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Helping Organizations Thrive 
November 2012 Edition
Welcome to my November 2012 email newsletter. 

The mission of Jonathan Poisner Strategic Consulting is to help progressive organizations thrive.  I do that by assisting my clients with strategic planning, campaign planning, coalition building, fundraising, communications, and other organizational development challenges.

To keep people informed about my work, I set up this monthly e-newsletter.  If you want to unsubscribe, just look for the link at the bottom.   My most recent edition can be read in my archive.

For a complete lists of the consulting services I offer, check out my website.
What Works

Each edition of this newsletter contains a section I call "What Works." 

Most editions include sections from one of two longer articles I'm writing.  Why Organizations Thrive  and Why Organizations Go Off Course detail lessons I learned while growing the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV), buttressed by my observations of dozens of other groups both in Oregon and across the country.

 

Collectively, I believe these lessons are a very useful set of principles that any Executive Director can use to improve their organization's capacity to fulfill its mission.

 

In lieu of one of my normal articles, this month I want to strongly encourage my readers to watch an absolutely fascinating video.  The video is from Daniel Pink, and it's a 10 minute animated lecture he did in 2010 about the role of autonomy, mastery, and purpose as primary drivers of human behavior within organizations. I've watched it a dozen times now, and I keep taking away more lessons.

 

Below the video on my blog, I post a few of my thoughts about the implications for nonprofits.  I'm equally interested in hearing from you your thoughts. 

Watch the video on my blog. 
Recent Success Stories and New Clients

On September 17th and October 2nd, I led introductory and advanced fundraising workshops for the board of the Sauvie Island Center. 

In late September, I facilitated a strategic planning retreat for Recycling Advocates, a Portland-based group focused on the three pillars of waste reduction: reduce, reuse, and recycle.   A draft strategic plan was created in early October and approved by the board soon thereafter.  Various board committees are now wrestling with 2013 implementation plans covering key institutional goals (fundraising, communications, board development, etc.).

In early October, I completed my work assisting the Oregon Chapter Sierra Club with the creation of a 2013 Development Plan. 

On October 12th, I attended a board meeting of the Matthew Shepard Foundation to update the board on my ongoing work to provide development and coaching support for the Foundation's development team.  The following evening, I attended the Foundation's annual Bear to Make a Difference Gala.  I continue to work with the Matthew Shepard Foundation on its 2013 Development Plan.

On October 15th, I facilitated a meeting of the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado board to consider a draft strategic plan.  I'm now preparing to facilitate an end-of-November staff retreat that will turn the long-term plan into a 2013 work plan.

On October 17th, I presented a workshop entitled Major Donor Fundraising 201 at the annual conference of the Nonprofit Network of Southwest Washington.

After receiving feedback from its members, I generated a second draft of a strategic plan for the  Denver Region Mobility and Access Council in mid-October.  The plan has been approved by the DRMAC board, with approval by the full membership pending in December. 

On November 14th, I gave a presentation on building political power at the annual joint conference of the Northwest Marine Trade Association and the Washington Public Ports Association.

Check out my website for a complete list of all my clients.
Presentations

Looking for a presentation for your organization or coalition's conference, workshop, or event? 

I've recently updated my website to more fully describe presentations I've delivered or am prepared to deliver.  Contact me directly for more information.  
 
Recent Blog Entries

Note: I am actively looking for Guest Blog submissions.  If you have some thoughts to share on any aspect of organizational development, shoot me an email and we can discuss length, timing, etc.

Thoughts on Engagement Organizing

Thoughts on the Growing Importance of Peer to Peer Fundraising - Guest Blog on The Databank.com

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Clarifying the Why when Doing Strategic Planning

Nonprofit Leadership Traits

Don't Take Board Relationships for Granted

Some Opening Thoughts on Leadership

Time is your Most Precious Commodity

Effective New Board Member Orientation Meetings

Looking for one of my past blog entries on a particular topic?   I have now categorized my past blog entries.  Just go to my website and hover over the "blog" link on the navigation bar and you can see the topics and choose from among them. 
Contact Information
Jonathan Poisner Strategic Consulting
[email protected]
phone: 503-490-1234
http://www.poisner.com


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