By Amber Alarid, [Joining Vision and Action]

Being an executive director of a nonprofit is hard work. It doesn’t matter if the nonprofit has hundreds of employees and a budget in the millions, or if it is a brand new organization relying on volunteers for everything. Sure, the stresses are different, but there are many commonalities between the two.

JVA’s Executive Director Academy (EDA), held twice every year, typically attracts a range of students, from people starting brand new nonprofits, to people moving up through the ranks of an existing nonprofit, to people making the transition from the business world.

While attendees may learn hundreds of things over the five-day course, there are a few things graduates say make a lasting impression. Some of these are:

Board of Director Management

How to recruit and manage a high-performing board of directors. On the one hand, executive directors report to the board. On the other hand, recruiting and managing the board often falls to the executive director. We will offer concrete advice on how to make these relationships work, and how to create the board of your dreams.

Succession Planning

Nothing is forever. The retirement or resignation of an executive director can be disastrous if it is a surprise. To ensure the long-term success of the organization, you need a plan for what happens when you leave.

Dashboard Creation

Executive directors leave EDA knowing how and why to create a dashboard that enables organizational leaders to report and track key metrics easily and in a way that motivates success.

Identifying potential donors.

Helping nonprofits raise money for 27 years, JVA has learned how to find and talk to donors.

Strength-Based Leadership

In order to lead well, you need to know and rely on your own strengths. In order to lead really well, you need to understand the strengths of your team as well–and use those strengths to your advantage.

Self-Care

Many a new executive director has put in 50-, 60-, 70-, 80-, 90-hour weeks for months on end. The work had to be done, and they thought they were the only one who could do it. It is a recipe for disaster. You need a vacation once in awhile. You need a Friday afternoon off now and then. You need your staff to know you trust them to run the show when you aren’t there, and you need them to be able to do it.

You will learn a lot more than those six things at EDA, and you may walk away with a totally different top six. More power to you.

Find out more about EDA here!