Your nonprofit growth assessment results:
You are on the right track!
At this stage, you might have a name, board of directors, and already applied for your 501c3 status. However, you are still missing some fundamental infrastructure that will allow you to achieve sustainable growth. At Mockingbird we believe that you didn’t start a nonprofit just to become an administrator. However, it is important to know that administration work will take a significant part of your time as an executive director. Without the right help and knowledge, you risk burning out before you can change the world.
At this stage, we recommend you focus on creating solid plans and developing a network of support that will get you closer to your vision. Some of the steps we recommend for your organization at this stage include:
Create your strategic plan or update your current one. Strategic plans are the most important document you’ll need to guide your work. It will define your goals and all the strategies you need to achieve them. If you don't know where to start, check out our self-paced course on creating your strategic plan.
Increase your board and team engagement . Define your board roles, create a board agreement, offer your team ways to get involved. Find here a quiz to help you assess the current status of your board. If you need additional help, we can train your board members to help them understand how to better serve your nonprofit. Check out our custom training page.
Start delegating. It would help if you start building a support team at this stage because you can't keep doing everything by yourself, and your board will only take you so far. Start delegating some critical aspects of your organization, such as accounting, marketing, and grant writing. Check out this blog on what are the main obstacles for nonprofit founders.
Focus on funding. At this stage, you need to focus on getting the funds needed to start running your programs. Fundraising will take a significant part of your time as a founder, and we want you to have a plan. Download our pre-grant checklist, where you will find a list of all the documents you need for writing grants.