Posted on Monday, 8th August 2011 by chris wignall

If wordpress is correct, this is my 200th post on this blog. My hope is that somewhere along the way there has been some value in it for those who read here, I know there has been value for me in the process of writing. Today, a glimpse behind the curtain. As Catalyst has grown [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Leadership, Partners, Vision | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 3rd June 2011 by chris wignall

It does no good to fill your aquarium with cute castles and sunken ships if you don’t feed your fish. A number of recent interactions have reminded me that many of our charities are being slowly starved by donors who are well-intentioned but ill-informed. As major donors we tend to give to specific projects, often [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Leadership, Philanthropy | Comments (6)

Posted on Wednesday, 25th May 2011 by chris wignall

Catalyst’s uniqueness seems to be in our strong focus on leadership development as the area in which we seek to invest both our granting efforts, and our time and energy. Feedback from charities we interact with regularly affirms our strategy as helpful. Whether through funding or (formal and informal) consulting, we are becoming known for [...]

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Posted on Thursday, 31st March 2011 by chris wignall

I just prepared this brief summary of the roles a board member plays for a board I chair. For more on it read everything Bob Andringa ever wrote. The Three Hats of a Board Member Bob Andringa (http://www.theandringagroup.com/pages/bob_andringa) is the source of this helpful concept for how board members can better understand the various ways [...]

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Posted on Friday, 11th February 2011 by chris wignall

What role should members of the board of directors play in fundraising for a charity? One of the most engaged discussions I observed at our Gather conference last month was the one about this topic. I didn’t participate on the conversation; in part because I needed to keep on eye on the entire flow of [...]

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Posted on Thursday, 23rd December 2010 by chris wignall

This is a time of year when rituals, traditions, and symbols are everywhere. Some represent family, others are seasonal or sacred. In fact, a lot of the things I do that make it feel like Christmas are meaningful in ways I can’t easily explain. Defining why it seems so wrong that my parents bought an [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Great Stories, Leadership, Vision | Comments (1)

Posted on Tuesday, 16th November 2010 by chris wignall

In recent weeks I’ve had two good conversations with respected, experienced leaders who have strongly different views on a fairly basic Human Resources matter. How should an organization handle internal candidates when hiring leadership roles? It’s almost universally agreed that a healthy organization needs to be developing depth of personal in leadership. Many nonprofits struggle [...]

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Posted on Wednesday, 20th October 2010 by chris wignall

In a conversation this morning with a leader in a national organization that is seeking to more effectively connect with people under the age of thirty I was asked if I had any suggestions on how to build those relationships. My response was that of greater importance than reaching out to a younger generation is [...]

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Posted on Monday, 27th September 2010 by chris wignall

In recent months I’ve been able to be a part of two pioneering events in which people from across the country gathered to push the boundaries of how their fields generally operate. Stronger Together 2010 saw 8 significant donors combine efforts to provide capacity building grants totalling over one million dollars to Christian charities. The [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Leadership, Past Grants | Comments (0)

Posted on Thursday, 23rd September 2010 by chris wignall

Engage, Equip, Empower, Evaluate Engage: I still see organizations where staff, volunteers, clients, board, and donors are lacking commitment and energy. They don’t see how their involvement matters, give less than their best, and simply don’t truly believe in what they’re doing. High staff turnover and limited productivity are indicators that there are engagement issues. [...]

Posted in Leadership, Vision | Comments (0)