188: How Can You Be More Effective as a Nonprofit Leader? (Grace Nicolette)

188: How Can You Be More Effective as a Nonprofit Leader? (Grace Nicolette)

SUMMARY

Being effective in the philanthropic sector is uniquely challenging. To make every dollar count, you must continually assess performance, learn from data, and adapt in ways that are consistent with effectiveness. Grace Nicolette, co-host of the widely acclaimed Giving Done Right Podcast and Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) executive, joins us in episode #188 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership to share her expertise on how to be more effective as a nonprofit leader. Grace sets realistic expectations for someone considering a move to this sector and shares advice for nonprofit leaders as they move into more senior leadership and how they can better understand important aspects of the donor relationship. Grace discusses the CEP report on the impact of Mackenzie Scott’s giving and the careful strategic planning involved with receiving such unrestricted gifts.

ABOUT GRACE

Grace Chiang Nicolette, Vice President of Programming and External Relations, oversees the organization’s partnerships, outreach efforts, fundraising, communications, and innovative programming. She is a co-host with CEP’s President Phil Buchanan of the widely acclaimed Giving Done Right podcast. Grace was formerly a client lead on CEP’s Assessment team, where she led the marketing, creation, and presentation of CEP’s benchmarking assessments for individual foundations. She is a frequent speaker to foundation staff and boards on topics of philanthropic effectiveness and philanthropy in China. Prior to joining CEP, Grace co-founded a philanthropy advisory firm in Shanghai that identifies investments in high potential nonprofits and social enterprises in China. The World Economic Forum named her a Young Global Leader in 2011. Grace has an executive education certificate from Harvard’s Kennedy School in Global Leadership and Public Policy and graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar. She resides with her husband and two children in Cambridge, and they are active members of their church.

EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCES

• Flex: The New Playbook for Managing Across Differences by Jane Hyun and Audrey S. Lee
• Learn more about Grace and the Center for Effective Philanthropy here
• Check out Phil Buchanan’s episode108: What is Giving Done Right?
• Have you read Patton’s Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership: Seven Keys to Advancing Your Career in the Philanthropic Sector