Nonprofit news over the last year is telling a clear story: Collaboration between organizations is no longer optional or “nice to have.” It’s now a smart survival strategy. For example, in Central Oregon, funders are now requiring nonprofits to demonstrate collaboration in grant applications. In Nebraska and Iowa, two long-standing children's care organizations, Child Saving Institute and Children's Square, are unifying to both maintain operations and expand their service foo

Your organization has a clear mission. But do each of your employees have a clear purpose? 🤔 Ask a nonprofit employee why their organization exists, and they'll give you a compelling answer about the change they're creating in the world. But ask that same person to articulate the specific purpose of their role -- how their daily decisions and actions directly advance that mission -- and you'll likely get a fuzzier response. Most job descriptions list key tasks and responsibi

Image by Visual Thinkery “We know our onboarding needs work," the executive director of a synagogue told me during one of our early...

This past June, my wife Jen, daughter Romi (age 5), and I visited close friends in Burlington, Vermont, to be together and escape the...

Staying on top of changes in your field is vital for effective planning and execution. To make smart decisions, organizations need to...

Summer fundamentally changes how work gets done. Key team members become less available; senior team members and other decision-makers...

Cartoon by Robert Duncan I recently marked my calendar for two upcoming conferences (one for non-profit and the other for HR/People...

I first encountered the concepts of "technical and organizational debt" during my corporate consulting days. My client needed to identify...

Last month, I met with the Executive Director of a prospective client who was frustrated about how their staff meetings were going. "Our...

By  Dan Fast  and  Jodie Goldberg   Embarking on a new year is an opportunity that invites us to reflect on growth and set fresh personal...

Taking a Calculated Risk… Maybe So, Maybe Not This summer, I decided to branch out and try reaching new audiences for my business. I’m...

What the FTC Ban Means for You Imagine a world where you’re free to leave your job – any job – for a better opportunity without the...

By Dan Fast and R. Michael Satz We’d like to share insights from Temple B'nai Or's partnership with Ives Consulting LLC to create a more...

“I’m not giving up my life so some company can make a big profit.” When I read this quote from a worker in support of the newly proposed...

After publishing my latest blog on strategies for successful organizational change, I wanted to explore ideas about creating good...

We all have experienced big changes at our organizations driven by new priorities mandated by leadership – staffing changes,...

Last summer, I took a big entrepreneurial leap and started my own business. One of the most valuable lessons I've learned is how to...