LIBRARY RESOURCES & BLOG
This area is filled with how-to articles, engaging conversations, and tons of examples of Catalytic Thinking in Action including actual planning sessions. Much to explore and learn from!
I was thumbing through our Board Recruitment & Orientation workbook this weekend, looking for a particular form. (I shouldn’t confess how often I’ll be almost done creating a form, only to do a palm-smack to the head, remembering that the exact form I need is in a book I wrote. Not that that’s what happened … Read more
I say it a lot in this space – and in every space I can. If we are creating the future with everything we do, and if that means we can create the future we want, then it is simple logic – community benefit organizations can create dramatic improvement to the quality of life in … Read more
It has been a little over a year since we made the decision to operate from a framework of transparent engagement. We have been inventing it as we go along, learning a lot more than even we thought we would. There have already been several broad areas where we have openly engaged. – Our name … Read more
In December of last year, we made the last minute decision to do a year-end fundraising campaign for the very new organization that is Creating the Future. In the spirit of transparent engagement, we promised to share what would normally be kept secret – everything we learned from that campaign. That is what this post … Read more
“Money is a limited resource. We can’t fund everyone.” Those few words encompass the most insidious assumption at the heart of competitive grant-making and competitive fundraising. The “reality” created by that assumption is the source of all the fear and the overwhelming sense of scarcity that undergird this work, everywhere around the world. For years … Read more
I received this question via email this morning, and it made me smile. First, the message: In today’s world, is an annual report of the traditional kind important for nonprofits? Smaller as well as larger? We are debating how much money and staff time to put into some kind of publication – we haven’t done … Read more
What if boards don’t need training? What if board members already know what they need to know, and just need to be reminded of that? What if “what boards need” is help with uncorking and putting to use the wisdom they already have just from living life? What if “what boards need” is encouragement to … Read more
We’ve had an idea for a program at Creating the Future, and in following our own advice, we don’t want to launch anything until we get all the possible insights we can. Programs are so much more effective when they’re built by the people who will use them! This will be a program for people … Read more
When groups begin aiming their work at making more of a difference in their community, they quickly realize that none of us can accomplish much on our own. Individual organizations begin reaching out to others doing similar work. They hold summits and host ongoing discussions. They create plans. Often, great things happen from that work. … Read more
The first-ever, last-minute, Creating the Future year-end appeal is now officially over. Yes, if you still want to give, your funds will be hugely appreciated. But we have stopped the fireworks, the tweeting, the videos, the letters. We have declared victory, with just $1,000 in the bank from this campaign. No, that is nowhere close … Read more