Nonprofit Stewardship: A Better Way to Lead Your Mission-Based Organization

by Peter C. Brinckerhoff

In an environment of increasing competition and eroding trust, nonprofits are under pressure to up their ability to deliver on their mission. Stewardship is a paradigm-shifting way to view your role, your board, your staff, your funders, and yourself. Understanding that the nonprofit is rooted in its ownership by the community helps break the boundaries of turf and fragmentation that prevent sustainable impacts. Author Peter Brinckerhoff, internationally known expert at helping not-for-profits get more mission for their money, explains why stewardship is the smart thing to do and how you can use it to transform your organization. You'll The eight characteristics of a mission-based steward; The various stewardship roles that exist in your not-for-profit, and why each is essential in a well-functioning organization; Three surprising truths about your not-for-profit; The nine characteristics of a successful not-for-profit; Fifteen warning signs of trouble in your organization; Stewardship-rich ways to view your finances, your budgeting, and your financial reporting; A refreshing new perspective on the relationship between funders and not-for-profits; Crisis management tools that really work; A stewardship self-assessment to use now as a starting point, and later as a reference point to measure your progress.Comprehensive, passionate, and practical. Dozens of real-world examples make this book relevant. End-of-chapter discussion questions reprise key points and reinforce important ideas.Nonprofit Stewardship is recommended for leaders of all types of not-for-profit organizations serving individuals, the local community, the state, the nation, or the world. Also recommended for donors, grantmakers, government agencies, and others who fund your work.

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2004

About the author

Peter C. Brinckerhoff is an expert on nonprofit management, award-winning author, trainer and consultant. Throughout his career he has promoted the concept that a not-for-profit organization is a mission-based business, in the business of doing its mission.

Brinckerhoff received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and his Master's Degree in Public Health Administration from Tulane University. Raised in Connecticut, Brinckerhoff and his family lived in Springfield, Illinois from 1977-2007. He and his wife now call Union Hall, Virginia home.

After a two year stint as a VISTA volunteer, followed by graduate school, Brinckerhoff served as a staff member and Executive Director of the West Central Illinois Health Systems Agency. In 1982, he formed Corporate Alternatives, Inc., the first consulting and training company in the United States dedicated exclusively to the management concerns of 501(c)(3) organizations. His work as a consultant, trainer and author on nonprofit issues has reached thousands of nonprofits throughout the world. From 1979 to the present, Brinckerhoff has served on boards of directors of many local, state, national and international nonprofits.

Brinckerhoff is most widely known for his work as award-winning author, with seven books and two workbooks in print, and over 60 articles published in the not-for-profit press. Three of his books, Mission-Based Management (1994), Financial Empowerment (1996) and Generations, The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit (2007), have been awarded the Terry McAdam Award from the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.[1] The award is given for "The Best New Nonprofit Book" each year. He is the only author to win the award multiple times.[2] Brinckerhoff's books are used as texts in courses at undergraduate and graduate nonprofit management programs in over 100 colleges and universities worldwide.

Brinckerhoff is also a speaker and lecturer, presenting his ideas on how to make not-for-profits more mission-effective to audiences throughout North America, Europe and Asia each year. He publishes the Mission-Based Management Newsletter[3] online monthly, and maintains the Mission-Based Management blog.[4]

From 2003-2007, Brinckerhoff served as Adjunct Professor of Nonprofit Management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He taught the core graduate course in the Nonprofit Management program at Kellogg. In addition, Brinckerhoff has guest lectured at the graduate level at Boston University, University of Colorado, University of Illinois, and Vanderbilt University.

Peter retired from public speaking and consulting in November, 2014

Reviews

[Drks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone interested in a good read for understanding nonprofit stewardship?

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best overview of nonprofit work I have ever read. Brinkerhoff is a master!