For Purpose Live

Fundamental Qualities of a Good Leader

March 17, 2022 04:00 - 15 minutes - 23.3 MB

As a busy Executive Director you might be overwhelmed by all the leadership paradigm shifts that are being offered out there, but good leadership is actually pretty simple and there are a couple of foundational things, that if you focus your time on getting those qualities right - you will have a ton going for you as a leader. Get your free masterclass at http://www.kotulo.com/startup Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/kotulononprofitacademy

Boost Your Organization’s Culture with these 3 Questions

March 10, 2022 05:00 - 20 minutes - 31.4 MB

Managing a team is tough. Many Executive Directors don’t have any supervisory or leadership experience before starting their nonprofit and unfortunately, that is all too evident to their volunteers and staff. Good culture can make or break an organization. Is this a place where everyone works together, feels valued, and feels like their contribution is meaningful, or is this a place that is disorganized, some people get treated differently or worse than others, and people aren’t rea...

Advisory Council

March 03, 2022 05:00 - 15 minutes - 24.6 MB

When developing an advisory council you want to make sure you define the core elements upfront. What’s the purpose of the council? How do they function? What are its policies? Who do you need and how and when do they meet? With all this laid out upfront, you are much more likely to have engaged advisory council members.

Writing Good Surveys

February 24, 2022 05:00 - 18 minutes - 26.1 MB

How do you feel about your surveys? Do you get a good response? Do you use all the data you get? As evaluation gains traction, more and more organizations are launching surveys. There are so many surveys, collecting so much data, but the truth is there are so many BAD surveys. Bad surveys ask for a whole bunch of data, take too long and worst of all are never really used for anything. In this episode, you will learn the survey basics to make sure your surveys have a purpose and are ...

Process Evaluation

February 17, 2022 05:00 - 14 minutes - 21 MB

In this episode, I want to help you apply an evaluation lens to your operations and processes. Hopefully, you have written some SOPs or policies, but we don’t just want those sitting on a shelf, right? We want to make sure they’re being followed and ensure that they are helping our organization be a well-oiled machine. So, process evaluation can help you get there. Here is the episode on developing SOPs: https://youtu.be/DYhaHogEziQ Get your free masterclass at http://www.kotulo.com...

Program Evaluation

February 10, 2022 05:00 - 21 minutes - 30.4 MB

When I started my nonprofit, measurement & evaluation was the last thing on my mind. I don’t even know if I had heard of it, but eventually, I realized even though I knew the work I was doing was impactful, I didn’t have much to show for it. I wasn’t collecting the right data to be able to really demonstrate my impact. This led me on a path to pursuing my master’s degree in Program Evaluation and now I look at everything with an evaluation lens. So, I want to break down what that me...

Standard Operating Procedures

February 03, 2022 05:00 - 21 minutes - 31.6 MB

I’m amazed by how many nonprofits I work with, even big ones, that don’t have standard operating procedures. This causes huge headaches because EDs feel like “how” to do everything lives in their head, and they are afraid if they delegate tasks, they will lose work quality. With SOPs you have a set protocol for staff and volunteers to follow so you don’t have to do everything and you know things are getting done correctly. Plenty of nonprofits know they should have SOPs but stopping...

Things Executive Directors Should Be Doing

January 27, 2022 20:30 - 20 minutes - 31.5 MB

One of the biggest complaints I hear from Executive Directors is that they do everything, or they wear ALL the hats. While the ED hat can encompass a whole bunch of things, you shouldn’t be wearing all the hats. In this episode I discuss the top three things that Executive Directors should be doing so you can make sure you’re spending your time where it counts. Get your free getting focused worksheet here: http://kotulo.com/focused Check out our episode on getting focused: https://w...

Keeping your Board Engaged

January 20, 2022 05:00 - 26 minutes - 39.7 MB

The success of an organization really starts at the top. You need solid leadership to make an organization thrive, and unfortunately most of the Executive Directors I speak to say their board is a pain point for them. A board is there to provide oversight for the ED and organization, as well as fundraise and contribute their time and talent, but many nonprofit leaders spend more time begging their board to get engaged and wishing they could hold them accountable to their commitments...

The Art Of Saying No

January 13, 2022 05:00 - 18 minutes - 28.7 MB

If you’re going to be focused in 2022 you need to get good at saying no. Saying no can be uncomfortable and feel unnatural for many of us, so I want to help you exercise your no muscle and let go of any discomfort or guilt you may have about setting boundaries that will keep you focused this year. In this episode you will learn: How to clear nonessential things from your life How to evaluate whether or not you should say no How to say no with tact

Celebrate Successes

December 30, 2021 05:00 - 15 minutes - 24.7 MB

I know people talk about celebrating successes, it might even be an agenda item at board or staff meetings, but do we really do it right? Do we really take the time to celebrate successes in a way that honors all we have done? It is so easy as executive directors of busy nonprofits to just move on to the next thing, but I think we all need to make a concerted effort to really celebrate our successes in a way that is meaningful and incentivizes us to accomplish even more In this epis...

Strategic Planning

December 23, 2021 05:00 - 18 minutes - 28.1 MB

You really should be creating a strategic plan each year. Some nonprofits don’t do this because they are too busy, others don’t know how to do them and they can’t afford a consultant, others do a strategic plan but its OVERLY complicated draining staff for the whole fourth quarter and unfortunately lots of nonprofits make a plan just to please the board but they don’t stick to it or maximize the plan to keep them focused on goals. It is important to make a plan and the good news is ...

Accepting Crypto Donations

December 16, 2021 05:00 - 24 minutes - 36.5 MB

Get your free Accepting Donations Comparison sheet at http://www.kotulo.com/crypto You would have to be living under a rock to not have heard about some type of cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, but up until now, it hasn’t really been on nonprofit’s radar as something they should be looking into. With approximately 3 trillion dollars invested in cryptocurrency, it is becoming quite popular and crypto investors have started to donate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and I’m here to t...

Getting Focused

December 09, 2021 05:00 - 21 minutes - 30.7 MB

You know why most nonprofits fail? The number one reason is LACK OF FOCUS. Without a clear mission stating what you are trying to achieve and without investing all our energy in mission-critical activities, Executive Directors find themselves trying to do everything for everybody and taking on the kazillion activities that are thrown at us but if we are going to build a sustainable organization and not completely lose our minds trying to do it we need to get focused and I’ve got som...

End Of Year Campaign

December 02, 2021 05:00 - 17 minutes - 26.6 MB

Do you know that you’re supposed to have an end-of-year campaign but you’re overwhelmed at the thought of coming up with an idea, creating the plan, and making the ask? The end of the year is a great time to ask for donor support and when most people do their giving so you don’t want to miss out on available funding just because you didn’t ask. An End of Year campaign doesn’t have to be complicated and even though there are only a few weeks left to the year it is not too late to lau...

Logic Model VS Theory of Change

November 25, 2021 05:00 - 16 minutes - 24.7 MB

Grab your free logic model template at www.kotulo.com/logic Join the facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/kotulononprofitacademy When I work with nonprofit clients to develop evaluative measures they often ask me, “Rebecca, what do we need?” What’s the difference between a logic model, a theory of change, which one should we focus on and how can they help us? In all honestly I most often get hired to help organizations develop a logic model because a grant requires one ...

Nonprofit vs For Profit

November 17, 2021 05:00 - 17 minutes - 25.6 MB

Check out my free masterclass at www.kotulo.com/startup Join the facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/kotulononprofitacademy I often get asked from those who have yet to launch their business whether or not they should start a nonprofit or an LLC or for profit. It’s a great question because there are some distinct differences and just because you are wanting to build a business around a social cause doesn’t mean it has to be a nonprofit, but there are some benefits to...

Write a Mission Statement that Doesn't Suck

November 11, 2021 05:00 - 17 minutes - 24.4 MB

You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to find a mission statement that concisely articulates the results an organization is trying to achieve. There are so many statements out there that claim to be mission statements, but they leave me, and I'm sure other stakeholders, confused about why exactly the organization exists. Today I want to share a few pointers to help you develop a clean and clear mission statement. Get your free masterclass for nonprofit startups at www.kotulo.com/...

You're a Big FREAKING Deal!

November 04, 2021 04:00 - 14 minutes - 20.2 MB

Nonprofit founders and executive directors take being humble to an extreme. Often when I am working with small programs and startups, I almost need to sell their program to them. Do I think arrogance and unchecked ego are good, no, but I feel like insecurity plagues way too many nonprofit founders and I’m here to tell you you’re a big fricken deal. Get access to the free masterclass: www.kotulo.com/startup Join the facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kotulononprofita...

Harvesting Results Trailer

October 14, 2021 04:00 - 14 minutes - 19.7 MB

Welcome to the harvesting results podcast! We are going to talk about everything nonprofit success including, nonprofit startups, leadership, operations, marketing, culture, building community, and my personal favorite, program evaluation. Make sure to join our facebook group - Kotulo Nonprofit Academy

Episodes