From Survive to Thrive: Bold Solutions for Transforming Your Nonprofit

By Mark C. DiStasi

Enormous pressures are placed on nonprofit leaders to redesign their organizations to become more successful. From Survive to Thrive, BOLD Solutions for Transforming Your Nonprofit is a workbook and online learning tool that will inspire you to do the necessary work of transforming your organization to reach its full potential. Author Mark C. DiStasi, MSOL, guides you through a step-by-step process in which you look at the vital components for your organizations success.

The organizational effectiveness principles and methodologies presented in this workbook and online learning tool are based on consistent patterns implemented within dozens of successful nonprofits researched by Mark.

The authors website, www.fromsurvivetothrive.net, provides a series of video case studies. These inspiring videos present stories from nonprofit leaders as to how their organizations overcame certain obstacles to become thriving nonprofits.

Your organization is unique and faces specific challenges. You are the expert on your organization. This workbook will leverage and maximize your expertise to stimulate forward thinking and refocus your mission and vision, realistically transforming your nonprofit into the high performing and, ultimately, high impact organization it has the potential to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Feb 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781480825512

Mark C. DiStasi

Mark C. DiStasi, MSOL, President of BOLD Solutions, LLC, has held leadership roles in nonprofits, academic institutions, and businesses. His academic preparation includes a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership. Through his leadership roles in nonprofits, Mark gained an appreciation of the unique challenges that nonprofits face. Mark focuses on strategic planning and organizational effectiveness leading to improved outcomes. Mission-focused, purpose-driven, data-centric planning is the approach Mark DiStasi takes with his nonprofit, academic and business clients. Marks expertise has been instrumental in the development and implementation of several organizational designs and strategic plans for nonprofits, academic institutions and businesses. Currently, Mark also serves as adjunct professor at Cincinnati Christian University teaching Leadership.

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Copyright © 2016 Mark C. DiStasi, MSOL.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Front cover background image provided by BOLD Solutions, LLC

Cover design by April Koontz

ISBN: 978-1-4808-2550-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-2551-2 (e)

Archway Publishing rev. date: 02/03/2016

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Dedication

To my lovely wife, Agnes Marie DiStasi, and my wonderful children, Bernadette and Christian, for their tremendous support in this endeavor to serve others. Also to my siblings Mary Jo, Rick, Donna, Danise and Dino, for their encouragement throughout my journey of life and career.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Challenge One: Mission and Vision

Challenge Two: Board Development

Challenge Three: Staff

Challenge Four: Brand Strategy

Challenge Five: Leadership and Organizational Structure

Challenge Six: Operational Excellence

Challenge Seven: External Partners

Challenge Eight: Communication

Challenge Nine: Benefactor Relations

Challenge Ten: The F Word

Preface

From Survive to Thrive is for the dedicated and passionate nonprofit leader who is ready and willing to take the necessary BOLD steps to transform his or her organization. Having witnessed how nonprofits operate and serve others from a variety of perspectives in my career, it was obvious what made some nonprofits thriving, high performing and high impact organizations and what made others the type of organizations that simply survived day to day.

Knowing the challenges that nonprofit leaders face, From Survive to Thrive was developed as a resource workbook and online learning tool to provide them with information and resolutions to move their organizations from survive to thrive. Applying the resolutions to the various challenges presented in this workbook, nonprofit leaders will ultimately transform their organizations to become high performing and high impact nonprofits, ultimately carrying out more of their mission and serving more people within their greater community.

Nonprofit leaders face many challenges every day. From Survive to Thrive recognizes and appreciates the dedication and willingness of nonprofit leaders to make a difference in the lives that they and their organizations serve. This workbook and its accompanying online learning tool provide the BOLD Solutions necessary for nonprofit leaders to get their organizations on the path to fulfilling their vision.

Acknowledgements

My parents were extremely philanthropic. While they never called it philanthropy, they certainly lived it every day of their lives. My mother and father were second generation Italian Americans. On the socio-economic scale, we were right in the middle of middle class. My parents considered themselves to be very blessed. They knew that there were many others far less fortunate, and if they were able to help others, they certainly would. They served through their time and talents, and when possible, through their financial support. They were very supportive of their churches and the schools my five siblings and I attended. My parents were also involved with a couple of social service organizations that served struggling teens and their families.

My innate willingness to serve others comes from my parents. I am passionate about helping others in the hope that I may make a positive difference in someone’s life. I thank my mom and dad for demonstrating in their most humble way that serving others is not only a gift but a responsibility for the good of the community.

Writing From Survive to Thrive involved the expertise of many professionals. I greatly appreciate the eagerness and the assistance from the following people who were very involved with the development of From Survive to Thrive and its online learning tool.

Aaron Burgess, Ed.D Higher Education & Organizational Leadership

John Colmar

Debby Combs, MS Organizational Leadership, SPHR

Dr. Agnes Marie DiStasi

Lisa Fluegeman

Jeff Lasita

Jeffrey D. Rieder, MS Quantitative Analysis

Dan Sudkamp

Todd Uterstaedt, MS Organizational Leadership, SPHR, GPHR, CPLP

Kevin von Gillern

Thank you to my organizational effectiveness and strategic planning mentor Bob Hoeweler, Sr. Earlier in my career, Bob demonstrated to me and several of my colleagues the tremendously favorable impact organizational design and strategic planning have on an organization and those served by a high performing and high impact organization.

I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work with all of these people and many others, who, through their leadership at varying levels, inspired me to write From Survive to Thrive and develop its online learning tool.

Introduction

Provide BOLD Solutions that are simple, effective and tangible for leaders to use to help them get their organizations on the path to fulfilling their vision.

That is the purpose of From Survive to Thrive. This workbook and its online learning tool are designed to inspire, not overwhelm, a leader to transform his or her nonprofit into a high performing and high impact organization.

You are faced with many challenges in leading a nonprofit. From Survive to Thrive addresses the primary challenges and provides you with the resolutions to transform your organization for the better.

Each chapter is identified as a significant challenge instead of as a chapter. Throughout the pages of each challenge, there are clear initiatives presented that are simple in their design, but are BOLD in their transformation. Within each challenge are resolutions that provide you with the next steps necessary to get your organization on the right path to moving further toward its vision in a more efficient and effective manner.

A supplemental online learning tool accompanies From Survive to Thrive through the author’s website to serve as an additional resource for you and your organization. In April of 2015, BOLD Solutions, LLC conducted a survey focused on nonprofit organizational effectiveness. This survey went out to over 800 people across the United States who are affiliated with nonprofits. Several of the organizations that were recognized by the survey respondents as high performing and high impact organizations are featured in the online learning tool interviews.

On the website www.fromsurvivetothrive.net you’ll find the following information to access and share with others in your organization as you go through the various resolutions in transforming your nonprofit:

Case Studies

Video