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I can hear it in your voice, to coin a phrase, Brad: you're chomping to take the reins and realize the vast potential of your school, and fulfill the vision you have for it. But at the end of the day, a successful nonprofit leader inspires others to create an impact, working together, far more than they could ever achieve on their own. You might have the ten strongest horses, but if they aren't all pointed to the same destination, your cart will be pulled apart. This means going back to my first suggestion, which is to bring your leaders together to make sure you are all aligned. The precursor to this step is to have a frank, earnest talk with your dad about HIS vision for the school. (If he brought you in, I'd be curious to hear HIS answer about to whom the school belongs...) Then you can share your vision, which might inspire him to try new strategies and think in new ways.

Once you have THAT conversation, it's then time for you two to confer about which people to invite to board positions. That shifts the designation of board members from a power struggle to a candid conversation about a means (leaders) who can deliver you to the end (the vision).

What does this have to do with your initial question? Because visioning conversations like these make the difference between managing and leading. ANYONE can 'run a nonprofit', but true community leaders create opportunities for people to do great things. Had I known that, I would have engaged the myriad people who offered to help me with all the work that I insisted on doing myself, and SO MUCH MORE would have been done.

Also, this book will change how you lead:
https://www.amazon.com/Work-Leaders-Vision-Alignment-Execution/dp/1118636538/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470002677&sr=8-1&keywords=vision+alignment+execution

Hope this is helpful. Kinda cathartic for me... :) Thanks for the opportunity to share!

M

>How would you say you are qualified for what you are doing? Family-based care is complicated business and I certainly wouldn't trust myself to set up a program from scratch. Did you consult anyone before you started? How did you find the initial cash and partners down there?

Well, I should point out that in my branding/design career I worked with lots of non-profits and also with corporate startups. I saw how they were structured, and had already developed something of an organizational philosophy, mostly based on the gaps I saw in strategic planning of complex programs. So, that helped.

As far as the actual family care aspect, I spent a lot of time analyzing what didn't work, read a ton of research, and consulted with anyone in the field who would talk to me. One publication that really helped was called Roots and Roofs. It spelled out in clear detail with compelling research that most residential orphan care produces bad results, and that keeping kids in stable families is the best option.

Faced with the reality that many kids we encountered had no stable families that could or would care for them, I began to work with our Cambodian staff to determine how we could create a model that is scalable (providing care to lots of kids), but maintains as many positive attributes of a "real" family (e.g. single family dwellings, full-time directors who raise their own bio kids along with the orphaned kids, group meals, shared tasks, long-term planning, family vacations, etc.). From there, it was a lot of trial and error, and a lot of trust in our indigenous staff to raise the kids with a balance of international standards for child care and local standards for cultural family models and roles.

>What would you say has been the toughest challenge you faced in the following categories: red tape at home (US), red tape abroad, culture at home, culture abroad (culture shock perhaps?)

Red tape at home Proper accounting standards and board structures.

Red tape abroad Oh, there are so many. But we put a high priority on hiring wise (and sometimes crafty) locals to help us navigate these waters. But simple banking tasks, government registrations and permits, contract negotiations, etc. that would take a few hours or days in the U.S. take months and even years in Asia. I can elaborate more, but I'm trying to bust this out before I leave the office.

Culture at home Although we're a Christian organization, we're pretty diverse and intentionally multi-denominational. Each of the congregations we work with has a different internal culture, and sometimes different motivations and contextualizations for the value of our shared projects. This is difficult. It's also often tough to contextualize what's going on overseas for people who don't understand the cultural contexts within which we work. Hell, I don't always understand the culture. But I have to act as an interpreter, deciding what to tell and how to tell it.

Culture abroad This could be its own post. Or book. Or library. I am and will always be a student of the cultures within which I work overseas. I'll also always be an outsider, and that's important to acknowledge. The one area that is most vexing is what is often considered "honesty/forthrightness." Because our Asian counterparts view the world so completely differently, and view hierarchy differently, and view "face" differently, it is easy to feel like you're being lied to constantly. It takes a lot of effort to view things through a more passive (not precisely, but sort of) lens. I just want my counterparts to come straight out and tell me the bad news without softening the blow to save me or them face. It never, ever happens that way, even though we work hard to put partially bi-cultural people in positions of influence in the organization.

>Do you sometimes feel that what you are doing is missionary work?

I feel like I'm on a mission, but I'm not a missionary, if that makes sense.

>How many churches are supporting your cause these days?

About 20.

>How do you choose the area you want to support? Are you 100% convinced that every medical clinic and school was absolutely necessary? I know this is a bit of a tough question, don't answer it if you don't want to. I just know that dealing with redundancy of programs due to unsound advice / outright lies and corruption can be awful to deal with.

Once we decided to pursue a model of residential care that fit our capabilities and our philosophical framework, we dumped all of the projects that didn't directly enhance the lives of the kids living within that model. We don't do medical clinics anymore; we send our kids to local doctors. Although we do operate one school in a neighborhood that has no other good options, the vast majority of our kids go to local schools. We are very focused, and say "no" all the time, often to the displeasure of our staff, our supporters and even our board members.

>How do you keep indigenous workers doing what they should be doing? I know we occasionally have trouble from our branches over there because they do not mention problems until it is too late as they are afraid of losing face.

This is a constant battle. When we succeed, it's because we invest heavily in relationships with a very small number of people at the top, specifically our national directors and a few other project leads. We try to encourage proactive reporting, but that would never happen if we tried to maintain close relationships with home directors, tutors and help staff. We talk via Skype every week with our top guys, we send board members overseas regularly just to hang out, and we bring our top staff to the States as often as possible. I am careful to never get angry about bad news -- I only get mad when bad news has been kept from me.

I hope this helps. I have to go pick my son up from soccer. I will continue to answer follow ups if you like!

I would say the "project" is what you hope the person you are hiring will accomplish. You want to talk about the organization and the people or things you will be helping. What will you be able to do better or more of since you're able to hire this person? In six months, you report on your progress toward that goal.

I'm sure you know this, but it never hurts to have a reminder: just make sure you're connecting this employee/hire to THEIR mission, not just your own.

Best of luck!

ETA: I really like The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need though it isn't. But it is a great help.

> Grad school is not a place to jump ship and figure things out. It's expensive, and may not be worth your time.

This, a thousand times! Don't use grad school as a solution to a "my life sucks, I'm working 80 hours/week for no money" hair-on-fire crisis. Grad school in the US is pretty much the most EXPENSIVE possible way that you could solve such a crisis, and it's not even a guaranteed solution! As for the expense, you have to factor in not only the tuition and books but also the opportunity cost (i.e. the salary you miss out on because instead of having a job, you're in school). If tuition and books is $25,000 and your current salary is $30,000, then a two-year masters is actually costing you $55,000/year, for a total of $110,000.

OP, how about you take all the free time that you would have to spend on getting into grad school (deciding on a degree, researching schools, studying for the GRE, writing essays for your applications, etc.) and instead spend it getting yourself a job with a more normal schedule? Research possible jobs and employers, get help with your resume, practice your interview skills, apply and go to interviews, etc. etc.

Then start your new job. When things settle down a few months in, i.e. after you've gotten the hang of it and have adjusted to your new, more reasonable schedule, then start soul-searching again.

Read this book (best career book I've ever read, and I've read a ton of them): https://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You/dp/1455509124

Read this book (best book for those in nonprofit/save the world and/or arts jobs): https://www.amazon.com/Lifelong-Activist-Change-without-Losing/dp/1590560906/

With a better job, you would have time to read those books. To figure out what you really want to do in life. To figure out what the best path to that goal is. And it would NOT cost you $110,000. It would cost you $0. It might even pay YOU, if you happen to find a job with a higher salary or better benefits than what you're getting now.

So first things first: find a way to take your time figuring out what you want to do with your life. If your everyday life isn't an unmanageable crisis anymore, because you have a more normal job and therefore reasonable amount of time to sleep and eat and have a life, then you can take your time to really figure out what you want and what's the best way you can serve.

Happy belated birthday. I finally have some time to respond to this when I'm at the office and have relevant things handy.

Books to read:

• 
  
  
• The Board Member's Book: Making a Difference in Voluntary Organizations by Brian O'Connell, published by the Foundation Center. If you only read one of these books, read this one. Despite the title, this book is about creating and using good volunteers at all levels. For organizations I work with, every time a new "class" of volunteers comes in, I like to give all of them copies of this book and have a few discussions about it.
  
  
• Developing Dynamic Boards by James Hardy. This book is more focused on the board of directors, and it's very detailed-- a good textbook and road map.
  
  
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. This one may even have been translated into Estonian. In brief, it's a system for looking at big processes and finding the places where your effort can make a difference.
  
  
• Good To Great: Why some companies make the leap and others don't by Jim Collins. This book looks at factors that create success or failure in growing organizations.
  
  
  

I'm a student with no degree or professional experience in the field and I'm a grant writer. It's certainly possible to get into it. Fortunately, I had a lot of opportunities in high school to get solid training in writing (i.e. debate team, student publications, newspaper staff and stuff like that). So talent and solid writing skills are a must. But here's what I did to build up a good skillset in this particular field:

1. Network - talk to everyone you can in the field, ask questions and show enthusiasm. I worked on political campaigns as a volunteer and ended up making a contact who worked at a nonprofit.
   
2. Volunteer - I volunteered at a few nonprofits and got a good sense of how they operate
   
3. Intern - The contact I made at the political campaign gave me an email and a good word. I was asked to come in for an interview the next week. Interning was really hard, I spent 500 hours over six months and was so confused and not confident. Once I got the job I have now, I realized that I was actually well prepared. Volunteering at a nonprofit is a good way to get into it.
   
4. Buy some books that will teach you - I borrowed this book from the library and it was extremely informative http://www.amazon.com/Only-Grant-Writing-Book-Youll-Ever/dp/0465018696/ref=cm_lmf_tit_6
   
5. Pay your dues and bust your a** - I get paid very little, but I'm just looking to build a reputation, samples, accomplishments and a resume. And of course I'm very very passionate about the cause. I've dreamed of running a nonprofit similar to the one I work for one day and that's how I got into it in the first place.
   
6. Find events aimed at teaching organizers to build up straight from the ground. My boss sends me to some, she is aware that I have very limited experience and pays for me to train at workshops. I go to workshops every month at a college that runs a nonprofit resource center - you don't need to belong to a nonprofit to go to some of these.
   
7. Google - You can learn anything from google if you look in the right places. You'll find templates and guides.
   
8. Have writing samples and always get a letter of recommendation from every nonprofit you volunteer at.
   
   This is a good way to start. I got my job sort of by chance, I just happened to be talking to someone at the right time and had the right connections.
   
   warning- if you really don't think a nonprofit can make it, don't jump onto a sinking ship. Ultimately, funders don't fund programs because of the programs themselves. I do a lot of brainstorming with our staff and have the ability to speak my peace/give advice and they hear me out because for the most part I know enough to know what works and what doesn't.
   
   I still have a long way to go for sure, but the above is how I got this far.

If it were me, I would maybe start with crowd-sourcing rather than grant-seeking. In general, grants have gotten pretty competitive, and they want to see a track record of success before they hand you money. It's really difficult to get grants as a startup.

If you have a university near you, I would recommend reaching out to some students in the Accounting department or Business/Management department, or if you're really lucky and they have an MPA program, some of the students there. Doing consulting work can bolster a student's portfolio and employability down the line, and they will probably give you advice at a lower price than you'd pay for an established pro.

If you're into reading a few more books, I would recommend this one for a general overview, and this one for fundraising information. I found them both to be very readable and informative, and you can dig through their bibliographies for additional sources.

The basic philosophy goes by a number of names and specific strategies, but give 'major gift cycle' or donor moves management a search. I unfortunately, don't have any electronic resources on the matter I can share that aren't confidential or pay walled. I'd recommend the AFP though as a great resource.

But this book may interest you. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0471738379/

In my fundraising class in undergrad we used this book . It's not an interesting read but it's packed with lots of useful information and points of reference. I would check out some university websites as well, they're pretty good at retaining annual donors.

I (or rather the NFP I ran) acted as the fiscal sponsor for a bunch of groups that thought they wanted to be non profits. I encourage the approach, as long as it is done properly, because fledgling organizations fail more often than not and using an existing team is more efficient and less risky.

There is a really good book fiscal sponsorship - 6 ways to do it right that I would recommend to you or to your sponsor.

Definitely go with a laptop or other computer as others have said. A smart TV won't have skype or zoom or other software installed or easily accessed. Basically, the org I worked for needed a rolling video-conference setup, so we did this:

-Got a rolling TV stand (nothing fancy, I think someone had an old tv stand at home that we used)

-Put a TV on the stand

-Used a Mac Mini (or similar computer) that we weren't using, attached that to the TV

-Used a bluetooth keyboard and mouse to control the computer

-Bought an external microphone (super important)

-Bought a webcam to put on top of the TV

​

We found that the TV was plenty loud, so an external microphone (USB, like this one) was more important than external speakers. Worked okay, never worked great -- but hey it worked good enough.

Not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but it offers some really great guidance for transforming the way your board functions. Have started to implement some of the authors suggestions. May be worth looking into, but may not be worth spending $50+ on.

https://www.amazon.com/Practitioners-Guide-Governance-Leadership-High-Performing/dp/1118109872/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4ZW450XWE3TBYH6F7WHX

Nonprofit Bookkeeping and Accounting For Dummies


I've not read this book in particular, but I've found this series shockingly good at giving you basic education on any given subject.

The Eight Principles of Sustainable Fundraising

https://www.amazon.com/Eight-Principles-Sustainable-Fundraising-Transforming/dp/1612060668/

This is not a how-to book. This is about laying the foundation so you can be successful.

This is all about change management, and it requires clear goals and a plan to get there. The culture of an organization is so important and hard to change without a framework and real accountability. There are a million books on the topic. I've found Managing Transitions by Bridges and Bridges to be helpful.

Fundraising for Social Change by Kim Klein is one of my favorites. I saw her speak a couple years back and it changed the way I looked at fundraising.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Fundraising-Social-Change-7th-Klein/dp/1119209773/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZX1S703K6R24TDP6YPC7