For leaders starting a nonprofit or scaling from zero to $1M+.
Practical lessons to help you build with clarity and confidence.
Practical lessons to help you build with clarity and confidence.
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Something Isn’t Working
Progress is slow. The results you hoped for aren't showing up. And you're stuck asking yourself a question that doesn't come with an easy answer.
Do I change direction or do I stay the course?
Get it wrong and the consequences are real. Pivot too early and you abandon something that just needed more time. Hold on too long and you waste years and resources on something that was never going to work the way you hoped.
I've been on both sides of this. And I've learned that knowing which one you're facing is one of the most important skills a leader can develop.
Welcome to NGO Joe
In 2015 I agreed to help my good friend start an international nonprofit from the ground up. How hard could it be? After all, I had been leading in the church world for over 20 years and I thought my pastoral background prepared me for the work ahead. And in many ways, it did. I knew how to work with people, navigate board dynamics, communicate vision, and lead through change.
But I was not ready for everything else.
Fundraising Is Partnership, Not Begging
Recently I was talking with a friend who works in the corporate world. He had just finished his annual review and asked how things were wrapping up for us at The Hope Effect.
We eventually started talking about next year and what we were looking forward to in our careers. Then he asked me a really honest question. "Do you ever get weary having to raise money all the time?" Without hesitation I said, "No."
Until We Meet Again
In 2020, my wife and I bought property in the mountains of Colorado. We thought we were moving for the outdoors, the quiet, and a long held dream.
What I didn’t know was that God would use a small mountain town to introduce me to one of the most influential people of the last decade of my life.
That person was Tiger Dawson.
Well… that was not the news I expected today.
A wonderful team member recently shared that her family is stepping into a new season of life and she will be transitioning into a new opportunity outside the nonprofit world.
So many emotions. I am cheering for her. I am grateful for the way she has served. She has been a blessing to The Hope Effect. She is a friend, not just a coworker.
And I will be a little vulnerable here.