Losing the why is not the same as losing a mission. Mission statements can remain intact, and programs can continue. But the why is something else entirely. It is the coherence in decision-making, the energy that fuels people, and the meaning behind the work beyond its tasks. You don’t need to be an insider to recognize it when it’s gone. The loss of the why shows up physically. It appears in care that slips just enough to be noticeable. In spaces that feel unattended. In mom

In conversations about nonprofits, tension is often framed as disagreement about priorities, strategy, or resources. In my experience, many of the deepest challenges are not about disagreement at all. They are about language. More specifically, they arise when people inside the same organization assume they are speaking the same language when they are not. Boards and funders often come from backgrounds in business, finance, law, or real estate. Staff members are more likely t

Every few years, sometimes every few days, the same question resurfaces. Should nonprofits be more like businesses? It is usually offered as practical advice, sometimes as critique, and often as a solution to very real challenges. After years in this work, I’ve come to believe the question itself is flawed. Many of the problems nonprofits exist to address are the result of market failure. Capitalism, while powerful, has also created or deepened many of the inequities the soci