Same Game, Same Players, Same Results: Engaging with the political machine.

A pretty scary realization hit me this week. I was in a room with about 35 young leaders, and when asked how many people had considered running for office about ten people raised their hands. When asked how many of those ten had changed their minds because of the current state of politics, about seven people put their hands down.

Click to read more ...

Unlocking the Mystery Surrounding Foundations

Whether you’ve researched grant opportunities, written a grant application or received funding from a foundation, you know that foundations play an important role in supporting and sustaining the nonprofit community. But, how much do you actually know about foundations? Do you know what distinguishes a private foundation from a public foundation? Or, how many foundations are located in Minnesota?

Click to read more ...

The Café is Open: The value of receiving peer feedback.

Every sector is unique. Each has its own set of insider lingo and modus operandi that may seem mysterious to an outsider. The nonprofit sector is no different, which is why networking in a room of new people that have little to no familiarity with the sector can often times turn into a cemetery of lost opportunities.

Click to read more ...

So that's how it's done? | 9 Tips for Building Your Network

The thought of networking intimidates many people, myself included. It requires you to put yourself out there, and that can be awkward. Having to go to an event to furiously pass out my business card and provide my very best sales pitch for why you should add me as your contact on Linkedin makes me want a drink. Unfortunately, I’ve found that effective networking is essential to building a career. Fortunately, not all networking is intimidating and you often get to meet a lot of interesting people.

Click to read more ...

My board of directors does what again?

How many board members should an organization have? It seems like an easy enough question, but when discussing a nonprofit board of directors one thing becomes clear, there is no one size fits all model for governance. At last Fridays Emerging Leaders Network Lunch, we dove into the topic “Nonprofit Board of Directors: Who are they?” And while we found that most answers to the questions raised didn’t have a clear cut answer, there are still some things everyone should know about the board of directors.

Click to read more ...