Sloan’s Post

In honor of Women's History Month, we want to highlight some incredible female leaders at Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee. Meet our Chief Financial Officer, Christine Skold. We asked, "From your journey, what key advice do you have for young women aiming for leadership roles in nonprofits?" Christine said, "Advocate for yourself! Work hard, volunteer for assignments, and find a mentor who is dedicated to your success. These actions will empower you to navigate challenges and achieve your goals." "Advocating for yourself is essential for personal and professional growth. It involves actively seeking opportunities, speaking up for your ideas and goals, and owning your career path. Working hard is another crucial element, as dedication and perseverance often lead to success. Volunteering for roles and assignments not only showcases your skills and capabilities but also opens doors to new experiences and learning opportunities. Additionally, finding a mentor who can provide guidance, support, and valuable insights can help you navigate challenges and achieve your goals. Combining self-advocacy, hard work, volunteering, and mentorship can contribute significantly to your success journey."

“Philanthropy practitioners, institutions and the sector at large are questioning themselves and their practices, continuing to learn and exchange ideas on how they can do better. The transformation agenda is the result of an ongoing quest to be better and do better. To help clarify what that means in practice, we have identified ten key principles to guide philanthropy’s transformation.” Principles – Wings

“Philanthropy practitioners, institutions and the sector at large are questioning themselves and their practices, continuing to learn and exchange ideas on how they can do better. The transformation agenda is the result of an ongoing quest to be better and do better. To help clarify what that means in practice, we have identified ten key principles to guide philanthropy’s transformation.” Principles – Wings

The holiday season is a perfect opportunity to connect with your team and give back—but don’t just plan any activity. Make sure your holiday initiatives align with your organization’s core values. Here’s a tip: Partner with a nonprofit that reflects your organization's core values. Whether it’s supporting sustainability, education, or social justice, aligning your giving with your values reinforces what your organization stands for and inspires your team to rally behind a meaningful cause. Need more ideas on how to bring your core values to life this season and beyond? Download my "50 Ways to Bring Your Core Values to Life" for practical, value-driven inspiration! https://lnkd.in/gbr-7htr #CivilityAtWork #CoreValues #Leadership

Drawing on insights from a range of field experts, “Reimagining Nonprofit Governance: How Did We Get Here? Where Might We Go Next?” provides historical context that shows how traditional governance models were designed in ways that are counterproductive to our aims, asks questions that allow us to reexamine assumptions about leadership and power, and gives examples of new modes of working together that chart a better path forward. https://lnkd.in/ehy6P2kK Laura Chen

As we head into giving season, here’s the most impactful thing you can do for your communications: Know who you're talking to! (And just as importantly, who you WANT to be talking to—spoiler alert, those may be two different groups.) While this may sound obvious, you'd be surprised how often nonprofits overlook this crucial step. Understanding your audience is key to creating emails, social media posts, and campaigns that resonate and drive action. Recently, we worked with a client who was facing low email open rates and limited social media engagement (this is the opposite of what they wanted as they were attempting to dramatically increase their donor base). By simply tailoring their communications to specific audience segments, we helped them double their open rates and increase their social engagement by 20%, ultimately driving more eyes, and $$$, to their organization. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your org’s communications or unsure where to start, we’re here to help you streamline your strategy for a successful giving season. Let's ensure your message reaches the right people at the right time. 👉 Learn more about our Marketing and Communications services: https://lnkd.in/dfqq6V6w Hannah B. Maggie Stillman #NonprofitCommunications #NonprofitMarketing #NonprofitFundraising #GivingSeason #AudienceTargeting #FundraisingSuccess #CommunityImpact #EndOfYearGiving #PhilanthropyCoach

Check out this important conversation about accountability for progressive foundations. Change is going to come. Now is the time for it.

Have you seen our new blog?! Our new blog focuses on Jason Bunch his legacy of giving. “I hope by sharing that I can inspire others to see what’s possible – recurring giving, legacy giving, and now inspiring others. That’s 3 ways I can help!” - Jason Read the full blog by Clicking Here: https://lnkd.in/gUg_cFqX

Are you a learning organization that is thinking of updating your values, as your work grows and evolves? Why should organizational values stay the same when organizations grow and adapt? In our view, they shouldn’t! As a learning organization, we constantly reflect on what’s working, where we can improve, and how to maximize our impact. That’s why we recently revisited and refreshed our core values, to ensure that they reflect our ongoing commitment to justice, equality, and community empowerment. 🌍💜 From centering women’s voices to fostering trust and collaboration, these values guide everything we do. Learn more about how we’re 'walking the talk' in this blog by WomenStrong staffers Xue Bianca Zhang Hannah Barrueta Sacksteder: https://lnkd.in/eYHNbDiu

Elevating & celebrating Sarah Fanslau who CoLabL engaged this week in a professional development session we facilitated with the Taco Bell Foundation team focused on impact evaluation. I met Sarah many years ago in our work together at Points of Light and have always been impressed by her drive to advance effective nonprofit research and evaluation practices. Some key takeaways... 👉🏾 Balance a focus on identifying what specifically drives impact and how we can do no harm in our programming as well. 👉🏾 When we co-create strategic plans including goals and KPIs with key stakeholders including program participants, we cultivate buy in and engagement that is more sustainable. We create less bookshelf ornaments and more relevant roadmaps. Theories of change and logic models clarify the North Star including short and longer term desired outcomes. 👉🏾 Programs and organizations can not and should not try to do it all -- when we say no, we give power to our yes🔥 👉🏾 Commit to always be learning from quantitative and qualitative data and make continuous improvements in our programs, operations, development, and partnerships. 👉🏾 Regardless of resources available, get started -- observations, focus groups, surveys, existing research and evaluations outside of our programs -- challenge our assumptions while practicing empathy and seeking to understand what is happening at the micro and macro levels. Grateful for your partnership and expertise, Sarah 🙏🏾 #nonprofit #CSR #philanthropy #socialimpact #change #research #evaluation #youthdevelopment #scholarship #highered