In a world where the old rules no longer apply, nonprofit leadership is more important than ever
Now in its second edition, Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership is a must-have resource for organizations of all shapes and sizes wanting to make a bigger difference in the world. Filled with real-life stories and concrete strategies, this practical guide helps develop the specialized skills and mindset needed to successfully lead and manage a stable and impactful world-class organization.
A lot has happened since Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership was first published in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 election cycle, and seismic economic and cultural shifts have transformed the nonprofit world. This second edition provides a wealth of new content and fresh perspectives on changes in the nonprofit landscape. Brand-new chapters bring the core responsibilities of board service to life, offer practical advice on how small nonprofits can have an outsized impact, discuss effective crisis management approaches, and deliver even more stories and lessons drawn from the Joan Garry’s work with thousands of nonprofit leaders. Throughout the book, the author shares new insights on topics such as managing crises, graceful exits, organizational transitions, and more. Honest, authentic, and sometimes hilarious, this book will help you:
- Gain a rich understanding of what it takes to lead a nonprofit
- Raise awareness and make the greatest possible impact
- Create successful and sustainable fundraising programs
- Reinvigorate your organization’s passion for its mission
- Work in true partnership with staff and board members
- Respond effectively to crises and avoid common pitfalls
Written by the former Executive Director of GLAAD and founder of the Nonprofit Leadership Lab, Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership is required reading for nonprofit board members, leaders, managers, and staff looking to make the greatest possible impact.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Second Edition ix
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xix
Chapter 1 The Superpowers of Nonprofit Leadership 1
A Quiz 3
You’re Not on Top of Anything 7
What Do I Do with All This? 11
What Was This Quiz Really About? 16
The Five Key Superpowers 17
The Real Power of Leadership 22
Chapter 2 You’ve Got to Get Me at Hello 23
Tell Me About Your Organization 27
In the Lobby - The Mission Statement 27
In the Elevator - the Pitch 29
Step Off the Elevator and Work the Room 31
Two Universal Challenges 31
A Compelling Story 35
Two More Examples for Emphasis 38
Practice, Kid, Practice 40
Chapter 3 Copilots in a Twin-Engine Plane 43
The Ideal Board Chair Profile 46
Recruiting the Ideal Board Chair 47
The Five-Star Board Chair Checklist 50
The Telltale Signs of Wrong 52
Playing the Hand You’re Dealt 53
Get It Right From the Start 54
Who Decides? 58
Chapter 4 Why Boards Matter 65
The Real Problem with Boards 66
The Big Why 67
We’ve Got the “Why”; Now on to the “What” 68
The Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards 68
How a Typical Board Operates 69
The Four Deadly Sins of Dysfunctional Boards 72
How Did We Get Here? 75
Get It Right from the Start 77
Transforming the Board You Have 80
Igniting Your Board 84
Put It All Together and What Do You Get? 92
Chapter 5 The Key Is Not in the Answers. It’s in the Questions 93
The Power of Deleting a Word 93
The Power of Inquiry 95
We’re All in This Together 97
Start at the Very Beginning 99
A Mission Sniff Test 101
What Success Looks Like 103
Big Dreams, Big Challenges, and Small Budgets 110
10 Final Words of Advice to Keep Handy 112
Chapter 6 You Can Do This 115
I Just Can’t 118
Yes, You Can 120
Yes, You Will Screw It Up 123
Case Study: Girl Scouts and Those Damned Thin Mints 126
The Board Can Take the Lead on Fundraising 132
Building a Culture of Fundraising in Your Organization 135
Saving the Most Important Lesson for Last 138
Chapter 7 Managing the Paid and the Unpaid 145
Managing in 3D 148
Having a Voice: Decision-Making 150
Having a Voice: Ownership 154
The Missing Piece: Clearly Defined Roles and Goals 157
What About the Unpaids? 159
The Clash of the Type A’s 162
Group, Team, or Family? 165
Retreats Are Nonnegotiable 169
My Retreat Recipe 169
Keeping the Keepers On the Bus 173
Supervising and Evaluating the Executive Director 175
Two Things Everyone in Your Organization Wants 177
Chapter 8 The Small and the Mighty 179
What I Bet You Don’t Know 180
Not All the Same Rules Apply 182
Nonprofit Founders 183
The Superpowers of the Small Nonprofits 186
The Kryptonite of the Small Nonprofits 189
Getting Unstuck and Scaling Up 190
Three Big Moves (Not Priorities) 193
Imagine 201
Chapter 9 When It Hits the Fan 203
How Are We Defining Crisis? 207
When The Light At The End of the Tunnel is An Oncoming Train 208
Building A Crisis Management Plan 209
Now You Are Set For When It Hits The Fan, Right? 213
The Dognapping That Wasn’t 215
Is A Crisis Preventable? 217
What Crisis Management Should Look Like 218
Financial Crises And Layoffs 220
The Main Thing 226
Chapter 10 Hello, I Must Be Going 229
Are These Folks Good at Their Jobs? 232
Board Chair Red Flags and Accountability 236
When the Staff Leader Isn’t Leading 241
The Five-Star Staff Leader Calls It Quits 249
Making a Great Hire 252
The On-Deck Circle 255
Setting a New Executive Director Up to Succeed 256
What Leaders Do During Vulnerable Times 260
Chapter 11 You Are the Champions 263
Bibliography 269
Index 275
