In our blog this week, Jennifer Chen Speckman, Director of Westside Domestic Violence Network (WDVN) and current participant of the Strong Field Project Leadership Development Program, urges readers to break the binds of the "single stories" that can often dominate, define, and stifle movements. Only when full stories are told can true understanding, engagement, and solutions emerge. Do you agree?
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We’re happy to share with you Zach Hochstadt's post on organizational messaging which originally appeared in Mission Minded’s blog. We’re going to make available more of Mission Minded’s great thinking on branding and messaging for nonprofits in upcoming CompassPoints of View blog posts. Keep an eye out!
BoardSource recently released Leading with Intent, their 2014 index of nonprofit board practices (download for free from their website). In this post, CompassPoint governance consultant and trainer Marla Cornelius looks at the report’s findings in the area of inclusion, a critical component of board culture, and what might be behind a concerning disconnect revealed in the data. She encourages executives and board leaders to read the full report and bring the information that they find most useful to an upcoming board meeting.
Emily Cohen Raskin is the executive director of O2 Initiatives, where she directs the O2 Sabbatical Award program. In addition to her role with O2 Initiatives, she also serves as Senior Associate at Hirsch & Associates, an advisory firm that works with families, foundations, and corporations to maximize the impact of their philanthropy.
Last month, the Akonadi Foundation launched the Arc Toward Justice Leadership and Solidarity Program. CompassPoint is excited to facilitate a cohort of twenty dynamic leaders working toward a racially just society for youth of color in Oakland. Over the next year, this group of leaders will explore leadership frameworks, learn about strength-based leadership, dive into coaching, and engage with themes of self-care and sustainability.
At CompassPoint, we believe that nonprofit leaders and social change makers are more resilient and can work sustainably when they have a practice of self-care. Embedding self-care into our work has become a theme for our own organization and a fundamental part of how we work alongside others to create sustainable ways of moving toward change.
At CompassPoint, we use coaching as a powerful tool to deal with challenges, foster self-awareness and move forward to action. Whether you regularly work with a coach or not, coaching questions can be a powerful way of sparking new insights and setting goals. Below, we’re sharing a list created by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management's Coaching Affinity Group that you can you use to take stock of last year and prepare for 2015.
What does it take to thrive as a board chair? In this post, CompassPoint governance consultant Marla Cornelius shares key takeaways from one of our newest programs, Thriving as a Board Chair. This cohort based learning experience for board chairs blends CompassPoint’s governance content, expert facilitation, and peer learning. Do her reflections resonate with your board experience?
In this her final blog for CompassPoint as a staff member, Senior Project Director Marissa Tirona shares her leadership learnings from her seven-year tenure. We wish Marissa all the best in her new role as Director of Blue Shield Against Violence and, while we sadly say farewell to her, we move forward assured and thankful that our paths will continue to cross and intertwine in our work for greater social justice.
Office moves are an inevitable fact of nonprofit life. In this blog, CompassPoint Director of Operations Sarah Gort shares lessons and resources on how she organized and led a thorough, creative, and enjoyable (yes, enjoyable!) organizational move that meshed with our culture and goals – and was a resounding success.