Advancing Mission Thrivability

July 2020 – Present

Advancing Mission Thrivability

The Purpose

Every day, nonprofit organizations are faced with important questions that hold long-term implications for their operations, staffing, service delivery, financial management, and other crucial facets of their work and impact. Often, the strongest answers to these questions align with an organization’s mission and essential economic considerations. By learning to view all aspects of their organizations through this lens, nonprofits can thrive through their challenges and chart a course toward greater impact in the communities they serve.

Strengthening the Impact

Advancing Mission Thrivability was an opportunity presented by The Patterson Foundation for regional nonprofits to learn a mission-centric, economically informed approach to decision-making for their programs, products, and services. Participating organizations were introduced to this decision-making approach over a series of online learning opportunities led by No Margin, No Mission, a national consulting firm and social enterprise. Following the online sessions, organizations with demonstrated interest, opportunity, and preparedness to dive deeper into the work had the chance to receive 1:1 consulting support from No Margin, No Mission.

Advancing Mission Thrivability: Why? What? And How?

For a compelling glimpse into the AMT experience from the nonprofit executive directors/CEOs, board members, and staff members who’ve participated so far, please watch our video, Advancing Mission Thrivability: Why? What? And How?, featuring:

Janene Amick – Florida Cultural Group, Inc.
Craig Badinger – Punta Gorda Symphony
Brynne-Anne Besio – The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature
Tina Figliuolo – The Homeless Coalition
Eileen Glassman – Peace River Wildlife Center
Rhonda Kapusta – CORE SRQ (Our Y)
Mike Mansfield – Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity
Paul Reed – Charlotte Players, Inc.
Adriana Quinones – Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens
Diana Shoemaker – Manatee County Habitat for Humanity
Libby Soderberg – CORE SRQ (Our Y)
Linda Stone – NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties
Martha Wells – The Bishop Museum of Science & Nature

As nonprofits continue adjusting to the ever-changing environment, there is an opportunity for executive directors/CEOs, board members, and staffers to connect and explore ways to strengthen their organizations to optimize mission impact and drive thrivability.

Stay tuned for the next opportunity to participate in Advancing Mission Thrivability, a new capacity-building endeavor designed specifically to help strengthen nonprofits in our four-county region.

FAQ's

Click on frequently asked questions below to learn more about this initiative...

Why did The Patterson Foundation support this opportunity?

The Patterson Foundation strengthens the efforts of people, organizations, and communities in ways that foster wide participation. That includes opportunities to help organizations embrace a thrivable operating model by connecting them with expertise and resources to learn strategic decision-making.

Why was this opportunity called Advancing Mission Thrivability?

While nonprofits navigated the COVID-19 storm, it became more important than ever that their mission be their guide. Organizations had a unique opportunity to emerge from these challenges better equipped to make an impact by looking critically at each aspect of their operations to ensure that every action they took aligned with their mission. When such alignment is present, that mission will thrive. The Patterson Foundation provided the opportunity for regional nonprofits listed on The Giving Partner to discover new or reinforce existing methods of decision-making through two fast-paced and immersive “labinars” with one uniquely interactive “webversation” in between — all designed to help advance participating organizations and their missions’ ability to thrive.

What is thrivability and why is it important?

Thrivability is the degree to which a person, place, thing, or idea can thrive. With the onset of COVID-19, decision-making — especially within nonprofits — was disrupted and often was based on survival alone. The Patterson Foundation is committed to strengthening people, organizations, and communities. Through that lens, it became vital to The Patterson Foundation’s efforts to offer organizations and staffers an opportunity to address and analyze their situations — including programs, products, and services, along with staffing/volunteering — through a new lens of mission-centric, economically informed decision-making practices.

What is thrivability and why is it important?

Thrivability is the degree to which a person, place, thing, or idea can thrive. Since the onset of COVID-19, decision-making — especially within nonprofits — has been disrupted and has become based on survival alone. The Patterson Foundation is committed to strengthening people, organizations, and communities. Through that lens, it became vital to The Patterson Foundation’s efforts to offer organizations and staffers an opportunity to address and analyze their current situations — including programs, products, and services, along with staffing/volunteering — through a new lens of mission-centric, economically informed decision-making practices. It is more critical than ever before to ensure organizational decisions are mission-aligned. Doing so will help nonprofits and those they serve thrive into the future.

What is a Labinar?

Advancing Mission Thrivability brought nonprofit leaders, board members, and staffers together virtually to learn, think about, explore, and discuss ways to optimize mission impact and strengthen their organizations. To capture the essence of these sessions — which uniquely combine the interactivity and engagement of a lab with the learning and knowledge of a webinar — the term labinar was born!

What is a Webversation?

In today’s world, engaging with peers and colleagues virtually has become a frequent occurrence, oftentimes with information flowing in one direction and little opportunity for two-way interaction. To ensure that nonprofit leaders, board members, and staffers have the opportunity to learn, share, engage, and discuss as part of Advancing Mission Thrivability, The Patterson Foundation offered a webversation to combine the virtual learning platform of a webinar with the 1:1 shared dialogue of a conversation.

Who is No Margin, No Mission?

No Margin, No Mission is a national consulting practice that has partnered with The Patterson Foundation since 2014 to help strengthen nonprofits on Florida’s Suncoast. No Margin, No Mission’s Managing Partners and Principals, Michael Oxman and Larry Clark, are thought leaders and experts in nonprofit thrivability who have worked with organizations nationwide to help boost their entrepreneurial capacity, revenue, and mission impact.

What did 1:1 consultation from No Margin, No Mission involve?

Following the Advancing Mission Thrivability Labinars and Webversation, up to 15 organizations listed on The Giving Partner with demonstrated interest, opportunity, and preparedness to dive deeper into the work had the chance to receive 1:1 consulting support from No Margin, No Mission. Consultants Larry Clark and Michael Oxman worked virtually with each organization for five weeks to provide a framework for analysis, understanding, and decision-making related to optimizing each organization's opportunities for mission alignment and impact. This opportunity covered several topics, with various activities and outcomes taking place along the way.

What organizations were involved in Advancing Mission Thrivability?

In our region, several organizations participated in Advancing Mission Thrivability’s online learning sessions. Of those, the following organizations received extended 1:1 consulting:

How is Advancing Mission Thrivability different from Margin & Mission Ignition?

Advancing Mission Thrivability and Margin & Mission Ignition both center around thrivability for nonprofit organizations. The main distinction is in the approach. Advancing Mission Thrivability was a short-term (4–8 weeks) learning opportunity. Margin & Mission Ignition is a long-term (30 months) commitment. Advancing Mission Thrivability approached thrivability through the lens of mission-centric, economically informed decision-making, while Margin & Mission Ignition focuses primarily on earned-income ventures as a way to diversify funding and increase mission impact in the community.

Who can I contact about Advancing Mission Thrivability?

For more information, contact initiative consultant Michael Corley: mcorley@thepattersonfoundation.org.

The Patterson Foundation partnered with No Margin, No Mission to create a new virtual offering called Advancing Mission Thrivability, which explores mission-centric and economically informed decision-making strategies, especially in a time of crisis.

(total time: 10 minutes)

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