Everything Place

Welcome to the “Everything Place” where you have quick access to the full range of the community resources to view, download, and/or share. Here you can learn about the Ambassadors Community; request print copies of materials; view or download resources, including the Performance Imperative and Performance Practice, Funding Profiles, Ambassador Insights, Ambassador Weigh-Ins, and Presentations.

About the Community

Lists of Leap Ambassadors

• Alphabetical –  Word
• By Region – Word
• Interactive Web Listing – Link

Community Descriptions

• Model
• Community Onboarding
• Community Engagement
• Community Growth

Communications to Ambassadors

Video Messages

• What We’re Doing and Why – July 2018
• Progress and Plans – July 2018
• Reflecting, Adapting, Moving Forward – January 2018

Posts

• Reflection Blog
• Month in a Minute
• Weekly Email Blast 
• Ambassador Updates (requires password)

Resources for Continuous Improvement

• Continuous Improvement Pathway – Page
• Performance Imperative – Page | PDF
  • High-performance organization definition – Page
  • Seven organizational disciplines of high performance
    • Courageous, adaptive executive and board leadership (the preeminent discipline) – Page 
    • Disciplined, people-focused management – Page 
    • Well-designed and well-implemented programs and strategies – Page
    • Financial health and sustainability – Page
    • A culture that values learning – Page
    • Internal monitoring for continuous improvement – Page
    • External evaluation for mission effectiveness – Page
  • Performance Imperative poster (8×10) – PDF
  • What’s the Performance Imperative? – Video
• Small, But Mighty:The Performance Imperative for Small Nonprofits– Page | PDF

• Performance Practice: Learn, Improve, Repeat
  • Courageous, adaptive executive and board leadership – PDF
  • Disciplined, people-focused management – PDF
  • Well-designed and well-implemented programs and strategies – PDF
  • Financial health and sustainability – PDF
  • A culture that values learning – PDF
  • Internal monitoring for continuous improvement – PDF
  • External evaluation for mission effectiveness – PDF
  • All Modules – PDF
  • What’s the Performance Practice? – Video

• Pittsburgh Learning Circles Program
  • Pittsburgh Learning Circles Program – Page | PDF
  • Better Together: A Guide to Starting a Regional Approach for Nonprofit Learning and Improvement Page | PDF

Funding Performance Profiles

• Ecosystems Thinker – Rose Letwin and Wilburforce Foundation – Page | PDF
• Growth Mindset – Raikes Foundation – Page | PDF
• Network Effect – Venture Philanthropy Partners – Page | PDF
• Meaning, Purpose, and Joy – Philanthropist Duncan Campbell – Page | PDF
• Blunt Talk, Sharp Thinking – Mulago Foundation – Page | PDF
• We’ve Walked in Your Shoes – Weingart Foundation – Page | PDF

• Brain + Heart + Ears – The Blagrave Trust – Page | PDF
• Invested in Empathetic Challenge – Impetus Private Equity Foundation – Page | PDF
• A Better-Angels Funder Practices What it Preaches – Einhorn Family Charitable Trust – Page | PDF
• Funding Performance From the Inside Out – Video
• Funding Performance: How Donors Can Do More Good – Page | PDF

Performance in Action Stories

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay: Four Bold Moves – Page | PDF
• Performance Practice for New Leaders: Springboard to High Performance –Page | PDF
• Lawrence School: Collective Process, Smart Solutions – Page
• Tri-County Cradle to Career: Forging a Path to Educational Equity – Page | PDF
• Lawrence School: First -Person POV: A Kick in Our Behinds – Page | PDF

• Friends of the Children: A Year of Leadership Development – Page | PDF
• WINGSs For Kids: When WINGS Leaders Fly High, So Do Children – Page | PDF
• Southview Community Church: Aha Moment, “Gut Check,” and Plan to Keep Learning – Page | PDF
• The Center for Violence-Free Relationships: From Self-Reflection to Real Results – Page | PDF

Ambassador Insights

• Board Stewardship for Mission Effectiveness and Performance – Page | PDF
• CEO Insights: Graceful Exit – Succession Planning for High-Performance CEOs – Page | PDF
• CEO Insights: Should I Stay or Should I Go? – Page | PDF
• CEO Insights: Is a Nonprofit Board Best Suited to Evaluate its CEO? – Page | PDF
• Develop Strong Fiscal Muscles – Page | PDF

• SIBs: What’s Missing? – Page | PDF
• Performance-Based Contracting: Rules for the Road – Page | PDF
• Statistical vs. Social Significance – Page | PDF
• Structuring a Director of Outcomes and Evaluation Position – Page | PDF

Ambassador Weigh-Ins

All articles are password-protected

• Diversity Inside and Out
  Workplace diversity isn’t just about the workplace. Here are insights and resources on diversity and inclusion from ambassadors (July 2019)
• Thoughts on ‘You Can’t Lift People Up by Putting Them Down’ by Trabian Shorters
  A short synopsis of the resources, thoughts, and ideas shared by fellow ambassadors to help you and your organizations think more critically about the language you use (July 2019)
• High-Performance Pathways
  A recap of responses to a New York Times column that highlights Canadian strategies to focus performance measures on the people served, not just the organizations serving them (May 2019)
• Major Threads
  Download a compiled file of online forum comments from a rich conversation centered around five major threads (November 2018)
• BUILD Initiative Featured in Inside Philanthropy
  A recap of responses to “How One of the Country’s Largest Foundations is Trying to Change How Philanthropy Work” (August 2018)

• Evidence: What Are We Seeing?
  A conversation among several ambassadors on the state of evidence registries, clearinghouses, and, in particular, the importance of transparency (February 2018))
• Charities Doing International Disaster Relief Summary
  Ambassador responses to request from Mario Morino (December 2017)
• Mental Health Outcomes Framework
  Ambassador responses to request from Debra Natenshon (April 2017)
• Funder Guides on Evaluation
  Ambassador thoughts on GEO’s publication “How Can We Help Our Grantees Strengthen Their Capacity for Evaluation?” (August 2015)

Presentations

Continuous Improvement Resources

• Continuous Improvement Presentation  – PDF | PowerPoint
• Why Performance Matters – PDF | PowerPoint
• Performance Matters Call to Action – PDF | PowerPoint

Community

• Growth – PDF | PowerPoint
• Engagement – PDF | PowerPoint
• Model – PDF | PowerPoint
• Getting Started: Part 1, Engagement – PowerPoint

Request Print Materials

Click on the links below to order print copies of these resources (materials and cost of shipping are generally complimentary, but there may be charges for large quantities and/or for shipments outside the United States).

• Community Resources
  • Performance Imperative
  • Performance Imperative poster (8×10)
• Leap of Reason