In academia, there are very strict rules regarding citing sources of information. …

You are the newly-hired executive director of a community-based youth agency with a budget of $350,000. In this capacity, you would have 8 employees, including an administrative assistant, 2 program directors, a business manager and 4 case workers. …

We read textbooks, scholarly journals and articles on best practices for collaboration, touting the benefits in great detail, and barely glossing over the down sides of collaboration. The “real deal” is often messy, and no one wants to be the one who shares all the gory details, for a number…

Don’t take away my Black card during Black History Month. Before you read what I wrote below, you should also know that I am one who has experienced and fought racism and discrimination in the workplace. I won some battles and I have lost some. It occurred to me, that…

When I read the first edition of John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership back in the late 1990’s, I was impressed by the fact that it was an easy read, and chock full of lessons on every page. Now that we in the Nonprofit Utopia community are “reading” the…

The terms “programs” and “services” are so often used together, that we don’t often take the time to think about the subtle differences between the two. It doesn’t help that the terms are used interchangeably, either. Though the differences are subtle, the result of using the terms appropriately in a…

This is an original case study written by Valerie F. Leonard as an exercise in board development and training. You joined the board of directors of a community development organization 6 months ago. The organization is the faith-based affiliate of a local church. A total of 4 of the 11…

There’s a lot to be said for effective time management to help us get the most out of our days. Some recommend setting daily goals and assessing how much was achieved at the end of each day. …

I’ve seen it time and time again at the community level. Leaders pushing a community- driven agenda are often betrayed by members of their inner circle, who were promised “great things” for themselves in exchange for undermining community progress. In some cases, the people who sell out do go on…