Thinking about starting a nonprofit? Struggling to fund your nonprofit? Overwhelmed? Before starting a nonprofit, learn the 7 Stages of a Successful nonprofit and get clarity on what should be done to start, fund, and run a profitable nonprofit organization before spending a dime.

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7 Stages of the Nonprofit Success Roadmap

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Fostering Dreams Project
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Podcast Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11):

Hey fam, it's your girl, Amber Wynn, Philanthrepreneur, and I'm excited about 2024. A lot of changes are in store here on air with Amber Wynn. And as I wrap up with new episodes and some new additions to the format, I wanted to revisit probably the most important episodes on the show, the nonprofit success roadmap*. Because when you stage your nonprofit, you save yourself hundreds of hours in sweat equity and thousands of dollars out of your pocket because you're not focusing on work, your organization isn't ready for it. Here's the thing, you have to be honest. If you've been self-funding your organization for the past 5, 10, 15, 20 years, don't say, oh, I have an accurate budget, or I have a clear mission. Because if you did, you wouldn't still be self-funding your organization do something different to get a different result. Okay? So take a look at the seven stages of the nonprofit success roadmap* to determine where your organization is and work to move toward the next stage and look out for new episodes.

Speaker 2 (01:24):

Welcome to On Air with Amber Wynn, where nonprofit leaders learn to fuse passion and commitment with proven business strategies to create long-term funding impact and sustainability. And now here's your host and resident, Philanthrepreneur, Amber Wynn.

Speaker 3 (01:45):

Hello fam, it's Amber, your resident Philanthrepreneur. And today I'm so excited because my moniker is that I provide nonprofit founders with the roadmap to long-term sustainability and funding resources. And today I'm going to share with you that roadmap. Listen, there's so much information out there on the internet. Is it free? Yes it is. But there's so much out there that you can easily get overwhelmed. But today I'm going to outline for you the nonprofit success plan. It's a pathway to alleviate some of that stress and overwhelm. So before we get started, because I have a lot of information to share with you, let's hear from one of our sponsors.

Speaker 4 (02:31):

Do you have a tool that organizes your company's paperwork and takes care of all your record keeping? Does your current record keeping systems send you 90 day alerts to remind you that your key documents are about to expire and need to be renewed? Can you find contracts and procurement opportunities in seconds from any of the 50 United States so you can grow your business?

(02:57):

Is your business organized? So that can tell which key documents are needed to efficiently run the business? How about woman-owned small business or disadvantaged business enterprise certifications? You have a checklist of all the key documents you need to become certified. Does your current system allow you to conduct market research from multiple sources and provide you industry and market data in seconds? Well, small BizPro does all of that and more small BizPro is the number one business management compliance, procurement assistance and market research assistance tool on the market today. Download the app now and you will be amazed. It's like having three additional employees working for you, but you don't have to pay them. What are you waiting for?

Speaker 3 (03:43):

And we're back. You're here with On Air with Amber, and today we're going to talk about the nonprofit success roadmap*. Now, the reason why you want to follow a success roadmap* is because there is a roadmap for creating a successful nonprofit. A lot of founders with passion and commitment get out there and they just make it up as they go along. And what that does is that sets you back. There is a roadmap. And so when we talk about the nonprofit success roadmap*, there are seven stages. So let's just jump into it. Stage zero. If you're in stage zero, you're thinking about starting a nonprofit. You're not quite on the path yet, but you probably have had an experience that's made you think that your community needs help either because there's a missing or because there's not access to something or because you had an experience where you wish someone was there to help you.

(04:37):

You believe that you can do something to improve that situation and you're passionate and you want to make a difference, but you may not know how to actually go about starting a nonprofit, how to set it up, who your target audience audiences or how you deliver your services all is that you feel a need to make a difference in your community. And so if this is where you are, then you're at the very beginning of the success roadmap* and you're not quite on it, like I said, but it's an exciting stage because you have so many choices. And my goal in this stage is to help make sure that you come out with all of the information that you need to determine whether or not you should even start a nonprofit. Because just because someone told you you should, doesn't necessarily mean that you should.

(05:21):

There are so many alternatives to starting a nonprofit and you can still make a difference. So that means you'll have a full understanding of the role, the function, the benefits, and the challenges of a nonprofit. You'll be able to answer the question, should I start a nonprofit? So everything about Stage zero is about making an informed decision. Stage one, starting a nonprofit. If you are at this stage, then that means you've already determined the name, you've developed the mission statement, and you've created an organizational purpose or philosophy for your statement. You may be wondering, besides being the founder, like which role should you occupy? Should you be the executive director? Should you be the president? You may think that you can be both, but you can't. We will dive into all of that in stage one, but you'll also learn what it actually means to start a nonprofit because that actually has two meanings.

(06:14):

One is forming the legal entity with the local, state and federal agencies. But two, starting a nonprofit actually means building your organization's all important infrastructure. And most founders skip this section, but you're going to learn why at this point in developing your organization the very first stage, why it's so important to funding. Then stage two, developing your purpose. You're getting clear on the need in your community and your organization's capability of meeting that need. Once you start submitting your grants, your purpose, your purpose is especially important because that's how funders determine whether or not they're going to fund you. So in this stage, you're going to crystallize your mission statement so that you have all of the essential elements that funders are looking for when determining who they're going to fund. This stage is essentially the north star of your organization. So everything you do from developing your programs to building your website, from your collaborators to creating your fund development strategy, everything that you do centers around your organization's purpose.

(07:24):

And in stage two, that's where we develop that stage three, developing your programs. Now, you may think it's really simple just to say, I'm going to do tutoring or I'm going to do technology. But from a funder's perspective, it's important that you have really clear goals and objectives and that you know who your target audience is, what type of programs you're going to deliver, and how those programs are different than everybody else's. So this stage is all about the little nuances that go into producing deliverables that help funders understand the impact that you're going to make in your community. A lot of consultants and other organizations may focus on what you do. I tend to focus on what the funder's looking for because at the end of the day, you're going to do what it is that you do, otherwise you wouldn't start at your nonprofit.

(08:19):

My purpose is to make sure that your organization is funded. So I'm going to look at everything. I'm going to set up everything from the perspective of a funder. So in stage three, we want to make sure that by the end of this stage, you will officially have all of the basic foundation for a nonprofit organization. If you just start a nonprofit, put three people on a board and just roll out, then there's some very fundamental elements of your organization that are missing. In stage three, it's all about creating program descriptions that's going to help funders understand what services you'll be delivering and the impact your organization will be making in your community. So I'm talking a lot about the nonprofit success roadmap*, and if you are taking copious notes, you can stop because I am going to make sure that I have a description of each one of these stages for you in the comment section.

(09:16):

So you'll be able just to click onto the link and download each one of the stages. And just to reiterate, for those of you just joining me now, hi, it's Amber. You're on air with Amber Wynn, Philanthrepreneur, and I'm talking about the nonprofit success roadmap*. This path is for people who are thinking about starting a nonprofit or who already have a nonprofit, but they're confused about what to do. The nonprofit success roadmap* lets you know if you're at this stage, here are the things you should be doing, or here are the things you should already have in your nonprofit organization. It's important that you stage yourself so that you understand what it is you should be focusing in and not wasting your time on things that you shouldn't even be wasting your time. So the nonprofit success roadmap* is going to help you crystallize every element of your organization.

(10:07):

It's going to help alleviate all of the stress that you have from what should I do, what I should be doing? We're going to stage yourself, and then from there, you'll know exactly what type of things you need to work on. This is going to save you hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars, and it's going to give you the clarity that you need to move forward in your organization. Alright, so let's get back to the stages. Stage four, build your leadership team. So most nonprofits, like I said before, will put three people on their board and never think about it again. It's a huge mistake because your board is responsible for not only helping you to guide the organization, but to fundraise. So on stage four, we'll talk about the board and how you go about recruiting an effective board that's going to help you and increase your capacity because a lot of times my amazing nonprofit leaders think that they can do it all, and when they get into it, they realize that they can't and they get burnt out.

(11:05):

So it's really important when you're building your nonprofit to build it with a leadership team that's going to help you move your organization forward. And it's also important to understand that every nonprofit goes through a couple of cycles. You've got your initial inaugural board, and those are usually people who believe in you and support you. But then as you develop your organization, those people tend to rotate off and then you get more seasoned board members, people who can actually give you access to resources. So stage four is really just giving you an insight to how you build your organization and what type of leaders you need, and just understanding that that's going to evolve over time. If you are already established and you're struggling to get your board engaged and fundraise and support on a consistent basis, stage four will help you with that. You may be wondering, how do I even recruit seasoned board members?

(12:04):

Do I pay them? The answer is no, but you may be saying, well then why would they serve on my board In stage four, you're going to understand how to do all of that because it's a process, right? There are board recruitment essentials that every successful board recruitment strategy needs. So if you are in stage four, you're laying the foundation for work-life balance, which is extremely important in a nonprofit because nonprofit leaders get burnt out. Having a powerful leadership team means that they're going to do some of the work, and that gives you work-life balance. And that's important to me because I want my nonprofit founders and executive directors to be around for a long time, and it's great that you're serving your community, but I don't want you to burn out. So stage four is about building your leadership team. Stage five is about building systems.

(12:57):

Remember, a nonprofit is a business. It's just a business with a philanthropic purpose. You are going to hear me saying that over and over and every episode, every time my mouth opens, you're going to hear me say that a nonprofit is a business. It's just a business with a philanthropic purpose. So in stage five, you're going to be building systems, right? You're going to get your organization ready for funding. What does that mean? That mean you have to set up processes to receive funds, to produce financial statements, and to generate compliance reports. These are essential elements of running a business. If you want to get funded, the funder needs to have financial statements, and if you don't know what it takes to generate financial statements, then you don't qualify for funding. So in stage five, we're going to talk about that you're implementing business practices that show funders they can trust your organization with managing in its investment.

(13:53):

Remember, nonprofit funders, their role isn't to give you money. Their role is to accomplish their mission, their funding goals. And so in order for them to know that they can trust you, you have to have basic business processes and systems in place, and that's what you're going to get. In stage five, funders are looking for indicators that their investment will yield tangible results, and that's what they ask. That's why they ask for financial statements. So there's absolutely no way of getting around it, right? You can't run an organization on a wing and a prayer, it can't be raggedy. You have to provide your funders with some type of proof that if they give you money, you'll be able to track it and you'll be able to determine, they will be able to determine that they got a return on their investment. So in stage five, we'll help you set up the processes, the systems to facilitate these funders requests, and you'll be able to look the part because looking the part is half the battle, but at the end of the day, in stage five, we'll help you look like a well-oiled nonprofit organization.

(14:58):

So today we're talking about the nonprofit success roadmap*. We're on stage five. There are seven stages in this path, and it's important for anyone thinking about starting a nonprofit or anyone who already has a nonprofit to stage themselves to understand where they are so that if there's something missing or if there's something that they need to do, they don't waste their time in stage seven when they're really in stage one or two. Alright, so let's keep it going. Stage six, build your credibility. Now, the nonprofit sector is a very small community. Funders talk to each other. That's why a lot of these nonprofit organizations continue to get funding because a funder will say to another funder when they're sitting on these different boards, oh, you should check out the Institute for Nonprofit Management. They are amazing. Their reports are on time. They're like, oh, really?

(15:53):

And then they'll go and they're like, oh my God, they are amazing. And they'll fund them. Likewise, if your nonprofit is raggedy, they're going to say, stay away from that nonprofit. They don't ever turn their reports in on time, they mismanage their money. So it's important that you build your credibility. And in stage six, I explain what that looks like and what the things you should be doing are. Number one, you should be making your organization more competitive for funding. What does that mean? That means you need to build collaborations and get visibility building your portfolio of social proof of your organization's successes. Nonprofits are notorious for doing the work and not tooting their own horn. It's important that you toot your horn as loud as you can because that's how funders learn about what it is that you're doing. If you are on social media, and if you're sending out e-blasts, if you're doing things to let people know about the wonderful work that you're doing, you have testimonials and success stories, funders get to see that you are worth investing.

(16:55):

So we talk about that in stage six, right? We want you to stand out from your competitors. It's a small community and there's never enough money to fund everybody, so you want to rise to the top. And in stage six, we show you how to focus on building visibility, credibility, and an amazing reputation because these are the keys to consistent funding. So this stage focuses on nonprofit marketing strategies that'll help you tell your story, the difference your organization is making in the lives you're impacting and what that impact looks like. Stage six is extremely important to nonprofit funding. And then we have the last stage, which is stage seven, building a sustainable nonprofit. It's the final stage on the nonprofit journey, and this is when a nonprofit is really just rocking and rolling and they're really ready to scale, meaning you want to uplevel, but you're not quite sure how, because scaling requires a strong foundation and it's going to require a lot more investment, financial investment, social capital investment, but it's about having the right processes in place, the right team to help you run them and preparing yourself for the mindset to really grow.

(18:14):

You're not doing the same things the same way. You're doing them differently, you are stepping out. So that means more responsibility, more influence, but it's really about investing more in the building and planning for bigger impact. It's about thinking 10 years out and then putting those things in place that's going to get you to those 10 years out. If it's a endowment campaign, if it's trying to get people to put your organization in their wheels, that's like thinking about the future, but it's also preparing you so that you can be around for the long term. So as I said, Sage seven is about upleveling. It's about growing your team so that you can focus on really what really matters most. So if you are a nonprofit founder and you've been running this organization for 10, 15 years, you should be success planning, right? Succession planning, who's going to run this after you?

(19:08):

You've been doing this work for 20 years, and if you die, it's going to die with you. You don't want that. Upleveling means that your organization that's been making a difference in your community will be able to continue to make a difference in your community because you are bringing in the next generation of leaders who's going to take your organization to that next level. So this is a stage where knowing your numbers becomes essential to your success because those numbers will influence your decision making in your business. And those numbers will show funders why they should invest in your organizations. So in stage seven, you'll be doing a case for support. You're going to say, over the last 20 years, these are the number of clients that we've helped. Here's the outcome, here's the impact, but here's the area that we could really use your support or with additional funding, we could even do more.

(19:58):

So when you're first starting off your nonprofit, you're so in the weeds trying to get your organization solid, trying to get money in consistently, but in stage seven, you figured out the formula for running your organization. In stage seven, you want to take it to the next level. So that is the nonprofit success roadmap*, and it's a high level overview of the nonprofit journey. But when we talk about a roadmap, I need you to understand that there is one, you don't have to get out there and try to figure it out. The first thing you want to do, and I'm going to put the link again in the comment section so that you can download and look at yourself. Do I have these things? If you have these things, then yes, you go to the next stage. Do I have these things? And if you do and you just keep going till you get to that stage where you're like, oh, I don't have that.

(20:48):

So now you know exactly where you are and you know exactly what you need to do as you move through each stage. Remember, it all boils down to these three things, launching, growing, and scaling a highly successful nonprofit business. And it starts with understanding that you need to attract, convert, and keep your funders. All of that comes down to having a solid infrastructure. And all of that is what you learn is what you do is what you accomplish when you travel along the nonprofit success roadmap*. It sounds easy because it is easy. I'm not saying that you won't have to work because you will have to work, but following the path is very clear. Knowing what stage you're in will help to save you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars and wasted time and money, and it will give you clear steps to take goals to accomplish, and outcomes that you need to achieve.

(21:47):

And understanding where you are on this nonprofit journey is key to growing your funding nonprofit strategy. So I'm excited to introduce this to you, and we're going to go through each level. I'm going to explain to you, if you're in this stage, this is what you should have. And if you don't have it, this is how you get it. So today we're talking about the nonprofit success roadmap*, and again, I'm going to put a link so you can download what each one of those stages look like. But for now, we're going to pause and we're going to hear from another sponsor.

Speaker 5 (22:27):

Starting a new career in a new sector with unfamiliar job titles and new jargon can lead to frustration and burnout.

(22:37):

What if you had an easy way to get up to speed to learn the key elements of successful nonprofits and the critical steps we should all take to maximize our impact? Introducing the nonprofit Essentials certificate. Three short interactive courses that cover three critical areas. What makes a nonprofit a nonprofit? How nonprofits raise money and skills needed to build a thriving career in the nonprofit sector, interactive exercises and actionable advice from nonprofit experts help bring clarity to key concepts and the end of the course exam. Test your knowledge so you can earn a certificate and badge, and then quickly put your new knowledge into practice. The best part, the nonprofit essential certificate is 100% free. Thousands of learners have already earned their certificate making this our most popular set of courses in Nonprofit Ready register@nonprofitready.org and get ready to accelerate your impact and your career.

Speaker 3 (23:48):

Hello everyone, and welcome back to On Air with Amber Wynn, your resident, Philanthrepreneur. Listen, you can check me out on all of my social media. I'm on Facebook, I'm on Instagram. You can hook up with me on LinkedIn. All of my social media handles are available for you because I'm here if you want to ask a question. This next segment that we're going to have is called Ask Amber. So you can visit any one of my social media handles and ask me a question and I'll read it here on the podcast. So the question that we have today is, how do I reengage my board after the pandemic? That is an excellent question. Listen, if you've had an active board and they were having your back during the pandemic, they should be extremely wiped out. Having worked with dozens of nonprofits, their board really had to step up because they couldn't function the way that they normally do with the in-person fundraisers.

(24:57):

So they may be burnt out or because you couldn't figure out a way to really engage your supporters, they kind of tapped out. So one of the things that I would recommend is that you use the nonprofit success roadmap*, and what you would do basically is identify where your organization is on the journey. Are you in stage 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, whatever. But what this does is help to bring clarity to where you are, and then you identify the gaps. So you want to see what it is that you have, the things that you've done, the things that you've done well, and celebrate those. Say to your board, you have done an amazing job with X, Y, and Z, but based off of this nonprofit success roadmap*, we have a couple of gaps. So what is it that you need to do? And then delegate or have your board step up and say, yeah, we do need to do more social media, or we do need to do more networking.

(25:53):

I'm going to take that on. And so that's going to help them reengage. But instead of something being really random, they can see that maybe in the seven things that they need in one of the stages that you guys have for, but you need three. And if you take those three things on, you can then move to the next stage. So don't forget, download a copy of the nonprofit Success roadmap* so that you can look and identify where you are. But if you're really interested in how you can reengage your board, that would be the perfect way to do it. Alright, so now it's time and our episode where I get to spotlight a nonprofit. I said to you before, I work with so many nonprofit organizations and our founders, they're so busy working, working, working, that they're not doing the type of networking that needs to happen. And also the work that you guys are doing is so amazing. I want other people to really see you as resources. So today's spotlight is Fostering Dreams Projects. It's a nonprofit that was founded by Melanie Budi who may look familiar. Melanie was on Dancing With the Stars, and she shares her experience, passion, and love with youth from the Foster Care and low-income in communities to use dance as a safe space to center ground and as a mechanism for self-expression. So let's take a look at Fostering Dreams in Action.

Speaker 6 (27:45):

The program is such a wonderful program because it introduces another aspect of the arts to our students here.

Speaker 7 (27:56):

It brings out the best in them. It helps us understand them a little bit more. It helps us to look at where their strengths are, but it's also a way for them to start building more confidence in themselves. It's a way for them to build relationships, and it's a way for them to understand how to work in a team.

Speaker 8 (28:19):

Dance kind of seems scary when you first think about it, but when you actually do it, it's not that scary at all. I have better confidence in I have to do homework or when I have a big project to do,

Speaker 9 (28:33):

I feel more comfortable speaking instead of being shy and not saying anything. And when I dance, I don't feel so stressed out.

Speaker 6 (28:44):

Some of our kids have anxiety. Some of our kids have some symptoms of depression, and when they can kind of channel those feelings and have a physical outlet, it can help them calm themselves down and regulate their emotions.

Speaker 7 (28:59):

Honestly, most of the students that are in the Fostering Dreams Program don't necessarily, at least not since they've been in the program, have had any real behavioral issues. They really have taken on more of a leadership role.

Speaker 10 (29:11):

But this is huge. It's so good for the kids, it is so good for the kids

Speaker 11 (29:18):

Through patience and just showing them that you care whether it's being here or teaching them on a simple move. They start to relate that as what love truly is.

Speaker 3 (29:50):

So listen, Melanie is on a mission to bring her programs to significantly underfunded arts program in L-A-U-S-D. They have a full curriculum designed to deliver an and delivered by professionally trained stage, live theater, film, and TV choreographers and ballet, modern dance, flamenco, ballroom salsa, and hip hop. So if you are an L-A-U-S-D principal or know someone in the district office, or better yet, if you are a funder looking to help children re-envision the world and how they fit into it by bringing arts education to schools worldwide, then consider bringing Fostering Dreams Project and more of the schools throughout L-A-U-S-D. They are an approved vendor. They're just looking for contacts so they can actually get into the different campuses. You can visit www.fosteringdreamsproject.org or you can email Melanie at info@fosteringdreamsproject.org. Thank you. Fostering Dreams Project for all you do to transform lives in our community. And so now we're going to jump into our mindset minute.

(31:09):

But before we do that, I just really wanted to take the time to thank our sponsors. If you're interested in sponsoring any one of our episodes, you can contact me on any of my social media handles. But it's important that people understand in the nonprofit sector that there are resources out there to help you. So thank you to Small Business Pro, Thank you to Nonprofit Ready. And of course, we want to thank Fostering Dreams for all that they do in the community. I also want to remind you that one of the resources that we're giving you today is the nonprofit Success roadmap*. I want you to download it. It's free, and we want you to stage where you are as a nonprofit so that you can understand where you are and where you need to go. And then finally, you can of course, check me out on all my social media handles.

(31:59):

I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, all of those. Don't forget to, if you have a question, send that question to me and I'll read it live and get you some of the answers that you need. But right now, for our Mindset minute, I want to talk about why nonprofits fail. And I want to talk about it because if you know what the reasons are, then you can avoid them. And the main reason that nonprofits fail is because they make the rules up as they go along. And the IRS has already created what that structure looks like, and funders are actually responsible to report to the IRS. So if what you're doing, I don't care how impactful it is in the community, if it doesn't align with IRS rules and regulations, they can't fund you because it then puts their nonprofit in jeopardy. So the number one reason why nonprofits fail is because they make it up as they go along.

(33:02):

And I will tell you, having served my amazing nonprofit founders, y'all get all riled up and I understand it's because you've been doing it for years, you've been trying to figure it out. You've invested time, you've invested money. But the reality is, even if you've been doing this for 20 years, you've been self-funding. There are rules instead of trying to just make it up as you go along and squeeze a circle into a square peg, step back, look at what it is that the IRS and funders require so that you can meet those and then you can get funding. So yeah, that's really the number one reason why nonprofits fail. So when we talk about shifting your mindset, take a deep breath. Now that you have the nonprofit success roadmap*, you can follow it, you can readjust, and you can get on that path so that you can open up your resources for more funding and more opportunities. So yeah, that's it for today's episode. Thank you for joining me. I'm so excited. Our next episode is actually going to talk about Stage Zero, thinking about starting a nonprofit organization. We'll see you next time.

Speaker 2 (34:15):

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and leave a review on iTunes. Head over to www.amberwynn.net/podcast for the links and resources mentioned in today's podcast. See you next time.