Reimagine the Possibilities: Opportunities and Innovations in the Moment (Session 1)

The global pandemic has magnified challenges within nonprofit systems. Yet in moments of great crisis, great opportunity can also arise. Nonprofit practitioners have the chance now to adjust or rebuild their organizations, partnerships, and community strategies in new and creative ways.

How can we build truly accessible workplaces? How can we ensure equity is embedded in our relationships and services? How do we authentically share power and resources with each other and with the people we aim to serve? With the path forward changing on a daily basis, nonprofit leaders are left with many questions. This leadership lab offers a safe place for candid conversations for nonprofit executives, board members, and other key stakeholders to explore the unique dynamics created by the events of 2020.

Session 1  – There is No More Status Quo

The year 2020 has brought crisis, challenge, and change. Yet it has also pushed nonprofits and their stakeholders to move fast, innovate, and find new ways to engage with the community. Even as we shoulder bigger burdens, we’re adopting new ideas to increase our accessibility, sustainability, and dynamism.

What new approaches to our work are worth keeping in the way organizations operate? This session will explore how we rethink the places, spaces, and roles of organizations in the community.

Panelists: Kate Redman (Commonplace), Lisa Cowan (Robert Sterling Clark Foundation), and Teresa Crawford (Social Sector Accelerator)

Key Concepts:

• Creating space for partnerships and potential mergers
• Asking new questions around how we’re building mission vs. building the institution (buildings, structures, etc.)
• Exploring new methods for program delivery as we assess lessons learned amidst the pandemic

Register here.

Each session of this series will feature guest panelists and will be facilitated by the Johnson Center’s Tamela Spicer and Mandy Sharp Eizinger.