You Don’t Have a Succession Plan?

When you’re an ED or even a founder ED, you don’t want to think about the day you say goodbye to your organization, and neither does your board. 

It’s your baby. You’ve poured your energy and time into teaching it how to walk. But, eventually, it won’t need you in the same way anymore. Or maybe you will be ready to move on to bigger and better things. 

Either way, stepping down or transitioning out of your highly visible role is likely to happen someday; the best thing you can do is plan for it. 

But, Rhea, this non-profit NEEDS me. I’m the face of this organization. We wouldn’t have any donors if it weren’t for my charisma and cocktail-hour charm.

Ahh… therein lies the problem. 

When a fundraiser takes on too many roles and plays the hero of the organization, that means other people aren’t able to step into their zones of genius to help carry a little section of the banner. 

On the other hand, when everyone is doing their part and functioning as a unit, the succession of one person (even a fabulous founder ED like yourself) is not such an earth-shattering event.   

And that’s great news for your non-profit. 

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So, even if NOW is not the time to send your non-profit baby off to college, I’ve got a few tips to squirrel away for when that day does come: 

Tip #1 – Be transparent with your board. If possible, give them plenty of lead time to help devise a succession plan. 

Tip #2 – Don’t let the vision and strategy live only in your head. You can reassure funders that the vision will continue long after you’re gone when you train your staff and leaders to clearly articulate it and put it into action in their zones of genius. 

Tip #3 – Approach your funders and ask them to make commitments in advance of the new ED or new leader stepping in to give your funders, and the new guy or gal, a bit of a runway. 

Tip #4 – Make sure your organization has a framework of shared leadership that can support the mission long after you’re gone. Your non-profit should have many faces—not just yours.  

And keep up the good work you’re doing for your non-profit right now! Your leadership and dedication to the mission of your organization matters! 

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What does it look like when a black co-founder transitions out of a non-profit that champions racial equality and elevating marginalized communities? How do funders respond when a black-led organization becomes a white-led organization with diverse and proximate leadership?

Join me on the podcast as I talk to Cassie Haynes and Jean Friedman-Rudovsky, the powerhouse co-founders of Resolve Philly, to get the lowdown on how they emerged from a leadership transition after Cassie, a black co-founder, stepped down from her position to be closer to her newly widowed mother. 

It’s a case study in passing the non-profit baton, and you won’t want to miss it! We hit all the taboo topics including:

• managing the optics of a resignation
• the changing perspective of black philanthropy as it pertains to funding 
• protecting BIPOC colleagues from shouldering the burden of anti-racism and representation  

Tune in to the Nonprofit Lowdown to hear more!  👉🎤 Episode 251: “When A Black Founder Transitions.”