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There's no extensive handbook on leading non-profits... until now!
Beam co-founder Michelle Yue hosted a captivating evening in collaboration with Forward Global and The Freedom Fund to discuss the challenges and experiences of leading non-profits. The event celebrated the launch of Nick Grono's book, 'How to Lead Nonprofits: Turning Purpose into Impact to Change the World'.
Steeped in experience, our panel included Havovi Wadia, Director of Programs at Freedom Fund and previous CEO of Vipla Foundation, Laura Clarke, CEO of ClientEarth and Nick Grono, CEO of Freedom Fund and was skillfully led by Michelle Yue. We also had a fantastic introduction from Marie-Louise Gourlay, Managing Director of Europe, Forward Global.
The inspiring conversation kicked off with speakers sharing why they joined the nonprofit space and the unique challenges and joys they’ve encountered along the way. Highlights include:
📚 Leadership Lessons from Nick:
Drawing on his impressive career and a decade leading the Freedom Fund, Nick shared how non-profit leadership is unique:
No clear roadmap exists - power dynamics are different, as are the measures of success.
Purpose, people and partners are the keys to success
Dedicating a career to 'purpose' is an immense privilege
💰 Funding Wisdom:
Funding overheads is critical. This includes funding for technology infrastructure to support essential impact measurement. Nick urged donors to come along with nonprofits on the journey. Don't just talk to the team, visit and talk to the people experiencing the challenge first-hand. This will give donors a greater understanding of the organisation's decisions and needs.
📏 Size and Names (shouldn't?) Matter.
It was said that non-profits can sometimes be penalised for 'success' and growth. It is often at this stage when funders deem them to be 'okay', when in fact their needs are greater than ever, as is their ability to create impact. Stay the course with organisations you support. Grassroots organisations affiliated with larger brands can also suffer from a misconception that they're well funded.
⚖️ The Power of the Law.
Like technology, law can be used for good and bad. Law can drive change, and effective nonprofits use the law both as a new tool and a boundary to protect what matters. At ClientEarth, they're innovating the law to protect the environment. They blocked a coal plant, stemming potential CO2 emissions equivalent to those of New Zealand and won a case against a large airline for greenwashing.
🎯 Measuring impact:
Measuring impact can be challenging for non-profits, but is a non-negotiable. Compared to profitable businesses where revenue is the traditional measure of success, this isn't the case for non-profits. Speakers talked about making data open source and research available, to crowd in others.
❤️ vs. 🧠 Balancing Outreach & Action:
A great question from the audience asked whether our speakers lead with heart vs head (stories vs data) in fundraising. The answer? Finding harmony between head and heart—Havovi perfectly summarised that people relate to both, so stories that appeal to the heart and data that speak to the mind, both matter.
What an evening! You can purchase Nick's book below:
Thank you to everyone who attended and the team at Forward Global for your collaboration.
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