From Founder to CEO - What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: The Mindset, Systems, and Team Shifts that Need to Happen
In the beginning you thought you would be delivering programs not knowing you were starting a business with a purpose. HR, governance, accounting, marketing, fundraising. The nonprofit sector has established rules and regulations. When you make stuff up (MSU). It leads to self-funding. Learn the systems you need in order to help you grow the organization.
Ep 155 | From Founder to CEO - What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: The Mindset, Systems, and Team Shifts that Need to Happen
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🔦 NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT 🙌🏿
A Step to Freedom Pt. 3
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🚀 RESOURCES TO HELP YOU RUN A SUCCESSFUL NONPROFIT 🚀
The Nonprofit Mastery Academy
https://thenonprofitmasteryacademy.com/nonprofit-mastery-academy/
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Starting your nonprofit took heart, growing, it takes leadership. In this episode, I walk you through the mindset systems and team shifts that must take place in order to move you from founder to CEO.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Welcome to On Air with Amber Wynn, where nonprofit leaders learn to fuse passion and commitment with proven business strategies to create long-term funding impact and sustainability. And now here's your host and resident, Philanthrepreneur, Amber Wynn.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Welcome fam. You're on air with Amber Wynn, and today I'm talking about how to move from founder to CEO, Chief Executive Officer, right? Because what got you here won't get you there. And where is there? There is in this mind shift of running a business as a founder, generally speaking, and this is a generalization. As a founder, you come into the nonprofit sector with heart and passion. You are filling a gap. You are meeting a need. There's something missing. You're honoring a person. It's typically a personal experience that you've gone through that made you start your nonprofit. It's typically a missing in your community that spurned you to step in, fill in the gap. That's beautiful. But guess what? There comes a time and a point when you're like, oh man, this is not what I thought it was. Because it's not about just the heart and passion.
(01:43):
It's about generating consistent revenue. Generating consistent revenue doesn't come from the outreach part. It doesn't come from the direct service part. It comes from running your nonprofit like a business. Now, there's some conversations about titles, the difference between an executive director and a CEO. We're going to talk about that in a minute, but what I want you to know that there is a definite mind shift from being a founder to being the chief executive officer. When we come back, we're going to dive deep into making that mind shift from founder into the person who's actually running and leading your business. When we come back, if you're just starting out and have limited resources, you may be tempted to use a volunteer-based model for your nonprofit funders prefer paid staff because there's more accountability and consistency. But if you want your proposal to be competitive than having more than just volunteers who come and go is essential, check out my building and effective nonprofit volunteer program toolkit.
(02:52):
It provides all the essential elements of an effective nonprofit volunteer program. Things that demonstrate standardization, consistency and continuity. Learn How to Develop a Nonprofit Volunteer Program funders feel comfortable with funding. Order your copy today. Welcome back. You're On Air with Amber Wynn, and today we're talking about from founder to CEO, because what got you here won't get you there. There is long-term sustainability. If you stay in the founder mode, you're going to stay small, right? Not that founders don't have vision, but running a successful nonprofit is not about that. Running a successful nonprofit means that you have the infrastructure that will allow your organization to receive revenue. If you don't have the infrastructure, then you don't look the part. You don't look like a viable nonprofit, and that's what funders are looking for. Yes, you may be making an impact in your community. Yes, you may be providing services, but when it comes to writing a check, a funder wants to be certain that you are a viable business.
(04:00):
A viable business is going to have an infrastructure. You're going to have accounting systems so that you can produce financial statements. You're going to have a CRM where you collect the data. Data is everything for a funder. Data says to a funder, you make an impact. Data says to a funder that your organization is viable. You have systems in place where you can track the revenue that they are trusting you with. It's not enough to say, oh, I'm doing the work. Give me the money. If you don't have a business banking account, if you don't have an accounting system where you can produce GAP generally accepted accounting principle type forms, then you're not a bonafide business that they can trust. So being a founder, having heart and passion is good, and it's good enough to start your organization, but there's a time, bam, where you have to shift from just doing good in your community to actually running your nonprofit.
(04:58):
Let me give you some examples of that. When you start to hire people, you can't just hire people as 1099 because a funder looks at that. If you only have 1099 individuals in your organization, 1099 means that these individuals can work for anybody. So if you have a roster full of 1099 individuals, what it says to me as a funder is that you have no culture. When you have hired employees. There is a culture why? Because as an employee, they should be receiving training. They should be receiving performance evaluations. There's consistency and continuity in a culture that's being built. So when you shift from founder to CEO, you're shifting from this is about heart and passion into a mode where you're building out the infrastructure of your organization. You understand that it's a business, so you're doing things like staying compliant, right? You're making sure that your team is being trained.
(06:01):
You're making sure that your board is being trained. You're making sure that systems are in place, processes are in place. Strategy, you have policies and procedures, right? These are the things that move you from being, I'm not going to say a hobby because founders are doing the work and the work is being done, but there is a shift when you start building out your infrastructure, when you now have measurable goals and objectives, measurable goals and objectives, allow a funder to determine whether or not you were successful with the grant that they funded you. If you're just saying, oh, we're going to make life a whole lot better, how am I supposed to measure that? When you shift from doing the outreach and providing programs to being able to justify that your programs actually make a difference, then now you've made the shift from founder to CEO because as the chief executive officer in your business, you are positioning your organization for growth.
(07:03):
You are positioning your organization for sustainability. You are positioning your organization to be here long after you are as a founder. You set that vision. You put in place what your organization stands for. Now you got to move from just having the vision to making sure that those taxes are paid, that your staff is paid, that you are compliant, that you're following the rules of each of those governing agencies. So I'm not saying you need to separate being a founder from being a CEO. I'm saying you need to stand powerfully in the position of being a chief executive officer. That means that you move from just strategy to from visioning into strategy. There are certain things that you need to do as a chief executive officer that's deeper.
(07:58):
That demonstrates responsibility in an understanding of what it means to run a business. When we come back from the commercial, I'm going to talk to you about what are some key CEO responsibilities that really help you to stand out from being a founder and being a chief executive officer. When we return, welcome back. Today, we're taking on somewhat heavy topic. I don't know if it's heavy, but it's really talking to my founders about making that shift. When you're stuck in founder mode, you're stuck on those things that bring emotion. You're transforming lives, you are shifting. Those are beautiful things. That's what a nonprofit is supposed to do, but when we're talking about sustainability, when we're talking about your organization being around longer than you, it's not about those things. The things that a chief executive officer has to do, it ain't fun. It's not the things that bring you joy all the time.
(09:10):
You got to set up the payroll. You've got to write those reports. You got to train the people. You got to admonish the people. This is my brand. Those are chief executive director responsibilities. If you're stuck in founder mode, you are putting your organization at risk of number one, staying in that nonprofit poverty mode because you're not doing the things that runs the business. A nonprofit is a business. It's just a business with the philanthropic purpose. When you are running your business, you're out there networking. You're talking to potential funders saying, Hey, this is the reason why you need to partner with us. You're talking to potential collaborators. This is the reason you need to partner with us. You are doing the work. You're working with your board to put systems in place so you can diversify your funding streams. Those things aren't fun all the time.
(10:01):
Most of the time they're not, but that is what is necessary. As a founder, and I have so many founders, fam, who they don't like doing the executive director part, I was like, I didn't start my nonprofit to have to do reports. I didn't start my nonprofit to have to figure out taxes. I didn't start my nonprofit to have to deal with people issues. When you have staff, you have people issues. 80% of your job is dealing with people issues. But if you are going to have a bonafide nonprofit that is going to not only survive but thrive, then you have to shift into doing those things. That builds up your infrastructure that allows a funder to be able to see what your impact is. Most founders aren't people who are data people. I'm some special people. I'm not one of them, but evaluation is key, especially in this day and age when you are comparing what it is that you do to another organization, evaluation shows that most people don't start their nonprofits to say, oh, I'm going to evaluate the work I do.
(11:14):
They start their nonprofit to do the work, but when you shift your mindset to understanding that this is a business, in order for this business to be funded consistently, you realize, oh my gosh, it is work. And for a nonprofit, it's really about three times the work of a for profit because you have to demonstrate to a funder that the money that they're giving you is making an impact - that's data, that’s systems. Those are the things that prove to a funder that the money that they gave you actually made a difference. And so when we talk about shifting from a founder, even if you're a founder slash executive director, you can't really separate the two, but what I want you to really pay attention to, what I'm trying to say to you is understanding that functioning as a founder with the heart and the passion and commitment is not enough to get your organization to sustainability.
(12:11):
That's where I want you to be. I want you to be making market rate salaries. I want your staff to be paid what their value and their worth is. I want them to be able to get benefits. I want you not to have to struggle or worry paycheck to paycheck. That doesn't happen from having a founder's mindset. It happens from being a chief executive officer. It happens by digging in making sure that you have an accounting system, making sure you have a bookkeeper, an accountant who's going to do your work, making sure that you're getting your reports in on time, making sure that the organization is compliant. Have you filed your nine 90? Have you filed your statement of income? All of those things are the mindset of a chief executive officer, and that's how you get to sustainability because you're doing the hard work, the work that a funder needs to see that you are a viable nonprofit.
(13:10):
I'm having this conversation with you because I have so many conversations with my nonprofit leaders. I'm the founder and CEO. Where's the CEO part? The CEO part is making sure that you are thinking 10 steps ahead. That means that there's a strategy. You're not just living grant to grant, but you have a diversified funding stream so that you can fund your vision, right? The CEO is the backbone for making sure what the founder is envisioning can actually materialize. When we come back, I'm going to talk to you a little bit about how to develop leaders within your team, even when your team is small, when we come back, not sure how to price your programs or how to cover salaries. Are you scared to increase your program fees? If you're struggling to fully cover the cost of running your program, then you need how to price your programs for profit.
(14:08):
This workbook provides step-by-step instructions for how to develop programs funders love to fund, determine the cost to charge for your programs and present salary costs in a way that funders will approve. Learn the secret formula I use as an executive director for how to fully cover program costs. Order your copy today. Welcome back. You're on air with Amber Wynn, and I'm going hard in the paint, but I'm going hard in the paint from a place of love because a lot of times people think that passion is enough to fund a nonprofit and it is it a competitive space. There's a small pot of money when we talk about grants and everybody's competing for it. Of the eight funding sources for nonprofits, grants are number seven. So guess what? There are six other funding sources that will generate a return on your revenue. If you are a founder and you started your nonprofit thinking, I'm going to start this nonprofit and get these grants to cover that you are already behind when you are a CEO, guess what you do?
(15:13):
You learn about what it takes to create a successful nonprofit. You don't stick your hand your head in the sand and say, well, I thought these grants were going to cover it after about that first year. You should know that's not the case. You should realize that, oh my goodness, it takes more than just grants to run a nonprofit, and if you haven't, I'm here to tell you it takes more than grants to sustain your nonprofit, right? So as the leader of your organization, you want to start to develop leaders within your team. Why? Because if you are doing the direct services, then it's going to be hard for you to do the strategy. It's going to be hard for you to do the compliance. If you're building up leaders in your team, then you can delegate. I know that I have this person over here who can do the direct services because as the executive director, you need to be doing the networking.
(16:07):
You need to be doing all of the accounting and not doing it, but making sure that it's getting done. If you're focusing on outreach, if you're focusing on delivering services, then you're not running your organization, and that's what the chief executive officer does. They make sure that their strategy that's guiding the organization, not for next month, not for three months from now, but a year, two years from now, if you are in the position to function as the chief executive officer, you can take yourself out of the weeds and start thinking about the future. You can start laying the tracks for bringing in resources, for bringing in collaborations, for speaking with funders, saying, you know what? In three years, we want to do X, Y, and Z, so that's why we want to partner with you. But if you're functioning as a founder and you're doing this outreach and you're doing the direct services and all of the things that really got your heart going, then you're not being strategic.
(17:06):
And so what I want you to think about is how can I get myself in a position where I can be that chief executive officer? It starts with growing leaders in your organization, and if you're going to grow leaders in your organization, you got to bring in enough money to keep these individuals right? If you are trying to grow leaders as 1099 employees, that's not going to happen. So it all goes back to understanding that a nonprofit is a business, and that those issues that you're trying to address in your community are big issues. Big issues require big money to solve them. You can't get that off of these little piecemeal grants, so you need to build in your infrastructure. You need to recruit a board that understands that a part of their responsibility is to fundraise, and you need to shift from being all in the community, doing the work, doing the direct services to positioning your organization for long-term sustainability.
(18:10):
I hope I'm not breaking anybody's heart out there. I meet with so many people, I just want to serve my community. I'm doing this. I'm serving things out of the back of my truck, and no, beloved, we need you to come up with the strategy so that you can be in a position to take your organization to the next level. And I know it's hard for some of my nonprofit leaders because it's that founder syndrome and not from the negative perspective, but it's that place in your heart where you want to stay. But I want you to know this part. When you shift into chief executive role, you're creating potential leaders who are either going to strengthen your organization or they're going to break off and they're going to go start their own nonprofits, and they're going to be equipped to take on what it is that your vision started, right?
(19:08):
If you keep your organization small, then your impact is going to be small. So if you are a founder and executive director, I'm going to encourage you to grow your organization. You may say, Amber, how do I grow my organization? It's through knowledge. When you learn what it means to have a competitive proposal, when you learn what it means to run a nonprofit business, the infrastructure, the compliance, the hr, then you are positioning your organization for growth and bigger impact, and I can help you with that. You can visit my website. I've got so many free resources that can get you on the road to having a sustainable organization. First, you need to know what it is. What is it that a funder looks for? I have a dashboard that's on my website. It's free for you to download, and it tells you there are five columns in the concept part, when you just got your 501(c)3.
(20:11):
When you're trying to build your organization, you understand what it is that a funder's looking for. That's the first thing. The second thing is to educate yourself. Yes, I'm here and I'm always promoting the Nonprofit Mastery Academy because I'm proud of it. I built it off of my experience as an executive director. Other things I wish that I had, I always wanted to know what are the things I'm supposed to do? What order am I supposed to put them in? What does it look like that they're asking for? So I poured into my course, all of the things. I wish I had an executive director so that you don't have to make the same mistakes so that you understand clearly what it is that a funder wants, needs. You understand what it means to run a successful nonprofit from the beginning to the end. There's so much information out there, but when you are not a part of the nonprofit sector, you're not clear about what comes first, what comes second, what's important, what is it supposed to look out?
(21:14):
So I provided that for you. So I'm just going to encourage you, even if you don't get the information from me, start to educate yourself so that you can shift from just being about the passion and really about creating nonprofit organizations that are going to be here longer than us. Because as we can see, the world needs us now. The world needs nonprofits, but not nonprofits that are going to stay small. We need nonprofits that are going to be big because we've got big issues in this world we need to tackle. All right, so now we're going to shift to the part of the episode where you get to ask Amber your questions. I love this part. Today we have a question from Russell. Russell, what say you?
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Hey, Amber, this is Russell calling from North Hollywood. My question is, do I really need a website if I have social media? Thanks.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
All right. That is a very good question, and I get it all the time, especially in this environment where social media is big. Do you really need a website? If you have social media, yes, you do. Absolutely. You know why? Because they serve two different purposes prior to the pandemic. Nonprofit funders really just relied on the website. The website is supposed to provide one thing, I mean multiple things. One, for your homepage, your funders should know immediately what your mission is. It should also know what your impact is. But you should also have a tab about us where the funder can go in and learn about your staff and where your funder can learn about your board. Those things you won't find on social media. Social media is about your impact. How many followers do you have? Because of the pandemic and everything moved online, funders started looking at social media because that's how nonprofit leaders were able to engage with their constituents.
(23:16):
So they definitely look at your social media because they get to see, oh, that's when you have your events, and this is how you get information out to your constituents. But that website is designed for a nonprofit funder to be able to validate you. Now, I'll just say really quickly, y'all better be careful with your social media. I was sitting at lunch with a person who is on a foundation, and because of this environment, she told me, yeah, we get the board roster and we look at, but they also go to look on your social media if you are saying things that are inflammatory, and I'm talking about your social media, because funders right now are under attack. They cannot fund organizations that's going to bring them attention. This one particular funder is going 10 toes in for DEI, but they also know that they're being scrutinized by this administration.
(24:16):
So if you're out there saying stuff on your nonprofit organization, social media, that could put them in jeopardy or bring more attention to them, they're not going to fund you. Do you have a right? Absolutely. I'm just saying be smart. So all that to say, Russell, yes, you really do need a website because your website serves as a way for funders to validate your organization. Social media is good for corporate sponsors. They get to see how many people you have in terms of subscribers, so you want to do corporate sponsors. You're like, yeah, we're going to do an email blast to you on our social media. If you have 200 people, they're going to be like, oh, if you got 20,000 followers, they're going to be like, oh, our logo’s going to be put in front of 20,000 people. So they just serve different roles. But definitely, you definitely need to have a website. Alright, now we're going into our interview with Kenya Croom, who is the executive director of A Step To Freedom. We are on part three of that conversation with her. So let's go back and check out Kenya Croom from A step to Freedom, it is like you are literally transforming lives, and I tell people all the time, when you transform lives, you transform families, and when you transform families, you transform communities.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's the goal. We want to see our community go back to what we remember of kids playing in the street and healthy, engaging relationships and families. Not that it's always been perfect, but that pulse of community that we have always known in the black community, black and brown communities. It's really why we do this work. We want to eradicate poverty and the harm that is done to black and brown families throughout Los Angeles County.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
And we're back. If are interested in having a conversation with me like Kenya did, I would love to interview your nonprofit. Listen, visibility is the key to exposure. Exposure is what you want to get so that you never know. Somebody could share this episode with the potential funder and be like, did you hear the work that they're doing? Visibility is the key, right? So I would love to spotlight you. Number one, your potential customers can find you, but number two, funders can find you. So if you're interested in being interviewed, hit me up on my social media. I'd love to have a conversation with you. All right, so today we talked about moving from founder to CEO because what got you here won't get you there being long-term sustainability. I really want you to think about where you are in your heart and where you want to be in terms of making sure that your organization is prepared for the future.
(27:44):
That's predicated on you having the infrastructure that you need to generate revenue to develop leaders. And hey, it may even come to the point where you're like, I did not sign up to be an executive director. Guess what you can do? You can continue to do the outreach and the direct services. Hire an executive director. Hire someone who wants to do the work that you're not either willing, prepared, or even skilled to do. It's okay. You can hire somebody to run the organization and you get to do all of the things that you love doing as a founder, but the goal is to make sure that your organization is able to be around providing the vital services that your community needs. Thank you for joining me today. If you enjoyed anything you heard or you thought that something that I said might help somebody in our community, please share this episode. Be sure to subscribe like and whatever else you do on social media, I don't know, share the episode clip. Hey, I'm here for it, and I hope to see you next week. But until then, take care of yourself like you take care of your community. Bye folks.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and leave a review on iTunes. Head over to www.amberwynn.net/podcast for the links and resources mentioned in today's podcast. See you next time.
