Insights From Our Consultants
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How to Assess Your Nonprofit’s CRM Needs Before Choosing a System
Choosing the right customer relationship management (CRM) system can feel overwhelming for nonprofits—especially with limited staff capacity, tight budgets, and the constant push to grow fundraising year after year. I’ve seen organizations get excited about all the...
Building The Future: Understanding the Growth Phase of Human Services Organizations
Thirty five years ago, I started my career in nonprofits. During that time I've seen nonprofit organizations come and go. I've seen passionate people who see a need for services, oftentimes for a loved one, and say, "I want to start a nonprofit." It is this passion...
What Is the Meaning of Lemniscate?
When you first look at the Adaptive Cycle you see an infinity symbol (a lemniscate). This is deliberate because it demonstrates the cyclical nature of an ecosystem. It shows two phases to this cycle, the Growth Phase represented by the traditional s-curve, and the...
Release and Reorganization: Embracing the Adaptive Cycle
As someone who has spent much of my career immersed in human service organizations, I've been privileged to witness firsthand the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of effective interventions. From my early days as an HIV/AIDS educator to my...
Jesus, a true story.
Jesus, a true story It is ironic that his name was Jesus He had no home All that he had was gifted to him – clothing, food, a shed for shelter behind a car wash where he used to work when he was still able a walker a dollar a drink We don’t know his full...
Reframing Community Engagement: From Asking to Acting
Traditional community engagement often falls into a predictable pattern: organizations repeatedly ask marginalized communities about their needs, but struggle to create meaningful change based on those responses. Personally, I have heard multiple conversations where...
Reflections on Pride
Hey everyone, and happy Pride! This is Fiona, Partners for Impact’s design consultant, coming to you in the newsletter this month. I’m not usually the one writing in this space, but I asked for the chance to write this month because I’ve been thinking and feeling a...
Understanding Systems Change: Beyond Individual Solutions
When approaching community change, it's crucial to look beyond individual interventions to understand the broader system at work. True transformation requires examining the intricate networks of services, relationships, and processes that either support or hinder...
Holding the System Together: The Unsung Role of Service Coordinators in Youth Homelessness
I feel very fortunate to be the lead consultant for the Western North Carolina Youth Homelessness Project, especially during a time of uncertainty for many longstanding youth programs. As we have been conducting qualitative research and analysis across Western North...









