TIPS F O R EVERY EXECUT IVE DIRECTOR STARTING A NONPROFIT
POINTS TO DISCUSS Make Time for Yourself and Family. Learn to Let Go. Find a Mentor. Know When to Stop Taking Advice. Your Volunteers Will Move on.
MAKE TIME FOR Y O U R S E L F A N D F A M I LY. " Running
a nonprofit in addition to working a full - time job is something that will eat all of your time if you let it. You have to set aside time for yourself to recharge, and separate time for your family so they know they ’ re still a priority t o o . ”
LEARN T O LET G O
“Focus
on putting the support systems in place you need to grow and to grow in a way that will keep your mission at the center of it all.”
Letting go of doing everything yourself is a hard lesson to learn because as a heartcentered executive director, you know no one else is quite as passionate about your mission as you are. While that may be true, there are still others who are passionate and qualified to help with day-to-day
Learn to let go of some of the control you’re holding over the organization and trust those who are qualified to work alongside you.
FIND A ME N TOR
Find someone you understand and who understands you, and then foster that relationship. Meet once a month or once a quarter to sit and talk. The ability to share your thoughts regarding the mental load of being an executive director will help you refocus on what ’ s important.
KNOW WHEN TO STOP TAKING ADVICE. If you haven’t experienced it already, you will soon. There’s something about running a nonprofit that brings out the advicegivers in droves. As you start your nonprofit organization, you’ll be receiving advice from friends, family, business acquaintances, donors, strangers — everyone! It’s a well-intentioned offering of help. It’s their way of helping you succeed in your mission.
Listen closely to each offering of advice. Examine it and see if it is indeed a good idea. Often, it’s something you’ve already thought of. Other times, it’s a piece of advice that simply doesn’t align with your organization or your goals for it.
“ When
someone — especially someone close to you or the organization — offers you advice, it’s okay to not follow that advice if it doesn’t make sense for your organization,”
“The
hardest lesson I learned is that even my most reliable volunteers will eventually move on, ” Beth said. “ Life happens, and sometimes your most active volunteer will suddenly step away. ”
YOUR VOLUNTEERS WILL M O V E ON.
Her advice for dealing with this: “ Have a training manual ready to go to onboard the next volunteer, so you ’ re not scrambling to continue to meet the needs of your nonprofit to keep it going. ”
She encourages nonprofits to have policies and procedures in place so everyone knows who does what and how to do it.
I N S TA N T N O N P R O F I T PRESENT
Thanks for Reading. .