Recently, I’ve been observing an NFP whose board has decided that their resale store could do better. It’s been interesting to watch them trying to get a grasp on what to do, when, why, and most especially how. It’s a horrendously big job and of course, with not only staff, volunteers and management but board members too chiming in, everyone has a different priority and a different ax to grind and (remember, this is an NFP!) different stakes in the end results.
At the same time, a small historic museum association I’ve been a part of is trying to move forward and fulfill its educational mission. Again: Many ways to go, many areas that need work, and lots of territorial issues.
As a volunteer source of work and wisdom in both scenarios, I researched how to plan out the refreshing of any large, complex organization. I ran across a game plan a downtown merchants’ association used to revitalize their shopping district. I think this will help both groups. It consists of four steps which we’ll cover this week. I’m gonna look at it from a resale store perspective, since I doubt many of my readers have a history museum to worry about.
Okay. Step One, Continue Reading »
