On a muggy Wednesday morning in September, two dozen South Florida nonprofits gathered at Consolidated Credit and wrote their goals on Post-It Notes…
- “Attract volunteers and bond with people.”
- “Create and engage partners.”
- “Build relationships with other nonprofit agencies.”
My favorite simply said, “Learn everything!”
This was the first-ever Practical Strategies to Strengthen Your Nonprofit, which brought together large and small and tiny nonprofits on Sept. 16. We created it for one simple reason: Nonprofits seldom have time to learn from each other. Every waking, working moment is spent serving their own important mission.
I have dual roles at Consolidated Credit. As Housing Counseling Director, most of my days are crammed with trying to help people get into affordable homes. But I’m also the Community Outreach Director, so when I meet my peers at other nonprofits, we always lament how little time we have to steal each other’s best ideas.
That sparked perhaps my best idea: Gather local nonprofit leaders – from Women In Distress to Neighbors 4 Neighbors to the Second Chance Society and more – to discuss year-end campaigns, donor retention, and board growth. And, of course, much more.
We invited several speakers with expertise in different areas. Example: Jennifer Hudson, a certified public relations specialist who runs ThinkBeyond Public Relations, led a practical conversation about how to apply core values “in powerful ways.”
What was revealing and moving to me…
I knew many of these leaders. I’ve spoken with them often over the years. But I never knew exactly what their challenges were, and how we could help each other do better and do more. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
“You need to do this every year!” one woman yelled out from the back when I was addressing the group halfway through the day.
