There’s one thing I love most about the internet – the ability to enter a phrase into a search box that describes a problem that you think is nameless, ill-defined, and without a clear solution and then discover through pages of search results that: (1) it has a name, (2) you aren’t the only one[…]
This is the fourth and final post in a series in which I implore nonprofits to do some critical reflecting and planning before you embark on any evaluation work or make changes to your data collection forms, tools, or processes. I think there are four key things organizations need to know when planning their evaluation[…]
Happy New Year! This is the time of year when many of us make resolutions or set goals. Lose weight. Learn a new skill. Build our networks. Save a certain amount of money. I am wired for quality improvement, so I still do this every year. Though, I could benefit from following some of my[…]
For years, I’ve had an image in my head that represented the results of nonprofits’ often piecemeal, reactive efforts to respond to stakeholder demands and ill-fitting funding opportunities. It can be a patched together, mismatched, less-than-functional mishmash of unclear intentions and unfocused efforts. In my research, I came across a term in home remodeling: subtraction[…]
As a consultant and grant-maker, I’ve read a lot of outcome statements – the good, the bad, and the ugly. From that experience, I’ve identified my top 10 tips for writing strong outcome statements. Overall, if nothing else, make sure your outcomes are meaningful, measurable, and manageable. This requires that they be specific. Read on[…]
In my last post, I argued that for continuous quality improvement work in nonprofits to be meaningful and make significant impacts on an organization, it must be: Intrinsically motivated Guided by our own definitions of quality Directed toward goals and driven to change Integrated, not siloed Applied and iterated In this post, I want to[…]
Why Should You Care about Quality Improvement? There is no shortage of well-meaning business leaders, public officials, and bloggers who think they’ve diagnosed what’s “wrong” with the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits are inefficient or poorly managed. Nonprofits need to think and act like businesses. Nonprofits aren’t innovative. I don’t get offended by or hung up on[…]
This is my third in a series of four posts that aim to provide nonprofits with some insights and tips for managing the multiple, sometimes overlapping, divergent, or competing demands of their funders. Last time, we pulled back the curtain to understand some explanations for some funder strategies. This week, I’m suggesting some ways nonprofits[…]
There have been a few distinct moments in my career when I’ve had the opportunity to pull back or step behind the curtain of some much-revered, awe- or fear-inducing thing. Each time, I’ve found that what’s behind it is often more manageable than mystifying. This was never more true than when I transitioned from my[…]
I’ve heard a few metaphors used to describe the delicate balance and skill required to secure, satisfy, and balance funding from multiple sources. Some describe it as a patchwork. Others describe it as a mobile, and if one side goes up or down, it unsettles the whole apparatus. Others describe it as juggling flaming batons.[…]