore some of the symptoms of quiet quitting and what you can do to prevent it on your team.
What is quiet quitting?
The sensation of quiet quitting began with a TikTok video from Zaid Khan explaining the term. Zaid explains that people aren’t putting in their two-week notices but are starting to work less and be less productive. Quiet quitting might look like this:
Less interest in daily tasks and achieving goals
Projects taking longer, but not up to their usual standard of work
Being distant or even unfriendly toward coworkers
Actively looking for a new job but not telling anyone at your current job
How do you identify quiet quitting?
We are constantly stressing the importance of a strong human resources department, and this is yet another reason. You should be working with the HR department to evaluate and track employee performance.
It will be easier for HR to ask questions and get answers out of employees rather than have the person they report to address these issues. HR can act as a mediator between employees and management.
Before firing an employee, consider a few things:
Whether their recent poor performance is due to a temporary issue or if it is a permanent change.
Think about whether the employee was previously a high performer but has now lost interest in their work.
If there have been changes in their work situation (e.g. new team, new project), that could be affecting their performance.
Finally, have an open conversation with the employee to see if there is anything you can do to help.
Before giving up on an employee who seems to be quiet quitting, remember why you hired them.
How can you stop quiet quitting?
Once you understand why your employees are starting to act differently, then you can start to address those causes. This is a process that will take time, you should spend a couple of weeks working with employees to find causes. After identifying causes you need to keep working with HR to come up with solutions.
You will need to re-evaluate employee performance after an allotted amount of time to ensure your plans are making improvements. The next session is about different strategies you can take to improve employee performance and retention.
Work towards creating a better company culture
We’ve discussed this in other blogs before, both on this site and on our LinkedIn. In short, you can:
Define company culture clearly in your human resources manual
Connect people to your core values
Create a sense of ownership for your company’s success
Work towards building strong working relationships among employees
Give employees the freedom to make choices and express themselves
Promote a healthy work/life balance
Encourage employee recognition
Lead by example
Company culture is one of the biggest reasons people join a company and for people to leave. Building a strong and attractive company culture should be your first step to fighting quiet quitting and retaining employees.
Support employee’s mental health
Promoting positive mental health practices in our workplace can go a long way in improving not just the working environment, but potentially the lives of your employees. It’s important to work with your HR team about your options and how to take steps to improve working conditions
Hire and train strong leaders
Strong leaders will lead a healthy workforce. No matter how long they have been with the company, it’s important to remember that education is an ongoing process.
In an age of constant distractions, it can be hard to keep your office running smoothly. If you’re struggling to keep employees in your office, or retain them entirely, don’t worry – you’re not alone.
Our team can help you implement strategies to reduce absenteeism and promote employee productivity. With our help, you’ll be able to create a healthy workplace that retains top talent. Contact us today to learn more!
Here at Cultural Impact, we have spent over a year researching and working with different marketing tools. We also figure the cost of these services into our pricing so our potential customers know the tools we are using to help their businesses. Our marketing department did all of the hard work and research over the last year, and we wanted to share what we found.
Keep reading to learn more about the tools and services we use that have reshaped our business.
Marketing Tools
We’re going to start with tools and software. These digital marketing tools each have their own websites that we have linked.
Semrush
When we tell you that we are obsessed with Semrush, we’re not joking. This amazing software has over 40 tools available. While they are most known for their SEO tools, they also have tools for content creation and tracking content. They also have tools for completing keyword and competitor research, as well as social media management tools.
We will let you know that Semrush can be expensive, but it’s well worth it if you are using it and being consistent.
Price: We suggest checking out the free plan for beginners before upgrading to the Pro plan for $119.95/mo. Semrush has 2 other plans that are more expensive and have more perks. There are also several individual tools that you can buy to get even more out of Semrush.
Notion
This is a must-have app for anyone who loves staying organized or the opposite and struggles to stay organized. For those who love it, you can create so many unique possibilities for organization, tracking, and even writing. If you struggle with staying organized there are templates for pretty much everything. You can find the perfect template and get started on your organization’s goals.
Price: Free, templates are available through different sites for varying prices, or you can look at Notion’s template gallery.
Grammarly
Everyone has heard of Grammarly, so if you haven’t already added this extension to your browser, here’s your chance. You can also use their writing assistant for more than a quick grammar check.
Price: There is a free plan with essential writing help. The Premium plan is $12.00/mo or the Business plan for $15.00/mo. Full pricing here
Jasper
If you struggle with writing copy or have to write a lot of it then you need to check out Jasper. This AI writing tool creates unique and original content in a matter of seconds. From coming up with topic ideas to creating lists to helping with long-form blogs, Jasper really does it all.
Price: Jasper offers 10k words for free and then for 20k/mo the Starter plan is $29.00/mo
WordPress Plugins
We aren’t just a consulting service, we offer you all the tools to build your website on your own as well. While we offer three different website-building platforms, we prefer WordPress. WordPress is user-friendly, even for non-coders, and has plenty of plugins available to elevate your pages.
WordPress is probably the best website builder we’ve used, it’s easy even for those of us who have never built or developed a website. With a little assistance from YouTube or even a consultation with our team, you can learn how to build your website.
The following is a list of the plugins we use on WordPress, not only for ourselves but also for our clients who see the value in them and want to buy them.
Divi Builder
Divi was created by Elegant Themes but will work with almost any other WordPress theme. It allows you to create eye-catching, pages with minimal developer knowledge. If you want to learn more about Divi and how to use it, check out this Youtube video we found helpful.
Price: Divi starts at $89/year or you can sign up for their lifetime access for a 1-time payment of $249. If you can wait you might be able to get Divi for a discount, they regularly do promotions and specials so keep an eye on their website or social media.
Yoast
Yes, we use two different SEO tools, it’s an extra level of protection. Yoast is a WordPress plugin that will help you check your blog post’s SEO, including meta descriptions, slugs, image alt. text, and more.
This CRM (customer relationship management) tool is perfect l for growing and scaling businesses. Hubspot combines CRM, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, and CMS (content management systems) all in one place. Their tools are also easy to customize and, even for our not-so-tech-savvy marketing team.
This plugin is designed for WordPress and is as easy to use as SeedProd. Mailpoet is a drag-and-drop marketing service that makes creating and sending newsletters a breeze.
Price: The free Starter plan is great for that, starting, but the $8/mo Creator plan has more statistics and tracking. The $10/mo Business plan lets you send emails without the MailPoet branding. If you are running many websites then you will need the Agency plan which lets you use MailPoet on up to 50 websites.
TablePress
This is another free plugin made for WordPress that requires no coding or developing knowledge. You can create engaging and easy-to-create tables to use across your site.
Price: Free
Blog2Social
This plugin lets you share your website content alongside text, links, images, or videos to your social media. You can even schedule posts and share things from your pages or posts tabs.
Price: While there is a free plan, their Smart plan is $7.00/mo, the Pro plan is $11.00/mo and they have a business/agency plan for $29.00/mo.
If you found this blog helpful comment below with which marketing tools you’re going to start using and share this on your social media. If you need some help learning and utilizing these tools then reach out to our team.
Setting SMART goals for your business is crucial if you want to grow and expand. Unfortunately, setting loose goals or unachievable goals can do more harm than good. It can be easy to say, “I want to grow my social media,” but that simply isn’t enough. You need to set a specific, measurable goal that is attainable and relevant to your business with a time frame in mind.
Specific
What exactly do you want to achieve?
Instead of simply saying, “I want to grow my social media presence,” think about which platforms you could be using. After you know which platforms to use, figure out exactly what you want to do to improve your social media. Do you want to gain 100 followers? Do you want to get over 100 likes on every post? Maybe you need to be consistent on social media and your first goal is to simply post daily.
Measurable
How will you know you achieved this goal?
If you have your specifics figured out, making it measurable is pretty easy. Let’s say you want to gain followers, views, likes, or comments you can simply use insights on social media. On the other hand, if the goal is more logistics related, like improving sales by 100% or improving profit margins by X amount, then you need to find a way to track your progress. If you can’t track your progress, then how do you know what you’ve achieved?
Attainable
Can you realistically achieve this?
Some people are better at dreaming big than others. Make sure that the goal you’re setting is attainable for your current situation. Do you have the necessary skill set, resources, time, and energy to achieve this goal? Sometimes this is the part of the goal-setting phase where you need to decide if you need outside help. Hiring a consultant firm, like ours, can be extremely beneficial if you have the resources, but maybe not the time and necessary skills.
Relevant
Is this goal relevant to your current situation?
You need to make sure that the goals you set are relevant to your overall business plans and strategies. If you’re not getting website clicks, consider specific and measurable goals that will lead to an increase in website traffic. “I want to increase website traffic,” is not a SMART goal. This could be your main objective, but what individual goals will get you to that? “I want to increase my Instagram followers by 100 people by the end of the 2nd quarter,” is a SMART goal. It is specific, measurable, most likely attainable, and relevant to my current situation.
Time Bound
When do you want to achieve this?
The final step to setting SMART goals is to make sure you set a time you want to achieve it. In our last section, I used the example of, “I want to increase my Instagram followers by 100 people by the end of the 2nd quarter”. In this case, “By the end of 2nd quarter” would be your time frame. It can be a day, month, or time frame, you just need to set a time that you want to accomplish your goal. Think back to all those school projects you did, you always had a deadline to get them done. The more time you gave yourself to work on the project the less stressed and more prepared you were.
I’m sure we’ve all waited until the last minute to finish a project, but your business isn’t just a middle school project. Your business is your pride and joy, and you need to make sure you’re taking the necessary steps to grow and expand your business. If you need help writing up a business plan and accomplishing all of the SMART goals that you set, reach out to us. We have all of the tools and resources you need to be successful.
As a leader in the nonprofit space, you understand that running an organization requires hard work and dedication. As a leader, you know how the leadership qualities you have that help guide your team toward success. But what specific skills do...
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At the heart of every great company is a strong culture. It’s what drives employees to do their best work and helps companies attract and retain top talent. We even go as far as ranking the best businesses, the most influential being Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. What would being on that list mean for you and your business?
If you’re looking to improve your company culture, here are some tips to get you started. Use these tips to improve your company culture by creating a more positive, productive, and enjoyable workplace for everyone.
Define company culture and what it means to your employees
List your core values in your manual
Come up with a cultural ‘tagline’ for quick reference
Make sure your core values and tagline are visible in your business
Clearly lay out company goals and employee contributions to said goals
Every business is different in some ways, and it’s important to make sure the entire team is on the same page. There are a few things you can do to make your values clear.
Making sure that new employees know what to expect during the interview process will help keep your turnover rates down. Employee retention begins at your first interview.
Connect people to your core values
While it is important to list your core values in your manual, you might consider how you list them. Simply saying you want a focus-driven, hardworking team won’t relay much to your employees. Saying things like, “We look for team members who are customer-focused; who are willing to go the extra mile for our customers and our business.”
You don’t want to just list character traits, you want to give examples of how traits benefit your business. You want people to see themselves adding to your team, and know exactly how they can do that.
Foster a sense of ownership and responsibility for the company’s success
Take the chip off your shoulder and realize that while you might be the owner, none of this is possible without your employees. Make sure that they know that too, that they have a sense of importance and urgency to their tasks. If everyone isn’t contributing to their fullest potential then your business won’t be successful and that will hurt your employees.
Of course, you don’t want to scare your employees or add extra stress to their tasks, but just make sure they know their importance to you and your business.
Build strong employee relationships
As a business owner, it might seem hard to keep up with your business, customers, and employees. But, we promise you that this is a way to improve your company culture.
Plan monthly, quarterly, or yearly outings as a team. Schedule one-on-ones with each team member. Spend time working on employee engagement and building trust with your employees. Simple monthly meetings can go a long way to ensuring your employees feel respected and listened to by their leadership.
Get a calendar to put as many important dates as possible. Put all the birthdays you can, and not just your employees, try to figure out their kids’ birthdays and anniversaries are great to remember too. Get a bunch of gift cards and a set of blank cards to keep in your office.
You don’t have to go all out, a $10 coffee shop gift card and a happy birthday card can go a long way.
Let employees make choices, have freedom, and express themselves
More and more you are seeing people leave jobs because they are just simply not happy. For some, being happy with your day-to-day job, the company you work for, and the people you work for is more important than pay. Having a work environment that people feel comfortable in is so important. You want people to feel like they have some control over can help overall job happiness tremendously.
Allow people the freedom to decorate their desks or offices. Promote office creativity, let people have a say in the design aspect of the office, and have space for people to relax at work.
Reconsider your policies against tattoos, dyed hair, facial piercings, and other things deemed “unprofessional” by previous generations. Your claim could be for hygiene issues not to have visible piercings, but dyed hair and tattoos won’t hurt the quality of your product. Things are changing, and is it really necessary to stifle creativity at your company?
Promote work/life balance
The next generation of employees is not interested in spending all of their time working or thinking about work, and they will not settle on that. Time off, flexible work hours, paid maternity leave, a hybrid work environment, benefits and bonuses are just some of the ways to promote a steady work/life balance. Respect your employees’ lives outside of the office and we promise you will get more out of them in the office.
Encourage employee recognition
We know that in bigger corporations and businesses it can be hard to ensure employee recognition. There are quite a few ways you can be more consistent with your recognition:
Regular weekly, monthly, or quarterly rewards
Bonuses or incentives
Regularly thank your team in creative ways
Provide ways for your management and team leadership to recognize and reward their specific departments
Setting aside money in the budget for these things can go a long way. It can be as simple as providing breakfast once a month to ensure everyone feels recognized. You can also go all out and organize competitions to reward the hardest workers. There are several ways to recognize your team’s continuous good work and to foster even more hard work from your team.
Lead by example
All of these tips have a chance for you, as a business owner or corporate leader, you can take part in improving company culture. If you are doing these things, then you are showing your employees just how important they are to you. You can create a strong company culture by following these tips yourself.
Cultural Impact LLC
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